Search

The LISA Pathfinder mission will demonstrate the technology of drag-free test masses for use as inertial references in future space-based gravitational wave detectors. To accomplish this, the Pathfinder spacecraft will perform drag-free flight about a test mass while measuring the acceleration of this primary test mass relative to a second reference test mass. Because the reference test mass is contained within the same spacecraft, it is necessary to apply forces on it to maintain its position and attitude relative to the spacecraft. These forces are a potential source of acceleration noise in the LISA Pathfinder system that are not present in the full LISA configuration. While LISA Pathfinder has been designed to meet it's primary mission requirements in the presence of this noise, recent estimates suggest that the on-orbit performance may be limited by this `suspension noise'. The drift-mode or free-flight experiments provide an opportunity to mitigate this noise source and further characterize the underlying disturbances that are of interest to the designers of LISA-like instruments. This article provides a high-level overview of these experiments and the methods under development to analyze the resulting data., 13 pages, 5 figures. Accepted to Journal Of Physics, Conference Series. Presented at 10th International LISA Symposium, May 2014, Gainesville, FL, USA

We summarize the main ideas underlying brane cosmology, or the cosmology of a Universe considered as a submanifold of a higher-dimensional spacetime and where ordinary matter is supposed to be confined. This new scenario, motivated by recent developments in string theory, leads to several specific features that could allow, via forthcoming high precision cosmological observations, to distinguish it from the traditional cosmological scenario. To cite this article: P. Binetruy et al., C. R. Physique 4 (2003).

Motivations for new physics beyond the Standard Model are presented. The most successful and best motivated option, supersymmetry, is described in some detail, and the associated searches performed at LEP are reviewed. These include searches for additional Higgs bosons and for supersymmetric partners of the standard particles. These searches constrain the mass of the lightest supersymmetric particle which could be responsible for the dark matter of the universe. To cite this article: P. Binetruy, J.-F. Grivaz, C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 1235–1243.

We perform a systematic analysis of soft supersymmetry breaking terms at the one loop level in a large class of string effective field theories. This includes the so-called anomaly mediated contributions. We illustrate our results for several classes of orbifold models. In particular, we discuss a class of models where soft supersymmetry breaking terms are determined by quasi model independent anomaly mediated contributions, with possibly non-vanishing scalar masses at the one loop level. We show that the latter contribution depends on the detailed prescription of the regularization process which is assumed to represent the Planck scale physics of the underlying fundamental theory. The usual anomaly mediation case with vanishing scalar masses at one loop is not found to be generic. However gaugino masses and A-terms always vanish at tree level if supersymmetry breaking is moduli dominated with the moduli stabilized at self-dual points, whereas the vanishing of the B-term depends on the origin of the mu-term in the underlying theory. We also discuss the supersymmetric spectrum of O-I and O-II models, as well as a model of gaugino condensation. For reference, explicit spectra corresponding to a Higgs mass of 114 GeV are given. Finally, we address general strategies for distinguishing among these models., Comment: 49 pages: includes three tables and nine figures

A five-dimensional solution to Einstein's equations coupled to a scalar field has been proposed as a partial solution to the cosmological constant problem: the effect of arbitrary vacuum energy (tension) of a 3-brane is cancelled; however, the scalar field becomes singular at some finite proper distance in the extra dimension. We show that in the original model with a vanishing bulk potential for the scalar, the solution is a saddle point which is unstable to expansion or contraction of the brane world. We construct exact time-dependent solutions which generalize the static solution, and demonstrate that they do not conserve energy on the brane; thus they do not have an effective 4-D field theoretic description. When a bulk scalar field potential is added, the boundary conditions on the brane cannot be trivially satisfied, raising hope that the self-tuning mechanism may still give some insight into the cosmological constant problem in this case., 11 pages, 2 figures

There is some evidence that the Universe is presently undergoing accelerating expansion. This has restored some credit to the scenarios with a non-vanishing cosmological constant. From the point of view of a theory of fundamental interactions, one may argue that a dynamical component with negative pressure is easier to achieve. As an illustration, the quintessence scenario is described and its shortcomings are discussed in connection with the nagging ``cosmological constant problem''.

