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# Radio Emission and the Timing Properties of the Hard X-ray State of GRS 1915+105

## 1 Introduction

The microquasar GRS 1915$`+`$105 is one of the most interesting galactic sources of radio, infrared, and X-ray emission. It was first discovered as a transient X-ray source by Granat in 1992 (Castro-Tirado et al., 1992), and later was observed to emit highly relativistic radio jets with intrinsic velocities greater than 0.9c (Mirabel & Rodríguez, 1994; Fender et al., 1999b). High optical extinction has prevented studies of the binary companion of GRS 1915$`+`$105, and there is no known orbital period or mass function for the system. However, the X-ray luminosity of GRS 1915$`+`$105 greatly exceeds the Eddington luminosity for a neutron star (Greiner, Morgan, and Remillard 1996), and the other galactic sources of highly relativistic ($`>0.9`$c) jets, GRO J1655$``$40 (Orosz & Bailyn, 1997; Shahbaz et al., 2000) and V4641 Sgr (Orosz et al., 2001), have mass functions greater than the maximum mass for a neutron star, 3 M. GRS 1915$`+`$105 is therefore thought to be a black hole binary system. The properties of microquasars in the galaxy are reviewed by Mirabel & Rodríguez (1999).

Although GRS 1915$`+`$105 is often noted for exhibiting X-ray, radio, and infrared emission which is variable on time scales of seconds to minutes (Greiner et al., 1996; Pooley & Fender, 1997; Mirabel et al., 1998; Eikenberry et al., 1998), the source also exhibits steady emission which is reminiscent of black hole candidates such as Cyg X$``$1 and GX 339$``$4. Both the steady and variable emission from GRS 1915$`+`$105 exhibit two (Muno, Morgan, & Remillard 1999; Rao, Yadav, & Paul 2000) or three (Belloni et al., 2000) basic modes of X-ray emission. In the two-state description, the hard state resembles the very high state of canonical black hole binaries (Morgan, Remillard, & Greiner 1997), as it exhibits X-ray flux with a power-law spectrum above 40 keV, prominent thermal emission from the accretion disk below $`5`$ keV, and a strong (up to 15% RMS) 0.5–10 Hz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO). Conversely, the soft state of GRS 1915$`+`$105 exhibits little X-ray emission above 40 keV and no 0.5–10 Hz QPO, although a stationary 67 Hz QPO and several low frequency ($`<0.1`$ Hz) QPOs are often observed during this state.

Long-term radio and X-ray monitoring of GRS 1915$`+`$105 (Rodríguez et al., 1995; Foster et al., 1996; Harmon et al., 1997; Pooley & Fender, 1997; Bandyopadhyay et al., 1998) has revealed that periods of hard, steady X-ray emission are often accompanied by bright, optically thick radio emission. This has been dubbed the “plateau state” by Foster et al. (1996; see also Fender 2001). The radio plateau emission in GRS 1915$`+`$105 resembles steady, optically thick radio emission observed coincident with hard X-ray emission in the black hole candidates Cyg X$``$(Hjellming, Gibson, & Owen, 1975; Brocksopp et al., 1999), GX 339$``$(Corbel et al., 2000), and Cyg X$``$(Waltman et al., 1995; McCollough et al., 1999). The connection between the X-ray and radio emission in GRS 1915$`+`$105 is illustrated in Figure 1, where we plot the intensity as a function of time as observed in soft X-rays by the All-Sky Monitor (ASM) aboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE; first panel), and at radio wavelengths by the Ryle telescope (15.2 GHz; third panel). We also plot the the ASM hardness ratio HR2 (5-12 keV / 3-5 keV; second panel), and the radio spectral index $`\alpha `$ taken from monitoring data at 2.25 and 8.3 GHz from the Green Bank Interferometer (i.e. $`S_\nu \nu ^\alpha `$; only observations where $`S_\nu `$ at both wavelengths are greater than 20 mJy are plotted). Bright radio plateau emission and hard-steady X-ray emission is evident on several occasions (e.g. MJD 50730–50750), yet the radio emission is sometimes a factor of 10 fainter during other hard X-ray states (e.g. MJD 50450–50550). Observations with the Very Long Baseline Array during the plateau state reveal that the optically thick radio emission originates in a compact jet on order 10 AU across (Dhawan, Mirabel, & Rodríguez 2000).

The radio plateau state is of further interest because it is often preceded and/or followed by optically thin radio flares in GRS 1915$`+`$105 (Fender et al., 1999b), as are similar hard-steady states with optically thick radio emission in GX 339$``$(Corbel et al., 2000) and Cyg X$``$(McCollough et al., 1999). The optically thin emission in GRS 1915$`+`$105 originates from relativistic ejections of synchrotron-emitting blobs detached from the central source (Mirabel & Rodríguez, 1994; Fender et al., 1999b; Dhawan et al., 2000). In Figure 1, optically thin radio flares precede and terminate the radio plateau emission which occurred between MJD 50730–50750, while weaker flares with shorter duration terminate the long period of weaker radio emission from MJD 50450–50550. These events are associated with flares in the ASM light curve, which suggests that the most powerful jets are associated with instabilities in the inner accretion disk. Moreover, there have been several occasions in which weaker radio and infrared flares recur at $``$30 minute intervals, and are preceded by distinctive dip and flare patterns in X-rays (Pooley & Fender, 1997; Eikenberry et al., 1998; Mirabel et al., 1998).

During the plateau state of GRS 1915$`+`$105, the radio luminosity is low compared to the large optically thin flares, but the power in the radio jets may still represent a significant fraction of the accretion energy inferred from the X-ray emission (Falcke & Biermann, 1999; Fender, 2001). Since this emission originates from a compact jet within 10 AU of the central source and is present only during the hard X-ray state, it seems very likely that the compact jet is influenced by the properties of the inner accretion flow, and vice versa. This has led Fender et al. (1999a) to suggest that the hard X-rays originate from inverse Compton scattering of seed photons at the base of the compact jet of relativistic electrons. This idea motivates further efforts to compare the properties of the radio emission to the X-ray spectral and timing information during the hard state of GRS 1915$`+`$105.

The timing properties of GRS 1915$`+`$105 provide a promising means of probing the accretion flow near the black hole. In particular, the 0.5–10 Hz QPO observed during the hard state appears to provide a link between the optically thick accretion disk and the Comptonizing electrons, because (1) the frequency of the QPO increases as the thermal flux from the disk increases (Chen, Taam & Swank 1997; Trudolyubov, Churazov, & Gilfanov 1999; Markwardt, Swank, & Taam 1999), (2) the spectrum of the QPO amplitude is hard, indicating an origin in the power law component of the spectrum (Morgan et al., 1997), and (3) the QPO is only present when the power-law component of the X-ray spectrum is strong, while it is absent when the power-law component is weak (Muno et al., 1999). Additional timing characteristics, such as the Fourier phase lags and the coherence function, may further constrain the relationship between hard and soft X-ray components. Reig et al. (2000) have found that the signs of the phase lags change from positive to negative as the frequency of the 0.5–10 Hz QPO increases, which has provided impetus for others (e.g. Nobili et al., 2000) to develop models describing the structure of the Comptonizing corona and how it is related to the optically thick accretion disk.

In this paper, we use a complete sample of “hard-steady” observations of GRS 1915$`+`$105 (referred to as the $`\chi `$ state by Belloni et al. 2000) to examine in detail the connection between the hard, steady X-ray emission and the steady radio emission. First, we establish that the hard-steady X-ray states of GRS 1915$`+`$105 always exhibit detectable radio emission. However, the intensities of the 2–200 keV X-ray and 15.2 GHz radio flux are not correlated, so we proceed to examine whether there are more subtle relationships between the spectrum and timing properties of the X-ray emission and the intensity and spectrum of the radio emission. We investigate these correlations in three different manners: first, by describing in detail the properties of three characteristic observations, then by displaying the time evolution of the timing properties during periods of both faint and bright radio emission, and lastly by examining the timing properties as a function of the radio flux density.

## 2 Observations and Data Analysis

### 2.1 Ryle Monitoring Observations

The Ryle Telescope at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cambridge, is primarily used for microwave-background measurements, but during gaps in that program it has been used to monitor variable galactic and extra-galactic sources. It operates at 15.2 GHz, and uses a single set of linearly-polarized feeds. In good observing conditions, the RMS noise in a 1 minute integration is about 3.5 mJy. Since the measurements are unbiased, the noise level decreases as the square root of the observing time. Details of the observing and analysis routine are given in Pooley & Fender (1997).

We have averaged the radio measurements in two ways for the purposes of this paper. We have used the averaged daily flux density measured with the Ryle Telescope when displaying monitoring light curves of GRS 1915$`+`$105 (e.g. Figure 1). When comparing the Ryle measurements to the properties of pointed RXTE observations, we have averaged data taken within 0.5 days before and after the RXTE observation in order to sample the radio properties which most closely correspond to the X-ray observation (see Table 1).

### 2.2 Green Bank Interferometer Monitoring Observations

Monitoring with the Green Bank Interferometer has been performed simultaneously at 2.25 and 8.3 GHz on a 2.4 km baseline with 35 MHz bandwidth and dual circular polarization. Most scans are 10-15 minute integrations, and the calibration procedure is described by Foster et al. (1996). Random (one sigma) errors in the GBI data are flux dependent: 4 mJy (2 GHz) or 6 mJy (8 GHz) for fluxes $`<100`$ mJy, 15 mJy (2 GHz) or 50 mJy (8 GHz) for fluxes $`1`$ Jy. In addition, systematic errors are introduced by atmospheric and hardware effects, which we estimate may approach 10% at 2 GHz and 20% at 8 GHz, occasionally higher for extreme local hour angles. Flux density measurements below 20 mJy approach the noise level of the instruments, and therefore we do not include measurements below this level in our analysis.

As with the Ryle data, daily GBI measurements have been averaged when producing monitoring light curves, and GBI data taken within 0.5 days of a pointed RXTE observation have been averaged when comparing individual observations (Table 1). In both cases, we also have computed the spectral index $`\alpha `$ from the average flux in the 2.25 and 8.3 GHz bands.

