Quantum spin liquids (QSLs) are strongly correlated systems displaying fascinating phenomena like long-range entanglement and fractionalized excitations. The research on these states has since its beginning followed trends generated by the synthesis of new compounds and the construction of new theoretical tools. In coherence with this history, a manifold of new results about QSLs were established during the past decade due to studies on the integrable Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice. This j = 1/2 model displays bond-dependent and anisotropic exchanges that are essential to stabilize its QSL ground state with Majorana fermion excitations and emergent Z2 gauge field. Even more interestingly, this model is relevant to understand the magnetism of a certain class of 4/5d5 Mott insulators with specific lattice constraints, t2g orbital degeneracy and strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). This mechanism defining these so-called Kitaev materials can be applied to similar compounds based on transition metal ions in different electronic configurations. In this thesis, I investigate minimal models for two types of 4/5d1 Mott insulators: the ones on the ordered double perovskite structure (ODP) and the ones isostructural to the Kitaev materials. Their effective models generically show bond-dependent and anisotropic interactions involving multipoles of an effective j = 3/2 angular momentum. Such degrees of freedom are conveniently written in terms of pseudospin s and pseudo-orbital τ operators resembling spin and orbital operators of Kugel-Khomskii models with twofold orbital degeneracy. Despite their anisotropy, the two realistic models display continuous global symmetries in the limit of vanishing Hund\'s coupling enhancing quantum fluctuations and possibly stabilizing a QSL phase. Parton mean-field theory was used to propose fermionic QSLs that will be called quantum spin-orbital liquids (QSOLs) due their dependence with s and τ. On ODPs, I studied a chiral QSOL with Majorana fermion excitations and a gapless spectrum characterized by nodal lines along the edges of the Brillouin zone. These nodal lines are topological defects of a non-Abelian Berry connection and the system exhibits dispersing surface states. Several experimental responses of the chiral QSOL within the mean-field approximation are compared with the experimental data available for the spin liquid candidate Ba2YMoO6. Moreover, based on a symmetry analysis, I discuss the operators involved in resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) amplitudes for 4/5d1 Mott insulators and show that the RIXS cross sections allow one to selectively probe pseudospin and pseudo-orbital degrees of freedom. For the chiral spin-orbital liquid in particular, these cross sections provide information about the spectrum for different flavors of Majorana fermions. The model for materials isostructural to the Kitaev materials has an emergent SU(4) symmetry that is made explicit by means of a Klein transformation on pseudospin degrees of freedom. The model is known to stabilize a QSOL on the honeycomb lattice and instigated the investigation of QSOLs on a generalization of this lattice to three dimensions. Parton mean-field theory was used once again to propose the liquid states, and a variational Monte Carlo (VMC) method was used to compute the energies of the projected wave functions. The numerical results show that the lowest-energy QSOL corresponds to a zero-flux state with a Fermi surface of four-color fermionic partons. Further VMC computations also revealed that this state is stable against formation of plaquette ordering (tetramerization). The energy of this QSOL is highly competitive even when Hund\'s coupling induced perturbations are included, as shown by comparison with simple ordered states. Extensions and perspectives for future work are discussed in the end of this thesis. / Líquidos de spin quânticos (QSLs) são sistemas fortemente correlacionados que apresentam fenômenos fascinantes como emaranhamento de longo alcance e excitações