We study the structure of cosmic strings produced at the breaking of an anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry present in many superstring compactification models. We show that their coupling with the axion necessary in order to cancel the anomalies does not prevent them from being local, even though their energy per unit length is found to diverge logarithmically. We discuss the formation of such strings and the phenomenological constraints that apply to their parameters., 6 pages, uses RevTeX, no figure

We derive the couplings of the 3-form supermultiplet to the general supergravity-matter-Yang-Mills system. Based on the methods of superspace geometry, we identify component fields, establish their supergravity transformations and construct invariant component field actions. Two specific applications are adressed: the appearance of fundamental 3-forms in the context of strong-weak duality and the use of the 3-form supermultiplets to describe effective degrees of freedom relevant to the mechanism of gaugino condensation., Comment: 32 pages,Latex file

We present in detail the properties of a linear multiplet in interaction with supergravity and matter, with a special emphasis on the coupling of Chern-Simons forms, relevant for the problem of the chiral and conformal anomalies in relation with Kahler transformations and the corresponding anomaly cancellations. The linear supermultiplet describes an antisymmetric tensor gauge field together with a dilaton and a Majorana spinor. In particular, these fields are found among the massless modes of superstring theories. We review the general properties of this supermultiplet in the Kahler superspace formalism and construct the complete supersymmetric action. This includes the classically Kahler invariant component field action for all the kinetic terms as well as a Green-Schwarz type action which exhibits a non-holomorphic gauge coupling function.

Bounds on the Yukawa couplings of the supersymmetric standard model with a gauge singlet are derived under the assumption that the theory remains perturbative up to energies of O(10 16 GeV). The resulting bound on the mass of the lightest Higgs scalar is similar to its value in the minimal supersymmetric model.

We construct the general couplings of linear multiplets, including Chern-Simons forms, to chiral matter as well as to the standard supergravity-matter system. Insisting on a canonically normalized Einstein term we discuss in particular the appearance of non-holomorphic gauge couplings and perform duality transformations in full generality. We present the implications of these structures for the effective description of sigma model anomalies, with and without coupling to supergravity, following recent proposals of Derendinger, Ferrara, Kounnas and Zwirner and of Cardoso and Ovrut.

There is some evidence that the Universe is presently undergoing accelerating expansion. This has restored some credit to the scenarios with a non-vanishing cosmological constant. From the point of view of a theory of fundamental interactions, one may argue that a dynamical component with negative pressure is easier to achieve. As an illustration, the quintessence scenario is described and its shortcomings are discussed in connection with the nagging “cosmological constant problem”.

We review the role of scalar fields in theoretical models of high energy and cosmology. We discuss two general classes of light scalar fields: i) Goldstone bosons (and pseudo-Goldstone bosons) associated with the spontaneous breaking of symmetry, ii) moduli fields associated with the flat directions of the scalar potential in supersymmetric theorie. The latter are discussed in particular in the context of extra dimensions. Gravitational constraints are discussed. The potential role of a scalar fields in cosmology investigated: a quantitative analysis of their in path in the inflation scenario as well as in the understanding of dark energy is presented.

Axionic cosmic string solutions are investigated in a superstring motivated model with a pseudo-anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry. The inclusion of a gauge field and spatially varying dilaton allow local defect solutions with finite energy per unit length to be found. Fermion zero modes (whose presence is implied by supersymmetry) are also analysed. The corresponding fermion currents suggest strong cosmological bounds on the model. It is shown that the unusual form of the axion strings weakens these bounds. Other cosmological constraints on the underlying theory are also discussed., 17 pages