### 2.3 Very Large Array Observations

The VLA is a multi-frequency, multi-configuration aperture synthesis imaging instrument, consisting of 27 antennas of 25 m diameter. The receivers at 1.42, 5.0, 8.45, and 15.2 GHz, have been used on various occasions, with 2 adjacent bands of 50 MHz nominal bandwidth processed in continuum mode. The corresponding 1-sigma sensitivities in 10 minutes are 0.06, 0.06, 0.05, and 0.2 mJy respectively. Switching between multiple frequencies takes about 30 s. The array configuration is varied every 4 months to cycle between 4 sets, A, B, C, and D, with maximum baselines of about 36, 11, 3.4, and 1 km.

Observations of GRS 1915$`+`$105 while in its radio faint state have been obtained from the public archive in order to constrain the radio spectrum. The observations we have found are listed in Table 2, along with mean fluxes from Ryle and GBI observations taken within a half day of the VLA observations. For all of the observations reported here, GRS 1915$`+`$105 was unresolved by the synthesized beam (see Table 2) in any configuration at any wavelength. Other sources in the field of view (mainly at 1.4 GHz) are well separated in the images, so there is no confusion with GRS 1915$`+`$105.

Calibration and imaging were carried out with standard tasks in the NRAO AIPS (Astronomical Image Processing System) package. For all of these observations, the phase calibrator was 1925$`+`$211. The primary flux density calibrator was 3C286 (1328$`+`$307) for all observations except 1996 November 14, when 3C48 (0134$`+`$329) was used. In practice, the flux density errors are not set by the RMS receiver (thermal) noise stated above, but by errors in the flux density scale, estimated to be 3-5% of the measurement, and/or source variability, depending on the occasion. More details of the VLA are given in the Observational Status Summary (http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/vla/obstatus/vlas/vlas.html), and the data reduction is treated in formal detail in Taylor, Carilli, & Perley (1999) and in the VLA cookbook (http://www.cv.nrao.edu/aips/cook.html).

### 2.4 Pointed RXTE Observations

The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) consists of three instruments: the All-Sky Monitor (ASM; Levine et al., 1996), the Proportional Counter Array (PCA; Jahoda et al., 1996), and the High Energy Timing Experiment (HEXTE; Rothschild et al., 1998). Figure 1 shows the ASM light curve of GRS 1915$`+`$105 along with daily radio measurements from Ryle and the spectral index from the GBI. There is no apparent correlation between the radio emission and the ASM count rate, although there is some correlation with the ASM hardness ratio HR2 (5-12 keV / 3-5 keV). In addition, there has been a long campaign of weekly observations with with the PCA and HEXTE, which we use to study the detailed timing and spectral properties of the hard emission from GRS 1915$`+`$105. We define intervals as “hard-steady” if the ratio of the mean PCA count rates in the 12–60 keV to the 2–12 keV bands exceeds 0.05 and the mean variability in the count rate (2–60 keV) at 1s time intervals is less than 12% for an RXTE orbit (typically 3000 s). In Figure 1 we have marked the pointed RXTE observations of the hard-steady state with vertical bars above the ASM light curve, and we have listed them in Table 1. The small dots represent the remainder of the pointed observations. We have analyzed all 113 observations of GRS 1915$`+`$105 in the hard steady state taken with RXTE between 1996 April 15 (MJD 50188) through 1999 March 22 (MJD 51259), during the time interval for the PCA instrument gain setting known as “epoch 3”. In order to improve the signal-to-noise of the spectral and timing measurements whenever possible, if the variability in the mean count rate in 16 s bins is less than 5% during a single day, we have analyzed all of the data for that day together. Otherwise, we have grouped the data while remaining within the 5% variability limit (16 s bins), with the smallest unit being a single RXTE orbit.

For each time unit, we have integrated 128-channel energy spectra (“Standard2”) data from PCUs 0 and 1 of the PCA, and 64 channel (archive mode) spectra from both clusters of HEXTE. In order to calculate the flux from GRS 1915+105, we have fit the spectra with the phenomenological model described in Muno et al. (1999). The model consists of the sum of a multi-color blackbody, a power law (with a high-energy cutoff when necessary), and a Gaussian line (representing iron emission between 5–7 keV). Interstellar absorption is taken into account assuming a column density equivalent to $`6\times 10^{22}`$ cm2. A normalization factor is allowed to account for differences in the effective area of the PCUs and the HEXTE clusters which are not taken into account by the response matrices. The standard FTOOLS 4.2 background subtraction algorithm for bright sources has been applied to the data, and a systematic uncertainty of 1% has been added to each spectral bin. We have computed an X-ray flux for each observation, by summing the bolometric flux implied by multi-temperature disk model ($`F_{bb}=1.08\times 10^{11}N_{\mathrm{app}}\sigma T_{\mathrm{app}}^4`$), the flux in the power law between 2–200 keV ($`_2^{200}1.60\times 10^9N_\mathrm{\Gamma }E^{\mathrm{\Gamma }+1}\mathrm{exp}[E/E_{\mathrm{cut}}]𝑑E`$), and the flux in the iron line ($`N_{\mathrm{Gauss}}/(\sqrt{2\pi }W_{\mathrm{Gauss}})_0^{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{exp}[0.5(EE_{\mathrm{Gauss}})^2/W_{\mathrm{Gauss}}^2]𝑑E`$).

We also have created power density spectra (PDS) and cross spectra (CS) for each 256 s interval of data with $`2^7`$ s time resolution and four energy channels, using combinations of the binned and event modes for each observation. The four energy channels used are as follows: 2–4.3 keV (henceforth referred to as the “low energy” band), 4.3–7.8 keV, 7.8–11.5 keV, and 11.5–60 keV (referred to as the “high energy” band). The PDS and CS have been averaged for the entire time unit (an RXTE orbit or an observation, as defined above) and logarithmically re-binned. The PDS have been corrected for dead-time effects and Poisson noise (Morgan et al., 1997), and have been normalized to the fractional RMS squared per Hz. To quantify the features of the PDS, we have fit PDS from each energy band with a model consisting of a power law with two breaks and Lorentzians for any QPOs present in the PDS. We have searched for the 67 Hz QPO during each of these hard-steady observations using data with $`2^{13}`$ s time resolution in a single energy channel, but we did not detect it. Typical upper limits range from 0.1–0.5% (1 $`\sigma `$).

The coherence function and phase lags have been calculated from the CS in the manner described in Vaughan & Nowak (1997). We have used the standard convention that “hard” or “positive” lags indicate that higher energy photons lag behind lower energy photons. The uncertainties have been calculated for the case of high signal power and high measured coherence, using an estimate of the dead-time-corrected Poisson noise (Morgan et al., 1997). If the signal power is smaller than the estimated noise, or if the coherence is less than the noise divided by the signal, we do not plot either the phase lags or the coherence functions.

Guided by the long-term monitoring light curves in Figure 1, we have defined subsets of the hard-steady observations based upon the radio emission from GRS 1915$`+`$105 in order to facilitate the comparison between the radio and X-ray emission. We have defined “radio plateau” hard-steady conditions for observations for which GRS 1915$`+`$105 is brighter than 20 mJy at 15.2 GHz, and exhibits a flat radio spectrum with index (measured from the daily average of the flux) $`\alpha >0.2`$. We also have defined “radio steep” conditions for observations when GRS 1915$`+`$105 is brighter than 20 mJy at 15.2 GHz, and exhibits a optically thin radio spectrum with index $`\alpha <0.2`$. Figure 1 demonstrates that the radio steep conditions typically represent the transition into and out of periods of radio plateau emission, and occur during the decays of large optically thin radio flares (see also Fender et al., 1999b; Dhawan et al., 2000). Our discussion of radio steep observations will be limited, as the optically thin emission probably results from radio ejecta that could evolve independently of the instantaneous X-ray conditions on 0.5 day time scales.

Finally, we have defined “radio-faint” conditions for those hard-steady X-ray observations for which the daily average of the radio flux at 15.2 GHz is less than 20 mJy, because for these observations the radio flux at the GBI frequencies is too low to reliably measure a spectral index. The radio faint conditions occur with two variants— those observations for which the X-ray emission is bright, and those for which it is faint. The behavior of the timing properties with respect to the radio emission is similar for both variants, although the shape of the X-ray spectrum and the values of the timing properties (e.g. the QPO frequency and the phase lags) are distinctive, and warrant a separate discussion.

## 3 Results

We first investigate 1) whether all of the hard-steady observations are coincident with radio emission, 2) whether the X-ray and radio flux are correlated, and 3) how the radio conditions (plateau, steep, and faint) are distributed in a plot of radio vs. X-ray flux. Figure 2 displays a plot of the radio flux density at 15.2 GHz (log scale) versus the 2–200 keV X-ray flux for each of the hard-steady observations. It is clear that all hard steady observations have radio flux densities greater than 2 mJy. Panel 3 of Figure 1 shows that the radio flux from GRS 1915$`+`$105 does drop below 1 mJy (e.g. MJD 50825–50875), but such intervals are associated with the soft X-ray state. Thus, radio emission always accompanies the hard-steady X-ray state, although a note of caution is appropriate for those observations associated with variable, optically thin radio emission, as noted above. However, Figure 2 also shows the radio and X-ray fluxes are not correlated in the hard-steady state. Likewise, we have found that the total 50-100 keV flux, the power law flux, and the thermal (multi-color disk) flux are not correlated with the strength of the radio emission (not shown).

The radio conditions are represented in Figure 2 as follows: radio plateau observations are plotted as triangles, radio steep as circles, and radio faint as $`\times `$’s. Observations for which the GBI spectral index has not been measured are plotted only with error bars. The plot can be roughly split into four quadrants. The radio plateau observations are clearly localized in the upper left quadrant, with $`S_{15.2}>20`$ mJy and $`F_\mathrm{X}<4\times 10^8`$ erg cm-2 s-1. Some radio steep observations are also present in this quadrant. The upper right quadrant contains radio steep observations and observations for which no spectral index is available from the GBI. These latter observations were taken between MJD 50313–50320 (before the current GBI monitoring program), a time interval which is included in the analysis of Bandyopadhyay et al. (1998). During this time span a large radio flare occurred terminating a plateau state, and the radio flux density at 1.4 GHz was consistently larger than that at 3.3 GHz, which suggests that these points should be classified as radio steep. Therefore, the upper right quadrant ($`S_{15.2}>20`$ mJy and $`F_\mathrm{X}>4\times 10^8`$ erg cm-2 s-1) appears to include only radio steep observations, during which the radio and X-ray emission may vary independently since the radio measurements may be dominated by the evolution of an expanding jet detached from the central source. For this reason, we choose to ignore the upper right quadrant.

