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# Thermal conductivity of superconducting MgB₂

## 1 Introduction

Superconductivity with a remarkably high transition temperature $`T_c39`$ K was recently discovered in MgB2 . The subsequent investigation of the boron isotope effect by Bud’ko et al.  revealed a partial isotope exponent $`\alpha _\mathrm{B}0.26`$ (corresponding to $`\mathrm{\Delta }T_c=1`$ K) which appears to be consistent with a phonon-mediated BCS superconducting (SC) mechanism. Also other experimental reports as e.g. on specific heat  argued that their data can be accounted for by a conventional, s-wave type BCS-model. Investigations of the SC gap of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ by means of Raman scattering are also consistent with an isotropic s-wave gap with a moderate coupling $`2\mathrm{\Delta }4.1k_BT_c`$ . However, a theoretical analysis of the temperature dependence of the upper critical field $`H_{c2}(T)`$ in terms of Eliashberg type models by Shulga et al.  demonstrates that the shape and the magnitude of the upper critical field of MgB2 can definitely not be accounted for by an isotropic single band model, but may successfully be described within a multi-band Eliashberg model with various options. A careful calorimetric investigation of the SC parameters of MgB2 by Wang et al.  gave even more direct evidence against the arguments for simple isotropic BCS type superconductivity: “The nearly quadratic dependence of $`C(T)`$ versus $`T`$ at $`TT_c`$, its non-linear field dependence, and the discrepancy between the electron-phonon coupling constant $`\lambda _{ep}`$ as determined by the renormalization of the electron density of states ($`\lambda _{ep}0.6`$) and by McMillan’s equation for isotropic superconductors ($`\lambda _{ep}1.1`$), are inconsistent with a single isotropic gap”. Direct hints for a non BCS temperature dependence of the gap energy $`\mathrm{\Delta }(T)`$ were also obtained by tunneling experiments on MgB2/Ag and MgB2/In junctions .

Thermal conductivity $`\lambda `$ is one of those transport coefficients which exhibits non-zero values in both the normal and the SC state. The temperature dependence of $`\lambda `$ allows to distinguish between the most important interactions present in a superconductor. In particular, the interaction of electrons with phonons are recorded in the magnitude of $`\lambda (T)`$. Moreover, scattering of these particles by static imperfections like impurities, defects or grain boundaries are reflected.

The aim of the present work is to derive the temperature dependent thermal conductivity of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ and to analyse the data with respect to the electronic - and the lattice thermal conductivity both in the normal and the SC state. Moreover, we present resistivity and specific heat measurements in order to characterise the investigated sample.

## 2 Experimental

A $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ sample of about 1.3 g was synthesized by direct reaction of the elements. The starting materials were elemental magnesium (rod 99.9 mass % nominal purity) and boron (99.5 % powder, crystalline, $`<`$ 60 mesh, 99.5 mass %). The elements in a stoichiometric ratio were enclosed in a cylindric tantalum crucible sealed by arc welding under argon atmosphere. The tantalum crucible was then sealed in an iron cylinder and heated for one hour at $`800^{}`$ C and two hours at $`950^{}`$ C in a furnace. The sample characterized by x-ray diffraction show pure $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ phase; only one very weak peak due to extra phase has been found.

The thermal conductivity measurement was performed in a flow cryostat on a cuboid-shaped sample (length: about 1 cm, cross-section: about 2.5 mm2), which was kept cold by anchoring one end of the sample onto a thick copper panel mounted on the heat exchanger of the cryostat. The temperature difference along the sample, established by electrical heating, was determined by means of a differential thermocouple (Au + 0.07 % Fe/Chromel). The measurement was performed under high vacuum and 3 shields mounted around the sample reduced the heat losses due to radiation at finite temperatures. The innermost of these shields is kept on the temperature of the sample via an extra heater maintained by a second temperature controller.

Resistivity data were taken from bar shaped samples applying a standard 4-probe d.c. technique at temperatures down to 0.5 K and in magnetic fields up to 12 T.

Specific heat measurements were carried out on a sample of about 1 g in the temperature range 5 K–50 K using a quasi adiabatic step heating technique.

## 3 Results and discussion

In order to give a direct proof of the SC bulk properties of our MgB2 sample prior to the transport measurements we checked the specific heat . These specific heat measurements performed in zero-field, 1 and 9 T showed reasonable agreement with results previously reported . The thermodynamic mean transition temperature $`\overline{T_c}`$ of our sample is 37.5 K. As already noted in the introduction there have been distinctly different and partly controversial conclusions suggested in Refs. , although their raw data are in fair agreement with each other. Therefore, we show in figure 1 the temperature dependence of the electronic specific heat, $`C_{el}(T)`$ versus $`T,`$ obtained by subtracting the lattice heat capacity deduced from the 9 T specific heat data. Of course, 9 T are insufficient to obtain a complete suppression of superconductivity in MgB2, but there is already a large reduction of the order parameter combined with a dramatic broadening of the transition (see Ref.  for comparison of 10, 14 and 15 T data). Thus, we obtained a Sommerfeld coefficient of the normal-state electronic specific heat $`\gamma 2.4`$(2) mJ/mol K2 by extrapolating the 9 T data in $`C/T`$ versus $`T^2`$ from 30 – 100 K2 to zero temperature which is already close to $`\gamma =2.7\pm 0.15`$ mJ/mol K2 obtained from the 14 and 16 T measurement by Wang et al. . The important point to emphasize in figure 1 is the non BCS-like temperature dependence of the SC-state electronic specific heat. In fact, we observed a similar deviation from a simple BCS temperature dependence (solid line, figure 1) as previously reported by Wang et al.  ($`C_{el}^{BCS}=8.5\gamma T_c\mathrm{exp}[0.82\mathrm{\Delta }(0)/k_BT]`$ for $`T<0.4T_c`$). This discrepancy is supposed to be indicative for the opening of an additional gap below about 10 K . The solid line in figure 1 indicates that a fraction of electrons corresponding to a normal state $`\gamma 1.4`$ mJ/mol K2 is tentatively accounted for by the BCS-fit with $`\mathrm{\Delta }(0)/k_BT_c1.9`$ while a second fraction corresponding to $`\gamma 1.0`$ mJ/mol K2 contributes to the smaller gap opening at temperatures well below $`T_c/2.`$

To further screen the quality of the sample, temperature and magnetic field dependent resistivity measurements $`\rho (T,H)`$ were performed from 0.5 K up to room temperature. Shown in figure 2 (right axis) is $`\rho (T)`$ at zero field. The transition into the SC state occurs at $`T_c=38.9`$ K, which is in fine agreement with already published data. The RRR ratio of this polycrystalline sample is about 6. The resistivity behaviour in the normal state region matches a dependence according to $`\rho (T)=\rho _0+AT^2`$ with the residual resistivity $`\rho _0=12.5\mu \mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cm}`$ and the coefficient $`\mathrm{A}=9\times 10^4\mu \mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cm}`$. A $`T^2`$ behaviour of $`\rho (T)`$ was recently reported  and it seems to reflect interactions between charge carriers. A study of the Hall coefficient implies that electrical transport is dominated by holes . The value of the coefficient $`A`$, however, is significantly smaller than that known e.g., for highly correlated electron systems, but seems to reflect the modest density of states at Fermi energy . It should be mentioned that other power laws with an exponent close to 3 were reported for sintered material of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ . Measurements of the resistivity down to 0.5 K and in fields up to 12 T indicate that $`H_{c2}`$ is well above that limit. Interestingly, the transition region becomes much broader with increasing fields, but different values of imprinted currents (from 5 to 40 mA) do not change the width of the transition.

The temperature dependent thermal conductivity $`\lambda `$ of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ is shown in figure 2. The overall behaviour of $`\lambda (T)`$ is typical of an intermetallic compound where scattering on static imperfections prohibits a pronounced maximum to occur, as it is the case in pure and simple metals. Moreover, the absolute magnitude appears to be of that order, as usually found for intermetallics. Anomalous behaviour of $`\lambda (T)`$ in the proximity of $`T_c`$ is not observed and a local maximum or a pronounced shoulder below $`T_c`$ do not occur in the investigated sample.

Generally, the total thermal conductivity of metals consists of a sum of an electronic contribution $`\lambda _e`$ and a lattice contribution $`\lambda _l`$:

$$\lambda =\lambda _e+\lambda _l.$$
(1)
In order to separate both contributions from the total measured effect, the Wiedemann-Franz law is applied, assumed to be valid, at least, in simple metals. This model relates the electrical resistivity $`\rho `$ with the electronic contribution to the thermal conductivity $`\lambda _e`$ and can be expressed as

$$\lambda _e(T)=\frac{L_0T}{\rho (T)},$$
(2)
where $`L_0=2.45\times 10^8`$ $`\mathrm{W}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{K}^2`$ is the Lorenz number.

Using equation 1 and taking into account the appropriate values of the electrical resistivity in the normal state region of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ (compare figure 2, right axis) allows to split $`\lambda `$ into $`\lambda _e`$ (dashed line, figure 2) and $`\lambda _l`$ (dashed-dotted line, figure 2). This type of analysis indicates that both contributions are almost equal in the entire temperature range of the normal state region of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$.

According to Matthiessen’s rule both $`\lambda _e`$ and $`\lambda _l`$ are limited owing to various scattering processes, which can be expressed in terms of a thermal resistivity $`W`$. In the case of non-magnetic materials, the following temperature dependence of the electronic contribution to the total measured quantity is assumed to be valid :

$$1/\lambda _e(T)W_e(T)=W_{e,0}(T)+W_{e,ph}(T)=\frac{\alpha }{T}+\beta T^2,$$
(3)
where the subscripts (e,0) and (e,ph) refer to interactions of the conduction electrons with static imperfections and thermally excited phonons, respectively; $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$ are material constants.

Equation 3 allows to detemine $`W_{e,0}`$ and $`W_{e,ph}`$. Shown in figure 3 is the electronic thermal resistivity $`W_e`$ of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ displayed in the normal state region up to about 80 K. The solid line is a least squares fit of the data according to equation 3 and the dashed and the dashed-dotted lines represent $`W_{e,0}`$ and $`W_{e,ph}`$, respectively. Thus, the deduced parameters are $`\alpha =0.55\mathrm{cmK}^2/\mathrm{mW}`$ and $`\beta =2.8\times 10^7\mathrm{cm}/\mathrm{mWK}`$. Obviously from figure 3, the scattering of electrons with static imperfections of the crystal becomes dominant as the temperature approaches $`T_c`$.

The relative weight of $`\lambda _e`$ and $`\lambda _l`$ at the SC transition temperature $`T_c`$, as defined from the Wiedemann Franz law, also serves to determine the temperature dependence of $`\lambda _e`$ and subsequently of $`\lambda _l`$ below $`T_c`$. Since within the BCS theory, Cooper pairs do not carry heat and entropy, the scattering terms of equation 3 have to be modified in order to account for the decreasing number of unpaired electrons.

In the SC state, the thermal resistivity $`W_e^s`$ can be represented as

$$W_e^s1/\lambda _e^s=W_{e,0}^s+W_{e,ph}^s=\frac{\alpha }{Tf(t)}+\frac{\beta T^2}{g(t)},$$
(4)
with $`t=T/T_c`$ . The functions $`f(t)`$ and $`g(t)`$ were calculated repeatedly and agree well with experimental findings . In the dirty limit of a superconductor, the first term of equation 4 dominates, i.e., $`1/\lambda _e^sW_e^sW_{e,0}^s`$. In terms of the BRT theory  $`\lambda _e^s(t)/\lambda _e^n`$ is a universal function of $`t`$, dependent on the value - and the temperature dependence of the SC gap $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$.

