Imminent launch of the BepiColombo mission!

On July 6th, the European Space Agency (ESA) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) officially presented their first mission towards Mercury: BepiColombo, with two probes called Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). The mission will be launched on October 19, 2018 at the Guyana Space Center, Kourou (October 20 European time). The probes will arrive at Mercury in December 2025.

3 plasma physics labs from the Paris region – LESIA, LPP & LATMOS – were highly involved in preparing this mission, especially in the instrumental part!

Photo credit: ESA

BepiColombo’s main goals

Mercury still has a lot of secrets for scientists. Previous missions such as Messenger and Mariner 10 discovered some important phenomena on Mercury such as polar ice, surprising blue hollows, volcanic mechanism… BepiColombo is going further thanks to 2 probes which will provide more accurate information: MMO will study the magnetosphere and its interaction with the Solar Wind and MPO will study the magnetosphere close to Mercury, the surface, the atmosphere and the interior of Mercury!

Short explanation on Youtube
Posters

Contribution of LPP – Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas (UMR 7648 Sorbonne Université, CNRS, École Polytechnique, Université Paris-Sud, Observatoire de Paris)

The LPP (Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas) is contributing to 2 experiments onboard the MMO probe and that are parts of two consortia: Plasma Wave Instrument (PWI) and Mercury Plasma Particle Experiment (MPPE).

     - The MSA (Mass Spectrum Analyzer) is an instrument dedicated to measurements of the plasma composition. Its main goals are : the study of the solar wind and of the material ejected from Mercury’s surface, the study of ion transport and acceleration in the magnetosphere, and the study of the interaction of the magnetospheric plasma with the planet surface and exosphere.

     - The dual-band search coil magnetometer - DB-SC (Double Band - Search Coil)  will measure high frequency fluctuations (waves) of the magnetic field. It will perform measurements of the B vector of electromagnetic waves in the low frequency band as well as measurements of an electromagnetic wave component in the high frequency band.



Flight models of MSA (left) and Search-coil (right, DBSC is along the Z-axis) of BepiColombo


Contribution of LESIA – Laboratoire d’Études Spatiales et d’Instrumentation en Astrophysique (UMR 8109 Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Observatoire de Paris)

The LESIA (Laboratoire d’Études Spatiales et d’Instrumentation en Astrophysique) developed 2 instruments: the first one for the SIMBIO-SYS instrument onboard the MPO probe and the other one for the Plasma Wave Instrument (PWI) onboard the MMO probe.

     - VIHI (Visual and Infrared Hyper-spectral Imager) is an imaging spectrometer which will allow to achieve a complete and unique mapping of surface minerals thanks to an unprecedented spatial and spectral resolution. This information will help understanding the processes of differentiation and heating that contributed to the formation of Mercury.

     - SORBET (Spectroscopie des Ondes Radio et du Bruit Electrostatique Thermique) is a high-frequency radio wave receiver that will measure for the first time the density and temperature of the plasma in the Mercury environment (solar wind, magnetosphere and exosphere). SORBET will also be able to detect and study radio emissions from Mercury and to monitor solar radio emissions up to 10 MHz.

 

 


SIMBIO-SYS instruments (left):
High Resolution Imaging Channel (HRIC), STereo Channel (STC), Visible Infrared Hyperspectral Imager (VIHI)
Source: http://lesia.obspm.fr/Le-spectrometre-VIHI.html

High-frequency radio wave SORBET (right). Credits : LESIA, Observatoire de Paris
Source: https://www.planete-mercure.fr/sorbet 

Contribution of LATMOS - Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (UMR 8190 Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Université Versailles Saint-Quentin)

The LATMOS (Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales) also contributed to this mission with the spectrometer PHEBUS and a neutral and ion spectrometer PICAM that is part of the Search for Exospheric Refilling and Emitted Natural Abundances (SERENA) consortium. Both instruments are accommodated on the MPO probe.

     - PHEBUS (Probing of Hermean Exosphere By Ultraviolet Spectroscopy) is a dual optical spectrometer covering spectral ranges from extreme ultraviolet (EUV: 55-155 nm) to far ultraviolet (FUV: 145-315 nm). PHEBUS aims at characterizing the Mercury exosphere in terms of composition and dynamics, and the relationships between the surface and the exosphere.

