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# Universal dynamical control of quantum mechanical decay: Modulation of the coupling to the continuum

## Abstract

We derive and investigate an expression for the dynamically modified decay of states coupled to an arbitrary continuum. This expression is universally valid for weak temporal perturbations. The resulting insights can serve as useful recipes for optimized control of decay and decoherence.

The quantum Zeno effect (QZE), namely, the inhibition of the decay of an unstable state by its (sufficiently frequent) projective measurements, has long been considered a basic universal feature of quantum systems . Our general analysis  has revealed the inherent impossibility of the QZE for a broad class of processes, including spontaneous emission in open space, as opposed to the ubiquitous occurrence of the anti-Zeno effect (AZE), i.e., decay acceleration by frequent projective measurements . Although realistic schemes may well approximate such measurements , there is strong incentive for raising the question: Are projective measurements the most effective way of modifying the decay of an unstable state? This question is prompted by two important results: (a) A landmark experiment has demonstrated, for the first time, both the QZE and AZE by repeated on-off switching of the coupling between a nearly bound state and the continuum, using cold atoms that are initially trapped in an optical-lattice potential . (b) It has been predicted that periodic coherent pulses, acting between the decaying level and an auxiliary one, can either inhibit or accelerate the decay into certain model reservoirs . In both  and , the repeated interruption of the “natural” evolution is imperative for decay modification.

In this paper we purport to substantially expand the arsenal of decay control, whether measurement-like (i.e., accompanied by dephasing) or fully coherent. We derive a universal form of the decay rate of unstable states into any reservoir (continuum), modified by weak perturbations with arbitrary time dependence. The results of Refs.  are recovered as limiting cases of this universal form. Our analysis can serve as a general recipe for optimized decay and decoherence suppression for quantum logic operations  or decay enhancement for the control of chaos or chemical reactions .

Consider the decay of a state $`|e`$ via its coupling to a system, described by the orthonormal basis $`\{|j\}`$, which forms either a discrete or a continuous spectrum (or a mixture thereof). In its most general form, the total Hamiltonian is $`\widehat{H}_0+\widehat{V}(t)+H_1(t)`$, where

$$\widehat{H}_0=\mathrm{}\omega _a|ee|+\mathrm{}\underset{j}{}\omega _j|jj|,$$
(1)
with $`\mathrm{}\omega _a`$ and $`\mathrm{}\omega _j`$ being the energies of $`|e`$ and $`|j`$, respectively;

$$\widehat{V}(t)=\underset{j}{}V_{ej}(t)|ej|+\text{h.c.},$$
(2)
denoting the off-diagonal coupling of $`|e`$ with the other states, which is dynamically modulated, so as to modify the static limit of $`\widehat{V}`$ effecting the natural decay process; and

$$H_1(t)=\mathrm{}\delta _a(t)|ee|+\mathrm{}\underset{j}{}\delta _j(t)|jj|,$$
(3)
standing for the adiabatic (diagonal) time-dependent perturbations of the energies of the initial ($`|e`$) and final ($`|j`$) states, e.g., AC Stark shifts.

We write the wave function of the system, with $`|e`$ populated at $`t=0`$, as

$`|\mathrm{\Psi }(t)=`$ $`\alpha (t)e^{i\omega _ati_0^t\delta _a(t^{})𝑑t^{}}|e`$ (5)
$`+{\displaystyle \underset{j}{}}\beta _j(t)e^{i\omega _jti_0^t\delta _j(t^{})𝑑t^{}}|j,`$
the initial condition being $`|\mathrm{\Psi }(0)=|e`$. Henceforth we treat the generic case wherein the level shifts and the temporal modulation of $`\widehat{V}(t)`$ are independent of $`j`$, i.e., $`\delta _j(t)\delta _f(t)`$ and $`V_{je}(t)\stackrel{~}{ϵ}(t)\mu _{je}`$, $`\stackrel{~}{ϵ}(t)`$ being the modulation function (Fig. 1 – inset). Such factorized form of the modulation is commonly valid for weak or moderate time-dependent fields, which do not appreciably change the states of the continuum. One then obtains from the Schrödinger equation that the amplitude $`\alpha (t)`$ obeys the exact integro-differential equation

$$\dot{\alpha }=_0^t𝑑t^{}ϵ^{}(t)ϵ(t^{})\mathrm{\Phi }(tt^{})e^{i\omega _a(tt^{})}\alpha (t^{}).$$
(6)
Here $`\mathrm{\Phi }(t)=\mathrm{}^2_j|\mu _{ej}|^2e^{i\omega _j(t)}`$ is the reservoir response (memory) function and the function $`ϵ(t)=\stackrel{~}{ϵ}(t)\mathrm{exp}[i_0^t\delta _{af}(t^{})𝑑t^{}]`$, with $`\delta _{af}(t)=\delta _a(t)\delta _f(t)`$, accounts for the modulation of either diagonal or off-diagonal elements of the unperturbed Hamiltonian.