The lower quadrants, with $`S_{15.2}<20`$ mJy, contain radio faint observations by construction. After examining the temporal clustering of these radio-faint observations, we feel that it is useful also to consider them in two quadrants: an X-ray faint quadrant with $`F_\mathrm{X}<4\times 10^8`$ erg cm-2 s-1, and an X-ray bright quadrant with $`F_\mathrm{X}>4\times 10^8`$ erg cm-2 s-1. This separation is further motivated by their differing energy spectral and timing properties, which are described in the next section.

### 3.1 Characteristic Observations

From each of the three quadrants under consideration from the radio versus X-ray flux plane (Figure 2), we have selected a characteristic observation in order to illustrate the range of X-ray spectral and timing properties within the hard-steady X-ray state. In Figures 3, 4, and 5, the left panel is a radio faint, X-ray faint observation (MJD 50488; 1997 February 9); the center panel is a radio plateau, X-ray faint observation (MJD 50737; 1997 October 16); and the right panel is a radio faint, X-ray bright observation (MJD 50708; 1997 September 17). The radio and X-ray fluxes from these three observations are indicated in Figure 2.

#### 3.1.1 X-ray Energy Spectra

Figure 3 illustrates the results of the spectral fits for the three representative observations with differing values of the radio and X-ray flux. The spectrum in the left panel is from a radio faint observation when the X-ray emission was also relatively faint ($`2.2\times 10^8`$erg cm-2 s-1). The soft emission during this observation can be modeled ($`\chi _\nu ^21`$) using a cool multi-temperature blackbody with an apparent inner disk temperature of $`T_{\mathrm{app}}0.8`$ keV and an apparent radius of $`R_{\mathrm{app}}`$40–80 km (assuming a distance of 11 kpc and an inclination angle of 66; see Fender et al. 1999b). The power law has a photon index $`\mathrm{\Gamma }2`$ and requires an exponential cutoff at about 70 keV. The results of this spectral fit are characteristic of observations during which both the X-ray and radio flux were low.

The spectrum in the middle panel is from an observation which exhibited radio plateau conditions when the X-ray emission was also faint ($`2.6\times 10^8`$ erg cm-2 s-1). Despite the similarity in X-ray flux to the left panel, the shape of the X-ray spectrum is quite different. The thermal component of the model appears hot ($`T_{\mathrm{app}}>3`$ keV) with a small apparent inner radius ($`R_{\mathrm{app}}<5`$ km). This quasi-thermal component is not consistent with simple models of reflection from an accretion disk (e.g. Magdziarz & Zdziarski, 1995). It is possible that this broad thermal bump represents emission from a relatively small area of the disk which has been heated by, for example, a magnetic flare (di Matteo, Celotti, & Fabian 1999) or a spiral shock wave (Tagger & Pellat, 1999), or that the disk develops an optically thick atmosphere which Comptonizes the emergent spectrum, so that the spectral hardening and decreased apparent radius are illusory effects of increased scattering in a “puffed up” disk (Merloni, Fabian, & Ross 2000). The photon index of the power law is $`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.7`$, and a cut-off at about 80 keV is required for observations with longer integration times and hence better statistics at energies above 100 keV. We note that Rao et al. (2000a) have presented a different model for spectra of GRS 1915$`+`$105 such as these, consisting of a multi-temperature disk, a thermal-Compton spectrum (Sunyaev & Titarchuk, 1980), and a power law. For the purposes of this paper, we prefer to use our simpler model with fewer free parameters.

The right panel is from an observation when the radio emission was faint (6 mJy) and the X-ray emission was bright ($`8.4\times 10^8`$ erg cm-2 s-1). The spectrum is similar to the radio bright, X-ray faint observation in the center panel, except that the relative contribution of the power law flux increases dramatically. The thermal component is hot ($`T_{\mathrm{app}}>2.5`$ keV) and has a small apparent inner radius ($`R_{\mathrm{app}}<10`$ km), while the power law index is steep ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ 3.2). The shape of the energy spectrum on 1997 September 17 is characteristic of all X-ray spectra from the hard state of GRS 1915$`+`$105 when the total flux is greater than $`4\times 10^8`$ erg cm-2 s-1. The count rate from GRS 1915$`+`$105 tends to vary on time scales of hours when the source is bright in X-rays, so we only integrate spectra for individual RXTE orbits. With these exposure times, we can measure the power law only up to about 100 keV. However, when we combine spectra with similar photon indices, we find that the data are consistent with no cut off in the power law below 200 keV.

The changes in the X-ray spectrum clearly do not track the radio flux from GRS 1915$`+`$105 in a monotonic manner. The power law component steepens dramatically as the radio emission increases in the X-ray faint state (left and center panels of Figure 3), but is steepest when the X-ray emission is bright and the radio emission is faint (right panel). At low X-ray fluxes ($`<4\times 10^8`$ erg cm-2 s-1), the thermal component is hot and has a small apparent inner radius during radio plateau observations, while it is cool and has a large apparent inner radius when the radio emission is faint (see also Muno et al., 1999).

#### 3.1.2 Power Density Spectra and Cross Spectra

The power spectra (here displayed as the frequency times the power density), Fourier phase lags, and coherence functions of the three observations from Figure 3 are displayed in Figure 4. In the top panel, two lines are plotted for each power spectrum: the black line indicates the 2–4.3 keV (soft) energy band, while the the grey line indicates the 11.5–60 keV (hard) band. The PDS in all three examples of Figure 4 have relatively flat spectra with a low frequency break, a QPO between 0.5–10 Hz, and a dramatic break at frequencies higher than the QPO. In the middle panel of Figure 4, we plot the phase lags between the 11.5–60 keV and the 2–4.3 keV bands, and in the bottom panel we plot the coherence function for the same two energy bands. To simplify the comparison between the power spectra, the phase lags, and the coherence functions, we have indicated the frequencies of the QPOs in our fits to the 2–4.3 keV band with vertical black short-dashed lines, and the continuum break frequencies with vertical black long-dashed lines. We have also indicated the break frequency in the 11.5–60 keV band with grey long-dashed lines (see below). For the following discussion we define three frequency regions related for the features of the power spectrum: region 1 represents frequencies lower than the low frequency continuum break, region 2 frequencies between the low frequency break and the QPO frequency (less its width), and region 3 frequencies higher than the QPO frequency (or its harmonic if present).

The first point of interest is that the QPO frequency is not strictly correlated with the X-ray flux from GRS 1915$`+`$105. From the spectra in Figure 3, it is clear that the X-ray flux increases from left to right, while in Figure 4 the QPO frequency is lowest in the center panel (radio plateau conditions). In the following sections, we will demonstrate that the QPO frequency is always lowest during radio plateau conditions.

The second and most obvious difference between the timing properties of these three observations is in the Fourier phase lags. In region 2 (between the low frequency break and the QPO), the phase lags are negative when the radio emission is faint (left and right panels), and positive during radio plateau emission (center panels; compare Reig et al., 2000). This behavior is in sharp contrast to sources such as GX 339$``$4 and Cyg X$``$1, for which the phase lags are always positive. Only the phase lags during the radio plateau state resemble those of GX 339$``$(Nowak et al., 1999c) and Cyg X$``$(Cui et al., 1997).

The third notable result concerns the coherence function in region 1 (i.e. frequencies lower than the first break). The coherence function between the 11.5–60 keV and the 2–4.3 keV bands is lowest ($`0`$) during the radio plateau conditions (center panel), somewhat higher ($`0.4`$) when both the radio and X-ray emission are faint (left panel), and nearly unity when the radio emission is faint and the X-ray emission is bright (right panel). Only the latter case is reminiscent of Cyg X$``$1 in its hard state (Cui et al., 1997; Nowak et al., 1999a).

Finally, a comparison of the amplitude and strength of the power spectra as a function of energy reveals further differences in each of the three observations. While the radio emission is faint, (right and left panels) the root mean power at low frequencies is greater in the 11.5–60 keV energy band (gray curve) than in the 2–4.3 keV band (black curve). However, during radio plateau conditions (center panel) the root mean power is nearly equal in all energy bands. The shape of the power spectrum also changes— the low frequency break is strongest in the low energy band in the radio plateau observation (center panel), while the break is most apparent in the high energy band in the radio faint, X-ray faint observation (left panel). When the X-ray emission is bright, the low frequency break is evident in both energy bands (right panel).

There are several other interesting details in the timing properties presented in Figure 4, although they are not directly relevant to the question of how the timing properties are related to the radio emission. The harmonic of the QPO tends to be strongest ($`10`$%) when count rate is lowest (left and center panels), but is not apparent during X-ray bright observations (right panel). A weak feature at approximately half of frequency of the strongest QPO peak is also evident during observations when both the X-ray and radio flux are faint (right panel), with an RMS amplitude of about $``$1% and $`Q`$ values of 1–10.

Finally, a weak QPO is evident between 0.01–0.04 Hz during a stretch of radio faint observations from MJD 50450–40560 (left panel), with an RMS amplitude of about 0.1% in the 2-4.3 keV energy band. This low frequency QPO disappears at higher energies. Its centroid frequency decreases as the frequency of the 0.5–10 Hz QPO decreases (not shown). Since the 0.01–0.04 Hz QPO is present only in the low energy band, the coherence function at the QPO frequency is near zero.

#### 3.1.3 Relation of the Timing Properties to the Energy Spectrum

The spectral fits which we have made to GRS 1915$`+`$105 indicate that two spectral components are present (Figure 3). Most models of the emission from X-ray binaries invoke inverse-Compton scattering to produce hard photons from soft seed photons, and consequently the variability in the hard and soft energy bands should be intimately related. However, before finalizing any conclusions regarding the phase lag and coherence measures and how these change with photon energy, we need to examine how these timing properties depend upon the amount of the flux which is contributed by each of the spectral components in the relevant energy bands.

