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International audience; Indentation is a standard, widely used technique in mechanical assays and theoretical analysis. It unveils the fundamental modes of deformation and predicts the response of the material under more complex loads. Here we present an experimental setup for testing thin-film materials by studying the lateral indentation of a narrow opening cut into a film, triggering a cascade of buckling events. The force response F is dominated by bending and stretching effects for small displacements and slowly varies with indenter displacement $F\sim d^{2/5}$ , to finally reach a wrinkled state that results in a robust nonlinear asymptotic relation, $F\sim d^4$. Experiments with films of various thicknesses and material properties, and numerical simulations confirm our analysis and help to define an order parameter that accounts for the different response regimes observed in experiments and simulations.

International audience; When heated, micro-resonators present a shift of their resonance frequencies. We study specifically silicon cantilevers heated locally by laser absorption, and evaluate theoretically and experimentally their temperature profile and its interplay with the mechanical resonances. We present a enhanced version of our earlier model [F. Aguilar Sandoval et al., J. Appl. Phys. 117, 234503 (2015)] including both elasticity and geometry temperature dependency, showing that the latter can account for 20% of the observed shift for the first flexural mode. The temperature profile description takes into account thermal clamping conditions, radiation at high temperature, and lower conductivity than bulk silicon due to phonon confinement. Thanks to a space-power equivalence in the heat equation, scanning the heating point along the cantilever directly reveals the temperature profile. Finally, frequency shift measurement can be used to infer the temperature field with a few percent precision.

When heated, micro-resonators present a shift of their resonance frequencies. We study specifically silicon cantilevers heated locally by laser absorption, and evaluate theoretically and experimentally their temperature profile and its interplay with the mechanical resonances. We include both elasticity and geometry temperature dependency, showing that the latter can account for 20% of the observed shift for the first flexural mode. The temperature profile description takes into account thermal clamping conditions, radiation at high temperature, and lower conductivity than bulk silicon due to phonon confinement. Thanks to a space-power equivalence in the heat equation, scanning the heating point along the cantilever directly reveals the temperature profile. Finally, frequency shift measurement can be used to infer the temperature field with a few percent precision.

We present an implementation of the analytical string theory recently applied to the description of glasses. These are modeled as continuum media with embedded elastic string heterogeneities, randomly located and randomly oriented, which oscillate around a straight equilibrium position with a fundamental frequency depending on their length. The existence of a length distribution reflects then in a distribution of oscillation frequencies which is responsible for the Boson Peak in the glass density of states. Previously, it has been shown that such a description can account for the elastic anomalies reported at frequencies comparable with the Boson Peak. Here we start from the generalized hydrodynamics to determine the dynamic correlation function $S(k,\omega)$ associated with the coherent, dispersive and attenuated, sound waves resulting from a sound-string interference. Once the vibrational density of states has been measured, we can use it for univocally fixing the string length distribution inherent to a given glass. The density-density correlation function obtained using such distribution is strongly constrained, and able to account for the experimental data collected on two prototypical glasses: glycerol and silica. The obtained string length distribution is compatible with the typical size of elastic heterogeneities previously reported for silica and supercooled liquids, and the atomic motion associated to the string dynamics is consistent with the soft modes recently identified in large scale numerical simulations as non-phonon modes responsible for the Boson Peak. The theory is thus in agreement with the most recent advances in the understanding of the glass specific dynamics and offers an appealing simple understanding of the microscopic origin of the latter, while raising new questions on the universality or material-specificity of the string distribution properties., Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures

International audience; We review experimental and theoretical results on the computing properties of single spiking micropillar lasers and present numerical studies of propagation and computing in chains of evanescently coupled micropillar lasers. Single mi-cropillar lasers are shown to behave as ultrafast optical neurons with sub-nanosecond spike times. They also possess absolute and relative refractory times, spike latency and show temporal summation. With delayed optical feedback, they emulate an autapse. These basic neural properties can be used for simple photonic computing. We show by numerical simulations of a chain of coupled spiking micropillar lasers that basic logical operations can be implemented in photonic circuits, as well as temporal pattern recognition based on the collision properties of pulses in this chain.