On the contrary, clean limit superconductors are dominated by the second term of equation 4, revealing $`1/\lambda _e^sW_e^sW_{e,ph}^s`$. Geilikman et al.  have calcutated and tabulated $`g(t)`$ which yields again a universal behaviour on $`t`$. Differently to scattering on imperfections, $`\lambda _e^s(t)/\lambda _e^n(T=T_c)`$ in the BCS limit increases initially with decreasing values of $`t`$ in spite of a rapid decrease of electronic excitations. A maximum occurs at $`t0.28`$ with $`\lambda _e^s(t=0.28)/\lambda _e^n(T=T_c)=2.44`$. Various high temperature superconductors are found to exhibit a maximum in $`\lambda (T)`$ below $`T_c`$ and thus the origin of that feature is, at least partly, attributed to a significant scattering strength of electrons on thermally excited lattice vibrations (compare e.g. ).

Figure 3 evidences that slighty above $`T_c`$, $`W_{e,0}`$ exceeds $`W_{e,ph}`$ by more than one order of magnitude and contributes at this temperature about 95 % to $`W_e`$. This implicitely favours a description of the thermal conductivity of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ based on scattering of electrons on impurities. Nevertheless, for the present analysis of the data both terms of equation 4 are considered in order to analyse the electronic contribution to the total thermal conductivity. Taking into account the functions $`f(t)`$ and $`g(t)`$ and the numerical values of $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$ allows us to determine $`\lambda _e^s`$ below $`T_c`$ (compare figure 4, panel (a)). $`\lambda _e^s`$ decreases with decreasing temperature and is primarily determined by the BRT function $`f(t)`$. The difference $`\lambda \lambda _e^s`$ represents the phonon-originated thermal conductivity $`\lambda _l^s`$ in the SC state. The latter appears to be larger in the SC state than $`\lambda _e^s`$. For temperatures $`T/T_c<0.4`$, the lattice thermal conductivity of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ becomes dominant. This nicely agrees with theoretical considerations . The lattice term $`\lambda _l^s`$ is constrained by various scattering processes; among them are interactions of the phonons with electrons, point defects, dislocations or sheetlike faults.

To account for observed deviations of the SC gap of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ from the BCS theory, the experimental data from tunnel experiments on $`\mathrm{MgB}_2/\mathrm{Ag}`$ and $`\mathrm{MgB}_2/\mathrm{In}`$  have been used to modify the function $`f(t)`$ and thus $`W_{e,0}^s`$. The smaller the value of $`\mathrm{\Delta }(T)`$ with respect to the BCS theory, the less steep is the decrease of $`f(t)`$ when the temperature is lowered. Since $`\mathrm{\Delta }(0)`$ of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ as obtained from that study ($`2\mathrm{\Delta }(0)/k_BT_c2.4`$, ) is well below the BCS value ($`2\mathrm{\Delta }(0)/k_BT_c=3.5`$), $`\lambda _e^s`$ \- in this type of analysis - becomes larger in the SC state down to $`T/T_c0.2`$. Still, $`\lambda _l^s>\lambda _e^s`$. Taking $`\lambda _l^s`$ as derived from the BCS-like gap, however, provides a slightly smoother crossover from the SC - to the normal state region of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$.

Panel (b) of figure 4 shows the temperature dependent thermal resistivity $`W_e^s1/\lambda _e^s`$. Here, the data derived from the BCS model are used. Obviously, scattering of electrons by phonons in the SC state contributes just a fraction to the thermal resistivity $`W_e^s`$, and therefore $`W_{e,0}^s`$ is the most significant term below $`T_c`$. This, of course, will not change if the actual dependence of $`\mathrm{\Delta }(T)`$ is considered.

## 4 Summary

The measurement of the thermal conductivity of $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ reveals no pronounced anomaly at $`T=T_c`$ and furthermore no local maximum occurs at temperatures well below $`T_c`$. Such a behaviour is most likely caused by the dominance of electron (hole) scattering on static imperfections present in the investigated $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ sample. In fact, an analysis based on the BRT model and the model of Geilikman evidences that $`W_{e,0}^s`$ is the predominant term. Beside the classical BCS behaviour of the SC gap, an attempt was made to incorporate the actual gap behaviour reported for $`\mathrm{MgB}_2`$ . The subsequent analysis shows that the electronic contribution to the thermal conductivity becomes larger than in the former case. The application of the Wiedemann Franz law to the experimental data indicates that both the electronic - and the lattice contribution to the total thermal conductivity are almost of the same size over a large temperature range.

## 5 Acknowledgments

This work is supported by the Austrian FWF P12899.

## 6 Figure captions


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# Quenched Narrow-Line Laser Cooling of 40Ca to Near the Photon Recoil Limit

## Abstract

We present a cooling method that should be generally applicable to atoms with narrow optical transitions. This technique uses velocity-selective pulses to drive atoms towards a zero-velocity dark state and then quenches the excited state to increase the cooling rate. We demonstrate this technique of quenched narrow-line cooling by reducing the 1-D temperature of a sample of neutral 40Ca atoms. We velocity select and cool with the 1S0(4s2)$``$3P1(4s4p) 657 nm intercombination line and quench with the 3P1(4s4p)$``$1S0(4s5s) intercombination line at 553 nm, which increases the cooling rate eight-fold. Limited only by available quenching laser power, we have transferred 18 % of the atoms from our initial 2 mK velocity distribution and achieved temperatures as low as 4 $`\mu `$K, corresponding to a vrms of 2.8 cm/s or 2 recoils at 657 nm. This cooling technique, which is closely related to Raman cooling, can be extended to three dimensions.

Following the great success of sub-Doppler laser cooling techniques with alkali atoms, several groups are now striving to achieve similar cooling results for the alkaline-earth atoms, with applications ranging from Bose-Einstein condensation to atomic interferometry and optical frequency standards. Unfortunately, the lack of magnetic and hyperfine sub-structure in the ground states of the predominant alkaline-earth isotopes precludes the usual sub-Doppler mechanisms such as polarization-gradient cooling , velocity-selective coherent population trapping , or Raman cooling . Furthermore, the broad cooling transitions for the alkaline-earth atoms have large Doppler limits, and typically yield magneto-optic trap (MOT) temperatures of more than 1 mK . These complications have necessitated the development of alternative cooling strategies to reach the microkelvin temperatures “routinely” achieved with several alkali species. This paper presents a new approach, termed “quenched narrow-line laser cooling” (QNLC), which uses a narrow optical transition to provide increased velocity selectivity for laser cooling, and quenching of the upper state of this transition to enhance the cooling efficiency. To demonstrate the potential of this technique, we have used repeated velocity-selective stepwise excitation with two intercombination lines of neutral 40Ca to transfer as much as 18 % of the atoms in an initial velocity distribution with a 2 mK temperature into a narrow peak. The lowest 1-D temperature observed was 4 $`\mu `$K with a corresponding transfer efficiency of 7 %. Moreover, these results can be significantly improved simply by increasing the quenching power, and can be readily extended to two or three dimensions. These greatly reduced temperatures should significantly reduce the uncertainty in Ca-based optical frequency standards, for which a recent measurement of the absolute frequency was principally limited by residual atomic velocity .

Our approach to second-stage cooling takes advantage of the two-electron structure of these atoms, which gives rise to narrow intercombination lines. In principle, these transitions can serve as excellent frequency or velocity (via the first-order Doppler shift) discriminators, which are ideal for sub-recoil laser cooling. The spectacular results achieved with the intercombination line of 88Sr, for which temperatures of 700 nK have been attained, confirm the potential of these transitions . Unfortunately, for several species, such as Ca and Mg, the intercombination line is too weak to effectively cool a distribution with an initial temperature of several millikelvins. Nonetheless, Binnewies et al.  were able to use the velocity selectivity of the Ca intercombination line at 657 nm to demonstrate a new cooling mechanism, Maxwell-demon cooling. They were able to achieve a net transfer of 5 % of the initial distribution into a peak with a 1-D temperature of $`<`$ 10 $`\mu `$K. However, this technique does not seem to lend itself to 3-D cooling, which is critical for many applications.

A more versatile approach is to increase the cooling efficiency by quenching the upper level of the narrow transition through excitation to another state that decays more quickly to the ground state. In Fig. 1 we show how we quench the metastable 3P1 state in Ca (lifetime = 400 $`\mu `$s) through excitation to the 1S0 (4s5s) level (lifetime = 30 ns) via the intercombination line at 553 nm. The enhancement of narrow-line cooling rates through quenching was first demonstrated in the context of sideband cooling of trapped ions . When applied to neutral atoms, quenching can increase the cooling efficiency not only by speeding up the rate at which one repeats cooling cycles, but also by giving the atoms additional momentum kicks towards zero velocity. These advantages were used to increase the force on a metastable He atomic beam by excitation of a two-photon transition with simultaneous light fields .

To take advantage of the velocity selectivity of the narrow transition, however, it is essential to excite the atoms in a stepwise manner with time-separated pulses. One can then implement the velocity-selective excitation strategies that have been used with great success in Raman cooling. In the first demonstration of Raman cooling, Kasevich and Chu used a Raman transition between hyperfine ground states to cool Na atoms to a 1-D temperature of 100 nK and a 3-D temperature of 4.3 $`\mu `$. Later Reichel et al. used square Raman-cooling pulses to achieve a 1-D temperature of 3 nK for Cs .

For quenching times short compared to excitation times used for the narrow transition, we propose the following QNLC procedure and illustrate it with the Ca system. We start by pumping a velocity slice towards zero velocity using light whose frequency is tuned slightly red of the 1S0$``$3P1 intercombination line at 657 nm (see Fig. 1). Due to the narrow linewidth of this transition (400 Hz), the spectra of our red pulses are Fourier-transform limited, so we can easily control the width and shape of the velocity group excited. We then quench the 3P1 population with a 553 nm light pulse (copropagating with the red pump beam), which moves the population to the 1S0(4s5s) state and gives the velocity-selected atoms a second momentum kick towards zero velocity. From this state the atoms quickly return to the ground state via two cascaded decays (see Fig. 1) with their associated (randomly directed) recoils. Next we use a similar sequence of red and green pulses from the opposite direction to pump a second velocity slice, symmetrically located on the opposite side of the distribution, towards zero. A single cooling cycle can thus reduce atomic velocities on both sides of the distribution by two-photon momenta (analogous to the case of Raman cooling). We repeat this cooling cycle many times, driving the atoms towards zero velocity, which coincides with a zero in our sinc2 Fourier-transform-limited excitation function. In this way, atoms that accumulate around zero velocity have only a small probability of being pumped away, so in principle, extremely low temperatures can be achieved. As in the case of Raman cooling, the cooling limit is set by the cooling time and the width of the small transition-probability region around zero velocity, but not by the random recoils. Narrower sinc2 functions (i.e. longer red pulses in the time domain) yield colder temperatures, but they address a smaller range of velocities, so there is a compromise between temperature and number, unless cooling with a sequence of pulse widths is used .

In our experimental demonstration of this technique, inadequate light power at 553 nm (limited by what could be transferred through a 180 m fiber) led to quenching times that were an order of magnitude longer than the velocity-selective cooling pulses. Under these conditions it was more efficient to use a slightly modified version of the procedure just described, in which we use a standing-wave pulse of 553 nm light to quench the 3P1 state after each pair of counter-propagating red pulse excitations. The drawback to this approach is the randomness introduced in the direction of the momentum kick from the quenching pulse. This loss, however, is more than offset in our case by the increased intensity of a standing (rather than travelling) wave that reduces the quenching time and the number of quenching pulses (by two) used per cooling cycle.

