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The paper presents the results of the numerical and physical experiments, aimed at assessing the influence of pulsed force of electromagnetic field on the melt motion and the fluid velocities. The experiment was performed on the eutectic alloy Galinstan in the cylindrical volume, where an ultrasonic Doppler velocimeter was employed for velocity measurements under conditions of pulsed and steady EM field application. A numerical simulation of the melt flow, forced by the steady EM force, involved a 2D axisymmetric model. The k-e turbulence model was used to obtain the information about the melt velocities. The verification of the numerical model was carried out for the steady case. The effects of pulsed and steadily applied Lorentz force were compared using the physical experiment. An intensity of the velocity pulsations in Galinstan for the pulsed frequencies in the range from 0.05 to 1 Hz considerably exceeded the values measured in the permanently stirred melt. For higher values of pulsed frequencies (from 1 to 10 Hz) the effect decreases and only slightly differs from the influence of the permanently applied Lorentz force.

[Aims] The aim of this study is to search for evidence of a common emission engine between radio giant pulses (GPs) and very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) γ-rays from the Crab pulsar., [Methods] We performed 16 h of simultaneous observations of the Crab pulsar at 1.4 GHz with the Effelsberg radio telescope and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), and at energies above 60 GeV we used the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescopes. We searched for a statistical correlation between the radio and VHE γ-ray emission with search windows of different lengths and different time lags to the arrival times of a radio GP. A dedicated search for an enhancement in the number of VHE γ-rays correlated with the occurrence of radio GPs was carried out separately for the P1 and P2 phase ranges, respectively., [Results] In the radio data sample, 99444 radio GPs were detected. We find no significant correlation between the GPs and VHE photons in any of the search windows. Depending on phase cuts and the chosen search windows, we find upper limits at a 95% confidence level on an increase in VHE γ-ray events correlated with radio GPs between 7% and 61% of the average Crab pulsar VHE flux for the P1 and P2 phase ranges, respectively. This puts upper limits on the flux increase during a radio GP between 12% and 2900% of the pulsed VHE flux, depending on the search window duration and phase cuts. This is the most stringent upper limit on a correlation between γ-ray emission and radio GPs reported so far., The financial support of the German BMBF and MPG, the Italian INFN and INAF, the Swiss National Fund SNF, the ERDF under the Spanish MINECO (FPA2015-69818-P, FPA2012-36668, FPA2015-68378-P, FPA2015-69210-C6-2-R, FPA2015-69210-C6-4-R, FPA2015-69210-C6-6-R, AYA2015-71042-P, AYA2016-76012-C3-1-P, ESP2015-71662-C2-2-P, CSD2009-00064), and the Japanese JSPS and MEXT is gratefully acknowledged. This work was also supported by the Spanish Centro de Excelencia “Severo Ochoa” SEV-2012-0234 and SEV-2015-0548, and Unidad de Excelencia “María de Maeztu” MDM-2014-0369, by the Croatian Science Foundation (HrZZ) Project 09/176 and the University of Rijeka Project 13.12.1.3.02, by the DFG Collaborative Research Centers SFB823/C4 and SFB876/C3, the Polish National Research Centre grant UMO-2016/22/M/ST9/00382 and by the Brazilian MCTIC, CNPq and FAPERJ.

We present a precision measurement of the axial-vector coupling constant $g_A$ in the decay of polarized free neutrons. For the first time, a pulsed cold neutron beam was used for this purpose. By this method, leading sources of systematic uncertainty are suppressed. From the electron spectra we obtain $\lambda = g_A/g_V = -1.27641(45)_\mathrm{stat}(33)_\mathrm{sys}$ which confirms recent measurements with improved precision. This corresponds to a value of the parity violating beta asymmetry parameter of $A_0 = -0.11985(17)_\mathrm{stat}(12)_\mathrm{sys}$. We discuss implications on the CKM matrix element $V_{ud}$ and derive a limit on left-handed tensor interaction.

During this doctoral work, we have designed, fabricated and characterised gallium arsenide (GaAs) optomechanical disk nano-resonators, in a cryogenic environment. These disks which bear highly coupled (g 0 ≈ MHz) GHz mechanical modes and telecom wavelength (λ ≈ 1550 nm) optical modes, show high mechanical (> 10^4 ) and optical (> 10^5 ) quality factors at 3 K. However, despite these state of the art performances, the optomechanical sideband cooling mechanism of the mechanical motion is not efficient enough to reach the quantum groundstate (less than 1 phonon in average). To determine the limiting factors, we have presented a systematical study of the mechanical dissipation channels and shown that two-level systems (TLS) at the surface of the material play a major role. We have also studied pulsed optical excitation of our resonators, in order to avoid absorption and thermal phenomena which limit the optomechanical cooling. We thus have underlined two main properties of the pulsed excitation : average injected optical power, and repetition period of the pulses with respect to the relaxation times of our systems. Alternative optical control schemes of the mechanical nanoresonators have emerged, which could be coupled to ultra-cold operation (T << 1 K).; Au cours de ce travail de thèse nous avons conçu, fabriqué et caractérisé des nano-résonateurs optomécaniques à disques en arséniure de gallium (GaAs), en milieu cryogénique. Ces disques qui supportent à la fois des modes mécaniques vibrant au GHz et des modes optiques résonant à λ ≈ 1500 nm fortement couplés (g 0 ≈ MHz), présentent des facteurs de qualité élevés (> 10^4 pour la mécanique et > 10^5 pour l’optique, à 3 K). Malgré ces performances à l’état de l’art, le refroidissement optomécanique par bande latérale du mouvement n’est pas suffisamment efficace pour atteindre l’état fondamental quantique (moins d’1 phonon en moyenne). Nous avons étudié systématiquement les sources de dissipation mécanique qui limitent le refroidissement, et mis en évidence l’impact des systèmes à deux niveaux à la surface des nano-résonateurs. Nous avons également étudié l’excitation optique pulsée de nos systèmes, pour contourner les phénomènes absorptifs et thermiques qui contrecarrent le refroidissement, et fait ressortir deux propriétés importantes de l’excitation pulsée : la puissance optique moyenne injectée, et la période de répétition des pulses par rapport aux temps de relaxation du système. Des schémas alternatifs de contrôle optique des nano-résonateurs mécaniques émergent, qui pourraient être combinés avec une opération à ultra-basse température (<< 1 K).