     - PICAM (Planetary Ion CAMera) is an ion mass spectrometer operating as an all-sky camera for charged particles to study the chain of processes by which neutrals are ejected from the regolith, eventually ionized and transported through the environment of Mercury. PICAM’s detector and optics has been jointly developed by LATMOS and LPP.

 


Dual optical spectrometer PHEBUS (left):
Source: http://phebus.projet.latmos.ipsl.fr/actualite/bientot-le-lancement-de-la-mission-bepicolombo/   

Mass spectrometer PICAM (right):
Source: http://www.iwf.oeaw.ac.at/en/missions/future-missions/bepicolombo/picam/
 


More information about the BepiColombo mission here (in French)  

Meet with Florian Condamine, PLAS@PAR young researcher - LULI - PhD student

Florian Condamine started his PhD in 2015.

He works on X-ray spectroscopy on dense plasmas produced by 4th generation Light Sources at LULI  with F. Rosmej.

In this video, Florian explains his goals, his daily work as an experimenter, his results and the impact of PLAS@PAR on young researcher’s life!

“PIONEER” a brand new Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action on CO2 recycling granted by H2020 in 2018 on plasma-catalysis interaction!

The Innovative Training Networks 2018 (ITN) awarded PIONEER, a project submitted by O. Guaitella (LPP, École Polytechnique), M. E. Galvez (IJLRA, Sorbonne Université) and P. Da Costa (IJLRA, Sorbonne Université), all members of the Labex PLAS@PAR. The project will be managed by Sorbonne University in close collaboration with the École Polytechnique and the CNRS, supported by a wide consortium of partners (public and private)* in order to create a European Joint Doctorates program (EJD).

Recycling waste CO₂ is one of the biggest challenges of our time and of future generations. The use of plasma-catalysis to achieve efficient CO₂ conversion is an innovative and ambitious approach, requiring multidisciplinary expertises.

How to obtain this synergy? By training a new generation of research leaders able to address all the fundamental aspects leading to a successful implementation of plasma-catalytic CO₂ valorization technologies in Europe.

Indeed, the use of plasma-catalysis can potentially apply to any CO₂ conversion process, from its hydrogenation, including methanation, to its use in dry, autothermal or bi-, tri-reforming of methane containing gases, with their own specificities, leading to a coupled excitation of the gas mixture. The research and technological goals of PIONEER are therefore to forge “out of the box” catalytic materials capable of taking advantage of reactive species from the plasma as well as designing the most appropriate plasma sources suitable for each CO₂ recycling process.

This motivates the 3 research work packages within PIONEER:

- To gain deeper knowledge on the fundamentals and mechanisms of CO₂ plasmas interacting with surfaces and the physicochemical phenomena involved, including CO₂ dissociation, to model these phenomena and to be able to predict the behavior and consequences of different CO₂ plasmas.
- To invent advanced, active, selective and robust catalytic systems specially formulated for plasma-catalytic coupling to optimize CO₂ valorization, and study the interaction between the excited species present in CO₂ plasmas and solid catalytic surface.
- To explore innovative routes for plasma-catalyst interaction, study novel reactor designs involving various types of exposure of the catalytic materials to different kinds of plasmas of diverse energy density, to evaluate the influence of these parameters in reaction mechanisms, kinetics and product yield.”

PIONEER is scheduled to start on January 1st 2019.


* Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, University of York, Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, Instituto Superior Tecnico (Lisbon), AGH University of Science Technology (Warsaw), Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spain), CSIC (Zaragossa), University of Bucharest, Universita di Trento, University of Antwerp, University of Liverpool.

* Johnson Matthey Technology Centre (UK), Green Syn Fuel (XX), KIC Climate (Paris), ITRE, AFS, Innophysics, Solayl, Université de Caen, University of Zaragoza, Université Paris-Saclay.

Presse release (in French)

To know more about PIONEER or get involved, feel free to contact:

- O. Guaitella : olivier.guaitella@lpp.polytechnique.fr

- P. Da Costa : patrick.da_costa@sorbonne-universite.fr

- M. E. Galvez : elena.galvez_parruca@sorbonne-universite.fr

Arts and Plasma sciences: an article in The Conversation

We invite you to read the article published in The Conversation on June 29, 2018 (in French): When arts and sciences of plasmas meet at the museum: issues of a crossed mediation.

