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# Perspectives of 𝑒⁺𝑒⁻ production in 𝑝𝑝, 𝑝𝑑 and 𝑝𝐵𝑒 reactions at SIS energies Work supported by GSI and BMBF

## 1 Introduction

Electromagnetic probes such as dileptons provide the most clear signals from the early phases of high-energy heavy-ion collisions because they may leave the reaction volume essentially undistorted by final-state interactions. Differential dilepton spectra from heavy-ion collisions thus can provide information about the effective degrees of freedom at high baryon density and temperature. Apart from that the in-medium properties of hadrons (cf. Refs. ), that are closely related to the latter problem, can be explored as well. According to QCD sum rules  as well as QCD inspired effective Lagrangian models  especially the vector mesons ($`\rho `$, $`\omega `$ and $`\varphi `$) significantly change their properties with nuclear density. It has been argued, that the experimentally observed enhanced production of soft lepton pairs above known sources in nucleus-nucleus collisions at SPS energies  might be due to the in-medium modification of vector mesons  rather than reflecting a new state of hadronic matter.

Dileptons from heavy-ion collisions have also been measured by the DLS Collaboration  at BEVALAC energies, where a different temperature and density regime is probed. The first generation of DLS data , based on a limited data set, were consistent with the results from early transport model calculations  including the conventional dileptons sources as $`pn`$ bremsstrahlung, $`\pi ^0`$, $`\eta `$, $`\omega `$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ Dalitz decay, direct decay of vector mesons and pion-pion annihilation, without incorporating any medium effects. A more recent DLS measurement  including the full data set and an improved analysis, however, shows an increase by about a factor of 5-7 in the cross section in comparison to Ref.  and the early theoretical predictions.

This enhancement of the $`e^+e^{}`$ yield in nucleus-nucleus collisions provides some theoretical ’puzzle’. In Ref.  the in-medium $`\rho `$ spectral functions from Refs.  have been implemented in the HSD transport approach for $`\rho `$ mesons produced in baryon-baryon, pion-baryon collisions as well as from $`\pi \pi `$ annihilation, and a factor of 2-3 enhancement has been obtained compared to the case of a free $`\rho `$-spectral function. In Ref.  dropping vector meson masses and $`\omega `$ meson broadening were incorporated in the UrQMD transport model, which also showed an enhancement of the dilepton yield, however, the authors could not describe the new DLS data  as well. Another attempt to solve the DLS ’puzzle’ has been performed in Ref.  where the dropping hadron mass scenario was considered together with the subthreshold $`\rho `$ production in $`\pi N`$ scattering via the baryonic resonance $`N(1520)`$ whose importance was pointed out in Refs. . It was found that the enhancement of the dilepton spectra due to low mass $`\rho `$’s from the $`N(1520)`$ was not sufficient to match the DLS data. Thus, all in-medium scenarios that successfully have explained the dilepton enhancement at SPS energies failed to describe the new DLS dilepton data  from heavy-ion collisions ($`{}_{}{}^{12}C+^{12}C`$ and $`{}_{}{}^{40}Ca+^{40}Ca`$).

In 1998 the DLS Collaboration has, furthermore, published dilepton data from elementary $`pp`$ and $`pd`$ collisions at 1-5 GeV  which provides the possibility for an independent check of the elementary dilepton channels that enter as ’input’ in transport calculations for heavy-ion reactions. Such an analysis has been carried out in Refs.  and it was shown that the dilepton invariant mass spectra from $`pp`$ reactions in the energy range from 1 – 5 GeV could be rather well described within the standard sources of hadronic Dalitz and direct decays when including also the ’subthreshold’ production of $`\rho `$-mesons by baryonic resonances 111For a detailed description of the individual channels we refer the reader to Ref. .. It has been, furthermore, argued that additional channels (like dilepton decays of scalar mesons ($`a_0,f_0`$) or four-body final states decays like $`\eta ^{}\pi ^+\pi ^{}e^+e^{}`$, $`(\rho ^0,\omega )\pi ^+\pi ^{}e^+e^{}`$, $`(\rho ^0,\omega )\eta \pi ^0e^+e^{}`$) might contribute to the elementary yield in $`pp`$ and $`pd`$ reactions . Thus it is indispensible, that also these elementary reactions have to be measured again with high resolution in order to understand more accurately the $`e^+e^{}`$ radiation mechanisms.

In this article we perform a detailed study of dilepton production from $`pp`$, $`pd`$ and $`pBe`$ collisions from 1 – 5 GeV including all channels as described in Ref. , i.e. the subthreshold $`\rho `$ production via baryonic resonances (e.g. $`D_{13}(1520),P_{11}(1710)`$) as well as $`\pi ^0`$, $`\eta `$, $`\omega `$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ Dalitz decays and the direct decay of vector mesons ($`\rho `$, $`\omega `$, $`\varphi `$). We investigate the role of isospin degrees of freedom with respect to dilepton production in $`pd`$ reactions by employing exact energy-momentum conservation for the deuteron target. The $`pBe`$ reactions are calculated within the resonance transport model  that includes the same elementary production amplitudes.

The paper is organized as follows: In Section 2 we briefly present the underlying resonance model that enters the coupled-channel BUU transport approach. In Section 3 we provide a comparison of our results with the corresponding DLS data including the DLS acceptance and resolution functions. In Section 4 we, furthermore, give detailed predictions for these reactions with a high mass resolution in view of upcoming experiments with the HADES detector at GSI Darmstadt. We close with a summary and discussion of open problems in Section 5.

## 2 Description of the model

### 2.1 Resonance approach

We perform our analysis of dilepton production from $`pp`$, $`pd`$ and $`pBe`$ collisions within the resonance approach of Refs. . This model is based on the resonance concept of nucleon-nucleon and meson-nucleon interactions at low invariant energy $`\sqrt{s}`$  by adopting all resonance parameters from the Manley analysis ; all states with at least 2 stars in Ref.  are taken into account: $`P_{33}`$(1232), $`P_{11}`$(1440), $`D_{13}`$(1520), $`S_{11}`$(1535), $`P_{33}`$(1600), $`S_{31}`$(1620), $`S_{11}`$(1650), $`D_{15}`$(1675), $`F_{15}`$(1680), $`P_{13}`$(1879), $`S_{31}`$(1900), $`F_{35}`$(1905), $`P_{31}`$(1910), $`D_{35}`$(1930), $`F_{37}`$(1950), $`F_{17}`$(1990), $`G_{17}`$(2190), $`D_{35}`$(2350). These resonances couple to the following channels: $`N\pi `$, $`N\eta `$, $`N\omega `$, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }K`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }(1232)\pi `$, $`N\rho `$, $`N\sigma `$, $`N(1440)\pi `$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }(1232)\rho `$ with respect to the production and decay.

It has been shown, that the resonance model provides a good description of the experimental data on one- and two-pion production in nucleon-nucleon collisions at low energy . However, with increasing energy the resonance contributions underestimate the data; the missing yield is then treated as a backgraund term to the resonance amplitude. This background term ’mimics’ $`t`$-channel particle production mechanism as well as other non-resonance contributions (e.g., direct $`NNNN\pi `$, without creating an intermediate resonance).

With increasing energy, furthermore, the multiparticle production becomes more and more important. The high energy collisions – above $`\sqrt{s}`$ = 2.6 GeV for baryon-baryon collisions and $`\sqrt{s}`$ = 2.2 GeV for meson-baryon collisions – are described by the LUND string fragmentation model FRITIOF . This aspect is similar to that used in the HSD approach  and the UrQMD model .

This combined resonance-string approach allows to calculate particle production in baryon-baryon and meson-baryon collisions from low to high energies. The collisional dynamics for proton-nucleus reactions, furthermore, is described by the coupled-channel BUU transport approach  that is based on the same elementary cross sections.

### 2.2 Dilepton production

The dilepton production within the resonance model can be schematically presented in the following way:

$`BB`$ $``$ $`RX`$ (1)
$`mB`$ $``$ $`RX`$ (5)
$`Re^+e^{}X,`$
$`RmX,me^+e^{}X,`$
$`RR^{}X,R^{}e^+e^{}X.`$
In words: in a first step a resonance $`R`$ might be produced in baryon-baryon ($`BB`$) or meson-baryon ($`mB`$) collisions – (1), (5). Then this resonance can couple to dileptons directly – (5) (e.g., Dalitz decay of the $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ resonance: $`\mathrm{\Delta }e^+e^{}N`$) or decays to a meson $`m`$ (+ baryon) – (5) which produces dileptons via direct decays ($`\rho ,\omega `$) or Dalitz decays ($`\pi ^0,\eta ,\omega `$). The resonance $`R`$ might also decay into another resonance $`R^{}`$ – (5) which later produces dileptons via Dalitz decay or again via meson decays (e.g., $`D_{35}(1930)\mathrm{\Delta }\rho ,\mathrm{\Delta }e^+e^{}N,\rho e^+e^{}`$). Note, that in our combined model the final particles – which couple to dileptons – can be produced also via non-resonant mechanisms, i.e. ’background’ at low and intermediate energies and string decay at high energies.

The electromagnetic part of all conventional dilepton sources – $`\pi ^0,\eta ,\omega `$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ Dalitz decay, direct decay of vector mesons $`\rho ,\omega `$ – are treated in the same way as described in detail in Sec. 3 of Ref.  where we have calculated the dilepton spectra from $`pp`$ collisions in comparison to the DLS data. The only difference is that in our present calculation we use the spectral function of vector mesons ($`\rho ,\omega `$) in the same form as for all other resonances as used in Manley analysis :

$$f(M)=N_V\frac{2}{\pi }\frac{M^2\mathrm{\Gamma }_{tot}^V}{(M^2m_V^2)^2+(M\mathrm{\Gamma }_{tot}^V)^2}.$$
(6)
In (6) $`N_V`$ guarantees normalization to unity, i.e. $`f(M)𝑑M=1`$, while $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{tot}^V`$ is the total vector meson width.