fracionárias. A pesquisa a respeito destes estados seguiu tendências geradas pela síntese de novos compostos e construção de novas técnicas teóricas desde seu princípio. Coerentemente com essa história, uma variedade de novos resultados a respeito de líquidos de spin foram estabelecidos na última década graças a estudos feitos sobre o modelo integrável de Kitaev na rede colmeia. Este modelo de spins j = 1/2 apresenta interações de troca anisotrópicas e direcionalmente dependentes que são essenciais para estabilizar um estado fundamental do tipo QSL com férmions de Majorana e campo de gauge Z2 emergente. Ainda mais interessante, este modelo é relevante para se entender o magnetismo de uma certa classe de isolantes de Mott baseados em metais de transição na configuração 4/5d5 em redes específicas, degenerescência orbital t2g e acoplamento spin-órbita forte (SOC). Esse mecanismo que define os chamados materiais do tipo Kitaev podem ser aplicados a compostos baseados em metais de transição em configurações eletrônicas diferentes. Nesta tese, eu investigo modelos mínimos para dois tipos de isolantes de Mott do tipo 4/5d1: os que se apresentam na estrutura perovskita dupla ordenada (ODP) e os isostruturais aos materiais do tipo Kitaev. Seus modelos efetivos genericamente apresentam interações multipolares anisotrópicas e direcionalmente dependentes de um momento angular efetivo j = 3/2. Estes graus de liberdade são convenientemente escritos em termos de operadores de pseudospin s e pseudo-orbital τ semelhantes a operadores de spin e orbital de modelos do tipo Kugel-Khomskii com orbitais duplamente degenerados. A despeito da anisotropia, esses dois modelos realísticos apresentam simetrias globais contínuas no limite de acoplamento de Hund nulo que incrementam flutuações quânticas e possivelmente estabilizam uma fase do tipo QSL. A teoria de campo médio com partons foi usada para propor QSLs fermiônicos que serão chamados de líquidos spin-orbitais quânticos (QSOLs) devido à dependência deles com s e τ. Em ODPs, eu estudei um líquido de spin quiral com excitações do tipo férmion de Majorana e um espectro sem gap caracterizado por linhas nodais ao longo das arestas da zona de Brillouin. Essas linhas nodais são defeitos topológicos de uma conexão de Berry não-abeliana e o sistema apresenta estados de superfície dispersivos. Várias respostas experimentais foram calculadas para o QSOL quiral dentro da aproximação de campo médio e comparadas com os dados experimentais disponíveis para o candidato a líquido de spin Ba2YMoO6. Além disso, baseado em uma análise de simetria, discuto os operadores envolvidos nas amplitudes de espalhamento de raios-x ressonante para isolantes de Mott na configuração 4/5d1 e mostro que seções de choque de RIXS permitem estudar seletivamente os graus de liberdade de pseudospins e pseudo-orbitais. Para o caso particular do líquido spin-orbital quiral, essas seções de choque nos fornecem informações sobre o espectro de diferentes sabores de férmions de Majorana. Esse modelo possui uma simetria SU(4) emergente que é tornada explícita através de uma transformações de Klein nos graus de liberdade de pseudospin. Sabe-se que este modelo estabiliza um QSOL na rede colmeia, o que instigou uma investigação de QSOLs na generalização desta rede em três dimensões. A teoria de campo médio com partons foi usada novamente para propor estes líquidos quânticos, e o método de Monte Carlo Variacional (VMC) foi usado para calcular as energias das funções de onda projetadas. Os resultados numéricos mostraram que o QSOL de menor energia corresponde a um estado de fluxo-zero com superfície de Fermi envolvendo partons fermiônicos de quatro cores. Cálculos adicionais com VMC também demonstraram que este estado é estável à formação de ordem de plaquetas (tetramerização). A energia deste QSOL é altamente competitiva mesmo quando perturbações induzidas pelo acoplamento de Hund são incluídas, o que é mostrado através da comparação com estados ordenados simples. Extensões e perspectivas para trabalhos futuros são discutidas no final desta tese.

