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# April 2000 Preprint MPI-Pth/2000-15 Study of Macroscopic Coherence and Decoherence in the SQUID by Adiabatic Inversion

## I Introduction

One of the most interesting questions of “macroscopic quantum mechanics” concerns the demonstration of quantum coherence and interference effects between apparently grossly distinguishable states of large systems. Observation of such effects would definitively lay to rest any ideas about big or “classical” systems being fundamentally different than small systems, in some way not subject to the rules of quantum mechanics. One system which has been extensively discussed in this regard is the Josephson junction  under current bias and the closely related rf Squid, where a superconducting ring is interrupted by a Josephson junction. In these systems the phase across the junction or the flux $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ in the ring plays the role of a collective coordinate. In the last decade a number of beautiful junction experiments at low temperature  have seen effects connected with the quantized energy levels  expected with respect to this coordinate. A fast sweeping method  has also seen the effects of these quantized levels even at relatively high temperature.

An even more striking and direct manifestation of macroscopic quantum behavior would be the demonstration of quantum coherence between two apparently macroscopically different states of the rf SQUID, between states where the current goes around the ring in opposite directions. Recently, results have been reported with microwave methods showing the repulsion of energy levels expected due to quantum mechanical mixing of the different fluxoid states . Here we would like to suggest a new method for demonstrating macroscopic coherence, one which further allows a measurement of the decoherence time, the time in which the coherence between the states is lost. Our basic idea is to use the process of “adiabatic inversion” where a slowly varying field is used to reverse the states of a quantum system. In its most straightforward realization, our proposal consists of starting with the system in its lowest state, making a fast but adiabatic sweep, and reading out to see if the final state is the same or the opposite fluxoid state. If the state has switched, the system has behaved quantum mechanically, with phase coherence between the two states. If not, the phase coherence between the states was lost and the system stayed in its original configuration– behaved classically.

A very interesting aspect of the present proposal, as we shall discuss below, is the possiblity of passing from the quantum to the classical regime by simply varying the sweep speed. This allows us to obtain, for adiabatic conditions, the decoherence time as the longest sweep time for which the inversion is successful.

## II Adiabatic Inversion in the rf Squid

For the rf SQUID biased with an external flux $`\mathrm{\Phi }_x`$, the “potential energy” of the system for which $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ is the coordinate is shown in Fig 1. One has, near the origin, the familiar double well potential

$$U=U_0[1/2(\mathrm{\Phi }\mathrm{\Phi }_x)^2+\beta _Lcos\mathrm{\Phi }].$$
(1)
Depending on whether the system is in the left or right well, the flux through the ring has a different sign and the current goes around in opposite directions. The potential can be varied by altering the external $`\mathrm{\Phi }_x`$, becoming symmetric for $`\mathrm{\Phi }_x=0`$. We suppose a situation where a few states may be possible in a well, but we will be essentially concerned with the lowest level in each. In the adiabatic inversion procedure to be discussed, $`\mathrm{\Phi }_x`$ is swept from a maximum to an minimum value, passing through zero, such that the initially asymmetric left and right wells exchange roles, the originally higher well becoming the lower one and vice versa. The asymmetry of the configurations, however, is kept small so that we effectively have only a two-state system, composed of the lowest state in each well.

As quantum states we refer to the lowest state of the left or right well as $`|L>`$ and $`|R>`$, and the tunneling between $`|L>`$ and $`|R>`$ will generally lead to eigenstates which are linear combinations of the two. Any two-state system may viewed as constituting the two components of a “spin”, and this provides an easy visualization which has been used in many contexts . In the present problem “spin up” can be identified with, say, the state $`|L>`$ (flux one way) and “spin down” with $`|R>`$ (flux the other way), while the spin in a general direction represents a quantum mechanical linear combination of the two states, with some definite relative magnitude and phase. Various influences like the external bias or the tunneling amplitude may be thought of as creating a kind of pseudo-magnetic field $`𝐕`$ about which the spin or polarization $`𝐏`$ precesses (Fig. 2) according to the equation

$$\dot{𝐏}=𝐕\times 𝐏D𝐏_{tr},$$
(2)
where $`𝐕`$ can be time dependent. The quantity $`D`$ is the decoherence parameter, which we neglect for the moment and will deal with below.

Now it is a familiar fact under adiabatic conditions, where $`𝐕`$ varies slowly, that the “spin” $`𝐏`$ will tend to “follow” the magnetic field $`𝐕(t)`$. This is a completely familiar procedure when rotating the spin of say an atom or a neutron by a magnetic field. Here the motion of $`𝐕`$ will be accomplished by sweeping $`\mathrm{\Phi }_x`$; it is then merely necessary to identify the components of $`𝐕`$ and the meaning of “adiabatic” or “slow”.

The vertical component of $`𝐕`$ corresponds to the difference in the two potential wells or lowest energy levels, for small asymmetry it is linear in $`\mathrm{\Phi }_x`$. If $`ϵ`$ is the initial level splitting when $`\mathrm{\Phi }_x=\mathrm{\Phi }_x^{max}`$, we can write $`V_{vert}(t)=ϵ(\mathrm{\Phi }_x(t)/\mathrm{\Phi }_x^{max})`$. Thus as $`\mathrm{\Phi }_x`$ sweeps from its positive maximum value to its negative minimum value $`V_{vert}`$ reverses direction. The transverse component of $`𝐕_{tr}`$ corresponds to the tunneling energy between the two quasi-degenerate states $`V_{tr}=\omega _{tunnel}`$. As $`V_{vert}`$ passes through zero at $`\mathrm{\Phi }_x=0`$, the $`|L>`$ and $`|R>`$ states are strongly mixed and the splitting of the resulting energy eigenstates is determined by $`V_{tr}`$ alone. The magnitude of $`V(t)`$ at a given time, $`|𝐕|=\sqrt{V_{vert}^2+V_{tr}^2}`$ gives the instantaneous splitting of the two levels, which varies from approximately $`ϵ`$ in the vertical position of $`𝐕`$ to $`\omega _{tunnel}`$ in the horizontal position.

