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# On finiteness of the number of boundary slopes of immersed surfaces in 3-manifolds

For any hyperbolic 3-manifold $`M`$ with totally geodesic boundary, there are finitely many boundary slopes for essential immersed surfaces of a given genus. There is a uniform bound for the number of such boundary slopes if the genus of $`M`$ or the volume of $`M`$ is bounded above. When the volume is bounded above, then area of $`M`$ is bounded above and the length of closed geodesic on $`M`$ is bounded below.

support: This paper grew out of work begun while the first two authors were visiting the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley in 1996-97. Research at MSRI is supported in part by NSF grant DMS-9022140. The first author was partially supported by NSF grant DMS-9704286. The second and third authors were partially supported by Outstanging Younth Fellowship of NSFC

We say that a proper immersion of a surface $`F`$ into $`M`$ is an essential surface if it is incompressible and $``$-incompressible, meaning that the immersion induces an injection of the fundamental group and relative fundamental group. Let $`c`$ be an essential simple loop on the boundary $`M`$ of a compact 3-manifold $`M`$. If there is a proper immersion of an essential surface $`F`$ into $`M`$ such that each component of $`F`$ is homotopic to a multiple of $`c`$, we call $`c`$ a boundary slope of $`F`$.

We are interested in the following two questions:

###### Questions

(1) Given a compact 3-manifold $`M`$ and a genus $`g`$, are there finitely many boundary slopes for immersed essential surfaces with genus at most $`g`$?

(2) Under what conditions is there a bound for the number of boundary slopes in (1) which is independent of the 3-manifold?

Many results in these directions have been obtained for various classes of 3-manifolds:

(1) If $`M`$ is a torus and the surfaces are embedded, Hatcher \[H\] showed that there are only finitely many boundary slopes, without any genus restriction.

(2) When the surfaces are embedded punctured spheres or tori, explicit bounds are known on the number of boundary slopes. These bounds are based on highly developed combinatorial methods in knot theory and the theory of representations of knot groups. See the survey papers \[Go\], \[Lu\] and \[Sh\].

(3) When $`M`$ is a torus and the surfaces are immersed, a positive answer to Question (1) has been obtained recently in \[HRW\]. When $`M`$ is hyperbolic, minimal surface theory is used to derive these bounds. For fixed genus $`g`$, these turn out to be quadratic functions of $`g`$, independent of $`M`$. See also recent work of Agol \[Agol\].

(4) If $`M`$ is an irreducible, $``$-irreducible, acylindrical, atoroidal 3-manifold and the surfaces are embedded, Scharlemann and Wu \[SW\] gave a positive answer to Question 1 using combinatorial arguments.

(5) Suppose $`M`$ is a torus and the surfaces are immersed. Baker has given examples to show that the bounded genus assumption cannot be dropped. Oertel, using branched surface theory, has found manifolds in which every slope is realized by the boundary of an immersed essential surface \[Oe\].

In this note we give a positive answer to Question (1), which extends (3) to the case where $`M`$ can contain high genus components and generalizes (4) from embedded to immersed surfaces.

###### Theorem 1

Suppose $`M`$ is $``$-irreducible, acylindrical, atoroidal 3-manifold. Then for any $`g`$, there are only finitely many $``$-slopes for essential surfaces of genus $`g`$.

Next we consider the question of obtaining bounds for the number of possible slopes which are independent of the particular manifold we are studying. It turns out that only the genus of the boundary of $`M`$ is relevant.

We define the genus of $`M`$ be the sum of the genus of the components of $`M`$.

###### Theorem 2

There is a function $`n(g,g_{})`$ such that there are at most $`n(g,g_{})`$ $``$-slopes for essential surfaces of genus $`g`$ in a $``$-irreducible, acylindrical, atoroi- dal 3-manifold whose boundary has genus equal to $`g_{}`$.

We can also obtain bounds on the number of boundary slopes in terms of hyperbolic geometry.

Definition. Let $`(V)`$ be the set of all hyperbolic 3-manifolds of totally geodesic boundary and with volume bounded above by $`V>0`$.

###### Theorem 3

There is a function $`n_1(g,V)`$ such that there are at most $`n_1(g,V)`$ $``$-slopes for essential surfaces of genus $`g`$ in a 3-manifold $`M(V)`$.

Theorem 3 follows from either Theorem 1 or Theorem 2, the fact that all maximum torus cusps have volumes $`>C>0`$ \[Ad\], and the following

###### Theorem 4

There is an integer $`g^{}>0`$ and a number $`L>0`$ such that if $`M(V)`$, then

(1) the genus of $`M`$ is at most $`g^{}`$.

(2) the length of any closed geodesic on $`M`$ is at least $`L`$.

Remark on Theorem 4. Theorem 4 can be restated as follows: For hyperbolic 3-manifolds with totally geodesic boundary and bounded volume, the areas of their boundaries have an upper bound, and the lengths of simple closed geodesics on their boundary have a lower bound. Neither of those two assertions is true in dimension 2. Surfaces of given area can have geodesic boundaries of any length.

###### Demonstration Proof of Theorem 1

If $`M`$ has any 2-sphere boundary components, we can fill them in with balls without changing the number of boundary slopes. Since any essential surface can be homotoped off of a splitting 2-sphere, we can without loss of generality assume that $`M`$ is irreducible. The number of boundary slopes of essential surfaces lying on a torus boundary component of $`M`$ is finite by \[HRW\], so we restrict attention to surfaces with boundary on a higher genus component of $`M`$. By Thurston’s Geometrization Theorem for Haken manifolds, $`M`$ admits a complete hyperbolic structure of finite volume with totally geodesic boundary \[T\]. We assume that $`M`$ is equipped with such a hyperbolic structure. The totally geodesic boundary components consist of the non-torus boundary components of $`M`$. Since $`M`$ have only finitely many components, to prove Theorem 1, we need only to show that for each component of $`M`$ there are finitely many boundary slopes of proper essential surfaces of genus at most $`g`$.

Suppose $`F`$ is an incompressible, boundary incompressible proper immersion with $`F`$ consisting of $`n`$ copies of a slope $`l`$. Let $`DM`$ be the double of $`M`$ along its totally geodesic boundary components. $`DM`$ is Haken and atoroidal, and admits a hyperbolic structure obtained by doubling that of $`M`$. The double $`DF`$ of $`F`$ is incompressible, and therefore a theorem of Schoen-Yau and Sacks-Uhlenbeck shows that there is a least area representative of its homotopy class, denoted by $`DF^{}`$ \[SY\]. The intersection of $`DF^{}`$ with the incompressible least area (in fact totally geodesic) surface $`M`$ consists of curves essential on both $`DF^{}`$ and $`M`$. Since $`F`$ is boundary incompressible in $`M`$, the intersection $`F^{}`$ of $`DF^{}`$ with $`M`$ is a surface homotopic (rel boundary) in $`M`$ to $`F`$. Since $`DM`$ admits an isometry which is a reflection about $`M`$, $`DF^{}`$ is perpendicular to $`M`$. If not, we could reflect $`DF^{}M`$ and get a homotopic surface with lower area. So $`F^{}`$ is properly homotopic to $`F`$, $`F^{}`$ is perpendicular to $`M`$ and $`F^{}`$ is a (possibly multiply covered) geodesic.

Choosing geodesic orthogonal coordinates near the geodesic boundary of the surface $`F^{}`$, we have (line 7 of p.374, \[BM\])

$$ds^2=du^2+J^2(u,v)dv^2,(J(u,v)>0\text{ and }J(0,v)=1).$$
$`1`$
where the $`u`$-curves (those where $`v=`$ constant) are geodesics perpendicular to the boundary and the $`v`$-curves lie on the boundary when $`u=0`$.