For $`pd`$ and $`pBe`$ collisions we also take into account $`pn`$ bremstrahlung using the soft-photon approximation , where the radiation from internal meson lines is neglected and the strong interaction vertex is assumed to be on-shell. In this case the strong interaction part and the electromagnetic part separate; however, the cross section for dileptons has to be corrected  by reducing the phase-space for the colliding particles in their final-state. We discard $`pp`$ bremsstrahlung from the nucleon pole since the microscopic OBE calculations  have shown that at 1.0 GeV the $`pp`$ bremsstrahlung is smaller than the $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ Dalitz decay contribution by a factor of 2-3. At this energy also the interference between nucleon and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$-pole terms is negligible. At high energies, where this interference becomes important , however, the overall contribution from these channels is negligible (see below). We, furthermore, discard $`e^+e^{}`$ production from the scalar mesons $`f_0,a_0`$ as advocated in Ref.  since our studies in Ref.  have indicated that the multiplicity of scalar mesons in $`pp`$ reactions is very small in the energy regime of interest.

The basic underlying assumption for dilepton production, that enters in our calculation, is that the amplitude can be factorized into a meson or/and resonance production and a dilepton decay part. This assumption provides not only a significant simplification, which is necessary for applications in transport calculations , but also allows to take into account the ’inelasticity’ from many-particle production channels which become dominant at high energy.

In Fig. 1 we illustrate our factorization assumption for the process $`NNRN\rho NNe^+e^{}NN`$ with an intermediate resonance $`R`$ coupled to the $`\rho `$ meson, e.g. $`D_{13}(1520)`$, which is responsible for $`\rho `$ production below the threshold. As shown in Fig. 1 we cut the diagram twice such that we have a resonance production part ($`NNRN`$), a resonance decay to the $`\rho `$ meson ($`R\rho N`$) and direct dilepton decay of the $`\rho `$ meson ($`\rho e^+e^{}`$). This assumption with respect to subthreshold $`\rho `$ production via the $`D_{13}(1520)`$ is different to the ansatz used in the previous dilepton analysis . In Ref.  we have factorized the amplitude $`NNRN\rho NNe^+e^{}NN`$ into a $`D_{13}(1520)`$ production part ($`NNRN`$) and Dalitz decay part $`R\rho Ne^+e^{}N`$ (cf. Sect. 3.1 of Ref. ). In the latter approach the $`\rho `$ meson is considered to be off-shell, i.e. a virtual particle, and can have a mass below $`2m_\pi `$ which leads to the Dalitz behavior of the dilepton spectra (cf. Fig. 3 of Ref. ), whereas in the present approach we assume that the $`\rho `$ meson has a free spectral function with masses only above $`2m_\pi `$. The latter assumption leads to the ’direct $`\rho `$ decay’ profile for dileptons from subthreshold $`\rho `$’s and is consistent with our resonance prescription used also in the transport calculations , where we propagate such $`\rho `$ mesons explicitly.

To compare with the experimental data of the DLS Collaboration one has to use the appropriate experimental filter, which is a function of the dilepton invariant mass $`M`$, transverse momentum $`p_T`$ and rapidity $`y_{lab}`$ in the laboratory frame – $`F(M,p_T,y_{lab})`$. For that purpose we explicitly simulate all dileptons by Monte-Carlo and apply the filter $`F(M,p_T,y_{lab})`$.

## 3 $`e^+e^{}`$ results in comparison to DLS data

### 3.1 Dileptons from $`pp`$ collisions

In Fig. 2 we present the calculated dilepton invariant mass spectra $`d\sigma /dM`$ for $`pp`$ collisions from 1.0 – 4.9 GeV including the final mass resolution and filter $`F(M,p_T,y_{lab})`$ from the DLS Collaboration (version 4.1) in comparison to the DLS data . The thin lines indicate the individual contributions from the different production channels; i.e. starting from low $`M`$: Dalitz decay $`\pi ^0\gamma e^+e^{}`$ (short dashed line), $`\eta \gamma e^+e^{}`$ (dotted line), $`\mathrm{\Delta }Ne^+e^{}`$ (dashed line), $`\omega \pi ^0e^+e^{}`$ (dot-dashed line), for $`M`$ 0.7 GeV: $`\omega e^+e^{}`$ (dot-dashed line), $`\rho ^0e^+e^{}`$ (short dashed line). The full solid line represents the sum of all sources considered here.

Whereas at 1.04 GeV the dileptons stem practically all from $`\pi ^0`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ Dalitz decays, $`\rho `$ decay becomes more important with increasing energy and at high invariant mass. Note, that in the present analysis we do not separate the production mechanism for $`\rho `$ mesons as in Ref. , i.e. the $`\rho `$-meson contribution might come from the decay of $`D_{13}(1520)`$ and $`P_{11}(1710)`$ or non-resonance $`\rho `$ production. Thus, the short dashed line (denoted as $`\rho ^0e^+e^{}`$) presents the sum of all $`\rho `$ contributions. However, the resonance mechanism dominates for $`\rho `$ production at low energies, especially below the $`pp\rho pp`$ threshold $`\sqrt{s}<2m_N+m_\rho `$, where $`\sqrt{s}`$ is the invariant collision energy (see Sec. 2 in Ref. ).

At 2.1 and 4.9 GeV the dilepton yield is dominated by the $`\eta `$ Dalitz decay and direct decays of $`\rho `$ and $`\omega `$ mesons. The $`\rho `$ spectrum is enhanced towards low $`M`$ due to the limited phase space and strong mass dependence $`(M^3)`$ of the dilepton decay width  in line with the vector dominance model. Note, that at 2.1 GeV we use the resonance production mechanism in our model, whereas at 4.9 GeV most of the particles are produced by string decays. Within the strict resonance model which gives only the exclusive $`pppp\eta `$ cross section the $`\eta `$ yield from $`pp`$ collisions is underestimated by about a factor of 2 (dot-dot-dashed line) at 2.1 GeV. Since at this energy other channels such as $`NN\eta \pi ,NN\eta \pi \pi `$ are open, we have estimated the cross section for these channels by the string model and added it to the total $`\eta `$ yield. This gives the final $`\eta `$ contribution (dotted line) for 2.1 GeV.

### 3.2 Dileptons from $`pd`$ collisions

The experimental measurement of dilepton spectra from proton and deuteron targets provides a unique possibility to get information about the isospin dependence of the $`NN`$ interaction which is interesting in itself and, furthermore, important with respect to heavy-ion reactions. The $`pp`$ and $`pd`$ dilepton data from the DLS Collaboration  are the first experimental step in this direction.

Since the deuteron is a bound system of proton and neutron, the Fermi motion of the nucleons plays an important role for all interactions. For example, Fermi motion leads to a shift of the threshold for particle production in $`pd`$ interactions to lower $`\sqrt{s}`$, i.e. the channels closed by kinematics in $`pp`$ collisions might be open in $`pd`$. Thus, the $`pd`$ reactions can not be directly approximated by the simple sum of $`pp`$ and $`pn`$. On the other hand, one can’t treat the deuteron within the usual mean-field approach used in transport calculations for more heavy nuclei.

In our analysis we thus take into account the Fermi motion of nucleons using the momentum distribution of the deuteron calculated with the Paris potential . We initialize a deuteron in momentum space (using a Monte Carlo method) according to the momentum distribution $`f(p)`$:

$`f(p)={\displaystyle \frac{|\mathrm{\Psi }(p)|^2}{|\mathrm{\Psi }(0)|^2}},`$ (7)
where $`p`$ is the momentum of a nucleon in the deuteron center-of-mass, while $`\mathrm{\Psi }(p)`$ is the deuteron wave function. To fulfill the binding energy constraint we assume

$`E_{spec}=\sqrt{p^2+m_N^2},E_{part}=E_dE_{spec}.`$ (8)
The nucleon, which does not participate in the reaction, i.e. the spectator, has a free dispersion relation for the energy-momentum $`E_{spec}`$, whereas $`E_{part}`$ is the energy of the nucleon participating in the reaction (participant). In (8) $`E_d=2m_N+\epsilon `$ is the total deuteron energy, where $`\epsilon =2.2`$ MeV is the binding energy of the deuteron.

The invariant collision-energy distribution $`dN/d\sqrt{s}`$ for $`pd`$ reactions calculated with the dispersion relation (8) is shown by the solid histogram in Fig. 3. For comparison (dashed histogram) we present the $`dN/d\sqrt{s}`$ distribution in the physical region ($`2m_N\sqrt{s}\sqrt{s_{max}}`$) calculated with $`f(p)`$ (7) in the quasi-free scattering limit, i.e. using the free dispersion relation for both nucleons in the deuteron: $`E_{spec}=E_{part}=\sqrt{p^2+m_N^2}`$. The lower limit of $`\sqrt{s}`$ is given by the free cross section that only exists for $`\sqrt{}2m_N`$. As seen from Fig. 3, both prescriptions are the same in the peak value, however, the deuteron spectral distribution (8) leads to an enhancement of the $`\sqrt{s}`$ distribution at small $`\sqrt{s}`$ and a reduction at high $`\sqrt{s}`$. This implies a substantial lowering of particle production at high $`\sqrt{s}`$ with respect to the quasi-free limit, which has been often used in the literature.

Within the ’binding’ prescription (8) we have calculated the dilepton invariant mass spectra $`d\sigma /dM`$ for $`pd`$ collisions from 1.0 – 4.9 GeV including the final mass resolution and filter $`F(M,p_T,y_{lab})`$ from the DLS Collaboration (version 4.1). The results are show in Fig. 4 in comparison to the DLS data , where the assignment of the lines is the same as in Fig. 2. Additionally, the dot-dot-dashed lines indicate the $`pn`$ bremsstrahlung contributions.