As to the meaning of “adiabatic” or “slow”, the imposed time variation of $`𝐕`$ should not significantly contain frequencies or fourier components corresponding to the energy splitting between levels. Or in terms of time, the rate of variation of $`𝐕`$ should be slow on the time scale corresponding to the tunneling time between the two states. Thus we have the requirement on $`𝐕`$ that its relative rate of variation $`\dot{V}/V`$ always be small compared to $`V`$ itself. Since the varying component of $`𝐕`$ is $`V_{vertical}`$ (neglecting the indirect effect of $`\mathrm{\Phi }_x`$ on $`\omega _{tunnel}`$) we require $`\dot{V}_{vertical}/V<<V`$. Thus taking the near degenerate configuration where $`V\omega _{tunnel}`$ we find

$$ϵ\frac{\dot{\mathrm{\Phi }}_x(t)}{\mathrm{\Phi }_x^{max}}ϵ\omega _{sweep}<<\omega _{tunnel}^2$$
(3)
as the condition for adiabaticity. If the adiabatic condition is violated, then $`𝐏`$ cannot follow $`𝐕`$ and undergoes wide swings. We stress that for adiabatic inversion there must be a well-defined quantum phase between the two states, and that when this phase is lost the inversion is suppressed. This is the topic of the next section.

## III Damping

Thus far we have not considered dissipative or damping effects tending to destroy the quantum coherence of the system; we have neglected the $`D`$ term in Eq . The quantity $`𝐏_{tr}`$ has the interpretation of the degree of phase coherence between the two states, and $`D`$ gives the rate of loss of this coherence . In particular, we are interested in the effect of $`D`$ on the inversion process. With the loss of phase coherence between the two states, we expect the situation to become more “classical” and for the inversion to be inhibited. Indeed, in solving Eq for large $`D`$ one finds that the inversion is strongly blocked and that one arrives in the “Turing-Watched Pot-Zeno” regime . Eq  with moving $`𝐕(𝐭)`$ has been studied numerically . One finds that while for weak damping $`D`$ has little effect on the inversion, values of $`D/V_{tr}0.1`$ are enough to stall the inversion and values $`D/V_{tr}>>1`$ block it altogether. Given adiabatic conditions, the important relation is that between the sweep speed and the decoherence time $`1/D`$. This relation determines if the system has time to “decohere” during the sweep. For $`D/V_{tr}=0.1`$, for example, one finds that a factor of ten increase in the sweep speed will change the stalled inversion into a successful one. Such behavior is of great interest to us here, since if the experimental situation is favorable, we can pass from the quantum regime (small $`D`$) to the classical regime (large $`D`$) by varying the sweep speed. In the former case the system ends up in the other potential well while in the latter case, where the phase coherence is destroyed, the system behaves classically as $`𝐏_{tr}0`$ and remains in the original state.

Concerning the absolute magnitude of $`D`$, a number of subtle issues are involved which cannot be treated here. However, for orientation we can take the result of calculations based on the Caldeira-Leggett approach, where we may identify the “decay rate” for weak dissipation with $`D`$. Weiss and Grabert  give $`T/Re^2`$ for this parameter (their $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$). With $`R=5M\mathrm{\Omega }`$, this gives $`D=0.08mk=9.6MHZ`$ at $`T=100mk`$, and $`D=0.008mk=960kHZ`$ for $`T=10mK`$. (Units: $`1K=8meV=120GHZ`$, $`1/e^2=4k\mathrm{\Omega }`$). If these estimates are correct, we are in an interesting range since it is possible to suppose sweeps both slow and fast on these scales and thus the direct measurement of $`D`$ and its temperature dependence.

## IV Time Scales

Since we envision working at time scales shorter than have been common in this field, it may be useful to give a qualitative discussion of the various time scales which arise. The highest frequency involved is the ordinary harmonic frequency $`\omega _0`$ in one of the potential wells, giving the approximate level spacing in the well. For typical conditions this spacing may be on the order of several Kelvin ($`K`$). Since we envision experiments in the Kelvin to milliKelvin range, this implies that for the equilibrium system at the start of the sweep only the lowest level is populated. The next parameter is the tunneling frequency through the barrier. This is a sensitive function of the SQUID parameters, with sample values \[$`\beta _L=1.8,C=.01pF,L=1Nh,R=5M\mathrm{\Omega }`$\] we obtain $`20GHZ`$, and $`\omega _{tunnel}/\omega _0410^2`$.

The next two parameters concern the extent and speed of the sweep. The initial asymmetry $`ϵ`$ (Fig. 1) should be small compared to $`\omega _0`$ in order to retain the approximate two-state character of the system, but large compared to $`\omega _{tunnel}`$ to avoid initial mixing of the two states, say $`ϵ/\omega _010^110^2`$. The speed of the sweep, $`\omega _{sweep}`$ will be the easiest experimental parameter to control, and the behavior of the results as $`\omega _{sweep}`$ is varied will be an important check on the theory. It must not be so fast as to lose adiabaticity, but not so slow as to allow relaxation processes to mask the results. We may suppose it to be in the range $`10^3\omega _010^4\omega _0=10100MHZ`$. With these numbers, it is possible to satisfy the adiabatic condition Eq .

Finally there are dissipative parameters $`D`$, and $`\omega _{relax}`$, the relaxation rate for transitions among the SQUID levels. From the above estimate of $`1/D`$ in the 1-10 MHZ range we have, as mentioned, the interesting possiblity of being able to choose sweep speeds either slow or fast with respect to the decoherence time while still retaining the adiabatic condition. The resulting switches between classical and quantum behavior would provide persuasive evidence for the correctness of our general picture, and allow the measurement of this parameter and its temperature dependence. Finally, the relaxation parameter $`\omega _{relax}`$ gives the rate of conventional kinetic relaxation processes induced by the environment, say thermal jumping over the barrier or direct transitions with the emission of some energy. Estimates based on the formulas of Ovichinnikov and Schmid  lead to $`\omega _{relax}100kHZ`$ which, as desired, would be much slower than the sweep time. This large difference between the tunneling time and the relaxation time is due to the many orders of magnitude suppression associated with the emission of energy in the relaxation process, particularly for underdamped SQUIDS.

In conclusion, there are five important (inverse) timescales; $`\omega _0,\omega _{tunnel},ϵ,\omega _{sweep},D,`$ and $`\omega _{relax}`$. Naturally a wide range of behavior is available by changing the parameters and some, like the sweep time or the temperature, can be adjusted online. Probably the most important condition for feasibility is the smallness of $`\omega _{relax}`$: relaxation processes should not be significant during the sweep and the subsequent readout.

Concerning the readout itself, we have examined a scheme involving a switchable flux linkage to a DC SQUID, which would be sufficiently fast for the above estimates . Here one profits from the fact that observation of the system is only necessary after the procedure is completed.