A reflection on scientific and artistic mediation concepts around 3 notions: light, color and matter.

Plasma Reflection, Danny Rose

PLASMA REFLECTION : a workshop presented at Centre Pompidou in April 2018

"A generative and interactive artwork that makes it possible for visitors to see their own reflection in the fourth state of matter: Plasma.
Plasma Reflection is designed like a distorting mirror which would turn the matter of those who are facing it.
On the other side of the mirror, matter is ionized. It is Plasma. The silhouettes of those who stand or move in front of Plasma Reflection are diffused in space and are subject to the turbulence generated by the magnetic field. The installation lives with people who interact with it."

CREDITS

Designed by Danny Rose Studio in collaboration with Andrea Ciardi
Cédric Péri, Lucia Frigola, Sergio Carrubba, Paola Ciucci
Original soundtrack by Narayana Minozzi
Video shooting by Pierre-Paul Giudicelli, Olivier Guérin, Cédric Péri
Video editing by Cédric Péri

Plasma Reflection has been realized within the program 2017-2018 "Arts et Sciences des plasmas : une expérience de la matière ionisée", a partnership between the Labex PLAS@PAR (Sorbonne University) and the Centre Pompidou.

Inside Plasma, Danny Rose

INSIDE PLASMA : an immersive installation at the heart of the matter, presented at Centre Pompidou in April 2018

"An immersive artwork in which art meets science to create a synaesthetic experience of the fourth state of matter: Plasma.
From the infinitely large to the infinitely small, Plasma is the focus of a poetic approach-close to a dream.
The luminous sculptures that the plasma produces move and materialise in space, creating an illusion of volume that constantly alters perception.
The relationship of the work to the space and the spectator are the core of the scheme that takes shape Inside Plasma.
A continuous conversation of light, sound and the perception of space, this is a work made to be lived, felt and experienced."

CREDITS

Designed by Danny Rose Studio
Sergio Carrubba, Paola Ciucci, Cédric Péri, Lucia Frigola
Original soundscape by Emanuele De Raymondi
Soundscape design and development by Jacopo Carreras
Scientific coordination Sorbonne University Andrea Ciardi


Inside Plasma has been realized within the program 2017-2018 "Arts et Sciences des plasmas : une expérience de la matière ionisée", a partnership between the Labex PLAS@PAR (Sorbonne University) and the Centre Pompidou.

Anna Grassi awarded by the René Pellat Prize 2018

Anna Grassi received in 2014 M.Sc. degrees in Physics from the Università di Pisa, Italy. She received a PLAS@PAR fellowship in order to do her PhD in Plasma Physics under the supervision of C. Riconda, LULI and A. Macchi, UNIPI. Her thesis, on "Relativistic shocks in magnetized plasmas in the context of laboratory astrophysics » was defended brilliantly in October 2017. Right after she joined Stanford University (California) for a postodoctoral position.

This year, she is the recipient of the René Pellat Prize from the SFP (Société Française de Physique), plasma division. This prize rewards every year a very high quality thesis work done in plasma physics. 

Read more about René Pellat Prize

Meet with Anna Grassi

Julien Fuchs awarded by The European Research Council (ERC)

Julien Fuchs is CNRS Research Director at the Laboratory for the Use of Intense Lasers (LULI) and teaches at Ecole Polytechnique.
An active member of the PLAS@PAR community, he was a laureate in 2013 of a project at the Institute of Applied Physics of Nizhny Novgorod, a laboratory on plasma phenomena in extreme astrophysical objects.

This year, he is the recipient of an ERC Advanced Grants, which targets high-level researchers recognized as leaders in their respective fields.


GENESIS PROJECT
 
Objective:
To elucidate the natural conditions necessary for the nucleosynthesis of very heavy elements found throughout the universe by recreating these conditions in the laboratory with new-generation ultraintense lasers. 

Principal Investigator:
Julien Fuchs, CNRS researcher at the LULI laboratory (CNRS / CEA / École Polytechnique / Sorbonne University).

CNRS Press realease

CAMPUS - Arts et Sciences des plasmas au Centre Pompidou

Événenement au Centre Pompidou le samedi 7 avril de 11h à 19h et le dimanche 8 avril de 11h à 18h.