Similar to Fig. 2, at 1.04 GeV the $`\pi ^0`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ dalitz decays are dominant, however, due to the larger mass of the deuteron, the $`\eta `$ channel is already open contrary to the $`pp`$ reaction and the subthreshold $`\rho `$ branch is getting more important at high invariant mass $`M`$. Also $`pn`$ bremsstrahlung contributes at low energies, however, with increasing bombarding energy it becomes less important.

Starting from 1.61 GeV the dominant contribution at low $`M`$ is again the $`\eta `$ Dalitz decay, whereas at high $`M`$ the dileptons stem basically from direct $`\rho ,\omega `$ decays. The $`\eta `$ contribution here is calculated by assuming $`\sigma _{pnpn\eta }=6\sigma _{pppp\eta }`$ for $`2.425\mathrm{GeV}\sqrt{s}2.517\mathrm{GeV}`$ in line with the experimental data from Ref. , $`\sigma _{pnpn\eta }=2.5\sigma _{pppp\eta }`$ for $`2.517\mathrm{GeV}\sqrt{s}2.65\mathrm{GeV}`$ and $`\sigma _{pnpn\eta }\sigma _{pppp\eta }`$ for $`\sqrt{s}2.65\mathrm{GeV}`$ where the multiparticle production (above 2.65 GeV) is evaluated within the LUND string model. Note, that at high $`\sqrt{s}`$ the isospin asymmetry $`\sigma _{pn}/\sigma _{pp}`$ should be washed out by the isospin of pions that are created together with the $`\eta `$. Though this ’recipe’ seems to work in comparison to the DLS data, we point out that further experimental data with good mass resolution will be necessery to clarify the situation for the isospin couplings.

In order to demonstrate the importance of isospin degrees-of-freedom for dilepton production we present in Fig. 5 the invariant mass spectra $`d\sigma /dM`$ for $`pp`$ (short dashed line), $`pn`$ (long dashed line), $`pp+pn`$ (dot-dashed line) and $`pd`$ (solid line) collisions at 1.61 GeV in comparison to the DLS data . At these energies the $`pn`$ channel gives the main contribution to the $`pd`$ dilepton yield. Furthermore, the influence of the Fermi motion in the deuteron is clearly seen at high invariant mass $`M`$ by comparing the dot-dashed ($`pp+pn`$) and solid ($`pd`$) lines.

In Fig. 6 we present the excitation function, i.e. the integrated dilepton cross section for masses above 0.15 GeV, as a function of the available energy $`Q=\sqrt{s}2m_p`$ for $`pp`$ (dashed line) and $`pd`$ (solid line) in comparison to the DLS data  (open circles for $`pp`$ and full circles for $`pd`$). The calculated excitation functions for $`pp`$ and $`pd`$ increase with the energy and stay within the experimental errorbars.

### 3.3 Dileptons from $`pBe`$ collisions

Since $`Be`$ is one of the lightest nuclei, in-medium effects play a minor role because most hadron decays occur already in vacuum. So one can consider $`pBe`$ collisions as an additional and independent check for the elementary reactions and isospin degrees of freedom. However, the collisional dynamics has to be taken into account properly. For that purpose we use the coupled-channel BUU transport approach as discussed in Sec. 2.

Dileptons from $`pBe`$ have been measured by the DLS Collaboration in the end of the 80’s . In Fig. 7 we show the calculated dilepton invariant mass spectra $`d\sigma /dM`$ for $`pBe`$ collisions at 1.0 (upper part), 2.1 (middle part) and 4.9 GeV (lower part) including the final mass resolution and filter $`F(M,p_T,y_{lab})`$ from the DLS Collaboration (version 1.6) in comparison to the data . The assignment of the lines is the same as in Figs. 2 and 4. With the filter 1.6 we do not get enough suppression for the dilepton yield at $`M0.15`$ GeV which basically stems from $`\pi ^0`$ Dalitz decay. Similar to $`pd`$ reactions the dominant channels at 1.0 GeV are the $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ Dalitz decay and $`pn`$ bremsstrahlung. At 2.1 and 4.9 GeV the $`\eta `$ Dalitz decay becomes important at low $`M`$ and the direct decays of vector mesons ($`\rho ,\omega `$) for $`M0.8`$ GeV. Within the present model we slightly overestimate the data at 4.9 GeV, however, we discard any discussion about the physical reason since the ’old’ DLS filter is not sufficiently understood. For example, the ’old’ DLS data for $`pBe`$ at 4.9 GeV show a similar dilepton yield as for $`pd`$, whereas according to our calculations it should be higher by a factor of $`2`$ since more nucleons are involved in the $`pBe`$ reaction.

In this respect we have performed detailed calculations for $`pp`$, $`pd`$ and $`pBe`$ reactions without implementing any filter, however, including a high (10 MeV) mass resolution for $`d\sigma /dM`$. For the results, that can be controlled by the HADES Collaboration in near future, we refer to the following Section.

## 4 Predictions for HADES

In this Section we present our predictions for the dilepton invariant mass spectra, transverse momentum ($`p_T`$) distributions and rapidity ($`y`$) distributions for $`pp`$, $`pd`$ and $`pBe`$ collisons at 1.5 GeV and 4.0 GeV, which will be measured with the HADES spectrometer at GSI.

In Fig. 8 the calculated dilepton invariant mass spectra $`d\sigma /dM`$ for $`pp`$ (upper part), $`pd`$ (middle part) and $`pBe`$ collisions (lower part) at 1.5 GeV (left panel) and 4.0 GeV (right panel) are shown including a $`\mathrm{\Delta }M=10`$ MeV mass resolution. The assignment of the lines is the same as in Figs. 2 and 4. The dominant contribution at low $`M`$ ($`>m_{\pi ^0}`$) is the $`\eta `$ Dalitz decay, however, for $`M>0.4`$ GeV the dileptons stem basically all from direct vector meson decays ($`\rho `$ and $`\omega `$). Within a 10 MeV mass resolution the peak from the direct $`\omega `$ decay (which was completely smeared out within the DLS mass resolution) is seen. The $`\omega `$ peak is getting more pronounced at high energy (cf. the right panel of Fig. 8).

In Fig. 9 we present the transverse momentum distribution $`d\sigma /dp_T/(2\pi p_T)`$ for $`pp`$ (upper part), $`pd`$ (middle part) and $`pBe`$ collisions (lower part) at 1.5 GeV (left panel) and 4.0 GeV (right panel). The assignment of the lines again is the same as in Figs. 2 and 4. Here we did not imply any cut in the invariant mass $`M`$. For all systems and energies considered the $`\pi ^0`$ Dalitz decay is much higher than all other contributions, which is in line with the result of Fig. 8 because the pion production cross section is much larger than that for the other mesons. The shape of the $`\pi ^0,\eta ,\mathrm{\Delta },\omega `$ Dalitz decays is defined by the kinematics of the Dalitz decay and the ’flat’ part at low $`p_T`$ depends on the mass of the decaying resonance.

The laboratory rapidity distributions $`d\sigma /dy`$ for $`pp`$ (upper part), $`pd`$ (middle part) and $`pBe`$ collisions (lower part) at 1.5 GeV (left panel) and 4.0 GeV (right panel) are shown in Fig. 10, where the assignment of the lines is the same as before. The situation is similar to Fig. 9, – the $`\pi ^0`$ Dalitz decay is the only visible contribution when imposing no cuts on the invariant mass.

In order to make the contribution from other channels visible one has to suppress the ’background’ $`\pi ^0`$ yield. In Fig. 11 we display the transverse momentum spectra for $`pp`$ (upper part), $`pd`$ (middle part) and $`pBe`$ collisions (lower part) at 1.5 GeV (left panel) and 4.0 GeV (right panel) using a cut in invariant mass as 0.4 GeV$`M0.7`$ GeV. Fig. 12 shows the laboratory rapidity distributions for the same systems and kinematical conditions. With this cut on intermediate dilepton masses one can select the region where the $`\pi ^0`$ Dalitz decay is totally removed and the $`\eta `$ Dalitz decay is suppressed substantially (cf. Fig. 8); in this way the $`\rho `$ branch in the transverse momentum and rapidity spectra becomes seen (cf. Figs. 10, 11). Thus, a measurement of the transverse momentum and rapidity spectra with a corresponging cut in $`M`$ will provide additional and independent information about the $`\rho `$ contribution to the dilepton spectra.

Finally, in Fig. 13 we present the double differential dilepton spectra $`d\sigma /dMdp_T`$ as a function of the invariant mass $`M`$ and transverse momentum $`p_T`$ for $`pd`$ collisions at 4.0 GeV. At fixed $`p_T`$ one can recognize the shape of the invariant mass spectra (cf. Fig. 8) with a strong $`\pi ^0`$ Dalitz decay branch at low $`M`$ as well as the contributions from $`\eta `$ Dalitz decay and the vector meson ($`\rho ,\omega `$) decays. At fixed $`M`$ the shape looks similar to the one in Fig. 9. At low $`M`$ the exponential decrease stems from $`\pi ^0`$ Dalitz decay, then the spectra become flatter due to the contributions from $`\eta `$ Dalitz ($`M0.4`$ GeV) and direct $`\rho `$ decays. At $`M0.78`$ GeV the peak from the direct decay of $`\omega `$ mesons is visible. Thus, such type of 3-dimensional experimental information (or even 4-dimensional including rapidity) allows to select the contributions from different channels.

