text:
# Critical Localization and Strange Nonchaotic Dynamics: The Fibonacci Chain

## I INTRODUCTION

The phenomenon of localization, first discussed in the context of disordered systems by Anderson , has been of great interest in condensed matter physics for several decades. The Anderson model  is the tight–binding Hamiltonian

$$H=\underset{i}{}W_ic_i^{}c_i+\underset{i,j}{}I_{ij}c_i^{}c_j,$$
(1)
where $`c_i^{}`$ is the creation operator at the lattice site indexed by $`i`$, and $`W_i`$ and $`I_{ij}`$ are on–site and hopping matrix elements. In the original model, $`I_{ij}=I`$ for $`i,j`$ nearest neighbours and zero otherwise, and $`W_i`$ is chosen randomly in the interval \[$`W/2,W/2`$\]. $`I`$ and $`W`$ can be combined into a dimensionless ratio which is a measure of the disorder. For $`\frac{W}{I}>[\frac{W}{I}]_c`$, a critical value, all the states are exponentially localized. Below the critical value, there is a mobility edge and states can be extended. For ordered systems, such as the analogous system with a periodic potential, states are extended and the energy spectrum is a band .

There are systems that lie between these extremes, for instance crystals with additional periodic modulation which is incommensurate with the period of the underlying lattice . The lack of strict translational order has an effect similar to disorder, and thus it is of interest to know the nature of the states in such systems. In this paper we study the spectrum of a 1–d chain, the potential at each site being determined by a quasiperiodic sequence deriving from the Fibonacci numbers .

The paradigm for studies of quasiperiodic Schrödinger problems has been the Harper equation

$$\psi _{n+1}+\psi _{n1}+V_n\psi _n=E\psi _n,$$
(2)
which is the discrete Schrödinger equation for a particle in the quasiperiodic potential $`V_n=2ϵ\mathrm{cos}2\pi (n\omega +\varphi _0)`$, with $`\omega `$ being irrational. This is a tight–binding model describing the motion of a electron in two dimensional lattice in the presence of a magnetic field, but is also known to arise in numerous other contexts. As a result, it has been extensively studied both in the physics  as well as in the mathematics  literature (as the “almost–Mathieu” equation). Since the results that are known for this system have considerable bearing on the present work, we first briefly review the salient features of the Harper system.

Transfer matrices provide a powerful methodology for the calculation of the band spectrum  in matrix form, the discrete Schrödinger equation, Eq.(2) can be written as

$$\left(\begin{array}{c}\psi _{n+1}\\ \psi _n\end{array}\right)=T_n\left(\begin{array}{c}\psi _n\\ \psi _{n+1}\end{array}\right)$$
(3)
where the transfer matrix $`T_n`$ is given by

$$T_n=\left(\begin{array}{cccc}EV_n& 1\hfill & & \\ 1& 0\hfill & & \end{array}\right)$$
(4)
For 1–d chains, the state vector at the final site is obtained from the starting value by matrix multiplication,

$$\left(\begin{array}{cccc}\psi _{N+1}& & & \\ \psi _N& & & \end{array}\right)=T\left(\begin{array}{cccc}\psi _1& & & \\ \psi _0& & & \end{array}\right)$$
(5)
with $`T=T_NT_{N1}T_{N2}\mathrm{}T_1`$. The eigenvalues of $`T_n`$ can be calculated by the Cayley-Hamilton theorem as

$$\lambda =\frac{EV_n\pm \sqrt{(EV_n)^24}}{2}.$$
(6)
From this equation it is evident that $`\lambda `$ can be complex if $`EV_n<`$ 2: this corresponds to extended states. If $`EV_n>`$ 2, then $`\lambda `$ is real, corresponding to localized states. There is a metal-insulator transition at the so–called mobility edge $`EV_n=`$2.

In order to determine the actual nature of the spectrum for irrational $`\omega `$, a barrage of mathematical techniques have been applied to the study of the Harper equation . One of the main results has been the discovery of duality by André and Aubry . Since the Harper potential contains no harmonics, there can be a solution to Eq. (2) such that

$$\psi _n=\mathrm{exp}\{ikn\}\underset{m=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}f_m\mathrm{exp}\{im(2\pi \omega n+\varphi _0)\}$$
(7)
where the Fourier coefficients $`f_m`$ are given by

$$f_m=\mathrm{exp}\{ikm\}\underset{m=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\psi _n\mathrm{exp}\{in(2\pi \omega m+\varphi _0)\}.$$
(8)
Substituting the value of $`\psi _n`$ in the above equation yields

$$f_{m+1}+f_{m1}+\frac{2}{ϵ}\mathrm{cos}(2\pi \omega m+k)f_m=\frac{1}{ϵ}Ef_m,$$
(9)
which, written as

$$f_{m+1}+f_{m1}+2\stackrel{~}{ϵ}\mathrm{cos}(2\pi \omega m+k)f_m=\stackrel{~}{E}f_m$$
(10)
is similar in form to Eq. (2), with $`\stackrel{~}{ϵ}1/ϵ`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{E}E/ϵ`$. The equations are identical when

$$ϵ=1,\varphi _0=k$$

with $`\psi f.`$ Now if $`f_m`$ is localized then the sum $`_{m=\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}f_m^2`$ is finite, and therefore the function

$$f(x)=\mathrm{exp}\{ikx\}\underset{m=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}f_m\mathrm{exp}\{im2\pi \omega x\}$$
(11)
converges. Thus $`f(x)`$ behaves like a Bloch function and represents an extended state. For $`x=n+\frac{\varphi _0}{2\pi \omega }`$, $`f(x)=\mathrm{exp}\{ik\frac{\varphi _0}{2\pi \omega }\}\psi _n`$. Hence if $`\psi _n`$ is extended then $`_n\psi _n^2`$ diverges. Therefore, if $`\psi _n`$ is extended then $`f_n`$ is localized.

The duality of the model is this correspondence which maps the region $`ϵ>`$ 1 to the region $`ϵ<`$ 1, with the point $`ϵ=1`$ being “self dual”. Thus states for this value of $`ϵ`$ are neither extended nor localized: they are critical.

This criticality has two manifestations. The spectrum of the Harper equation at $`ϵ=`$ 1 is singular continuous: the eigenvalues form a Cantor set. The wave–functions for these critical states are power–law localized. As a function of $`\omega `$, the spectrum of the Harper equation, which was first studied in some detail by Hofstadter  has a remarkable shape. For every rational value, it consists of a finite number of bands, while for irrational values of $`\omega `$ it consists of an apparently fractal set of points, giving what is termed the Hofstadter butterfly.

A number of other quasiperiodic potentials  have since been shown to support critical states. One widely studied system is the Kohmoto model, defined at lattice site $`n`$ through the rule

$`V_n`$ $`=`$ $`\alpha 0\{n\omega \}\omega `$ (12)
$`=`$ $`\alpha \omega <\{n\omega \}1,`$ (13)
(the notation is $`\{y\}y`$ mod 1,) which is quasiperiodic if $`\omega `$ is an irrational number. For the case of $`\omega =\gamma =(\sqrt{5}1)/2`$, the golden mean ratio, one obtains the so–called Fibonacci chain.

This latter potential is the subject of the present paper. Our approach is based on the equivalence between the discrete Schrödinger equation and a derived iterative mapping for the amplitude ratio of the wave function at neighbouring sites. This equivalence was first noted by Bondeson $`etal.`$  who showed that the Schrödinger equation with a quasiperiodic potential could be transformed into a dynamical system with quasiperiodic forcing. Ketoja and Satija  extended this analysis to the Harper equation, Eq. (2), obtaining the entirely equivalent Harper map,

$`x_{k+1}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{x_kE+2ϵ\mathrm{cos}2\pi \varphi _k}}`$ (14)
$`\varphi _{k+1}`$ $`=`$ $`\{\varphi _k+\omega \},`$ (15)
using the transformation $`\psi _{i1}/\psi _ix_i`$. This is a skew–product driven iterative mapping of the infinite strip $`(\mathrm{},\mathrm{})[0,1]`$ to itself. If the frequency $`\omega `$ is an irrational number, the driving is quasiperiodic in time. For the Kohmoto model, the analogous corresponding map is

$$x_{k+1}=\frac{1}{x_kE+V_k}$$
(16)
with $`V_k`$ given by Eq. (13). In either case, the quantum problem is meaningful only when $`E`$ is an eigenvalue, but in the above map, $`E`$ appears only as a parameter. Such driven maps, which were first introduced by Grebogi $`etal.`$ , have been studied extensively in the context of strange nonchaotic dynamics . In quasiperiodically driven dissipative systems, the dynamics can (for appropriate parameter values) be on fractal sets which concurrently have non-positive Lyapunov exponents: such motion is on strange nonchaotic attractors (SNAs).

As has now been demonstrated in several studies, localized states correspond to SNAs . The transition from extended to localized states as a function of potential strength can be viewed as a transition to SNAs. Critical states have a special significance: these are SNAs on which all Lyapunov exponents are zero. In this paper we use this fact to study the states of the Fibonacci chain for which it is known explicitly that all states are critical, by determining the eigenvalue spectrum of the system through the condition that the Lyapunov exponent for the specified value of $`E`$ be zero. This provides a simpler alternative than the transfer matrix techniques, and in addition, gives a characterization of the states of the system which is not accessible to purely quantum mechanical methods .

In the following section we briefly review the relevant features of SNAs and the methods used to study them. Section III contains the main results of this work for the Fibonacci chain. Section IV contains a discussion of related potentials deriving from abstract aperiodic sequences, followed by a brief summary.

## II Strange Nonchaotic attractors

Strange nonchaotic attractors are frequently found in nonlinear systems where the forcing is quasiperiodic . There are similarities between SNAs and both periodic as well as chaotic attractors. Like the former, they are characterized by zero or nonpositive Lyapunov exponents, and like the latter, they have a fractal structure . Owing to fractal structure of SNAs, the dynamics is strictly aperiodic. Numerous examples are known now of systems with SNAs. These include, in addition to discrete quasiperiodically forced maps, a number of continuous dynamical systems such as driven pendulums and oscillators .

