University of Bordeaux

About: University of Bordeaux is a education organization based out in Bordeaux, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Laser. The organization has 28811 authors who have published 55536 publications receiving 1619635 citations. The organization is also known as: UB.

Heaps of Pieces, I: Basic Definitions and Combinatorial Lemmas

Abstract: We introduce the combinatorial notion of heaps of pieces, which gives a geometric interpretation of the Cartier-Foata's commutation monoid. This theory unifies and simplifies many other works in Combinatorics : bijective proofs in matrix algebra (MacMahon Master theorem, inversion matrix formula, Jacobi identity, Cayley-Hamilton theorem), combinatorial theory for general (formal) orthogonal polynomials, reciprocal of Rogers-Ramanujan identities, graph theory (matching and chromatic polynomials). Heaps may bring new light on classical subjects as poset theory. They are related to other fields as Theoretical Computer Science (parallelism) and Statistical Physics (directed animals problem, lattice gas model with hard-core interactions). Complete proofs and definitions are given in sections 2, 3,4,5. Other sections give a summary of possible applications of heaps.

Impairment of hippocampal-dependent memory induced by juvenile high-fat diet intake is associated with enhanced hippocampal inflammation in rats.

Abstract: In addition to metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, obesity pandemic is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation as well as adverse cognitive outcomes. However, the existence of critical periods of development that differ in terms of sensitivity to the effects of diet-induced obesity remains unexplored. Using short exposure to a high-fat diet (HFD) exerting no effects when given to adult mice, we recently found impairment of hippocampal-dependent memory and plasticity after similar HFD exposure encompassing adolescence (from weaning to adulthood) showing the vulnerability of the juvenile period (Boitard et al., 2012). Given that inflammatory processes modulate hippocampal functions, we evaluated in rats whether the detrimental effect of juvenile HFD (jHFD) on hippocampal-dependent memory is associated with over-expression of hippocampal pro-inflammatory cytokines. jHFD exposure impaired long-term spatial reference memory in the Morris water maze without affecting acquisition or short-term memory. This suggests an effect on consolidation processes. Moreover, jHFD consumption delayed spatial reversal learning. jHFD intake did neither affect basal expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines at the periphery nor in the brain, but potentiated the enhancement of Interleukin-1-beta and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha expression specifically in the hippocampus after a peripheral immune challenge with lipopolysaccharide. Interestingly, whereas the same duration of HFD intake at adulthood induced similar weight gain and metabolic alterations as jHFD intake, it did neither affect spatial performance (long-term memory or reversal learning) nor lipopolysaccharide-induced cytokine expression in the hippocampus. Finally, spatial reversal learning enhanced Interleukin-1-beta in the hippocampus, but not in the frontal cortex and the hypothalamus, of jHFD-fed rats. These results indicate that juvenile HFD intake promotes exaggerated pro-inflammatory cytokines expression in the hippocampus which is likely to contribute to spatial memory impairment.

A seven-planet resonant chain in TRAPPIST-1

Abstract: The TRAPPIST-1 system is the first transiting planet system found orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star. At least seven planets similar to Earth in radius and in mass were previously found to transit this host star. Subsequently, TRAPPIST-1 was observed as part of the K2 mission and, with these new data, we report the measurement of an 18.764 d orbital period for the outermost planet, TRAPPIST-1h, which was unconstrained until now. This value matches our theoretical expectations based on Laplace relations and places TRAPPIST-1h as the seventh member of a complex chain, with three-body resonances linking every member. We find that TRAPPIST-1h has a radius of 0.715 Earth radii and an equilibrium temperature of 169 K, placing it at the snow line. We have also measured the rotational period of the star at 3.3 d and detected a number of flares consistent with an active, middle-aged, late M dwarf.

Short-Range Quantum Magnetism of Ultracold Fermions in an Optical Lattice

Abstract: Quantum magnetism originates from the exchange coupling between quantum mechanical spins. Here, we report on the observation of nearest-neighbor magnetic correlations emerging in the many-body state of a thermalized Fermi gas in an optical lattice. The key to obtaining short-range magnetic order is a local redistribution of entropy, which allows temperatures below the exchange energy for a subset of lattice bonds. When loading a repulsively interacting gas into either dimerized or anisotropic simple cubic configurations of a tunable-geometry lattice, we observe an excess of singlets as compared with triplets consisting of two opposite spins. For the anisotropic lattice, the transverse spin correlator reveals antiferromagnetic correlations along one spatial axis. Our work facilitates addressing open problems in quantum magnetism through the use of quantum simulation.