## 5 Summary

Within the framework of the combined resonance-string approach we have performed a detailed study of dilepton production from $`pp`$, $`pd`$ and $`pBe`$ collisions at 1.0 – 4.9 GeV. In this approach the particle production proceeds through resonances at low energies and by string formation and decay at high energies. The collisional dynamics is described by the coupled-channel BUU transport approach. As dilepton sources we have considered $`\pi ^0`$, $`\eta `$, $`\omega `$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ Dalitz decays, $`pn`$ bremsstrahlung and direct decays of vector mesons ($`\rho `$, $`\omega `$).

We have compared our calculated results to the experimental data of the DLS Collaboration which provide constraints on the different individual production channels. It has been found that the DLS data for the $`pp`$ and $`pd`$ collisions can be reasonably well described in our model whereas for $`pBe`$ systems (especially at 4.9 GeV) our calculations give a slightly higher dilepton yield. We have demonstrated the importance to measure the dileptons from $`pp`$ and $`pd`$ (or even $`pBe`$) collisions simultaneously since such data can provide constraints on the isospin dependence of $`pp`$ and $`pn`$ interactions, which is important for an understanding of heavy-ion data.

Dilepton spectra from elementary reactions will be measured in future by the HADES detector at GSI Darmshtadt with high mass resolution and good accuracy. In this respect we have made predictions for the dilepton invariant mass spectra, transverse momentum and rapidity distributions for $`pp`$, $`pd`$ and $`pBe`$ at 1.5 and 4.0 GeV. We showed that proper cuts in invariant mass for transverse momentum and rapidity spectra allow to select different dilepton sources and to study, for example, the $`\rho `$ meson channel in more detail. We have indicated, furthermore, that it might be very useful to provide experimentally multi-dimensional information, e.g. double differential dilepton spectra $`d\sigma /dMdp_T`$, in order to investigate the individual contributions.

## Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for valuable discussions with J. Friese, M. Kagarlis and A. Sibirtsev.

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# Ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos

## 1 Introduction

Search for ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos ($`E_\nu 10^6`$ GeV) will not only yield complemetary information about the highest energy phenomena in the universe with respect to conventional very high energy gamma ray astronomy but will also possibly address a fundamental aspect of particle physics, that is, to corroborate the neutrino flavor mixing.

This contribution is organized as follows: In section 2, I discuss in some detail the flux estimates, effects of vacuum neutrino flavor mixing and prospects for observations of ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos. In section 3, concluding remarks are given.

## 2 Ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos

### 2.1 Some flux estimates

A guarenteed source of ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos is the interaction between ultra-high energy cosmic rays and the relic photon flux. Here, the flux for ultra-high energy cosmic (muon) neutrinos, $`F_\mu ^0`$ is obtained by folding the observed ultra-high energy cosmic ray (power law) flux spectrum with the relic (thermal) photon flux spectrum while integrating over the relevant differential cross-section and the kinematic variables. This flux peaks typically at, $`E_\nu 10^8`$ GeV with $`F_\mu ^0510^{17}`$ (cm2s sr)-1. The position and height of the peak depends on the assumed $`z`$ distribution of the sources, $`f(z)`$, for ultra-high energy cosmic rays as well as the distance traversed by these. This generic feature of peaking of ultra-high energy cosmic neutrino flux also holds for other possible sources such as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and Gamma Ray Burst fireballs (GRB), where the ultra-high energy cosmic rays produced within the source interact with the ambient photon field present in the vicinity of source. The $`E_\nu `$ value at the height of peak in $`F_\mu ^0`$ depends on photon field spectrum shape. The recent AMANDA and SuperK searches for such ultra-high energy cosmic neutrino flux provide useful upper limits on this flux.

### 2.2 Effects of vacuum neutrino flavor mixing

In the context of three flavors, the currently preferred flavor oscillation solutions to explain the solar electron neutrino deficit are the LOW and the LMA (MSW), whereas for the atmospheric muon neutrino deficit, the currently favourable solution is the maximal depth flavor oscillations of $`\nu _\mu `$ into $`\nu _\tau `$. The present observational status, thus provides indirect clues for a (quasi) bimaximal neutrino mixing matrix. I will use the neutrino mixing parameters, ($`\delta m^2,\mathrm{sin}^22\theta `$), corresponding to these solutions to estimate the final (downward going) ultra-high energy cosmic neutrino flux on earth, $`F_\alpha (\alpha =e,\mu ,\tau )`$ due to vacuum neutrino flavor mixing. After averaging over the rapid oscillations, the flavor precession probability is

$$P(\nu _\alpha \nu _\beta )P_{\alpha \beta }\underset{i=1}{\overset{3}{}}|U_{\alpha i}|^2|U_{\beta i}|^2,$$
(1)
where $`U_{\alpha i}`$ and $`U_{\beta i}(\beta =e,\mu ,\tau )`$ stand for the relevant elements of 3$`\times `$3 MNS neutrino mixing matrix which I will use in standard parameterization. $`F_\alpha `$ in terms of $`P_{\alpha \beta }`$ and $`F_\alpha ^0`$, the intrinsic ultra-high energy cosmic neutrino flux is

$$F_\alpha \underset{\beta }{}P_{\alpha \beta }F_\beta ^0.$$
(2)
The $`P_{\alpha \beta }`$ matrix, in case of LOW solution for solar electron neutrino deficit alongwith the $`\nu _\mu `$ to $`\nu _\tau `$ flavor oscillations with maximal depth is

$$P_{\alpha \beta }=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}1/2& 1/4& 1/4\\ 1/4& 3/8& 3/8\\ 1/4& 3/8& 3/8\end{array}\right).$$
(3)
Using Eq. (3) in Eq. (2), it turns out that starting from $`F_e^0:F_\mu ^0:F_\tau ^0`$’s as 1: 2: 0, one obtains $`F`$’s as 1: 1: 1 at the level of $`F_e^0`$, irrespective of the flavor oscillations solution to the solar electron neutrino deficit. Thus, for instance, the flavor composition in the guarenteed flux for ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos is expected to be equally distributed in $`\nu _e,\nu _\mu `$ and $`\nu _\tau `$.

If there is an incomplete or no averaging over the rapid oscillations, then there will be $`\delta m^2`$ and $`E_\nu `$ dependences in $`P_{\alpha \beta }`$ \[see Eq. (1)\]. In this situation, the effects of $`z`$ distribution of the sources for ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos should also be taken into account by calculating $`f(z)`$ weighted $`P_{\alpha \beta }`$ where $`P_{\alpha \beta }=_0^{z^{max}}P_{\alpha \beta }(z)f(z)𝑑z/_0^{z^{max}}f(z)𝑑z`$. It is relevant to note that the matter enhanced flavor oscillation effects are negligible for the $`\delta m^2`$ and $`E_\nu `$ values under discussion.

### 2.3 Prospects for observations

The typical km2 effective surface area size neutrino telescopes which are currently under construction/planning may be able to search meaningfully for ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos. For instance, the guarenteed ultra-high energy cosmic neutrino flux gives several events per kilometer per steradian in these neutrino telescopes. If the AGNs and GRBs are also sources of ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos then the event rate is several orders of magnitude higher in the same neutrino telescopes depending on the model of the AGN/GRB. Moreover, in this case, even it is conceivable to identify the neutrino flavor content in the ultra-high energy cosmic neutrino flux.

## 3 Conclusion

For a comprehensive search of ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos, (at least) km2 effective surface area size neutrino telescopes should have to be deployed.

## Acknowledgments

This work is supported by a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science fellowship.


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# A Solution of the Generation Puzzle from Yang-Mills Duality

## Abstract

A solution to the generation puzzle based on a nonabelian generalization of electric-magnetic duality is briefly reviewed. It predicts 3 and only 3 generations of fermions and explains the hierarchical mass spectrum as well as the main features in both the quark and lepton mixing matrices. A calculation to leading perturbative order already gives reasonable values to about half of the Standard Model parameters.

The complex of questions known loosely as the “generation puzzle” has puzzled physcists for well over a generation. In practical terms, it accounts for more than two-thirds of the twenty-odd empirical parameters needed to specify the Standard Model, and is thus rightly regarded by many as one of the most important and urgent problems facing particle physics today. In this talk, we review briefly a possible solution to the puzzle based on a nonabelian generalization to electric-magnetic duality known in the literature as the DSM scheme. For references see the list in \[I\], hep-th/0007016, to which the citation numbers in this paper refer.

Let us first recall the main facts involved.

First, the matter in our universe is made from fundamental fermions of 4 species differing in colour or weak isospin, namely $`U`$-type quarks, $`D`$-type quarks, charged leptons, and neutrinos. However, for no known theoretical reason, there are 3 generations to each species having the same quantum numbers except for their masses.

Secondly, the masses of the 3 generations follow a markedly “hierarchical” pattern. For the three charged species, the masses in MeV are roughly1:

$$\left(\begin{array}{c}m_t\\ m_c\\ m_u\end{array}\right)=\left(\begin{array}{c}\hfill 180000\\ \hfill 1200\\ \hfill 4\end{array}\right);\left(\begin{array}{c}m_b\\ m_s\\ m_d\end{array}\right)=\left(\begin{array}{c}\hfill 4200\\ \hfill 120\\ \hfill 7\end{array}\right);\left(\begin{array}{c}m_\tau \\ m_\mu \\ m_e\end{array}\right)=\left(\begin{array}{c}\hfill 1777\\ \hfill 105\\ \hfill .5\end{array}\right),$$
(1)
where it is seen that the mass drops by one to two orders of magnitude from generation to generation.