In Figure 5, we examine the dependence of the timing properties on photon energy for the same three representative observations as in Figures 3 and 4 (diamonds connected by solid lines). In all of the panels, the fraction of the count rate contributed by the disk component is displayed with triangles connected with dashed lines, using the scale displayed on the right axis. Here it can be seen that the thermal component contributes no more than half of the flux in all energy bands for the observations which we analyze in this paper. Examining next the top panels, we find that the presence of the thermal component does not greatly affect the RMS power in a given energy band. In the second panels, the slopes of the phase lags show no obvious breaks; we might expect changes in the slopes if the soft and hard spectral components separately affected the phase lags. Finally, while the fraction of the flux in the thermal component increases in a similar manner during the X-ray faint, radio plateau (center panel) and the X-ray faint, radio bright observation (left panel), the coherence function at low frequencies plummets dramatically with increasing energy in the plateau observation (center panel), but is near unity when the X-ray flux is bright (right panel). We conclude that the changes in the timing properties are not related to the fraction of the emission which can be modeled with a thermal component.

### 3.2 Time Evolution of X-ray and Radio Properties

The evolution of the parameters of the power spectrum, phase lags, and coherence function can be viewed as a function of time during the long periods in which GRS 1915$`+`$105 remains in the hard-steady state. The results demonstrate that the three observations selected for Figures 35 are representative of the groups which we have defined. In Figure 6 we show two time intervals containing the hard-steady states of GRS 1915$`+`$105. In the first the radio emission is faint (MJD 50400–50600, left panels), and the second coincides with strong radio plateau emission (MJD 50725–50755, right panels). In the top three panels from both time intervals we plot: a) the intensity of GRS 1915$`+`$105 as viewed by the ASM, b) the radio flux measured with the Ryle telescope at 15.2 GHz, and c) the radio spectral index between 2.25 and 8.3 GHz ($`\alpha `$) measured with the GBI. Notice that before the period of radio-plateau emission (right panels) the radio spectral index increases smoothly and becomes positive (more optically thick), and then it decreases symmetrically afterwards. Optically thin radio flares that are much more prominent at 2.25 and 8.3 GHz (not shown) occur both before and after this interval.

In panel d), we plot the frequency of the 0.5-10 Hz QPO. Trudolyubov et al. (1999) and Chen et al. (1997) separately established that the QPO frequency tracks the flux and the count rate in the PCA during hard-steady states similar to those displayed. However, it is clear that QPO frequency is systematically higher during radio faint emission ($`>2`$ Hz) than during radio plateau emission ($`<2`$ Hz), despite the fact that the ASM count rate is lower during the faint radio emission.

In panel e) of Figure 6 we plot the average phase lags in region 2 between the 2–4.3 keV band and 1) the 7.8–11.5 keV band (diamonds connected by the solid line), and 2) the 11.5–60 keV band (triangles connected by the dashed line). During radio-faint hard-steady conditions, the phase lags are consistently negative and have a value of about $`0.2`$ radians. During radio plateau emission, the phase lags are positive and increase strongly with energy. Only during radio plateau conditions are the X-ray phase lags positive, as might be expected from a simple model which seeks to explain the timing properties using Comptonization (see Section 3).

In panel f) of Figure 6 we plot the average coherence function in region 1 between the 2–4.3 keV band and 1) the 7.8–11.5 keV bands (diamonds connected by the solid line), and 2) the 11.5–60 keV bands (triangles connected by the dashed line) as a function of time. The coherence over this frequency range drops dramatically when the radio emission is strong and optically thick, as shown in the representative observation of the radio plateau state in the center panel of Figure 4.

In the bottom panel we plot the total of the RMS noise at frequencies lower than the QPO (region 1 and region 2 combined). The absolute values of the RMS low frequency noise should not be compared directly from observation to observation, because as the QPO frequency varies, so does the upper limit to the frequencies which we consider. However, we have plotted the RMS low frequency noise for two energy bands: the 2–4.3 keV band (diamonds connected by a solid line) and the 11.5–60 keV band (triangles connected by dashed lines). It is clear that there is much more low frequency power in the 11.5–60 keV band than in the 2–4.3 keV band during radio-faint hard X-ray conditions, while during radio-plateau conditions, the amount of power in both energies is comparable. This can also be seen by comparing the radio plateau and X-ray-faint, radio-faint observations in Figure 4.

### 3.3 Timing Properties and the Radio States

We now examine directly the relationship between the radio and the X-ray properties of GRS 1915$`+`$105. In Figures 7 and 8, the various symbols denote the emission states in Figure 2.

In Figure 7 we plot as a function of the radio flux density at 15.2 GHz: a) the QPO frequency, b) the phase lag between the 2–4.3 keV and 11.5–60 keV bands in region 2, c) the coherence for the same energy bands in region 1, and d) the ratio of the low-frequency (regions 1 and 2) power in the 11.5–60 keV to 2–4.3 keV energy bands. At first glance, there appear to be continuous distributions in the radio and timing properties in Figure 7, but in fact the populations of radio faint observations and radio plateau observations are well-separated, with the radio steep observations falling in between the two. Moreover, the $`x`$-axes of the panels are plotted with a logarithmic scale, which emphasizes the large range in the radio flux for the various hard-steady observations.

Four conclusions can be drawn from Figure 7 regarding the changes in the timing properties as a function of the radio flux. The QPO frequency tends to decrease with increasing radio flux, and almost all of the observations with radio plateau conditions (triangles) have QPO frequencies less than 2 Hz. Second, during radio plateau hard-steady emission the hard photons lag the soft, while during radio faint ($`\times `$’s) conditions the hard photons lead the soft. Third, the coherence at low frequencies is lowest during radio plateau emission. Finally, the ratio of low frequency power in 11.5–60 keV photons to the power in 2–4.3 keV photons is nearly unity only when the radio flux is largest, during radio plateau conditions.

Using our large dataset which incorporates a variety of radio conditions, we next examine correlations which other authors have reported to be well-defined. Two studies (Chen et al., 1997; Trudolyubov et al., 1999) have examined the frequency of the 0.5–10 Hz QPO as a function of the PCA count rate (MJD 50275–50333) and the 3–20 keV X-ray flux (MJD 50363–50563), respectively. Both have found significant correlations among these values. In the top panels of Figure 8 we plot the QPO frequency as a function of total X-ray flux (defined in Section 2.3; left panel), thermal flux (middle panel), and power law flux (right panel). We confirm that the frequency of the 0.5–10 Hz QPO is tightly correlated with the X-ray flux from GRS 1915$`+`$105, but we also find that the correlations are not single-valued. In the left panel there exists a significant population of points from radio faint observations that have QPO frequencies between 2–5 Hz, for which the X-ray fluxes are low compared to those expected from the general trend.

A plot of the average phase lags between 2–4.3 and 11.5–60 keV photons in region 2 as a function of the total, thermal, and power law fluxes (bottom panels of Figure 8) reveals that there is no correlation between the X-ray flux and the sign or magnitude of the phase lags. The positive phase lags therefore appear to occur independently of any given X-ray flux level, and are better predicted by the presence of optically thick radio emission.

### 3.4 Characteristics of the Faint Radio Emission

We can use the archival VLA observations to make some conclusions about the nature of the faint radio emission. The multi-frequency radio observations of GRS 1915$`+`$105 are listed in Table 2. The first two observations occur within a day of radio faint, X-ray bright observations. In both cases, the VLA observed significant flaring, while Ryle observations, which were more nearly simultaneous with the RXTE observations, indicate that the radio emission was near 5 mJy within 12 hours of the PCA observations. It appears that the radio emission is unsteady within several hours of the X-ray bright hard-steady state, and we can not rule out that the X-ray emission is also unsteady on these time scales. Since the VLA observations show clear evidence for flaring while the Ryle observations do not, we can not infer the radio spectrum of the emission during the X-ray bright, hard-steady state.

The remainder of the observations in Table 2 are X-ray faint. There is clear evidence in the GBI data for $``$30 mJy optically thin flares on 1996 December 28, 1997 January 12, and 1998 October 08. The flares decay on time scales of several hours, and no RXTE observations were taken within 0.5 day of these flares. Since GBI flux measurements below 20 mJy are uncertain, there remain two observations during which the VLA observations demonstrate that the radio emission was faint and steady. On 1998 September 14, 15.2 GHz Ryle and 5.0 GHz VLA observations separated by 6 hours provide a spectral index $`\alpha =0.5\pm 0.1`$, which suggests that the emission is optically thin. However, it is certainly possible that the radio flux varied by a few mJy during those several hours. Dual frequency VLA observations were made at 5.0 and 15.2 GHz on 1998 September 29, which indicate $`\alpha =0.12\pm 0.01`$. This suggests that the emission is optically thick, similar to a weak version of the radio plateau state. However, with only a single secure measurement of $`\alpha `$ during the radio faint state, more observations are certainly warranted.