The geodesic curvature in $`F^{}`$ of a curve $`t(u(t),v(t))`$ is given by Formula 10.4.7.1 of \[BM\],

$$\frac{1}{\sqrt{Eu_{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}+Gv_{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}}}(\frac{d\varphi }{dt}+\frac{1}{2\sqrt{EG}}(\frac{G}{u}v^{}\frac{E}{v}u^{})),$$
$`2`$
where $`\varphi `$ is the angle between the curve and the $`u`$-curves and the metric on $`F^{}`$ is given by

$$Edu^2+Gdv^2.$$

When we consider the $`v`$-curves, we have $`u^{}=0`$, $`v^{}=1`$, $`\varphi =\pi /2`$, $`E=1`$ and $`G=J^2`$. Substituting into (2), the geodesic curvature for a $`v`$-curve $`\{u=c\}`$ oriented as the boundary of $`\{0uc\}`$ is given by:

$$k_g=\frac{1}{J}\frac{J}{u}.$$
$`3`$
Orienting the curve as the boundary of $`\{uc\}`$ changes the sign and gives

$$k_g=\frac{1}{J}\frac{J}{u}.$$
$`3^{}`$
The Gaussian curvature of the surface is Formula 10.5.3.3 of \[BM\]

$$K=\frac{1}{J}\frac{^2J}{u^2}.$$
$`4`$
A direct computation shows that $`k_g`$ satisfies the following equation

$$\frac{k_g}{u}=K+k_g^2.$$
$`5`$
Since $`M`$ is of constant curvature $`1`$, we have

$$K=k_1k_21$$

by Gauss’s Formula (p.179 \[Sp\]), where $`k_1`$ and $`k_2`$ are the principle curvatures. Since $`F`$ is a minimal surface, we have $`k_1k_20`$, and hence $`K1`$. Then by (4) it follows that

$$\frac{^2J}{u^2}J.$$
$`6`$
Fixing $`v=v_0`$, by (6) we have

$$\frac{J}{u}(u,v_0)=\frac{J}{u}(u,v_0)\frac{J}{u}(0,v_0)$$

$$=_0^u\frac{^2J}{u^2}(s,v_0)𝑑s_0^uJ(s,v_0)𝑑s0.$$
$`7`$
(1), (3’) and (7) imply that $`k_g<0`$, if $`u>0`$.

Now consider the function

$$h(u)=\frac{e^ue^u}{e^u+e^u}.$$
$`8`$
which is the solution to the differential equation

$$\frac{dh}{du}=1+h^2$$
$`9`$
with the initial condition $`h(0)=0`$. Note that $`h(u)<0`$ when $`u>0`$ and that the function $`k_gh`$ satisfies the differential inequality

$$\frac{d(k_gh)}{du}=K+k_g^2+1h^2$$

$$k_g^2h^2=(k_gh)(k_g+h)$$
$`10`$
by (5) and (9). We want to show that $`k_gh0`$.

Suppose on the contrary that on an interval $`[0,U]`$, $`k_gh`$ is somewhere positive. Pick a $`u_0[0,U]`$, such that $`k_gh`$ takes its positive maximum at $`u_0`$. We know $`u_00`$ since $`F^{}`$ is a geodesic and $`k_g=h=0`$ at $`0`$. Then

$$\frac{d(k_gh)}{du}$$

is zero if $`u_0(0,u)`$, and is $`0`$ if $`u_0=U`$. Hence

$$\frac{d(k_gh)}{du}0$$

at $`u_0`$. Since both $`k_g`$ and $`h`$ are negative at $`u_0`$, we have

$$(k_gh)(k_g+h)<0.$$

This contradicts (10), and so $`k_gh`$.

For $`t>0`$, let $`N_t(M)`$ be the subset of $`M`$ with distance $`t`$ from the boundary. There is a $`b>0`$ such that when $`t<b`$ then $`N_t(M)`$ is a collar of $`M`$.

Choose $`U<b`$ in the above and let $`N_U(F^{})`$ be the neighborhood of $`F^{}`$ with $`u`$ coordinates at most $`U`$. Clearly $`N_U(F^{})N_b(M)`$. Since $`N_b(M)`$ is a collar of $`M`$ and the surface $`F^{}`$ is $``$-incompressible, it follows that $`N_U(F^{})`$ is a collar of $`F^{}`$. Letting

$$F_U=\overline{F^{}N_U(F^{})},$$

each component of $`F_U`$ is in the same homotopy class in $`M`$ as the slope $`l`$ and

$$\mathrm{\#}F_U=\mathrm{\#}F^{}=\mathrm{\#}F=n.$$

By Gauss-Bonnet, we have that

$$_{F_U}K𝑑A+_{F_U}k_g𝑑s=2\pi (\chi (F))=2\pi (22gn).$$

Let $`d`$ be the length of the geodesic in the homotopy class of the slope $`l`$. Then the length of each component of $`F_U`$ is larger than $`d`$. Since $`K1`$ and $`k_gh<0`$ at $`U`$, we have

$$nhd2\pi (22gn).$$

Then we have

$$d\frac{2\pi (2g+n2)}{hn}\frac{2\pi (2g+1)}{h}.$$
$`11`$
Since $`g`$ is given and $`h=h(U)<0`$, $`d`$ is bounded above. There are only finitely many homotopy class of essential closed curves in $`M`$ containing elements of length less than a given constant. Therefore for any fixed $`g`$ there are only finitely many $``$-slopes for immersed incompressible, boundary incompressible surfaces of genus $`g`$. ∎

###### Demonstration Proof of Theorem 2

In the proof of Theorem 1, if we only consider 3-manifolds whose totally geodesic boundary has a collar of width bounded below by $`U_{}`$, so that $`U>U_{}`$, then $`h=h(U)h(U_{})=\mathrm{tanh}U_{}0`$. Moreover if we consider only boundary slopes of length at least $`L>0`$, then by (11) we have

$$Ld\frac{2\pi (2g+1)}{\mathrm{tanh}U_{}}.$$
$`12`$
Let $`A(R)`$ be the area of $`D(R)`$, the hyperbolic disc with radius $`R`$. Let $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_L`$ be any lattice on the hyperbolic plane such that the distance of any two vertices has distance at least $`L`$. Then the number of vertices of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_L`$ in $`D({\displaystyle \frac{2\pi (2g+1)}{\mathrm{tan}U_{}}})`$ is at most

$$n(g,U_{},L)=\frac{A(\frac{2\pi (2g+1)}{\mathrm{tan}U_{}}+L)}{A(L)}.$$
$`13`$
It follows that the number of boundary slopes for proper essential surfaces of genus at most $`g`$ is bounded by $`n(g,U_{},L)`$.

To show the existence of the function $`n(g,g_{})`$ we need to establish in the proof of the previous theorem:

1. A lower bound $`U_{}`$ to the width of a collar around $`M`$ for any hyperbolic metric on a manifold $`M`$ in which $`M`$ is totally geodesic of genus $`g_{}`$.

2. Given $`L>0`$, an upper bound on the number of curves of length $`L`$ lieing in a collar of $`M`$. This bound should depend only on the genus of $`M`$, and not on its geometry.

The existence of the first type of bound was established by Kojima and Miyamoto \[KM\], and by Basmajian \[Ba\]. On the boundary of $`M`$, the second type of bound is a consequence of the Margulis Lemma, or of its two dimensional version known as the “collar lemma” (\[Bu\] and also Theorem 2.18 of \[Mu\]). We actually use a bound that holds in a collar neighborhood of $`M`$ in Theorem 1. However the projection from a collar of the boundary of a hyperbolic manifold with totally geodesic boundary to the boundary is length decreasing, so it suffices to consider curves lieing on the boundary.

More precisely, let $`S(x)=\mathrm{sinh}^1(1/\mathrm{sinh}(x/2))`$. For a given simple closed geodesic $`c`$ with length $`d_c`$ on a hyperbolic surface, let $`N(c)=\{x:d(x,c)S(d_c)\}`$. Then the collar lemma states that $`N(c)`$ is a collar. Moreover if $`c_1`$ and $`c_2`$ are disjoint simple closed geodesics, then $`N(c_1)`$ and $`N(c_2)`$ are disjoint. There is an $`L`$ such that if $`dL`$, then $`S(d)>d/2`$ and $`d>\mathrm{sinh}(d/2)`$; for example, we can choose $`L=1.75`$; then $`S(d)>S(L)>0.887>0.85=L/2d/2`$ and $`1.76L/\mathrm{sinh}(L/2)d/\mathrm{sinh}(d/2)`$. Then any two simple closed geodesics of length $`L`$ are disjoint. Moreover the area of $`N(c)`$ is

$$2d_c\mathrm{sinh}(S(d_c))=2d_c/\mathrm{sinh}(d_c/2)2d_c/d_c=2.$$

Hence the number of simple closed geodesics of length at most $`L`$ is bounded above by

$$2\pi (2g(F)2)/2=2\pi (g(F)1).$$
$`14`$
where $`g(F)`$ is the genus of $`F`$.