Durant tout un week-end, le programme CAMPUS - Arts et Sciences des plasmas : une expérience de la matière ionisée, permet à tous les publics d’appréhender la pertinence des collaborations artistiques et scientifiques par le biais du plasma, 4ème état de la matière (solide, liquide, gaz, plasma), autour des notions de processus et de protocoles.

Arts visuels, numériques, sonores, workshop, conférences et tables rondes, sont au cœur de la programmation pour transmettre aux publics une information scientifique essentielle tout en les plaçant au centre de la création scientifique et artistique.

Activités gratuites dans la limite des places disponibles, le Musée national d’art moderne reste payant

PROGRAMME : 

FORUM, NIVEAU -1

WORKSHOP AU CŒUR DE LA MATIÈRE IONISÉE (le film est disponible ici)

PLASMA REFLECTION – création

Décloisonner, Partager, Initier. 

Une proposition du collectif Danny Rose en partenariat avec Andrea Ciardi, astrophysicien du Labex PLAS@PAR.Un système de reconnaissance de mouvements détecte les silhouettes face à l’écran. Les données ainsi récoltées sont analysées et traitées en temps réel.

INSTALLATIONS/PRÉSENTATIONS

INSIDE PLASMA : EXPÉRIENCE IMMERSIVE DANS LE 4ÈME ÉTAT DE LA MATIÈRE – création (le film est disponible ici)

Transcender, Expérimenter, Voyager. 

Une proposition du collectif Danny Rose en partenariat avec Andrea Ciardi, astrophysicien du Labex PLAS@PAR. Le dispositif propose une expérience synesthésique du 4ème état de la matière entre son, lumière et perception de l’espace. Les variations de rythmes créent des topographies lumineuses et métamorphosent l’espace. 

RETOUR SUR LA RÉSIDENCE ARTS ET SCIENCES À LA STATION DE RADIOASTRONOMIE DE NANÇAY (Observatoire de Paris)

Poïème, Poïèse, Poïèsis. 

Études et recherches des artistes Agathe Rosa, Aurélie Pertusot, Cyrille Courte et Olivier Leroi. Astrophysiciens, ingénieurs et artistes ont échangé pendant trois jours autour des notions de recherche et de création, sur ce qui rassemble les arts et les sciences. Suite à cette rencontre chacun des artistes a développé un projet d’oeuvre, dont il partage ici le processus de création.

éLABOrer

Découvrir, observer, explorer. 

À mi-chemin entre le cabinet de curiosités et le laboratoire de recherche, éLABOrer est un espace de mise en lumière des outils scientifiques entremêlant rêve et poésie. Le visiteur découvre :

• Planeterrella, simulateur d’aurores polaires,
• Trois installations proposées par Le sas (www.e-sas.org) et l'IAS (www.ias.u-psud.fr) :
  - Solar storm, voyage virtuel dans une tempête solaire
  - SolAR Expedition, système, lumières et tempêtes solaires augmentées
  - La Couronne solaire, tour d'horizon du Soleil aux extrêmes ultraviolets

PROJECTIONS/FILMS

« Arts et Sciences des plasmas, rétrospective »

Déployé en 5 actes, « Arts et Sciences des plasmas : une expérience de la matière ionisée », s’est adressé tout au long de cette année à un large public de la communauté éducative en proposant une pédagogie pluridisciplinaire innovante. Le film retrace ces moments et ces rencontres. 

« Les conversations du Musée national d’art moderne : à la croisée des arts et sciences des plasmas »

Conversation filmée entre Arnauld Pierre, historien d’art à Sorbonne Université et Sylvie Cabrit, astronome à l’Observatoire de Paris, 2018. Au fur et à mesure d’une déambulation dans les collections du Centre Pompidou, arts et sciences se mêlent et s’entremêlent. 


PETITE SALLE, NIVEAU -1

CONFÉRENCES / TABLES RONDES

SAMEDI 7 AVRIL

• 15H30 - 17H : « L’Univers électrique », conférence d’Arnauld Pierre, historien d’art à Sorbonne Université.
• 18H - 19H : « La Station de Radioastronomie de Nançay : un processus de création », table ronde avec Philippe Zarka, astrophysicien au CNRS et les artistes Agathe Rosa, Aurélie Pertusot, Olivier Leroi et Cyrille Courte.