## 4 Discussion

We begin the discussion with a summary of our three hard-steady conditions:

* Radio Faint (e.g. MJD 50450–50550; MJD 50708) The radio emission has a mean flux density of about 5 mJy at 15.2 GHz. When the X-ray flux is faint ($`<4\times 10^8`$ erg cm-2 s-1), the X-ray spectrum is best described as the sum of a cool ($`T_{\mathrm{app}}<`$2 keV, $`R_{\mathrm{app}}60`$ km) multi-temperature blackbody and a power law of index $`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.1`$ with a cut-off near 70 keV. When the X-ray emission is brighter ($`>4\times 10^8`$ erg cm-2 s-1), the X-ray spectrum is best described with a hot ($`>`$2 keV) multi-temperature black body and a steep power law ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }3.2`$) without a cut off below 200 keV (see Section 2.2). The QPO frequency is greater than 2 Hz, phase lags are negative (or, soft, indicating that hard photons precede soft photons) at intermediate continuum frequencies, the coherence at low frequencies in the continuum is $``$ 0.5–1.0 (11.5–60 keV compared to 2–4.3 keV), and there is much more low frequency power in the high energy band than the low energy band.
* Radio Plateau (e.g. MJD 50730–50748) The radio emission is bright ($``$100 mJy at 15 GHz) and optically thick ($`\alpha >0.2`$). The X-ray spectrum is best described by a hot multi-temperature black body ($`T_{\mathrm{app}}>3`$ keV and $`R_{\mathrm{app}}<5`$ km) and a power law ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.5`$) which could be cut-off at $`E>80`$ keV. The QPO frequency reaches its lowest values ($`<2`$ Hz), phase lags are positive (hard photons lag soft photons), the coherence is low (particularly at low frequencies), and there is about equal broad band RMS power at low frequencies in all energy bands.
* Radio Steep (e.g MJD 50727-50730) These observations represent the transition into and out of radio plateau conditions. The radio flux is bright, while the radio spectrum is optically thin ($`\alpha <0.2`$). The X-ray flux is often higher than during radio plateau conditions, but the spectrum is still best described by a hot multi-temperature black body ($`T_{\mathrm{app}}>3`$ keV and $`R_{\mathrm{app}}<10`$ km) and a steep power law ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.5`$) with a cut-off above 80 keV. The timing properties tend to be similar to radio faint conditions (although there are exceptions): the QPO frequency is between 2–5 Hz, the phase lags are negative, the coherence is around 0.5, and there is more broad band power at low frequencies in the highest energy band.

Previous observations have established the nature of the bright radio emission from GRS 1915$`+`$105. The optically thick emission during plateau conditions has been resolved as a compact jet of relativistic electrons (Dhawan et al., 2000), similar to ones which may be present in Cyg X$``$(Stirling, Spencer, & Garret, 1998) and GX 339$``$(Corbel et al., 2000). Our observations of the faint radio emission provide some evidence that it is similar to a weak radio plateau state. Radio flares with steep spectra originate from material which has been ejected from the central source (Fender et al., 1999b; Dhawan et al., 2000), and so is most likely decoupled from the instantaneous conditions of the X-ray emitting regions. In the following discussion we will focus on comparing the radio faint and radio plateau conditions, during which the radio and X-ray properties of GRS 1915$`+`$105 are closely related.

The timing properties of GRS 1915$`+`$105— the QPO frequency, phase lags, coherence function, and broad band noise— appear to be highly dependent upon the radio conditions (Figure 7). However, it is not immediately obvious whether the changes in the timing properties are part of the mechanism which produces a compact jet, or whether they result from changes in the accretion flow induced when the compact radio jet is strong. Since the location and origin of the Comptonizing electrons which generate hard X-rays is unknown, the possible connection between these and the jet is doubly uncertain. Nevertheless, we may explore interpretations of these results using simple models for the accretion flow under consideration in the literature.

In Section 4.1, we consider the extent to which Comptonization of a soft input signal by a static corona at the base of a compact radio jet is consistent with the phase lags and X-ray spectrum of GRS 1915$`+`$105. In Sections 4.2–4.3, we examine two generic models which incorporate more elements of the accretion flow. In both models, cool ($`T1`$ keV) thermal emission originates from an optically thick accretion disk, while the hot power law component originates from inverse Compton scattering. The first basic model places the Comptonizing electrons in a spherical corona within the inner radius of the accretion disk, while the second geometry assumes that the relativistic electrons are part of a planar corona sustained by magnetic flares above the disk.

### 4.1 Generic Comptonization

Hard phase lags are generic properties of the low-hard X-ray state of black hole candidates such as Cyg X$``$(Nowak et al., 1999a) and GX 339$``$(Nowak et al., 1999c). Surprisingly, the phase lags in GRS 1915$`+`$105 change from negative to positive as the strength of the radio emission increases (Figure 7b). Since Fender et al. (1999a) have suggested that the Comptonizing corona in the hard state of black hole candidates represents the base of a compact radio jet, we feel it is important to explore the possibility that the negative phase lags during radio faint observations of GRS 1915$`+`$105 are intrinsic to the region close to the black hole, while the hard phase lags generated during the radio plateau state are due to the Comptonization of the intrinsic input signal in a large corona at the base of the compact radio jet.

The hard phase lags in GRS 1915$`+`$105 may constrain the structure of the Comptonizing region, because the phase is roughly constant as a function of frequency (Figure 4). This is contrary to the constant time lags that would be expected from a homogeneous corona. Instead, Kazanas, Hua, & Titarchuk (1997) and Böttcher & Liang (1999) have demonstrated that constant phase lags can be produced in an isotropically illuminated, spherical Compton cloud with a uniform temperature and a density which decreases with radius as $`R^1`$, since photons have an equal probability of scattering per decade of radius in such a cloud (see Nowak et al. 1999b for further discussion of these models). High-frequency variability originates from photons which have scattered from small radii, since the signal is washed out if it scatters with long time delays. On the other hand, the time lags of low-frequency signals are dominated by photons which have scattered over large radii. This produces time lags which decrease as a function of frequency, or phase lags which are nearly constant as a function of frequency.

Several authors have pointed out that the phase lags which are observed during the hard states of black hole candidates imply large scales for inverse Compton scattering, which raises the question of how energy is transported to support a large, hot corona (Poutanen & Fabian, 1999; Nowak et al., 1999b). In the plateau state of GRS 1915$`+`$105 a phase lag of 0.5 radians at 0.3 Hz (middle panel of Figure 4) would imply a light travel time of 0.3 s, or a distance of $`R\tau 8\times 10^9`$ cm (where $`\tau `$ is the optical depth of the corona). For a 10 M black hole, this represents thousands of Schwarschild radii. However, this distance is much smaller than the size of the compact jet observed by Dhawan et al. (2000), 10 AU $`=5\times 10^{14}`$ cm, which is consistent with the assumption that the Comptonizing electrons reside at the base of the jet. If the Compton cloud is the base of a compact jet, this reduces the difficulty in explaining how energy is transported to support a very large corona, as the jet may carry up to 1039 erg s-1 of power to much larger radii (Falcke & Biermann, 1999).

It is possible that the radio faint states are associated with a smaller Compton corona located near the inner accretion disk. In this case, negative phase lags could be caused by any number of effects intrinsic to the accretion disk, such as waves similar to those of Nowak et al. (1999a) which propagate outward in the disk rather than inward, or a modified form the of the magnetic flares of Poutanen & Fabian (1999). Even if a scattering corona intercepts a significant fraction of the photons from the disk, negative phase lags could be observed so long as 1) the scattering time in the corona is much smaller than the intrinsic time lags (Miller, 1995) and 2) the differences between the energies of the seed photons and the observed signals are not too large (which should be the case in GRS 1915$`+`$105, since the apparent disk temperature is $`>0.8`$ keV; Nowak & Vaughan 1996).

Moreover, the radius of the Compton corona can change without greatly affecting the slope and cut-off energy of the power law. The electron temperature ($`kT_e`$) of the corona is constrained to be nearly constant by the cut-off in the power law at 70–80 keV measured during X-ray faint observations (left and center panels of Figure 3). If the temperature of the corona is fixed, a steeper power law (higher $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$) implies a lower optical depth (see Sunyaev & Titarchuk, 1980). Since the power law is steeper during radio plateau observations ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.5`$) than during the radio faint, X-ray faint observations ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.1`$), we can suggest that the optical depth of the corona decreases and its radius increases as the compact radio jet becomes more luminous. However, the X-ray bright, radio faint observations would then have a small, optically thin corona, since the phase lags are negative and the power law is steep ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }3.2`$) during these observations (Figures 3 and 4). The electron acceleration mechanism could be different in the X-ray bright hard state, as is hinted at by the absence of an observable cutoff in the power law below 200 keV.

As others have noted, estimates of the Lorentz factors for electrons emitting synchrotron emission ($`400`$; Falcke & Biermann, 1999) suggest energies that are much larger than that of the Comptonizing electrons. One may consider the acceleration mechanism for the jet as an undetermined structure that draws material from the Compton corona near the inner disk, as in Fender et al. (1999a). In the following two sections, we therefore briefly speculate on the implications which the simplest geometries for the Compton corona described in the literature have on the jet production mechanism.

### 4.2 A Spherical Corona within the Inner Accretion Disk

Many authors have suggested that a spherical corona is formed within the inner radius of an accretion disk, either as an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF; Esin, McClintock, & Narayan 1997), or by a shock in the accretion flow (Chakrabarti & Titarchuk, 1995). The compact jet responsible for the radio emission could form from a wind emanating from an ADAF (Blandford & Begelman, 1999) or a post-shock region (Chakrabarti, 1999). The distinctive feature of the spherical corona model is that the radius of the inner accretion disk is variable, which leads naturally to a scenario in which the X-ray timing and spectral properties, and the strength of the radio emission, are set by the inner radius of the accretion disk.

The X-ray timing property that is perhaps most relevant to discuss in the spherical corona model is the 0.5–10 Hz QPO. The QPO may represent a characteristic time scale in the accretion flow such as an acoustic (e.g. Chen & Taam, 1994; Abramowicz, Chen, & Taam, 1995), Keplerian (Rodriguez et al., 2000), or free-fall (Molteni, Sponholz, & Chakrabarti 1996) time scale. Since the QPO peak is narrow ($`Q>3`$), it must originate in a localized region, as all of the time scales increase as the radius increases. Among the possibilities for the origin of such a QPO are oscillations in a shock in the accretion flow (Chakrabarti & Manickam, 2000) or a spiral density wave in the inner disk (Rodriguez et al., 2000). Since the frequency of the QPO decreases during episodes in which the inner radius of the disk is thought to increase (Belloni et al., 1997; Markwardt et al., 1999), it seems plausible that the frequency of the 0.5–10 Hz QPO in GRS 1915$`+`$105 tracks the inner radius of the accretion disk. Figure 7a then implies that the radio emission is strongest when the inner disk is farthest from the source.