In the mapping first discussed by Grebogi, Ott, Pelikan and Yorke

$`x_{i+1}`$ $`=`$ $`2\alpha \mathrm{cos}2\pi \theta _i\mathrm{tanh}x_i`$ (17)
$`\theta _{i+1}`$ $`=`$ $`\{\omega +\theta _i\}.`$ (18)
the reasoning that establishes the existence of strange nonchaotic motion is as follows. For $`\omega `$ an irrational number, there are no periodic orbits in this system. The mapping $`x2\alpha \mathrm{tanh}x`$ is 1–1 and contracting, taking the real line into the interval $`[2\alpha ,2\alpha ]`$. The dynamics in $`\theta `$ is ergodic in the unit interval and therefore the attractor of the dynamical system must be contained in the strip $`[2\alpha ,2\alpha ][0,1]`$. This region contains an invariant subspace, namely the line $`x=0`$. A point $`x_n`$ with the corresponding $`\varphi _n=`$ 1/4 will map to ($`x_{n+1}=0,\theta _{n+1}=\omega +1/4`$), and hence the subsequent iterates will all remain in this invariant subspace. At the same time, the line $`x=0`$ can be made unstable by increasing $`\alpha `$: the transverse Lyapunov exponent is $`\lambda =\mathrm{ln}|\alpha |`$. Therefore, for $`|\alpha |>1`$ the transverse Lyapunov exponent is positive and the line $`x=0`$ is no longer attracting. The total Lyapunov exponent can, however, become negative for sufficiently large $`\alpha `$ so there is an attractor which lies in the region $`x=\pm 2\alpha `$, with a dense set of points on the line $`x=0`$, as well as points off this line. The above arguments can be put on firm mathematical footing to show that the attractor is both strange and nonchaotic  for $`\alpha >1`$. For the Harper map, similar arguments  can be advanced to suggest that for large coupling the dynamics is on SNAs.

In systems such as the quasiperiodically driven circle map  or the logistic map ,

$`x_{n+1}`$ $`=`$ $`\alpha [1+ϵ\mathrm{cos}2\pi \theta _n]x_n(1x_n)`$ (19)
$`\theta _{n+1}`$ $`=`$ $`\{\theta _n+\omega \},`$ (20)
SNAs are frequently observed in the neighborhood of the transition to chaos , so it is important to determine the scenarios through which they can be formed, as well as the different methods used for their characterization. To date there are several routes known for the creation of SNAs; these have been reviewed recently . SNAs can be characterized by calculating the Lyapunov exponents, fractal dimensions, as well as correlation functions and related quantities .

For map of Harper type, namely of the form Eq. (14-15) or Eq. (16), the nontrivial Lyapunov exponent can be easily computed as

$$\lambda =\underset{N\mathrm{}}{lim}\underset{j=0}{\overset{N1}{}}\mathrm{ln}x_{i+1}^2$$
(21)
while the other Lyapunov exponent is trivially zero. Note that since the dynamics is invertible, there can be no chaos in this system.

## III The Fibonacci Chain

The Fibonacci chain is the simplest example of a quasicrystal in one-dimension, and can be thought of as a two-component lattice. Using the two symbols $`a`$ and $`b`$, with initial sequences $`S_0=b,S_1=a`$, the recursive substitution $`aab,ba`$ gives

$$S_{l+1}=\{S_lS_{l1}\}$$
(22)
with $`\{\}`$ representing concatenation. It is clear that the sequence $`S_k`$ has $`F_k`$ elements, where $`F_k`$ is a Fibonacci number specified by $`F_{k+1}=F_k+F_{k1}`$, $`F_0=1,F_1=1`$. Labeling sites of a lattice of length $`F_k`$ by the element of a sequence $`S_k`$, and specifying the site potential $`V_l=\alpha `$ if the symbol is $`a`$, $`V_l=\alpha `$ if the symbol is $`b`$ gives the Fibonacci chain of length $`F_k`$. We are interested in the eigenvalue spectrum of this chain in the limit $`k\mathrm{}`$.

The Fibonacci chain is the particular case of $`\omega =\gamma (\sqrt{5}1)/2`$, in the more general Kohmoto model, Eq. (13). For the Fibonacci chain, and more generally for any irrational $`\omega `$ in the Kohmoto model, it is known that all states are critical for any $`\alpha `$ . We can therefore use the alternate ‘quantization condition’, $`\{E:\lambda (E,\omega ,\alpha )=0\}`$ to obtain the eigenvalue spectrum of the Kohmoto model, as shown in Fig. 1 for the value $`\alpha =1`$. The Cantor set structure which is also evident in the spectrum for all irrational $`\omega `$ is more clearly seen in the dependence of $`\lambda `$ on $`E`$ at fixed $`\omega ,\alpha ,`$ as in Fig. 2. The curve $`\lambda (E)`$ meets the line $`\lambda =0`$ on a Cantor set of points, namely the spectrum, and in the spectral gaps, the curve is parabolic in shape.

The gaps of the spectrum can be studied for any irrational $`\omega `$; we consider here the case of the golden mean since this case has been considered in detail earlier. The behavior of gap widths as a function of $`\alpha `$ has been of interest, not just in the Kohmoto model, but in the Harper equation  and other related models potentials derived from aperiodic sequence as well .

Note that since the Lyapunov exponent is strictly nonpositive in this system, the dynamics is entirely on attractors (strange as well as non–strange). Following Johnson and Moser  it is possible to define a winding number as a function of $`E`$ as

$$\mathrm{\Omega }(E)=\underset{N\mathrm{}}{lim}\frac{1}{2N}W(x_1,\mathrm{},x_N)$$
(23)
where $`W(x_1,\mathrm{},x_N)`$ is an indicator function that counts the number of changes of sign in the orbit $`x_1,\mathrm{},x_N`$. Since the variable $`x_k`$ is the ratio of the wavefunction at neighbouring sites, $`\mathrm{\Omega }(E)`$ essentially counts the number of nodes in the wavefunction per unit length, and is therefore the normalized integrated density of states. The winding number is shown as a function of $`E`$ for $`\alpha =1`$ in the Fibonacci chain in Fig. 3; within a spectral gap, the winding number which remains constant, can be expressed as $`p+q\gamma `$, with $`p,q`$ integers . This provides a labeling of the gaps which are indicated for a few of the larger gaps in Fig. 3.

For fixed $`\omega `$, the ordering of the individual eigenstates do not change with the potential strength $`\alpha `$. However gap widths $`w`$ vary with $`\alpha `$ in a complicated manner. The width of the largest gap, namely the one marked $`A`$ in Fig. 2, scales linearly: $`w_A\alpha `$. Those marked $`B`$ and $`C`$ asymptote to constant width, $`w_B,w_C\alpha ^0`$, while all other gaps decrease in width, but as power, $`w\alpha ^\mu `$, the exponent $`\mu `$ depending on the particular gap. The dependence of width on $`\alpha `$ is shown for gaps $`AD`$ in Fig. 4. In the case of Harper equation it has been shown  that each gap can be indexed by distinct topological integer index, which determines the scaling of the widths. Scaling results are also available for the Thue–Morse and period–doubling potentials . In the present case it has not been possible to deduce any simple number–theoretic dependence of the gap exponents as in the Harper case, though clearly, here too the gaps never close since the spectrum is always singular continuous.

The depths characterising the gaps, namely the minimum value that the LE takes inside a gap also vary with $`\alpha `$ in a similar fashion, increasing for $`A`$, asymptoting to constant for $`B`$ and $`C`$, and decreasing as a power for all other gaps.

## IV Summary and Discussion

The equivalence between critical SNAs and critically localized states provides a new means of determining the spectrum of discrete quasiperiodic systems. We have, in previous studies , extensively applied this technique to the study of the Harper equation, and here we make application to the case of the Kohmoto model, specifically the case of the Fibonacci chain, where the potential takes values $`\pm \alpha `$ in a quasiperiodic manner as described in Section III.

Similar dichotomous potentials which have been studied in the context of critical localization are the Thue-Morse, period-doubling and Rudin-Shapiro sequences . The methods employed here, namely the derivation of an iterative mapping equivalent to the discrete Schrödinger equation and the identification of critically localized states with critical SNAs can be applied to this entire class of problems.

The present method makes it possible to empirically study the eigenvalue spectrum of such systems in considerable detail. As in related quasiperiodic problems , the scaling of the gap widths with potential strength $`\alpha `$ depends on the particular gap being considered. For the Fibonacci chain the scaling is $`w\alpha ^\mu `$, with the exponent $`\mu =1`$ for the largest gap, $`\mu =0`$ for the next two, and $`\mu 1`$ for the remaining gaps. The organization of the gaps, which can be uniquely labeled by two integers, remains incompletely understood, but it is likely that, as in the Harper problem , the exponent governing the power–law decay of gap widths will be related to the gap labels. These aspects, and the application of the present technique to more general aperiodic sequences is the subject of ongoing work .

## Acknowledgment

This work is supported by a grant from the Department of Science and Technology.

Figure Captions


format: text

text:
# Particle Annihilation in Cold Dark Matter Micropancakes

## I  Annihilating Cold Dark Matter

Many candidates for particle dark matter separate out of the early expansion symmetrically, with equal numbers of particles and antiparticles that slowly annihilate at late times. For some of the most plausible weakly interacting massive particle (“WIMP” ) candidates, such as neutralinos, these annihilations produce GeV to TeV photons and other observable energetic species at a rate which is potentially observable and can be used to constrain the particle parameters . Annihilations may be a source of high energy photons already seen in EGRET data, including diffuse emission (e.g. Ref. ), as well as emission from the center of the Galaxy  and unresolved “discrete sources” . Gamma ray backgrounds will be studied with better sensitivity and resolution with future experiments such as GLAST  and VERITAS .

The physics of the annihilation is straightforward to calculate within the framework of any given particle candidate , but because the annihilation rate is proportional to the square of the particle density $`n`$, the calculated rate of annihilations and their spatial distribution depend on astrophysically complex features of the detailed small-scale spatial distribution of the dark matter particles. The best calculations use high-resolution N-body simulations to compute the dark matter distribution including clumpy relic substructure within halos and high density central cusps, both of which are important to the annihilation rate and the expected appearance of the radiation on the sky. This paper suggests that even smaller predicted structures, sheetlike caustics or “micropancakes”, which are not included in even the best N-body calculations, significantly increase the total annihilation rate and change the predicted fine-scale spatial distribution of emission.

## II Micropancakes of Cold Dark Matter

CDM particles are created in the early universe as a smooth Hubble flow ($`\stackrel{}{v}=H\stackrel{}{r}`$) with small random velocities, and therefore occupy a sheet in phase space that is thin in three of the six phase space dimensions. Liouville’s theorem guarantees that during subsequent collisionless evolution, the fine grained distribution always remains one continuous unbroken thin sheet, although it wraps up in a complicated pattern once nonlinear structures form. In the emptiest parts of intergalactic space today, the sheet still passes through each point in space only once; in collapsed systems, it passes many times, so that the velocity distribution at any point in a CDM halo better approximates a discrete rather than a continuous function .

The wrapping of the phase space sheet (see figures 1 and 2) creates singularities in the mapping from phase space onto configuration space . The most generic are the two-dimensional sheetlike “fold catastrophes”, although there are also higher order catastrophes at their intersections. We will call these two-dimensional caustics “micropancakes” (in contrast to the much larger Zeldovich pancakes or “blini which form in hot-dark-matter cosmologies). They occur at the surfaces in space where the number of phase sheets changes.

