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Fundamental Research Division
The DRF at the CEA assemble approximately 6,000 scientists since January 2016.
Scientists from IBS and their partners have understood one of the molecular mechanisms that bacteria use for survival when facing our immune defenses.
The electronics developed by IRFU now equips the four oldest gamma-ray telescopes of HESS (High Energy Stereoscopic System) in Namibia. Making it possible to optimize the simultaneous operation of all five HESS telescopes, and confirming the technical choices for its successor CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array).
The European X-ray Free Electron Laser has reached one of its final major milestones. The cryomodules used to accelerate the electrons, supplied by IRFU, were installed on-site in Hamburg, Germany. A first electron beam was accelerated across the section of the first 17 cryomodules.
A new laser technique developed by a collaboration involving GANIL has allowed for the first study of the structure of different isotopes of actinium. Resonant ionization spectroscopy in a gas will allow for the study of very heavy radioactive nuclei produced in small quantities by SPIRAL2 (one nucleus every ten seconds).
In collaboration with the University Hospital of Île-de-France (AP-HP), two teams from the CEA François-Jacob Institute were able to jointly develop a model for studying male infertility through research that was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
In a solar cell, the absorption of photons with energy exceeding the absorption threshold results in excess energy. But how is this excess energy dissipated? Researchers from IRAMIS answered this question by developing concepts that could facilitate the description of other semiconductors.
Present at a trace level in the atmosphere, carbon oxysulphide, just like carbon dioxide, is assimilated by plants. By analyzing the evolution of its concentration, the researchers were able to evaluate the increase in photosynthetic activity. It is thought to have increased by 30% over a century and would constitute a carbon sink equivalent to 25% of anthropogenic emissions. Taking this result into account will improve digital models describing the joint evolution of the climate and the carbon cycle.
A new photoemission spectroscopy technique makes it possible to observe the superconducting transition in high-temperature superconductors. This technique can also be used to study the dynamics of highly correlated systems such as ultra-cold atoms.
How could we observe the neuroinflammation mechanisms in the development of neurodegenerative diseases? A team from the CEA Frédéric-Joliot Institute has been testing tracers for PET imaging.
At the center of a small galaxy located about 1.8 billion light-years from Earth, a giant black hole swallowed a star for about a decade, which is exceptionally longer than any observed episode of this kind. This discovery was made by an international collaboration involving an astrophysicist from IRFU, thanks to a trio of orbiting X-ray telescopes.
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CEA is a French government-funded technological research organisation in four main areas: low-carbon energies, defense and security, information technologies and health technologies. A prominent player in the European Research Area, it is involved in setting up collaborative projects with many partners around the world.