## V qbits and the quantum computer

The two-state system under discussion here suggests itself as a physical embodiment of the “quantum computer”. The “qbit” itself is naturally represented by L and R playing the role of 0 and 1. A linear combination of L and R may be created by adiabatically rotating $`𝐏`$ from some starting position. Adiabatic inversion is evidently an embodiment of NOT since it will turn one linear combination into another one with the weights of L and R interchanged. As for CNOT, the other basic operation, a NOT is performed or not performed on a “target bit” according to the state of a second, “control bit”, which itself does not change its state. One straightforward realization of this would be to perform the NOT operation as just described in the presence of an additional linking flux supplied by a second SQUID nearby. The magnitude and direction of this linking flux would be so arranged that the inversion of the first SQUID is or is not successful depending on the state of the second SQUID. This and many other interesting combinations of junctions and flux linkages may be contemplated and are under study .

SQUID systems like these would seem to be particularly well suited for the embodiment of the quantum computer, where we wish to generate a series of unitary transformations for the various steps of computation. This may be done by creating a “moving landscape” of potential maxima and minima, as in our simplest one-dimensional example of the adiabatic inversion. This imaginary landscape can be produced and manipulated by controlling various external parameters (as with our sweeping flux), performing the various operations in one physical device. Naturally, practicality will depend very much on the relation between the speed of these operations and the decoherence/ relaxation times which we hope to determine by the present methods.

Although our interest here has been the SQUID, it will be evident that the principle of determining decoherence times through the inhibition of adiabatic inversion could be applied to many other types of systems as well.

Preliminary reports on this work were presented by one of us (P.S.) at ICSSUR VI (Napoli, Italy, 24-29 May 1999), at NATO ASI ( Ankara, 13-25 June 1999), and at MICRO AND NANO CRYOCENICS (Jyvaskyla, Finland, August 1-3 1999).


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# Unusually rapid variability of the GRB000301C optical afterglow Based on observations collected at the Bologna Astronomical Observatory in Loiano, Italy and at the TNG, Canary Islands, Spain

## 1 Introduction

Fundamental progress on the knowledge of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) has been made possible by detection of their optical counterparts. Of nearly 40 GRBs accurately and rapidly localized so far by BSAX, BATSE/RXTE, IPN, and promptly followed up in the optical, only about 50% exhibited optical afterglows111http://www.aip.de/$``$jcg/grbgen.html, suggesting that these sources are rapidly fading, or heavily obscured. The best monitored afterglows (GRBs 970228, 970508, 980326, 980519, 990123, 990510) exhibit a variety of behaviors, indicating that the shape of the optical decay must be determined not only by the intrinsic physics, but also by the nature, structure and composition of the surrounding medium. Therefore, optical light curves of GRB counterparts need to be frequently sampled for long time intervals, to follow the evolution of the afterglow and to allow mapping the characteristics of the medium.

GRB000301C was detected by the IPN and by the RXTE ASM on 2000 March 1.4 UT with an error box of 50 arcmin2 (Smith et al. 2000). Its field was acquired starting $``$1.5 days later by various optical, infrared and radio telescopes. The optical afterglow was independently detected by Fynbo et al. (2000) and by us (Bernabei et al. 2000a), and is among the brightest ever observed. Near-infrared detection and monitoring of the afterglow are reported in Rhoads & Fruchter (2000). Observations of the counterpart at radio and millimetric wavelengths have been reported by Berger & Frail (2000) and Bertoldi (2000), respectively. Ultraviolet spectroscopy with the STIS instrument onboard HST allowed the determination of the redshift (Smette et al. 2000), then refined by optical ground-based spectroscopy ($`z`$ = 2.03, Castro et al. 2000). The good sampling and the brightness of the GRB000301C afterglow have allowed a detailed study of its evolution up to 15 days after the explosion. In this paper we present the results of the optical monitoring conducted at Loiano, Calar Alto, Sierra Nevada, Nainital and Canary Islands.

## 2 Observations and data reduction

Optical $`BVRI`$ images were collected soon after the notification of the GRB000301C detection, starting $``$1.5 days after the high-energy event. Observations were carried out with CCD cameras at the 1.52-meter “G.D. Cassini” telescope of the Bologna University in Loiano, Italy, at the 1.0-meter UPSO telescope in Nainital, India, at the 1.2-meter CAHA telescope in Calar Alto, Spain, at the 1.5-meter telescope of the Sierra Nevada Observatory (SNO) in Granada, Spain, and at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) in the Canary Islands, Spain. The complete log of these observations is reported in Table 1.

Images were debiased and flat-fielded with the standard cleaning procedure. Due to the proximity (7 arcsec) of the target to a bright star, we chose to use standard PSF-fitting as our photometric technique, and for this purpose we used the DAOPHOT II image data analysis package PSF-fitting algorithm (Stetson 1987) running within MIDAS. A two-dimensional gaussian with two free parameters (the half width at half maxima along $`x`$ and $`y`$ coordinates of each frame) was modeled on at least 5 non-saturated bright stars in each image. For each filter, this procedure yields frames magnitude differences among the photometric references of less than 1% in all frames. The errors associated with the measurements reported in Table 1 represent statistical uncertainties (at 1$`\sigma `$), obtained with the standard PSF-fitting procedure. Calibration was done using the $`BVRI`$ magnitudes of field stars as measured by Henden (2000).

## 3 Results

In our images we detect a point-like source within the 50 square arcmin error box of the GRB, at the position RA= 16h 20m 18$`\stackrel{s}{.}`$5, Dec = 29 26 35′′ (J2000), consistent with that given by Fynbo et al. (2000). The source variability (see magnitude levels in Table 1) suggests that this is the afterglow of GRB000301C. The light curves in $`BVRI`$ bands are reported in Fig. 1, where our data are complemented with those published by other authors (Sagar et al. 2000, Jensen et al. 2000, and the GCN circulars archive222http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn/gcn3\_archive.html). Note that some results presented in this paper supersede preliminary values reported in GCNs. Our analysis of UPSO $`R`$ band data yielded results consistent with those reported by Sagar et al. (2000). No correction has been applied for Galactic extinction, which is anyway small in the direction of the GRB ($`E(BV)`$ = 0.052, Schlegel et al. 1998); nor has been subtracted any host galaxy continuum emission, this being negligible (Fruchter et al. 2000). A 5% systematic error was added in quadrature to the errors reported in Figs. 1 and 2 to take into account possible photometric discrepancies due to the use of different telescopes and instruments.