DIMANCHE 8 AVRIL 

• 16H - 17H : « Contributions de la physique à l’esthétique musicale contemporaine », conférence de Jean-Marc Chouvel, professeur de musicologie à Sorbonne Université.
• 18H - 19H : « Collaborer, imaginer, créer : un dialogue physicien-plasticien », table ronde avec le collectif Danny Rose et Andrea Ciardi, astrophysicien du Labex PLAS@PAR.

MUSÉE, NIVEAU 4 & 5

VISITES GUIDÉES ARTS ET SCIENCES DES PLASMAS

Départs des visites à l’accueil du Forum. Durée : 1h

• Samedi 7 avril : 13h - 13h30 - 14h (en anglais) - 14h30 - 15h - 16h (en anglais)
• Dimanche 8 avril : 13h - 13h30 - 14h – 14h30 - 15h - 17h

MUSÉE, NIVEAU 4

MOMENTS MUSICAUX

En partenariat avec les musiciens du Collegium Musicae de Sorbonne Université.

• Salle 1 (17H15 à 17H25) et (17H45 à 18H) : Improvisation électroacoustique avec Pierre Couprie, Hugues Genevois, Vincent Goudard.
• Salle 8 (17h à 17h10) et (17H30 à 17h40) : Jukka Tiensuu, « Plus I » avec Hélène Coursaget, clarinette et Fanny Lavigne, accordéon.

MUSÉE, NIVEAU 5

• Salle 5 (17H à 17h10) et (17H30 à 17h40) : Musique vocale des 12ème et 13ème siècles, Katarina Livljanic - direction, avec Ayako Kondo, Valérie Nunes-Le Page et Helena Bregar, chant et Ershad Tehrani, percussions. 
• Salle 40 (17H15 à 17H25) et (17H45 à 18H) : Canons instrumentaux et mécanique céleste des 16ème au 18ème siècles, Jean-Christophe Frisch - direction, avec Victor Julian, Rincon Hurtado, flûte à bec, Iris Tocabens, viole de gambe, Iris Letourneur, violoncelle baroque.

BIBLIOTHÈQUE PUBLIQUE D’INFORMATION

La BPI vous propose à l’entrée du Niveau 2 une sélection d’ouvrages sur le thème Arts et Sciences des plasmas et le 4ème état de la matière, consultation jusqu’au 30 avril.




Partenaires du projet :

Centre Pompidou, Labex PLAS@PAR, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Observatoire de Paris, École polytechnique, ONERA, Université Paris Sud, CEA, École normale supérieure, Université de Cergy-Pontoise, Région Ile-de-France, Ville de Paris, ITER, Collegium Musicae, European Physical Society (EPS)

CNRS bronze medal for Tatiana Marchenko

Tatiana Marchenko has a background in physics, with a Master's degree from M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, and a PhD from the FOM-Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (Amsterdam). She held post-doctoral positions at the Laboratoire d’Optique Appliquée (ENSTA-Ecole Polytechnique) and at the Laboratoire de Chimie Physique-Matière et Rayonnement (LCPMR - Sorbonne University). Recruited in 2012 as CNRS Research Officer, in the group of Marc Simon at LCPMR, Tatiana is a specialist in atomic, molecular and optical physics, with a particular focus on ultrafast dynamics studies in molecules and atoms in the gas phase. Her experimental activities mainly concern different X-ray spectroscopy techniques performed on large instruments, mainly synchrotron and more recently XFEL (X-ray Free Electron Laser). One of the latest highlights of Tatiana Marchenko and her collaborators (international and LCPMR colleagues) deals with an original spectroscopy technique based on double-core-hole formation to probe nuclear and electron dynamics in molecules (Phys Rev. Lett. 119, 133001 (2017)).

The MOOC Plasma Physics: Applications, a joint production of SU-EPFL, is accessible!

The MOOC Plasma Physics: Applications, a joint production of SU-EPFL, is accessible online since January 1, 2018.

The aim of this MOOC is to learn about plasma applications from nuclear fusion powering the sun, to making integrated circuits, to generating electricity.