We clarify the structure of N=1 supergravity in 1+3 dimensions with constant FI terms. The FI terms induce non-vanishing R-charges for the fermions and the superpotential. Therefore the D-term inflation model in supergravity with constant FI terms has to be revisited. We also investigate the case of the so-called anomalous U(1) when a chiral superfield is shifted under U(1). In such a case, in the context of string theory, the FI terms originate from the derivative of the Kaehler potential and they are inevitably field-dependent. This raises an issue of stabilization of the relevant field in applications to cosmology. The recently suggested equivalence between the D-term strings and D-branes of type II theory shows that brane-anti-brane systems produce FI terms in the effective 4d theory, with the Ramond-Ramond axion shifting under the U(1) symmetry. This connection gives the possibility to interpret many unknown properties of D-\bar{D} systems in the more familiar language of 4d supergravity D-terms, and vice versa. For instance, the shift of the axion field in both cases restricts the possible forms of the moduli-stabilizing superpotential. We provide some additional consistency checks of the correspondence of D-term-strings to D-branes and show that instabilities of the two are closely related. Surviving cosmic D-strings of type II theory may be potentially observed in the form of D-term strings of 4d supergravity., 42 pages

Using some simple toy models, we explore the nature of the brane-bulk interaction for cosmological models with a large extra dimension. We are in particular interested in understanding the role of the bulk gravitons, which from the point of view of an observer on the brane will appear to generate dissipation and nonlocality, effects which cannot be incorporated into an effective (3+1)-dimensional Lagrangian field theoretic description. We explicitly work out the dynamics of several discrete systems consisting of a finite number of degrees of freedom on the boundary coupled to a (1+1)-dimensional field theory subject to a variety of wave equations. Systems both with and without time translation invariance are considered and moving boundaries are discussed as well. The models considered contain all the qualitative feature of quantized linearized cosmological perturbations for a Randall-Sundrum universe having an arbitrary expansion history, with the sole exception of gravitational gauge invariance, which will be treated in a later paper., Comment: 47 pages, RevTeX (or Latex, etc) with 5 eps figures

We consider the homogeneous cosmological radion, which we define as the interbrane distance in a two brane and $Z_2$ symmetrical configuration. In a coordinate system where one of the brane is at rest, the junction conditions for the second (moving) brane give directly the (non-linear) equations of motion for the radion. We analyse the radion fluctuations and solve the non-linear dynamics in some simple cases of interest., 24 pages, 4 figures; two figures completed and some comments added in section 7.2; a small section 7.3 added on Randall-Sundrum type of models; some references added

This report provides a pedagogical introduction to the description of the general Poincare supergravity/matter/Yang-Mills couplings using methods of Kahler superspace geometry. At a more advanced level this approach is generalized to include tensor field and Chern-Simons couplings in supersymmetry and supergravity, relevant in the context of weakly and strongly coupled string theories., 266 pages, to be published in Phys. Rep. C

We study several models of relevance for the dynamical breaking of supersymmetry which could provide a scalar component with equation of state $p=w\rho$, $-1, Comment: 4 pages, Latex

We consider the cosmology of a ``3-brane universe'' in a five dimensional (bulk) space-time with a cosmological constant. We show that Einstein's equations admit a first integral, analogous to the first Friedmann equation, which governs the evolution of the metric in the brane, whatever the time evolution of the metric along the fifth dimension. We thus obtain the cosmological evolution in the brane for any equation of state describing the matter in the brane, without needing the dependence of the metric on the fifth dimension. In the particular case $p = w \rho$, $(w = constant)$, we give explicit expressions for the time evolution of the brane scale factor, which show that standard cosmological evolution can be obtained (after an early non conventional phase) in a scenario \`a la Randall and Sundrum, where a brane tension compensates the bulk cosmological constant. We also show that a tiny deviation from exact compensation leads to an effective cosmological constant at late time. Moreover, when the metric along the fifth dimension is static, we are able to extend the solution found on the brane to the whole spacetime., Comment: 12 pages, Latex; references added, minor modifications

We consider ``brane-universes'', where matter is confined to four-dimensional hypersurfaces (three-branes) whereas one extra compact dimension is felt by gravity only. We show that the cosmology of such branes is definitely different from standard cosmology and identify the reasons behind this difference. We give a new class of exact solutions with a constant five-dimensional radius and cosmologically evolving brane. We discuss various consequences., Comment: 22 pages, Latex; minor additions

We show that inflation which is dominated by the D-term density avoids the `slow-roll' problem of inflation in supergravity. Such an inflationary scenario can naturally emerge in theories with non-anomalous or anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry. In the latter case the scale of inflation is fixed by the Green--Schwarz mechanism of anomaly cancellation. The crucial point is that the (super)gravity-mediated curvature of all the scalar fields (and, in particular, of the inflaton), which in the standard F-dominated case is of the order of the Hubble parameter, is absent in the D-term inflation case. The curvature of moduli and of all other flat directions during such an inflation crucially depends on their gauge charges., 10 pages, revtex, no figures

The description of the antisymmetric tensor gauge field with Chern-Simons forms in Kahler superspace is used to derive a particular coupling of the antisymmetric tensor to the general supergravity-matter system in terms of superfields as well as component fields. The construction is performed directly in terms of the linear multiplet. The proper duality transformations are presented at the full superfield level. General couplings are shortly discussed.

We study a generalization of the superstring theory in which both world-sheet and space-time supersymmetries are explicit. This hybrid superstring interpolates between the Green-Schwarz and the Ramond-Neveu-Schwarz formulations. We show that the Beltrami parametrization of the world-sheet provides a natural setting for the description of K -transformation already in the Green-Schwarz string. We construct the hybrid superstring action using the (1, 1) supersymmetric version of the Beltrami parametrization. We discuss the generalization of K -transformations.

It is demonstrated that a geometric interpretation of Kahler transformation in superspace allows to onstruct the full action for matter and Yang-Mills fields coupled to supergravity in a concise way, both in terms of superfields and component fields.

This work presents several works related to the impact of neutrinos in cosmology. We study the impact on the Cosmic Microwave Background of several neutrino-related parameters (mass, abundance, neutrino-antineutrino asymmetry, non-thermal distorsions, non-standard couplings with other species, mass and abundance of additional sterile neutrinos). We present new numerical methods for computing these effects efficiently. We use current data to derive several new bounds on these parameters, and finally, we study the sensitivity of future cosmological experiments to these quantities.

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the "Habilitation a Diriger des Recherches" at Pierre et Marie Curie University in Paris

Diffusive shock acceleration operating at expanding supernova remnant shells is by far the most popular model for the origin of galactic cosmic rays. Despite the general consensus received by this model, an unambiguous and conclusive proof of the supernova remnant hypothesis is still missing. In this context, the recent developments in gamma ray astronomy provide us with precious insights into the problem of the origin of galactic cosmic rays, since production of gamma rays is expected both during the acceleration of cosmic rays at supernova remnant shocks and during their subsequent propagation in the interstellar medium. In particular, the recent detection of a number of supernova remnants at TeV energies nicely fits with the model, but it still does not constitute a conclusive proof of it, mainly due to the difficulty of disentangling the hadronic and leptonic contributions to the observed gamma ray emission. In this paper, the most relevant cosmic-ray-related results of gamma ray astronomy are briefly summarized, and the foreseeable contribution of future gamma ray observations to the final solution of the problem of cosmic ray origin is discussed., Comment: Invited review talk, to appear in the Proceedings of the XXI European Cosmic Ray Symposium

My research activity in astrophysics between 1990 and 2005, and the activity of the students and researchers that I directed, have been mainly centered on the study of galactic accreting black holes through astronomical observations of their high energy (X-ray and gamma-ray) emission.The work has been carried out in the frame of the space-born astronomy projects in which my laboratory was involved, in particular within the two recent European key-projects of gamma-ray astronomy, the French-Russian mission SIGMA/GRANAT and the European Space Agency (ESA) mission INTEGRAL. My role in these projects was to develop the data analysis system and I specialized in the analysis techniques for the coded aperture systems, which were employed for the telescopes carried by these missions. After a description of my contributions to the mission data analysis systems I report in this manuscript the scientific programs I developed and the main results I obtained on the two domains of black hole astrophysics to which I significantly contributed.First of all, thanks to the data collected with SIGMA and INTEGRAL, I could develop a research program on the galactic close binary systems where a stellar mass black hole accretes matter from a companion star giving rise to X-ray/gamma-ray emission. The main result of this work has been the detection of a high energy emission feature in the X-ray Nova of the Musca constellation. This program also led to important results, obtained with both gamma-ray and X-ray data, on 13 black holes X-ray transients (of the X-ray nova type) and 3 black hole persistent sources that I could study in the energy band from1 to 1000 keV.Secondly I have developed a large scientific program concerning the study of the high energy emission from the super-massive black hole at the centre of our Galaxy. Thanks to the SIGMA deep survey of the Galactic Centre I could set stringent upper limits to the gamma-ray emission from this unique object. This result has led to the development of new models describing the accretion flow in black holes. Then I discovered X-ray flares coming from the central black hole with data of the XMM-Newton observatory and more recently an INTEGRAL source coincident with the centre of the Galaxy. I discuss these results in the frame of the physics of the Galactic Centre and of the accretion and ejection processes around black holes.Finally, I present my research program for the next years, which includes the participation to the high energy astronomy space project SIMBOL-X. This project extends, by the mean of two formation flying satellites, the technique of grazing incidence focalisation to hard X-rays with the purpose to study the non-thermal phenomena of our universe., Mon activité de recherche en astrophysique entre les années 1990 et 2005 et celle des étudiants et chercheurs que j'ai encadrés, ont été centrées principalement sur l'étude des trous noirs galactiques accrétants par le moyen d'observations astronomiques de leur émission de haute énergie (X et gamma). Ce travail a été réalisé dans le cadre de projets d'astronomie spatiale dans lesquels mon laboratoire était impliqué et notamment dans les deux projets clefs de l'astronomie gamma européenne des années 1990 et 2000, la mission franco-russe SIGMA/GRANAT et celle de l'Agence Spatiale Européenne INTEGRAL. Mon rôle dans ces missions a été de développer les systèmes d'analyse des données et je me suis spécialisé dans les techniques d'analyse pour les systèmes à ouvertures codées, systèmes employés dans les télescopes des ces missions. Après avoir illustré mes contributions originales dans ce domaine, je décris dans ce mémoire les programmes scientifiques que j'ai développés et les résultats que j'ai obtenus sur les deux thèmes d'astrophysique des trous noirs auxquels j'ai contribué en manière significative. Tout d'abord, grâce aux données gamma récoltées avec SIGMA et INTEGRAL, j'ai pu réaliser un programme d'études sur les systèmes binaires serrées, où un trou noir de masse stellaire accréte de la matière de l'étoile compagnon donnant lieu à de l'émission X/gamma. Le résultat majeur de ce travail a été la découverte d'une structure spectrale d'émission de haute énergie dans la nova X de la constellation de la Mouche. Je décris aussi plusieurs autres résultats obtenus grâce aux données gamma, couplés à des données X d'autres observatoires, sur 13 sources transitoires (novas X) et 3 sources persistantes à trou noir que j'ai pu étudier dans la gamme entre 1 et 1000 keV.J'ai aussi développé un vaste programme scientifique concernant l'étude de l'émission de haute énergie du trou noir supermassif du centre de la Galaxie. Grâce au balayage profond effectué avec SIGMA j'ai d'abord établi des limites supérieures contraignantes à l'émission gamma de cet objet. Ce résultat a conduit au développement de nouveaux modèles décrivant les processus d'accrétion dans les trous noirs. Ensuite, j'ai découvert des sursauts X en provenance du trou noir central avec des données de l'observatoire XMM-Newton et plus récemment une source INTEGRAL qui coïncide avec le centre de la Galaxie. Je discute ces résultats dans le cadre de la physique du centre galactique et des processus d'accrétion et éjection dans les trous noirs.Je présente enfin mon programme de recherche pour les années à venir, qui voit en première ligne mon implication dans un projet d'astronomie spatiale des hautes énergies, SIMBOL-X. Ce projet prévoie, par le moyen de deux satellites en formation, d'étendre la technique de focalisation par incidence rasante aux rayons X durs afin d'étudier les phénomènes non thermiques de notre univers.