Thirdly, the state vectors of the 3 generations are nearly but not exactly aligned between the up- and down-states. The unitary matrix giving the relative orientation of the down-triad to the up-triad is known as the CKM matrix for quarks and the MNS matrix for leptons, and present experiments give for the absolute values of the matrix elements1:

$$|V_{CKM}|=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}0.975\hfill & 0.220\hfill & 0.003\hfill \\ 0.220\hfill & 0.974\hfill & 0.04\hfill \\ 0.008\hfill & 0.04\hfill & 0.999\hfill \end{array}\right),$$
(2)
$$|U_{MNS}|=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}\mathrm{?}& 0.40.7& 0.00.15\\ \mathrm{?}& \mathrm{?}& 0.450.85\\ \mathrm{?}& \mathrm{?}& \mathrm{?}\end{array}\right).$$
(3)
The matrix for quarks is close to but definitely not the identity, with the nonzero off-diagonal elements representing the rates of some very well measured hadronic proscesses. Whereas for the leptons, the matrix is far from diagonal with the large off-diagonal elements representing the results from some recent experiments on neutrino oscillations2,3.

By the generation puzzle, one means then not only the mystery why there should be 3 and apparently only 3 generations of fundamental fermions, but also why their masses and mixings should fall into such peculiar patterns. In current formulations of the Standard Model, these features are taken for granted while the masses in (1) as well as the entries in (2) and (3) have all to be supplied from experiment.

Let us see now how duality helps to answer these questions.

First, the fact that there are 3 generations of fermions with very similar properties suggests the existence of an underlying 3-fold symmetry. This new symmetry has to be broken since the 3 generations have different masses. The beauty of the DSM scheme is in suggesting a natural candidate for this generation symmetry, as follows. Electromagnetism is symmetric under the Hodge star operation: $`{}_{}{}^{}F_{\mu \nu }^{}=\frac{1}{2}ϵ_{\mu \nu \rho \sigma }F^{\rho \sigma }`$, which interchanges electricity and magnetism. This implies in particular that the theory is invariant under a doubled gauge symmetry $`U(1)\times \stackrel{~}{U}(1)`$, where the first $`U(1)`$ represents the original (electric) gauge group while the second $`\stackrel{~}{U}(1)`$ represents its dual (magnetic) counterpart. In terms of $`U(1)`$, electric charges are sources and magnetic charges are monopoles, but in terms of $`\stackrel{~}{U}(1)`$ these charges appear instead as monopoles and sources respectively. What happens in nonabelian Yang-Mills fields? It was known that under the Hodge star operation, Yang-Mills theory is not symmetric4. However, it was shown that if the Hodge star is replaced by a certain generalized dual transform5, then duality is recovered111The dual properties of Yang-Mills fields are of course a highly nontrivial theoretical subject. It has taken literally years to derive the cited result which involved a development with Polyakov’s loop space techniques and other things too long to be reported here. For a brief outline of this work, the reader is referred to \[I\], and for more details to hep-th/9904102 and hep-th/0006178, and original references therein.. This means that the theory is again invariant under a doubled gauge symmetry $`SU(N)\times \stackrel{~}{SU}(N)`$. In particular, for colour, one has $`SU(3)\times \stackrel{~}{SU}(3)`$. Furthermore, it was shown15 using a result of ’t Hooft14 that given the confinement of colour $`SU(3)`$, the dual symmetry $`\stackrel{~}{SU}(3)`$ is broken, so that within the colour theory itself, there is already a broken 3-fold symmetry ready to play the role of the generation symmetry. Since this symmetry already exists and needs to be physically accounted for in any case, it seems natural to identify it with the generation symmetry16. As a result, one concludes that there are 3 and only 3 generations of fermions labelled by the 3 different colour magnetic charges, offering thus an answer to the leading question of the generation puzzle.

But why should the mass spectrum of fermions be hierarchical? To answer this, one needs to know how the $`\stackrel{~}{SU}(3)`$ dual colour symmetry is broken which information is not given by14. Fortunately, the theoretical framework developed for Yang-Mills duality5 already offers candidates for the Higgs fields required in the form of the frame vectors (complex dreibeins) $`\varphi _a^{(a)};a,(a)=1,2,3`$ in dual colour space, which seem to play dynamical roles13 as physical fields, and are $`\stackrel{~}{SU}(3)`$ triplets, space-time scalars with finite classical lengths. With these as Higgs fields, the following Yukawa coupling is suggested:

$$\underset{(a)[b]}{}Y_{[b]}\overline{\psi }_L^a\varphi _a^{(a)}\psi _R^{[b]},$$
(4)
where, as in electroweak theory, we have taken left-handed fermions in the fundamental representation, i.e. triplets, and right-handed fermions as singlets. In turn, the above Yukawa coupling implies a tree-level mass matrix of the following factorized form:

$$m=m_T\left(\begin{array}{c}x\\ y\\ z\end{array}\right)(x,y,z),$$
(5)
where $`(x,y,z)`$ is a normalized vector with its components given by the vacuum expectation values of the lengths of $`\varphi ^{(a)},(a)=1,2,3`$. It follows therefore that at tree-level, $`m`$ has only one non-zero eigenvalue, offering thus the beginning of an anwer to the fermion mass hierarchy.

What happens to the mass matrix under radiative corrections? Like many other quantities in quantum field theory, the fermion mass matrix here runs with changes in scale, but because of the particular way (4) in which it is coupled, it remains factorized in form as in (5) only with the vector $`(x,y,z)`$ now replaced by one, say $`(x^{},y^{},z^{})`$, which varies with the scale, tracing out with changing scales a trajectory on the unit sphere. The trajectory has a high energy fixed point at $`(1,0,0)`$ and a low energy fixed point at $`\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}(1,1,1)`$, but its actual shape depends on the Higgs vev’s $`(x,y,z)`$, and the Yukawa couplings, which parameters have to be fitted to data. The result of our fit is shown in Figure 1 which coincides for all fermion species to a high accuracy18,19.

It is remarkable that nearly all the previously noted features of the empirical mass spectrum and mixing matrices can now be read off from this figure.

To do so, one has first to clarify some points. The fact that the vector $`(x^{},y^{},z^{})`$ varies in orientation (rotates) with changing scales means that state vector of physical fermion states each defined at its own mass scale, need no longer be eigenstates of the mass matrix at some other scales. Hence, despite the fact that the mass matrix remains factorizable at all scales, mass need no longer vanish for the two lower generations as at tree-level16,20. We say in this case that the mass “leaks” from the highest generation into the lower ones, giving them small but finite masses. Secondly, the state vectors for up- and down-states, being defined at different scales, need not now have the same orientation as they did at tree-level, resulting thus in nontrivial mixing matrices. Notice that both lower generation masses and mixing are here governed just by the speed at which the vector $`(x^{},y^{},z^{})`$ rotates.

With these observations made, let us turn back to examine the mass spectrum in (1). One notices there not only that masses are dropping by large factors from generation to generation as expected from the leakage mechanism, but also that the drop factor is larger the heavier the mass, thus: $`m_c/m_t<m_s/m_b<m_\mu /m_\tau `$. This is easily understandable, for the heavier the mass, the nearer the state is to the high energy fixed point $`(1,0,0)`$ as seen in Figure 1, and hence the slower the rotation and the smaller the leakage.

Next, one sees that the fact mixing is generally smaller for quarks than for leptons in (2) and (3) is also easily understood. The separation between $`t`$ and $`b`$ on the trajectory in Figure 1 being so much smaller than that between $`\tau `$ and $`\nu _3`$, there will be less rotation or disorientation between the up- and down-states for quarks than for leptons and hence smaller mixing also.

Finally, one sees that even the relative sizes of elements within the same mixing matrix, in particular, that the corner elements are exceptionally small in both (2) and (3), are readily understood by means of some simple differential geometry21. To a good approximation, the state vectors of the three generations can be represented as an orthonormal (Darboux) triad at the location of the heaviest generation, with the heaviest generation state as the radial vector to the sphere, the second generation state as the tangent vector to the trajectory, and the lightest generation state as the vector orthogonal to both the above. The mixing matrix then appears just as the matrix representing the rotation undergone by this triad as it is transported along the trajectory from the location of the heaviest up-state to the heaviest down-state. To leading order in the distance transported, elementary differential geometry22 gives this rotation matrix as:

$$V_{CKM}\left(\begin{array}{ccc}1& \kappa _g\mathrm{\Delta }s& \tau _g\mathrm{\Delta }s\\ \kappa _g\mathrm{\Delta }s& 1& \kappa _n\mathrm{\Delta }s\\ \tau _g\mathrm{\Delta }s& \kappa _n\mathrm{\Delta }s& 1\end{array}\right),$$
(6)
with $`\kappa _n`$ being the normal curvature, $`\kappa _g`$ the geodesic curvature, and $`\tau _g`$ the geodesic torsion of a curve on a surface. For the unit sphere, $`\kappa _n=1`$ and $`\tau _g=0`$. From this we deduce first that the corner elements (13 and 31) are of second order in $`\mathrm{\Delta }s`$ and therefore small compared with the others, and secondly, that the 23 and 32 elements are given approximately just by the transportation distance $`\mathrm{\Delta }s`$, namely for the quark case by the distance between the top and bottom quarks along the trajectory, and for the lepton case by the distance between $`\tau `$ and $`\nu _3`$, which statement is valid to very good approximation in (2) and (3) as can be easily verified in Figure 1 with a piece of string.

Of course, having constructed a detailed scheme, one can go far beyond the qualitative discussions of the preceding paragraphs. For example, from the one-loop calculation reported in20, one obtains the numbers given in Table 1,

where one sees that all entries more or less overlap with the present experimental limits, apart from one exception $`U_{e2}`$ which is particularly difficult for our calculation to get correct. And all these numbers have been obtained by adjusting only one parameter to the Cabibbo angle $`V_{us}V_{cd}`$, the other two parameters in the scheme having already been fitted to fermion masses.

