Publications

The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) is the next-generation atmospheric Cherenkov gamma-ray project. CTAO will be deployed at two sites, one in the Northern and the other in the Southern Hemisphere, containing telescopes of three different sizes for covering different energy domains. The commissioning of the first CTAO Large-sized Telescope (LST-1) is being finalized at the CTAO Northern site. Additional calibration and environmental monitoring instruments such as laser imaging detection and ranging (LIDAR) instruments and weather stations will support the telescope operations. The Array Control and Data Acquisition (ACADA) system is the central element for onsite CTAO operations. ACADA controls, supervises, and handles the data generated by the telescopes and the auxiliary instruments. It will drive the efficient planning and execution of observations while handling the several Gb/s camera data generated by each CTAO telescope. The ACADA system contains the CTAO Science Alert Generation Pipeline – a real-time data processing and analysis pipeline, dedicated to the automatic generation of science alert candidates as data are being acquired. These science alerts, together with external alerts arriving from other scientific instruments, will be managed by the Transients Handler (TH) component. The TH informs the Short-term Scheduler of ACADA about interesting science alerts, enabling the modification of ongoing observations at sub-minute timescales. The capacity for such fast reactions – together with the fast movement of CTAO telescopes – makes CTAO an excellent instrument for studying high-impact astronomical transient phenomena. The ACADA software is based on the Alma Common Software (ACS) framework, and written in C++, Java, Python, and Javascript. The first release of the ACADA software, ACADA REL1, was finalized in July 2023, and integrated after a testing campaign with the LST-1 finalized in October 2023. This contribution describes the design and status of the ACADA software system.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) is the next-generation atmospheric Cherenkov gammaray Observatory. CTAO will be constructed on two sites, one array in the Northern and the other in the Southern hemisphere, containing telescopes of three different sizes, for covering different energy domains. To combine and orchestrate the different telescopes and auxiliary instruments (array elements), the Array Control and Data Acquisition (ACADA) system is the central element for the Observatory on-site operations: it controls, supervises, and handles the data generated by the array elements. Considering the criticality of the ACADA system for future Observatory operations, corresponding quality assurance provisions have been made at the different steps of the software development lifecycle, with focus on continuous integration and testing at all levels. To enable higher-level tests of the software deployed on a distributed system, an ACADA test cluster has been set up to facilitate testing and debugging of issues in a more realistic environment. Furthermore, a separate software integration and test cluster has also been established that allows for the off-site testing of the integrated software packages of ACADA and of the corresponding array elements. Here the software integration can be prepared, interfaces and interactions can be tested, and on-site procedures that are required later in the process can be checked beforehand, only limited by the simulation capabilities that are delivered as part of the software packages. Once preparations and testing with the off-site test cluster are completed, the integrated software can be deployed at the target site. The software packages and setup parameters are kept under configuration control at all stages, and deployment steps are documented to ensure that installations are reproducible. This methodology has been applied for the first time in the context of the integration of ACADA with the first CTAO Large-sized Telescope (LST-1) in October 2023.

The detection of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star merger by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo (GW170817), along with the discovery of the electromagnetic counterparts of this gravitational wave event, ushered in a new era of multimessenger astronomy, providing the first direct evidence that BNS mergers are progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Such events may also produce very-high-energy (VHE, > 100GeV) photons which have yet to be detected in coincidence with a gravitational wave signal. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a next-generation VHE observatory which aims to be indispensable in this search, with an unparalleled sensitivity and ability to slew anywhere on the sky within a few tens of seconds. New observing modes and follow-up strategies are being developed for CTA to rapidly cover localization areas of gravitational wave events that are typically larger than the CTA field of view. This work will evaluate and provide estimations on the expected number of of gravitational wave events that will be observable with CTA, considering both on- and off-axis emission. In addition, we will present and discuss the prospects of potential follow-up strategies with CTA.

L’Accident Vasculaire Cérébral (AVC) est un problème de santé mondial majeur qui représente la première cause de handicap acquis de l’adulte. Les séquelles qu’il génère amènent à une perte d’autonomie et d’indépendance. Une rééducation est donc nécessaire pour recouvrir le maximum de capacités. Cependant, elle pose un problème majeur qui est celui de l’adhésion thérapeutique. Cette thèse est réalisée dans le cadre d’un contrat CIFRE entre le laboratoire IBISC et la société Interaction Healthcare. Elle porte sur la conception et l’évaluation d’un systèmed’assistance à l’auto-rééducation motrice du membre supérieur post-AVC, basé sur la Réalité Virtuelle. Plus particulièrement, nous nous sommes intéressés à la mise en place d’un système de gestion de la difficulté, nécessaire pour améliorer la motivation des patients. Notre système est conçu selon une méthode centrée utilisateur en collaboration avec les patients et les thérapeutes de la clinique Les Trois Soleils. Il est basé sur un Leap Motion placé au-dessus d’une table qui permet d’interagir avec des environnements virtuels 3d affichés sur un écran. Deux exercices ontété réalisés. Le premier concerne une tâche de pointage de cibles qui permet de faire travailler la flexion-extension du coude ainsi que l’épaule. Lesecond concerne une tâche de pronation-supination du poignet. Dans ce dernier nous avons élaboré un système de gestion de la difficulté basé sur les aptitudes motrices des patients. Nous avons enfin conduit un protocole expérimental ayant pour objectif d’évaluer l’utilisabilité du dispositif, la cohérence de notre système de gestion de la difficulté à travers son impact sur les performances patients ainsi que le degré de motivation des utilisateurs. Les résultats montrent une très bonne utilisabilité, la cohérence du modèle de difficulté mais son faible impact sur les performances,et la forte motivation des participants.

Virtual reality technologies have been experimented for several years for post-stroke motor rehabilitation, but there is too little diffusion of these systems among medical facilities and none among patients. Our objective is the development of an interactive system to assist motor rehabilitation of the upper limb after a stroke, which retains the medical benefits of traditional post-stroke methods while reducing human costs (usable with minimal supervision) and materials (general public), and facilitating active patient participation. System architecture, 3D interactions and virtual content are based on an iterative, user-centered design methodology with patients and therapists. The system allows users to perform repetitive and intensive tasks with the upper limb. The paretic hand is tracked with a low-cost depth sensor. Kinematic performance is monitored and visual feedbacks are proposed. Preliminary tests were conducted on a non-immersive prototype, with eight patients and a target pointing task. The results showed good usability and high acceptance from the users.