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The study of scattering amplitudes in quantum eld theories (QFTs) is equally important for high energy phenomenology and for theoretical understanding of fundamental physics. Over the last 15 years there has been an explosion of new techniques, inspired by Witten's celebrated twistor string theory [1]. The N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory (SYM) provides a playground for applying and extending these methods, heavily constrained by spacetime, internal and hidden symmetries. Recently, Cachazo, He and Yuan proposed an algebraic construction of scattering amplitudes at tree level in various QFTs, based on the solution of certain scattering equations [2]. This formula was later extended to tree-level form factors of Tr(F2 SD) in four dimensional Yang-Mills theory [3]. In this thesis we show how this result may be naturally supersymmetrised, and derived from a dual connected formulation. Moreover, we relate our results to a geometric construction of form factors via the Grassmannian [4]. Finally, we argue that ambitwistor string theory provides a natural way to lift the result to arbitrary dimensions, paving the way for loop-level results. In complementary work, it was shown that the subleading soft behaviour of tree-level amplitudes in gauge theory and gravity is universal [5{7]. This unexpected property is related to extended symmetries of the theory acting at null in nity. Moreover, the hidden structure provides additional information relevant for resummation of physical observables. In this thesis, we extend the known results to one-loop level in N = 4 SYM, arguing that IR divergences introduce anomaly terms through nite order in the regulator. We constrain these terms using dual superconformal symmetry, and derive explicit formulae in the MHV and NMHV sectors. This thesis contains documentation for two Mathematica packages, illustrating the original calculations we have performed.

Exploramos a magnetoresistência em super-redes periódicas de GaAs/AlGaAs com diferentes forças de desordem, produzida pela variação do potencial ou introduzida por rugosidades interfaciais. Nessas super-redes, dependendo da desordem, identificamos diferentes regimes de transporte quântico: os regimes de localização fraca, propagativo e difusivo, e o regime de localização forte, isolante. Nossos resultados sugerem diferentes mecanismos de defasagem da função de onda eletrônica nos limites da localização fraca e forte. A transição metal-isolante manifesta-se em correspondente modificação da interferência quântica, mostrando uma modificação na magnetoresistência quando passamos de sistemas metálicos para isolantes. Estudamos ainda a energia de acoplamento vertical nas super-redes, modificada pela variação da espessura do poço quântico, e isso revelou um significativo decréscimo do acoplamento com o aumento da desordem. Estudamos a coerência de elétrons em super-redes desordenadas GaAs/Al0,3Ga0,7As em função do acoplamento vertical entre as camadas. Dependendo da relação da energia de desordem com a energia de Fermi, identificamos um regime de transporte difusivo coerente ou incoerente. Através das medidas de magnetoresistência nos dois regimes, conseguimos obter a energia de acoplamento vertical, o comprimento de coerência vertical e o tempo de defasagem do elétron no plano das camadas. A comparação entre esses valores, nos permitiu investigar a influência da desordem na coerência das quasiparticulas. Por fim, investigamos também em super-redes intencionalmente desordenadas GaAs/AlxGaAs1-x, a influência da desordem anisotrópica na interferência quântica. No caso de uma desordem suficientemente forte, encontramos uma anisotropia do tempo de defasagem eletrônico, que se mostrou menor na direção da desordem. Os efeitos de anisotropia foram mais fortes no regime de transporte isolante que no regime metálico. Verificamos também a relação de escala para o campo magnético nas correções de magnetoresistência. / The magnetoresistance was explored in GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices with different strengths of disorder produced either by random variation of the well thickness or by interface roughness. Depending on the disorder strength, three different regimes of the quantum transport were distinguished: the regimes of weak localization identified as the regimes of propagative and diffusive Fermi surfaces and strongly localized insulating regime. Our results imply different dephasing mechanisms in the weak and strong localization limits, which indicates the quantum inference across metal-to-insulator transition by modification of magetoresistance. The vertical coupling energies in the superlattices determined with the random variation of the well thicknesses revealed a significant decrease with increasing disorder strength. The crossover form interlayer coherent to interlayer incoherent transport was studied in intentionally disordered GaAs/Al0,3Ga0,7As as a function of the vertical interlayer coupling. Depending on the relation of the disorder energy and Fermi energy, the coherent and incoherent diffusive transport regimes were distinguished. The vertical coupling energy, the vertical coherence length, and the in-plane phase-breaking time were obtained by magnetoresistance measurements in the coherent and incoherent regimes. Comparing these values, we investigated the influence of disorder on the quasiparticles coherence. Moreover, the influence of anisotropic disorder on quantum interference was studied in the intentionally disordered GaAs/AlxGaAs1-x superlattices. In case of sufficiently strong disorder the quantum interference exhibited a structural dependence resulting in the anisotropy of the phase-breaking time, which was found shorter in the direction of the disorder. The anisotropy effects were shown stronger in the insulating transport regime than in the metallic one. In this study, we prove the effects of anisotropy of the weak-field magnetoresistance by scaling magnetic field relation.

