[en] We report a case of salmonella gastroenteritis with recurrent fever and sepsis, slight transient lumbar pain and positive ⁶⁷Ga-citrate scintigraphy. The ⁶⁷Ga scan made a major contribution to the positive diagnosis of a subclinical spondylodiscite and to the correct treatment leading to the disappearance of the infectious foci. (orig.)

[en] The Bose-Einstein condensation in trapped gases of ⁸⁵Rb at densities beyond the dilute regime can now be realized taking advantage of Feshbach resonances. The gas density may be characterized by the parameter na³, where n=N/V is the number density and a is the scattering length which is tuned using Feshbach resonance. We explore the properties of interacting trapped bosons in the density range 5x10^-3≤na³≤5x10^-2 using Monte Carlo methods to compare with experiments. We find that there is a significant depletion of the condensate at T=0 K, for example, 25% at na³=10^-2. The condensate is not concentrated at the center of the trap but is spread out over four or five trap lengths. The condensate density distributions and the total density distributions within the trap are very similar and the condensate fraction is 100% at the edges of the trap

[en] One way to get the fusion of hydrogen in laboratory consists in heating and compressing a DT fuel capsule by using a laser. To reach this aim requires a new generation of high power laser facility. Cea (French board for atomic energy) is developing for this purpose a new 240 laser line facility, the LMJ facility. The LIL which is the prototype of four LMJ laser lines is operational now. In order to confirm the technical choices, a systematic characterization of LIL was carried out. A particular effort has been provided to measure the 3ω high energy focal spot (1.5 kJ/700 ps and 5 ns for one beam) and the synchronization of laser beams onto the target, which are key issues for the plasma production. An experimental device, SAT-3ω (a 3ω laser focal spot analysis) has been designed to perform these measures. That diagnostic which is located at the end of the laser lines delivered its first results during the 2004 quadruplet qualification campaigns. The near field imaging showed no diaphony and vignetting. Low power spots allowed us to control we had no ghost. The energy measurement quality showed the photometric transfer function was perfectly known. Our caustic image are given with an average dynamic range of 800, a spatial resolution of 10 μm and diameter accuracy about 1% for 50% and 3% for 90% of encircled energy. The high energy focal spot diameters are in agreement with low and very low energy diameters. The phase plate and 14 GHz effects are similar to what we had expected. For a laser shot completed with a continuous phase plate at 14 GHz, and for an energy level of 1.5 kJ per beam at 351 nm, the focal beam diameter at 3% of the peak level is (875 ± 45) μm

[en] During high-power laser experiments, intense electromagnetic fields are produced. For future facilities, the field level is extrapolated from measurements performed on current experimental rooms. In the LMJ (Laser Mega Joule) target chamber with the high-power PETAL beam (Petawatt Aquitaine Laser), the expected field is about 1 MW/m for high laser intensity shots (higher than 10¹⁹ W/cm²). This is a harsh environment for electric equipments. For these short-pulse laser experiments, simulations show that electromagnetic pulses are due to charged particles emission during the shot, more exactly they are due to the resulting replacement currents that appear in the target chamber. This paper shows a simulation (with the numerical tool SOPHIE) of this phenomenon, in good agreement with experimental data from Titan and Omega-EP facilities. (authors)

[en] Interaction of high-intensity laser pulses with solid targets results in generation of large quantities of energetic electrons that are the origin of various effects such as intense x-ray emission, ion acceleration, and so on. Some of these electrons are escaping the target, leaving behind a significant positive electric charge and creating a strong electromagnetic pulse long after the end of the laser pulse. We propose here a detailed model of the target electric polarization induced by a short and intense laser pulse and an escaping electron bunch. A specially designed experiment provides direct measurements of the target polarization and the discharge current in the function of the laser energy, pulse duration, and target size. Large-scale numerical simulations describe the energetic electron generation and their emission from the target. The model, experiment, and numerical simulations demonstrate that the hot-electron ejection may continue long after the laser pulse ends, enhancing significantly the polarization charge. (authors)

[en] Protons with an energy nearing 50 MeV have been produced when a beam of the Petal laser hit a target made of a plastic plate covered with a thin layer of aluminium. In order to produce and accelerate protons, first the Petal laser produces a low illumination of the target that makes the aluminium layer to ionize, then the illumination is increased by a 10⁶ factor. The electrons that were freed in the ionization process, are heated, accelerated and crossed easily the plastic plate. There in the vacuum they form a negatively charged cloud that produces an intense electric field that confines the electrons near the surface and draws out the hydrogen nuclei from the initial plastic plate. These hydrogen nuclei, namely protons, undergo a powerful acceleration that enables them to reach an energy of 40 - 50 MeV. Simulations have confirmed this process. Proton beams with an energy of 50 MeV could be used to scan very dense materials. (A.C.)