For simplicity, we first assume that $`M`$ is connected. By (13) and (14) we have

$$n(g,g_{})=\frac{A(\frac{2\pi (2g+1)}{\mathrm{tanh}U^{}}+L)}{A(L)}+2\pi (g_{}1).$$
$`15`$
By Lemma 3.1 of \[Ba\], we have the lower bound

$$U^{}=\frac{1}{4}log\frac{g_{}+1}{g_{}1}.$$
$`16`$
Moreover $`A(R)={\displaystyle \frac{4\pi }{1\mathrm{tanh}^2R/2}}`$. We can get an explicit value for $`n(g,g_{})`$ by plugging in these functions, though this does not appear to give sharp values.

In general suppose $`M`$ consists of $`k`$ torus components and $`l`$ components of genus $`g_i>1`$, $`i=1,\mathrm{},l`$. Then $`g_{}=_{i=1}^lg_i+k`$ and there are at most $`_{i=1}^ln(g,g_i)+kN(g)`$ boundary slopes for proper essential surfaces of genus $`g`$, where $`N(g)`$ is the uniform bound for the number of boundary slopes of proper essential surface of genus $`g`$ on a torus boundary component given in \[HRW\], and $`n(g,g_i)`$ is given by (15). One can verify that $`_{i=1}^ln(g,g_i)+N(g)n(g,g_{})`$. ∎

###### Demonstration Proof of Theorem 4

Pick any infinite sequence of totally geodesic hyperbolic 3-manifolds $`\{M_n\}`$ in $`(V)`$. Consider the sequence $`\{D(M_n)\}`$, where $`D(M_n)`$ is the double of each $`M_n`$. Then the volume of the closed hyperbolic 3-manifold $`D(M_n)`$ is bounded by $`2V`$. By passing to a subsequence, we can assume that $`D(M_n)`$ has a Gromov limit $`M^{}`$. It is known that

(a) $`M^{}`$ is a complete hyperbolic 3-manifold of finite volume, which can be viewed as the complement of a hyperbolic link $`L`$ in a closed 3-manifold, and each $`D(M_n)`$ is obtained by a Dehn surgery on $`M^{}`$.

(b) Since each $`D(M_n)`$ admits a reflection $`r_n`$ (isometry) about its geodesic boundary, so does $`M^{}`$. Hence $`M^{}=D(M_{\mathrm{}})`$, where $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ is a hyperbolic 3-manifold with totally geodesic boundary. Let $`r_{\mathrm{}}`$ be the reflection of $`D(M_{\mathrm{}})`$ about $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$. We have not claimed as yet that there is no cusp at $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$.

(c) Let $`TH_ϵ(P)`$ be the $`ϵ`$ thick part of $`P`$ for any hyperbolic 3-manifold $`P`$. Then for any $`ϵ>0`$ and $`1ϵk1`$, there is an integer $`N`$ such that for $`n>N`$ there is a homeomorphism $`h_n:TH_ϵ(D(M))TH_ϵ(D(M_n))`$ which is a $`k`$-quasi-isometry. Moreover $`h_n`$ can be chosen to commute with the reflections.

For the result on the Gromov limit of closed hyperbolic 3-manifolds of bounded volume, see Chapter 6 of \[T1\], or Chapter E of \[BP\]. For the fact about reflections, one can argue as follow: As in the case of closed hyperbolic 3-manifolds, any sequence of hyperbolic 3-manifolds with totally geodesic boundary and bounded volume $`V`$ has a subsequence with Gromov limit $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$, which is a complete hyperbolic 3-manifold with totally geodesic boundary. Then the double $`D(M_{\mathrm{}})`$ will be the limit of the doubles.

Suppose there is a torus in $`M`$, which must result in cusps in $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$. Let the torus $`T`$ be the boundary component of $`TH_ϵ(M_{\mathrm{}})`$ corresponding to the cusp $`C`$, and let $`c`$ be a component of $`TM`$. Then $`h_n(T)D(M_n)`$ is invariant under the reflection $`r_n`$ about $`M_n`$, and it follows that $`h_n(c)`$ is a meridian of the Dehn filling solid torus on $`h_n(T)`$, and therefore $`h_n(c)M_n`$ is a trivial loop. However each cusp in $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ can only be a limit of essential loops, and this is a contradiction. Hence $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ contains no cusps.

Since $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ contains no cusps, for small $`ϵ`$, $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ is contained in the interior of the compact manifold $`TH_ϵD(M_{\mathrm{}})`$. Moreover as the fixed point set of the reflection $`r_{\mathrm{}}|TH_ϵ(D(M_{\mathrm{}}))`$, $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ is compact, therefore it is closed. Since $`M_n`$ converges to $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ in the limit, it follows that

(1’) the genus of $`M_n`$ is stable when $`n`$ is large enough,

(2’) the length of the shortest simple closed geodesic on $`M_n`$ cannot converge to zero (otherwise there will be a cusp in $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$).

Now suppose (1) of Theorem 4 is not true. Then we can find a sequence $`\{M_n\}`$ in $`(V)`$ such that the genus of $`M_n`$ is $`>n`$. The genus of any subsequence must also tend to infinity, which contradicts (1’); hence (1) of Theorem 4 is true. Similarly, if (2) of Theorem 4 is not true, then we can find a sequence $`\{M_n\}`$ in $`(V)`$ such that the length of the shortest geodesic of $`M_n`$ is $`<1/n`$, which contradicts (2’). This finishes the proof of Theorem 4. ∎

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# HST/NICMOS Imaging of the Planetary Nebula Hubble 12

## 1. Observations and Reductions

Images of Hubble 12 (Hb 12) were obtained with the HST/NICMOS instrument on 13 Nov 1997. The images in the F110W, F164N, and F166N were taken with NIC1, and the F160W, F187N, F190N, F212N, F215N images were obtained with NIC2. The MULTIACCUM mode and spiral dither patterns were used. The NICMOS CALNICA and CALNICB pipelines were used to reduce the data. In general a few dither sets were obtained in each filter; these were aligned and averaged to produce the final images. The bright central star makes the region near the core difficult to see clearly, and adds a number of image artifacts. The lines that run approximately from corner to corner are part of the diffraction pattern of the instrument. The horizontal and vertical lines that run through the star are array artifacts caused when the central star saturates in the long integrations. In future reductions we will attempt to subtract the point source in the core to better study the region around it.

## 2. Results and Discussion

Hb 12 has been notable primarily because it represents one of the clearest cases known of UV excited near-IR fluorescent H2 emission (Dinerstein et al. 1988; Ramsay et al. 1993, Hora & Latter 1996, Luhman & Rieke 1996). Dinerstein et al. had mapped the inner structure and found it to be elliptical surrounding the central star; the deep H2 images in Hora & Latter (1996) showed the faint bipolar lobes extending N-S, and the torus or “eye”-shaped strucure at the base of the lobes around the central star. The H2 line ratios observed in the torus were in excellent agreement with predictions by theoretical H2 fluorescence calculations (see also Luhman & Rieke 1996). Hora & Latter also detected \[Fe II\] line emission at 1.64 $`\mu `$m in a position along the edge of the shell, but not at the H2 line peak emission location to the E of the central star.

Previous HST-WPC2 imaging by Sahai & Trauger (1998) in H$`\alpha `$ showed the inner structure to have an “hourglass” shape, and a small bipolar structure in the core region, with lobes roughly E-W within a few tenths of an arcsec from the star. Welch et al. (1999a,b) obtained ground-based images in the \[Fe II\] line and nearby continuum and found that the line emission was also distributed along the inner hourglass nebula. The HST images presented here show the symmetry axes of the hourglass and the H2 eye and bipolar nebula differ in their alignment by $``$ 5. A comparison of these images with the inner bipolar structure found by Sahai & Trauger shows that its alignment differs by $`20^{}`$ from the hourglass and outer H2 lobes. The different orientation of the structures suggests that the central source may be precessing between discrete outflow events. Also, the structures seen in the H2 image indicate other possible outflow events and remnants of other bipolar hourglass nebulae. Hb 12 may therefore be another example of a PN with multiple nested bipolar bubbles.