The density $`n`$ of particles near a micropancake follows the universal profile of a fold catastrophe; it formally diverges on one side according to the universal scaling $`n\delta \mathrm{}^{1/2}`$ where $`\delta \mathrm{}`$ is the normal distance to the micropancake, and drops discontinuously on the other side as the number of projected sheets drops by two. The physical width of the density discontinuity is limited only by the fine-grained width of the phase sheet— which is in turn fixed by the primordial particle velocity dispersion of the dark matter.

Physically, micropancakes form at the turning points of the particle flow in the frame moving locally with the particles. They appear in exactly symmetric (spherical, cylindrical or planar) solutions of halos and voids (e. g. ), but micropancakes are not an artifact of any symmetry; they are a robust and generic prediction of the CDM scenario. An isolated spherically symmetric halo forms new micropancakes like tree rings, one per “year” (or gravitational crossing time); for typical CDM halos with a rich substructure, the older substructures themselves also contain a highly wrapped structure with hundreds of folds.

Although freshly formed micropancakes are associated with the sheets and filaments defining the “cosmic web”, they are not the same thing; the micropancakes are pathological sites involving only a vanishing portion of the matter at very high density at any given time, whereas the cosmic web structures define the organization of a large fraction of the material. A fairly accurate visual metaphor is the pattern of sunlight in a swimming pool: most of the light is cast into a weblike pattern, but only a small fraction into bright caustic lines.

Indeed, the main reason why this rich structure has received rather little attention in the literature is that it has few observable effects on astrophysical phenomenology. The micropancakes contain only a small amount of mass at high density, and have relatively little effect on the smooth gravitational potential or on the dynamics of observable stars and gas  (but see ). For the same reason, they do not appear in N-body simulations. However, the preservation of the coherent cold phase space streams which necessarily give rise to the micropancakes at their turning points has been demonstrated in simulations (for example, by constructing Poincarè projections showing distribution of particles in isolated islands in phase space ), so we know that micropancakes are indeed predicted by the physical CDM model. In principle, a detailed study of these could be used to estimate many properties of the micropancakes more accurately than the rough estimates presented here.

In spite of their negligible overall dynamical effects, there are a few phenomena where the pathological properties of micropancakes may be observable. These phenomena are of particular interest as a probe of the nature of the dark matter, since the finite width of the caustics preserves information about the primordial fine-grained phase density.

## III Micropancakes in Halos

Many real astrophysical systems display something like phase-wrapping folds, but particle CDM (and in particular WIMP) micropancakes are unusually good approximations to ideal catastrophes over an exceptionally large dynamic range. Because the particles form with a very high microscopic phase density, their caustics create a local physical density enhancement of many orders of magnitude over the halo mean.

Suppose a candidate of mass $`m_X1`$GeV separates from the thermal cosmological plasma at a temperature of $`T_{sep}`$0.1 GeV (typical for Lee-Weinberg weakly interacting dark matter). The fine-grained primordial phase space density $`Q_P\rho \sigma _X^3`$ is determined by the physics of the dark matter: the momentum distribution of the dark matter particles is fixed at $`T_{sep}`$. Normalized to the present density of dark matter $`\rho _00.3\rho _{crit}`$,

$$Q_P10^{36}\frac{\rho _0}{c^3}\left(\frac{m_X}{\mathrm{GeV}}\right)^{3/2}\left(\frac{T_{sep}}{0.1\mathrm{GeV}}\right)^{3/2}.$$
(1)
This phase density is conserved during adiabatic expansion, so the velocity dispersion $`\sigma _X`$ at a redshift $`z`$, in units with $`c=1`$, is about

$$\sigma _X(z)10^{11.5}(m_X/\mathrm{GeV})^{1/2}(T_{sep}/0.1\mathrm{GeV})^{1/2}[(1+z)/3]$$
(2)
in the absence of any clustering. For collisionless particles, the fine-grained density of the phase sheet retains the primordial value $`Q_P`$ even after nonlinear collapse . For standard WIMPs, the collisionless approximation is very good; gravitational two-body scattering is negligible, and other processes such as annihilation and scattering involve weak interactions that are negligible after $`T_{sep}`$.

The evolution of the phase sheet in the nonlinear CDM hierarchy is very complex; for this discussion, we only estimate the properties in smooth halos characterized by a single density $`\rho _{halo}`$ and velocity dispersion $`\sigma _{halo}`$. We assume that there are few hard scattering centers, so that the main mixing of the phase sheet is coarse-grained violent relaxation in halos on each scale of the hierarchy. There is then only one length scale $`\mathrm{}_{halo}`$ in each halo and most of the orbits retain much of their coherence (as seen in both simulations and in observations of Galactic stellar moving groups.) We assume that the large dimensions of the folds is mostly comparable with the scale of the halo. The number of folds $`N`$ grows only linearly (not exponentially) with time (although a chaotic system could lead to a more rapid phase space mixing that would tend to erase micropancakes; see ). These estimates can be applied to a hierarchy by regarding subhalos as separate bound systems.

Suppose a halo has $`N`$ folds of the sheet which add up to the total spatial density $`\rho _{halo}`$; then from mass conservation, the space density of each single sheet is about $`\rho _{halo}/N`$, times factors of the order of unity depending on the halo profile and geometry. (This description is only adequate for real halos over a limited dynamic range in radius. For example, the outermost regions of a halo still forming out of the expansion would have $`N=1`$, the density and radius of the outermost caustic corresponding to the first turnaround of particle orbits; both $`N`$ and $`\rho _{halo}`$ increase at smaller radii.) Conservation of local fine-grained phase density then allows us to estimate from this density the typical fine-grained velocity dispersion $`\sigma _{Xhalo}`$ in the wrapped up sheet (far away from the caustics),

$$\frac{\sigma _{Xhalo}}{\sigma _{halo}}\left(\frac{\overline{Q}}{Q_P}\right)^{1/3}N^{1/3}$$
(3)
where $`\overline{Q}\rho _{halo}/\sigma _{halo}^3`$ denotes the mean coarse-grained phase space density of the halo.

The fine-grained nonlinear evolution of the phase sheet can be described using action-angle variables . Although exact results have only been derived in symmetric situations, we can again roughly estimate the properties of the caustics in the general case. The finite minimum spatial width $`\mathrm{}_{min}`$ of the micropancakes can be estimated by noting that the turning points of the orbits for particles in one sheet have a spatial dispersion about the mean location of the sheet proportional to the dispersion in velocity integrated over an orbital time, hence

$$\frac{\mathrm{}_{min}}{\mathrm{}_{halo}}\frac{\sigma _{Xhalo}}{\sigma _{halo}}\left(\frac{\overline{Q}}{Q_P}\right)^{1/3}N^{1/3}10^8N^{1/3}.$$
(4)
Near a micropancake, the velocity dispersion in the normal direction increases to a saturated value $`\sigma _{sat}`$ depending on $`Q_P`$ and the curvature of the sheet in phase space. For folds curving on the halo scale of length and velocity, with the two large dimensions both close to the halo size, the dispersion saturates at a value

$$\sigma _{sat}/\sigma _{halo}(\mathrm{}_{min}/\mathrm{}_{halo})^{1/2}(\sigma _{Xhalo}/\sigma _{halo})^{1/2},$$
(5)
times numerical factors depending on the geometry of the fold. The typical maximum saturated density $`\rho _{max}`$ is then approximately given by $`Q_P\sigma _{sat}\sigma _{Xhalo}^2`$, or

$$\frac{\rho _{max}}{\rho _{halo}}\left(\frac{\mathrm{}_{min}}{\mathrm{}_{halo}}\right)^{1/2}N^1\left(\frac{Q_P}{\overline{Q}}\right)^{1/6}N^{5/6}10^4N^{5/6}.$$
(6)
The value of $`\overline{Q}`$ for real halos varies by over nine orders of magnitude, from dwarf spheroidals to galaxy clusters ; the numerical values here estimate $`\overline{Q}`$ for “typical” CDM halos using $`(\overline{Q}/Q_P)^{1/3}(\sigma _X(z_{coll})/\sigma _{halo})`$ at a collapse redshift $`z_{coll}10`$, and a velocity dispersion $`\sigma _{halo}10^3`$. The number of folds is of the order of the dynamical age of the halo in units of the gravitational crossing time, $`N`$ 1 to 100 for typical halos. The powers of $`N`$ in these estimates change if we make different assumptions about the micropancake geometry; such effects can lead to factors of $`2`$ difference in the annihilation rate estimates below.

The density enhancement near the micropancakes within each halo or subhalo is around a factor of $`10^4`$, although the total contrast is less for old halos or dense central regions with many folds. The angular size of the sharp edges is less than $`10^8`$ of the halo size, and the dynamic range, the ratio of size to separation, is about $`10^8N^{2/3}10^6`$ (hence the name, “micropancakes”).

## IV Annihilation rate with Micropancakes

One possible technique for measuring the properties of these tiny caustics is “micopancake microlensing” . The projection of micropancakes onto the plane of the sky leads to line discontinuities in surface density which produce universal signatures in the gravitational lensing of background stars or other sources: images of very distant stars occasionally suddenly appear or disappear, and extended sources occasionally display mirror-reflected images about a sharp line discontinuity. Detection of these exotic effects is however well beyond current observational capability.

Here we estimate another, possibly more easily observable consequence of micropancakes: their influence on dark matter particle annihilation. Although each particle spends only a small amount of time in micropancakes, the density is so high that most of the annihilations take place there. The micropancakes therefore alter the annihilation rate by a large factor.

Micropancakes occur on such a small scale that they are not resolved in CDM simulations (this is even true of the largest, “freshest” pancakes, because they occur in those relatively underdense parts of space where CDM codes are designed for speed to have the poorest resolution). Because of this, the statistical properties of their spatial distribution are poorly characterized compared to the other predictions of CDM. We know that orbital phase mixing eventually homogenizes phase space; however, the estimate above suggests that it takes a very large number of orbits (perhaps as many as $`N10^{4\times 6/5}10^5`$ for smooth halos) to mix thoroughly enough to destroy the micropancakes. Until this happens, micropancakes are ubiquitous and a typical particle will participate in one at a turning point about every orbit. This is enough information to estimate the magnitude of the effect on annihilation rates.