Our experimental realization of this cooling method (see Fig. 2) begins with an $``$ 7 ms loading cycle, during which we load 107 atoms from a Ca beam into a MOT (see Ref.  for details of our diode-laser based MOT) using the 423 nm 1S0$``$1P1 cooling transition (see Fig. 1). After this first cooling stage the temperature of the atomic sample is about 2 mK (corresponding to a vrms of 0.6 m/s), slightly above the 0.8 mK Doppler limit. To avoid large light shifts of the ground state that would compromise the velocity selectivity of the red cooling transition, we turn off the blue trapping light for the duration of the second-stage cooling. We then commence QNLC with a pair of counter-propagating red pulses (2.5 $`\mu `$s square-shaped $`\pi `$-pulses), separated by 2 $`\mu `$s in time. This 657 nm light is spatially filtered with an optical fiber and collimated to a diameter of 4 mm (8 mW in each beam). In order to excite the m=0$``$m=0 transition, the light is linearly polarized parallel to the dominant B-field direction (due to a trap imbalance, the atoms rest at a 6 G point in our magnetic field gradient, which remains on during the entire measurement). We tune the laser to a frequency $``$ 350 kHz (corresponding to a velocity of 23 cm/s) red of resonance so that the first zero of the sinc2 frequency spectrum is within 5 kHz of resonance for atoms at rest. The frequency of the red light is stabilized to an environmentally isolated, high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity resonance, whose drift is cancelled to less than 0.3 kHz/minute (typical data averaging times were about 1 minute). After the first pair of counter-propagating red pulses, atoms that were transferred to the excited state are pumped to the 1S0(4s5s) m=0 state by a 553 nm pulse (duration of $``$ 50 $`\mu `$s) with an efficiency of $``$ 50 %. As a result of the small transition rate (we estimate $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$(1S0(4s5s)$``$3P1(4s4p)) $``$ 2440(600) s-1), we could only attain a 1/e quenching time of 55 $`\mu `$s, with 17 mW of green light collimated to a standing wave diameter of 3 mm . The frequency-stabilized green light is generated by a dye laser in another laboratory and sent to us via optical fiber. This light intersects the atoms at an angle of $``$ 8o relative to the red cooling beams. From the 1S0(4s5s) state the atoms decay rapidly ($`<`$ 35 ns) to the ground state by way of the 1P1 state. Then follows a second pair of counter-propagating red pulses, but this time in reverse order (see Fig. 2) to make the overall cooling process more symmetric. Due to the lobes of the sinc2 frequency spectrum there is some probability that the second pulse of a pulse pair can transfer atoms excited by the first red pulse back to the ground state, making the cooling due to the first pulse slightly less efficient. After the second pair of red pulses, a second green quenching pulse follows to complete the cooling cycle. We then repeat the cooling cycle (consisting of two pairs of counter-propagating pulses, each followed by a standing-wave quenching pulse) 8 to 20 times. At the end of this sequence we clean out the 3P1 state with an extra green pulse lasting 100 to 150 $`\mu `$s that leaves less than 3 % of the population in the excited state. We then measure the velocity distribution.

Our velocity probe consists of a single 657 nm pulse (10 or 20 $`\mu `$s in duration, depending on our desired spectral resolution) that excites a narrow velocity slice of atoms to the excited state. It excites the m=0$``$m=0 transition, and is collinear with the red cooling beams. While continuously cycling the complete measurement sequence, we slowly sweep the frequency of the velocity probe over the atomic velocity range to generate our distributions. We typically average 60 sweeps of 0.5 s duration to generate a data set. In order to achieve a good signal-to-noise ratio for these velocity distribution measurements, we use two 423 nm probe pulses in a normalized shelving detection scheme that we developed for our optical clock (see Fig. 2) .

In Figure 3 we show the effect of 15 cooling cycles taken with a red pulse length of 2.5 $`\mu `$s and a green pulse length of 50 $`\mu `$s. We see that the QNLC process transfers most of the atoms in the range of 30 cm/s into the narrow peak at zero velocity, consistent with the expected momentum transfer from our cooling pulses. A Gaussian fit to the central peak yielded a vrms of 6 cm/s, or about 4 recoils at 657 nm, corresponding to a 1-D temperature of 17 $`\mu `$K. The transfer efficiency can be estimated by comparing the area of the peak to the area of the initial distribution - in this case we find 30 % transfer. However, since approximately half of the atoms have escaped the interaction region since we first turned off the trapping beams, we have a net efficiency closer to 15 % (we have seen net efficiencies as high as 18 %). Fast ballistic expansion due to our warm initial temperature causes the atoms to move into weaker parts of the laser beams during the cooling and probe periods. Because of laser power constraints, we are unable to increase the beam sizes, thus the number of cooling cycles we can use is severely limited.

Indeed, when more cooling cycles are used, we see increased transfer efficiency and narrower distributions (as was demonstrated in Raman cooling experiments ). However the longer cooling time required means more atoms are lost transverse to the cooling direction. We experimented with using more cooling cycles with less efficient quenching and found that the central peak was fairly insensitive over the range from 18 cycles with 30 $`\mu `$s quenching time to 8 cycles with 70 $`\mu `$s quenching time (keeping the total cooling time approximately fixed at 1.5 ms).

The 14 cm/s width of the central peak in Fig. 3 is a result of the convolution of the velocity distribution and the velocity probe. Data taken at higher probe resolution indicate that vrms for these conditions is less than 4 cm/s (7.5 $`\mu `$K). To strive for colder temperatures, we increased the red pulse length to 5 $`\mu `$s to give a sharper velocity discriminator. Figure 4 shows a velocity distribution resulting from 10 cooling cycles using these longer cooling pulses. To keep the 657 nm pulse area constant for these measurements, we chose to double the size of the red beams rather than reduce their power in an effort to increase their pumping efficiency. We also adjusted the detuning to $``$ -173 kHz (corresponding to 11.4 cm/s) to place the zero of the excitation function at zero velocity. Indeed, we see narrower distributions under these conditions (we estimate a deconvolved value of vrms $`<`$ 2.8 cm/s, corresponding to temperature of 3.7 $`\mu `$K) and the expected smaller fraction of atoms in the peak (7 % net efficiency) due to the reduced range of velocities covered. We also see quite clearly several other nodes of the sinc2 function that serve as additional dark velocities where the atoms can accumulate. We fully expect that at higher resolutions we can achieve sub-recoil temperatures, as was seen in the Raman cooling experiments. Monte Carlo simulations of the cooling process (including the recoils at 553 nm, 1.03 $`\mu `$m, and 423 nm) support this expectation.

From these results, a strategy that can cool a large fraction of the initial distribution to very cold temperatures becomes evident, namely to use a series of pulses at different resolutions and detunings . To be able to exploit such a strategy, however, we need to accelerate the cooling process. With simple scaling of the 553 nm power, we calculate that a fifteen-fold increase (dye lasers regularly supply 20x the power we currently send to our atoms) would enable us to cool the atoms nine times faster. Results from a Monte Carlo simulation assuming a 1/e pumping time of 4 $`\mu `$s and using multiple red cooling pulses ranging from 2.5 to 5 $`\mu `$s in duration indicate that we can expect to transfer 50 % of the atoms into a peak with sub-recoil temperature.

Moreover, one can envision a feasible 3-D strategy in which one cools alternately in three dimensions , with each reduction in temperature effectively increasing the available cooling time. Due to the multi-recoils involved in this experiment, it would be hard to achieve 3-D sub-recoil temperatures due to recoil heating in transverse dimensions. However, with appropriate shaping of our red pulses  a limit of several recoils seems quite feasible, especially in light of the near-recoil temperatures achieved with 3-D Raman cooling . Furthermore, as one nears the recoil limit and presumably has increased the cooling time available, one could remove the quenching and use the decay of the 3P1 state itself to reduce the recoil effect. Regardless, 3-D temperatures of a few microkelvins rather than millikelvins would greatly benefit the Ca optical frequency standard, atomic interferometry, and other applications.

In conclusion, we have proposed a second-stage cooling scheme based on quenched narrow-line laser cooling. We have used this technique to reduce the temperature of a 40Ca atomic cloud in 1-D by a factor of 500. With ample quenching power, near sub-recoil temperatures in 3-D should be possible. Moreover, this technique should be applicable to other atoms (such as Mg) with narrow optical transitions and available quenching transitions.

We thank J. Bergquist and U. Tanaka, who generously supplied the 553 nm light used in this work.

\*Also at Phys. Dept., University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309.


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# Effect of External Noise Correlation in Optical Coherence Resonance

## Abstract

Coherence resonance occurring in semiconductor lasers with optical feedback is studied via the Lang-Kobayashi model with external non-white noise in the pumping current. The temporal correlation and the amplitude of the noise have a highly relevant influence in the system, leading to an optimal coherent response for suitable values of both the noise amplitude and correlation time. This phenomenon is quantitatively characterized by means of several statistical measures.

PACS numbers: 05.40.–a, 42.65.Sf, 42.55.Px

Despite random fluctuations usually constitute a source of disorder in dynamical systems, many examples exist in which they lead instead to an increase of order in the system behavior. Among these examples, stochastic resonance stands out for its implications in many different areas of science . In the conventional situation, stochastic resonance consists of an optimization due to noise of the response of a nonlinear system to a weak periodic driving . But even in the absence of external periodic forcing, noise can be helpful in sustaining a coherent oscillatory response in the system, provided the operation point is close to a limit cycle  or within an excitable regime . This phenomenon has been called coherence resonance (CR), and has been recently found also in bistable  and chaotic  systems.

One of the earliest and most influential experimental observations of stochastic resonance was made in a laser system . Similarly, optical systems have also provided in recent years clear-cut examples of excitable behavior, including observations in semiconductor lasers subject to optical feedback , lasers with saturable absorber , passive nonlinear ring cavities , lasers with injected signal , and self-pulsing lasers . Following these studies, optical CR was predicted theoretically in the self-pulsing laser  and observed experimentally in the semiconductor laser with optical feedback . In this latter case, noise is added to the driving current of the laser, and gives rise to a pulsed behavior in the system, in the form of sudden drop-outs in the evolution of the light intensity. The regularity of the drop-out series initially increases with increasing fluctuations, and peaks for an optimal amount of noise. The present Communication is devoted to the theoretical modeling of this situation, making use of a rate equation system including a delay term, i.e. the well-know Lang-Kobayashi (LK) model  generalized to take into account the insertion of external noise into the system through the laser’s pumping current.

Our results show that a white-noise assumption is not adequate to account for the observed resonant behavior. In fact, such a supposition is not realistic, due to the fast time scales in which this system evolves ($``$ tens of ps), smaller than or on the order of the characteristic time scales of the fastest fluctuations that can be experimentally introduced, which are restricted by 0 limitations of the electronics involved ($``$GHz). Following these considerations, we have considered a time-correlated external noise, and found that coherence is maximal not only for an optimal noise amplitude, but also for an optimal noise correlation time. In what follows, such a double coherence resonance is described in detail and characterized by suitable statistical measures.