One concludes thus that the DSM scheme does offer to-date a viable solution to the generation puzzle. Besides, with all parameters fixed, it is now highly predictive with ramifications ranging from rare hadron decays23 and $`\mu e`$ conversion27, to air showers24 and fermion transmutation29,30, and so far in all these the DSM has survived existing experimental tests.


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# The Principal Axis of the Virgo Cluster

## 1 Introduction

The Virgo cluster, at a distance of approximately $`15h^1`$ Mpc, is the nearest richly-populated cluster of galaxies and, consequently, one of the best studied. A number of authors have pointed out that Virgo’s brightest elliptical galaxies have a remarkably linear arrangement, along a projected position angle of roughly $`110^{}`$ (measured North through East). Arp (1968), for example, noted that “all the E galaxies in the northern half of the Virgo cluster fall on a line going through M87.” Similarly, Binggeli, Tammann & Sandage (1987) suggested that “The line connecting M87 and M84 appears as a fundamental axis of the cluster.” This can be seen in Figure 1, which plots the distribution of probable member galaxies in the northern portion of the Virgo cluster, as seen on the plane of the sky. The distribution of Virgo dwarf elliptical galaxies also appears somewhat elongated in this direction (Binggeli, 1999), as does the distribution of hot X-ray emitting intracluster gas (Böhringer et al., 1994; Schindler, Binggeli & Böhringer, 1999). However, without accurate distances to individual galaxies, it is impossible to say for certain whether Virgo’s apparent principal axis is a genuine three-dimensional structure, or merely an illusory chance alignment of galaxies. Furthermore, three-dimensional information would allow one to measure the true shape and spatial orientation of this axis.

Here we present evidence that Virgo’s bright elliptical galaxies trace a highly elongated, three-dimensional structure that is actually a small segment of a much larger filament passing through the heart of the Virgo cluster.

## 2 Resolving the Virgo Cluster in Three Dimensions

A variety of methods exist for measuring galaxy distances (see Jacoby et al. 1992 for a review). One of the most powerful is the technique of Surface Brightness Fluctuations (hereafter SBF), whereby distances to galaxies are estimated from the ratio of the second and first moments of their stellar luminosity functions (Tonry & Schneider 1988; see Blakeslee, Ajar & Tonry 1999 for a recent review). This method works best for early-type galaxies, although it has also been applied to the bulges of some spirals. Ferrarese et al. (2000) have concluded that SBF is the most accurate early-type galaxy distance indicator reaching cosmologically interesting distances.

Tonry et al. (2000) have recently published SBF distances for 300 nearby galaxies that were observed as part of their $`I`$-band SBF Survey. Based on distances for 31 probable Virgo cluster members, they derived a mean cluster distance modulus $`mM=31.15\pm 0.03`$, corresponding to a distance of $`17\pm 0.3`$ Mpc. Uncertainties in individual Virgo galaxy distances are $`1.52`$ Mpc, which suggests that it should be possible to resolve the Virgo cluster along the line of sight, at least partially. Indeed, Tonry, Ajhar, Luppino (1990) attempted to do this a decade ago, but they lacked a suitable calibration. They assumed that the $`I`$-band SBF magnitude $`\overline{m}_I`$ was insensitive to stellar population variations among ellipticals, as implied by the best population models at the time. As a result, they essentially found that bluer Virgo ellipticals were systematically in front of redder ones. Following a decade of work, the stellar population dependence of $`\overline{m}_I`$ has been empirically well characterized and calibrated out (Tonry et al., 1997; Ferrarese et al., 2000), so that there is no longer any correlation of the distances with stellar population parameters. Moreover, the empirical calibration now has strong support from theoretical modeling (Worthey, 1994; Liu et al., 2000; Blakeslee, Vazdekis, & Ajhar, 2000).

Table 1 lists data for all elliptical galaxies in the northern portion of the Virgo cluster with SBF distances from the Tonry et al. (2000) survey. Column (1) gives the galaxy name, column (2) lists the SBF distance of each galaxy from Tonry et al. (2000), and column (3) gives the orientation of the galaxy major axis, taken from the Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database (LEDA). The positions and distance moduli of these galaxies are also indicated in Figure 2.

Table 1 and Figure 2 suggest some tendency for those galaxies located in the western region of the cluster to be more distant than those on the eastern side. This trend can be seen more clearly in Figure 3, which shows a clear correlation between galaxy right ascension and distance, with a systematic trend of increasing galaxy distance as one moves in the westerly direction. Pearson (parametric) and Spearman (non-parametric) rank correlation tests both confirm that this trend is statistically significant, at the 97% and 99% confidence levels, respectively (the correlation becomes even stronger if NGC 4168 is also included). We note that Neilsen & Tsvetanov (2000) have recently measured independent SBF distances with the Hubble Space Telescope for 15 Virgo galaxies, including 10 ellipticals along this central ridge line, and have observed the same trend in their data.

To measure the three-dimensional shape and orientation of this axis, we computed the moments of inertia of the system of galaxies in Table 1 after converting their right ascensions, declinations and distances to supergalactic cartesian coordinates. Diagonalization of the inertia tensor yields the three eigenvalues corresponding to the principal moments of inertia, and the associated eigenvectors provide information on the orientation of the principal axis.

We find that the Virgo ellipticals have a remarkably collinear arrangement in three-dimensions, with an rms scatter of only $`400`$ kpc about the principal inertial axis along its $`8`$ Mpc length between NGC 4387 and NGC 4660. This axis is inclined at an angle of approximately $`75^{}80^{}`$ with respect to the plane of the sky, i.e., close to the line of sight. Presumably with smaller distance uncertainities, Virgo’s principal axis would be found to be even narrower.

## 3 Galaxy Orientations in Virgo

Additional evidence of the special nature of the axis defined by Virgo’s brightest ellipticals comes from the orientations of the galaxies themselves. As Table 1 shows, the majority have projected major axis position angles between $`100^{}`$ and $`140^{}`$, quite similar to the $`110^{}`$ projected orientation of the cluster principal axis. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test indicates a probability of only $`7\%`$ that the galaxy position angles in Table 1 are randomly-oriented between 0 and 180 degrees. While one must be cautious not to overinterpret the statistical significance of results based on a small sample like this, nevertheless it is suggestive that the orientations of Virgo’s large ellipticals may be somehow related to the direction of the cluster principal axis. A similar alignment effect is seen for the brightest elliptical galaxies in the Coma cluster (West, 1998), as well as other clusters (Binggeli, 1982; Porter, Schneider & Hoessel, 1991; West, 1994) and references therein.

To test whether fainter Virgo ellipticals might also have preferred orientations with respect to the cluster major axis, we used the Virgo Photometry Catalogue (VPC) of Young & Currie (1998), which provides data, including orientations, for 1180 galaxies in the core region of the cluster. Because the VPC includes both Virgo members and unrelated galaxies along the line of sight, we cross-correlated it with the list of probable Virgo members from Binggeli, Sandage & Tammann (1985) to produce a sample of 108 Virgo ellipticals with measured major axis position angles. Application of the KS test to this sample shows no statistically significant tendency for the fainter ellipticals to have preferred orientations. However, when the roundest galaxies $``$ whose position angles are most uncertain $``$ are eliminated by restricting the sample to only those with ellipticities greater than 0.2, then the KS test indicates that this subset of 69 galaxies has only a $`4\%`$ probability of being consistent with a randomly orientated population, with a median galaxy position angle of $`107^{}`$.

## 4 A Link Between Virgo and the A1367-Coma Supercluster?

One of the most striking features of the large-scale distribution of galaxies is its filamentary appearance, with long, quasi-linear arrangements of galaxies that extend tens or perhaps even hundreds of Mpc in length. Given the linear arrangement of galaxies along Virgo’s principal axis, it is natural to ask whether this might be related to filamentary features on larger scales.

As viewed on the plane of the sky, Virgo’s principal axis points in the direction of Abell 1367, a rich cluster located some $`75h_{75}^1`$ Mpc away along a projected position angle of $`125^{}`$. A1367 itself forms part of a well-known supercluster with the Coma cluster (Gregory & Thompson, 1978; de Lapparent, Geller & Huchra, 1986). This raises the intriguing possibility that the Virgo, A1367 and Coma clusters may all be members of a common filamentary network, an idea suggested two decades ago by Zeldovich, Einasto & Shandarin (1982).

Figure 4 plots the distribution of nearby poor galaxy clusters from the catalog of White et al. (1999). A narrow bridge of material is clearly seen connecting Virgo and A1367. Furthermore, the chain of giant elliptical galaxies that defines Virgo’s principal axis appears to be a segment of this filament. Hence, the Virgo cluster points towards A1367, not only in two dimensions, but in three. Additional indirect evidence of a Virgo-A1367 connection comes from A1367’s orientation; X-ray observations show that this cluster is very elongated along a projected position angle of $`140^{}`$ (Jones & Forman, 1999), and thus in the general direction of the Virgo cluster.

Of course, the Virgo cluster is often considered part of the larger supercluster which includes Hydra-Centaurus and Pavo-Indus (e.g., Tully 1986). Lynden-Bell et al. (1988) viewed this extended, planar supercluster complex as centered on the “Great Attractor,” with Virgo near the outskirts. Thus, we can now trace an apparent link between two of the most massive structures in the local universe: from the “Great Wall” encompassing the Coma cluster to the Great Attractor, through A1367 and the Virgo cluster.

## 5 Conclusion

We have shown that the brightest elliptical galaxies in the Virgo cluster have a remarkably collinear arrangement in three dimensions. This axis appears to be part of a larger filament connecting the Virgo cluster to Abell 1367. Virgo’s elliptical galaxies also exhibit a tendency for their major axes to share this same orientation.