The $`R`$ band light curve, the best sampled, exhibits in its early portion a flaring activity with hour time scale (Fig. 1), with an initial increase (confirmed by S.G. Bhargavi, priv. comm.). The flux then shows a slow decline, lasting about 1.5 days and following approximately a power-law, with a slope $`\alpha `$ 0.7 ($`f(t)(tt_0)^\alpha `$, where $`t_0`$ is the GRB trigger time). Subsequently the light curve flattens, and an approximately constant, or slightly increasing, behavior is seen till around 3.7 days after the GRB. The flux starts decreasing again thereafter. This decline, which can be fitted by a very steep power-law (index $`\alpha `$ 3.5), levels off around 5 days after the GRB trigger to a “plateau” of two days duration. The flux resumes then the decreasing trend, with a shallower power-law of $`\alpha `$ 3, till the end of the monitoring. The late $`R`$ band epoch flux and upper limit reported by Fruchter et al. (2000) and Veillet (2000), respectively, are consistent with this trend.

The $`B`$ band light curve appears well correlated with the $`R`$ band, though less well sampled. The $`B`$ band points at 3.5 and 3.7 days after the GRB suggest a variation opposite to that observed simultaneously in the $`R`$ band. However, the $`B`$ band variation is not significant and determines only a marginally significant change in the $`BR`$ color (Fig. 2a). The $`B`$ band upper limit determined on April 5 with the TNG is consistent with the power-law decline of the final portion of the light curve.

The fewer $`V`$ band points show a good correlation of the light curve with that in the $`R`$ band, with no measurable temporal lag (the $`VR`$ color is unchanged, Fig. 2b). In particular, the $`V`$ band data around 3-4 days after the high-energy event also suggest a local flattening of the light curve.

The $`I`$ band data confirm the general steepening observed in the other bands, although the second plateau at 5-7 days after the high-energy event is less clearly seen than in the $`B`$ and $`R`$ light curves. Also, a rapid flux increase is apparent at the beginning of the $`I`$ band monitoring, delayed by $``$7 hours with respect to that seen in the $`R`$ band light curve (see Figs. 1 and 2c).

## 4 Discussion

Our optical monitoring of the bright GRB000301C afterglow has provided one of the best sampled afterglow datasets, especially in the $`R`$ filter. The long term behavior of this optical afterglow is better described by a continuous steepening, rather than by a single power-law, as expected in afterglows developing in laterally spreading jets (Sari et al. 1999; Rhoads 1999) or decelerating to non-relativistic regimes (Dai & Lu 1999), and seen in few other cases.

Among equally well monitored GRB afterglows, GR000301C appears peculiar in that several shorter time scale variations are superimposed on the long term decrease. The reality of two of these (3.1-3.7 days and 5-7 days after the event) is supported by their appearance in more than one band. The first two points of the $`R`$ and $`I`$ band light curves might suggest a rise and could be reminiscent of the early (1-2 days after the GRB trigger) light curve of GRB970228 and GRB970508 (Guarnieri et al. 1997; Pedersen et al. 1998), although in the latter the initial increase was more structured. In the present case we cannot exclude that the flux is declining since the start of the monitoring, and hour time scale flares modulate this decrease. Some isolated short term variability events are seen in GRB980703 (Vreeswijk et al. 1999) and GRB990123 (Castro-Tirado et al. 1999) and are almost totally absent in GRB990510 (e.g., Stanek et al. 1999).

Recently, various scenarios have been developed in which intrinsic re-energization of the blast wave, or irregularities of the dense interstellar medium in which the blast is expanding can account for the observed behavior (Panaitescu et al. 1998; Mészáros et al. 1998; Sari & Mészáros 2000; Wang & Loeb 2000; Dai & Lu 2000). In particular, a flattening of the afterglow light curve, similar to that exhibited by GRB000301C in the $`R`$ band on days 3.1-3.7 and 5-7 days after the GRB, is predicted by Kumar & Piran (2000) as a consequence of the collision of a slow shell ejected at a late time after the GRB with an outer shell decelerated by its propagation in the circumburst medium (see their Fig. 5). We note that the temporal occurrence of the observed flattenings could be consistent with a “colliding shells” interpretation, while it is incompatible with the time scale implied by an hypernova scenario (see Rhoads & Fruchter 2000).

The lack of a clear correlation between the $`R`$ band light curve and the $`I`$ and $`K`$ band light curves (see Rhoads & Fruchter 2000 for the latter) might be due to non strict simultaneity of the data points. In fact, the $`RI`$ and $`RK`$ colors as a function of time show only marginally significant deviations from constancy (Fig. 2c and 2d), and these are mainly exhibited by color values derived from pairs of measurements separated in time by more than 0.5 hours, the shortest variability time scale observed in this afterglow. Our findings underline the critical importance of intensive multiwavelength observations of afterglow sources.

###### Acknowledgements.

We thank the staff of the Loiano, Calar Alto, Sierra Nevada, UPSO and TNG Observatories. CB, AG, and AP acknowledge the University of Bologna (Funds for Selected Research Topics). GMB thanks the Russian Fund of Fundamental Researches for support (grant 98-02-17570).


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# Double beta decay with large scale Yb-loaded scintillators

## 1 Introduction

The fundamental question whether neutrinos have a non-vanishing rest mass is still one of the big open problems of current particle physics. In case of massive neutrinos a variety of new physical processes open up . Over the last years evidence has grown for a non-vanishing mass by investigating solar and atmospheric neutrinos as well as the results coming from the LSND \- experiment. They all can be explained within the framework of neutrino oscillations . However oscillations only depend on the differences of squared masses and are therefore no absolute mass measurements. Besides that, the question concerning the fundamental character of neutrinos, whether being Dirac- or Majorana particles, is still unsolved. A process contributing information to both questions is given by neutrinoless double beta decay of a nucleus (Z,A)

$$(Z,A)(Z+2,A)+2e^{}(0\nu \beta \beta \text{ - decay})$$
(1)
This process is violating lepton - number by two units and only allowed if neutrinos are massive Majorana particles. The quantity which can be extracted out of this is called effective Majorana neutrino mass $`m_{ee}`$  and given by

$$m_{ee}\text{ }=\underset{i}{}U_{ei}^2\eta _im_i$$
(2)
with the relative CP-phases $`\eta _i=\pm 1`$, $`U_{ei}`$ as the mixing matrix elements and $`m_i`$ as the corresponding mass eigenvalues. Currently the best limit is given by investigating $`{}_{}{}^{76}Ge`$  resulting in an upper bound of $`m_{ee}`$ $`\stackrel{<}{}`$  0.2 eV . Furthermore to check the reliability of the calculated nuclear matrix elements, the standard model process