Suppose that the probability of annihilation per particle per time is $`n\sigma v`$, where $`n`$ is the number density of (anti)particles and $`\sigma v`$ is some constant determined by the physics of the dark matter (e.g., ). Normalizing to unit size, virial velocity and orbital time for the local halo of density $`n_0`$, close to the pancake the universal fold catastrophe profile gives $`nn_0\delta \mathrm{}^{1/2}`$ within distance $`\delta \mathrm{}`$ of a micropancake. Each particle enters and leaves the pancake at a turning point of its orbit, so its velocity relative to the frame of the pancake is $`\delta \dot{\mathrm{}}\delta \mathrm{}^{1/2}`$; each particle trajectory in this frame is $`\delta \mathrm{}(t)t^2`$; and the integrated annihilation probability is therefore

$$𝑑tn\sigma vn_0\sigma v𝑑t/t.$$
(7)
The integrated annihilation probability is therefore logarithmically divergent as $`t0`$ or $`\delta \mathrm{}0`$, the moment when the particle passes through the micropancake. Since each particle passes through one of these caustics every orbit, this means that the overall annihilation integral is dominated by the particles close to the pancakes. An equivalent formulation is to discuss the probability distribution of $`n`$, which has a power-law tail due to matter near micropancakes, $`dP(n)/dnn^2`$. The annihilation rate is then $`𝑑nn(dP(n)/dn)d\mathrm{ln}n`$, again displaying the high-$`n`$ logarithmic divergence.

This leads to the first main conclusion,

* The annihilation radiation comes predominantly from contorted two-dimensional surfaces, rather than from a volume-filling source.

An important corollary of this is that:

* The mean annihilation rate is higher than one would estimate from N-body studies of clumping— even those of the highest resolution— by a significant factor.

The exact value of this factor is not known but we can estimate roughly from the maximum density contrast of the micropancakes, estimated above. For each virialized halo or subhalo, the total rate is higher than one would guess from the mean local density by a factor of $`\mathrm{ln}(10^4)(5/6)\mathrm{ln}N9(5/6)\mathrm{ln}N`$, about a factor of 5. The bulk of the integral comes far below the resolution limit of simulations, from the small fraction of particles closest to the micropancakes. The argument holds for all systems and subsystems within a halo, or for different radii within a halo, although the $`\mathrm{ln}N`$ reduction reflects a smaller enhancement factor in higher density regions (as the density enhancement in pancakes is diluted by wrapping). In the absence of micropancakes, the bulk of annihilations are predicted to occur in a small fraction of mass in the dense parts of halos; this argument indicates that within those dense parts, the micropancakes dominate.

## V Line discontinuities in brightness

If the CDM annihilations produce direct gamma ray emission (as opposed to indirect emission via $`e^+e^{}`$), the radiating surfaces may be imaged. For radiation in a monochromatic line, a “velocity cube” map (two sky directions and a redshift) would show emission concentrated in two-dimensional sheets, giving a direct three-dimensional image of the micropancakes. However, if the annihilations produce continuum radiation or if the velocity resolution is insufficient to separate the sheets, we should calculate instead the mean surface brightness of the annihilation radiation. This is given by the line-of-sight integral

$$I=𝑑zn^2(z)\sigma v.$$
(8)
Consider now the surface brightness near the line in the sky where a micropancake lies normal to the plane of the sky, and is seen edge-on. Choose coordinates which place the line at $`\mathrm{}=0`$ in the plane of the sky, and at $`z=0`$ along the line of sight. The line-of-sight distance to the sheet at a projected distance $`\mathrm{}_p`$ is given (again, in locally appropriate units) by $`z=\mathrm{}_p^{1/2}`$ — another fold catastrophe, this time of the mapping of the 2D micropancake sheet onto the sky (rather than the 3D phase space sheet onto 3D configuration space). The density of material is thus $`n=(\mathrm{}_pz^2)^{1/2}`$, and the projected surface brightness at $`\mathrm{}_p0`$ becomes

$$I2n_0^2\sigma v_0^{\mathrm{}_p^{1/2}}\frac{dz}{\mathrm{}_pz^2}2n_0^2\sigma v=\mathrm{const}(\mathrm{}_p),$$
(9)
while of course there is no flux at $`\mathrm{}_p<0`$. Thus, the folded micropancakes create abrupt discontinuities in surface brightness:

* The sky projection of direct emission from a halo of annihilating particles is laced by sharp line discontinuties in brightness, the number $`N`$ of them approximately equal to the dynamical age.

For WIMP dark matter, detailed study of the annihilation radiation background may thus contain information complementary to that obtainable by direct detection experiments. However, the experimental challenges are daunting. Verifying the existence of the discontinuities (as opposed to resolving them) requires enough resolution to separate the projected lines. For the most part the lines are closer than $`N^1`$ times the projected separation scale of galaxies at the Hubble length, on the order of arcseconds or smaller (although a small fraction of the light comes from much larger local halos, including some long caustic threads from our own Galaxy stretching across the sky). The amplitude or fractional contrast of each line discontinuity is small, of the order of $`N^1`$; and as shown by the N-body studies, most of the flux is coming from dynamically older, compact substructures within halos (which have large $`N10^2`$).

Measuring the width of the discontinuity, as would be necessary to actually measure $`\overline{Q}`$ directly, is even more challenging. As discussed above, it is set by the intrinsic width of the CDM phase sheet; for WIMP dark matter, this corresponds to an angle of about $`10^8`$ of the angular size of the halo under study. Such a small-scale, low contrast angular structure will not be resolved by currently planned GeV-to-TeV background mapping experiments.

###### Acknowledgements.

I am grateful for conversations with R. Blandford, A. Helmi, M. Kamionkowski, B. Moore, T. Quinn, S. White, and the referee. This work was supported at the University of Washington by NSF grant AST-9617036.

## VI references


text:
# First Measurements of Pion Correlations by the PHENIX Experiment

## 1 INTRODUCTION

One predicted result of a first order phase transition to a quark gluon plasma in heavy ion collisions is a long lived state due to the large latent heat and corresponding reduction in pressure gradients in the created system . The primary method for measuring the space-time extent of heavy-ion collisions is two particle interferometry, which has been utilized in hadronic interactions from proton induced to nuclear collisions. For an incoherent source ($`S`$) of identical bosons, the normalized probability of detecting two particles with relative momentum $`q=p_1p_2`$ and average momentum $`k=(p_1+p_2)/2`$ is given by the correlation function ($`C_2`$):

$$C_2(\stackrel{}{q},\stackrel{}{k})=1+|𝑑xS(x,\stackrel{}{k})e^{iqx}|^2$$
(1)
where $`x`$ is the four-position, and the integral is taken over all space-time. The direct utilization of this technique is hindered in principle because equation 1 is uninvertible: the source has 7 independent variables while the measured correlation function has 6. Furthermore, due to limited statistics most recent heavy ion experiments have chosen to plot and fit the correlation function in only three of the six dimensions versus the Bertsch-Pratt  projection of $`\stackrel{}{q}`$ in the out-side-long directions:

$$C_2(\stackrel{}{q},\stackrel{}{k})=1+\lambda \mathrm{exp}(q_{Tout}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}R_{Tout}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}(\stackrel{}{k})q_{Tside}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}R_{Tside}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}(\stackrel{}{k})q_{Long}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}R_{Long}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}(\stackrel{}{k}))$$
(2)
where $`q_{Long}`$ is the momentum difference in the beam direction, $`q_{Tout}`$, in the pair momentum direction, and $`q_{Tside}`$, the corresponding orthogonal direction. A benefit of such a fit is that, for a well-behaved, gaussian source with no position-momentum correlations or resonances, the lifetime is simply determined by the difference between $`R_{Tside}`$ and $`R_{Tout}`$: $`\beta ^2\tau ^2=R_{Tout}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}R_{Tside}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}`$ . In such studies the k-dependence of the HBT radii is usually explored by repeating the fitting procedure with a subsample of the entire dataset of pairs.

## 2 PHENIX DETECTOR AND ANALYSIS

The PHENIX experiment is described in detail elsewhere . For the analysis described in this article we use the data collected in the summer of 2000. After all offline analysis cuts, the data sample was approximately 1.5 million events.

This analysis used a subset of all of the detectors in the experiment. For vertex information and centrality definitions we rely on a pair of Cerenkov beam counters and zero-degree calorimeters; the beam counters also act as the start of the time of flight measurements. The two drift chambers measure the deflection of particles through the magnetic field and, hence, their momentum, while the velocity is measured by either the time-of-flight wall (TOF) or the electromagnetic calorimeter (EMC). The TOF timing resolution is approximately 115 ps , while the EMC resolution is 700 ps. As a result, the TOF analysis provides $`\pi `$-$`K`$ separation to 1.5 GeV/c; the EMC analysis, to 0.7 GeV/c. Due to geometric and acceptance effects the TOF analysis consists of $`500,000`$ ($`300,000`$) pairs of identified $`\pi ^+`$ ($`\pi ^{}`$) while the EMC analysis consists of approximately five times as many pairs.

The particle identification algorithm is similar in both analyses. A pion is defined as being within 2$`\sigma `$ of the pion mass-squared peak but 3$`\sigma `$ away from the kaon peak. Backgrounds from long lived resonances, e.g. $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$’s, are reduced by intradetector association cuts. Energy deposition cuts in the TOF slat or EMC tower further reduce backgrounds due to accidental misassociations. Systematic studies have shown that the background contamination to the EMC analysis is at least double that in the TOF analysis leading to artificially lower $`\lambda `$ values in the former. Ongoing studies of the backgrounds in the analyses aim to resolve these differences. However, the introduction of background from accidental hits or electron contamination tend to only affect the resulting $`\lambda `$ in the fits and do not change the measured radii.

A number of systematic studies have been performed to ensure that the resulting correlation function does not include any artificial, experimentally induced correlations from inefficiencies in either the detector or tracking algoithms. To remove these inefficiencies, pairs of particles within 2 cm of each other in the drift chamber are removed. Further, pairs that share the same TOF slat or EMC cluster are also removed in both the signal and mixed background. For the Coulomb correction, the source is parameterized as a gaussian in Rinv= $`\sqrt{\delta r^2\delta t^2}`$, as determined by an iterative procedure .

## 3 RESULTS

Figure 1 shows the Coulomb corrected correlation function for $`\pi ^{}`$ pairs measured in the EMC analysis overlayed with the resulting fit. While the fit is performed in the full three dimensional space, we plot here projections of the correlation function into each of the standard momentum difference variables ($`q_{Tout}`$, $`q_{Tside}`$, and $`q_{Long}`$). The results of the fit are shown in Table 1 along with the results from the $`\pi ^+`$ analysis from the EMC and the $`\pi ^+`$/$`\pi ^{}`$ analyses utilizing the TOF. The mean transverse momentum ($`k_t`$) of the pairs is 350 MeV/c in the TOF analysis and 340 MeV/c in the EMC analysis while the rapidity coverage in both analyses is centered about mid-rapidity, $`|y|<.35`$. The mean centrality of all pairs in the analysis is $`15`$% and is strongly biased towards central collisions.

