[en] In recent years, the old problem of cosmic-ray acceleration and propagation has become alive again, with the discovery of the diffusive shock acceleration mechanism, and with the first measurements of the cosmic-ray antiproton flux, which appears to be higher than expected. I have shown that the new acceleration mechanism was slow and I have calculated the maximum energy that can be reached by particles accelerated in various astrophysical sites. I have also studied in detail a cosmic-ray propagation model which takes into account the antiproton measurements. Neutrino astronomy is a field much more recent and in rapid expansion, thanks to a convergence of interests between astrophysicists and elementary particle physicists. Several large neutrino detectors already exist; really huge ones are in project. I have studied the possible impact of the high energy (> 1 TeV) neutrino astronomy on models of cosmic-ray sources such as Cygnus X3. Comparing the low energy (∼ 10 MeV) cosmic-ray antineutrinos with other sources of neutrinos and antineutrinos (sun, supernova, earth...), I have pointed out that the antineutrino background resulting from all the nuclear power-stations of the planet was sizeable. This background is a nuisance for some astrophysical applications but could be useful for studies on vacuum or matter neutrino oscillations (MSW effect). I have also examined the MSW effect in another context: the travel through the earth of neutrinos from the supernova explosion SN1987a

[en] With a scheduled launch in 2018 October, the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ) is expected to revolutionize the field of atmospheric characterization of exoplanets. The broad wavelength coverage and high sensitivity of its instruments will allow us to extract far more information from exoplanet spectra than what has been possible with current observations. In this paper, we investigate whether current retrieval methods will still be valid in the era of JWST , exploring common approximations used when retrieving transmission spectra of hot Jupiters. To assess biases, we use 1D photochemical models to simulate typical hot Jupiter cloud-free atmospheres and generate synthetic observations for a range of carbon-to-oxygen ratios. Then, we retrieve these spectra using TauREx, a Bayesian retrieval tool, using two methodologies: one assuming an isothermal atmosphere, and one assuming a parameterized temperature profile. Both methods assume constant-with-altitude abundances. We found that the isothermal approximation biases the retrieved parameters considerably, overestimating the abundances by about one order of magnitude. The retrieved abundances using the parameterized profile are usually within 1 σ of the true state, and we found the retrieved uncertainties to be generally larger compared to the isothermal approximation. Interestingly, we found that by using the parameterized temperature profile we could place tight constraints on the temperature structure. This opens the possibility of characterizing the temperature profile of the terminator region of hot Jupiters. Lastly, we found that assuming a constant-with-altitude mixing ratio profile is a good approximation for most of the atmospheres under study.

[en] We present here a reanalysis of the Spitzer Space Telescope phase curves of the hot Jupiter WASP43 b, using the wavelet pixel-independent component analysis, a blind signal-source separation method. The data analyzed were recorded with the Infrared Array Camera and consisted of two visits at 3.6 μm, and one visit at 4.5 μm, each visit covering one transit and two eclipse events. To test the robustness of our technique we repeated the analysis on smaller portions of the phase curves, and by employing different instrument ramp models. Our reanalysis presents significant updates of the planetary parameters compared to those reported in the original phase curve study of WASP43 b. In particular, we found (1) higher nightside temperatures, (2) smaller hotspot offsets, (3) a greater consistency (∼1σ) between the two 3.6 μm visits, and (4) a greater similarity with the predictions of the atmospheric circulation models. Our parameter results are consistent within 1σ with those reported by a recent reanalysis of the same data sets. For each visit we studied the variation of the retrieved transit parameters as a function of various sets of stellar limb-darkening coefficients, finding significant degeneracy between the limb-darkening models and the analysis output. Furthermore, we performed the analysis of the single transit and eclipse events, and we examined the differences between these results with the ones obtained with the whole phase curve. Finally we provide a formula useful to optimize the trade-off between precision and duration of observations of transiting exoplanets.

[en] We present high-resolution spectroscopic mid-infrared observations of the circumstellar (CS) disk around the Herbig Ae star HD 97048 obtained with the VLT Imager and Spectrometer for the Mid-InfraRed. We conducted observations of mid-infrared pure rotational lines of molecular hydrogen (H₂) as a tracer of warm gas in the disk surface layers. In a previous paper, we reported the detection of the S(1) pure rotational line of H₂ at 17.035 μm, and argued that it is arising from the inner regions of the disk around the star. We used the VISIR on the VLT for a more comprehensive study based on complementary observations of the other mid-infrared molecular transitions, namely S(2) and S(4) at 12.278 μm and 8.025 μm respectively, to investigate the physical properties of the molecular gas in the CS disk around HD 97048. We do not detect either the S(2) line or the S(4) H₂ line from the disk of HD 97048, but we derive upper limits on the integrated line fluxes which allows us to estimate an upper limit on the gas excitation temperature, T _ex < 570 K. This limit on the temperature is consistent with the assumptions previously used in the analysis of the S(1) line, and allows us to set stronger constraints on the mass of warm gas in the inner regions of the disk. Indeed, we estimate the mass of warm gas to be lower than 0.1 M _Jup. We also discuss the probable physical mechanisms which could be responsible for the excitation of H₂ in the disk of HD 97048.

[en] This paper reports measurements of Sgr A* made with NACO in L' band (3.80 μm), Ks band (2.12 μm), and H band (1.66 μm), and with VISIR in N band (11.88 μm) at the ESO VLT, as well as with XMM-Newton at X-ray (2-10 keV) wavelengths. On 2007 April 4, a very bright flare was observed from Sgr A* simultaneously at L' band and X-ray wavelengths. No emission was detected using VISIR. The resulting spectral energy distribution has a blue slope (β>0 for νL _ν ∝ ν^β, consistent with νL _ν ∝ ν^0.4) between 12 μm and 3.8 μm. For the first time, our high-quality data allow a detailed comparison of infrared (IR) and X-ray light curves with a resolution of a few minutes. The IR and X-ray flares are simultaneous to within 3 minutes. However, the IR flare lasts significantly longer than the X-ray flare (both before and after the X-ray peak), and prominent substructures in the 3.8 μm light curve are clearly not seen in the X-ray data. From the shortest timescale variations in the L'-band light curve, we find that the flaring region must be no more than 1.2R_S in size. The high X-ray to IR flux ratio, blue νL _ν slope MIR to L' band, and the soft νL _ν spectral index of the X-ray flare together place strong constraints on possible flare emission mechanisms. We find that it is quantitatively difficult to explain this bright X-ray flare with inverse Compton processes. A synchrotron emission scenario from an electron distribution with a cooling break is a more viable scenario.

[en] We have observed a bright flare of Sgr A* in the near infrared with the adaptive optics assisted integral field spectrometer SINFONI. Within the uncertainties, the observed spectrum is featureless and can be described by a power law. The associated power law index is subject to systematic effects, namely the determination of the background level. We explore these effects and can show that while the absolute value of the spectral power law index is relatively uncertain, our data nevertheless suggest that the spectral index is correlated with the instantaneous flix. Both quantities experience signifbant changes within less than one hour. We argue that the near infrared flares from Sgr A* are due to synchrotron emission of transiently heated electrons, the emission being affected by orbital dynamics and synchrotron cooling, both acting on timescales of ∼20 minutes