The development of single-molecule and super-resolution fluorescence techniques has revolutionised biological imaging. Nano-scale cellular structures and heterogeneous dynamic processes are now able to be visualised with unprecedented resolution in both time and space. The achievable localisation precision and therefore the resolution is fundamentally limited by the number of photons a single-fluorophore can emit. The ideal super-resolution dye would emit a large number of photons over a short period of time. On the contrary, an optimal single-molecule tracking probe would be highly photostable and undergo no transient dark-state transitions. Single-molecule instrument development is beginning to reach technological saturation and as the frontiers of bioimaging expand, exorbitant demands are placed on the gamut of available probes that often cannot be met. Thus, the next key challenge in the field is the development of the better fluorophores that underlie these techniques; this includes both the synthesis of new chemical derivatives and alternative novel strategies to augment existing technologies. The results of this thesis are divided into two distinct parts; Project One details the development of new synthetic fluorescent probes for the study of amyloid protein aggregates implicated in neurodegenerative diseases. This includes a study of the photophysical and binding properties of a novel fluorophore library based on the amyloid dye Thioflavin-T. Following on from this, is the presentation of novel bifunctional dyes capable of simultaneously identifying hydrogen peroxide and amyloid aggregates by combining existing tools for the independent detection of these species. The sensing capabilities of these dyes are explored at the bulk and single-molecule levels. Project Two describes a new photo-modulatable fluorescent-protein fusion construct that can undergo Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to an organic dye molecule. This FRET cassette is comprised of a photoconvertible fluorescent protein donor, mEos3.2 and acceptor fluorophore, JF646. This strategy imparts a strong photostabilising effect on the fluorescent protein and a resistance to photobleaching. The functionality of this approach is demonstrated with in vitro single-molecule fluorescence studies and its biological applicability shown by tracking single proteins in the nuclei of live embryonic stem cells. Furthermore, initial characterisations of the excited state dynamics in effect are presented through the systematic modification of parameters.

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informática e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2010

Severe plastic deformation (SPD) has been used over the past few decades for producing submicron grain (SMG) structures in range of metals and alloys. Equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) is a useful process for producing these types of structures whereby the material is deformed to very high plastic strains by passing a billet several times through the ECAP die. This process has an added advantage maintaining the initial dimensions of the billet. SMG materials produced by ECAP and related routes are useful as they usually exhibit excellent properties including high strength and hardness, and excellent superplastic formability: these and other properties make SMG materials useful for industrial and aerospace applications. In this thesis, a binary aluminium alloy containing a very low concentration of scandium (0.1 wt. %) Sc alloy was investigated and compared with higher Sc-containing alloys. The material was deformed by ECAP in the solution treated condition to an equivalent von Mises strain of 9.2 then pre-aged at 250 0C to generate a submicron grained material containing a relatively uniform dispersion of nanosized Al3Sc dispersiods. The thermal stability of this pre-aged microstructure was investigated by annealing at temperatures up to 450 0C resulted in continuous grain coarsening by the process of continuous recrystallization whereby the initial microstructure evolves gradually with no marked change in the grain size distribution, texture and grain boundary character. However, extended annealing (> 1h) at 4500 C resulted in discontinuous grain coarsening (often termed recrystallization) whereby a few grains grow rapidly to eventually produce a coarse-grained final microstructure. Throughout annealing, there was a good correlation between the dispersion parameter, (f/d) where f and d is the volume fraction and the mean diameter of Al3Sc particles in the alloy, respectively, and both the mean grain size (D ) and D /D max where max D is the maximum grain diameter observed in the microstructure. The grain structure was found to undergo moderate coarsening at the high f/d-values but converted to a coarsegrained structure for f/d ~<0.5/μm, and this change occurred when the mean grain diameter was ~ 3-4μm. Hence, the critical value of the dispersion parameter for the transition from continuous to discontinuous coarsening falls between the theoretical value for submicron grain size alloys (f/d ~ 1.5/μm) and the value found for conventionally-deformed alloys (f/d ~ 0.1/μm). This behaviour is the result of the alloy no longer being ultra-fine grained at the onset of discontinuous coarsening.