Length: 5 weeks
Effort: 5-6 hours per week
Price: Free (Add a Verified Certificate for $49 USD)
Institution: EPFLx

What you'll learn

• Different applications of plasma
• Understanding of the fusion energy challenge, and acquisition of the basis for developing an overall vision of the different R&D elements
• Understanding of the main plasma societal applications and relevant tools
• Vision and appreciation of the importance of plasmas in space and astrophysics
• By solving problems in course content, you will acquire some basic knowledge of MATLAB programming

PLAS@PAR's instructors:

• François Amiranoff: Research director at CNRS, in LULI (Laboratoire d’Utilisation des Lasers Intenses)
• Caterina Riconda: Physics professor at Sorbonne Université in Paris 
• Thierry Dufour: Associate professor at Sorbonne Université in Paris 

Read more

New publication: Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence in the Earth’s Magnetosheath: Estimation of the Energy Cascade Rate Using in situ Spacecraft Data

ABSTRACT

The first estimation of the energy cascade rate $\left|{\epsilon }_C\right|$ of magnetosheath turbulence is obtained using the Cluster and THEMIS spacecraft data and an exact law of compressible isothermal magnetohydrodynamics turbulence. The mean value of $\left|{\epsilon }_C\right|$ is found to be close to ${10}^{-13}J{m}^{-3}{s}^{-1}$, at least 2 orders of magnitude larger than its value in the solar wind ($\sim {10}^{-16}J{m}^{-3}{s}^{-1}$ in the fast wind). Two types of turbulence are evidenced and shown to be dominated either by incompressible Alfvénic or compressible magnetosoniclike fluctuations. Density fluctuations are shown to amplify the cascade rate and its spatial anisotropy in comparison with incompressible Alfvénic turbulence. Furthermore, for compressible magnetosonic fluctuations, large cascade rates are found to lie mostly near the linear kinetic instability of the mirror mode. New empirical power-laws relating $\left|{\epsilon }_C\right|$ to the turbulent Mach number and to the internal energy are evidenced. These new findings have potential applications in distant astrophysical plasmas that are not accessible to in situ measurements.

L. Z. Hadid, F. Sahraoui, S. Galtier, and S. Y. Huang
Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 055102 – Published 29 January 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.055102

PLAS@PAR is associated to the SIRIC “CURAMUS” programme

Through his activities linked to the application of cold plasma to cure different types of cancer, PLAS@PAR is associated to the SIRIC “CURAMUS” (Cancer United Research Associating Medicine, University & Society ) programme, which has been recently funded jointly by INCa, INSERM and DGOS. CURAMUS is led by Pitié-Salpétrière, Saint-Antoine, Tenon & Trousseau hospitals gathering a world-leading task force in oncology.

CURAMUS involves research teams from Sorbonne University, Inserm and CNRS. This community is federated around the University Institute of Cancer, directed by Pr. S. Uzan, that connects clinicians and scientists, promotes multidisciplinary research and new teaching approaches, including the patients.

Besides the main research programs on multiple cancers, CURAMUS will develop new collaborations within this network by implementing ambitious translational “bed to bench and back to bed” research programs and by starting new transdisciplinary projects associating medical oncologists and researchers, as well as chemists for drug discovery, physicists for new diagnosis and therapeutic approaches, computer scientists for data-mining or social scientists and philosophers for medical humanities.

The integration of more basic research teams to the strong clinical and translational research forces will increment their scientific production and visibility.

Contacts: Marc Sanson (marc.sanson@aphp.fr) Director of CURAMUS and Thierry Dufour, LPP (thierry.dufour@upmc.fr) for PLAS@PAR.

ARTS AND PLASMA SCIENCE in partnership with Centre Pompidou

CAMPUS - ARTS AND SCIENCE OF PLASMAS: An experience of ionized matter, is a program of artistic and scientific events, resulting from an unprecedented collaboration between the Laboratory of Excellence PLAS@PAR carried by Sorbonne Université and Centre Pompidou.

Our ambition?
Transmitting scientific information - plasma, the fourth state of matter represents 99% of the visible universe - while making links with contemporary creation in all its forms. Actor and spectator, the public is plunged into the heart of the collaborations between physicists and artists.

Thanks to this experience of ionized matter, school audiences, students, teachers and future teachers, as well as researchers, artists and families, will find among the mediation actions, an adaped path to better understand and appreciate the multiple interactions between arts and plasmas.

Dare to immerse!