Nobili et al. (2000) have developed a model for the phase lags in GRS 1915$`+`$105 by assuming a spherical corona with two temperature regions: a warm ($`T1.5`$ keV) outer corona and a hot ($`T15`$ keV) inner corona. The corona is isotropically illuminated by soft seed photons. The sign and magnitude of the phase lags are correlated with the radius of the inner accretion disk, because as the disk moves inward it compresses the corona, increasing its optical depth. Large, positive phase lags occur when the inner disk radius is large, because the hot corona has an optical depth $`\tau _\mathrm{H}1`$, while the warm corona is optically thin. When the inner radius is a factor of $`3`$ smaller, the optical depth of the hot corona becomes extremely high ($`\tau _\mathrm{H}>100`$), and the soft seed photons from the disk thermalize to the temperature of the optically thick hot corona. The thermalized photons are then Compton down-scattered in the cool corona, which produces soft lags. This model does not attempt to explain the phase lags as a function of Fourier frequency, but it does predict that if the QPO frequency tracks the radius of the inner disk, negative phase lags are expected when the QPO frequency is high— exactly as Reig et al (2000) observed in GRS 1915$`+`$105. However, a corona with an optical depth of $`\tau >100`$ would produce a thermal spectrum, while the energy spectrum of GRS 1915$`+`$105 between 25–200 keV can not be described by an extremely optically thick spectrum (e.g. a spherical Compton cloud with optical depth $`\tau >5`$; Sunyaev & Titarchuk 1980) when the phase lags are negative. Further work needs to be done to reconcile the negative phase lags with the spectral shape under this type of model.

The interpretation of the coherence function and the continuum power as a function of energy is less certain. When the QPO frequency is low, the coherence at low frequencies is nearest to 0 (Figure 7c) and the ratio of the low frequency continuum power at high to low energies is near 1 (Figure 7d). A coherence less than 1 can occur if the variability is the superposition of separate linear signals with different properties (Vaughan & Nowak, 1997). When the inner disk is farthest from the source (low QPO frequency) there may be more area available for multiple inputs to contribute to the variability.

The radius of the inner disk should also determine the energy spectrum under a spherical corona model. We have already discussed the model of Nobili et al. (2000). A different set of assumptions are used by, for example Esin et al. (1997) and Chakrabarti & Titarchuk (1995), who take into account the thermal balance between the soft photons and the Comptonizing electrons. Soft spectra are formed when the inner radius of the disk is close to the last stable orbit, so that the disk produces copious amounts of seed photons which cool the corona. Hard states are formed when the inner radius of disk is far from the last stable orbit and most of the corona is photon-starved. However, if we consider the faint X-ray observations, the power law is steeper ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.5`$) when the QPO frequency is lower and the disk is inferred to be farther from the black hole (radio plateau observations; Figure 3 and 4). This is opposite the sense expected, because the Compton corona should be cooled less efficiently (which implies a lower $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$) when the inner disk is large. If the QPO frequency tracks the transition radius between the disk and the corona, there must an additional factor beside the radius of the inner accretion disk which affects the observed X-ray properties of the corona in GRS 1915$`+`$105 under this model.

### 4.3 A Planar Corona Sustained by Magnetic Flares

In a planar corona model, one can assume that magnetic flares powered by the differential rotation of the accretion disk produce a population of relativistic electrons above the disk (di Matteo et al. 2000; compare Dove et al. 1997 for difficulties with static models). The compact jet could represent a collimated wind which forms according to the magnetic-centrifugal mechanism of Blandford & Payne (1982), and is strongest when the flares provide electrons enough energy to escape the potential of the black hole (Romanova et al., 1998). In the magnetic flare model of di Matteo et al. (1999), the inner radius of the accretion disk in general does not vary.

A natural starting point for discussing the planar corona models are the phase lags observed in GRS 1915$`+`$105. The time lags which would be implied by the scale height of the flares in the model of di Matteo et al. (1999) are too short ($`10^7`$ cm $`=10^3`$ s) to explain the phase lags observed in black hole candidates. However, Poutanen & Fabian (1999) have developed a model for Cyg X$``$1 in which the spectral evolution of the flares which accelerate Comptonizing electrons produce the observed power density spectra and phase lags. Their model produces only hard (or zero) lags, because the electrons are assumed to be in thermal equilibrium during the flare, so the spectrum of the flares is set by the ratio of the heating in the flares to the amount of soft seed flux impinging on the flares. The flares become harder because the majority of the soft flux is produced by feedback in response to the flare, and the feedback is taken to decrease as a function of time as the flares move away from the disk. However, if the electrons accelerated in the magnetic flare have a non-thermal energy distribution which evolves as a function of time, it is conceivable that either hard or soft phase lags could be produced. The hard phase lags may represent the most efficient acceleration of the electrons, which could in turn explain why the radio plateau emission is associated with the largest hard phase lags. On the other hand, the negative phase lags could represent spectral evolution in which the soft energy band peaks later, and relativistic electrons are accelerated less efficiently.

In the case of a magnetically sustained planar corona with a fixed inner disk radius, there is some difficulty in explaining what sets the frequency of the QPO and why this frequency varies. Since the power in the X-ray variability in GRS 1915$`+`$105 drops sharply at frequencies higher than the 0.5–10 Hz QPO (Figure 4), we can speculate this QPO represents a resonance at the minimum time scale at which magnetic flares can form. The radio emission, then, would occur most favorably when only relatively slow flares form (low QPO frequency).

The coherence function and the ratio of the high to low energy broad-band power would also be set by the evolution of the magnetic flares. Since the coherence at low frequencies is lowest when the QPO frequency is low and the phase lags are positive, the long, hard flares may undergo significant non-linear spectral evolution. The ratio of broadband power in the high and low energy bands could be set by the shape of individual flares in the respective energy bands. Mathematically, this could be described in a manner similar to the shot noise models of Shibazaki et al. (1988).

The model of di Matteo et al. (1999) predicts the energy spectrum from magnetic flares, by assuming that a fixed fraction of the accretion power is released into the magnetic structures, and that the electrons which are accelerated by the flares are cooled inverse-Compton scattering of both cyclo-synchrotron and thermal (disk) seed photons. Soft spectral states are caused by flares which occur close to the disk and are flooded by seed photons, while hard states are caused by photon-starved flares which occur high above the disk. Although di Matteo et al. (1999) do not attempt to explain the phase lags observed in black hole candidates, we might expect hard phase lags to correspond with flares that produce the hardest (lowest $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$) power law, since the flares would be highest above the disk and cooled least efficiently. However, when the phase lags are positive in GRS 1915$`+`$105 we find a steeper power law ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.5`$ in the plateau state) than when the phase lags are negative ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }2.1`$ during radio faint, X-ray faint observations). Clearly, simple assumptions about the evolution of magnetic flares would have to be relaxed in order to explain the X-ray timing and spectral properties of GRS 1915$`+`$105.

## 5 Conclusions

We have found that although radio emission is always associated with the hard-steady state of GRS 1915$`+`$105 (between 1996-1999), the 15.2 GHz radio flux density and the 2–200 keV X-ray flux are not correlated. Instead, we find that the hard states can be described using three basic regimes of radio emission: a) radio plateau conditions in which bright, optically thick emission originates from a compact jet, b) radio steep conditions in which bright, optically thin emission originates from material most likely decoupled from the X-ray emitting region, and c) faint radio conditions for which our current study is unable to constrain the spectrum of the radio emission. As the radio flux increases, 1) the frequency of a ubiquitous 0.5–10 Hz QPO decreases, 2) the Fourier phase lags between hard (11.5–60 keV) and soft (2–4.3 keV) photons in the frequency range of 0.01–10 Hz change sign from negative to positive, 3) the coherence at low frequencies decreases, and 4) the relative amount of low frequency power in hard photons compared to soft photons decreases.

We have attempted to understand these results qualitatively using simple models collected from the literature, but we find that our attempts to understand the X-ray timing properties of the hard state of GRS 1915$`+`$105 inevitably lead to contradictions with the observed energy spectrum. These observational results therefore provide impetus for developing more sophisticated models of the accretion flow and the compact jet in GRS 1915$`+`$105.

Radio astronomy at the Naval Research Laboratory is supported by the Office of Naval Research. The Green Bank Interferometer is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in support of the NASA High Energy Astrophysics programs. The NRAO VLA is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under Cooperative Agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. This work was also supported in part by NASA contract NAS 5-30612. Robert Hjellming passed away in July 2000, and his contributions to astrophysics will be sorely missed.


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# A note on dissipation in helical turbulence

## Abstract

In helical turbulence a linear cascade of helicity accompanying the energy cascade has been suggested. Since energy and helicity have different dimensionality we suggest the existence of a characteristic inner scale, $`\xi =k_H^1`$, for helicity dissipation in a regime of hydrodynamic fully developed turbulence and estimate it on dimensional grounds. This scale is always larger than the Kolmogorov scale, $`\eta =k_E^1`$, and their ratio $`\eta /\xi `$ vanishes in the high Reynolds number limit, so the flow will always be helicity free in the small scales.

In helical turbulence coexisting cascades of energy and helicity was envisaged by Brissaud et al. . Based on dimensional analysis it was conjectured that the helicity cascade is linear in the sense that the spectral helicity density follows the spectral energy density, $`H(k)E(k)k^{5/3}`$. This scenario was supported numerically by André and Lesieur in an EDQNM closure calculation  and by Borue and Orzag  in a direct numerical simulation. Following Brissaud et al. the existence of a linear helicity cascade is due to an equal distortion time leading to the non-linear transfer of energy and helicity. The distortion time at a scale $`k`$ is estimated as ,

$$\tau _k(_0^kp^2E(p)𝑑p)^{1/2}.$$
(1)
Here and in the following $``$ denotes ’equal within order unity constants’ . The non-linear transfers of energy and helicity are then,

$$\mathrm{\Pi }_E(k)kE(k)/\tau (k)$$
(2)
and

$$\mathrm{\Pi }_H(k)kH(k)/\tau (k).$$
(3)
From (1) and (2) the K41 result,

$$E(k)\overline{\epsilon }^{2/3}k^{5/3},$$
(4)
follows where $`\overline{\epsilon }`$ is the mean energy dissipation or mean non-linear energy transfer or mean energy input. Correspondingly, from (1) and (3) we obtain,