$$(Z,A)(Z+2,A)+2e^{}+2\overline{\nu }_e(2\nu \beta \beta \text{ - decay})$$
(3)
is investigated as well.
In a more general scheme 0$`\nu \beta \beta `$ \- decay can be mediated by massive Majorana neutrinos or right-handed currents (also other physics beyond the standard model might be involved, but this is not discussed here). To obtain more information on this, it is worthwile to look for transitions into excited states, which are dominated by right-handed currents . Another interesting alternative within this context consists in an investigation of $`\beta ^+\beta ^+`$ -decay . Three different decay channels can be considered here

$$\begin{array}{c}(Z,A)(Z2,A)+2e^++(2\nu _e)\text{(}\beta ^+\beta ^+\text{ )}\\ e_B^{}+(Z,A)(Z2,A)+e^++(2\nu _e)\text{(}\beta ^+/EC\text{ )}\\ 2e_B^{}+(Z,A)(Z2,A)+(2\nu _e)+2\text{X-rays}\text{(}EC/EC\text{ )}\end{array}$$
(4)
The first one is the easiest to detect because of the 2 positrons (corresponding to four 511 keV photons) but on the other hand is largely suppressed by a low Q-value and the Coulomb repulsion of the positrons and the atomic nucleus. The one with the largest Q-value is the $`EC/EC`$ \- decay, but difficult to detect because only X-rays are emitted. On the other hand this decay could go into an excited final state, which might allow a better detection because of the correlated deexcitation photon. Also here 2$`\nu \beta \beta `$ \- decay and neutrinoless double beta decay have to be distinguished. Current half-life limits are in the order of 1020 yr obtained with 106Cd and 78Kr .
Recently a new concept for solar neutrino spectroscopy has been proposed based on double beta decay candidates . This has been turned into a realistic detector design (LENS) which is using 20t of Yb in form of a liquid scintillator . A coincidence between the population of an excited state by neutrino capture (and therefore emission of an electron) and the detection of the deexcitation photon serves as a signal. In this paper the implications of this experiment for double beta decay using the two available isotopes, $`{}_{}{}^{168}Yb`$  and $`{}_{}{}^{176}Yb`$ , are investigated.

## 2 $`\beta ^{}\beta ^{}`$ \- decay of $`{}_{}{}^{176}Yb`$

First we investigate the decay

$${}_{}{}^{176}Yb\text{ }{}_{}{}^{176}Hf\text{ }+2e^{}(+2\overline{\nu }_e)$$
(5)
The decay scheme of $`{}_{}{}^{176}Yb`$  is shown in Fig.1. The Q-value of the ground state transition ($`0^+0^+`$) corresponds to 1079 keV, with a natural abundance of this isotope of 12.7 %. Theres exist no experimental number on double beta decay of $`{}_{}{}^{176}Yb`$  yet. Let us consider the 2$`\nu \beta \beta `$ \- decay first. The predicted half-life for the 2$`\nu \beta \beta `$ \- decay ground transition is of the order 9.8 $`10^{21}`$yr , which would correspond to a signal of about 1700 events/day. This number has to be corrected for detection efficiencies and other experimental parameters. Nevertheless it is an enormous rate for such a kind of experiment.
Also a stringent bound on the 0$`\nu \beta \beta `$ \- decay mode can be obtained. The achievable half-life can be estimated by

$$T_{1/2}^{0\nu }=(1.810^{24}kg^1)a\sqrt{\frac{Mt}{\mathrm{\Delta }EB}}$$
(6)
where a is the isotopical abundance, M the used mass, t the measuring time, $`\mathrm{\Delta }E`$ the energy resolution at the peak position and B the background index, typically given in counts/keV/kg/yr. Assuming a five year measuring time and an energy resolution of 10 % this would result in $`T_{1/2}^{0\nu }>1.510^{26}/\sqrt{B}`$ yr. Therefore even an assumed half-life of only $`10^{26}`$ yr (already at least a factor of 2 higher than any obtained experimental limit yet) would correspond to 60 events/year. Using the matrix elements of  this would lead to a bound on $`m_{ee}`$ of

$$m_{ee}\text{ }\stackrel{<}{}\text{ }0.1eV$$
(7)
Transitions to excited states can only populate a $`2^+`$ \- state at 88.4 keV. This state has a life-time of only 1.39 ns which is too short to use the coincidence technique and a possible transition to that state would just add to the ground state signal. The phase phase reduction is not too dramatic for this state, but $`2^+`$ \- transitions have in general smaller matrix elements than the ground state transition .

## 3 $`\beta ^+\beta ^+`$ \- decay of $`{}_{}{}^{168}Yb`$

For $`{}_{}{}^{168}Yb`$  two decay modes are possible:

$$\begin{array}{c}e_B^{}+{}_{}{}^{168}Yb\text{ }{}_{}{}^{168}Er\text{ }+e^+(+2\nu _e)(\beta ^+/EC)\\ 2e_B^{}+{}_{}{}^{168}Yb\text{ }{}_{}{}^{168}Er\text{ }+(2\nu _e)+XRays(EC/EC)\end{array}$$
(8)
The decay scheme of $`{}_{}{}^{168}Yb`$  is shown in Fig. 1. Having a natural abundance of 0.13 % the $`\beta ^+/EC`$ (Q-value = 399 keV) and $`EC/EC`$ (Q-value = 1421 keV) decay modes are possible. No experimental information on any of these decay modes for $`{}_{}{}^{168}Yb`$  exist. In the following only the 2 $`\nu `$ decay modes are considered. In a recent theoretical paper the 2 $`\nu `$ $`EC/EC`$ ground state transition was estimated and a half life prediction of $`T_{1/2}^{EC/EC}=210^{23}`$ yrs was obtained . This is in the same order as a recently calculated theoretical half-life for $`\alpha `$-decay of $`{}_{}{}^{168}Yb`$ . Using the fact that in other isotopes the estimated $`\beta ^+/EC`$ half-life is typically one order of magnitude higher than for $`EC/EC`$  , this would also imply that we can expect $`T_{1/2}^{\beta ^+/EC}10^{24}`$ yrs for this mode. Using this rough estimate an event rate of about 180 per year for the $`\beta ^+/EC`$ \- decay mode and roughly 10 times more for the $`EC/EC`$ \- mode can be expected. A coincident signal like in the solar neutrino case might be possible here using the characteristic radiation from the EC together with the 2 annihilation photons. Maybe even the transition to an excited $`2^+`$-state might be used to increase the signal. This state has a life-time of 1.9 ns and decays under emission of a 79.8 keV photon. This together with the annihilation photons might form a signal depending on the exact timing. Also for this state phase space suppression is not too strong. For the 2 $`\nu `$ $`EC/EC`$ \- decay three more states open up ($`2_1^+`$ at 821 keV, $`0_1^+`$ at 1217 keV and $`2_2^+`$ at 1276 keV). The deexcitation photons in principle could serve as a signal, but they are strongly phase space suppressed. The estimated half-life for the $`0_1^+`$ state at 1217 keV is $`5.410^{33}`$ yrs .