The inner hourglass is bright in the Paschen $`\alpha `$ and \[Fe II\] lines, but the outline of the “eye” appears only in the H2 and the wide bandpass filters (in continuum plus H2 line emission). This implies that the regions where only H2 is detected are somehow shielded from what has ionized the inner hourglass. There is no evidence for \[Fe II\] emission from other regions in the nebula, and the density of the inner hourglass does not seem sufficient to provide effective shielding of the other regions from radiation from the central star, which might suggest shock excitation in an interacting wind. This hypothesis must be confirmed with investigation of the velocity structure in the nebula. The strong influence of FUV photons elsewhere in this object argues that the \[Fe II\] emission is excited by FUV photons in the PDR. We will be investigating this possibility through detailed chemical modeling.

We obtained high-resolution IR spectra of Hb 12 in the H2 and \[Fe II\] lines using CSHELL at the IRTF (Kelly, Hora, & Latter 1999) which indicates that the N lobe is inclined towards us. We also have additional medium-resolution spectra of the faint extended H2 lobes to determine the excitation properties of the outer nebula. We are in the process of analyzing these data along with the optical and IR imagery to understand the structure of this interesting and complex nebula.

## References

Dinerstein, H. L., Lester, D. F., Carr, J. S., & Harvey, P. M. 1988, ApJLett, 327, L27

Hora, J. L., & Latter, W. B. 1996, ApJ, 461, 288

Hora, J. L., Latter, W. B., & Deutsch, L. K. 1999, ApJSupp, in press

Kelly, D. M., Hora, J. L., & Latter, W. B. 1999, in preparation

Luhman, K., & Rieke, G. H. 1996, ApJ, 461, 298

Ramsay, S. K., Chrysostomou, A., Geballe, T. R., Brand, P. W. J. L., & Mountain, M. 1993, MNRAS, 263, 695

Sahai, R., & Trauger, J. T. 1998, AJ, 116, 1357

Welch, C. A., Frank, A., Pipher, J. L., Forrest, W. J., & Woodward, C. E. 1999a, ApJ, in press

Welch, C. A., et al., 1999b, this conference


text:
# Quark Coulomb Interactions and the Mass Difference of Mirror Nuclei

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## Abstract

We study the Okamoto-Nolen-Schiffer (ONS) anomaly in the binding energy of mirror nuclei at high density by adding a single neutron or proton to a quark gluon plasma. In this high-density limit we find an anomaly equal to two-thirds of the Coulomb exchange energy of a proton. This effect is dominated by quark electromagnetic interactions—rather than by the up-down quark mass difference. At normal density we calculate the Coulomb energy of neutron matter using a string-flip quark model. We find a nonzero Coulomb energy because of the neutron’s charged constituents. This effect could make a significant contribution to the ONS anomaly.

\]

The Okamoto-Nolen-Schiffer (ONS) anomaly is the long-standing discrepancy between the calculated and measured binding-energy differences of mirror nuclei . The anomaly is likely to arise from charge symmetry breaking (CSB) in the strong interaction , itself believed to originate from the up-down quark mass difference and electromagnetic effects in the Standard Model. Thus, the study of CSB is a useful tool to elucidate the structure of strongly-interacting nuclear systems.

The ONS anomaly can be calculated on several levels. Perhaps the simplest is the observation by B. A. Brown  that the magnitude of the anomaly is approximately equal to the Coulomb exchange energy. If one adds an extra proton to a nucleus in a simple Hartree-Fock picture, there will be both a direct (Hartree) and exchange (Fock) Coulomb interaction with the other protons. If one—arbitrarily—neglects the Fock term, one obtains a better agreement with experiment.

At a different level, Blunden and Iqbal compute the ONS anomaly by calculating the contribution from $`\rho `$-$`\omega `$ mixing to the CSB component of the nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction . Their CSB interaction can explain part of the anomaly. However, at present this is controversial, both in the choice of meson couplings  and in the momentum dependence of $`\rho `$-$`\omega `$ mixing . There have been also a number of calculations of the anomaly based on the contribution from the up-down quark mass difference ($`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$). Indeed, Nakamura and coworkers  calculate a CSB NN interaction using a constituent quark model where the short-range color hyperfine interaction depends explicitly on the quark masses. Moreover, the mass difference between the neutron and proton may be density dependent . Finally, there are other more recent model calculations, such as the one reported in Ref. .

Although the observation by Brown is not a dynamical explanation, it is an interesting characterization of the size of the anomaly. Could there be something wrong with the exchange term? As the nucleon is a composite object, could it be that the exchange energy of composite objects yields results significantly different from the exchange of point nucleons? One expects identical results if the composite scale of the nucleon is much smaller than the inter-particle spacing. However these scales are similar in nuclei. Moreover, although various calculations based on the up-down quark mass difference exist, we are not aware of any calculation of electromagnetic (EM) effects between quarks to the ONS anomaly.

The neutron-proton mass difference in free space is made up from comparable contributions of $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ and EM effects. Note that EM and $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ terms contribute with opposite signs to the neutron-proton mass difference. However, the ONS anomaly is sensitive to the density dependence of these contributions so the relative sign is unknown. In this letter we study EM effects involving the Coulomb exchange interactions of composite nucleons.

To clarify the importance of EM and $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ terms we consider a high-density limit of the ONS anomaly. We will show, with some mild assumptions, that in the high-density limit: (1) there is an ONS anomaly and (2) that it is dominated by EM effects with $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ being unimportant. Further, (3) the magnitude of the anomaly is simply related to the Coulomb exchange energy and (4) its sign is the same as that observed at lower densities. Finally, we will perform model calculations to see how relevant this high-density limit is to normal-density nuclei.

Consider very high-density symmetric nuclear matter. We assume that an electron gas makes the system electrically neutral. Thus the direct Coulomb interaction vanishes. Yet Coulomb exchange effects are still present. Now add either one proton or one neutron to the system and calculate the change in energy. First, model the system as a Fermi gas of elementary nucleons. An added proton will have a Coulomb exchange energy of

$$V_p=e^2\frac{k_F}{\pi }.$$
(1)
Here $`k_F`$ is the Fermi momentum of the proton and $`e`$ is its electric charge. In contrast, an added neutron has zero Coulomb exchange energy: $`V_n=0`$. Thus, the energy difference between an added proton and a neutron is just:

$$E_pE_n=V_p+M_pM_n=e^2\frac{k_F}{\pi }\mathrm{\Delta }M,$$
(2)
where $`\mathrm{\Delta }M=M_nM_p=1.29`$ MeV is the neutron-proton mass difference. Equation (2) is the simple expectation of a model with unexcited point nucleons.

Next we consider a quark-gluon plasma. We assume because of asymptotic freedom, that at very high density the system is nearly a free Fermi gas of quarks. This is because the strong coupling $`\alpha _S(k_F^2)`$ becomes small at the large momentum scale characterized by $`k_F`$ . When a proton is added it will dissociate into two up and one down quark. Therefore, the Coulomb exchange energy of these three quarks is

$$V_p^{(q)}=\left(\underset{i=1}{\overset{3}{}}e_i^2\right)\frac{k_F}{\pi },$$
(3)
where $`e_i`$ denotes the quark electric charge and $`k_F`$ is the quark Fermi momentum. Note that there are three times as many (valence) quarks as nucleons. However the quarks have an extra color degeneracy of three. As a result, the quark Fermi momentum in Eq. (3) is the same as the proton’s Fermi momentum in Eq. (1). The sum of the squares of the valence charges in a proton is $`(4/9+4/9+1/9)e^2=e^2`$. Because of this “numerical accident” the quark Coulomb exchange energy is equal to the Coulomb exchange energy of an elementary proton.