The LK model describes the temporal evolution of the slowly varying complex envelope of the electric field $`E(t)`$ inside the laser and the excess carrier number $`N(t)`$, considering only one longitudinal mode of the solitary laser, and one single reflection from the external feedback mirror (i.e. multiple reflections are neglected, which is valid for not too large reflectivities). In dimensionless form the model reads :

$`{\displaystyle \frac{dE}{dt}}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1+i\alpha }{2}}(G(E,N)\gamma )E(t)`$ (2)
$`+\kappa e^{i\omega \tau _f}E(t\tau _f)+\sqrt{2\beta N}\zeta (t)`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{dN}{dt}}`$ $`=`$ $`\gamma _e\left\{C[1+\xi (t)]N_{\mathrm{th}}N(t)\right\}G(E,N)|E(t)|^2,`$ (3)
where $`\gamma `$ and $`\gamma _e`$ are the inverse lifetimes of photons and carriers, respectively, $`C`$ is the pumping rate (directly related to the driving current; $`C=1`$ is the solitary-laser threshold), $`\alpha `$ is the linewidth enhancement factor, and $`\omega `$ is the solitary-laser frequency. The last term in the electric-field equation represents spontaneous emission fluctuations, with $`\zeta (t)`$ a Gaussian white noise of zero mean and unity intensity, and $`\beta `$ measuring the internal noise strength. The material-gain function $`G(E,N)`$ is given by

$$G(E,N)=\frac{g(N(t)N_0)}{1+s|E(t)|^2},$$
(4)
where $`g`$ is the differential gain coefficient and $`s`$ the saturation coefficient. The threshold carrier number is $`N_{\mathrm{th}}=\gamma /g+N_0`$. The optical feedback is described by two parameters: the feedback strength $`\kappa `$ and the external round–trip time $`\tau _f`$. Finally, the external noise is represented by the term $`\xi (t)`$, which according to the discussion made above, is taken to be a time-correlated noise of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck type, gaussianly distributed with zero mean and correlation

$$\xi (t)\xi (t^{})=\frac{D}{\tau _c}e^{(tt^{})/\tau _c}$$
(5)
This external noise is characterized by two parameters, its intensity $`D`$ and its correlation time $`\tau _c`$. The variance of the noise is given by $`D/\tau _c`$, and hence we will measure its amplitude as $`\sigma =\sqrt{D/\tau _c}`$.

The LK model with no external noise has been profusely used in the past to model the dynamics of semiconductor lasers subject to optical feedback. In particular, it satisfactorily describes the appearance of drop-outs when the system is perturbed with electrical pulses over a threshold value, with the feature that the shape of the generated (inverted) pulses is basically independent of the perturbation . This behavior, which is characteristic of excitable systems and appears when the laser is operated close to the solitary laser threshold, agrees with experimental observations . For larger pumping rates (but still close to the laser threshold) the intensity dropouts appear spontaneously, i.e. no external excitation is needed to produce them. Figure 1 displays an example of this behavior, in terms of the evolution of both the intensity $`I(t)`$ and phase difference between consecutive round-trips $`\eta (t)=\varphi (t)\varphi (t\tau _f)`$, with $`E(t)=\sqrt{I}\mathrm{exp}(i\varphi )`$. The occurrence of pulses in the form of power drop-outs in the intensity time series can be clearly identified, and they are seen to correspond with well-defined pulses in the electric-field phase difference.

It should be noted that the intensity time trace shown in Fig. 1(a) has been filtered to $`100`$ MHz, in order to mimic the bandwidth effect of typical photodetectors. For large enough filtering bandwidth (or for no filtering at all), the corresponding evolution takes the form of ultrashort intensity pulses (with durations on the order of tens of ps) , whose envelope exhibits the low-frequency drop-outs shown in Fig. 1(a).

Since the internal spontaneous-emission noise $`\zeta (t)`$ cannot be experimentally controlled, we now turn our attention to the effect of the external noise $`\eta (t)`$ upon the system. This effect can be understood by examining the mechanism behind the above-mentioned power drop-outs, which is well understood in the framework of the LK model (i.e. under the assumption of single-mode operation of the laser). This model exhibits multiple coexisting fixed points, which appear in pairs of solutions called modes and antimodes. The antimodes are saddle points, and most of the modes are also unstable due to a Hopf bifurcation . However, at least one of the modes (the one with maximum power) is stable. In this complex phase-space landscape, a large enough fluctuation may be able to take the system away from the basin of attraction of the stable fixed point and, upon collision with a neighboring antimode, produce a sudden increase in the phase difference \[see Fig. 1(b)\] which corresponds to a power drop-out. The corresponding escape time, also called activation time $`t_a`$, is a random variable whose average decreases with the intensity of the external noise according to Kramers’ law . Following the drop-out, a build-up process begins in which the system undergoes a chaotic itinerancy around the Hopf-unstable modes, jumping consecutively from one to the next while being drifted back towards the stable maximum-gain mode . For small intensities of the external noise, the excursion time $`t_e`$ required by this process is basically independent of noise, and has the role of a refractory time during which no drop-outs can be induced. As noise intensity increases the escape events become more frequent, reducing the standard deviation of the interspike intervals accordingly. A minimum of variability occurs for an optimal amount of noise when the drop-out separation is of the order of $`t_e`$. Beyond that point, noise intensity is large enough to produce escapes before the build-up process is finished (i.e. before the stable mode is reached), which leads to an irregular series of pulses. This sequence of events is depicted in Fig. 2, which shows three time traces of the phase difference $`\eta (t)`$ for increasing amplitudes of the external noise, keeping its correlation time constant. In this case, the semiconductor laser is biased at $`1\%`$ above the solitary-laser threshold, a situation for which the system is stable in the absence of external noise. A small amount of noise produces infrequent drop-outs \[Fig. 2(a)\], which become more numerous and regular as the noise amplitude increases \[Fig. 2(b)\]. For large noise strengths the pulses become increasingly irregular, both in separation and in amplitude \[Fig. 2(c)\]. Hence, an optimal amplitude of the external noise exists for which the coherence of the pulsed output of the laser is optimal.

In order to quantitatively characterize this effect, we compute the standard deviations $`R_\theta `$ and $`R_\mu `$ of the normalized drop-out separation $`\theta =T/T`$ and normalized drop-out amplitude $`\mu =A/A`$, respectively , where the statistical averages are performed over both time and different realizations of the noise. Numerically, to detect a drop-out we study the behavior of the phase difference $`\eta (t)`$, since its variation is smoother than that of the intensity, and easier to characterize. A drop-out occurrence is recorded when the phase difference $`\eta `$ suddenly increases in a fixed large amount (e.g. $`12\pi `$ in our case) . The drop-out amplitude $`A`$ is a measure of the total height of the phase pulse.

We have computed the standard deviations $`R_\theta `$ and $`R_\mu `$ for increasing noise amplitude, averaging up to 20,000 drop-outs in each measure. The result is plotted in Fig. 3(a), and confirms the qualitative conclusions that have been drawn above from Fig. 2, at least as far as the variability of the pulse separation, $`R_\theta `$, is concerned. This quantity is a non-monotonic function of the noise amplitude, being minimal for an optimal amount of noise. The irregularity of the drop-out amplitudes, on the other hand, increases monotonically with noise. This result coincides with experimental observations , and reflects the fact that the frequency with which noise breaks up the build-up process increases steadily with the amount of noise added.

In order to take into account both the drop-out separation and amplitude simultaneously in the determination of the signal’s regularity, it is useful to define a joint entropy $`H(\theta ,\mu )`$ of the two quantities, where $`H=P\mathrm{log}P`$, with $`P`$ the joint probability density of the two random variables . For the case of two Gaussian independent random variables the following relation holds : $`\mathrm{exp}(H(\theta ,\mu ))=2\pi eR_\theta R_\mu `$. We will assume that this result is approximately valid in our case, and compute the joint entropy accordingly. The result is given in Fig. 3(b), which shows again a maximum regularity of the drop-out series for an optimal noise amplitude, this time taking into account both the pulse separation and amplitude. In fact, the minimum is in this case more clearly defined.

We note that all results presented so far have been computed for a fixed correlation time of the noise $`\tau _c=24`$ ps, on the order of the fast time scale of the deterministic dynamics. In fact, as the white-noise limit is approached the amount of noise necessary to obtain similar effects climbs up to unreasonably high values. The reason is that the carrier dynamics acts as a frequency filter for the external noise \[see equation for $`N(t)`$ in (2)\], which also prevents the system from responding to high-frequency modulations of the pump current. Therefore, most of the power of a white noise has no effect upon the system dynamics, and the noise intensity needs to be very large in order to have a noticeable influence (a similar effect has been observed in periodic-modulation studies ). In the opposite frequency limit a similar situation occurs: for low-frequency forcing the carrier dynamics has enough time to follow the modulation, and the system responds simply with a modulated output. Only for intermediate frequencies will the external forcing be able to influence the drop-out statistics and enhance the coherent response of the system. In order to verify this conjecture, we now fix the amplitude $`\sigma =\sqrt{D/\tau _c}`$ of the external noise and analyze the behavior of the system for an increasing correlation time of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise defined by Eq. (5). The result is shown in Fig. 4 for three different values of $`\tau _c`$. It can be seen that the regularity of the pulsed time series is maximal for intermediate values of the noise correlation time.

We quantify again the qualitative observation made in the previous paragraph by computing the standard deviations $`R_\theta `$ and $`R_\mu `$, and the joint entropy $`H(\theta ,\mu )`$ of the normalized drop-out separation and amplitude. The results, shown in Fig. (5), exhibit the same behavior as in the case of an increasing noise amplitude. Coherence of the pulsed behavior is in this case maximal for a correlation time of the noise $`\tau _c30`$ ps. This behavior can be interpreted as a resonance with the fast deterministic dynamics of the system. A similar resonance has been recently observed experimentally in a chemical excitable medium .

In conclusion, we have shown the existence of double coherence resonance in an excitable optical system (a semiconductor laser with optical feedback) driven by an external correlated noise. The assumption of a non-delta temporal correlation of the noise is fully meaningful, given the fast characteristic time scale of the deterministic dynamics of the system. The pulsed response of the laser, which takes the form of intensity drop-outs, exhibits a maximal coherence for optimal values of both the amplitude and correlation time of the external noise. These results agree satisfactorily with previous experimental observations. Other recent investigations have analyzed the influence of correlated noise in model systems exhibiting coherence resonance , but in those cases the corresponding deterministic system lacked a natural second time scale (different from the optimal pulse separation) which could account for the resonance with respect to the noise correlation time. In the present case, however, such a time scale does exist naturally in the system.

We acknowledge financial support from MCyT (Spain), under projects BFM2000-1108 and BFM2000-0624, and from DGES (Spain), under projects PB98-0935 and PB97-0141.


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# Back to the subseismic approximation for core undertones

## 1 Introduction

To study the long-periods oscillations of the Earth outer core, geophysicists commonly use the so-called “subseismic approximation”. This approximation has been proposed by Smylie and Rochester (1981) to reduce the order of the non-rotating governing equations from fourth to second. It aims at filtering out the high-frequency seismic P-waves from dynamics while taking into account the density variations across the core. Using the classical Boussinesq approximation for this problem is indeed quite satisfactory since, although the acoustic-like waves are filtered out, the equilibrium density is assumed to be constant (Spiegel and Veronis, 1960).

A similar approximation, the so-called “anelastic approximation”, is used in meteorology and astrophysics to describe compressible convection. This approximation has first been derived by Batchelor (1953) and Ogura and Phillips (1962) to study the dry convection of the Earth troposphere. Their aim was to eliminate the sound waves from the hydrodynamic equations since these rapid waves impose very small time steps in the numerical integration. In addition, they wanted to take into account the density variations across the atmosphere so the Boussinesq approximation was still too restrictive. Quite naturally, this anelastic approximation has been used in astrophysics to the convective zones of stars (see e.g. Gilman and Glatzmaier, 1981). This approximation has also been used to describe the long-period oscillations propagating in the Earth atmosphere and star interiors. For example, Durran (1989) calculated the low-frequency oscillations of an isothermal atmosphere using the anelastic equations of Ogura and Phillips (1962). In the same way, Dintrans and Rieutord (2000) computed the oscillations of rapidly rotating stars. In order to decrease the size of the numerical rotating problem, a good solution indeed consists to filter out acoustic quantities while taking into account the large density variations encountered in radiative zones of stars.