Within the current statistical and systematic error bars, the EMC and TOF analyses for both pion sets are consistent with one another. The results of the fits are moderately larger than identical measurements for Au+Au and Pb+Pb collisions at lower energies and comparable $`k_t`$ . The results do not indicate an especially large source compared to measurements at lower energies and the resulting naively calculated lifetime deduced from these measurements is consistent with zero. However, a stronger collective flow will shorten the effective source and lifetime measured by HBT.

Plotted in Fig. 2 is the $`k_t`$ dependence of the radii in the EMC $`\pi ^+`$ (squares) and $`\pi ^{}`$ (triangles) analyses. The sample is split into three approximately equal subsets of pairs and the correlation analysis is performed on each subset. The $`k_t`$ bins are $`k_t<250`$ MeV/c, $`250<k_t<350`$ MeV/c and $`k_t>350`$ MeV/c corresponding to $`k_t=188`$ MeV/c, $`k_t=298`$ MeV/c and $`k_t=436`$ MeV/c respectively. Data points at identical $`k_t`$ are offset by $`10`$ MeV/c for clarification.

The radii follow trends familiar from lower energy measurements at lower beam energies : $`R_{Tside}`$ has a mild, if any, dependence on the transverse momentum of the pair, while $`R_{Tout}`$ varies strongly with $`k_t`$. Such dependencies have been described by collective motions, though temperature gradients and decays of short-lived resonances could also contribute to such dependencies .

## 4 CONCLUSION

We have shown first measurements of identical pion correlations measured by PHENIX at RHIC. The resulting Bertsch-Pratt radii are moderately larger than those measured at lower energies. The $`k_t`$ dependence of the radii is consistent with the conjecture of a system with a large degree of collective motion.

An extension of these measurements over an wider range in $`k_t`$ with a larger data sample will be available following the upcoming 2001 data collection. During this second run the additional PHENIX acceptance and integrated luminosity should lead to approximately a factor of a hundred in pair statistics. The resulting data sample will lead to much stricter constraints on models of the collision and allow for comparisons to identical kaon and proton HBT analyses.

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. W-7405-Eng-48.


text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

The development of string theory over the last three decades has convincingly demonstrated the existence of a precise mathematical structure that includes low energy gravity, black holes, and a wide variety of interesting structures. Furthermore it is a quantum theory and therefore demonstrates the consistency of gravitation and quantum mechanics. That has been especially interesting in the context of black hole physics where such concepts as Black Hole Complementarity and the Holographic Principle can be subjected to rigorous tests.

When it comes to the foundations of cosmology string theory has not proved as fruitful. The theory as presently formulated is not background independent. Each background seems to have its own idiosyncratic description as illustrated by the Matrix Theory description of flat 11-dimensional M-theory; the various toroidal compactifications which make use of higher dimensional gauge theories; the CFT description of AdS space and Little String Theories for certain linear dilaton backgrounds.

Thus far we have failed to include interesting cosmological backgrounds within the framework of the controllable mathematics of string theory . In particular no deSitter space backgrounds have been found which could serve as models of the currently accelerating universe . In this paper we will discuss a possible reason why accelerating backgrounds have not been found. As we will see the same reasons would preclude eternal quintessence-like behavior.

The message that we wish to convey is not that deSitter space or quintessence is impossible but rather that the current mathematical framework may not be the right one for cosmology. The view that deSitter space may require fundamental revisions of our ideas about string theory has also been forcefully expressed by Banks . We will argue that this is part of a pattern that effects not only those theories with positive cosmological constants but also any geometry with a future horizon. As we will see this includes quintessence-like geometries.

## 2 The Observables of String Theory

Just as the degrees of freedom of string theory are idiosyncratic to each background, so are the “observables” that string theory allows us to compute. In asymptotically flat space-time string theory is a prescription for calculating S-matrix elements relating asymptotically free particle states. As far as we know, these S-matrix elements are the only rigorously defined quantities of the theory. The S-matrix data consists of a list of all the stable objects in the theory and the transition amplitudes between asymptotic states of these objects. One essential requirement for the existence of an S-matrix is to have an asymptotically large space at infinity in which degrees of freedom can separate into a collection of non-interacting particles.

AdS space is another example in which observables of string theory have been identified, namely the boundary correlators of bulk fields. These boundary correlators are very similar to S-matrix elements and again rely on an infinite asymptotic space in which the bulk degrees of freedom can separate into free particles.

There is some evidence that AdS string theory may allow a larger class of well defined quantities. The AdS/CFT correspondence relates the correlators of local gauge invariant CFT fields to the boundary correlators in AdS. But there are other quantities on the CFT side which appear to be well defined. These quantities are gauge invariant but non-local and are typified by closed Wilson loops. According to  these finite size non-local objects in the CFT are dual to bulk degrees of freedom far from the boundary of AdS. However we understand very little about the Holographic dictionary relating non-local CFT operators to small objects in the AdS interior.

Neither asymptotically flat space-time nor AdS space provides a realistic framework for cosmology. Thus let us turn to the more relevant example of familiar FRW cosmology. It is quite evident that closed FRW spaces which begin and end with bangs and crunches do not permit asymptotically free particles. Thus, with the present concepts available in string theory we would not know how to formulate the theory in such a background.

Flat-space FRW is not much better in the initial state but the final states are describable in terms of asymptotically free particles. A possible framework for cosmology has been suggested by Witten . The idea is to assume that the initial state of the universe is unique, $`|U`$. The final state consisting of free asymptotically well separated particles would be described in terms of a Fock space of asymptotic out-fields. The S-matrix would then be replaced by an S-vector describing the final state amplitudes. In this case correlation functions of (almost) asymptotic fields could be measured by observers stationed at different points. Furthermore in flat FRW space, every set of points has at least one point in the causal future of the set. In other words it is possible to send signals from every point in the set to a common point where the data is collected and correlated. Thus the S-vector would have operational meaning. For purposes of comparison with other cosmologies we illustrate the causal structure of flat FRW in the Penrose diagram of Figure 1.

Now let us turn to deSitter space. The structure of deSitter space can be described by its Penrose diagram shown in Figure 2. For comparison we also show the Penrose diagram of a Schwarzschild black hole in Figure 3. In the black hole case there is an infinite asymptotically flat region outside the black hole but in the deSitter space case there is not. Another difference is that the black hole has a space-like singularity while the deSitter space geometry has a space-like causal boundary which represents the infinite inflated future (IIF). The IIF and the future black hole singularity are causally very similar. In particular consider two events or measurements at points $`a`$ and $`b`$ in each geometry. If the events are too close to the IIF or future singularity then the causal futures of these two points do not have any common points. In other words there is no possibility of collecting data from the two measurements. An implication of this is that correlations between quantities at $`a`$ and at $`b`$ are unmeasurable by any real observer. For this reason an S-matrix connecting the IIF to the IIP (infinitely inflated past) or to a unique big bang has no observable meaning.

The correlations between $`a,b`$ could nevertheless have formal meaning. According to one view we can foliate each space by space-like slices and formulate quantum field theory as a Hamiltonian theory with state vectors being defined on each slice. If $`a`$ and $`b`$ are relatively space-like, the quantum fields at the two points commute and in a formal sense can be simultaneously measured. Maldacena and others have suggested that boundary correlators defined in terms of fields in the IIP and the IIF may exist and be described by some kind of space-like holography.

This seems unlikely to us. It is well known and generally accepted by now, that in the context of black holes this reasoning is very dangerous and either leads to information loss for observers outside the black hole or information duplication for observers who fall through the horizon. Either of these is a violation of the laws of nature. The principle of Black Hole Complementarity states that the degrees of freedom behind and in front of the horizon can not be independent but must be the same objects seen in different gauges. The same points have been emphasized in . We believe similar kinds of arguments can be made about any future horizons so that independent degrees of freedom on space-like slices close to the “end of time” do not make sense.

There is another way to think about quantum theory in deSitter space which is suggested by the black hole complementarity principle. In the black hole case we give up trying to simultaneously describe both sides of the horizon but instead look for a self contained description of the exterior of the black hole. For purposes of an external observer the world ends on a hot membrane called the horizon. More exactly, black holes are merely unstable resonances in scattering amplitudes and information is never lost behind the horizon. In a similar spirit one can define a causal diamond of an observer in deSitter space as shown in Figure 3. The physics in the causal diamond is described in terms of a static metric describing a static sealed cavity with metric

$$ds^2=\left(1\frac{\rho ^2}{R^2}\right)d\vartheta ^2+\frac{d\rho ^2}{1\frac{\rho ^2}{R^2}}+\rho ^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_2.$$
(2.1)
The cavity consists of the region $`r<R`$ and the boundary at $`r=R`$ is a conventional Rindler-like horizon. The cavity has a finite temperature which has the formal value

$$T=\frac{1}{2\pi R}.$$
(2.2)
The actual proper temperature experienced by an observer at $`r`$ varies from $`T=1/2\pi R`$ at $`r=0`$ to infinity at $`r=R`$. Near the horizon the proper temperature is given by

$$T_{proper}\frac{1}{2\pi D}$$
(2.3)
where $`D`$ is the proper distance to the horizon. It is obvious that in a thermal cavity of finite size, an S-matrix can not be defined.

It is possible that there is a holographic description of the cavity and that there are quantities that describe the interior of the cavity in much the same way that the closed Wilson loops describe the interior of AdS. However we know of no such formulation.

There are other possibly related reasons for suspecting that string theory as we know it can not be defined in deSitter space. All definitions of string theory involve taking the limit of infinitely many degrees of freedom. For example in its original form, string theory is defined in terms of 2-dimensional conformal field theories. These theories can be thought of as the limiting behavior of regulated world sheet theories with finitely many degrees of freedom. The conformal limit is the limit of infinitely many degrees of freedom.

Most quantities will not have limits as the regulator is removed. What we have learned is that the observables of string theory are just those quantities, namely on-shell S-matrix elements, which do have limits. Even these quantities will only have limits if the background target space geometry is suitably chosen so as to flow to a non-trivial fixed point. deSitter space is not such a fixed point.

Non-perturbative definitions of string theory in terms of matrix theory or the AdS/CFT correspondence also require the number of degrees of freedom to tend to infinity. As in perturbative string theory the only objects which we expect to have limits are S-matrix elements.

On the other hand Banks  has emphasized that the finite entropy of deSitter space means that the universe has only a finite number of degrees of freedom (see also ). This is probably related to the lack of an asymptotic space in the thermal cavity. In any case String Theory as we know it is not defined in deSitter space. One other indication that string theory and deSitter space are not easily combined was given by Maldacena and Nunez .

Assuming that these arguments can be put on a firm footing and that observation continues to point to a non-vanishing positive cosmological constant a serious crisis between theory and observation may materialize.