International audience; This study investigates the tearing of a thin notched sheet when two points on the sheet are pulled apart. The concepts that determine the crack trajectory are reviewed in the general anisotropic case, in which the energy of the fracture depends on the fracture direction. When observed as a flat sheet a purely geometric "tearing vector" is defined through the location of the crack tip and the pulling points. Both the Griffiths's criterion and the "maximum energy release rate criterion" (MERR) predict a fracture path that is parallel to the tearing vector in the isotropic case. However, for the anisotropic case, the application of the MERR leads to a crack path that deviates from the tearing vector, following a propagation direction that tends to minimize the fracture energy. In the case of strong anisotropy, it is more difficult to obtain an analytical prediction of the tearing trajectory. Thus, simple geometrical arguments are provided to give a derivation of a differential equation accounting for crack trajectory, according to the natural coordinates of the pulling, and in the case that the anisotropy is sufficiently weak. The solution derived from this analysis is in good agreement with previous experimental observations.

Driven damped coupled oscillators exhibit complex spatiotemporal dynamics. An archetype model is the driven damped sine-Gordon equation, which can describe several physical systems such as coupled pendula, extended Josephson junction, optical systems and driven magnetic wires. Close to resonance an enveloped model in the form Lugiato-Lefever equation can be derived from the driven damped sine-Gordon equation. We compare the dynamics obtained from both models. Unexpectedly, qualitatively similar dynamical behaviors are obtained for both models including homogeneous steady states, localized structures, and pattern waves. For large forcing, both systems share similar spatiotemporal chaos.

Desertification due to climate change and increasing drought periods is a worldwide problem for both ecology and economy. Our ability to understand how vegetation manages to survive and propagate through arid and semiarid ecosystems may be useful in the development of future strategies to prevent desertification, preserve flora-and fauna within-or even make use of scarce resources soils. In this paper, we study a robust phenomena observed in semi-arid ecosystems, by which localized vegetation patches split in a process called self-replication. Localized patches of vegetation are visible in nature at various spatial scales. Even though they have been described in literature, their growth mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Here, we develop an innovative statistical analysis based on real field observations to show that patches may exhibit deformation and splitting. This growth mechanism is opposite to the desertification since it allows to repopulate territories devoid of vegetation. We investigate these aspects by characterizing quantitatively, with a simple mathematical model, a new class of instabilities that lead to the self-replication phenomenon observed., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

We study the patterns observed in the vicinity of a Faraday instability, in the limit of a very thin layer of viscous fluid. We numerically solve our previous model [N.O. Rojas et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 187801 (2010)] and compare our predictions to experiments. Our model captures quantitatively the threshold of instability. The direct simulation of our system permits us to predict the patterns observed in experiments.

We derive a set of non-linear amplitude equations that predicts the presence of nonlinear patterns in a vertically oscillated one dimensional viscous fluid layer.

International audience; Dislocations are at the heart of the plastic behavior of materials yet they are very difficult to probe experimentally. Lack of a practical nonintrusive measuring tool for, say, dislocation density, seriously hampers modeling efforts, as there is little guidance from data in the form of quantitative measurements, as opposed to visualizations. Dislocation density can be measured using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). TEM can directly show the strain field around dislocations, which allows for the counting of the number of dislocations in a micrograph. This procedure is very laborious and local, since samples have to be very small and thin, and is difficult to apply when dislocation densities are high. XRD relies on the broadening of diffraction peaks induced by the loss of crystalline order induced by the dislocations. This broadening can be very small, and finding the dislocation density involves unknown parameters that have to be fitted with the data. Both methods, but especially TEM, are intrusive, in the sense that samples must be especially treated, mechanically and chemically. A nonintrusive method to measure dislocation density would be desirable. This paper reviews recent developments in the theoretical treatment of the interaction of an elastic wave with dislocations that have led to formulae that relate dislocation density to quantities that can be measured with samples of cm size. Experimental results that use resonant ultrasound spectroscopy supporting this assertion are reported, and the outlook for the development of a practical, nonintrusive, method to measure dislocation density is discussed.