The subseismic approximation has also been used in the field of stellar oscillations to describe the long-period gravity modes propagating in non-rotating stars. De Boeck et al. (1992) studied these modes by using the same subseismic set of equations as in Smylie and Rochester (1981). More recently, Dintrans and Rieutord (2001) proposed a comparative study of the anelastic and subseismic approximations applied to this problem (hereafter referred to as Paper I). There we showed that the subseismic approximation is not in fact a consistent approximation for the equations of motion. This result has been asserted by comparing the anelastic and subseismic eigenfrequencies with the complete ones in the case of the homogeneous star and the polytrope $`n=3`$. Analytic solutions have been derived for the homogeneous case and the anelastic eigenfrequencies appear to be about twenty times more precise than the subseismic ones. In the same way, the computed anelastic eigenfrequencies are of about five times more precise than the subseismic ones in the polytropic case. We therefore concluded on the better efficiency of the anelastic approximation as far as stellar low-frequency oscillations are concerned.

The aim of this paper is to compare now both approximations in a geophysical context, namely that of the long-period oscillations of the Earth outer core. The subseismic approximation has been already tested in core dynamics and the resulting errors appear to be always at most $`𝒪(1\%)`$ (Smylie et al., 1984; Crossley et al., 1991; Crossley and Rochester, 1992). No comparative study with the anelastic approximation has been however made for this problem. In particular, the real benefit of the using of the subseismic approximation instead of the anelastic one is not clear. In fact, we will show that both approximations lead to the same results for the core undertones. It means that, contrary to stars, the inconsistency of the subseismic approximation does not induce unfortunate consequences in this case. Using the anelastic approximation is however preferable because it is self-consistent, simpler and can be successfully extended to more stratified astrophysical problems.

The plan of the paper is the following: after setting out the basic equations governing the adiabatic oscillations of a non-rotating fluid (Section 2.1), we recall the main features of the subseismic and anelastic approximations (Section 2.2) and give some details on the numerical method used to solve the oscillation equations (Section 2.3). The results of our calculations are then presented with the comparisons of the subseismic and anelastic eigenperiods with the complete ones (Section 3). We conclude with some outlooks of our results, with in particular their immediate implication to the more difficult rotating problem (Section 4).

## 2 The formalism

### 2.1 The equilibrium model and the complete oscillation equations

The identification by seismology of stable stratification zones in the Earth outer fluid core is still today controversial. Two stable stratified zones are in fact expected: (i) one zone may be located at its bottom (ICB) due to the release of light elements by the crystallization of the inner core (Souriau and Poupinet, 1991); (ii) a second zone may be located at its top (CMB) due to a thermal buoyancy flux coming from the mantle (Lister and Buffet, 1998). From observations of normal mode eigenperiods, Masters (1979) constrained the minimum value of the core Brunt-Väisälä period to be 6h, a value consistent with the core mixing due to convection (Crossley, 1984; Smylie et al., 1984). Thus many authors (Crossley and Rochester, 1980; Crossley et al., 1991; Crossley and Rochester, 1992) chose to take a uniform Brunt-Väisälä period of 6h in their studies of core dynamics and this model has also been used here.

Assuming a time-dependence of the form $`\mathrm{exp}(i\sigma t)`$ and neglecting rotation, the adiabatic oscillations of a self-gravitating fluid around its reference state obey the following linearized equations

$`\sigma ^2\stackrel{}{\xi }=\stackrel{}{}\left({\displaystyle \frac{P^{}}{\rho _0}}+\varphi ^{}\right)+N^2\left(\xi _r{\displaystyle \frac{P^{}}{\rho _0g_0}}\right)\stackrel{}{e}_r,`$ (1)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{P^{}}{\rho _0}}+c_0^2\text{div}\stackrel{}{\xi }g_0\xi _r=0,`$ (2)
$`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi ^{}=4\pi G\rho _0\left({\displaystyle \frac{P^{}}{\rho _0c_0^2}}+{\displaystyle \frac{N^2}{g_0}}\xi _r\right).`$ (3)
where the variables $`P^{}`$ and $`\varphi ^{}`$ are respectively the Eulerian perturbations of pressure and gravitational potential and $`\stackrel{}{\xi }`$ is the Lagrangian displacement. The radial profiles $`\rho _0,g_0`$ and $`c_0^2`$ respectively denotes the density, gravity and square of seismic P-wave velocity and are given by the stable 6h core model of Crossley and Rochester (1992) with

$$N^2=g_0\left(\frac{g_0}{c_0^2}+\frac{1}{\rho _0}\frac{d\rho _0}{dr}\right)=\left(\frac{2\pi }{6\text{ hr}}\right)^2=8.461\times 10^8\text{ s}^2.$$
(4)
As in Crossley and Rochester (1980), we assume rigid boundaries both at the ICB ($`r=a`$) and CMB ($`r=b`$) since eigenfrequencies computed using such conditions are in excellent agreement with those computed for the whole Earth (see also Crossley et al., 1991). In addition, the gravitational potential should be continuous across these surfaces which leads, for a mode of degree $`\mathrm{}`$, to the following boundary conditions

$$\{\begin{array}{c}\xi _r=\frac{d\varphi ^{}}{dr}\frac{\mathrm{}}{r}\varphi ^{}=0\text{at}r=a,\hfill \\ \\ \xi _r=\frac{d\varphi ^{}}{dr}+\frac{\mathrm{}(\mathrm{}+1)}{r}\varphi ^{}=0\text{at}r=b.\hfill \end{array}$$
(5)
### 2.2 The inconsistency of the subseismic approximation

The anelastic and subseismic approximations are based on the same assumption which is that the Eulerian fluctuations $`P^{}`$ do not contribute to the Lagrangian ones $`\delta P`$, that is

$$\delta P=P^{}+\frac{dP_0}{dr}\xi _r=P^{}\rho _0g_0\xi _r\rho _0g_0\xi _r\text{if}\frac{P^{}}{\rho _0g_0}\xi _r.$$
(6)
Quite surprisingly, this common basic assumption does not lead to the same approximated form of the equation of mass conservation since

$$\text{Anelastic: }\text{div}\stackrel{}{\xi }+\frac{d\text{ln}\rho _0}{dr}\xi _r=0,\text{Subseismic: }\text{div}\stackrel{}{\xi }\frac{g_0}{c_0^2}\xi _r=0.$$
(7)
We showed in I that the subseismic form of this equation is in fact incompatible with the basic assumption (6) since the neglect of $`P^{}`$ in $`\delta P`$ also implies the neglect of $`\rho ^{}`$ in $`\delta \rho `$, i.e.

$$P^{}\frac{dP_0}{dr}\xi _r\rho ^{}\frac{d\rho _0}{dr}\xi _r\text{or}\delta P\frac{dP_0}{dr}\xi _r\delta \rho \frac{d\rho _0}{dr}\xi _r.$$

As a consequence, the only consistent form of the equation of mass conservation is the anelastic one according to

$$\rho ^{}+\frac{d\rho _0}{dr}\xi _r+\rho _0\text{div}\stackrel{}{\xi }=0\text{div}\stackrel{}{\xi }+\frac{d\text{ln}\rho _0}{dr}\xi _r=0\text{or}\text{div}(\rho _0\stackrel{}{\xi })=0.$$

The density variations must be neglected in the mass balance if (6) is assumed.

An other important result derived in I concerns the uncoupling of the gravity perturbations $`\varphi ^{}`$. Assuming (6), we indeed deduce the following system from Eqs. (1), (7) and boundary conditions (5)

$$\{\begin{array}{c}\sigma ^2\stackrel{}{}\times \stackrel{}{\xi }=\stackrel{}{}\times (N^2\xi _r\stackrel{}{e}_r),\hfill \\ \\ \text{div}\stackrel{}{\xi }+\frac{d\text{ln}\rho _0}{dr}\xi _r=0\text{or}\text{div}\stackrel{}{\xi }\frac{g_0}{c_0^2}\xi _r=0,\hfill \\ \\ \xi _r(a)=\xi _r(b)=0.\hfill \end{array}$$
(8)
This second-order set of equations valid for $`\stackrel{}{\xi }`$ and $`\sigma ^2`$ clearly forms a well-posed eigenvalue problem so that the subseismic and anelastic eigenfrequencies can be computed without the taking into account of the $`\varphi ^{}`$ perturbations.

### 2.3 Numerics

As mentioned in Section 2.1, we choose the same equilibrium model as in Crossley and Rochester (1992), that is a stable core with a Brunt-Väisälä period of 6hr. This constant period gives us a natural time scale for our problem whereas the CMB radius $`b`$ will be the length scale. Then the dimensionless perturbed fields are expanded onto spherical harmonics with, for example,

$$\stackrel{}{\xi }(r,\theta ,\phi )=\underset{\mathrm{}=0}{\overset{+\mathrm{}}{}}u_{\mathrm{}}(r)Y_{\mathrm{}}\stackrel{}{e}_r+v_{\mathrm{}}(r)\stackrel{}{}Y_{\mathrm{}},\frac{P^{}}{\rho _0}(r,\theta ,\phi )=\underset{\mathrm{}=0}{\overset{+\mathrm{}}{}}p_{\mathrm{}}(r)Y_{\mathrm{}},$$

where $`Y_{\mathrm{}}(\theta ,\phi )`$ denotes the normalized spherical harmonic of degree $`\mathrm{}`$ with a zero azimuth $`m`$ ($`m=0`$ and no toroidal component needs to be taken into account since rotation is neglected; see e.g Rieutord, 1991). As an example, the dimensionless form of the approximated set (8) reads

$$\{\begin{array}{c}\lambda ^2\left(u_{\mathrm{}}v_{\mathrm{}}x\frac{dv_{\mathrm{}}}{dx}\right)=u_{\mathrm{}},\hfill \\ \\ x\frac{du_{\mathrm{}}}{dx}+(2+\beta x)u_{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{}(\mathrm{}+1)v_{\mathrm{}}=0,\left(\beta =\frac{d\text{ln}\rho _0}{dx}\text{or}\beta =\frac{g_0}{c_0^2}\right),\hfill \\ \\ u_{\mathrm{}}(\eta )=u_{\mathrm{}}(1)=0,\hfill \end{array}$$

where $`\eta =a/b`$ and $`\lambda ^2=\sigma ^2/N^2`$. This system may be formally written as

$$_A\stackrel{}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_\mathrm{}n=\lambda _\mathrm{}n^2_B\stackrel{}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_\mathrm{}n\text{with}\stackrel{}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_\mathrm{}n=\left(\begin{array}{c}u_\mathrm{}n\hfill \\ v_\mathrm{}n\hfill \end{array}\right),$$

where $`_A`$ and $`_B`$ denote two differential operators and $`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_\mathrm{}n`$ is the eigenvector associated with the eigenvalue $`\lambda _\mathrm{}n^2`$ of order $`n`$. This differential eigenvalue problem is discretized on the Gauss-Lobatto grid associated with Chebyshev’s polynomials. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors are then computed with the iterative Arnoldi-Chebyshev solver already used to calculate the oscillations of rotating stars (for more details on numerics see Dintrans et al., 1999; Dintrans and Rieutord, 2000).

## 3 Results

In order to compare both approximations, we first calculated the eigenfrequencies of the complete problem consisting of Eqs. (1-3) plus boundary conditions (5). Then, we compared them with their anelastic and subseismic counterparts computed from (8). Table 1 shows the obtained periods (in hours) for some of the twenty first undertones of degree $`\mathrm{}=2`$, the periods being deduced from the dimensionless eigenvalues $`\lambda _\mathrm{}n^2`$ using $`T_\mathrm{}n(\text{hr})=6/\sqrt{\lambda _\mathrm{}n^2}`$.