An interesting difference arises when we add a neutron. In a quark-gluon plasma the Coulomb exchange energy is no longer zero because a neutron is made up of charged constituents. Moreover, the exchange energy is always negative independent of the sign of the charges; the contributions from positive and negative charges add rather than cancel. Indeed, the sum of the squares of the valence quark charges in a neutron is $`(4/9+1/9+1/9)e^2=2e^2/3`$. Thus, the neutron Coulomb energy is fully two thirds of that of a proton: $`V_n^{(q)}=\frac{2}{3}e^2k_F/\pi `$. The energy difference between an added proton and a neutron becomes:

$$E_p^{(q)}E_n^{(q)}=e^2\frac{k_F}{\pi }+\frac{2}{3}e^2\frac{k_F}{\pi }=\frac{1}{3}e^2\frac{k_F}{\pi }.$$
(4)
We choose to define an ONS anomaly $`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{\mathrm{ONS}}`$ as the actual energy difference, which we assume is given by Eq. (4), minus the hadronic-model expectation of Eq. (2)

$$\mathrm{\Delta }E_{\mathrm{ONS}}(E_p^{(q)}E_n^{(q)})(E_pE_n)=\frac{2}{3}e^2\frac{k_F}{\pi }+\mathrm{\Delta }M.$$
(5)
This anomaly arises, not because of an error in the proton’s energy but, because there is a nonzero Coulomb contribution for a (dissociated) neutron. In principle we should add to the above equation the contribution from the up-down quark mass difference. However, in the high-density limit, all contributions from $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ are suppressed by the large Fermi momentum. Indeed, the difference in the Fermi energy of free down and up quarks is: $`\sqrt{k_F^2+m_d^2}\sqrt{k_F^2+m_u^2}(m_d^2m_u^2)/2k_F`$. Thus, in the limit of very high density the total anomaly—including contributions from $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$—becomes dominated by Eq. (5). Moreover, the original mass difference between the neutron and proton ($`\mathrm{\Delta }M`$) “disappears”at high density because the contributions from $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ are suppressed and the Coulomb self-energies of the neutron and the proton are no longer relevant, as the quarks have rearranged themselves into a uniform free Fermi gas.

In summary, we expect that at high density there will be an ONS anomaly with a magnitude that is two-thirds that of the proton Coulomb exchange energy. Furthermore, EM effects dominate over the contribution from $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ and the sign of the anomaly is the same as that observed at normal density.

Our earlier discussion suggests that the Coulomb energy of pure neutron matter is nonzero. Below we focus on neutron matter because of the simple expectation that for point neutrons the Coulomb energy is zero. This may provide a signature of substructure.

Since the above statements are only strictly true in the limit of very high density, we investigate their implications at normal density by performing a model calculation of neutron matter composed of valence quarks. While a model is necessary, our philosophy is to use a “minimal” one by demanding the following general features that any realistic model must posses. We require the many-quark wave function to (1) be explicitly anti-symmetric even for the exchange of quarks from different nucleons and (2) have cluster separability: the quark wave function of a nucleon removed to infinity must reduce to that of a free nucleon, without any unphysical long-range interactions. Finally, we demand that (3) quarks be confined and (4) for the wave function to reduce to free nucleons at low density and to a quark Fermi gas at high density. Perhaps, any model satisfying these general features can be used.

Conventional quark potential models with two-body confining interactions do not satisfy cluster separability as they generate unphysical long-range van der Waals interactions between nucleons. String-flip models on the other hand, do satisfy the four properties described above . Unfortunately, we are not aware of any other models which both satisfy these properties and allow a simple calculation. Thus, we employ the three-quark string-flip model discussed in Ref . The model has nonrelativistic constituent quarks of mass $`m_c`$ of fixed red, green, and blue colors. A system of $`A`$ nucleons is modeled with $`N=3A`$ quarks interacting via the following many-body potential: $`V=V_{RG}+V_{GB}+V_{BR}`$, where each term represents the optimal pairing of quarks. For example, the “red-green” component of the potential is defined as

$$V_{RG}=\mathrm{Min}\left\{\underset{j=1}{\overset{A}{}}v(𝐫_j^{(R)}𝐫_{P_j}^{(G)})\right\}.$$
(6)
Here $`𝐫_j^{(R)}`$ is the coordinate of the $`j_{th}`$ red quark and $`𝐫_{P_j}^{(G)}`$ is its green partner in the neutron. The minimum is over all $`A!`$ permutations $`P_j`$ of the set of $`A`$ green quarks. A harmonic string potential $`v(r)=kr^2/2`$ is used to confine the quarks and the Hamiltonian for the model becomes

$$H=\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}\frac{𝐏_i^2}{2m_c}+V=\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}\frac{_i^2}{2m_c}+V.$$
(7)
Each red quark is connected by harmonic strings to one and only one green and to one and only one blue quark. This insures that quarks will be confined into “color-neutral” clusters. For three quarks the model reduces to the well-known harmonic oscillator quark model. For neutron matter there is a very large number of permutations or ways to connect the strings. We employ an implementation of the linear sum assignment algorithm by Burkard and Derigs that efficiently finds the optimal permutation in a time proportional to $`N^3`$ . This allows Monte Carlo simulations with hundreds of quarks.

The model has two dimension-full parameters: $`k`$ and $`m_c`$. Yet we are only interested in the harmonic-oscillator length $`b=(km_c)^{1/4}`$, as this sets the length scale for quark confinement. The root mean square radius of a nucleon is $`r^2^{1/2}=3^{1/4}b`$. Hence, to reproduce the experimental charge radius of the proton $`r^2^{1/2}=0.86`$ fm we choose $`b=1.13`$ fm. At the end we can rescale our results for other values of $`b`$.

We are interested in simulating neutron matter. Therefore we assign to red and green quarks an electromagnetic charge of $`e/3`$ and to blue quarks a charge of $`2e/3`$. For simplicity we do not include any other intrinsic degree of freedom, such as spin or isospin. The electromagnetic self-energy of an isolated neutron is ($`\alpha =e^2=1/137`$)

$$V_n^0=\sqrt{\frac{2}{9\pi }}\frac{\alpha }{r^2^{1/2}}=0.446\mathrm{MeV}.$$
(8)
A simple variational wave function for the many-quark system has been constructed in Ref. . It is given by

$$\mathrm{\Psi }=\mathrm{exp}\left(\lambda \frac{V}{kb^2}\right)\mathrm{\Phi },$$
(9)
with $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ a product of Slater determinants for the red, green, and blue quarks. In Ref.  $`\lambda `$ is a variational parameter characterizing the length scale for quark confinement. At low density a value of $`\lambda =1/\sqrt{3}`$ allows Eq. (9) to reproduce the gaussian wave function of a free nucleon. For simplicity we keep lambda fixed at $`\lambda =1/\sqrt{3}`$ for all densities. This insures that any change in the Coulomb energy of a neutron does not arise from an artificial change in this length scale.

We calculate the total Coulomb energy

$$V_{\mathrm{Coul}}^{\mathrm{tot}}=\underset{i<j}{\overset{N}{}}\frac{e_ie_j}{|𝐫_i𝐫_j|},$$
(10)
of a system of $`N=3A`$ quarks in a box of volume $`V`$ with antiperiodic boundary conditions. To minimize finite size effects we use periodic distances to compute the quark separation. The neutron density of the system is $`\rho _n=A/V`$. We use standard Metropolis Monte Carlo techniques to calculate the expectation value of the total Coulomb energy for the wave function given in Eq. (9).

Figure 1 shows the change in the Coulomb energy per neutron

$$\mathrm{\Delta }V\frac{1}{A}V_{\mathrm{Coul}}^{\mathrm{tot}}V_n^0,$$
(11)
as a function of density for systems with $`N`$=96 and 264 quarks. We have subtracted the neutron self-energy $`V_n^0`$ of Eq. (8) because this is included in the experimental neutron-proton mass difference. We find $`\mathrm{\Delta }V`$ to be nonzero.

FIG. 1. Change in Coulomb energy per neutron as a function of baryon density for pure neutron matter. The insert compares the model to a free Fermi gas (solid line) at high density.

At normal density $`\rho _n=0.08`$ fm-3 and $`N=96`$: $`\mathrm{\Delta }V=78\pm 1\mathrm{keV}`$. The scale of this result suggests that changes in the Coulomb energies of quarks can make a significant contribution to the ONS anomaly. More refined models may give results which are of the same order of magnitude, given the ratio of the nucleon size to interparticle spacing. Furthermore, we expect an additional contribution from the up-down quark mass difference $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$. Our result is somewhat smaller than the total observed anomaly of the order 200 keV in mass 15 and 300 keV in mass 39 . Note that, for simplicity, we have calculated the average Coulomb energy per neutron rather than the self-energy of a single valence neutron. These quantities are expected to be similar. Indeed, in a free Fermi gas the average Coulomb energy per proton is three fourths of that of Eq. (1).