International audience; The coherent propagation of elastic waves in a solid filled with a random distribution of pinned dislocation segments is studied to all orders in perturbation theory. It is shown that, within the independent scattering approximation, the perturbation series that generates the mass operator is a geometric series that can thus be formally summed. A divergent quantity is shown to be renormalizable to zero at low frequencies. At higher frequencies said quantity can be expressed in terms of a cut-off with dimensions of length, related to the dislocation length, and physical quantities can be computed in terms of two parameters, to be determined by experiment. The approach used in this problem is compared and contrasted with the scattering of de Broglie waves by delta-function potentials as described by the Schrödinger equation.

The propagation of elastic waves in polycrystals is revisited, with an emphasis on configurations relevant to the study of ice. Randomly oriented hexagonal single crystals are considered with specific, non-uniform, probability distributions for their major axis. Three typical textures or fabrics (i.e. preferred grain orientations) are studied in detail: one cluster fabric and two girdle fabrics, as found in ice recovered from deep ice cores. After computing the averaged elasticity tensor for the considered textures, wave propagation is studied using a wave equation with elastic constantsc=〈c〉+δcthat are equal to an average plus deviations, presumed small, from that average. This allows for the use of the Voigt average in the wave equation, and velocities are obtained solving the appropriate Christoffel equation. The velocity for vertical propagation, as appropriate to interpret sonic logging measurements, is analysed in more details. Our formulae are shown to be accurate at the 0.5% level and they provide a rationale for previous empirical fits to wave propagation velocities with a quantitative agreement at the 0.07–0.7% level. We conclude that, within the formalism presented here, it is appropriate to use, with confidence, velocity measurements to characterize ice fabrics.

An experimental study of the solubility and of the thermodynamic properties of solvation, between temperatures (303 and 343) K and at pressures close to atmospheric, of 2-methylpropane (isobutane) in several ionic liquids based on the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide anion and on 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cations, [C n C 1 Im][NTf 2 ], with alkyl side-chains varying from two to ten carbon atoms is presented. The isobutane solubility increases with increasing size of the alkyl side-chain of the cation in the ionic liquid and decreases with increasing temperature (as typical of an exothermal dissolution process). The mole fraction solubility of isobutane varies from 0.904 · 10 −2 in [C 2 C 1 Im][NTf 2 ] at T = 343 K to 1.002 · 10 −1 in [C 10 C 1 Im][NTf 2 ] at T = 303 K. The values measured in this work are compared to the behaviour of n-butane in the same ionic liquids published in a previous study (Costa Gomes et al. , 2012). Isobutane was found to be significantly less soluble than n-butane in all the ionic liquids. The differences found are interpreted in relation to the molecular structures obtained by molecular dynamics simulations for the solutions of n-butane and isobutane in the studied [C n C 1 Im][NTf 2 ] ionic liquids.

We present the empirical mode decomposition profilometry (EMDP) for the analysis of fringe projection profilometry (FPP) images. It is based on an iterative filter, using empirical mode decomposition, which is free of spatial filtering and adapted for surfaces characterized by a broadband spectrum of deformation. Its performances are compared to Fourier transform profilometry, the benchmark of FPP. We show both numerically and experimentally that using EMDP improves strongly the profilometry small-scale capabilities. Moreover, the height reconstruction distortion is much lower: the reconstructed height field is now both spectrally and statistically accurate. EMDP is thus particularly suited to quantitative experiments. Fil: Lagubeau, Guillaume. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; Chile Fil: Cobelli, Pablo Javier. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Bobinski, Tomas. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Laboratoire Pmmh-umr 7636; Francia Fil: Maurel, Agnes. Institut Langevin, Umr Cnrs; Francia Fil: Pagneux, Vincent. Laboratoire D'acoustique, Univ. Maine Umr Cnrs 6613; Francia Fil: Petitjeans, Philippe. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Laboratoire Pmmh-umr 7636; Francia

International audience; High quality single-crystalline hexagonal cobalt nanoplates have been obtained by a simple chemical reduction method using ultrasonic assistance. Individual nanoplates tend to form agglomerates due to their strong in-plane anisotropy. These particles were incorporated within a polyethylene matrix by a solution blending method and arrays of magnetic chains were generated by solidification of the solution of nanoparticles in the presence of a magnetic field. The easy axis of the Co plates is oriented along the field, in the direction of the chains length. Micromagnetic simulations, magnetic measurements, and FORC diagrams are used to clarify the complex magnetic behavior in these systems.