 
5 OBJECTIVES

• Act 1 / Crossroads arts and sciences of plasmas
  School (secondary and high schools)
  At the Institut des NanoSciences de Paris, the Observatoire de Paris and the Centre Pompidou - all the 2017-2018 school year
• Act 2 / Teaching and transmission workshops
  Teachers and future teachers in physics-chemistry and plastic arts
  At the Centre Pompidou - FULL - link to media-dossier (experimental)
• Act 3 / Micro-residency artists and scientists
  Artists, scientists
  At the Radioastronomy station of Nançay (Observatoire de Paris) - February 26th to 28th
  Artists: Agathe Rosa (Marseille), Aurélie Pertusot (Nancy), Cyrille Courte (Tours), Olivier Leroi (Nançay).
• Act 4 / Workshop at the heart of ionized matter
  Elaboration of a collective work at the crossroads of the arts and the sciences of plasmas and immersion within the process of creation.
  Students and staff of Pierre and Marie Curie and Paris-Sorbonne universities
  On the Pierre et Marie Curie campus on March 7th and the Clignancourt campus on March 14th
• Act 5 / Campus - arts and science of plasmas: an experience of ionized matter
  Visit of collections and musical moments in the National Museum of Modern Art, conferences and debates, screening of the audiovisual work of the collective Danny Rose, experimental workshop and scientific experiments.
  General public
  At the Centre Pompidou - April 7th and 8th

Flyer (fr)

Consult the program here (fr)

More information and registration process for Acts 1 and 2 here (fr)

Press release

Supported by : Labex PLAS@PAR, Centre Pompidou, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Observatoire de Paris, Collegium Musicae, École polytechnique, ONERA, ITER, Université Paris Sud, CEA, École normale supérieure, Université de Cergy-Pontoise, European Physical Society (EPS), Région Ile-de-France, Ville de Paris

The Holweck Prize 2018 awarded to Marina Galand

This award was instituted in 1945, jointly by the French and British Physical Societies as a memorial to Fernand Holweck, Director of the Curie Laboratory of the Radium Institute in Paris, who was tortured and killed by the Gestapo during the occupation of France 1940-44.

The award is made in alternate years by the Councils of one of the two societies to a physicist selected from a list of nominees submitted by the other. The prize distinguishes exceptional work in any aspect of physics that is ongoing or has been carried out within the 10 years preceding the award.

The SFP and the IOP are proud to announce that the Holweck Prize 2018 was awarded to Marina Galand.

Marina Galand -  Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, UK.

Marina Galand is the former president of PLAS@PAR's International Scientific Comity.

She has made an outstanding contribution to space physics by studying in a comprehensive and original manner the effects of energy sources on planetary atmospheres throughout the Solar System and beyond. She has developed sophisticated, state-of-the-art kinetic and fluid models, which she has adapted to different environments to predict and interpret observations from space missions: Saturn (Galand et al., JGR, 2009, 2011) and its largest moon, Titan (Galand et al. GRL, 2006, JGR, 2010), Venus (Cui, Galand, et al., JGR, 2011), Mars (Matta, Galand et al., Icarus, 2014), comet 67P (Vigren and Galand, ApJ, 2013), and exoplanets (Chadney, Galand et al., A&A, 2016).

Through these studies, Marina has characterised a critical plasma layer, the so-called ionosphere. At Saturn, it is a conducting layer crucial for closing the global current magnetospheric system and influencing the atmospheric energy budget. Marina is the first to have assessed the ionospheric response to electron precipitations, critical at high latitudes. At comet 67P, interpretation of the Rosetta ion composition has entirely relied on her modelling work (Fuselier et al., 2015, 2016; Beth et al., MNRAS, 2016).

Another originality of Marina’s work is the use of her models as an organising element of multi-instrumental datasets from space missions. Such an initiative has optimised and increased the scientific return from observations. She has successfully applied this innovative method to datasets from the Cassini mission in Titan’s ionosphere (Galand et al., JGR, 2010) and from the Rosetta mission in the environment of comet 67P (Galand et al., MNRAS, 2016). At Titan, she contributed to reveal that the ionosphere is a complex, organic factory with astrobiological implications (Wahlund, Galand et al., PSS, 2009; Lavvas et al., PNAS, 2013).