## 4 Summary and conclusion

Using large scale Yb-loaded liquid scintillation detectors for solar neutrino spectroscopy (LENS) would also allow to probe half-lifes for $`\beta ^{}\beta ^{}`$ decay of $`{}_{}{}^{176}Yb`$  of the order $`T_{1/2}^{0\nu }`$ $`10^{26}`$ yrs and beyond, corresponding to neutrino mass limits of $`m_{ee}`$ $``$ 0.1 eV and below. With respect to nuclear matrix element uncertainties this is an independent probe in the neutrino mass region below 1 eV currently only touched by $`{}_{}{}^{76}Ge`$ . Furthermore, because the current mass limit on $`\nu _\tau `$ is 18.2 MeV  it is still not excluded that a massive eigenvalue in the MeV-region exists. Such a state could lead to an atomic mass dependent effect in $`m_{ee}`$  because the neutrino mass in the propagator can no longer be neglected as discussed in . Therefore both isotopes ($`{}_{}{}^{76}Ge`$  and $`{}_{}{}^{176}Yb`$ ) combined provide important informations and would exclude a mixing between a light and heavy state as shown Fig. 2.
The presence of a significant amount of $`{}_{}{}^{168}Yb`$ gives for the first time a realistic chance to observe $`\beta ^+/EC`$ or $`EC/EC`$ \- decay well within the range of theoretical predictions. The proposed solar neutrino experiment LENS therefore should be designed in a way to account for the physics topics discussed here as well.

## Acknowledgements

I would like to thank R. S. Raghavan for useful discussions.


text:
# A New Component of the Galaxy as the Origin of the LMC Microlensing Events

## 1. Introduction

The past few years have yielded exciting new data from observational teams searching for evidence of MACHOs (dark compact objects) in the halo of our galaxy, data which have raised many new questions. The microlensing optical depth toward the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) obtained by the MACHO collaboration, $`\tau _{\mathrm{LMC}}=(1.2_{0.3}^{+0.4})\times 10^7`$ (Cook et al. 2000), is consistent with a significant fraction of the galactic halo ($`20\%`$) in the form of MACHOs. The duration of these events also indicates that, under the assumption of a spherical isothermal halo distribution for the MACHOs, the average MACHO mass is $`0.5M_{}`$ (with large statistical uncertainties).

Such masses suggest several candidates for the lenses including faint halo stars, white dwarfs, and black holes. Direct searches for faint halo stars have placed severe limits on their contribution to halo, requiring it to be less than about $`3\%`$ (Flynn, Gould, & Bahcall 1996; Graff & Freese 1996). Primordial black hole candidates require a fine tuning of the initial density perturbations, and details of QCD phase transition black hole formation remain to be worked out in order to assess their viability and mass function (Jedamzik & Niemeyer 1999). Thus in the standard halo model interpretation, white dwarfs appear to be the remaining strong candidate for the lenses.

However, other possible interpretations of the MACHO results have been proposed in order to avoid the difficulties associated with a large halo population of white dwarfs. The mass estimate for the lenses depends upon the assumed phase space distribution of MACHOs. There are large uncertainties in the halo model parameters, including the distribution and velocity structure of the dark matter, and attempts have been made to exploit these uncertainties in order to obtain mass estimates from the current data that are consistent with lenses in the substellar regime (e.g. brown dwarfs). Previous work by the authors and others have examined a wide range of halo models, including flattened halos, halos with a bulk rotational component to the velocity structure (Gyuk & Gates 1998) and halos with anisotropic velocity dispersions (Gyuk, Evans, & Gates 1998). These analyses have shown that for any reasonable (smoothly varying) phase space distribution of the lenses, the implied lens mass is still much larger than the hydrogen burning limit, and thus one cannot appeal to modeling uncertainties in order to invoke brown dwarfs as candidates for the MACHOs.

Other work has explored the possibility that the lenses are not in the halo of the Milky Way. LMC self-lensing was originally suggested by Sahu (1994), but recent work by Gyuk, Dalal & Griest (1999) has argued that this is unlikely to be able to account for the current data. More recently, an unvirialized component of the LMC has been proposed in order to produce sufficient LMC self-lensing (Graff 2000). Zaritsky & Lin (1997) and Zhao (1998) have suggested an intervening population of stars toward the LMC (tidal debris or a dwarf galaxy) could be responsible for the microlensing events. Again this suggestion has been subject to much debate, and a recent paper by Gould (1999) argues strongly against such a scenario. Galactic models in which dark extensions of known populations, such as a heavy spheroid or thick disk, could be the source of the lenses were explored by Gates, Gyuk, Holder & Turner (1998).

However, recent results from a proper motion study of the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) (Ibata et al. 1999 ), and from a comparison of the north and south HDF images (Mendez & Minniti 1999) have added a new piece to the puzzle. These studies provide further evidence that there may be a previously undetected population of old white dwarfs in the galaxy. Using new models for white dwarf cooling (Hansen 1999), the sources detected by Ibata et al. are consistent with 2-5 old ($`>12Gyr`$), $`0.5M_{}`$ white dwarfs with kinematics roughly consistent with that expected for halo objects. While earlier searches for the local counterparts did not find any such objects (Flynn et al. 2000), recent surveys have turned up several candidates (Hodgkin et al. 2000; Ibata et al. 2000). Overall, these data strengthen the interpretation of the MACHO lenses as white dwarfs in our own galaxy, and thus make alternative scenarios, such as LMC self-lensing, less appealing.

While these new data are still somewhat preliminary, they do raise the intriguing possibility that there is a previously undetected population of white dwarf stars that are not part of the disk or (known) spheroid. Along with the MACHO data and the inability of modeling to significantly change the mass estimates, these new results, seem to be relentlessly pointing to white dwarfs as the lenses. So, is the halo of our galaxy filled with white dwarfs? A standard halo interpretation of these data would say yes – a significant fraction of the galactic halo must be in white dwarfs. However, such a scenario faces serious challenges from many directions.

## 2. White Dwarfs in the Halo?

When considering the possibility that a large fraction (or all) of the galactic halo might be in the form of white dwarfs, it is extremely important to recall the evidence for galactic dark matter, including estimates of the total mass of the Milky Way. A recent analysis of satellite radial and proper motions by Wilkinson and Evans (1999) found a total mass of the Galaxy $`M_{TOT}2\times 10^{12}M_{}`$, in good agreement with other recent estimates (Kochanek 1996; Zaritsky 1998). Wilkinson and Evans also find that the halo extends to at least $`100\mathrm{k}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{c}`$, and possibly much further to 150 or 200 kpc. Thus the total mass in a white dwarf population that comprises a significant fraction of the halo would be of order $`10^{12}M_{}`$, a number which already severely strains the baryon budget of the Universe.