We investigate the interaction of magnetic vortices and skyrmions with a spin-polarized current. In a square lattice, fixed classical spins and quantum itinerant electrons, evolve according to the coupled Landau-Lifshitz and Schr\"odinger equations. Changes in the topology occur at microscopic time and length scales, and are shown to be triggered by the nucleation of a nontrivial electron-spin structure at the vortex core., Comment: See supplementary material (high resolution figures and movies) https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0By4j_RJ9SKLpQ2R5UklXLURvbEE&usp=sharing --- v2: Extended version

In this article, we present a deflection measurement setup for Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). It is based on a quadrature phase differential interferometer: we measure the optical path difference between a laser beam reflecting above the cantilever tip and a reference beam reflecting on the static base of the sensor. A design with very low environmental susceptibility and another allowing calibrated measurements on a wide spectral range are described. Both enable a very high resolution (down to $\SI{2.5E-15}{m/\sqrt{Hz}}$), illustrated by thermal noise measurements on AFM cantilevers. They present an excellent long-term stability, and a constant sensitivity independent of the optical phase of the interferometer. A quick review shows that our precision is equaling or out-performing the best results reported in the literature, but for a much larger deflection range, up to a few $\SI{}{\micro m}$.

International audience; Single crystalline hexagonal cobalt nanoplates with diameter ca. 260 nm and thicknesses of 10 nm were synthesized through a one step simple reduction process using a soft-template approach. The sample exhibits a ferromagnetic behavior with a high coercivity field. The effect of the shape anisotropy on magnetic properties was investigated using numerical simulations, showing good agreement with experimental results. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We study the self-modulation of a circularly polarized Alfv\'en wave in a strongly magnetized relativistic electron-positron plasma with finite temperature. This nonlinear wave corresponds to an exact solution of the equations, with a dispersion relation that has two branches. For a large magnetic field, the Alfv\'en branch has two different zones, which we call the normal dispersion zone (where $d\ensuremath{\omega}/dkg0$) and the anomalous dispersion zone (where $d\ensuremath{\omega}/dkl0$). A nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation is derived in the normal dispersion zone of the Alfv\'en wave, where the wave envelope can evolve as a periodic wave train or as a solitary wave, depending on the initial condition. The maximum growth rate of the modulational instability decreases as the temperature is increased. We also study the Alfv\'en wave propagation in the anomalous dispersion zone, where a nonlinear wave equation is obtained. However, in this zone the wave envelope can evolve only as a periodic wave train.

Equipe 101 : Nanomagnétisme et électronique de spin; International audience; We report on a method to fabricate laterally modulated Co films using the artificially induced nano-wrinkled surface of a polydimethylsiloxane polymeric film as template. Large area patterning of self-organized parallel wrinkles is formed displaying a submicrometer wavelength. The subsequent deposition of a Co layer on this wavy surface yields a uniaxial magnetic anisotropy imposed by the wrinkles' morphology. Measurement of the remanent magnetization and coercive field as a function of the field angle confirms the uniaxial nature of the anisotropy and reveals a reversal mechanism more complex than pure coherent rotation. The magnetostatic origin of the anisotropy is analyzed.

We consider two systems of active swimmers moving close to a solid surface, one being a living population of wild-type E. coli and the other being an assembly of self-propelled Au-Pt rods. In both situations, we have identified two different types of motion at the surface and evaluated the fraction of the population that displayed ballistic trajectories (active swimmers) with respect to those showing diffusive-like behavior. We studied the effect of this complex swimming activity on the diffusivity of passive tracers also present at the surface. We found that the tracer diffusivity is enhanced with respect to standard Brownian motion and increases linearly with the activity of the fluid, defined as the product of the fraction of active swimmers and their mean velocity. This result can be understood in terms of series of elementary encounters between the active swimmers and the tracers.