Cosmological N-body simulations show that clusters of galaxies often form at the intersection of filaments, with material flowing into the cluster along one or more axes (van Haarlem & van de Weygaert, 1993; Bond, Kofman & Pogosyan, 1996). Built by a series of subcluster mergers that occur along preferred directions, clusters naturally develop major axis orientations that reflect the orientation of the dominant filament feeding them (West, Jones & Forman, 1995). Furthermore, if large elliptical galaxies are products of galaxy mergers, then the highly anisotropic nature of the merger process will tend to produce ellipticals whose major axis orientations are also aligned with the surrounding filamentary structure (West, 1994; Dubinski, 1998).

The results presented here are consistent with a picture in which the formation of the Virgo cluster and its elliptical galaxy population has been driven by anisotropic inflow of material along the Virgo-A1367 filament. Although Virgo may be fed by more than one filament (Tully, 1982), the one joining the cluster to A1367 appears to dominate. Additional evidence in support of this interpretation comes from X-ray observations of M86, which show a plume of hot gas being stripped from this galaxy along a projected position angle of $`110^{}`$ (Forman et al., 1979), presumably as a result of ram pressure as the galaxy travels along the cluster principal axis at over 1200 km$`^1`$s.

Finally, it is intriguing that M87’s famous jet also emanates along the same direction as the Virgo cluster major axis. This is true not only in two dimensions, where both are oriented along projected position angles of $`110120^{}`$, but also in three dimensions. Detailed models of the jet’s observed properties indicate that it is most likely oriented within $`20`$ degrees of the line of sight (Heinz & Begelman, 1997; Biretta, Sparks & Macchetto, 1999), very close to the $`10^{}`$ to $`15^{}`$ line of sight inclination angle of the cluster principal axis found in §2. While this might be purely coincidental, alternatively, it might be an indication that Virgo’s principal axis has influenced not only the orientations of its member elliptical galaxies, but perhaps even the massive blackhole at the center of M87 that is believed to power its nuclear activity (West, 1994).

We are grateful to John Tonry, Alan Dressler, and Ed Ajhar for allowing us access to the SBF Survey data prior to publication. MJW acknowledges support from NSF grant 007114, and from NSERC of Canada.


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# Complex Spectral Variability from Intensive Multi-wavelength Monitoring of Mrk 421 in 1998

## 1 Introduction

According to well-established unified schemes for radio-loud AGN (Urry & Padovani 1995), blazars are distinguished by the fortuitous alignment of their jets along the line of sight. This greatly enhances the jet radiation, making them ideal sources for understanding jet physics in all radio-loud AGN. The required high energies of the radiating electrons indicate very efficient particle acceleration in the relativistic jets of these sources (Kubo et al. 1998; Ghisellini et al. 1998).

The BL Lac object Mrk 421 is unique as the first – and so far, the brightest – High Frequency Peaked BL Lac objects (HBLs) with $`\gamma `$–ray emission extending up to TeV energies, at a level allowing detailed spectral and variability studies in the broadest spectral range. The simple continuum spectra of Mrk 421 from radio to UV and X–ray bands obtained previously imply that the emission in these energy bands is due to charged particles radiating via the synchrotron process (e.g., George, Warwick, & Bromage 1988). The hard X–rays and $`\gamma `$–rays from this object are likely to be produced by inverse Compton scattering of synchrotron photons by the same electrons (e.g., Ulrich, Maraschi, & Urry 1997 and references therein). Judging from the results of previous TeV and multi-wavelength monitoring campaigns of Mrk 421, correlations among light curves at different energies (and, in particular, the pronounced spectral evolution during flares seen in X–rays) have provided our best opportunity to understand the high energy emission from blazar jets (Macomb et al. 1995; Buckley et al. 1996; Takahashi et al. 1996; Wagner 1996; Takahashi et al. 1999). Specifically, the previous (1994) campaigns found a soft lag of about 4000 s for soft X–ray (0.5 – 1.0 keV) photons with respect to the hard X–ray (2 – 7.5 keV) band, which was interpreted as an effect of radiative cooling (Takahashi et al. 1996). However, the sparse sampling of previous campaigns has prevented us from obtaining definitive conclusions. Uninterrupted monitoring, lasting several times the characteristic time scale, is the only way to investigate quantitatively the extreme physical conditions at the sites of high-energy radiation.

Accordingly, we carried out a one-week continuous observation with ASCA , coordinated with EUVE , and SAX . At the same time, TeV detectors (CAT, HEGRA, and Whipple), optical telescopes, radio antennae at 22 GHz and 37 GHz attempted to monitor the source every night. In this paper, we only present the most important result of the multi-wavelength campaign.

## 2 Observations and Results

### 2.1 Observations

The essential information on the observations is summarized in Fig. 1, which shows the normalized multi-wavelength (EUV, X–ray and TeV) light curves. The logarithmic flux scale allows flares with equal amplitudes to be represented by equal vertical excursions. Complete details about the data analyses will be given in separate wavelength-based papers (Aharonian et al. 1999; Fossati et al. 2000a,b; Kataoka et al. 2000a); here we summarize the key points.

Continuous coverage in X–rays with ASCA lasted from 1998 April 23.97 to April 30.8 UT, yielding a net exposure of $``$ 280 ks. The results presented here are from the SIS detectors operated in 1-CCD mode because the count rate of the GIS detectors exceeded its telemetry limit for 20 – 30 % of the observation time. The background count rate and its fluctuations are negligible, so we did not perform any background subtraction, so as to avoid any artificial effects.

SAX observations of Mrk 421 preceded the ASCA observation by about three days (Maraschi et al. 1999). RXTE observed the source primarily only in low background orbits in order to minimize uncertainties in the background subtraction. EUVE observations covered the whole campaign, lasting from April 19.4 to May 1.2 The $`\gamma `$–ray observations at TeV energies were made with the CAT, HEGRA and Whipple atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Optical observations with BVRI filters were performed by the WEBT collaboration (Mattox et al., in preparation). Radio observations were done at the Metsähovi Radio Observatory (Teräsranta et al. 1998).

### 2.2 Multi-wavelength light curves

The campaign began during a pronounced high amplitude flare recorded simultaneously by SAX and Whipple (Maraschi et al. 1999), and the high activity of Mrk 421 continued throughout the campaign (Fig. 1). The 2 – 10 keV flux at the beginning of the ASCA observation was $`1.2\times 10^{10}`$ erg cm-2 s-1 and increased up to $`5.0\times 10^{10}`$ erg cm-2 s-1 at the maximum. Thanks to the continuous coverage with ASCA , the X–ray variations are fully resolved with no gaps. Many “flares” are seen clearly in the ASCA data, superimposed on a general increasing trend. The EUVE light curve also shows a series of flares, less well-defined because of lower amplitude and lower signal-to-noise ratio but well correlated in time with the X–ray flares. The optical data for the period 24 – 30 April indicate an R-band flux with mean value 12.6 mag, and variability of less than 0.1 mag about this mean. The high frequency radio flux did not changed within statistics; the mean fluxes during the Metsähovi observations are 0.5 Jy for 22 GHz (20-26 April) and 0.6 Jy for 37 GHz (18-21 April).

In Mrk 421, the EUV through X–ray emission comprises the high energy part of the synchrotron component. Comparison of the data from ASCA , EUVE and RXTE indicates that the variability amplitude in the synchrotron component increases with photon energy. To show this quantitatively, we computed the fractional RMS variability including the general, increasing trend. The calculated RMS variability during ASCA campaign increases with energy, from $`0.158\pm 0.007`$ in the EUVE light curve, to $`0.195\pm 0.0004`$ in ASCA (0.5 – 7 keV), to $`0.385\pm 0.001`$ and $`0.67\pm 0.03`$ for 8 – 16 keV and 16 – 40 keV in the RXTE PCA data, respectively. This energy dependence is clear in the multi-epoch multi-frequency spectrum of Mrk 421 shown in Fig. 2, where the largest changes in the synchrotron component occur at the highest frequencies.

The complete flare recorded both in X–rays by SAX and in TeV $`\gamma `$–rays by the Whipple telescope demonstrates the correlation between X–ray and TeV $`\gamma `$–ray emission on the time scale of hours (Maraschi et al. 1999). The TeV flux also follows the general week-long rise of the ASCA flux ( Fig. 10 of Takahashi et al. 1999). Assuming the cross-calibration among the three TeV telescopes is accurate, the relative TeV intensities at nearby times indicate that large intra-day variations are occuring at these high energies. Fractional TeV variability is respectively $`0.30\pm 0.07`$ for the Whipple data and $`0.45\pm 0.08`$ for the HEGRA data. Note that, for the Whipple data, $`F_{var}=0.43\pm 0.05`$ during the whole campaign. These values are similar to the values for the hard X–ray data above 8 keV, consistent with the scenario that both TeV and hard X-ray emissons are due to the same electron distribution.

In the subsequent discussion, we divided the ASCA light curve into segments as marked in Fig. 3, with one flare per segment. In the ASCA light curve, most of flares are characterized by nearly equal rise and decay times, i.e., by a nearly symmetric time profile. The time constants from the bottom to the top are also similar from one flare to the next, $`\tau 0.5`$ day.

### 2.3 Time series analysis

The long, uninterrupted ASCA light curve gives an excellent opportunity to study the temporal characteristics of the X–ray variability. We therefore calculated the first-order normalized structure function (SF) at time lag $`\tau `$, which is defined as $`SF(\tau )=\frac{1}{N}[(F(t)F(t+\tau ))/F_{av}]^2`$, where $`F(t)`$ is the count rate and $`F_{av}`$ is the average count rate. $`N`$ is the total number of data pairs used in the calculation. The SF is closely related to the power density spectrum (PDS) distribution (its slope, $`\beta _{SF}`$, is one less than the PDS slope) but is more suitable when the data sampling is uneven. The SF calculated from the 2 – 7.5 keV ASCA light curve is shown in Fig. 4. It has a relatively steep slope at high temporal frequencies (short time scales), $`\beta _{SF}1.2`$ (corresponding to $`\beta _{PDS}2.2`$). This is at the steep end of the slopes seen in other types of mass-accreting black hole systems, such as Seyfert galaxies (Hayashida et al. 1998).