Models which propose such a population must also account for the mass in the progenitor population of stars and in the metal enriched gas produced during the formation of the white dwarfs. Combined with the above mass estimate for the galactic halo, such considerations provide serious challenges for these models. For example, consider a white dwarf halo which is comprised of at least $`50\%`$ white dwarfs. The total mass in white dwarfs today is thus of order $`10^{12}`$. The efficiency $`ϵ(m)`$ for producing a white dwarf from a progenitor star of mass $`m`$ is likely to be 0.25 or smaller, depending on the progenitor mass (with an upper limit of $`ϵ=0.5`$ for progenitor stars of $`1M_{}`$) (Adams & Laughlin 1996). Thus, for a white dwarf halo mass of $`M_{wd}`$, we expect a mass in the progenitor population $`M_{Pstars}4M_{wd}`$ and a mass in processed, metal rich gas $`M_{zgas}3M_{wd}`$. A halo of mass $`M_{TOT}=2\times 10^{12}`$, half of which is in white dwarfs, requires a progenitor mass of $`M_{Pstars}4\times 10^{12}`$. This in turn requires an extremely efficient early burst of star formation, through which essentially all of the baryons in the Universe are processed.

From a cosmological point of view, we can consider the contribution of the white dwarfs and the progenitor population to the matter density of the Universe. The Milky Way has a mass to light ratio $`M/L100`$ or greater (Zaritsky 1998). If we assume that this is a typical value for all galaxies, then galaxies contribute $`\mathrm{\Omega }_g>100/1200h=0.08h^1`$. Comparing this with $`\mathrm{\Omega }_bh^2=0.019\pm 0.0024`$ (95$`\%`$cl, Burles et al. 1999), we find that a $`50\%`$ white dwarf halo exceeds the baryon budget ($`\frac{\mathrm{\Omega }_{MACHOs}}{\mathrm{\Omega }_b}2h`$) even before considering the effects of processing most of the baryons through an early star phase. A $`20\%`$ white dwarf halo is also difficult to reconcile with the above estimate of $`\mathrm{\Omega }_b`$, since the contributions of the progenitor stars will exceed $`\mathrm{\Omega }_b`$.

Many authors have explored the implications of a halo filled with white dwarfs. These analyses, combined with the estimates of the total mass in the halo, make the possibility of a white dwarf halo even less tenable.

First, the initial mass function (IMF) of the progenitor stars must be markedly different than the disk IMF. Limits on the IMF arise from both low and high mass stars. Low mass stars ($`<1M_{}`$) would still be burning hydrogen today and should be visible. High mass stars ($`>8M_{}`$) would have evolved into Type II supernovae, ejecting heavy metals back into the interstellar medium 111However, Venkatesan, Olinto & Truran 1999 have argued that the bounds on high mass stars are significantly relaxed for progenitor stars with very low ($`10^4Z_{}`$) or zero metallicity, which might relax this constraint somewhat.. From limits on red dwarfs in the halo and the galactic metallicity, Adams & Laughlin (1996) and Chabrier et al (1996) find that the IMF must be sharply peaked about a progenitor star mass of $`m2M_{}`$. Adams & Laughlin conclude that even with the above IMF, the white dwarf contribution to the halo is limited to less than $`25\%`$ (with $`50\%`$ being an extreme upper limit).

Next, the metal enriched gas produced when these stars become white dwarfs will pollute the remaining unprocessed gas, leading to high metallicities predicted for the Galactic disk and the interstellar medium (into which much of this gas must be blown out since the total mass in processed gas is much larger than the mass of the disk)(Fields, Matthews, & Schramm 1997). Gibson & Mould (1997) have estimated that the expected amount of C, N and O produced by the above IMFs, where the white dwarf mass is about $`4\times 10^{11}M_{}`$ (for a $`20\%`$ MACHO halo), would be difficult to reconcile with that in pop II white dwarfs.

White dwarfs in the halo would also produce heavy metals via Type Ia supernovae. Canal, Isern and Ruiz-Lapuente (1997) use this to limit the halo fraction in white dwarfs to less than $`510\%`$ (or a total mass in white dwarfs of $`510\times 10^{10}M_{}`$). In addition, deep galaxy counts limit the fraction of the halo in white dwarfs to less than about $`10\%`$, since the brightly burning progenitor stars would be visible (Charlot & Silk 1995). Finally, it is worth mentioning that an all white dwarf halo would rule out the existence of other dark matter in the Universe (for example cold dark matter) (Gates & Turner 1994), opening the door to a host of problems with large scale structure formation.

## 3. A New Component of the Galaxy

Given the evidence for a previously undetected population of white dwarfs and the severe constraints on a halo population consistent with this evidence we propose a new component of the Galaxy. Such a component was first considered by the authors (Gyuk & Gates 1999) in the context of attempting to lower the mass estimates for the MACHO lenses, and in Gates et al. (1998) in considering dark extensions to know components.

This new component is essentially a very thick (scale height $`>2`$ kpc) population of (mostly) old white dwarf stars. It is distinct from known galactic populations, both in distribution and age. This “extended protodisk” extends beyond the thin and thick disk populations, but lies well within the halo. While the details of the distribution cannot be determined without significantly more data, the general features of this proposed model can be illustrated with the following example:

Consider an exponential disk with a volume density given by

$$\rho (r,z)=\frac{\mathrm{\Sigma }_0}{2h_z}exp((r_0r)/r_d)sech^2(z/h_z)$$
(1)
where $`r_d=4.0\mathrm{kpc}`$ is the scale length and $`h_z=2.5\mathrm{kpc}`$ is the scale height. We assume standard values for the position and circular velocity of the Sun, $`r_0=8.0\mathrm{kpc}`$ and $`v_c=220\mathrm{k}\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}`$.