Figure 2 shows $`\mathrm{\Delta }V`$ as a function of the nucleon root mean square radius or oscillator length at the fixed density of $`\rho _n=0.08`$ fm-3. Making the quark core of a nucleon smaller reduces $`\mathrm{\Delta }V`$, but not by much. Further, as the oscillator length is made very small the scale of the neutron self-energy $`V_n^0`$ grows and this can increase $`\mathrm{\Delta }V`$. Of course, if the nucleon core is small one must use a large meson cloud to account for the full proton charge radius. This meson cloud, which we have not included, could further increase $`\mathrm{\Delta }V`$.

FIG. 2. Change in the Coulomb energy per neutron as a function of the nucleon root mean square radius at the fixed neutron density of $`\rho _n=0.08`$ fm-3.

One should extend our results by using more elaborated quark models. It is important to study models with more intrinsic spin and flavor degrees of freedom along with more complete treatments of color. However, in these more complete models we still expect an exchange or dynamical correlation between quarks associated with the nucleon’s hard core. This correlation could lead to a nonzero Coulomb energy for neutrons. Note that we have used harmonic oscillator confining strings. Thus, our wave function has gaussian tails. Linear confinement may increase the tails and this should enhance the Coulomb exchange energy.

In conclusion, we have considered a high-density limit of the Okamoto-Nolen-Schiffer anomaly to clarify the role of electromagnetic interactions (EM) and of the up-down quark mass difference $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$. We have added a single neutron or proton to a quark gluon plasma. In this high-density limit we find that: (1) there is an ONS anomaly, (2) it is dominated by EM interactions rather than by $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$, and (3) its magnitude is two-thirds of the proton Coulomb exchange energy. We find an attractive Coulomb exchange energy for an added neutron because of the neutron’s charged constituents. This suggests that the ONS anomaly could be closely related to the nucleon substructure. We use a minimal string-flip quark model to calculate the Coulomb energy of pure neutron matter. The model wave function is fully anti-symmetric and satisfies cluster separability and quark confinement. At normal density, we find a nonzero Coulomb energy for neutron matter that could make a significant contribution to the ONS anomaly.

This work was supported in part by DOE grants DE-FG02-87ER40365, DE-FC05-85ER250000, and DE-FG05-92ER40750.


text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

The coalescence and merging of two compact stars into a single object is a very common end-point of close binary evolution. Dissipation mechanisms such as friction in common envelopes, tidal dissipation, or the emission of gravitational radiation, are always present and cause the orbits of close binary systems to decay. This review will concentrate on the coalescence of compact binaries containing either two neutron stars (hereafter NS) or two white dwarfs (WD).

### 1.1 Double Neutron Stars

Many theoretical models of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) rely on coalescing NS binaries to provide the energy of GRBs at cosmological distances (e.g., Eichler et al. 1989; Narayan, Paczyński, & Piran 1992; Mészáros & Rees 1992; for recent reviews see Mészáros 1999 and Piran 1999). The close spatial association of some GRB afterglows with faint galaxies at high redshifts may not be inconsistent with a NS binary merger origin, in spite of the large recoil velocities acquired by NS binaries at birth (Bloom, Sigurdsson, & Pols 1999; but see also Bulik & Belczynski 2000). Currently the most popular models all assume that the coalescence of two NS leads to the formation of a rapidly rotating black hole (BH) surrounded by a torus of debris. Energy can then be extracted either from the rotation of the Kerr BH or from the material in the torus so that, with sufficient beaming, the gamma-ray fluxes observed from even the most distant GRBs can be explained (Mészáros, Rees, & Wijers 1999). However, it is important to understand the hydrodynamic processes taking place during the final coalescence before making assumptions about its outcome. In particular, as will be argued below (§2.2), it is not clear that the coalescence of two $`1.4M_{}`$ NS forms an object that will collapse to a BH on a dynamical timescale, and it is not certain either that a significant amount of matter will be ejected during the merger to form an outer torus around the central object (Faber & Rasio 2000).

Coalescing NS binaries are also important sources of gravitational waves that may be directly detectable by the large laser interferometers currently under construction, such as LIGO (Abramovici et al. 1992; see Barish & Weiss 1999 for a recent pedagogical introduction) and VIRGO (Bradaschia et al. 1990). In addition to providing a major new confirmation of Einstein’s theory of general relativity (GR), including the first direct proof of the existence of black holes (see, e.g., Flanagan & Hughes 1998; Lipunov, Postnov, & Prokhorov 1997), the detection of gravitational waves from coalescing binaries at cosmological distances could provide accurate independent measurements of the Hubble constant and mean density of the Universe (Schutz 1986; Chernoff & Finn 1993; Marković 1993). Expected rates of NS binary coalescence in the Universe, as well as expected event rates in laser interferometers, have now been calculated by many groups. Although there is some disparity between various published results, the estimated rates are generally encouraging (see Kalogera 2000 for a recent review).

Many calculations of gravitational wave emission from coalescing binaries have focused on the waveforms emitted during the last few thousand orbits, as the frequency sweeps upward from $`10`$Hz to $`300`$Hz. The waveforms in this frequency range, where the sensitivity of ground-based interferometers is highest, can be calculated very accurately by performing high-order post-Newtonian (PN) expansions of the equations of motion for two point masses (see, e.g., Owen & Sathyaprakash 1999 and references therein). However, at the end of the inspiral, when the binary separation becomes comparable to the stellar radii (and the frequency is $`>1`$kHz), hydrodynamics becomes important and the character of the waveforms must change. Special purpose narrow-band detectors that can sweep up frequency in real time will be used to try to catch the last $`10`$ cycles of the gravitational waves during the final coalescence (Meers 1988; Strain & Meers 1991). These “dual recycling” techniques are being tested right now on the German-British interferometer GEO 600 (Danzmann 1998). In this terminal phase of the coalescence, when the two stars merge together into a single object, the waveforms contain information not just about the effects of GR, but also about the interior structure of a NS and the nuclear equation of state (EOS) at high density. Extracting this information from observed waveforms, however, requires detailed theoretical knowledge about all relevant hydrodynamic processes. If the NS merger is followed by the formation of a BH, the corresponding gravitational radiation waveforms will also provide direct information on the dynamics of rotating core collapse and the BH “ringdown” (see, e.g., Flanagan & Hughes 1998).

### 1.2 Double White Dwarfs

Coalescing WD binaries have long been discussed as possible progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (Iben & Tutukov 1984; Webbink 1984; Paczyński 1985; see Branch et al. 1995 for a recent review). To produce a supernova, the total mass of the system must be above the Chandrasekhar mass. Given evolutionary considerations, this requires two C-O or O-Ne-Mg WD. Yungelson et al. (1994) showed that the expected merger rate for close WD pairs with total mass exceeding the Chandrasekhar mass is consistent with the rate of Type Ia supernovae deduced from observations. Alternatively, a massive enough merger may collapse to form a rapidly rotating NS (Nomoto & Iben 1985; Colgate 1990). Chen & Leonard (1993) speculated that most millisecond pulsars in globular clusters might have formed in this way. In some cases planets may also form in the disk of material ejected during the coalescence and left in orbit around the central pulsar (Podsiadlowski, Pringle, & Rees 1991). Indeed the very first extrasolar planets were discovered in orbit around a millisecond pulsar, PSR B1257$`+`$12 (Wolszczan & Frail 1992). A merger of two magnetized WD might lead to the formation of a NS with extremely high magnetic field, and this scenario has been proposed as a source of GRBs (Usov 1992).

Close WD binaries are expected to be extremely abundant in our Galaxy, even though their direct detection remains very challenging (Han 1998; Saffer, Livio, & Yungelson 1999). Iben & Tutukov (1984, 1986) predicted that $`20`$% of all binary stars produce close WD pairs at the end of their stellar evolution. More recently, theoretical estimates of the double WD formation rate in the Galaxy have converged to a value $`0.1\mathrm{yr}^1`$, with an uncertainty that may be only a factor of two (Han 1998; Kalogera 2000). The most common systems should be those containing two low-mass helium WD. Their final coalescence can produce an object massive enough to start helium burning. Bailyn (1993 and references therein) and others have suggested that some “extreme horizontal branch” stars in globular clusters may be such helium-burning stars formed by the coalescence of two WD. Planets in orbit around a massive WD may also form following the binary coalescence (Livio, Pringle, & Saffer 1992).