Neste trabalho estudamos os type-dependent stochastic spin models propostos por Fernández et al., os que chamaremos de modelos de spins estocástico dependentes de tipo, e que foram usados para modelar redes de sinalização biológica. A modelagem original descreve a evolução macroscópica de um modelo de spin-flip de tamanho finito com k tipos de spins, possuindo um número arbitrário de estados internos, que interagem através de uma dinâmica estocástica não reversível. No limite termodinânico foi provado que, em um intervalo de tempo finito as trajetórias convergem quase certamente para uma trajetória determinística, dada por uma equação diferencial de primeira ordem. Os comportamentos destes sistemas dinâmicos podem incluir bifurcações, relacionadas às transições de fase do modelo. O nosso objetivo principal foi de estender os modelos de spins com dinâmica de Glauber utiliza- dos pelos autores, permitindo trocas múltiplas dos spins. No contexto biológico tentamos incluir situações nas quais moléculas de tipos diferentes trocam simultaneamente os seus estados internos. Utilizando diversas técnicas, como as de grandes desvíos e acoplamento, tem sido possível demonstrar a convergência para o sistema dinâmico associado. / We study type-dependent stochastic spin models proposed by Fernández et al., which were used to model biological signaling networks. The original modeling setup describes the macroscopic evolution of a finite-size spin-flip model with k types of spins with arbitrary number of internal states interacting through a non-reversible stochastic dynamics. In the thermodynamic limit it was proved that, within arbitrary finite time-intervals, the path converges almost surely to a deterministic trajectory determined by a first-order (non-linear) differential equation. The behavior of the associated dynamical system may include bifurcations, associated to phase transitions in the statistical mechanical setting. Our aim is to extend the spin model with Glauber dynamics, to allow multiple spin-flips. In the biological context we included situations in which molecules of different types simultaneously change their internal states. Using several methods, such as large deviations and coupling, we prove the convergence theorem.

In this thesis, we study the phenomenon of thermally induced polarisation using a combination of theory and computer simulation. Molecules of sufficiently low symmetry exhibit thermo-molecular orientation when subjected to a temperature gradient, leading to considerable electrostatic fields in polar liquids. Here, we first use non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to study this interesting effect numerically. To this end, we propose an integration algorithm to impose a constant heat flux in simulations and show that it greatly improves energy conservation compared to a previous algorithm. We next investigate the thermal polarisation of water and find that truncation of electrostatic interactions can lead to severe artefacts, such as the wrong sign of polarisation and an overestimation of the electric field. We further show that the quadrupole-moment contribution to the electric field is significant and responsible for an inversion of its sign. To facilitate the theoretical description of electrostatic interactions, we propose a new dipolar model fluid as a perturbation of a Stockmayer fluid. Using this modified Stockmayer model, we provide numerical evidence for the recently proposed phenomenon of thermally induced monopoles. We show that the electrostatic field generated by a pair of heated/cooled colloidal particles immersed in such a solvent can be trivially described by two Coulomb charges. Finally, we propose a mean-field theory to predict the thermo-polarisation effect exhibited by our model fluid theoretically, and demonstrate near quantitative agreement with simulation results.