La photométrie des transits permet de détecter des planètes extrasolaires en mesurant leur rayon. Dans cet objectif, le télescope spatial CoRoT (Convection, Rotation et Transit planétaires), lancé en décembre 2006, est doté d'un photomètre de haute précision permettant à la fois l'étude de la structure interne des étoiles par astérosismologie et la détection de planètes par la méthode des transits. Pour cette thèse, j'ai développé différents outils informatiques permettant la détection, l'analyse détaillée de transits dans les courbes de lumière de CoRoT. J'ai appliqué ces outils aux quelques 12 000 étoiles observées durant chacune des dix premières campagnes d'observation. La collaboration des équipes de détection et de suivi au sol par d'autres méthodes d'observation a permis, à ce jour, la découverte de quinze planètes et deux naines brunes.Il est possible de contraindre les modèles de ces exoplanètes grâce à la connaissance des paramètres (masse, rayon): gazeuses, de glace, telluriques, ou d'autres types mixtes.La recherche de planètes rocheuses en particulier est un objectif motivé tant par la rareté des détections de ces objets jusqu'à présent (liée à leur faibles rayon et masse), que par la grande variété potentielle de leur nature.Ainsi, la découverte de CoRoT-7b, la première exoplanète compatible avec un modèle rocheux et dont le rayon (1,6 rayon terrestre) et la masse (environ 7 masses terrestres) ont pu être mesurés, a permis d'élaborer un modèle physique auquel j'ai contribué.J'ai étudié la possibilité d'observer cette planète très chaude en proche infrarouge avec le JWST, au cours de son orbite, afin d'estimer le contraste de température entre les faces jour et nuit. Ceci doit permettre de confirmer / invalider notre modèle qui suppose l'absence d'une atmosphère suffisamment dense pour redistribuer la chaleur à la surface de CoRoT-7b.

<p>Oppgaven tar for seg noen av problemstillingene som oppstår hvis man forsøker å distribuere en evolusjon ut i flere parallelle prosesser. Den ser først og fremst på de ulike måtene subpopulasjoner kan kommunisere, og hvordan parametere for kommunikasjon kan påvirke hvor raskt man finner fram til gode resultater. Det skal være mulig å utnytte distribueringen til å bygge et super-skalart system. Det ble ikke funnet et super-skalart system i denne oppgaven.</p>

Depuis quelques années, nous observons un regain d'intérêt des scientifiques pour les instabilités élastiques observées lors de la déformation sous contrainte de systèmes tels que des multi-couches ou des coques rigides. Le nombre de structures complexes pouvant être générées à partir de ce phénomène initialement étudié par Leonhard Euler a cru de manière exponentielle ces dernières années. En plus de leur intérêt purement académique, ces instabilités sont génératrices de formes tridimensionnelles parfois étonnantes, elles présentent un grand potentiel d'application en tant qu'alternative aux techniques de (photo) lithographie pour la préparation de micro-structures utilisables en optique ou en microfluidique. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous nous sommes concentrés sur un des aspects de ces instabilités élastiques: la formation de rides de compression dans des membranes rigides déposées sur des substrats mous (élastomères). Cette étude nous a permis de mieux comprendre le contexte général des instabilités élastiques de membranes d'un point de vue essentiellement expérimental. Deux aspects ont été développés dans ce travail. D'une part, la modification de films de polydiméthylsiloxane (PDMS) par des traitements UV/Ozone et Plasma Kleaner de manière à créer une membrane rigide en surface. D'autre part, la formation de microstructures par la compression ou l'extension de ces films d'élastomères. En jouant sur le traitement en surface (UV ou Plasma) et sur la symétrie de la compression nous avons obtenu un large panel de morphologies contrastées, de la simple « tôle ondulée » micrométrique aux chevrons, structure complexe parfaitement organisée. L'influence des différents paramètres, temps d'irradiation, taux de compression, ... sur la régularité de ces microstructures a été étudiée en détails. D'une manière étonnante, les échantillons traités suffisamment longtemps présentent, en plus des rides microscopiques, une courbure globale permanente. En jouant sur la forme des zones irradiées et la nature de la compression, nous avons créé des surfaces présentant des courbures de Gauss permanente négative (selle de cheval) ou positive (calotte sphérique). Par un choix approprié de la direction de compression, il est même possible d'obtenir des structures tridimensionnelles hélicoïdales. Enfin, nous avons étudié un exemple d'application des micro-structures obtenues par instabilités élastiques, la superhydrophobie. En effet la réalisation de surfaces superhydrophobes fait intervenir non seulement la nature chimique du matériau mais également la morphologie de sa surface. En ajustant les caractéristiques de la microstructuration du PDMS, nous avons pu étudier la transition Wenzel - Cassie indiquant le passage d'une morphologie en gouttes « empalées » vers une morphologie de type « fakir » pour les topographies les plus fortes. Ce travail ouvre de nombreuses perspectives. Du point de vue des applications, de nombreuses propriétés des matériaux peuvent être modulées grâce à une structuration des surfaces à l'échelle micrométrique. D'un point de vue plus fondamental, ce travail expérimental ouvre la voie à des études théoriques dans le domaine de la morphogénèse et de la physique non linéaire. L'apparition des formes et des structures par l'intermédiaire d'instabilités est une des voies vers la complexité.

Oppgaven tar for seg noen av problemstillingene som oppstår hvis man forsøker å distribuere en evolusjon ut i flere parallelle prosesser. Den ser først og fremst på de ulike måtene subpopulasjoner kan kommunisere, og hvordan parametere for kommunikasjon kan påvirke hvor raskt man finner fram til gode resultater. Det skal være mulig å utnytte distribueringen til å bygge et super-skalart system. Det ble ikke funnet et super-skalart system i denne oppgaven.