Coalescing WD binaries are also important sources of low-frequency gravitational waves that should be easily detectable by future space-based laser interferometers. The currently planned LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna; see Folkner 1998) should have an extremely high sensitivity (down to a characteristic strain $`h10^{23}`$) to sources with frequencies in the range $`10^4\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1}`$Hz. Han (1998) estimated a WD merger rate $`0.03\mathrm{yr}^1`$ in our own Galaxy. Individual coalescing systems and mergers may be detectable in the frequency range $`10`$$`100`$mHz. In addition, the total number ($`10^4`$) of close WD binaries in our Galaxy emitting at lower frequencies $`0.1`$$`10`$mHz (the emission lasting for $`10^2`$$`10^4`$yr before final merging) should provide a continuum background signal of amplitude $`h10^{20}`$$`10^{21}`$ (Hils et al. 1990). The detection of the final burst of gravitational waves emitted during an actual merger would provide a unique opportunity to observe in “real time” the hydrodynamic interaction between the two degenerate stars, possibly followed immediately by a supernova explosion, nuclear outburst, or some other type of electromagnetic signal.

## 2 Coalescing Binary Neutron Stars

### 2.1 Hydrodynamics of Neutron Star Mergers

The final hydrodynamic merger of two NS is driven by a combination of relativistic and fluid effects. Even in Newtonian gravity, an innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) is imposed by global hydrodynamic instabilities, which can drive a close binary system to rapid coalescence once the tidal interaction between the two stars becomes sufficiently strong. The existence of these global instabilities for close binary equilibrium configurations containing a compressible fluid, and their particular importance for binary NS systems, were demonstrated for the first time by Rasio & Shapiro (1992, 1994, 1995; hereafter RS1–3) using numerical hydrodynamic calculations. These instabilities can also be studied using analytic methods. The classical analytic work for close binaries containing an incompressible fluid (e.g., Chandrasekhar 1969) was extended to compressible fluids in the work of Lai, Rasio, & Shapiro (1993a,b, 1994a,b,c, hereafter LRS1–5). This analytic study confirmed the existence of dynamical instabilities for sufficiently close binaries. Although these simplified analytic studies can give much physical insight into difficult questions of global fluid instabilities, fully numerical calculations remain essential for establishing the stability limits of close binaries accurately and for following the nonlinear evolution of unstable systems all the way to complete coalescence.

A number of different groups have now performed such calculations, using a variety of numerical methods and focusing on different aspects of the problem. Nakamura and collaborators (see Nakamura & Oohara 1998 and references therein) were the first to perform 3D hydrodynamic calculations of binary NS coalescence, using a traditional Eulerian finite-difference code. Instead, RS used the Lagrangian method SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics). They focused on determining the ISCO for initial binary models in strict hydrostatic equilibrium and calculating the emission of gravitational waves from the coalescence of unstable binaries. Many of the results of RS were later independently confirmed by New & Tohline (1997) and Swesty, Wang, & Calder (1999), who used completely different numerical methods but also focused on stability questions, and by Zhuge, Centrella, & McMillan (1994, 1996), who also used SPH. Zhuge et al. (1996) also explored in detail the dependence of the gravitational wave signals on the initial NS spins. Davies et al. (1994) and Ruffert et al. (1996, 1997) have incorporated a treatment of the nuclear physics in their hydrodynamic calculations (done using SPH and PPM codes, respectively), motivated by models of GRBs at cosmological distances. All these calculations were performed in Newtonian gravity, with some of the more recent studies adding an approximate treatment of energy and angular momentum dissipation through the gravitational radiation reaction (e.g., Janka et al. 1999; Rosswog et al. 1999), or even a full treatment of PN gravity to lowest order (Ayal et al. 2000; Faber & Rasio 2000).

All recent hydrodynamic calculations agree on the basic qualitative picture that emerges for the final coalescence (see Fig. 1). As the ISCO is approached, the secular orbital decay driven by gravitational wave emission is dramatically accelerated (see also LRS2, LRS3). The two stars then plunge rapidly toward each other, and merge together into a single object in just a few rotation periods. In the corotating frame of the binary, the relative radial velocity of the two stars always remains very subsonic, so that the evolution is nearly adiabatic. This is in sharp contrast to the case of a head-on collision between two stars on a free-fall, radial orbit, where shock heating is very important for the dynamics (RS1; Shapiro 1998). Here the stars are constantly being held back by a (slowly receding) centrifugal barrier, and the merging, although dynamical, is much more gentle. After typically $`12`$ orbital periods following first contact, the innermost cores of the two stars have merged and a secondary instability occurs: mass shedding sets in rather abruptly. Material (typically $`10`$% of the total mass) is ejected through the outer Lagrange points of the effective potential and spirals out rapidly. In the final stage, the spiral arms widen and merge together, forming a nearly axisymmetric thick disk or torus around the inner, maximally rotating dense core.

In GR, strong-field gravity between the masses in a binary system is alone sufficient to drive a close circular orbit unstable. In close NS binaries, GR effects combine nonlinearly with Newtonian tidal effects so that the ISCO is encountered at larger binary separations and lower orbital frequency than predicted by Newtonian hydrodynamics alone, or GR alone for two point masses. The combined effects of relativity and hydrodynamics on the stability of close compact binaries have only very recently begun to be studied, using both analytic approximations (basically, PN generalizations of LRS; see, e.g., Lai & Wiseman 1997; Lombardi, Rasio, & Shapiro 1997; Shibata & Taniguchi 1997), as well as numerical calculations in 3D incorporating simplified treatments of relativistic effects (e.g., Baumgarte et al. 1998; Marronetti, Mathews & Wilson 1998; Wang, Swesty, & Calder 1998; Faber & Rasio 2000).

Several groups have been working on a fully general relativistic calculation of the final coalescence, combining the techniques of numerical relativity and numerical hydrodynamics in 3D (Baumgarte, Hughes, & Shapiro 1999; Landry & Teukolsky 2000; Seidel 1998; Shibata & Uryu 2000). However this work is still in its infancy, and only very preliminary results of test calculations have been reported so far.

### 2.2 Black Hole Formation

The final fate of a NS–NS merger depends crucially on the NS EOS, and on the extraction of angular momentum from the system during the final merger. For a stiff NS EOS, it is by no means certain that the core of the final merged configuration will collapse on a dynamical timescale to form a BH. One reason is that the Kerr parameter $`J/M^2`$ of the core may exceed unity for extremely stiff EOS (Baumgarte et al. 1998), although Newtonian and PN hydrodynamic calculations suggest that this is never the case (see, e.g., Faber & Rasio 2000). More importantly, the rapidly rotating core may in fact be dynamically stable.

Take the obvious example of a system containing two identical $`1.35M_{}`$ NS. The total baryonic mass of the system for a stiff NS EOS is then about $`3M_{}`$. Almost independent of the spins of the NS, all hydrodynamic calculations suggest that about $`10\%`$ of this mass will be ejected into the outer torus, leaving at the center a maximally rotating object with baryonic mass $`2.7M_{}`$ (Any hydrodynamic merger process that leads to mass shedding will produce a maximally rotating object since the system will have ejected just enough mass and angular momentum to reach its new, stable quasi-equilibrium state). Most stiff NS EOS (including the well-known “AU” and “UU” EOS of Wiringa et al. 1988; see Akmal et al. 1998 for a recent update) allow stable, maximally rotating NS with baryonic masses exceeding $`3M_{}`$ (Cook, Shapiro, & Teukolsky 1994), i.e., well above the mass of the final merger core. Differential rotation (not taken into account in the calculations of Cook et al. 1994) can further increase this maximum stable mass very significantly (see Baumgarte, Shapiro, & Shibata 2000). Thus the hydrodynamic merger of two NS with stiff EOS and realistic masses is not expected to produce a BH. This expectation is confirmed by the preliminary full-GR calculations of Shibata & Uryu (2000), for polytropes with $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=2`$, which indicate collapse to a BH only when the two NS are initially very close to the maximum stable mass.