Quantum spin liquids (QSLs) are strongly correlated systems displaying fascinating phenomena like long-range entanglement and fractionalized excitations. The research on these states has since its beginning followed trends generated by the synthesis of new compounds and the construction of new theoretical tools. In coherence with this history, a manifold of new results about QSLs were established during the past decade due to studies on the integrable Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice. This j = 1/2 model displays bond-dependent and anisotropic exchanges that are essential to stabilize its QSL ground state with Majorana fermion excitations and emergent Z2 gauge field. Even more interestingly, this model is relevant to understand the magnetism of a certain class of 4/5d5 Mott insulators with specific lattice constraints, t2g orbital degeneracy and strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). This mechanism defining these so-called Kitaev materials can be applied to similar compounds based on transition metal ions in different electronic configurations. In this thesis, I investigate minimal models for two types of 4/5d1 Mott insulators: the ones on the ordered double perovskite structure (ODP) and the ones isostructural to the Kitaev materials. Their effective models generically show bond-dependent and anisotropic interactions involving multipoles of an effective j = 3/2 angular momentum. Such degrees of freedom are conveniently written in terms of pseudospin s and pseudo-orbital τ operators resembling spin and orbital operators of Kugel-Khomskii models with twofold orbital degeneracy. Despite their anisotropy, the two realistic models display continuous global symmetries in the limit of vanishing Hund\'s coupling enhancing quantum fluctuations and possibly stabilizing a QSL phase. Parton mean-field theory was used to propose fermionic QSLs that will be called quantum spin-orbital liquids (QSOLs) due their dependence with s and τ. On ODPs, I studied a chiral QSOL with Majorana fermion excitations and a gapless spectrum characterized by nodal lines along the edges of the Brillouin zone. These nodal lines are topological defects of a non-Abelian Berry connection and the system exhibits dispersing surface states. Several experimental responses of the chiral QSOL within the mean-field approximation are compared with the experimental data available for the spin liquid candidate Ba2YMoO6. Moreover, based on a symmetry analysis, I discuss the operators involved in resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) amplitudes for 4/5d1 Mott insulators and show that the RIXS cross sections allow one to selectively probe pseudospin and pseudo-orbital degrees of freedom. For the chiral spin-orbital liquid in particular, these cross sections provide information about the spectrum for different flavors of Majorana fermions. The model for materials isostructural to the Kitaev materials has an emergent SU(4) symmetry that is made explicit by means of a Klein transformation on pseudospin degrees of freedom. The model is known to stabilize a QSOL on the honeycomb lattice and instigated the investigation of QSOLs on a generalization of this lattice to three dimensions. Parton mean-field theory was used once again to propose the liquid states, and a variational Monte Carlo (VMC) method was used to compute the energies of the projected wave functions. The numerical results show that the lowest-energy QSOL corresponds to a zero-flux state with a Fermi surface of four-color fermionic partons. Further VMC computations also revealed that this state is stable against formation of plaquette ordering (tetramerization). The energy of this QSOL is highly competitive even when Hund\'s coupling induced perturbations are included, as shown by comparison with simple ordered states. Extensions and perspectives for future work are discussed in the end of this thesis. / Líquidos de spin quânticos (QSLs) são sistemas fortemente correlacionados que apresentam fenômenos fascinantes como emaranhamento de longo alcance e excitações fracionárias. A pesquisa a respeito destes estados seguiu tendências geradas pela síntese de novos compostos e construção de novas técnicas teóricas desde seu princípio. Coerentemente com essa história, uma variedade de novos resultados a respeito de líquidos de spin foram estabelecidos na última década graças a estudos feitos sobre o modelo integrável de Kitaev na rede colmeia. Este modelo de spins j = 1/2 apresenta interações de troca anisotrópicas e direcionalmente dependentes que são essenciais para estabilizar um estado fundamental do tipo QSL com férmions de Majorana e campo de gauge Z2 emergente. Ainda mais interessante, este modelo é relevante para se entender o magnetismo de uma certa classe de isolantes de Mott baseados em metais de transição na configuração 4/5d5 em redes específicas, degenerescência orbital t2g e acoplamento spin-órbita forte (SOC). Esse mecanismo que define os chamados materiais do tipo Kitaev podem ser aplicados a compostos baseados em metais de transição em configurações eletrônicas diferentes. Nesta tese, eu investigo modelos mínimos para dois tipos de isolantes de Mott do tipo 