A time-periodic magnetic field applied transversally to the hard axis of an extended easy-plane ferromagnetic sample can produce parametric resonance. For the 2:1 resonance, the prototype order-parameter-equation derived from the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert dynamical model for the precessional motion is the parametrically driven damped nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Unfortunately this standard approximation fails to meet the stability feature of the synchronized precession states, and we propose some amendment. Localized solutions supported by the uniform states are characterized and classified into two types: motionless and propagative states, rising through a non-variational Ising–Bloch transition. We propose and investigate a dynamical model ruling this transition.

Thin fluid films can have surprising behavior depending on the boundary conditions enforced, the energy input and the specific Reynolds number of the fluid motion. Here we study the equations of motion for a thin fluid film with a free boundary and its other interface in contact with a solid wall. Although shear dissipation increases for thinner layers and the motion can generally be described in the limit as viscous, inertial modes can always be excited for a sufficiently high input of energy. We derive the minimal set of equations containing inertial effects in this strongly dissipative regime.

publication suite congrès "Advances in Experimental Mechanics VI"; International audience; Optical Full Field Techniques (OFFT) are more and more utilized by mechanical laboratories. Among these methods, interferometry techniques (mainly composed of Speckle/Grating Interferometry or Speckle/Grating Shearography) are more difficult to use in a mechanical lab context, because of their sensitivity to external vibrations (except shearography), and because of the global lack of optical culture of mechanical engineers. Speckle-based methods are of great practical interest for the users, but their signal to noise ratio (SNR) is affected by the rigid body motion of the specimen. Here, the speckle decorrelation is minimized at local scale directly using the SNR. First, a shearography experiment is modeled to characterize the recorrelation procedure for a rigid body motion, a constant strain map and finally a high degree of localization. The mean noise level is found to be 6 times higher than a fully-correlated phase map for a 1 pixel speckle size. Last, a first application to a single-ply fabric composite lamina is shown. Resulting strain maps are of high quality with a very low spatial resolution (4 pixels). The local bending / global tension coupling effect is clearly put in evidence.

We present a unifying description close to a spatial bifurcation of localized states, appearing as large amplitude peaks nucleating over a pattern of lower amplitude. Localized states are pinned over a lattice spontaneously generated by the system itself. We show that the phenomenon is generic and requires only the coexistence of two spatially periodic states. At the onset of the spatial bifurcation, a forced amplitude equation is derived for the critical modes, which accounts for the appearance of localized peaks.

Experimental evidence of bouncing localized structures in a nonlinear optical system is reported., Comment: 4 pages

The dispersion relation of longitudinal electrostatic oscillations in a relativistic plasma is studied in the context of the nonextensive statistics formalism proposed by Tsallis [C. Tsallis, J. Stat. Phys. {\bf 52}, 479 (1988)], where nonextensivity is characterized by a parameter $q$ in Tsallis's entropy. $q=1$ corresponds to the usual Boltzmann-Gibbs, extensive statistics formalism. In the nonrelativistic regime, normalizability of the equilibrium distribution function implies that $-1\leq q\leq\infty$. We show that in the relativistic regime much tighter constraints must be satisfied, namely $0\leq q \leq 1+ k_B T/mc^2$, where $k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant, $T$ is the temperature of the plasma, and $m$ is the particle mass. Then we study longitudinal oscillations in a proton-electron plasma, assuming immobile protons, and electrons whose distribution function maximizes Tsallis's entropy. The dispersion relation of these oscillations is written in integral form for the long wavelength limit. Explicit expressions in terms of generalized hypergeometric functions can be found for all possibles values of $q$ in the ultra-relativistic regime., 12th International Congress on Plasma Physics, 25-29 October 2004, Nice (France)

