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This thesis presents a theoretical analysis of light scattered from atoms trapped in optical lattices. The work presented here focuses on the case in which atoms trapped in an optical lattice are described by a Hubbard model. It is shown that the scattered light can be used to probe the ground state correlations and excitations of the system. Both scattered intensity and scattered spectrum are shown to contain relevant information. Scattered intensity is shown to carry information about the magnetic ordering and correlation functions in the system. Scattered spectrum sheds light on the excitations of the system and can be used to study single~particle and collective excitations. In the case studied here the behaviour of fermionic atoms in an optical lattice is well described by the repulsive half-filled Fermi-Hubbard model. Within the random phase approximation the well known analytic expressions for the system correlations are rederived for the antiferromagnetic ground state. These expressions are input in the light scattering formulae and the scattered intensity and spectrum are evaluated numerically. As a particular example the experimentally relevant case of 40K is studied. This is done using the level structure that is used routinely in experiments to realise the FermiHubbard model in optical lattices. The scattered light and spectrum experiments are analysed theoretically. It is shown that within a certain experimental range the scattered light intensity offers a direct probe of the antiferromagnetic order parameter. Different experimental parameters and configurations are studied thoroughly and a set of quasioptimised experimental parameter values is prescribed. The number of necessary experimental realisations to obtain such accuracy is also calculated and shown to be a realistic figure. Lastly, the same formalism is applied to the Bose-Hubbard model. It is simulated using a worm-type algorithm and the computed correlations are used to evaluate the scattered intensity. 5

Cette thèse est dédiée à l'extension du Tracé de Rayons Vectoriels Complexes (TRVC) développé au laboratoire et son application à la caractérisation des particules non-sphériques. Dans divers domaines de recherche, tels que la mécanique des fluides et la combustion, nous devons mesurer les caractéristiques des particules. Parmi les différents types de techniques de mesure, la métrologie optique est largement utilisée grâce à sa précision et sa fiabilité. Cependant, la forme des particules est souvent considérée comme sphérique principalement à cause du manque de moyens pour prédire avec précision l'interaction de la lumière avec de grandes particules non-sphériques. TRVC a été développé pour répondre à ces besoins. Il est basé sur le modèle de rayons mais une amélioration radicale a été apportée dans ce nouveau modèle par l'introduction d'une nouvelle propriété dans la notion de rayons lumineux - la courbure de front d'onde. Dans cette thèse, le modèle est appliqué à réexaminer la théorie d'Airy. Il a été montré que TRVC prédit mieux les intensités et les positions des lobes secondaires dans les arcs-en-ciel d'une particule sphérique que la théorie d'Airy. Ensuite, TRVC est appliqué à l'étude des propriétés des arcs-en-ciel formés par les ellipsoïdes allongé et aplati. Il est montré que TRVC peut prédire analytiquement les positions et les intensités de lobes secondaires dans les arcs-en-ciel d’une particule sphéroïdale lorsqu’elle est éclairée par une onde plane dans le plan symétrique. Les pics dus à l'effet focal d'une particule sphéroïdale aplatie ont également été évalués analytiquement en utilisantle facteur de divergence de TRVC. Un système de mesure est aussi mis en place dans le laboratoire pour la diffusion de la lumière par des gouttes pendantes. Il a été montré que le rapport des intensités des deux premiers arcs-en-ciel est sensible à l'ellipticité d'un sphéroïde équivalent. Ceci ouvre un champ d'application potentiel pour caractériser la déformation d'une goutte pendante. / This thesis is dedicated to the extension of Vectorial Complex Ray Model (VCRM)developed in the laboratory and its application in the characterization of large nonspherical particles. In various research domains, such as the uid mechanics and the combustion field, we need to measure the characteristics of the particles. Among di_erent kinds of measurement techniques, the optical metrology is largely employed due to its advantage of being accurate, reliable and non-intrusive. However, in many optical techniques, the shape of the particles is assumed to be spherical. The main reason of this limit is due to the lack of theoretical model to describe with precision the interaction of light with large non-spherical particles. The Vectorial Complex Ray Model has been developed to reply this demand. It is based on the ray model but a radical improvement has been done by introducing a new property the wave front curvatures in the ray model. In this thesis, the model is firstly applied to reexamine the Airy theory. It is shown that even in the case of spherical particle VCRM predicts better the intensity and positions of supernumerary bows of rainbow than the Airy theory. Then VCRM is applied to investigate the properties of the rainbows formed by a spheroidal (prolate or oblate) particle. It is shown that VCRM can predict analytically the positions and the intensity of supernumerary bows and the peaks due to the focal effect when it is illuminated by a plane wave in the symmetrical plane.The theoretical research results have been also applied to the experimental characterization of a pendant drop. The intensity ratio of the two first orders of rainbow is shown sensible to the aspect ratio of the equivalent spheroid and it opens a potential to develop a measurement technique to characterize the deformation of pendant drop.