The first point is that the lower undertone period $`T_19.6705`$ hr well agrees with that computed by Crossley and Rochester (1992) who found $`T_19.6741`$ hr. The slight difference may be explained both by our different boundary conditions and the eigenvalue solver since these authors did not assume rigid boundaries and used a shooting method to compute eigenvalues.

The second point is that the anelastic and subseismic approximated periods are almost the same. This can be easily understood from the different forms (7) of the equation of mass conservation where the $`\xi _r`$-term is either equal to $`(d\text{ln}\rho _0/dr)\xi _r`$ or $`(g_0/c_0^2)\xi _r`$. Because the Brunt-Väisälä frequency is weak, these two terms are almost equal; indeed from (4), we have

$$\frac{g_0}{c_0^2}+\frac{d\text{ln}\rho _0}{dr}=\frac{N^2}{g_0}\frac{8.5\times 10^8\text{ s}^2}{780\text{ cm/s}^2}10^5\text{ km}^1.$$

The difference in accuracy between both approximations thus depends on the stratification strength. As the Earth outer core is almost adiabatically stratified due to convection, the subseismic and anelastic approximations give the same results, which are very close to the exact ones as shown by Table 1. As expected, the relative errors decrease with increasing order of the mode. The accuracy level of both approximations is remarkable since, except for the first undertone, relative errors are less than 0.1% ! In fact, this very good agreement is still related to the weak stratification. When applying the anelastic approximation, one should indeed be careful about the required physical assumptions. Batchelor (1953) and Ogura and Phillips (1962) derived their original anelastic set of equations using two assumptions:

1. the reference state around which oscillations occur is almost adiabatically stratified.
2. the time scale of any disturbance is similar to that of gravity waves.

Among these two basic assumptions, the second one is the easiest to fulfil. In this paper, we chose the constant Brunt-Väisälä period of our equilibrium model as the time scale. It automatically satisfies the second assumption since the computation is restricted to disturbances such as $`/tN`$.

The first assumption is more severe. Assuming an almost adiabatic state means that the equilibrium potential temperature $`\theta _0`$ is also nearly constant; i.e. $`\epsilon =\delta \theta _0/\mathrm{\Theta }1`$ where $`\delta \theta _0`$ is the jump of the equilibrium potential temperature accross the layer and $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ is the reference mean value. Ogura and Phillips (1962) expanded all dependent variables as a power serie of $`\epsilon `$ and obtained the anelastic equations by collecting the first-order terms. The neglected terms are then $`𝒪(\epsilon ^2)`$ and give the accuracy of the development. This small dimensionless parameter $`\epsilon `$ may be related to the Brunt-Väisälä frequency by

$$N^2=g_0\frac{d\text{ln}\theta _0}{dz}\frac{g_0}{d}\frac{\delta \theta _0}{\mathrm{\Theta }}\frac{g_0}{d}\epsilon ,$$

where $`d`$ denotes the layer thickness. In our case, we have

$$\epsilon \frac{d}{g_0}N^2\frac{2000\text{ km}}{780\text{ cm/s}^2}8.5\times 10^8\text{ s}^22\%.$$

Hence the mean error made when using the anelastic approximation on the core undertones is about $`𝒪(\epsilon ^2)0.04\%`$ which agrees well with the results from Table 1. The long-period Earth core oscillations can therefore be seen as a good case for the anelastic approximation and, despite it inconsistency, also the subseismic approximation since the almost neutral stratification prevents unfortunate consequences in this case. On the contrary, as the stratification increases like for instance in stellar radiative zones, these two approximations disagree more and more and the anelastic results become more accurate as shown in I.

## 4 Conclusion

We have computed the complete, anelastic and subseismic approximated eigenperiods of a stable 6h Earth’s outer core. After setting out the complete equations governing the adiabatic oscillations of a non-rotating and self-gravitating fluid, we presented the basic properties of the anelastic and subseismic approximations.

Both approximations assume that the Eulerian pressure perturbations $`P^{}`$ do not contribute to the Lagrangian ones $`\delta P`$, that is only the fluctuations stemming from the equilibrium pressure gradient are retained. We then recalled that, unlike the anelastic case where the perturbed density field has no influence on the mass balance, the subseismic equation of mass conservation is not compatible with this assumption (this result being demonstrated in I). As a consequence, the subseismic approximation is not a consistent approximation of the equations of motion.

We also recalled that the gravity perturbations decouple from the motion in both cases. It refutes the common belief in the respect of self-gravity by the subseismic set of equations; i.e. the only difference with the anelastic approximation lies in the equation of mass conservation. Then, two main results have been enlightened by our computations:

* for the Earth’s fluid outer core, anelastic and subseismic eigenperiods are very close to each other. We explained this result by the very weak stratification of the fluid. The differences between the anelastic and subseismic periods indeed come from the stratification strength. Because of convection, the Earth core is almost adiabatically stratified and both approximations give the same results.
* the anelastic relative errors are very small ($`\stackrel{<}{}0.1\%`$) for core undertones. It is not obvious at first sight since the anelastic set of equations has been initially derived for the atmospheric dry convection. We explained this very good agreement by recalling the required physical assumptions implied by the use of the anelastic approximation: (i) the reference state should be almost adiabatically stratified; (ii) the time scale of any disturbance should be similar to that of gravity waves. The core undertones clearly fulfil very well these two basic assumptions and the anelastic eigenperiods are thus accurate. Because of the weakness of the Brunt-Väisälä frequency, the subseismic results are the same as the anelastic ones and both approximations can be in fact applied to this problem. However, it is more natural to employ the anelastic approximation since it is simpler, mathematically self-consistent and it is the only one which can be successfully applied to problems with a stronger stratification such as the long-period oscillations of stars.

The above results have straightforward consequences as far as geophysical applications are concerned. The main application concerns the rotating problem, that is to calculate the eigenperiods of the rotating outer fluid core. Dintrans et al. (1999) already calculated the gravito-inertial waves propagating in a rapidly rotating stratified shell which had the same aspect ratio than the Earth outer core (i.e. $`\eta =a/b0.35`$). To decrease the size of the numerical problem, this work has been done under the Boussinesq approximation so that the density variations across the outer core have been neglected. Hence an improvement of this problem is now possible by taking the more complete equilibrium model used in this paper by the means of the anelastic approximation.

## 5 Acknowledgements

Most of the calculations has been carried out at the Theoretical Astrophysics Center (TAC, Copenhagen) which is gratefully acknowledged. This work has been supported by the European Commission under Marie-Curie grant no. HPMF-CT-1999-00411 which is also gratefully acknowledged. I also thank Annie Souriau and Michel Rieutord for fruitful discussions.


text:
# Mobility of the Doped Holes and the Antiferromagnetic Correlations in Underdoped High-𝑇_𝑐 Cuprates

## Abstract

The emergence and the evolution of the metallic charge transport in the La2-xSrxCuO4 system from lightly- to optimally-doped samples ($`x`$ = 0.01 – 0.17) are studied. We demonstrate that in high-quality single crystals the in-plane resistivity shows a metallic behavior for all values of $`x`$ at moderate temperatures and that the hole mobility at 300 K changes only by a factor of 3 from $`x`$=0.01 to 0.17, where its $`x`$-dependence is found to be intriguingly similar to that of the inverse antiferromagnetic correlation length. We discuss an incoherent-metal picture and a charged-stripe scenario as candidates to account for these peculiar features.

The underdoped region of the high-$`T_c`$ cuprates has attracted significant attention in recent years. Quite peculiar features such as pseudogap , $`\mathrm{log}(1/T)`$ insulating behavior , and charged-stripe instability  have been discovered in the underdoped region, and those features are expected to bear essential clues to elucidating the origin of the high-$`T_c`$ superconductivity. The La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) system has been most frequently used for systematic studies of the moderately- to heavily-underdoped region of the cuprates, because of the accessibility to the low-doped region. Neutron scattering and photoemission experiments on the LSCO system have provided detailed knowledge about the evolution of the spin  and electronic  structures as holes are doped to the parent Mott insulator; however, how the metallic charge conduction emerges in this doped Mott insulator is still poorly understood. It has been proposed theoretically that, because of the strong magnetic correlations in cuprates, the metallic conduction may be realized through spin-charge separated quasiparticles , charged stripes , incoherent quasiparticles , etc. To fully understand the transformation from the Mott insulator to a metal in cuprates, systematic studies of the transport properties in the heavily-underdoped region are highly desirable.

In the early days of high-$`T_c`$ research, the transport properties of the heavily-underdoped LSCO were studied using polycrystals, thin films, and flux-grown crystals . These works showed that the charge transport became insulating in the non-superconducting samples with the variable-range-hopping (VRH) conductivity at low temperatures, while at high temperatures the transport could be metallic already in the spin-glass regime . However, there has been no systematic measurement of the transport properties of the high-quality single crystals in the heavily-underdoped region, which have become available with the development of the traveling-solvent floating-zone (TSFZ) technique . Since one can achieve high uniformity of the Sr concentration and high purity in the TSFZ-grown crystals, it has become possible to study, for example, the doping dependence of the mobility of the holes in clean and well-controlled crystals down to the heavily-underdoped antiferromagnetic region without being bothered by extraneous disorder.

In this Letter, we report the in-plane resistivity $`\rho _{ab}`$ and the Hall coefficient $`R_H`$ measurements of a series of TSFZ-grown high-quality LSCO crystals that cover the whole underdoped region, from $`x`$=0.01 to 0.17. It is found that in high-quality crystals the behavior of $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$ is metallic ($`d\rho _{ab}/dT>0`$) at moderate temperatures for all values of $`x`$, even in the Néel state at $`x`$=0.01; since the magnitude of $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$ in the lightly-doped region are far above the Mott limit for metallic conduction in two-dimensional (2D) metal, this is a strong manifestation of the “bad metal”  behavior. Moreover, we observe that the mobility of doped holes in this “metallic” regime shows a doping dependence similar to that of the inverse antiferromagnetic (AF) correlation length, $`\xi _{\mathrm{AF}}^1`$. Notably, the absolute value of the mobility changes only by a factor of 3 from $`x`$=0.01 to 0.17 at 300 K. These results demonstrate the peculiar nature of the charge transport in the cuprate that is a doped Mott insulator with strong magnetic correlations, and give essential clues to elucidate the origin of the bad metal behavior in cuprates. To corroborate the result on LSCO, we also show the $`\rho _a(T)`$ data of YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO) for similarly wide range of doping.

The clean single crystals of LSCO are grown by the TSFZ technique and are carefully annealed to remove excess oxygen, which ensures that the hole doping is exactly equal to $`x`$. The crystallographic axes are determined by the Laue analysis and then the samples are shaped into thin platelets with the $`ab`$ planes parallel to the wide face, where an error in the axes directions is less than 1. The YBCO crystals are grown in Y2O3 crucibles by a conventional flux method and are detwinned at temperatures below 220C with an uniaxial pressure of $``$0.1 GPa after the oxygen content is tuned to the desired doping with careful annealing and quenching . The resistivity in YBCO is measured along the $`a`$-axis to exclude the conductivity contribution from CuO chains, which run along the $`b`$-axis. Note that the detwinning is not necessary for YBCO crystals with $`y<6.40`$, which have tetragonal symmetry.

