La monarchie imaginée: sur le royalisme dans l'idéologie de l'Action Française

International audienceThis paper focus on the links between nationalism and royalism within the Action Française. By analyzing different angles of Maurras' ideological construct of Monarchy, disowned by both the old royalists and the pretenders to the throne, we try to explain why this way of picturing the royalty was not a simple anachronistic nostalgia of times gone by. Following Brian Jenkins and Zeev Sternhell's vision of a "populist-modern" rather than "elitist-reactionary" Action Française, this paper explains to what extent and through which channels monarchy became to this movement an increasingly symbolic choice to create an alternative national imagination against the Third Republic's one. A conceptual tool, necessarily dynamic and creative, subordinate to the integral nationalism's requirements.Cet article porte sur les liens entre nationalisme et royalisme au sein de l'Action Française. De quelle façon ce mouvement, qui ne comptait qu'un seul royaliste dans ses rangs lors de sa naissance, parvint à devenir peu de temps après le mouvement royaliste par excellence? En analysant plusieurs aspects de la construction idéologique a posteriori de la monarchie élaborée par Maurras, désavouée à la fois par les anciens royalistes et par les prétendants au trône eux-mêmes, nous tentons ici d'expliquer pourquoi cette image du Roi était bien loin d'être une simple nostalgie anachronique du passé monarchique. En accord avec les thèses de Brian Jenkins et Zeev Sternhell - d'après lesquels l'Action Française était "populiste-moderne" plutôt que "élitiste-réactionnaire" - l'article explique dans quelle mesure et par quelles voies la monarchie est devenue pour le mouvement une option de plus en plus symbolique pour la création d'un imaginaire de la nation alternatif à celui créé par la IIIème République: un outil conceptuel "nécessairement dynamique et créatif", subordonné aux exigences du nationalisme intégral

Hyperfine splitting in simple ions for the search of the variation of fundamental constants

Numerous few-electron atomic systems are considered which can be used effectively for observing a potential variation of the fine-structure constant $\alpha$ and the electron-proton mass ratio $m_e/m_p$. We examine optical magnetic dipole transitions between hyperfine-structure components in heavy highly charged H-like and Li-like ions with observably high sensitivity to a variation of $\alpha$ and $m_e/m_p$. The experimental spectra of the proposed systems consist of a strong single line, which simplifies significantly the data analysis and shortens the necessary measurement time. Furthermore, we propose systems for an experimental test of the variation of quark masses and discuss the expected level of accuracy in assessing its limitations. Finally, we establish which constraints on the variation of these fundamental constants could be provided by measurements with a hyperfine-structure highly-charged-ion clock and some reference clock, showing that a significant improvement of the current limitations can be reached

X-ray frequency combs from optically controlled resonance fluorescence

An x-ray pulse-shaping scheme is put forward for imprinting an optical frequency comb onto the radiation emitted on a driven x-ray transition, thus producing an x-ray frequency comb. A four-level system is used to describe the level structure of N ions driven by narrow-bandwidth x rays, an optical auxiliary laser, and an optical frequency comb. By including many-particle enhancement of the emitted resonance fluorescence, a spectrum is predicted consisting of equally spaced narrow lines which are centered on an x-ray transition energy and separated by the same tooth spacing as the driving optical frequency comb. Given a known x-ray reference frequency, our comb could be employed to determine an unknown x-ray frequency. While relying on the quality of the light fields used to drive the ensemble of ions, the model has validity at energies from the 100 eV to the keV range.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Astrophysical line diagnosis requires non-linear dynamical atomic modeling

Line intensities and oscillator strengths for the controversial 3C and 3D astrophysically relevant lines in neonlike Fe${}^{16+}$ ions are calculated. We show that, for strong x-ray sources, the modeling of the spectral lines by a peak with an area proportional to the oscillator strength is not sufficient and non-linear dynamical effects have to be taken into account. Furthermore, a large-scale configuration-interaction calculation of oscillator strengths is performed with the inclusion of higher-order electron-correlation effects. The dynamical effects give a possible resolution of discrepancies of theory and experiment found by recent measurements, which motivates the use of light-matter interaction models also valid for strong light fields in the analysis and interpretation of astrophysical and laboratory spectra.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Phase reconstruction of strong-field excited systems by transient-absorption spectroscopy

We study the evolution of a V-type three-level system, whose two resonances are coherently excited and coupled by two ultrashort laser pump and probe pulses, separated by a varying time delay. We relate the quantum dynamics of the excited multi-level system to the absorption spectrum of the transmitted probe pulse. In particular, by analyzing the quantum evolution of the system, we interpret how atomic phases are differently encoded in the time-delay-dependent spectral absorption profiles when the pump pulse either precedes or follows the probe pulse. We experimentally apply this scheme to atomic Rb, whose fine-structure-split $5s\,^2S_{1/2}\rightarrow 5p\,^2P_{1/2}$ and $5s\,^2S_{1/2}\rightarrow 5p\,^2P_{3/2}$ transitions are driven by the combined action of a pump pulse of variable intensity and a delayed probe pulse. The provided understanding of the relationship between quantum phases and absorption spectra represents an important step towards full time-dependent phase reconstruction (quantum holography) of bound-state wave-packets in strong-field light-matter interactions with atoms, molecules and solids.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Broadband high-resolution x-ray frequency combs

Optical frequency combs have had a remarkable impact on precision spectroscopy. Enabling this technology in the x-ray domain is expected to result in wide-ranging applications, such as stringent tests of astrophysical models and quantum electrodynamics, a more sensitive search for the variability of fundamental constants, and precision studies of nuclear structure. Ultraprecise x-ray atomic clocks may also be envisaged. In this work, an x-ray pulse-shaping method is put forward to generate a comb in the absorption spectrum of an ultrashort high-frequency pulse. The method employs an optical-frequency-comb laser, manipulating the system's dipole response to imprint a comb on an excited transition with a high photon energy. The described scheme provides higher comb frequencies and requires lower optical-comb peak intensities than currently explored methods, preserves the overall width of the optical comb, and may be implemented by presently available x-ray technology