## 3 Q-space

The theory of quintessence  has been put forward as an alternative to a positive cosmological constant. According to this theory the dark energy of the universe is dominated by the potential of a scalar field $`\varphi `$ which is still rolling to its minimum at $`V=0`$. Typically the minimum is at $`\varphi =\mathrm{}`$ and the scalar potential may have a form such as

$$V(\varphi )\mathrm{exp}(c\sqrt{\alpha ^{}}\varphi )$$
(3.1)
where $`\varphi `$ is a canonically normalized scalar field and $`c`$ is a numerical constant of order unity. The theory can also be parameterized by an equation of state of the usual form

$$P=wϵ$$
(3.2)
where $`P`$ and $`ϵ`$ denote pressure and energy density. Recall that a cosmological constant corresponds to $`w=1`$, matter domination to $`w=0`$ and radiation dominance to $`w=1/3`$. Quintessence gives rise to equations of state with

$$1<w<\frac{1}{3}.$$
(3.3)
The observational evidence for a cosmological constant is really a bound on $`w`$:

$$1<w_{observed}<\frac{2}{3}.$$
(3.4)
Thus we are not yet at the point where we need to postulate a genuine cosmological constant.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the causal structure of universes with $`w`$ in the allowable range and remaining so in the remote future. What we will find is that universes of this type have future horizons and are no better suited to an S-matrix or S-vector description than is deSitter space. For simplicity we will work in $`4`$ spacetime dimensions. Our results however extend straightforwardly to other dimensions.

Isotropic and homogeneous universes are described by the FRW metric

$$ds^2=dt^2+a^2(t)\left(\frac{dr^2}{1kr^2}+r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_2\right).$$
(3.5)
Here $`k=0,\pm 1`$ is the spatial curvature of the universe, $`d\mathrm{\Omega }_2`$ the line element on a unit $`2`$-sphere $`S^2`$ and $`a(t)`$ the time-dependent scale factor, which measures the proper size across the celestial sphere. We choose the units such that $`a`$ has dimensions of length. The gravity-matter field equations then reduce to

$`3H^2+3{\displaystyle \frac{k}{a^2}}={\displaystyle \frac{8\pi }{M_4^2}}ϵ`$
$`\dot{ϵ}+3H(ϵ+P)=0,`$ (3.6)
where the Hubble parameter $`H=\dot{a}/a`$ is the logarithmic time derivative of the scale factor, and $`M_410^{19}GeV`$ is the Planck scale. The equation of state $`P/ϵ=w`$ allows to solve the second of eq. (3.6), yielding

$$ϵ=ϵ_0\left(\frac{a_0}{a}\right)^{3(1+w)}.$$
(3.7)
The gauge choice $`k=0,\pm 1`$ implies that $`ϵ_0M_4^4`$ to ensure the validity of (3.6) at subplanckian scales. Here $`a_0M_4^1`$ is an integration constant parameterizing the initial size of the universe. With this parameterization, (3.6) are valid for times $`tM_4^1`$.

The second time derivative of the scale factor $`a`$ is

$$\frac{\ddot{a}}{a}=\frac{4\pi }{3M_4^2}(1+3w)ϵ,$$
(3.8)
so that for $`w>1/3`$ the expansion of the universe decelerates, for $`1<w<1/3`$ it accelerates and for $`w=1/3`$ it is inertial. One can now see that observers in all accelerated models must have future horizons. For any two objects separated by a fixed comoving distance $`r`$ in a universe whose expansion is accelerating, their relative proper speed will reach the speed of light after some time, and they will cease to communicate. This cessation of communication cannot occur in models where expansion decelerates, where in fact the communication becomes less relativistic as time goes by. The borderline case $`w=1/3`$ describes constant expansion rate, where the comoving observers move with constant speed relative to one another. Their communication is possible, but it may be difficult to maintain forever because they recede away from each other.

We now explicitly construct the spacetime geometry for $`1<w1/3`$ models. For simplicity, we begin with the spatially flat cases ($`k=0`$), and note that the conclusions are qualitatively the same for the spatially open ($`k=1`$) cases as well. The spatially closed cases ($`k=1`$) will be treated separately.

When $`k=0`$ the eqs. (3.6) and (3.7) yield the scale factor

$$a(t)=a_0\left(\frac{t}{t_0}\right)^{2/[3(1+w)]},$$
(3.9)
where $`t_0M_4^1`$ is an integration constant. Because $`1+w>0`$, all of the solutions (3.9) have a curvature singularity at $`t=0`$ where the scalar curvature $`R=6\dot{H}+12H^2`$ diverges. The scale factor is unbounded as $`t\mathrm{}`$. The curvature goes to zero and locally the flat space approximation becomes progressively better. The decelerating FRW models satisfy $`w>1/3`$ and have a spacelike past singularity. Their future infinity does not have a spacelike portion, and so the observers never have any future horizons, but can see arbitrarily far away if they wait long enough (see Fig. 1).

The situation is rather the opposite in universes whose expansion accelerates under the influence of a quintessence-like stress energy $`1<w<1/3`$. To show this we now construct the Penrose diagram describing such spacetimes. With (3.9), the $`k=0`$ metric (3.5) is

$$ds^2=dt^2+a_0^2\left(\frac{t}{t_0}\right)^{4/[3(1+w)]}\left(dr^2+r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_2\right).$$
(3.10)
The standard tool for determining the causal structure of a homogeneous and isotropic universe is to conformally map it on a part of the Einstein static universe . The Einstein static universe is a direct product of a spatial sphere $`S^3`$ of constant radius and an infinite time axis, with the metric $`ds^2=d\tau ^2+d\chi ^2+\mathrm{sin}^2(\chi )d\mathrm{\Omega }_2`$. Therefore its causal structure is that of an infinite cylinder $`R\times S^3`$. The part of it which describes the causal structure of some arbitrary homogeneous and isotropic universe is bounded by the images of the singularities and/or past and future causal boundaries. Since (3.10) has a past singularity and becomes locally flat as $`t\mathrm{}`$, its boundary consists of precisely these regions.

For clarity’s sake, we will determine the causal structure of (3.10) by finding the conformal map to the Einstein static universe in two steps. First we go to the conformally flat metric $`ds^2=\omega ^2(\overline{x})\eta _{\mu \nu }d\overline{x}^\mu d\overline{x}^\nu `$, and relate the flat metric to the Einstein static one. The first step is

$`(1+3w)\overline{t}=3(1+w)\left({\displaystyle \frac{t}{l}}\right)^{(1+3w)/[3(1+w)]}`$
$`\omega (\overline{t})=l\left({\displaystyle \frac{1+3w}{3(1+w)}}\overline{t}\right)^{2/(1+3w)}.`$ (3.11)
Here $`\overline{t}`$ is dimensionless, and since $`1<w<1/3`$, it is negative and inversely proportional to $`t`$, running however from $`\mathrm{}`$ to $`0`$ as $`t`$ runs from $`0`$ to $`\mathrm{}`$. Therefore, the $`\overline{t}`$-axis has the same orientation as the $`t`$-axis. Here $`l=\left(a_0M_4^{2/[3(1+w)]}\right)^{[3(1+w)]/(1+3w)}`$ has dimension of length.

The second step is defined by

$`r={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left(\mathrm{tan}({\displaystyle \frac{\chi +\tau }{2}})+\mathrm{tan}({\displaystyle \frac{\chi \tau }{2}})\right)`$
$`\overline{t}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left(\mathrm{tan}({\displaystyle \frac{\chi +\tau }{2}})\mathrm{tan}({\displaystyle \frac{\chi \tau }{2}})\right).`$ (3.12)
Since $`r[0,\mathrm{})`$, $`\overline{t}(\mathrm{},0)`$, and $`\chi [0,\pi ]`$, it is straightforward to verify that $`\tau [\pi ,0]`$. We can now put together these formulas and write

$$ds^2=l^2\left(\frac{6(1+w)}{|1+3w|}\right)^{4/|1+3w|}\frac{[\mathrm{cos}(\frac{\chi \tau }{2})\mathrm{cos}(\frac{\chi +\tau }{2})]^{4/|1+3w|2}}{4\mathrm{sin}^{4/|1+3w|}(|\tau |)}\left(d\tau ^2+d\chi ^2+\mathrm{sin}^2(\chi )d\mathrm{\Omega }_2\right)$$
(3.13)
for the metric, and

$$\frac{|1+3w|}{6(1+w)}\left(\frac{t}{l}\right)^{|1+3w|/[3(1+w)]}=\left(\mathrm{tan}(\frac{\chi \tau }{2})\mathrm{tan}(\frac{\chi +\tau }{2})\right)^1$$
(3.14)
for the relationship between the comoving time $`t`$ and the Einstein static universe time $`\tau `$. The causal structure of (3.10) is a portion of $`R\times S^3`$ bounded by the future and the singular regions of (3.10). The eq. (3.14) together with the first of eq. (3.12) is the key for determining this boundary, in particular the power $`1`$ on the right-hand side. Using this, the future limit $`t\mathrm{}`$ for any given $`r`$ maps on the line $`\mathrm{tan}(\frac{\chi \tau }{2})=\mathrm{tan}(\frac{\chi +\tau }{2})`$. This is the latitude circle $`\tau =0`$ on the cylinder. Because the spacetime (3.10) ends there, we must discard the portion of the cylinder above it. Next, the singularity resides in the limit $`t0`$ for any fixed $`r`$. By (3.12), (3.14) it maps onto the line $`\mathrm{tan}(\frac{\chi \tau }{2})\mathrm{}`$, or therefore $`\tau =\chi \pi `$. This is the null semi-circle connecting the points $`(\pi ,0)`$ and $`(0,\pi )`$ on the cylinder, and since it is the past we must throw out the portion of the cylinder beneath it. Unwrapping the remainder, we get the causal structure in Fig. 4.

We have suppressed the angular dependence in Fig. 4, meaning that each point on it corresponds to an angular $`S^2`$. It is evident from this figure that all the universes described by (3.10) descend from a past null singularity, and evolve towards a future spacelike infinity. Therefore, any observer must have a future horizon: it is precisely the null line starting in the upper left corner of the diagram and flowing towards the singularity, and corresponds to the portion of the circle $`\tau =\pi \chi `$ above the singular circle $`\tau =\chi \pi `$. An observer would find the universe at any given finite time to be of finite size - she could only causally explore the interior of the diamond bounded by the horizon and the singularity. However, unlike in deSitter space, she would not lack elbow room in her box. The proper size of the horizon is not constant but grows in time,

$$L_H=a(t)_t^{\mathrm{}}\frac{dt^{}}{a(t^{})}=\frac{3(1+w)}{|1+3w|}t,$$
(3.15)
which shows that the volume of any spacelike hypersurface inside the causal diamond grows extremely large with time! In other words, the proper volume of the region of space near the upper left corner of the diagram in Fig. 4 is tremendously large, and since the horizon is moving away (3.15), it is getting even larger. This is easy to understand intuitively: even though the expansion of the universe (3.10) is accelerating, the acceleration rate decreases with time as $`\ddot{a}/a1/t^2`$. Thus at a later time it takes longer for the cosmic acceleration to increase the proper speed between comoving observers to the speed of light.