4/5d1: os que se apresentam na estrutura perovskita dupla ordenada (ODP) e os isostruturais aos materiais do tipo Kitaev. Seus modelos efetivos genericamente apresentam interações multipolares anisotrópicas e direcionalmente dependentes de um momento angular efetivo j = 3/2. Estes graus de liberdade são convenientemente escritos em termos de operadores de pseudospin s e pseudo-orbital τ semelhantes a operadores de spin e orbital de modelos do tipo Kugel-Khomskii com orbitais duplamente degenerados. A despeito da anisotropia, esses dois modelos realísticos apresentam simetrias globais contínuas no limite de acoplamento de Hund nulo que incrementam flutuações quânticas e possivelmente estabilizam uma fase do tipo QSL. A teoria de campo médio com partons foi usada para propor QSLs fermiônicos que serão chamados de líquidos spin-orbitais quânticos (QSOLs) devido à dependência deles com s e τ. Em ODPs, eu estudei um líquido de spin quiral com excitações do tipo férmion de Majorana e um espectro sem gap caracterizado por linhas nodais ao longo das arestas da zona de Brillouin. Essas linhas nodais são defeitos topológicos de uma conexão de Berry não-abeliana e o sistema apresenta estados de superfície dispersivos. Várias respostas experimentais foram calculadas para o QSOL quiral dentro da aproximação de campo médio e comparadas com os dados experimentais disponíveis para o candidato a líquido de spin Ba2YMoO6. Além disso, baseado em uma análise de simetria, discuto os operadores envolvidos nas amplitudes de espalhamento de raios-x ressonante para isolantes de Mott na configuração 4/5d1 e mostro que seções de choque de RIXS permitem estudar seletivamente os graus de liberdade de pseudospins e pseudo-orbitais. Para o caso particular do líquido spin-orbital quiral, essas seções de choque nos fornecem informações sobre o espectro de diferentes sabores de férmions de Majorana. Esse modelo possui uma simetria SU(4) emergente que é tornada explícita através de uma transformações de Klein nos graus de liberdade de pseudospin. Sabe-se que este modelo estabiliza um QSOL na rede colmeia, o que instigou uma investigação de QSOLs na generalização desta rede em três dimensões. A teoria de campo médio com partons foi usada novamente para propor estes líquidos quânticos, e o método de Monte Carlo Variacional (VMC) foi usado para calcular as energias das funções de onda projetadas. Os resultados numéricos mostraram que o QSOL de menor energia corresponde a um estado de fluxo-zero com superfície de Fermi envolvendo partons fermiônicos de quatro cores. Cálculos adicionais com VMC também demonstraram que este estado é estável à formação de ordem de plaquetas (tetramerização). A energia deste QSOL é altamente competitiva mesmo quando perturbações induzidas pelo acoplamento de Hund são incluídas, o que é mostrado através da comparação com estados ordenados simples. Extensões e perspectivas para trabalhos futuros são discutidas no final desta tese.

Neste trabalho estudamos os type-dependent stochastic spin models propostos por Fernández et al., os que chamaremos de modelos de spins estocástico dependentes de tipo, e que foram usados para modelar redes de sinalização biológica. A modelagem original descreve a evolução macroscópica de um modelo de spin-flip de tamanho finito com k tipos de spins, possuindo um número arbitrário de estados internos, que interagem através de uma dinâmica estocástica não reversível. No limite termodinânico foi provado que, em um intervalo de tempo finito as trajetórias convergem quase certamente para uma trajetória determinística, dada por uma equação diferencial de primeira ordem. Os comportamentos destes sistemas dinâmicos podem incluir bifurcações, relacionadas às transições de fase do modelo. O nosso objetivo principal foi de estender os modelos de spins com dinâmica de Glauber utiliza- dos pelos autores, permitindo trocas múltiplas dos spins. No contexto biológico tentamos incluir situações nas quais moléculas de tipos diferentes trocam simultaneamente os seus estados internos. Utilizando diversas técnicas, como as de grandes desvíos e acoplamento, tem sido possível demonstrar a convergência para o sistema dinâmico associado. / We study type-dependent stochastic spin models proposed by Fernández et al., which were used to model biological signaling networks. The original modeling setup describes the macroscopic evolution of a finite-size spin-flip model with k types of spins with arbitrary number of internal states interacting through a non-reversible stochastic dynamics. In the thermodynamic limit it was proved that, within arbitrary finite time-intervals, the path converges almost surely to a deterministic trajectory determined by a first-order (non-linear) differential equation. The behavior of the associated dynamical system may include bifurcations, associated to phase transitions in the statistical mechanical setting. Our aim is to extend the spin model with Glauber dynamics, to allow multiple spin-flips. In the biological context we included situations in which molecules of different types simultaneously change their internal states. Using several methods, such as large deviations and coupling, we prove the convergence theorem.