The linear dispersion relation of a finite amplitude, parallel, circularly polarized Alfv\'en wave in a relativistic electron-positron plasma is derived. In the nonrelativistic regime, the dispersion relation has two branches, one electromagnetic wave, with a low frequency cutoff at $\sqrt{1+2\omega_p^2/\Omega_p^2}$ (where $\omega_p=(4\pi n e^2/m)^{1/2}$ is the electron/positron plasma frequency), and an Alfv\'en wave, with high frequency cutoff at the positron gyrofrequency $\Omega_p$. There is only one forward propagating mode for a given frequency. However, due to relativistic effects, there is no low frequency cutoff for the electromagnetic branch, and there appears a critical wave number above which the Alfv\'en wave ceases to exist. This critical wave number is given by $ck_c/\Omega_p=a/\eta$, where $a=\omega_p^2/\Omega_p^2$ and $\eta$ is the ratio between the Alfv\'en wave magnetic field amplitude and the background magnetic field. In this case, for each frequency in the Alfv\'en branch, two additional forward propagating modes exist with equal frequency. A simple numerical example is studied: by numerically solving the coupled system of fluid and Maxwell equations, normal incidence of a finite amplitude Alfv\'en wave on an interface between two electron-positron plasmas of different densities is considered., Comment: 12th International Congress on Plasma Physics, 25-29 October 2004, Nice (France)

17 pages; International audience; We show that in a liquid-crystal-light-valve with optical feedback the Fréedericksz transition displays a subcritical character. Experimentally, we determine the extension of the bistable region and we study the propagation of fronts connecting the different metastable states. Theoretically, we derive an amplitude equation, valid close to the Fréedericksz transition point, which accounts for the subcritical character of the bifurcation. When, in the space of parameters, we move far from the Fréedericksz transition point, we adopt a mean-field model which is able to capture the qualitative features of all the successive branches of bistability. Close to the points of nascent bistability, by including diffraction effects we show the appearance of localized structures. Highly symmetric configurations of localized structures may be observed in the experiment by imposing a N-order rotation angle in the feedback loop. For increase of the input light intensity complex spatio-temporal dynamics arise, with either periodic or irregular oscillations in the position of the localized states. Rings dynamics is also observed, by the introduction of a small nonlocal shift in the feedback loop.

International audience; réedericksz transition can become subcritical in the presence of a feedback mechanism that leads to the dependence of the local electric field onto the liquid crystal re-orientation angle. We have characterized experimentally the first-order Fréedericksz transition in a Liquid Crystal Light Valve with optical feedback. The bistability region is determined, together with the Fréedericksz transition point and the Maxwell point. We show the propagation of fronts connecting the different metastable states and we estimate the front velocity. Theoretically, we derive an amplitude equation, valid close to the Fréedericksz transition point, which accounts for the subcritical character of the bifurcation.

International audience; In this article we review the conditions for the appearance of localized states in a nonlinear optical system, with particular reference to the liquid crystal light valve (LCLV) experiment. The localized structures here described are of dissipative type; that is, they represent the localized solutions of a pattern-forming system. We discuss their features of stable addressable localized states, and we show that they dispose themselves on the nodes of highly symmetric lattices, as obtained by the introduction of an N-order rotation angle in the optical feedback loop. The stability is lost either on increase of the input light intensity or by the introduction of an extra small angle of rotation. The complex spatio-temporal dynamics that follows is characterized by oscillations in the position of the localized states. We discuss the origin of this permanent dynamics in relation to the non-variational character of the LCLV system, underlining the general character of such complex behaviours of localized states.

International audience; Standing surface waves that interact with a confined, vertical, vorticity field with zero net circulation are studied both analytically and experimentally. The surface waves are generated by vertical vibration, and constant vorticity injection is achieved by a rotating disk flush mounted in the cell. Experimental results are indicative of a local wave-vortex interaction (no dislocation), and a simple theoretical model is able to explain them in quantitative detail.