During this doctoral work, we have designed, fabricated and characterised gallium arsenide (GaAs) optomechanical disk nano-resonators, in a cryogenic environment. These disks which bear highly coupled (g 0 ≈ MHz) GHz mechanical modes and telecom wavelength (λ ≈ 1550 nm) optical modes, show high mechanical (> 10^4 ) and optical (> 10^5 ) quality factors at 3 K. However, despite these state of the art performances, the optomechanical sideband cooling mechanism of the mechanical motion is not efficient enough to reach the quantum groundstate (less than 1 phonon in average). To determine the limiting factors, we have presented a systematical study of the mechanical dissipation channels and shown that two-level systems (TLS) at the surface of the material play a major role. We have also studied pulsed optical excitation of our resonators, in order to avoid absorption and thermal phenomena which limit the optomechanical cooling. We thus have underlined two main properties of the pulsed excitation : average injected optical power, and repetition period of the pulses with respect to the relaxation times of our systems. Alternative optical control schemes of the mechanical nanoresonators have emerged, which could be coupled to ultra-cold operation (T << 1 K).; Au cours de ce travail de thèse nous avons conçu, fabriqué et caractérisé des nano-résonateurs optomécaniques à disques en arséniure de gallium (GaAs), en milieu cryogénique. Ces disques qui supportent à la fois des modes mécaniques vibrant au GHz et des modes optiques résonant à λ ≈ 1500 nm fortement couplés (g 0 ≈ MHz), présentent des facteurs de qualité élevés (> 10^4 pour la mécanique et > 10^5 pour l’optique, à 3 K). Malgré ces performances à l’état de l’art, le refroidissement optomécanique par bande latérale du mouvement n’est pas suffisamment efficace pour atteindre l’état fondamental quantique (moins d’1 phonon en moyenne). Nous avons étudié systématiquement les sources de dissipation mécanique qui limitent le refroidissement, et mis en évidence l’impact des systèmes à deux niveaux à la surface des nano-résonateurs. Nous avons également étudié l’excitation optique pulsée de nos systèmes, pour contourner les phénomènes absorptifs et thermiques qui contrecarrent le refroidissement, et fait ressortir deux propriétés importantes de l’excitation pulsée : la puissance optique moyenne injectée, et la période de répétition des pulses par rapport aux temps de relaxation du système. Des schémas alternatifs de contrôle optique des nano-résonateurs mécaniques émergent, qui pourraient être combinés avec une opération à ultra-basse température (<< 1 K).

International audience; After measuring in 2012 a relatively large value of the neutrino mixing angle $\theta_{13}$, it becomes now possible to observe for the first time a possible CP violation in the leptonic sector.The measured value of $\theta_{13}$ also privileges the 2nd oscillation maximum for the discovery of CP violation instead of the usually used 1st oscillation maximum.The sensitivity at this 2nd oscillation maximum is about three times higher than for the 1st oscillation maximum inducing a lower influence of systematic errors.Going to the 2nd oscillation maximum necessitates a very intense neutrino beam with the appropriate energy.The world's most intense pulsed spallation neutron source, the European Spallation Source, will have a proton linac of 5 MW power and 2 GeV energy.This linac, under construction, also has the potential to become the proton driver of the world's most intense neutrino beam with very high potential to discover a neutrino CP violation.The physics performance of that neutrino Super Beam in conjunction with a megaton underground Water Cherenkov neutrino detector installed at a distance of about 500 km from ESS has been evaluated.In addition, the choice of such detector will extent the physics program to proton decay, atmospheric neutrinos and astrophysics studies.The ESS proton linac upgrades, the accumulator ring needed for proton pulse compression, the target station optimization and the physics potential are described.In addition to neutrinos, this facility will also produce at the same time a copious number of muons which could be used by a muon collider.The ESS neutron facility will be fully ready by 2025 at which moment the upgrades for the neutrino facility could start.This project is supported by the COST Action CA15139 ``Combining forces for a novel European facility for neutrino-antineutrino symmetry-violation discovery'' (EuroNuNet). It has also received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 777419.