Doctorat en sciences, Spécialisation physique / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Cette thèse propose une étude mathématique des stratégies de vaccination.La partie I présente le cadre mathématique, notamment le modèle à compartiments Susceptible - Infected – Recovered.La partie II aborde les techniques mathématiques de type contrôle optimal employées afin de trouver une stratégie optimale de vaccination au niveau de la société. Ceci se fait en minimisant le coût de la société. Nous montrons que la fonction valeur associée peut avoir une régularité plus faible que celle attendue dans la littérature. Enfin, nous appliquons les résultats à la vaccination contre la coqueluche.La partie III présente un modèle où le coût est défini au niveau de l'individu. Nous reformulons le problème comme un équilibre de Nash et comparons le coût obtenu avec celui de la stratégie sociétale. Une application à la grippe A(H1N1) indique la présence de perceptions différentes liées à la vaccination.La partie IV propose une implémentation numérique directe des stratégies présentées. / This thesis propose a mathematical analysis of the vaccination strategies.The first part introduces the mathematical framework, in particular the Susceptible – Infected – Recovered compartmental model.The second part introduces the optimal control tools used to find an optimal vaccination strategy from the societal point of view, which is a minimizer of the societal cost. We show that the associated value function can have a less regularity than what was assumed in the literature. These results are then applied to the vaccination against the whooping cough.The third part defines a model where the cost is defined at the level of the individual. We rephrase this problem as a Nash equilibrium and compare this results with the societal strategy. An application to the Influenza A(H1N1) 2009-10 indicates the presence of inhomogeneous perceptions concerning the vaccination risks.The fourth and last part proposes a direct numerical implementation of the different strategies.

Alors qu’il existe de nombreux calculs microscopiques de barrières de fission pour des noyaux composés pair-pairs, il n’y a cependant que relativement peu de tels calculs pour des noyaux de masse impaire. Ceci est dû aux complications induites par la brisure de la symétric de reversement du sens du temps au niveau du champ moyen qui est engendrée par la présence d’un nucleon non apparié. Pour éviter cette difficulté, des calculs existants pour des noyaux de masse impaire ont tout simplement négligé ces effets de brisure de la symétrie de reversement du sens du temps.Dans ce travail, on se donne pour but d’améliorer la description des barrières de fission, aussi bien que des propriétés spectroscopiques du niveau fondamental et de l’état isomérique de fission,pour quelques isotopes de masse impaire dans la région des actinides en prenant en compte de tels effets. Ceci a été réalisé dans le cadre du formalisme de Skyrme–Hartree–Fock plus BCS avec blocking en adaptant ce formalisme à la brisure de la symétrie considérée. L’interaction résiduelle d’appariement a été approchée par une force de séniorité dont les paramètres ont été ajustés pour reproduire les différences de masse pair-impair de quelques noyaux de la région des actinides.Les énergies des têtes de bande rotationnelle de basse énergie ont été calculées dans le cadre du modèle unifié de Bohr-Mottelson pour quatre noyaux bien déformés (235U, 239Pu, 237Np, 241Am)produisant un bon accord qualitatif avec les données pour les noyaux impairs en neutrons. L’accord significativement moins bon obtenu pour les noyaux impairs en protons pourrait résulter de l’usage de l’approximation de Slater pour l’interaction d’échange de Coulomb. Les énergies de déformation de deux noyaux impairs en neutrons (235U, 239Pu) ont été calculées pour quelques configurations de particule individuelle, jusqu’après la barrières de fission externe. La symétrie axiale a été imposée tandis que la brisure de la symétrie droite-gauche (ou de parité intrinsèque) a été permise dans la région de la seconde barrière. Les hauteurs des barrières de fission pour ces noyaux impairs dépendent significativement des configurations de particule individuelle. Un accord qualitatif avec les données disponibles pour les hauteurs de barrières des noyaux impairs considérés et leurs voisins pair-pairs a été généralement obtenu. / While there have been numerous microscopic calculations on fission barriers of even-even