A sharp break in the structure function of Mrk 421 occurs at $`0.5`$ days, to a flatter slope at low temporal frequencies (long time scales), $`\beta _{SF}0.3`$ ($`\beta _{PDS}1.3`$). This is the first report of a clear turnover in the structure function of a blazar X–ray light curve, and it suggests there is at least one characteristic time scale for the variability of Mrk 421. As shown in Fig. 4, the same flat slope at longer lag is seen in the structure function for the RXTE All-Sky Monitor (ASM) light curve (2 – 10 keV), thus confirming the reality of the turnover. In order for the total variability power not to diverge, the structure function must flatten still further at longer time scales; we infer this from the ASM data to be at $`100`$ days. The shape of the structure function is roughly independent of energy from 0.07 – 7.5 keV, as can be seen from the comparison of structure functions for the ASCA data and the EUVE data.

### 2.4 Spectral Variabilities and Time Lags

The normalized light curves obtained with the SIS in two energy bands (0.5 – 1 keV and 3 – 7.5 keV) are shown in Figs. 3a and 3b, respectively. In general, the amplitude of the variability is larger in hard X–rays than in soft X–rays. As can be seen from the hardness ratio (Fig. 3c), the spectrum becomes harder when the source gets brighter. Generally the spectral changes during individual flares are complex and rapid but in some cases, the hardness ratio remains almost constant. In the flare #8, there is a plateau in the soft X–ray band, which is rarely seen. According to detailed analysis of the spectral variability (Kataoka 2000b), flare #1 shows clockwise hysteresis in the correlation between flux and photon index, similar to that reported by Takahashi et al. (1996a). In contrast, we found anti-clockwise hysteresis in flare #7. In order to quantify the lag, we used the discrete correlation function (DCF; Edelson & Krolik 1988). First, we calculated the DCF for the ASCA data comparing each of several energy bands to the 4 – 7.5 keV band using all data. Our results are consistent with zero-lag. We find the same result even using the EUVE data, which offers the largest separation in energy from the hard ASCA band. However, inspection of X–ray light curves at different energies does suggest some energy dependence of the flare shape. We therefore calculated the lags separately for each flare (as marked in Fig. 3) to see if individual flares have different behavior.

Fig. 3d shows the time lag between 0.5 – 1 keV photons (the softest ASCA band) and 4.0 – 7.5 keV photons, calculated for each flare. Errors of lags are determined from the quadratic sum of the uncertainty in determining the maximum of the DCF distribution and the results of MonteCarlo calculation which simulate the effect of time windows (Kataoka 2000b). There are both soft (positive) and hard (negative) lags, with some flares consistent with zero. The soft lag for flare #1 is $`2000\pm 710`$ s for 0.5 – 1.0 keV photons, which is roughly half that found in previous monitoring in 1994 (Takahashi et al. 1996). In contrast, the lag calculated for flare #7 is negative (a hard lag), $`3400\pm 980`$ s. These lags may not be real, as it is not possible to reliably determine lags which are much smaller than an orbit. Systematic effects could also produce these lags.

## 3 Discussion

The present multi-wavelength monitoring campaign showed that Mrk 421 is much more variable, and that the variability, and its energy dependence, is more complex than anticipated. The object flares daily (or perhaps even more often), and the correlation of variations in the X–ray and TeV energy bands is confirmed, supporting the idea that the same electron distribution in the same physical region is responsible for the emission in both energy bands. The 2 – 7 keV energy index obtained with ASCA ranges from $`\alpha =1.4`$ to 1.8. The energy ranges covered by ASCA and RXTE are thus at or above the peak in the $`\nu `$F$`\nu `$ spectrum. The increasing amplitude of variability at the higher X–ray energies is therefore consistent with the expectations for the synchrotron process, specifically that the higher energy electrons lose their energy more rapidly.

The X–ray variability of Mrk 421 is very similar to the intra-day variability observed in the optical light curves of flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), for which the high-energy component peaks in the GeV $`\gamma `$–ray energy band (Wagner et al. 1996). For synchrotron radiation due to a single population of relativistic electrons with a broken power law distribution of index $`\gamma _{el}`$ and a break at $`\gamma _{peak}`$, the correspondign frequency for $`\gamma _{peak}`$ is (as measured in the observer’s frame) is $`\nu _{sync}=3.7\times 10^6\gamma _{peak}^2B\frac{\delta }{(1+z)}`$ Hz. Here $`B`$ is magnetic field in Gauss, measured in the comoving frame, and $`\delta `$ is the Doppler “beaming” factor defined as $`\delta =\mathrm{\Gamma }_j^1(1\beta \mathrm{cos}\theta )^1`$, where $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_j`$ is the Lorentz factor of the jet, $`\beta =v/c`$, and $`\theta `$ the angle of the jet to the line of sight.

Several analyses have shown that $`\gamma _{peak}`$ is lower for FSRQs ($`10^3`$$`10^4`$) and higher for HBLs ($`10^5`$$`10^6`$), as is the case for Mrk 421 (Sambruna et al. 1996; Kubo et al. 1998; Fossati et al. 1998). Since the synchrotron emission due to the electrons with $`\gamma _{peak}`$ corresponds to the eV (or sub-eV) range for FSRQs and the keV range for Mrk 421, the rapid, large-amplitude variability observed above $`\gamma _{peak}`$ is likely the result of the rapid change of the electron distribution, in the regime where acceleration and cooling are approximately balanced (e.g., Inoue & Takahara 1996; Kirk et al. 1998). Indeed, the structure function of Mrk 421 derived from the X–ray light curve is very similar to the structure functions found in optical and radio studies of FSRQs, with a break at a characteristic time scale of one day (Wagner & Witzel 1995; Wagner et al. 1996).

The ASCA light curve constrains the dominant variability time scales to be less than one day. The quasi-symmetric flare profiles imply that $`\tau _{acc}`$ and $`\tau _{cool}`$ are shorter than the source light-crossing time $`\tau _{crs}`$, because faster time scales will always be smoothed out by $`\tau _{crs}`$ (Chiaberge & Ghisellini 1999; Kataoka et al. 2000c). A plateau also occurs when the time scale for injecting energetic electrons, $`\tau _{inj}`$, is longer than $`\tau _{cool}`$. In this situation, emission from individual slices does not fade as quickly after an increase, hence the observation of a plateau in the light curve occurs when the entire volume is radiating. We do observe a plateau in the last flare (segment #8), which is much more obvious at low energies, where the cooling time is longer.

A simple conceptual scenario for multiple flares is that a cloud, or a “blob” of plasma passes through the region where shock fronts are formed and electrons are accelerated. If we assume the opening angle of the jet is proportional to $`1/\mathrm{\Gamma }_j`$, where the size of the blob at distance $`D`$ from the base of the jet can be expressed as $`RD/\mathrm{\Gamma }_j`$. With this, the characteristic time scale of $`\tau 0.5`$ days (from the structure function analysis) implies that the emission region has size $`R=c\tau \mathrm{\Gamma }_j`$ $`10^{16}`$ cm at distance $`D10^{17}`$ cm from the black hole, if we assume that $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_j10`$. Further discussion of the characteristic time scale and a comparison with other TeV blazars and Seyfert galaxies is presented elsewhere (Kataoka et al. 2000a).

If the detection of both positive and negative lags are real, it implies that cooling is sometimes but not always the dominant process, and that acceleration is also important. The (familiar) soft lag can be explained by the fact that $`\tau _{cool}`$ is shorter for higher energy electrons ($`\tau _{cool}(1+u_{soft}/u_B)^1B^2\gamma ^1\delta ^1`$, where $`u_B`$ and $`u_{soft}`$ are the energy densities of the magnetic field and the soft photons to be upscattered, respectively. When high energy electrons are injected into the emitting region and then cool radiatively, the soft photons lag the hard, by a time roughly equal to the cooling time at the soft energy (Takahashi et al. 1996). Conversely, the suggested hard lag can be explained, at least qualitatively, if the acceleration time is sufficiently long, $`\tau _{acc}\tau _{cool}`$, electrons appear first at low energies and gradually build up at higher energies (Georganopoulos & Marscher 1998).

The relatively small lags, also mean $`\tau _{acc}\tau _{cool}`$ at X–ray energies, at least during the present observations. This is consistent with the fact that the X–ray band is emitted by the highest energy regime of the electron distribution, where $`\tau _{acc}`$ is approximately balanced with $`\tau _{cool}`$. According to the shock acceleration scenario, $`\tau _{acc}`$ depends on energy in an opposite sense to $`\tau _{cool}`$. It follows $`\tau _{acc}(\gamma )\gamma `$ for diffusive acceleration with a ‘gyro-Bohm’ process (e.g. Inoue & Takahara 1996) or $`\tau _{acc}(\gamma )\gamma ^{1/3}`$ for fully developed Kolmogorov turbulence. Similar discussions have been made by several authors (e.g. Sambruna 1999).

At a minimum, the present observations underline the need for detailed time-dependent synchrotron models, in which the time scales for electron acceleration and injection, and for radiative cooling and escape, are free to vary (e.g., Kirk et al. 1998). Depending on the relative values of these time scales, a variety of behaviors can be expected in the light curves. The fact that plateaus are rarely seen implies the dominant time scale is similar to the light-crossing time, which in term supports the idea the the size of the emitting region is determined by diffusion and cooling.

CMU acknowledges support from NASA grant NAG5-3313. GM acknowledges NASA grants to USRA and University of Maryland.