Multiple inverted-V structures are commonly observed on the same auroral zone crossing by a low-altitude orbiting satellite. Such structures appear grouped and apparently result from an ionospheric and/or magnetospheric mechanism of stratification. More than two years of AUREOL-3 satellite observations were analyzed to study their properties and their formation in the framework of the ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling model proposed by Tverskoy. This model predicts some natural periodicity in the electrostatic potential profile (and subsequently in the field-aligned current profiles) that could account for oscillations experimentally observed in the auroral zone, such as successive inverted-Vs. Experimental results obtained during quiet or moderately active periods demonstrate that the number of structures observed within a given event is well described by a 'scaling' parameter provided by the hot plasma stratification theory and expressed in terms of the field-aligned current density, the total width of the current band, the plasma sheet ion temperature, and the height-integrated Pedersen conductivity of the ionosphere. The latitudinal width, in the order of 100–200 km at ionospheric altitudes, is relatively independent of the current density, and is determined not only by the existence of a potential difference above the inverted-Vs, but also by basic oscillations of the ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling system predicted by Tverskoy. The large number of cases studied by the AUREOL-3 satellite provides reliable statistical trends which permits the validation of the model and the inference that the multiple structures currently observed can be related directly to oscillations of the magnetospheric potential (or the pressure gradients) on a scale of ~1000-2000 km in the near-Earth plasma sheet. These oscillations arise in the Tverskoy model and may naturally result when the initial pressure gradients needed to generate a large-scale field-aligned current have a sufficiently wide equatorial scale, of about 1 RE or more.Key words: Magnetospheric physics (current systems; energetic particles, precipitating; magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions)

Previous results on the scattering of surface waves by vertical vorticity on shallow water are generalized to the case of dispersive water waves. Dispersion effects are treated perturbatively around the shallow water limit, to first order in the ratio of depth to wavelength. The dislocation of the incident wavefront, analogous to the Aharonov-Bohm effect, is still observed. At short wavelengths the scattering is qualitatively similar to the nondispersive case. At moderate wavelengths, however, there are two markedly different scattering regimes according to wether the capillary length is smaller or larger than $\sqrt{3}$ times depth. The dislocation is characterized by a parameter that depends both on phase and group velocity. The validity range of the calculation is the same as in the shallow water case: wavelengths small compared to vortex radius, and low Mach number. The implications of these limitations are carefully considered., Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures

International audience; Surface waves interacting with a vertical vortex are studied both analytically and experimentally. There are similarities as well as differences with the Aharonov-Bohm effect: among the former, a dislocation in the wave fronts that is proportional to the vortex circulation, and among the latter, a significant change in the symmetry of the scattered wave.

When a surface wave interacts with a vertical vortex in shallow water the latter induces a dislocation in the incident wavefronts that is analogous to what happens in the Aharonov-Bohm effect for the scattering of electrons by a confined magnetic field. In addition to this global similarity between these two physical systems there is scattering. This paper reports a detailed calculation of this scattering, which is quantitatively different from the electronic case in that a surface wave penetrates the inside of a vortex while electrons do not penetrate a solenoid. This difference, together with an additional difference in the equations that govern both physical systems lead to a quite different scattering in the case of surface waves, whose main characteristic is a strong asymmetry in the scattering cross section. The assumptions and approximations under which these effects happen are carefully considered, and their applicability to the case of scattering of acoustic waves by vorticity is noted., Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures

International audience; Speckle-based interferometric techniques allow assessing the whole-field deformation induced on a specimen due to the application of load. These high sensitivity optical techniques yield fringe images generated by subtracting speckle patterns captured while the specimen undergoes deformation. The quality of the fringes, and in turn the accuracy of the deformation measurements, strongly depends on the speckle correlation. Specimen rigid body motion leads to speckle decorrelation that, in general, cannot be effectively counteracted by applying a global translation to the involved speckle patterns. In this paper, we propose a recorrelation procedure based on the application of locally evaluated translations. The proposed procedure implies dividing the field into several regions, applying a local translation, and calculating, in every region, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Since the latter is a correlation indicator (the noise increases with the decorrelation) we argue that the proper translation is that which maximizes the locally evaluated SNR. The search of the proper local translations is, of course, an interactive process that can be facilitated by using a SNR optimization algorithm. The performance of the proposed recorrelation procedure was tested on two examples. First, the SNR optimization algorithm was applied to fringe images obtained by subtracting simulated speckle patterns. Next, it was applied to fringe images obtained by using a shearography optical setup from a specimen subjected to mechanical deformation. Our results show that the proposed SNR optimization method can significantly improve the reliability of measurement's performed by using speckle-based techniques.