$$H(k)\overline{\delta }\overline{\epsilon }^{1/3}k^{5/3},$$
(5)
where $`\overline{\delta }`$ is the mean helicity input. The linear helicity cascade is derived under the assumption that helicity dissipation is negligible in the inertial range. The helicity density is $`h=u_i\omega _i`$/2, where $`\omega _i=ϵ_{ijk}_ju_k`$ is the vorticity. Conventionally the helicity is defined as $`2h`$, this is not important for the discussion presented here. An instructive way of representing this spectrally is to expand the velocity vector $`u_i(𝐤)`$ in a basis of ’helical modes’ . The helical modes $`𝐡_\pm `$ are the (complex) eigenvectors of the curl operator, $`i𝐤\times 𝐡_\pm =\pm k𝐡_\pm `$. Using incompressibility, $`𝐤𝐮(𝐤)=0`$, we have $`𝐮(𝐤)=u_+(𝐤)𝐡_++u_{}(𝐤)𝐡_{}`$ and the energy and helicity in the mode $`𝐮(𝐤)`$ are,

$$E(𝐤)=𝐮(𝐤)𝐮(𝐤)^{}/2=(|u_+(𝐤)|^2+|u_{}(𝐤)|^2)/2$$
(6)
and

$$H(𝐤)=𝐮(𝐤)\omega (𝐤)^{}/2=k(|u_+(𝐤)|^2|u_{}(𝐤)|^2)/2.$$
(7)
The spectral energy and helicity densities can then be separated into the densities of modes of positive and negative helicity $`E(k)=E_+(k)+E_{}(k)`$ and $`H(k)=H_+(k)+H_{}(k)=k(E_+(k)E_{}(k))`$. From this we have the rigorous constraint on the spectral helicity density,

$$|H(k)|kE(k).$$
(8)
A similar constraint can be derived regarding the mean inputs of energy $`\overline{\epsilon }`$ and helicity $`\overline{\delta }`$. Suppose the flow is forced with a forcing $`𝐟`$ at the pumping scale such that $`𝐟(𝐤)=0`$ for $`|𝐤|>K`$ where $`K`$ is a wavenumber larger than the pumping scale. Then it follows that $`|\overline{\delta }|K\overline{\epsilon }`$ , where $`K`$ is a wavenumber at the pumping scale. When the scaling relations (4) and (5) are applied to the densities of positive and negative helicities separately, there must be a detailed cancellation of the leading scaling, such that,

$$E_+(k)=(C/2)\overline{\epsilon }^{2/3}k^{5/3}+(C_H/2)\overline{\delta }\overline{\epsilon }^{1/3}k^{8/3}$$
(9)
and

$$E_{}(k)=(C/2)\overline{\epsilon }^{2/3}k^{5/3}(C_H/2)\overline{\delta }\overline{\epsilon }^{1/3}k^{8/3}$$
(10)
where $`C`$ and $`C_H`$ are some (non-universal) order unity Kolmogorov constants.

The energy dissipation is given as, $`D_E=\nu _0^{k_E}k^2E(k)𝑑k`$, and the upper limit of the integral which is the (inverse) Kolmogorov scale $`k_E`$ is as usual determined by $`\nu k_E^3E(k_E)\nu k_E^3(\overline{\epsilon }^{2/3}k_E^{5/3})\overline{\epsilon }k_E(\overline{\epsilon }/\nu ^3)^{1/4}`$. The dissipation is linear and can thus be split into dissipation of the positive and negative helicity parts of the spectrum separately. This implies that the dissipation of one sign of helicity $`(s=\pm )`$ is $`D_{H_s}\nu _0^{k_H}k^2H_s(k)𝑑k=\nu k_H^4E_s(k_H)`$. The helicity of sign $`s`$ is thus dissipated at a scale determined by,

$`D_{H_s}\nu k_H^4E_s(k_H)`$ (11)
$`\nu k_H^4(\overline{\epsilon }^{2/3}k_H^{5/3}+s\overline{\delta }\overline{\epsilon }^{1/3}k_H^{8/3})\overline{\delta }`$ (12)
and we arrive at an (inverse) inner scale $`k_H`$, different from the Kolmogorov scale $`k_E`$, for dissipation of helicity,

$$k_H[\overline{\delta }^3/(\nu ^3\overline{\epsilon }^2)]^{1/7}.$$
(13)
Note that this scale can not be obtained by pure dimensional counting in a manner similar to the Kolmogorov scale $`k_E\overline{\epsilon }^\alpha \nu ^\beta (\alpha ,\beta )=(1/4,3/4)`$. In the case of helical turbulence we can define an (integral) length scale $`L=(\overline{\epsilon }/\overline{\delta })`$ and thereby $`k_H\overline{\epsilon }^\alpha \nu ^\beta (k_H\overline{\epsilon }/\overline{\delta })^\gamma `$ from which $`\gamma `$ is undetermined by dimensional counting. For $`\gamma =0`$ the Kolmogorov scale is obtained and for $`\gamma =3/4`$ equation (13) is obtained.

It is easy to see that for any flow realization we must have $`k_Hk_E`$, so a pure helicity cascade is not possible. This result can also be obtained by estimating where the flow should be forced in order to dissipate the helicity at the Kolmogorov scale such that $`k_Hk_E`$. Pumping helicity into the flow at wave number $`\kappa `$ implies $`\overline{\delta }\kappa \overline{\epsilon }`$. We thus have,

$$k_Hk_E[\frac{(\kappa \overline{\epsilon })^3}{\nu ^3\overline{\epsilon }^2}]^{1/7}(\frac{\overline{\epsilon }}{\nu ^3})^{1/4}\kappa k_E.$$
(14)
This shows that the the flow must be forced at the Kolmogorov scale which is in conflict with the existence of an inertial range. A similar result was obtained by P. Olla  in a different way using an argument based on the EDQNM approximation.

Furthermore, we have $`k_H/k_E\nu ^{3/7+3/4}=\nu ^{9/28}0`$ for $`\nu 0`$. So again for high Reynolds number helical flow the small scales will always be non-helical. The inner scale for helicity dissipation plays a different role in helical turbulence than the Kolmogorov scale. The dissipation of one sign of helicity at a given wavenumber will grow with wavenumber as $`D_{H_s}(k)k^{7/3}`$, thus the dissipation of either sign of helicity will grow with wavenumber in the range $`k_H<k<k_E`$. This is only possible if there is a detailed balance between dissipation of positive and negative helicities in that range.

In conclusion, the scenario we propose for high Reynolds number helical turbulence is then the following. At the integral scale $`K`$ energy and helicity is forced into the flow. in the inertial range $`K<k<k_H`$ there is a coexisting cascade of energy and helicity where helicity follows a ’linear cascade’ with a $`H(k)k^{5/3}`$ spectrum. In the range $`k_H<k<k_E`$ the dissipation of helicity dominates with a detailed balance between dissipation of positive and negative helicities and the right-left symmetry of the flow is restored. The balanced positive and negative helicities are generated in analogy to the enstrophy being generated in high Reynolds number flow. The proposed scenario has been illustrated in a shell model of turbulence . However, since the considerations presented here are purely phenomenological they should be tested in experiments or numerical simulations.


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# Field-induced commensurate long-range order in the Haldane-gap system Ni(C5H14N2)2N3(ClO4).

## Introduction

One of the most exciting recent developments in experimental studies of one-dimensional (1D) magnets was the observation of a field-induced quantum phase transitions in two new quasi-1D $`S=1`$ antiferromagnets (AFs) Ni(C5H14N2)2N3(ClO4) (NDMAZ)  and Ni(C5H14N2)2N3(PF6) (NDMAP) . In the absence of an external magnetic field the ground state of such systems is a non-magnetic singlet. Long-range magnetic order is totally destroyed by quantum spin fluctuations even at $`T=0`$: spin correlations are short range, and decay exponentially on a length scale of a few lattice repeats . The main feature of the magnetic excitation spectrum is the so-called Haldane energy gap $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ . Such magnetically disordered systems may be described as a “quantum spin liquids”. The effect of magnetic field is to suppress zero-point fluctuations, and restore a gapless spectrum. The result is a quantum phase transition at a certain critical field $`H_c\mathrm{\Delta }/(g\mu _\mathrm{B})`$, to a Néel-like state with long-range staggered magnetic order, that may be characterized as a “spin solid” . The transition is driven by a complete softening of one member of the Haldane excitation triplet, subject to Zeeman splitting in an external field, and was shown to be equivalent to Bose condensation in one dimension . While the high-field transition was predicted theoretically a while ago, NDMAZ ($`\mathrm{\Delta }1.7`$ meV)  and NDMAP ($`\mathrm{\Delta }0.5`$ meV)  were the first systems where it was actually observed and investigated by means of magnetization, magnetic resonance, and specific heat measurements. For many “veteran” Haldane-gap materials, such as Y2BaNiO5 ($`\mathrm{\Delta }9`$ meV ), the critical field values are prohibitively high. In other well-studied compounds, such as Ni(C2H8N2)2NO2(ClO4) (NENP, $`\mathrm{\Delta }1`$ meV ), the transition does not occur at all, and is replaced by a broad crossover phenomenon, due to certain structural features .

A direct evidence of long-range AF order above $`H_c`$ can only be obtained in neutron diffraction experiments. Recently, such measurements were performed for NDMAP, and brought valuable insight in the nature of the transition and the high-field phase . It was found that long-range ordering can be either 3-dimensional or 2-dimensional, depending on the direction of applied field, but always commensurate with the underlying crystal lattice. This study was enabled by the rather small value of the gap energy and hence the critical field ($`H_c5`$ T) in this material. Performing a similar neutron diffraction investigation of NDMAZ is crucial to establish the universal nature of the observed behavior, but is, unfortunately, much more challenging from the technical point of view. In NDMAZ the Haldane excitation triplet is split by single-ion anisotropy: $`\mathrm{\Delta }_x=1.61`$ meV, $`\mathrm{\Delta }_y=1.76`$ meV and $`\mathrm{\Delta }_z=2.8`$ meV for excitations polarized along the $`a`$, $`b`$ and $`c`$ crystallographic axes, respectively . The spin chains in NDMAZ are parallel to the $`c`$ axis. In the presence of anisotropy the critical field depends on sample orientation and is given by $`H_c^\alpha =\sqrt{\mathrm{\Delta }_\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_\gamma }/g\mu _\mathrm{B}`$. The expected values are $`H_c^{}18`$ T for $`𝑯𝒄`$ and $`H_c^z12`$ T for $`𝑯𝒄`$. Even the lower critical field, for $`𝑯c`$, is not easy (though possible) to achieve in a neutron scattering experiment: for low-temperature studies the current limit is about 14.5 T. Sadly, an experimental geometry with $`𝑯c`$ can not be realized. The softening of the Haldane-gap excitation occurs at the 1D AF zone-center, i.e., at a momentum transfer $`q_{}=\pi /c`$ along the chain axis. It is at this position that magnetic Bragg reflections, characteristic of the ordered high-field phase, are expected to appear. However, the scattering plane accessible when using a split-coil cryomagnet is perpendicular to the field direction. To enable a $`\pi /c`$ transfer along the chains the sample must thus be mounted with the $`c`$ axis as closely in the horizontal plane as possible, which pushed the critical field up, towards its maximum value of 18 T. In the present paper we report the first neutron scattering observation of field-induced long-range ordering in NDMAZ that was achieved by using the most powerful split-coil magnet available, and by mounting the sample with the chain axis at a small angle relative to the field direction to minimize $`H_c`$, yet sufficiently tilted to enable momentum transfers of $`\pi /c`$ along the chains.