compoundnuclei, there are however, relatively few such work dedicated to odd-mass nuclei. This is dueto the complications posed by the breaking of the time-reversal symmetry at the mean-field leveldue to the presence of an unpaired nucleon. In order to circumvent this difficulty, previous fission barriercalculations of odd-mass nuclei have been performed by neglecting the effect of time-reversalsymmetry breaking. This work aims to improve on the description of fission barriers as well asthe spectroscopic properties of ground and fission-isomeric state, of some odd-mass actinide nucleiby taking the effect of time-reversal symmetry breaking into account. This has been perfomedwithin a Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-plus-BCS framework with blocking, where the BCS formalism hasbeen adapted to accomodate this symmetry breaking. The Skyrme nucleon-nucleon effective forcehas been used with various sets of parameters (SIII, SkM*, SLy5*). The residual pairing interactionhas been approximated by seniority forces whose neutron and proton parameters have beenfitted to reproduce the odd-even mass differences of some actinide nuclei. The low-lying rotationalband-head energies evaluated within the Bohr-Mottelson unified model have been determined forfour well-deformed odd-nuclei (235U, 239Pu, 237Np, 241Am) yielding a good qualitative agreementto the data for odd-neutron nuclei. The agreement was significantly less good for the odd-protonnuclei, possibly due to the use of the Slater approximation for the exchange Coulomb interaction.The deformation energies of two odd-neutron nuclei (235U and 239Pu) have been calculated forsome single-particle configurations up to a point beyond the outer fission-barrier. Axial symmetrynuclear shape has been assumed while a breaking of the left-right (or intrinsic parity) symmetryhas been allowed around the outer fission-barrier. The fission-barrier heights of such odd-neutronnuclei depend significantly on the particle configurations. A special attention has been paid tothe very important rotational correction to deformation energies. In particular, the correction ofthe moment of inertia calculated from the usual Belyaev expression was considered. Overall, aqualitative agreement with available data on fission-barrier heights for the considered odd-neutronnuclei and their even neighbours has been obtained.

In this work we study the interesting physics of the rare earths, and the microscopic state after ultrafast magnetization dynamics in iron. Moreover, this work covers the development, examination and application of several methods used in solid state physics. The first and the last part are related to strongly correlated electrons. The second part is related to the field of ultrafast magnetization dynamics. In the first part we apply density functional theory plus dynamical mean field theory within the Hubbard I approximation to describe the interesting physics of the rare-earth metals. These elements are characterized by the localized nature of the 4f electrons and the itinerant character of the other valence electrons. We calculate a wide range of properties of the rare-earth metals and find a good correspondence with experimental data. We argue that this theory can be the basis of future investigations addressing rare-earth based materials in general. In the second part of this thesis we develop a model, based on statistical arguments, to predict the microscopic state after ultrafast magnetization dynamics in iron. We predict that the microscopic state after ultrafast demagnetization is qualitatively different from the state after ultrafast increase of magnetization. This prediction is supported by previously published spectra obtained in magneto-optical experiments. Our model makes it possible to compare the measured data to results that are calculated from microscopic properties. We also investigate the relation between the magnetic asymmetry and the magnetization. In the last part of this work we examine several methods of analytic continuation that are used in many-body physics to obtain physical quantities on real energies from either imaginary time or Matsubara frequency data. In particular, we improve the Padé approximant method of analytic continuation. We compare the reliability and performance of this and other methods for both one and two-particle Green's functions. We also investigate the advantages of implementing a method of analytic continuation based on stochastic sampling on a graphics processing unit (GPU).

La fission induite par neutron, découverte il y a plus de 70 ans, a de nombreuses applications, par exemple industrielles pour la production d'énergie, et intervient dans la nucléosynthèse. Cependant, sa description microscopique reste un problème ouvert. En effet, les degrés de liberté qui interviennent dans ce processus dynamique sont complexes. De plus, les noyaux fissiles ont un nombre élevé de nucléons en interaction (>200). Il s'agit donc d'un problème à N-corps quantique. Or, une résolution directe de ce dernier n'est pas possible à l'heure actuelle. Dans ce contexte, la description microscopique de la fission considérée ici est la suivante : la première étape consiste à déterminer un ensemble de configurations de champ moyen qui représentent différentes déformations du noyau, incluant ainsi explicitement les degrés de liberté collectifs qui leur sont associés. Dans la seconde étape, la dynamique est décrite dans cet espace de configurations en utilisant la méthode de la coordonnée génératrice dépendante du temps (TDGCM). L'approximation des recouvrements gaussiens (GOA) est alors utilisée. Cependant, elle introduit une erreur de modèle et limite les extensions comme par exemple la prise en compte explicite de degrés de liberté intrinsèques. Ce travail de thèse a pour objectif de décrire le processus de fission avec la TDGCM sans recourir à la GOA. Cela implique de résoudre l'équation de la dynamique en TDGCM appelée équation de Hill-Wheeler dépendante du temps (TD-HW). Les méthodes d'évaluations des matrices des recouvrements et du hamiltonien collectif sont présentées dans le cas d'une interaction de Gogny. La matrice des recouvrements représente la métrique de l'espace des configurations, et la matrice du hamiltonien collectif contient les couplages énergétiques entre les configurations. Les configurations sont exprimées dans des bases de particules deux à deux distinctes, introduisant des instabilités numériques dans les méthodes d'évaluation standard. Un formalisme adapté à ces bases est proposé permettant d'éliminer ces instabilités. Deux méthodes de résolution de TD-HW sont présentées. La première consiste à calculer l'opérateur d'évolution associé à l'équation de Hill-Wheeler dépendante du temps. Elle est adaptée à un faible nombre de configurations. La seconde utilise un schéma de discrétisation en temps permettant l'inclusion d'un plus grand nombre de configurations dans le modèle. Ce formalisme est ensuite appliqué à la description de la réaction de fission induite par neutron sur le plutonium 239, et une comparaison avec la TDGCM+GOA est effectuée. / Nuclear fission, where an atomic nucleus separates into two fragments while emitting a large amount of energy, is at the core of many applications in society (energy production) and national security (deterrence, non-proliferation). It is also a key ingredient of the mechanisms of formation of elements in the universe. Yet, nearly 80 years after its experimental discovery its theoretical description in terms of the basic constituents of the nucleus (protons and neutrons) and their interaction remains a challenge. In this thesis, we describe the fission process as follows. In a first step, we use large supercomputers to compute the deformation properties of the nucleus based on our knowledge of nuclear forces. In a second step, we simulate the time evolution of the system from its ground state up to the fragments separation with a fully quantum-mechanical approach called the time-dependent generator coordinate method (TDGCM). While results are in good qualitative agreement with experimental data, the implementation of the TDGCM so far had been greatly simplified using what is known as the Gaussian overlap approximation (GOA). We also developed the formalism and a numerical implementation of the exact TDGCM - without the GOA. This will allow the first systematic validation of that approximation and an assessment of the resulting theoretical uncertainties. The second chapter presents the description of the neutron induced fission process using the TDGCM+GOA. The third one introduces the developments carried out in this thesis allowing the description of the fission process with the TDGCM without the GOA. The last chapter shows the first results obtained with this approach.