Her approach has also allowed to interpret the first-ever, near-surface cometary plasma dataset, which was acquired during Rosetta end of mission in September 2016 (Heritier, Henri, Vallières, Galand, et al., MNRAS, 2017). Building on her planetary expertise, Marina has highlighted how a cross-body comparative approach helps one gain further insight into physical processes driving these systems (Fox, Galand, et al., SSR, 2008; Crooker and Galand, Eos Trans. AGU, 2009).

The SFP and the IOP are proud to award Marina Galand for her outstanding contribution to the understanding and assessment of the response of planetary atmospheres to energy sources in the Solar System and beyond.

The prize ceremony will take place on 27 August 2018 in Grenoble at the Journées de la Matière Condensée (JMC), event organised every two years by the French Physical Society.  

Source : https://www.sfpnet.fr/holweck-prize-2018-awarded-to-marina-galand

Meet with Sébastien Rassou, PLAS@PAR young researcher - ONERA - PostDoc

Sébastien Rassou did his PhD in 2015 at the CEA on numerical modeling (acceleration of electrons by laser wakefield). Then, thanks to PLAS@PAR, he worked as a post-doc at ONERA where his goal was to numerically model plasma discharges.

"To validate the code, we studied and modeled specific plasma discharges. First the "Umbrella discharge" is modeled. In this discharge, a supersonic flow propagates around a conical model and creates a shock wave. An electrode with a high potential creates the discharge along the shock wave. Next, nanosecond repetitive pulse (NRP) discharge is modeled. The NRP discharge is created between two pin electrodes and we modeled both the discharge phase and the post-discharge phase for a few hundred cycles. Our code has been able to model these discharges by combining the resolution of the flow with the resolution of the plasma kinetics in a reasonnable computation time."

Meet with Corentin Louis, PLAS@PAR young researcher - LESIA, Observatoire de Paris - PhD student

Corentin Louis started his PhD in 2015.

He works on Comparative study of auroral processes of Saturn and Jupiter sampled in situ by the Cassini and JUNO missions at LESIA with Laurent Lamy and Philippe Zarka (LESIA). 

In this video, Corentin explains the originality of his project, his results & publications. Corentin is also talking about its active participation in preparing PLAS@PAR events (Science day, PLAS@PAR young researcher's day, PLAS@PAR scientific day, etc)!

"The study confirmed the existence of radio emissions associated with the interaction between the Galilean moons of Jupiter and Jupiter itself. Since we are sure that these emissions exist, we will be able to study them in situ with the Juno mission!"  

Meet with Anna Grassi, PLAS@PAR young researcher - LULI, PhD student

Anna Grassi started her PhD in 2014.

She works on Relativistic shocks in magnetized plasmas in the context of laboratory astrophysics at LULI with C. Riconda, LULI and A. Macchi, UNIPI. 

In this video, Anna explains the originality of her project, her results and her vision of PLAS@PAR!

"It was interesting to do my My PhD studies with PLAS@PAR, because PLAS@PAR was able to create a very rich environment in which students, researchers from many different fields of plasma physics and even private companies can find a place to collaborate, exchange ideas and discuss. This was very helpful and creates very productive and creative context for a PhD."  

Meet with Bruno Honnorat, PLAS@PAR young researcher - LPP, PhD student

Bruno Honnorat started his PhD in 2014.

He works on non thermal plasmas for biomedical applications at LPP with A. Rousseau.

In this video, Bruno explains his research objectives, his collaborations and his results!

"I study the biomedical applications of plasmas, it means that I am studying the biological effect of cold plasmas on living organisms (...). We are particularly studying the neck and throat cancers. (...) The objective is to improve the quality of life of patients, with a regression of the tumor size, for example, to render tumors operable or to remove totally the cancer through Plasma treatment."  

The PLAS@PAR's information brochure is now online!

Once again in 2016, PLAS@PAR addressed many ambtious and challenging projects in plasma physics. Cluster of excellence, PLAS@PAR brings together 150 researchers involved everyday with natural plasmas, high temperature plasmas & low temperature plasmas. 

We invite you to discover who we are, our achievements, our current research actions and our perspectives.  

In this edition:

• PLAS@PAR's facts & figures
• Research goals
• On going projects
• Research highlights
• Teaching program
• Relations with industry
• Outreach actions

DOWNLOAD THE BROCHURE HERE!

DISCOVER PLAS@PAR FROM INSIDE HERE