The in-plane resistivity $`\rho _{ab}`$ and the Hall coefficient $`R_H`$ are measured using a standard ac six-probe method. The Hall effect measurements are done by sweeping the magnetic field to $`\pm `$14 T at fixed temperatures stabilized within $``$1 mK accuracy . The uncertainty in the absolute magnitude of $`\rho _{ab}`$ and $`R_H`$ is minimized  by using relatively long samples (voltage contact separation is typically $``$1 mm for YBCO and $``$1.5 mm for LSCO), painting narrow contact pads with the width of 50–80 $`\mu `$m, and accurately determining the crystal thickness by measuring the weight with 0.1-$`\mu `$g resolution; total errors in absolute values of $`\rho _{ab}`$ and $`R_H`$ are less than 10% and 5%, respectively. In our crystals, $`\rho _{ab}`$ is very reproducible (we always measure several crystals for each composition) and its absolute value is among the smallest ever reported for each composition.

Figure 1 shows the temperature dependences of $`\rho _{ab}`$ for the LSCO crystals, with the vertical axis in the logarithmic scale. One may immediately notice that $`\rho _{ab}`$ in the moderate-temperature range show metallic behavior ($`d\rho _{ab}/dT>0`$) for all values of $`x`$. It is particularly intriguing to note that in the $`x`$=0.01 sample $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$ keeps its “metallic” behavior well below the Néel temperature $`T_N`$ (which is 240 K, see Fig. 2 inset). This clearly demonstrates that the in-plane charge transport is insensitive to the long-range magnetic order, which may not be surprising because the large $`J`$ ($``$0.1 eV) causes the antiferromagnetic correlations to be well established in the CuO2 planes far above $`T_N`$ .

To examine the detailed doping dependence of the charge transport, it is useful to look at the conductivity per charge, namely the mobility of the doped holes. In Fig. 2, we plot the temperature dependences of $`n_he\rho _{ab}`$ for various $`x`$, where $`e`$ is the electronic charge and $`n_h`$ is the nominal hole concentration given by $`2x/V`$ \[unit cell $`V`$ ($`3.8\times 3.8\times 13.2`$ Å3) contains two CuO2 planes in LSCO\]. This product, $`n_he\rho _{ab}`$, corresponds to the inverse mobility $`\mu ^1`$ of the doped holes. Note that it is probably better to use $`n_he`$ (= $`2ex/V`$) than to use $`R_H^1`$ for the calculation of the conductivity per hole, because $`R_H`$ in cuprates shows a strong temperature dependence that is not caused by a change in the density of mobile holes. One can see in Fig. 2 that the slope of $`n_he\rho _{ab}(T)`$ at 300 K depends only weakly on $`x`$ and the absolute value of $`\mu ^1`$ changes only by a factor of 3 at 300 K; the similarity of the moderate-temperature $`\mu ^1(T)`$ curves and the rather small change in their magnitude hint at the possibility that the “metallic” charge transport is governed by essentially the same mechanism from $`x`$=0.01 to 0.17.

Figure 3 shows the $`x`$ dependence of $`\mu ^1`$ at 300 K. The change in $`\mu ^1`$ is smooth and is relatively small, which is rather surprising in view of the superconductor-insulator transition occurring at $`x`$ 0.05. In Fig. 3, we also plot the $`x`$ dependence of the AF correlation length $`\xi _{\mathrm{AF}}`$, which is known to show similarly smooth change with $`x`$; $`\xi _{\mathrm{AF}}(x)`$ is reported to be described by $`3.8/\sqrt{x}`$ Å, the average separation between the doped holes. (Note that $`\xi _{\mathrm{AF}}`$ is almost temperature independent below $``$300 K except for $`x`$=0.01 .) It is striking that both $`\mu ^1`$ and $`\xi _{\mathrm{AF}}`$ show very similar $`x`$ dependence; in particular, both show only a factor of 2 or 3 change from $`x`$=0.02 to 0.17 despite the significant change in the ground state. The similarity of the $`x`$ dependences of $`\mu ^1`$ and $`\xi _{\mathrm{AF}}`$ suggests that the charge transport in the underdoped cuprates is inherently related to the magnetic correlations in the background spins. It is worthwhile to mention that the magnitude of $`\mu `$ of LSCO is 3 – 10 cm2/Vs at 300 K in the whole doping range studied, and these numbers are close to those of typical metals (e.g. $`(ne\rho )^1`$ of iron is 4 cm2/Vs at 273 K ).

We note that the “metallic” behavior of $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$ at moderate temperatures observed in the heavily-underdoped samples ($`x0.05`$) indicates that the system is not an insulator (or a semiconductor) with a well-defined gap. The low temperature insulating behavior in these samples is consistent with the VRH behavior as reported before , which also suggests that there is a developing band of electronic states at the Fermi energy $`E_\mathrm{F}`$. Therefore, given that the chemical potential is pinned in the middle of the Mott-Hubbard gap , the resistivity data tell us that with only 1% of doping a band is created near $`E_\mathrm{F}`$ within the gap of the parent cuprate, and the system starts to show band-like transport (with disorder). The Hall coefficient data also support this picture; namely, like in ordinary metals, the apparent hole density $`n(eR_H)^1`$ of the heavily-underdoped samples is essentially temperature independent in the temperature range where the metal-like behavior of $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$ is observed, as shown in Fig. 4 for $`x`$=0.01 – 0.03. Note that, at low doping, $`n`$ agrees well with the nominal hole density $`n_h`$ at moderate temperatures, which means that all the doped holes are moving and contributing to the Hall effect.

The above results on LSCO are essentially reproduced in YBCO. Figure 5 shows the temperature dependences of $`n_he\rho _a`$ for clean untwinned YBCO crystals with various oxygen contents. Although the determination of hole concentrations in YBCO is not as straightforward as in LSCO, one may estimate  the hole number per Cu to be around 0.02, 0.05, and 0.17 for samples with $`y=6.30`$, 6.45, and 6.95, respectively. These doping levels cover the range from the AF region ($`T_N=230`$ K for $`y=6.30`$) to optimally-doped superconductor with $`T_c=93`$ K. As is the case with LSCO, the metallic behavior is insensitive to the establishment of the AF state at $`T_N`$, and $`\mu ^1`$ at 300 K changes only by a factor of 2 from the AF “insulator” to the optimally-doped superconductor. Note that both LSCO and YBCO show similar $`\mu `$ of around 10 cm2/Vs at moderate temperatures, which suggests that the hole mobility is almost universal among the cuprates. Also, though not shown here, the $`R_H(T)`$ data of the lightly-doped YBCO are essentially similar to those of LSCO and are consistent with the data published recently .

In the above results, one of the notable findings is that a “metallic” behavior of $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$ at moderate temperatures is already established even for 1% of hole doping. Although such a metallic behavior suggests a Boltzmann band transport for the doped holes, the magnitude of $`\rho _{ab}`$ is so large that $`k_\mathrm{F}l`$ would be only 0.1, which strongly violates the Mott limit for the metallic transport ($`k_\mathrm{F}`$ is the Fermi wave number and $`l`$ is the mean free path) , and therefore the charge transport cannot be caused by the motion of ordinary quasiparticles in a 2D electronic system. In this sense, this is a strong manifestation of the “bad metal”  behavior at low doping, although the bad metals have often been discussed in conjunction with the absence of resistivity saturation at high temperature . Our results on the behavior of $`\mu ^1`$ (Figs. 2 and 3) suggests that the mechanism that causes the bad metal behavior in cuprates is likely to be fundamentally related to the background AF correlations and that the same mechanism may well govern the charge transport up to $`x`$=0.17. Below we discuss two possibilities for the charge transport mechanism that may be consistent with the peculiarities observed here.

One possible picture is the “incoherent metal” , where $`E_\mathrm{F}`$ is smaller than $`k_\mathrm{B}T`$ and thus the charge transport is essentially a diffusion process of classical particles; since the charge dynamics is diffusive and thus is not strictly a band transport, the Mott limit is completely irrelevant in this case. Still, the peculiar $`T`$-linear resistivity may be expected in an incoherent metal , because the large magnetic energy scale causes the system to be quantum critical. Recent photoemission results on LSCO also suggest that the incoherent metallic state may emerge in the lightly-doped region from the parent Mott insulator . However, it may be difficult to understand the apparent connection between $`\mu ^1`$ and $`\xi _{\mathrm{AF}}`$ in the incoherent-metal picture.

Another possibility is that the phase segregation on the mesoscopic scale changes the effective volume relevant to the charge transport. In this case, both the apparent violation of the Mott limit and the insensitivity of the mobility to the change in $`x`$ can be naturally understood. For example, when the charged stripes are formed, metallic transport through the quasi-one-dimensional charge system may be possible . Since the charged stripes are rather decoupled from the magnetically-ordered regions that separate them, the metallic behavior may only weakly depend on $`x`$; however, the apparent correlation between $`\mu ^1`$ and $`\xi _{\mathrm{AF}}`$ indicates that the charge transport is influenced by the rigidity of the magnetic correlation in the magnetic domains, which probably means that the transverse fluctuation of the stripes in the AF environment must be significant within this picture. In fact, a recent theory predicts  that the transverse fluctuation of the charged stripes gives rise to an “electronic liquid crystals”, which can behave like a 2D metal.

In summary, we show that the inverse mobility $`\mu ^1`$ at moderate temperatures shows a metallic temperature dependence in the whole underdoped region down to $`x`$=0.01 and that the magnitude of $`\mu ^1`$ at 300 K changes only by a factor of 3 from $`x`$=0.01 to 0.17 in high-quality single crystals. Moreover, it is found that the $`x`$-dependence of $`\mu ^1`$ at 300 K appears to be intriguingly similar to that of $`\xi _{\mathrm{AF}}`$ in the whole underdoped region. These features suggest that the same mechanism govern the charge transport from $`x`$=0.01 to 0.17 and that such mechanism is fundamentally related to the background AF correlations. It is discussed that both an incoherent metal or charged stripes can basically explain the unusual “metallic” charge transport, though the apparent correlation between $`\mu ^1`$ and $`\xi _{\mathrm{AF}}`$ can be more easily understood within the stripe scenario.

We would like to thank A. Fujimori for helpful discussions, and T. Sasagawa and K. Kishio for valuable suggestions for LSCO crystal growth.


text:
# References

The influence of the hadronic interaction on the pionium wave functions

A. Gashia, G. Raschea, W.S. Woolcockb

aInstitut für Theoretische Physik der Universität,
Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland
b Department of Theoretical Physics, IAS,
The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia

The influence of the hadronic $`\pi \pi `$ interaction on the wave functions of pionium (the Coulomb bound $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ system) at distances $``$ 10 fm is calculated for $`s`$-states with principal quantum numbers $`n4`$. Hadronic $`\pi \pi `$ potentials are used that reproduce the scattering phase shifts of two-loop chiral perturbation theory. The pionium wave functions $`\psi _n(r)`$ are obtained by integrating the coupled Schrödinger equations for the ($`\pi ^+\pi ^{},\pi ^0\pi ^0`$) system. We find that, for $`r10`$ fm, $`n^{3/2}\psi _n(r)`$ is practically independent of $`n`$. From this we conclude that the production rates of the $`s`$-states of pionium are proportional to $`n^3`$, a result needed for the interpretation of the DIRAC experiment currently running at CERN.

PACS numbers: 36.10.Gv;13.75.Lb;03.65.Ge;02.60.Cb;02.60.Lj

Keywords: Mesonic atoms; strong interactions

Corresponding author. Electronic mail: rasche@physik.unizh.ch; Tel: +41 1 635 5810; Fax: +41 1 635 5704

The DIRAC experiment currently in progress at CERN, with the aim of measuring the lifetime $`\tau _1`$ of the 1$`s`$-state of pionium with an accuracy of 10 % , requires for the extraction of the lifetime an accurate knowledge of the production probability $`w_n`$ of the $`ns`$-states as a function of $`n`$. A proton beam of 24 GeV/c is incident on a target (for example, titanium, nickel and platinum). Among the reaction products are many free $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ pairs and a much smaller number of $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ pairs bound into pionium, whose production occurs almost entirely in $`ns`$-states. These pionium atoms may decay into $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$, with a lifetime $`\tau _n`$, or they may break up because of their interactions with the target atoms. The effect of the decay into $`\gamma \gamma `$ can be neglected here.