For slowly rotating stars, the same stiff NS EOS give maximum stable baryonic masses in the range $`2.53M_{}`$, which may or may not exceed the total merger core mass. Therefore, collapse to a BH could still occur on a timescale longer than the dynamical timescale, following a significant loss of angular momentum. Indeed, processes such as electromagnetic radiation, neutrino emission, and the development of various secular instabilities (e.g., r-modes), which may lead to angular momentum losses, take place on timescales much longer than the dynamical timescale (see, e.g., Baumgarte & Shapiro 1998, who show that neutrino emission is probably negligible). These processes are therefore decoupled from the hydrodynamics of the coalescence. Unfortunately their study is plagued by many fundamental uncertainties in the microphysics.

### 2.3 The Importance of the Neutron Star Spins

The question of the final fate of the merger could also depend crucially on the NS spins and on the evolution of the fluid vorticity during the final coalescence. Close NS binaries are likely to be nonsynchronized. Indeed, the tidal synchronization time is almost certainly much longer than the orbital decay time (Kochanek 1992; Bildsten & Cutler 1992). For NS binaries that are far from synchronized, the final coalescence involves some new, complex hydrodynamic processes (Rasio & Shapiro 1999).

Consider for example the case of an irrotational system (containing two nonspinning stars at large separation; see LRS3). Because the two stars appear to be counter-spinning in the corotating frame of the binary, a vortex sheet (where the tangential velocity jumps discontinuously by $`\mathrm{\Delta }v0.1c`$) appears when the stellar surfaces come into contact. Such a vortex sheet is Kelvin-Helmholtz unstable on all wavelengths and the hydrodynamics is therefore extremely difficult to model accurately given the limited spatial resolution of 3D calculations. The breaking of the vortex sheet generates some turbulent viscosity so that the final configuration may no longer be irrotational. In numerical simulations, however, vorticity is quickly generated through spurious shear viscosity, and the merger remnant is observed to evolve rapidly (in just a few rotation periods) toward uniform rotation.

The final fate of the merger could be affected drastically by these processes. In particular, the shear flow inside the merging stars (which supports a highly triaxial shape; see Rasio & Shapiro 1999) may in reality persist long enough to allow a large fraction of the total angular momentum in the system to be radiated away in gravitational waves during the hydrodynamic phase of the coalescence. In this case the final merged core may resemble a Dedekind ellipsoid, i.e., it will have a triaxial shape supported entirely by internal fluid motions, but with a stationary shape in the inertial frame (so that it no longer radiates gravitational waves). This state will be reached on the gravitational radiation reaction timescale, which is no more than a few tens of rotation periods. On the (much longer) viscous timescale, the core will then evolve to a uniform, slowly rotating state and will probably collapse to a BH. In contrast, in all 3D numerical simulations performed to date, the shear is quickly dissipated, so that gravitational radiation never gets a chance to extract more than a small fraction ($`<10`$%) of the angular momentum, and the final core appears to be a uniform, maximally rotating object (stable to collapse) exactly as in calculations starting from synchronized binaries. However this behavior is most likely an artefact of the large spurious shear viscosity present in the 3D simulations.

In addition to their obvious significance for gravitational wave emission, these issues are also of great importance for models of GRBs that depend on energy extraction from a torus of material around the central BH. Indeed, if a large fraction of the total angular momentum is removed by the gravitational waves, rotationally-induced mass shedding may not occur at all during the merger, eventually leaving a BH with no surrounding matter, and no way of extracting energy from the system. Note also that, even without any additional loss of angular momentum through gravitational radiation, PN effects tend to reduce drastically the amount of matter ejected during the merger (Faber & Rasio 2000).

## 3 Coalescing White Dwarf Binaries

### 3.1 Hydrodynamics of White Dwarf Mergers

The results of RS3 for polytropes with $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=5/3`$ show that hydrodynamics also plays an important role in the coalescence of two WD, either because of dynamical instabilities of the equilibrium configuration, or following the onset of dynamically unstable mass transfer. Systems with mass ratios $`q1`$ must evolve into deep contact before they become dynamically unstable and merge. Instead, equilibrium configurations for binaries with $`q`$ sufficiently far from unity never become dynamically unstable. However, once these binaries reach their Roche limit, dynamically unstable mass transfer occurs and the less massive star is completely disrupted after a small number ($`<10`$) of orbital periods (see also Benz et al. 1990). In both cases, the final merged configuration is an axisymmetric, rapidly rotating object with a core – thick disk structure similar to that obtained for coalescing NS (RS2, RS3; see also Mochkovitch & Livio 1989).

### 3.2 The Final Fate: Collapse to a Neutron Star? Planets?

For two massive enough WD, the merger product may be well above the Chandrasekhar mass $`M_{Ch}`$. The object may therefore explode as a (Type Ia) supernova, or perhaps collapse to a NS. The rapid rotation and possibly high mass (up to $`2M_{Ch}`$) of the object must be taken into account for determining its final fate. Unfortunately, rapid rotation and the possibility of starting from an object well above the Chandrasekhar limit have not been taken into account in most previous theoretical calculations of “accretion-induced collapse” (AIC), which consider a nonrotating WD just below the Chandrasekhar limit accreting matter slowly and quasi-spherically (e.g., Canal et al. 1990; Nomoto & Kondo 1991; see Fryer et al. 1999 for a recent 2-D SPH calculation including rotation). Under these assumptions it is found that collapse to a NS is possible only for a narrow range of initial conditions. In most cases, a supernova explosion follows the ignition of the nuclear fuel in the degenerate core. However, the fate of a much more massive object with substantial rotational support and large deviations from spherical symmetry (as would be formed by dynamical coalescence) may be very different.

If a NS does indeed form, and later accretes some of the material ejected during the coalescence, a millisecond radio pulsar may emerge. Planets around this millisecond pulsar may be formed at large distances $`1`$AU following the viscous evolution of the remaining material in the outer disk (Podsiadlowski, Pringle & Rees 1991; Phinney & Hansen 1993). This is one of the possible formation scenarios for the extraordinary planetary system discovered around the millisecond pulsar PSR B1257$`+`$12 (see Wolszczan 1999 for a recent update; Podsiadlowski 1993 for alternative planet formation scenarios). This system contains three confirmed Earth-mass planets in quasi-circular orbits (Wolszczan & Frail 1992; Wolszczan 1994). The planets have masses of $`0.015/\mathrm{sin}i_1\mathrm{M}_{}`$, $`3.4/\mathrm{sin}i_2\mathrm{M}_{}`$, and $`2.8/\mathrm{sin}i_3\mathrm{M}_{}`$, where $`i_1`$, $`i_2`$ and $`i_3`$ are the inclinations of the orbits with respect to the line of sight, and are at distances of 0.19 AU, 0.36 AU, and 0.47 AU, respectively, from the pulsar. In addition, the unusually large second and third frequency derivatives of the pulsar suggest the existence of a fourth, more distant and massive planet in the system (Wolszczan 1999). The simplest interpretation of the present best-fit values of the frequency derivatives implies a mass of about $`100/\mathrm{sin}i_4\mathrm{M}_{}`$ (i.e., comparable to Saturn’s mass) for the fourth planet, at a distance of about $`38\mathrm{AU}`$ (i.e., comparable to Pluto’s distance from the Sun), and with a period of about $`170\mathrm{yr}`$ in a circular, coplanar orbit (Wolszczan 1996; Joshi & Rasio 1997). However, if, as may well be the case, the first pulse frequency derivative is not entirely acceleration-induced, then the fourth planet can have a wide range of masses (Joshi & Rasio 1997). In particular, it can have a mass comparable to that of Mars (at a distance of $`9`$AU), Uranus (at a distance of $`25`$AU) or Neptune (at a distance of $`26`$AU). The presence of this fourth planet, if confirmed, would place strong additional constraints on possible formation scenarios, as both the minimum mass and minimum angular momentum required in the protoplanetary disk would increase considerably (see Phinney & Hansen 1993 for a general discussion).

## Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NSF Grant AST-9618116, NASA ATP Grant NAG5-8460, and by an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship. Our computational work is supported by the National Computational Science Alliance.