We also assume a velocity structure, which includes a rotational component $`\stackrel{~}{v}_\varphi 130170\mathrm{k}\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}`$, of the form

$$f=\frac{\rho (r,\varphi ,z)}{m}\frac{1}{\sqrt{(2\pi )^3}\sigma _r\sigma _\varphi \sigma _z}e^{\left[\frac{v_r^2}{2\sigma _r^2}+\frac{(v_\varphi \stackrel{~}{v}_\varphi )^2}{2\sigma _\varphi ^2}+\frac{v_z^2}{2\sigma _z^2}\right]}$$
(2)
where the velocity ellipsoid varies as

$$\sigma _z^2=2\pi G\rho _0h_z^2=\pi G\mathrm{\Sigma }_0h_z.$$
(3)
$`\sigma _r^2`$ $``$ $`2\sigma _z^2`$
$`\sigma _\varphi ^2`$ $``$ $`\sigma _z^2.`$
For details on varying these model parameters as well as different parameterizations of the generic extended protodisk model see Gyuk & Gates (1998, 1999).

We can also consider a spheroid-like distribution for this component. Dynamical estimates for the mass of the spheroid are considerably larger than the luminous mass, although recent studies of the mass function of the spheroid indicate that the known spheroid population is unlikely to be able to account for the microlensing events (Gould, Flynn, & Bahcall 1998). Thus a spheroidal distribution would again correspond to a previously undetected component. For such a distribution the total mass is constrained in order not to conflict with the inner rotation curve of the galaxy, which limits LMC optical depths $`\tau <1.2\times 10^7`$.

The extended protodisk supports approximately half of the local rotation speed, with the remainder coming from the thin disk and dark (non-MACHO) halo (see e.g. Figure 1). The dark halo in these models has a large core radius ($`>7\mathrm{k}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{c}`$) and an asymptotic rotation speed of $`180\mathrm{k}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{c}`$. The total mass in the Galaxy out to 50 kpc is $`4.6\times 10^{11}M_{}`$. For a total mass in the white dwarf extended protodisk of $`M_{wd}=7\times 10^{10}M_{}`$, we find:

* The optical depth toward the LMC generated by this component is $`\tau 11.5\times 10^7`$;
* The lens mass estimates for the current MACHO event durations is $`m0.5M_{}`$, consistent with white dwarf masses;
* We expect to see roughly twice as many white dwarfs in the HDF-South compared to HDF-North, similar to the halo models;
* Simulations of the proper motions for white dwarfs in this model are broadly consistent with the observations of Ibata et al. (1999).

The main feature of this model, however, is that it has a much lower total mass in white dwarfs than halo models. As outlined above, it is consistent with both the MACHO data and the HDF studies for a total mass in white dwarfs of $`M_{wd}<7\times 10^{10}M_{}`$. This is approximately half of the mass that would be required for a halo distribution of MACHOs which would produce the same optical depth. Basically, this reduction can be understood because most microlensing is due to lenses within about $`20`$ kpc of the Sun for either configuration. The extended protodisk has less mass beyond that distance than a halo.

The smaller mass in white dwarfs today also implies a smaller total mass in the progenitor population. For our above example the progenitor mass $`M_{Pstars}3\times 10^{11}M_{}`$, a crucial factor of 5 less than that for a $`20\%`$ white dwarf halo, assuming the same IMF in both cases.

There are several predictions of this model that can eventually allow it to be distinguished from a standard halo white dwarf population. First, the LMC optical depth cannot be much greater than about $`1.5\times 10^7`$. Second, because the lenses are concentrated closer to the plane of the galaxy, the typical lens-observer distance will be smaller (of order $`5`$ kpc). This in turn implies an increase in the expected number of parallax events (Gyuk & Gates 1999). Finally, the ratio of optical depths toward the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds is expected to be of order $`\tau _{SMC}/\tau _{LMC}0.8`$, in contrast with $`\tau _{SMC}/\tau _{LMC}1.5`$ (Sackett & Gould 1993) predicted for a standard halo.

The distribution of event durations and a detailed comparison of the distribution (in direction and magnitude) of the observed proper motions will also differ for a halo vs. extended protodisk white dwarf population, but these seem unlikely to be able to differentiate between models without significantly more data.

## 4. Model Implications

Because the total mass in the white dwarf population today is significantly lower in this model, some of the constraints on a halo white dwarf population can be evaded, including those which consider the progenitor population and the ejected metal enriched gas. The total mass in this new component represents less than about $`4\%`$ of a total halo mass of $`2\times 10^{12}`$. Since essentially all of the current constraints on white dwarf halos which limit the halo mass fraction in white dwarfs do so at only the $`10\%`$ level, these constraints can be satisfied by our model. This includes the Type Ia supernovae constraints which are dependent on the mass in white dwarfs today, and cannot be evaded by scenarios which involve somehow hiding the metal enriched gas produced by the progenitor stars.

However, there remains much work to be done to more carefully consider the implications of this new component. First, we still require an IMF which differs significantly from the disk IMF. Assuming a log-normal distribution, Adams & Laughlin (1996) and Chabrier et al. (1996) used conservative constraints to limit the mass fraction of the high and low mass end of the progenitor IMF for a halo white dwarf population. While the lower total mass in our progenitor population will relax the constraints (which are based on the metallicity of the Galactic disk) somewhat at the high mass end, the mass fraction of low mass ($`m<1M_{}`$) stars is constrained by number counts of faint low mass stars locally. The extended protodisk has an increased local density relative to a halo distribution, but a lower total mass, resulting in a constraint similar to that for a halo. Thus we expect to require a fairly sharp low mass drop-off in the progenitor IMF. The implications of such an IMF, including the lower fraction of primordial baryons which is processed through this early population, need to be examined in greater depth.

This new component also provides some intriguing hints for cosmology. When did this component form and how is it related to galaxy formation scenarios? Can this early starburst population help us to trace the baryons in the Universe from their primordial state to the present, where we find most of the baryons in the intracluster medium?

## 5. Conclusions

We have argued that the microlensing data toward the LMC, combined with observations of white dwarf stars in a proper motion study of the HDF indicate the presence of a new component of the galaxy. This component can be generally described as an extended distribution that extends at least 2 kpc above the galactic plane, but resides well within the dark matter halo. It is consistent with all data and observations of the structure and kinematics of the galaxy, and significantly alleviates the considerable problems with a halo population of white dwarf stars that is consistent with microlensing data. Much work remains to carefully consider the implications of such a component, in particular the formation and evolution of the early population of progenitor stars (and resulting metal enriched gas) that produced this component. However, the significantly lower mass in the progenitor population as compared to that for a halo population of white dwarfs will allow a reasonable fraction of the baryonic mass of the Universe to remain in gas that has not been processed through these very early stars. Moreover, this component may be a more reasonable distribution for the remains of an early starburst population, in which one would expect a more condensed distribution than that of the halo.

### Acknowledgments.

This work was supported in part by the DOE (at Chicago and Fermilab) and by the NASA (through grant NAG5-2788 at Fermilab).