A proposal for a holographic description of cosmology has been made in , and generalized to arbitrary spacetimes in . An important tool for defining holographic screens is the apparent horizon. We determine its location in these spacetimes. It is the hypersurface where at least one family of null lines has vanishing expansion. To find it for the solution (3.10), consider a sphere of radius $`ar`$ with area $`Aa^2(t)r^2`$, and its variation along the null radial lines $`dt=\pm a(t)dr`$, with the signs determining the orientation of the lines. The gradient of $`A`$ along a light ray is $`A^{}a^{}r+ar^{}`$ where the prime denotes the derivative with respect to the affine parameter of the null line. Using these equations<sup>1</sup><sup>1</sup>1An alternative way to determine $`_{AH}`$ is to find the hypersurface $`A=\mathrm{const}`$ whose normal is null. Then its area is independent of the null coordinate along the normal, and its gradient vanishes, implying that this hypersurface is the apparent horizon., the comoving size of the apparent horizon is $`r=\dot{a}^1(t)`$, and so the proper apparent horizon size is

$$_{AH}=\frac{1}{H}=\frac{3(1+w)}{2}t.$$
(3.16)
Dividing by $`L_H`$ (3.15), we get $`_{AH}/L_H=|1+3w|/2<1`$ for $`1<w<1/3`$, and so the apparent horizon is always inside the future horizon. On the diagram of Fig. 4, it is represented by the arc $`_{AH}`$ between the lower left corner and the upper left corner. The interior of the apparent horizon is a normal region, and its exterior, including parts of the causal diamond, is an anti-trapped region. Following Bousso , we denote this by the $`>`$ symbols, where the legs point in the direction of decreasing geodesic expansion $`\theta `$ of the lightrays. As we have said above, all of these conclusions directly apply for the spatially open cases $`k=1`$.

The main difference between the models with $`1<w<1/3`$ and the cosmological term $`w=1`$ is in the presence of the null singularity in the past. For $`w=1`$, that null surface is regular, and can be extended across since it is just a past horizon. Instead, the solutions with $`1<w<1/3`$ all end there, and so are past inextendable, fully describing the geometry. We can also see how these solutions differ from the decelerated FRW universes. For these $`1+3w>0`$ implies the absence of the power $`1`$ on the RHS of the analogue of eq. (3.14). This turns Fig. 4 upside-down, and yields a past spacelike singularity and a future null infinity as its boundaries.

Now we turn to the borderline case $`w=1/3`$. It is a hybrid of the previous two cases, in that its past is quintessential, with a past null singularity, and its future is similar to a usual FRW universe with a future null infinity. The scale factor metric for this case is $`a(t)=a_0t/t_0`$, and so the analogue of eq. (3.11) is

$$\overline{t}=\frac{t_0}{a_0}\mathrm{ln}(t/t_0)$$

$$\omega (\overline{t})=a_0\mathrm{exp}(a_0\overline{t}/t_0)$$
(3.17)
Combining this and (3.12), we find

$$\mathrm{ln}(t/t_0)=\frac{a_0}{2t_0}\left(\mathrm{tan}(\frac{\chi +\tau }{2})\mathrm{tan}(\frac{\chi \tau }{2})\right).$$
(3.18)
The range of the angular variables is the same as before, $`\chi [0,\pi ]`$, but now $`\tau (\pi ,\pi )`$ because $`\mathrm{ln}(t/t_0)`$ can be both positive and negative. It is straightforward to check that the singularity maps on the past null semi-circle $`\tau =\chi \pi `$, and the future infinity maps on the future null semi-circle $`\tau =\pi \chi `$. The boundary is completed by the intersection of these two curves at $`\chi =\pi ,\tau =0`$, which corresponds to spatial infinity. The spacetime is the interior of the boundary, and when we unwrap it we find the structure depicted in Fig. 5.

Since the spacetime has a past null singularity a future null infinity no comoving observer living in it will have a horizon. The space is infinite, but “just so” since even an infinitesimal acceleration would raise the horizon, confining any observer into her box.

Although in this case there is no event horizon, there is an apparent one. Since $`at`$, the radius of the apparent horizon is

$$_{AH}=t.$$
(3.19)
In the comoving coordinates, this corresponds to $`r_{AH}=1`$, and is again the arc between the lower left corner and the upper left corner, denoted $`_{AH}`$ in Fig. 5. Its interior is a normal region, and its exterior is an anti-trapped region.

The situation is essentially the same for the open universe case $`k=1`$. There the form of the metric

$$ds^2=dt^2+a_0^2\left(\frac{t}{t_0}\right)^2\left(\frac{dr^2}{1+r^2}+r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_2\right)$$
(3.20)
might for a moment deceive one into thinking that the solution is just a Milne wedge of the flat Minkowski space in an accelerated reference frame. However, this is not so because when one tries to extend the metric (3.20) across the Milne boundary, one finds a deficit angle on the $`S^2`$, which translates into a curvature singularity there. Hence, this solution too has a null singularity in the past, and its causal structure is also depicted by Fig. 5.

We now consider the spatially closed cases with $`k=+1`$ in (3.5). When $`1<w<1/3`$ combining eqs. (3.6) and (3.7) we get the master equation governing the geometry of these solutions, which is

$$\dot{a}^2+1=\frac{8\pi ϵ_0a_0^2}{3M_4^2}\left(\frac{a}{a_0}\right)^{|1+3w|}.$$
(3.21)
Thus $`a(t)>0`$ throughout the evolution of the universe, implying that all of these solutions are completely nonsingular. Further, the evolution is completely symmetric under $`tt`$, and for very large values of $`a`$ (in the far past and the far future) the spatial curvature term is negligible. Thus in these limits the future of these geometries asymptotes that of (3.10), and by time reversal symmetry, so does the past. Hence the causal structure corresponds to a finite segment of the Einstein static cylinder, bounded by two latitutude circles $`\tau =\pm \tau _0`$, and the universe has both a past and a future spacelike infinity. As a result, any observer would see horizons, whose structure is more complicated than in the spatially flat case. Thus her life would again be confined to a box, whose size however varies with time. For $`t<0`$, the box would be shrinking down from an infinite size in the past, to rebound at $`t=0`$ and begin to expand out again. This can be seen explicitly in an example where $`w=2/3`$, which would correspond to a universe eternally dominated by a frustrated network of domain walls. The solution is

$$a(t)=\frac{3M_4^2}{8\pi ϵ_0a_0}+\frac{2\pi ϵ_0a_0}{3M_4^2}t^2.$$
(3.22)
It has a bounce at $`t=0`$, where it reaches the minimum size $`a_{min}=\frac{3M_4^2}{8\pi ϵ_0a_0}`$ and rapidly approaches the $`w=2/3`$ flat solution (3.10) when $`t\pm \mathrm{}`$. The boundary structure of these models is therefore similar to that of deSitter space, Fig. 2.

In the special limit $`w=1/3`$, the solutions degenerate into two interesting cases. If $`\frac{8\pi ϵ_0a_0^2}{3M_4^2}=1`$, the geometry is that of the whole Einstein static universe with $`\dot{a}=\ddot{a}=0`$. This geometry does not have any horizons, because the space has finite size, and time runs forever, so any observer would eventually see all of the space. If $`\frac{8\pi ϵ_0a_0^2}{3M_4^2}>1`$, we get the other class of solutions where the scale factor undergoes either linear expansion or linear contraction, depending on the sign of $`t`$, $`a(t)=\sqrt{\frac{8\pi ϵ_0a_0^2}{3M_4^2}1}t=\widehat{a}_0t/t_0`$. The conformal map to the Einstein static universe in this case is simple, involving the single step $`\tau =(\widehat{a}_0/t_0)^1\mathrm{ln}(t/t_0)`$. The singularity $`t=0`$ then maps onto a latitude circle at $`\tau =\pm \mathrm{}`$, implying that the causal structure is given by the infinite cylinder $`R\times S^3`$, but with a spacelike singularity either in the infinite past or future.

Given that the observer inhabiting the universes with $`1<w<1/3`$ lives inside a spacetime box, we may ask what are the proper coordinates which chart out only the interior of this box. After all, since all of the observer’s physical reality is confined inside the box, that is all she cares about. A simple way to find such coordinates for the spatially flat cases (3.10) is to use their conformal relation to the spatially flat slicing of deSitter space, and then go to the static coordinates describing the causal diamond in deSitter space, since it is a subset of the spatially flat deSitter chart. The appropriate maps are

$`t={\displaystyle \frac{|1+3w|}{3(1+w)}}R\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{\rho ^2}{R^2}}\right)^{3(1+w)/[2|1+3w|]}e^{3(1+w)\vartheta /[|1+3w|R]}`$
$`r={\displaystyle \frac{\rho }{R}}\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{\rho ^2}{R^2}}\right)^{1/2}e^{\vartheta /R}`$ (3.23)
where $`R=\left(\frac{|1+3w|}{3(1+w)}\right)^{2/|1+3w|}l`$. The metric inside the box $`\rho R`$ is

$$ds^2=\left(1\frac{\rho ^2}{R^2}\right)^{3(1+w)/|1+3w|}e^{6(1+w)\vartheta /[|1+3w|R]}\left(\left(1\frac{\rho ^2}{R^2}\right)d\vartheta ^2+\frac{d\rho ^2}{1\frac{\rho ^2}{R^2}}+\rho ^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_2\right).$$
(3.24)
The volume of the box grows unbounded as $`\vartheta \mathrm{}`$ \- indeed, the area of a sphere of constant radius $`R`$ increases linearly with proper time. The “effective” curvature emerges from the scale set by the initial size of the universe $`l`$. Close to the horizon, the conformal factor in (3.24) approaches $`(L_H/R)^2`$, as seen from (3.15 and (3.23). This suggests that at late times the description of the short-distance physics near the horizon of (3.24), with characteristic scale $`L_H`$, is similar to deSitter space. In this case time variation of $`L_H`$ can be neglected. For short distance phenomena it merely sets the overall scale of the geometry.