## Experimental procedures

The crystal structure of NDMAZ (Figure 1) is monoclinic, space group $`C2`$, with lattice constants $`a=18.898`$ Å, $`b=8.171`$ Å, $`c=6.111`$ Å and $`\beta =98.27^{}`$ . The magnetism is due to $`S=1`$ Ni2+ ions that are bridged by azido groups and form distinct chains propagating along the $`c`$ crystallographic axis. Unlike in NDMAP, where the Ni-sites form a body-centered lattice , in NDMAZ the arrangement of spin carriers is $`c`$-face centered. In the present study we used a 0.5 g fully deuterated sample that was found to contain two single-crystal twins of roughly equal volume, sharing the $`b`$ and $`c`$ axes. The mosaic spread of each of the two crystallites was found to be $`0.4^{}`$.

The measurements were carried out at the E4 2-axis diffractometer installed at the Hahn-Meitner-Institute, Germany, using a neutron beam of wavelength $`\lambda =2.44`$ Å. The sample was mounted in a 14.5 T split-coil cryomagnet with the $`[013]`$ real-space axis vertical, i.e., parallel to the field direction. The angle between the direction of magnetic field and the chain axis was $`\varphi =24^{}`$. All measurements were carried out at $`T=70`$ mK, achieved by using a 3He-4He dilution refrigerator magnet insert. Nuclear Bragg reflections originating from the two members of the twinned crystal could be easily identified except along the $`(h,0,0)`$ reciprocal-space direction where they exactly overlap.

## Results

At $`T=70`$ mK, in magnetic fields exceeding $`H_c13.4`$ T new Bragg reflections were detected in both crystallites at $`(h,\frac{2n+1}{2},\frac{2m+1}{2})`$ ($`h`$, $`m`$, $`n`$-integer) reciprocal space positions. Figure 2 shows scans across the $`(0,1.5,0.5)`$ reciprocal-space point taken above and below the critical field. The shaded areas represent experimental resolution, as measured on the $`(4,0,0)`$ nuclear Bragg reflection, that corresponds to almost the same momentum transfer as $`(0,1.5,0.5)`$. Gaussian fits to the data show that the observed width of the magnetic peaks is resolution-limited in both directions. The measured field dependence of the $`(0,1.5,0.5)`$ peak intensity is shown in Fig. 3. The solid line represents a power-law fit to the data, that gives an estimate for the critical field $`H_c=13.4(1)`$ T and the order-parameter critical index $`\beta =0.21(2)`$.

All together, 5 inequivalent magnetic reflections were observed in the high-field phase on the $`(h,1.5,0.5)`$ reciprocal-space rod. For NDMAP it was previously possible to measure the absolute values of magnetic Bragg intensities and deduce the spin structure in the high-field phase, through a callibration against measured nuclear peak intensities . For technical reasons such analysis was impossible in the present experiment. The sample was aligned at room temperature outside the cryostat. Even if this alignment was perfect, an additional misalignment of the order 1–2 degrees was unavoidable when inserting the sample into the well of the cryomagnet and cooling to base temperature. As a result, the $`(0,1,3)`$ reciprocal-space plane of the sample was slightly misaligned with the horizontal scattering plane. The 14.5 T magnet (unlike the 9 T magnet used for NDMAP) could not be tilted to compensate for this effect. Under these circumstances the absolute intensities of Bragg reflections measured in rocking curves are unreliable, since some of the peaks can, in fact, be outside the scattering plane, and are only picked up by the non-zero vertical angular acceptance of the detector.

## Discussion

Despite the obvious limitations imposed on the measurements by technical aspects of the experiment, the results presented above contain important information pertaining to the nature of the high-field phase in NDMAZ. The principal result of this work is that the magnetic Bragg reflections, characteristic of the high-field state, are detected at strictly commensurate positions. Similar behavior was previously seen in NDMAP . Theoretical studies of isolated Haldane spin chains in applied field suggested a potential for incommensurate ordering . In particular, the longitudinal part of the real-space correlation function for a single chain at $`H>H_c`$ contains a $`\mathrm{cos}`$-term with a built-in periodicity that depends on $`(HH_c)`$ (Eq. 2.8 in Ref. ). This incommensurability is in many ways similar to that in $`S=1/2`$-systems in applied fields , and can be understood from a fermion mapping of the Heisenberg Hamiltonian . The reason why incommensurate ordering does not actually occur lies in the power-law prefactor to the $`\mathrm{cos}`$-term: it decays rapidly with distance, and the Fourier transform of the spin correlation function does not contain any singularities or even local maxima at incommensurate wave vectors .

In NDMAP, depending of field direction, the high-field phase was found to be ordered in either 2 or 3 dimensions . For NDMAZ, at least in the geometry of the present experiment, it appears that above $`H_c`$ the system is in true 3D AF ordered state. The observed Bragg reflections are resolution-limited along the $`(1,0,0)`$ and $`(0,3,1)`$ directions. While it is conceivable that the peaks can be broadened or even rod-like along the $`[0,1,3]`$ direction, such a coincidence seems unlikely. Moreover, there are intrinsic physical reasons for NDMAZ to prefer a 3D ordered state at high fields. In NDMAP the signature of 2D ordering are Bragg rods along the $`(1,0,0)`$ direction that represent the absence of static spin correlations along the $`a`$ axis, while 2D ordering occurs within the $`(b,c)`$ planes . This, in turn, is a consequence of extremely weak magnetic interactions along the 18Å crystallographic $`a`$ axis, and substantial inter-chain coupling within each $`(b,c)`$ plane . The coupling between $`(b,c)`$ planes in NDMAP is also highly frustrated, due to the body-centered structure. In NDMAZ the structure within each plane is quite similar to that in NDMAP, and similar inter-chain interaction strengths along the $`b`$ axis can be expected. The crucial difference between the two structures lies in the interactions between Ni2+ sites from adjacent planes. Indeed, the monoclinic distortion in NDMAZ partially lifts the geometric frustration of the face-centered arrangement of the Ni-ions. In addition, the distance between nearest-neighbor Ni-Ni sites from adjacent planes in NDMAZ is smaller than in that NDMAP, which favors more potent inter-plane interactions. Future high-resolution inelastic neutron scattering studies will be required to fully resolve the issue of inter-chain coupling in the NDMAZ material.

The measured value $`H_c=13.4`$ T for $`𝑯[013]`$ in NDMAZ is in reasonable agreement with the previously measured Haldane gap energies . Indeed, for the axially symmetric case, with a magnetic field applied at an angle $`\varphi `$ to the anisotropy axis, $`\mu _BH_c=\mathrm{\Delta }_z\mathrm{\Delta }_{}/\sqrt{g_z^2\mathrm{\Delta }_z^2\mathrm{cos}^2\varphi +g_{}^2\mathrm{\Delta }_z\mathrm{\Delta }_{}\mathrm{sin}^2\varphi }`$ . In this formula $`g_z=2.11`$ and $`g_{}=2.21`$ are components of the Ni2+ gyromagnetic tensor along and perpendicular to the anisotropy axis, respectively . For the geometry realized in the present experiment $`\varphi =24^{}`$ and the formula gives $`H_c=13.8`$ T. Note that inter-chain interactions always reduce the gap energy at the 3D AF zone-center, which should lead to smaller actual critical field values than given by the above equation.

The observed value of the critical index $`\beta =0.21`$ for NDMAZ is similar to that found in NDMAP and is also consistent with theoretical expectations. For a field applied at an angle to the anisotropy axis, the direction of ordered moment in the high-field phase is predetermined. On the one hand, it is the Haldane gap excitation polarized transverse to the applied field that softens at $`H_c`$ and the resulting ordered moment must also be normal to $`𝑯`$, i. e., be confined to the $`(0,1,3)`$ plane. On the other hand, it can be expected to lie in the magnetic easy plane $`(0,0,1)`$. The moment is thus necessarily aligned along the $`a`$ axis, and we are dealing with an Ising-type transition. In fact, for an isolated chain, the transition at $`H_c`$ is expected to fall in the 1+1-dimensional Ising universality class, with $`H`$ taking the role of temperature  and $`\beta =0.125`$. For NDMAZ however, inter-chain interactions along the $`b`$ axis can be considered substantial, and 3D Ising behavior, with $`\beta 0.31`$, may be expected. The measured critical exponent falls in between these two values and may be a signature of a dimensional crossover regime.

## Conclusion

NDMAZ is the second Haldane-gap system where field-induced commensurate antiferromagnetic ordering is observed by means of neutron diffraction. The similarity of the behaviour observed in NDMAZ and NDMAP suggests that it represents a generic trend for weakly coupled $`S=1`$ quantum spin chains.

###### Acknowledgements.

We would like to thank S. M. Shapiro (BNL) for insightful discussions, and P. Smeibidl and S. Kausche (HMI) for technical assistance. Work at Brookhaven National Laboratory was carried out under Contract No. DE-AC02-98CH10886, Division of Material Science, U.S. Department of Energy. Work at RIKEN was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology