Intergalactic magnetic fields

I will review the status of observations and modelling of intergalactic magnetic fields (IGMF), with an update on recent results from gamma-ray searches. These fields, present in the voids of the Large Scale Structure (LSS) are either relics from the Early Universe or are produced in result of the star formation feedback on the LSS. I will put the observational results in the context of to possible mechanisms of generation and evolution of the IGMF.

Testing gravity with relativistic effects in large-scale structure

The distribution of galaxies provides a powerful way to probe the properties of our universe. In order to exploit this observable properly it is necessary to understand what we are really measuring when we look at the large-scale structure. Since our universe is not completely homogeneous and isotropic, we only see a distorted picture of our sky. In this talk, I will discuss the various relativistic effects that distort our observations.

Infrared QCD: perturbative or non perturbative?

A model suited for calculating correlation functions in QCD from the ultraviolet to the infrared is reviewed. The model consist in standard Faddeev-Popov Lagrangian for Landau gauge with an extra mass term for gluons. It is shown that once this mass term is included, two and three point correlation functions can be calculated with good precision at one-loop order even at very low momenta in the quenched approximation. After that, the inclusion of quarks is analyzed.

Scale invariant Lifshitz hydrodynamics and Torsional Newton-Cartan geometry

Hydrodynamics is the generic low energy theory that describes fluids and generalizes thermodynamics. There are however quantum field theories, whose hydrodynamics is not known.

A very light dilaton and naturally light Higgs

We study a very light dilaton, arising from a scale-invariant ultraviolet theory of the Higgs sector in the standard model of particle physics. Imposing the scale symmetry below the ultraviolet scale of the Higgs sector, we alleviate the fine-tuning problem associated with the Higgs mass. When the electroweak symmetry is spontaneously broken radiatively a la Coleman-Weinberg, the dilaton develops a vacuum expectation value away from the origin to give an extra contribution to the Higgs potential so that the Higgs mass is around the electroweak scale.

Caustic free completion of k-essence

Both k-essence and the pressureless perfect fluid develop caustic singularities at finite time. We explore the connection between the two and show that they belong to the same class of models, which admits the caustic free completion by means of the canonical complex scalar field. Specifically, the free massive/self-interacting complex scalar reproduces dynamics of pressureless perfect fluid/shift-symmetric k-essence under certain initial conditions in the limit of large mass/sharp self-interacting potential.

Gravitational waves from first-order phase transitions

LISA may be able to detect the gravitational waves from a first order phase transition at the electroweak scale. We present results from a large campaign of simulations studying a model of such phase transitions, and determine the shape of the power spectrum with unparalleled accuracy. We make concrete predictions of the detectability of sound waves from such a scenario, and note that an accurate measurement could place constraints on the underlying phase transition parameters.

Neutron stars: probing ultra dense (and hot) matter

Observed for the first time in 1967 as pulsars, neutron stars
represent the most extreme bodies known in nowadays universe. Relict of the
gravitational collapse and subsequent supernova explosion of a massive
star at the end of its life, they gather a mass of up to twice that of
our sun in a sphere with a radius of about 10 km. Their phenomenology
is very rich and complex. They are not only very compact, but they are
also rotating at frequencies of up to 700 Hz and can have strong

Two-body problem in modified gravities and EOB theory

The effective-one-body (EOB) approach has proven to be a very powerful framework to describe analytically the coalescence of compact binary systems in general relativity (GR). In this seminar, we address the question of extending it to the frame of modified gravities, focussing on the first building block of the EOB approach; that is, mapping the conservative part of the two-body dynamics to the Hamiltonian of a single test particle in effective external fields.

Stochastic Inflation and Primordial Black Holes

In the inflationary paradigm, the transition from quantum fluctuations to classical but stochastic density perturbations plays an important role. In particular, it implies that the open quantum system comprising the super-Hubble degrees of freedom can be described with a classical stochastic theory, the “stochastic inflation” formalism. In this framework, the short-wavelength quantum fluctuations act as a classical noise on the dynamics of the super-Hubble scales.

LABORATOIRE

ASTROPARTICULE & COSMOLOGIE

Théorie