To make this more precise, we use the limit when the equation of state approaches that of cosmological constant, $`w=1+2ϵ/3`$. Then the solution approaches deSitter metric,

$$ds^2=\left(1\frac{\rho ^2}{R^2}\right)^ϵe^{2ϵ\vartheta /R}\left(\left(1\frac{\rho ^2}{R^2}\right)d\vartheta ^2+\frac{d\rho ^2}{1\frac{\rho ^2}{R^2}}+\rho ^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_2\right).$$
(3.25)
The variation of the conformal factor anywhere away from singularity is slow for this case. In other words, this limit expands out the geometry near the horizon of (3.24) towards the interior of the causal diamond. Indeed, from (3.9) we see that $`a=a_0(t/t_0)^{1/ϵ}`$, and when $`ϵ0`$ the correct way to take the limit is to rescale $`a_0a_0ϵ^{1/ϵ}`$ and shift time $`tt+t_0/ϵ`$. Then, $`aa_0(1+ϵt/t_0)^{1/ϵ}a_0\mathrm{exp}(t/t_0)`$, and from (3.15), $`L_H=ϵtt_0+ϵt`$, so that the horizon is nearly static. Hence deSitter approximation becomes good for most of its interior, and it behaves like an almost static cavity with hot walls, whose temperature is $`T1/2\pi (t_0+ϵt)`$. The walls are moving away with a constant infinitesimal speed $`ϵ`$.

## 4 Supersymmetry versus Q-space

We can now ask the following natural question: Can a conventional string theory relax to a zero-energy supersymmetric vacuum while accelerating? In general this would require an involved analysis, and cannot be easily answered. However, there is a class of supersymmetric theories that can be readily investigated.

Let us suppose that the cosmological evolution of a theory is dominated by a single modulus field, which has a stable supersymmetric vacuum. The potential for such a field must then satisfy the stability form $`V(\varphi )=2(D2)\left((D2)(_\varphi W)^2\kappa ^2(D1)W^2\right)`$ and the superpotential $`W`$ must have a critical point where $`_\varphi W=0`$ which is the supersmymmetric vacuum of the theory . Many supergravity theories have potentials which satisfy this form. Here $`D`$ is the dimension of spacetime. In $`4D`$, this condition restricts the admissible potentials to the form

$$V=8(_\varphi W)^212\kappa ^2W^2,$$
(4.1)
with $`\kappa ^2=8\pi /M_4^2`$. If this potential is to have a zero-energy supersymmetric vacuum and to support $`w=const`$ quintessence-like evolution, then it must asymptotically have the form $`V\mathrm{exp}(c\kappa \varphi )`$, where $`c`$ must obey $`|c|<\sqrt{2}`$. We now show that this is inconsistent with (4.1).

If the theory is to give rise to an eternal $`w=const`$ quintessence universe while flowing towards the vacuum, since it needs an asymptotically exponential potential, with our notations the vacuum must be parameterized by $`\varphi \mathrm{}`$. The superpotential which leads to such a form and has $`_\varphi W0`$ as $`\varphi \mathrm{}`$ can be expanded in a series of exponentials, with the leading term say

$$W=W_0\mathrm{exp}(\alpha \kappa \varphi )$$
(4.2)
where $`\alpha `$ is just a number. This gives rise to a potential

$$V=8W_0^2\kappa ^2(\alpha ^2\frac{3}{2})\mathrm{exp}(2\alpha \varphi ),$$
(4.3)
and this has the required asymptotic form. However, quintessence behavior also requires the positivity of the potential $`V>0`$, which gives $`|\alpha |>\sqrt{\frac{3}{2}}`$ and hence

$$|c|=2|\alpha |>\sqrt{6}.$$
(4.4)
Therefore a theory which asymptotically flows towards a supersymmetric stable vacuum $`_\varphi W=0`$ satisfying (4.1) cannot do so while accelerating!

Note that we could have asked the question differently. We could view (4.1) as a differential equation defining $`W`$ given a form of $`V(\varphi )`$, and choose the form of $`V`$ such that the cosmological evolution results in accelerated expansion. Such superpotentials exist, they do not have any critical points $`_\varphi W=0`$ in the quintessence-like regime $`\varphi \mathrm{}`$. Instead, a straightforward calculation shows that in this regime $`W`$ and its derivative diverge. Hence an accelerating theory is not going towards a supersymmetric vacuum where $`_\varphi W=0`$.

We stress that our analysis does not exclude inflation of the universe as a transient phenomenon. The universe could accelerate for a time and then switch to a stage of decelerated expansion, relaxing to a ground state. In this case the future infinity does not have spacelike portions, and there are no future horizons, just like the future in Fig. 1. Therefore this would not be in conflict with the current lore of string theory.

## 5 Conclusion

The question raised in this paper concerns the possibility of defining in a precise way a set of observable quantities analogous to an S-matrix in an accelerating universe. Without such well defined quantities string theory as we know it would be impossible to formulate.

In deSitter space one might think of defining boundary correlators, analogous to the AdS observables. In this case the boundaries would be the space-like infinitely inflated past and future. Such correlators could be thought of as a kind of S-matrix relating the asymptotic contracting initial state to the asymptotically expanding final state. However it is clear that due to the existence of future horizons these are not observable by any real observer in the deSitter space. Perhaps such objects can be useful even if they are not observable but experience with black holes has taught us to be wary of such constructions. The alternative description of deSitter space in terms of a single causal diamond is certainly not suitable for an S-matrix description. The physics is that of a finite cavity with hot walls in which particles can get absorbed.

The main point of this paper is that the spaces produced by equations of state with $`1<w<1/3`$ have future horizons and may be no better suited to an S-matrix or S-vector description. If this is so and observation continues to support an accelerated universe then we expect that the current set of concepts available in string theory will not be sufficient to give a coherent description of our universe.

Note added: As we were completing this paper, W. Fischler, A. Kashani-Poor, R. McNees and S.Paban informed of us their work  reaching similar conclusions.

Acknowledgements

It is a pleasure to thank Tom Banks for useful discussions. N.K. thanks the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Santa Barbara for its hospitality. This work was supported in part by NSF grants PHY-99-07949 and PHY-9870115. The work of S.H. is also supported by the D.O.E. under contract DE-AC03-76SF00098 and by a D.O.E. OJI grant.


text:
# Electroweak properties of baryons in a covariant chiral quark model

## Abstract

The proton and neutron electromagnetic form factors and the nucleon axial form factor have been calculated in the Goldstone-boson exchange constituent-quark model within the point-form approach to relativistic quantum mechanics. The results, obtained without any adjustable parameter nor quark form factors, are, due to the dramatic effects of the boost required by the covariant treatment, in striking agreement with the data.

Constituent quark models (CQM’s) provide a useful framework for quantitative calculations of hadron properties in a regime where quantum chromodynamics (QCD) cannot be solved perturbatively. Constituent quarks are effective degrees of freedom described in terms of an Hamiltonian reflecting basic symmetries of QCD. Thus the formalism relies on quantum mechanics with a finite number of degrees of freedom rather than on quantum field theory. However, due to the large value of their kinetic energy constituent quarks are relativistic quasi-particles requiring a relativistic quantum mechanical formulation in terms of unitary representations of the Poincaré group.

Technically, the problem is solved by looking at one of the (unitarily equivalent) forms that are possible when defining the (kinematic) stability subgroup . Here we adopt the point form that has recently attracted some interest in connection with the electromagnetic properties of hadrons . In fact, this form has some advantages. First, the four-momentum operators $`P^\mu `$ containing all the dynamics commute with each other and can be simultaneously diagonalized. Since the Lorentz generators do not contain any interaction terms, the theory is manifestly covariant. Second, the electromagnetic current operator $`J^\mu (x)`$ can be written in such a way that it transforms as an irreducible tensor operator under the strongly interacting Poincaré group. Thus the nucleon charge and magnetic form factors can be calculated as reduced matrix elements of such an irreducible tensor operator in the Breit frame.

Here results are presented as a progress report of a more comprehensive programme dealing with electroweak properties of baryons studied within the CQM discussed in ref.  and based on Goldstone-boson-exchange (GBE) dynamics. This type of CQM assumes a pairwise linear confinement potential, as suggested by lattice QCD, with a strength according to the string tension of QCD. The quark-quark interaction is derived from the exchange of pseudoscalar bosons producing the (flavour dependent) hyperfine interaction; in the model only the spin-spin component is utilized, which phenomenologically appears to be the most important in the hyperfine splitting of the baryon spectra. The current operator is a single-particle current operator for point-like constituent quarks. This approach corresponds to a relativistic impulse approximation but specifically in point form. It is called point-form spectator approximation (PFSA).

In fig. 1 the ratio $`G_E/G_M`$ of the proton electric to magnetic form factor is shown together with the recent TJNAF data . In fig. 1 the prediction of the model for the neutron charge form factor is also shown. The solid (dashed) curve is obtained when the theoretical (experimental) value of the proton magnetic moment is used. The difference between the two curves is due to the fact that the calculated proton and neutron charge radii turn out to be in very good agreement with experiment ($`r_p^2=0.75`$ fm2, $`r_n^2=0.12`$ fm2) while the magnetic moments are slightly underestimated ($`\mu _p=2.64`$ n.m., $`\mu _n=1.67`$ n.m.). However, one observes that a very good description of both the proton and neutron e.m. structure is achieved . It is remarkable that no further ingredients beyond the quark model wave functions (such as, e.g., constituent quark form factors) have been employed. What is importantant is that only relativistic boost effects are properly included in point-form relativistic quantum mechanics.

For comparison, results for the neutron charge form factor are also shown when calculated in nonrelativistic impulse approximation, i.e. with the standard nonrelativistic form of the current operator and no Lorentz boosts applied to the nucleon wave functions. Also the case with the confinement potential only has been considered in order to appreciate the role of mixed-symmetry components in the wave functions that are absent without the hyperfine interaction.

A similar approach can be used to study the axial current . According to the PCAC hypothesis this current is not conserved. However, one can always split it into conserved and nonconserved parts with the conserved part containing the axial form factor $`G_A`$ only. Therefore one can calculate $`G_A`$ in the same point-form approach used for $`G_E`$ and $`G_M`$.

The results are shown in fig. 2, where comparison is made with data obtained from charged pion electroproduction on protons (see ref.  and references therein). The nonrelativistic result (dashed line) and the calculation without boost (dot-dashed line) are also shown.

The result is quite good at $`Q^20`$, while at $`Q^2=0`$ the value of the calculated axial form factor $`G_A(0)`$ is lower than the value $`g_A`$ used when fitting the data with a dipole form factor $`G_A(Q^2)=g_A/(1+Q^2/M_A^2)^2`$ involving the axial mass $`M_A`$. This indicates a deviation of the present results from the usually assumed dipole form. Correspondingly, the axial radius deduced from the slope at $`Q^2=0`$ is lower than the experimental one. With the present model one has $`<r_A^2>^{1/2}=0.520\text{fm}`$ to be compared with the experimental value $`<r_A^2>^{1/2}=(0.65\pm 0.07)\text{fm}`$ extracted from neutrino experiments and $`<r_A^2>^{1/2}=(0.635\pm 0.023)\text{fm}`$ extracted from pion electroproduction .