The $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ pairs arising from the breakup of atoms nearly all have a relative momentum $``$ 3 MeV/c in their c.m. system. Observed pairs with a larger relative momentum are therefore almost all free pairs. This kinematical characteristic can be exploited to obtain experimentally for a given target the number of free pairs and the number of breakup pairs. By observing the number of breakup pairs from targets with different characteristics it is possible to deduce the lifetime $`\tau _1`$.

This method of measuring $`\tau _1`$ requires modelling of the processes of atom formation, decay (into $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$) and breakup. For this modelling it is necessary to know how $`\tau _n`$ and $`w_n`$ vary with $`n`$. To a high degree of accuracy, $`\tau _n=n^3\tau _1`$, independent of the details of the hadronic interaction. This result is easily obtained using the formalism of Ref., which describes the decay process without the use of wave functions. The behaviour of $`w_n`$ as a function of $`n`$ is the subject of the present paper.

For a collision process with pions among the final state particles, let $`F(𝐏,𝐪)`$ be the probability amplitude for the production of a free $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ pair with total momentum $`𝐏`$ and relative momentum $`𝐪`$ of the pair in its c.m. frame. The formation of $`F`$ involves an integration over the other variables that characterise the final state particles and a sum over all final states containing at least one $`\pi ^+`$ and one $`\pi ^{}`$. Let $`\stackrel{~}{F}(𝐏,𝐱)`$ be the Fourier transform of $`F(𝐏,𝐪)`$ with respect to $`𝐪`$. Since the production of the pair is a hadronic process, $`\stackrel{~}{F}(𝐏,𝐱)`$ is appreciably different from zero for $`𝐱=r`$ 10 fm at most.

According to Nemenov, where further details can be found, the probability amplitude for the production of a pionium atom in an $`ns`$-state with momentum $`𝐏`$ is

$$d^3x\psi _n(𝐱)^{}\stackrel{~}{F}(𝐏,𝐱),$$

where $`\psi _n(𝐱)`$ is the pionium wave function in the rest frame of the atom. In fact $`\psi _n(𝐱)`$ is real and depends only on $`𝐱=r`$. The probability for the production of a pionium atom with momentum $`𝐏`$ and principal quantum number $`n`$ is then

$$w_n=d^3x\psi _n(r)\stackrel{~}{F}(𝐏,𝐱)^2.$$
(1)
In the following we will show that, to a high degree of accuracy,

$$\psi _n(r)=n^{3/2}\psi _1(r)\text{for}r10\mathrm{fm}.$$
(2)
In view of our earlier observation on the behaviour of $`\stackrel{~}{F}(𝐏,𝐱)`$ as a function of $`r`$, it follows from Eqs.(1) and (2) that

$$w_n=n^3w_1$$
(3)
to an even higher accuracy.

For a pure (i.e. point charge) Coulomb $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ interaction we know that, for small $`r`$,

$$\psi _n(r)=n^{3/2}\psi _1(r)(1+O(r^2/B^2)).$$

Since the Bohr radius $`B`$ for pionium is 387.5 fm, it follows that Eq.(2) holds in this case with an error of at most a few parts in $`10^4`$. Adding the hadronic potential and taking account of the finite extension of the charges results in a modification of $`\psi _n(r)`$ for r$``$ 10 fm. Amirkhanov et al. have made calculations of the modified $`\psi _n(r)`$, but they ignore the possibility of the decay of the atom into $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ and treat the problem as a single-channel one. They do not modify the Coulomb potential at small distances and they use a simple Yukawa-type $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ hadronic potential. They conclude that Eq.(2) continues to hold to a high level of accuracy.

Our work improves on Ref. in three important respects. We have included the Coulomb potential for extended charges, exactly as in Ref. (last paragraph of Section 4). We have used more realistic hadronic potentials and we have taken account of the presence of the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ channel and used coupled Schrödinger equations to model the ($`\pi ^+\pi ^{},\pi ^0\pi ^0`$) system. For the s-wave and for $`2\mu _0<W<2\mu _c`$ ($`W`$ is the total energy of the $`\pi \pi `$ system in its c.m. frame and $`\mu _c`$ and $`\mu _0`$ are the masses of the charged and neutral pions) these may be written in the matrix form

$$(\mathrm{𝟏}_2\frac{d^2}{dr^2}+𝐐^2𝝁\mathrm{𝐟𝐕}(r))𝐮(r)=\mathrm{𝟎},$$
(4)
where

$$𝝁=\left(\begin{array}{cc}\mu _c& 0\\ 0& \mu _0\end{array}\right),𝐐^2=\left(\begin{array}{cc}\kappa _c^2& 0\\ 0& q_0^2\end{array}\right),𝐟=\left(\begin{array}{cc}f_c& 0\\ 0& f_0\end{array}\right),$$
(5)
$$𝐕(r)=𝐕^{em}(r)+𝐕^h(r).$$
(6)
Here

$$\kappa _c^2=\mu _c^2\frac{W^2}{4},q_0^2=\frac{W^2}{4}\mu _0^2.$$
(7)
Thus $`q_0`$ is the c.m. momentum in the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ channel. The electromagnetic potential matrix is

$$𝐕^{em}=\left(\begin{array}{cc}V^{em}& 0\\ 0& 0\end{array}\right),$$

where $`V^{em}`$ is the Coulomb potential between extended charges; there is no need to take account of the very small relativistic modification of the Coulomb potential or of vacuum polarisation. The hadronic potential matrix is assumed to be isospin invariant, in accordance with the arguments of Gasser and Leutwyler . Thus

$$𝐕^h=\left(\begin{array}{cc}\frac{2}{3}V^0+\frac{1}{3}V^2& \frac{\sqrt{2}}{3}(V^2V^0)\\ \frac{\sqrt{2}}{3}(V^2V^0)& \frac{1}{3}V^0+\frac{2}{3}V^2\end{array}\right),$$
(8)
where $`V^I`$ is the hadronic potential for $`l=0`$ and total isospin $`I`$.

The diagonal matrix $`𝐟`$ has the nonzero components

$$f_c=\frac{W^22\mu _c^2}{\mu _cW},f_0=\frac{W^22\mu _0^2}{\mu _0W}.$$
(9)
Its inclusion in the Schrödinger equation using a potential has been extensively discussed in Refs. and . Since we will work very close to the $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ threshold, where the pionium states are located, it is sufficient to take

$$f_c=1,f_0=\frac{4\mu _c^22\mu _0^2}{2\mu _0\mu _c}(>1).$$

The column vector $`𝐮(r)`$ is

$$𝐮(r)=\left(\begin{array}{cc}u_c(r)& \\ u_0(r)& \end{array}\right),$$
(10)
where

$$u_c(r)=\sqrt{4\pi }r\psi (r),u_0(r)=rR_0(r),$$
(11)
$`\psi (r)`$ being the $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ wave function and $`R_0(r)`$ the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ radial wave function. For each value of $`W<2\mu _c`$, there is a unique solution of Eq.(4) which satisfies

$$𝐮(0)=\mathrm{𝟎},$$
(12)
as well as the asymptotic behaviour for $`r\mathrm{}`$

$$u_c(r)=A_cr^\xi e^{\kappa _cr},\xi =\frac{\alpha m_c}{\kappa _c},$$
(13)
$$u_0(r)=A_0\mathrm{sin}(q_0r+\delta _{00}),A_0>0,$$
(14)
and in addition the normalisation condition

$$_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑r(u_c(r))^2=1.$$
(15)
Here $`\delta _{00}`$ is the phase shift for elastic $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ scattering and depends on $`W`$. If $`W`$ goes through energies $`W_n`$ that are close to the energies of the pure Coulomb bound states, $`\delta _{00}`$ goes through an odd multiple of $`90^0`$. These energies are the bound state pionium energies with the influence of the hadronic $`\pi \pi `$ interaction taken into account; the functions $`\psi _n(r)`$ at the energies $`W_n`$ are the modified wave functions in which we are interested and which we have calculated for $`n4`$.

This completes the details of the calculation of the wave functions $`\psi _n(r)`$, except for the hadronic potentials $`V^I(r)`$. We have constructed potentials that are independent of both the energy $`W`$ and the hadronic mass $`\mu `$, which reproduce very well the phase shifts given by two-loop chiral perturbation theory  for $`\mu =\mu _0`$ and $`\mu =\mu _c`$ via the Schrödinger equations

$$(\frac{d^2}{dr^2}+q_c^2\mu _cf_cV^I(r))u^I(r,\mu _c)=0,$$
(16)
$$(\frac{d^2}{dr^2}+q_0^2\mu _0f_0V^I(r))u^I(r,\mu _0)=0,$$
(17)
with $`I=0,2`$. The factors $`f_c`$ and $`f_0`$ are given in Eq.(9) and $`q_c^2`$ by

$$q_c^2=\frac{W^2}{4}\mu _c^2\text{,}W>2\mu _c.$$

The potentials $`V^I(r)`$ are of the same analytical form as those used for the calculation of the electromagnetic corrections in low energy pion-nucleon scattering . In addition to a range parameter that was fixed at 1.5 fm, there are three further parameters that were varied to obtain the best fit. Full details of this parametric potential are given in Ref.. The phase shifts were generated by integrating the regular solutions of Eqs.(16) and (17) outwards from the origin. The potentials $`V^0(r)`$ and $`V^2(r)`$ are plotted in Fig.1. We thus have captured part of the dynamical behaviour of chiral perturbation theory for $`\pi \pi `$ scattering by means of a simple model that uses potentials independent of the energy and the hadronic mass. This makes possible a reliable calculation of the pionium $`ns`$-state wave functions and therefore of the production rates $`w_n`$ as a function of $`n`$.

To show that $`n^{3/2}\psi _n(r)\psi _1(r)`$ for $`r10`$ fm for a range of values of $`n`$, we have calculated the quantity

$$d_n(r)=n^{3/2}\psi _n(r)/\psi _1(r)1,r10\mathrm{fm},n=2,3,4.$$
(18)
Fig.2 shows the result of this calculation. The values at $`r=0`$ are $`d_2(0)=0.0014`$, $`d_3(0)=0.0021`$, $`d_2(0)=0.0022`$. As $`r`$ increases, $`d_n(r)`$ changes quickly at first and then becomes almost constant. The value of $`d_n(r)`$ increases in magnitude as $`n`$ increases, but Fig.2 shows that Eq.(2) holds for $`n=2,3,4`$ to better than 3 parts in $`10^3`$. The corresponding results for $`n>4`$ are not important, since only 2 % of all pionium atoms are produced in states with these higher principal quantum numbers.

The results of Ref. have the same sign as ours and show the same rapid change near $`r=0`$. At $`r=8`$ fm , Ref. gives $`d_2=0.0012`$, $`d_3=0.0010`$ compared with our values of -0.0020 and -0.0026 respectively. Our more refined calculation yields results that are larger in magnitude but Eq.(3) still holds with an accuracy completely sufficient for use in modelling the DIRAC experiment .

Acknowledgements. We wish to thank L. L. Nemenov for suggesting the calculation and for his comments on the text of the paper. We also thank G. Colangelo for providing us with the phase shifts predicted by two-loop chiral perturbation theory. We are indebted to the Swiss National Foundation for their financial support of the work.