The assumption that the coupling (2) is a weak perturbation of (1) implies that $`\alpha (t)`$ varies sufficiently slowly with respect to the kernel of Eq. (6), since we then anticipate \[cf. the validity condition (13)\] decay rates much smaller than the rate of change of the reservoir response $`\mathrm{\Phi }(t)`$. One can thus make the approximation $`\alpha (t^{})\alpha (t)`$ on the right-hand side (rhs) of Eq. (6). Then one can solve Eq. (6) and represent the amplitude modulus of level $`|e`$ in the form

$$|\alpha (t)|=\mathrm{exp}[R(t)Q(t)/2],$$
(7)
where we have introduced the fluence $`Q(t)=_0^t𝑑\tau |ϵ(\tau )|^2`$, and obtained the decay rate in the universal form

$$R(t)=2\pi _{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}𝑑\omega G(\omega +\omega _a)F_t(\omega ).$$
(8)
Here $`G(\omega )=\pi ^1\text{Re}_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑te^{i\omega t}\mathrm{\Phi }(t)=\mathrm{}^2_j|\mu _{ej}|^2\delta (\omega \omega _j)`$ is the coupling spectrum, i.e., the density of states weighted by the strength of the coupling to the continuum or reservoir; $`F_t(\omega )=|ϵ_t(\omega )|^2/Q(t)`$, with $`ϵ_t(\omega )=(2\pi )^{1/2}_0^tϵ(t^{})e^{i\omega t^{}}𝑑t^{}`$, is the (normalized to unity) spectrum of the modulation function $`ϵ(t)`$ in the “window” $`(0,t)`$. The result (7), (8) is valid to all orders of $`t`$, i.e., it keeps intact the interferences between the modulated decay channels and their non-Markovian effects. We stress that Eqs. (7), (8) apply to the decay of superposed states $`_m\alpha _m|e_m`$ (e.g., in quantum information schemes), provided all of them decay and are modulated identically.

We now consider some important consequences of the universal form (7), (8). The modulation spectrum $`F_t(\omega )`$ is roughly characterized by its width $`\nu _t`$ and the frequency shift $`\mathrm{\Delta }_t=𝑑\omega \omega F_t(\omega )`$. A modulation may strongly modify the decay rate (analogously to the QZE or AZE) whenever $`\nu _t+|\mathrm{\Delta }_t|\xi (\omega _a)`$, where $`\xi (\omega _a)`$ is the characteristic spectral interval over which the weighted density of states $`G(\omega )`$ changes near $`\omega _a`$. In particular, if $`\omega _a`$ is near the edge of the continuum (as for radiative decay in photonic crystals or vibrational decay in ion traps, molecules and solids), then $`\xi (\omega _a)`$ is the distance between $`\omega _a`$ and the edge  (Fig. 1a). Only in the opposite limit, $`\nu _t+|\mathrm{\Delta }_t|\xi (\omega _a)`$, can one approximately set $`F_t(\omega )\delta (\omega )`$ in Eq. (8), yielding $`P(t)\mathrm{exp}[R_{\mathrm{GR}}Q(t)]`$, where $`R_{\mathrm{GR}}=2\pi G(\omega _a)`$ is the extension of the Golden-Rule (GR) rate to the case of a time-dependent coupling.

The modulation function $`ϵ(t)`$ can be either random or regular (coherent) in time, as detailed below. Consider first the most general coherent amplitude and phase modulation (APM) of the quasiperiodic form, $`ϵ(t)=_kϵ_ke^{i\omega _kt}`$. Here $`\omega _k`$ ($`k=0,\pm 1,\mathrm{}`$) are arbitrary discrete frequencies with the minimum spectral distance $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$. For a given function $`ϵ(t)`$ one can obtain $`i\omega _k`$ and $`ϵ_k`$ as the poles and residues, respectively, of the Laplace transform $`\widehat{ϵ}(s)`$. If $`ϵ(t)`$ is periodic with the period $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$, then $`\omega _k=k\mathrm{\Omega }`$, and $`ϵ_k`$ become the Fourier components of $`ϵ(t)`$. For a general quasiperiodic $`ϵ(t)`$, one obtains

$$Q(t)=ϵ_c^2t+ϵ_c^2\underset{kl}{}\lambda _k\lambda _l^{}\frac{e^{i(\omega _l\omega _k)t}1}{i(\omega _l\omega _k)},$$
(9)
where $`ϵ_c^2=_k|ϵ_k|^2`$ equals the average of $`|ϵ(t)|^2`$ over a period of the order of $`1/\mathrm{\Omega }`$, $`\lambda _k=ϵ_k/ϵ_c`$ and

$`|ϵ_t(\omega )|^2=ϵ_c^2t{\displaystyle \underset{k}{}}|\lambda _k|^2S(\eta _kt/2)`$ (10)
$`+ϵ_c^2{\displaystyle \underset{kl}{}}\lambda _k\lambda _l^{}{\displaystyle \frac{1+e^{i(\omega _l\omega _k)t}e^{i\eta _kt}e^{i\eta _lt}}{2\pi \eta _k\eta _l}}.`$ (11)
Here $`\eta _k=\omega \omega _k`$, whereas $`S(\eta _kt/2)=2\mathrm{sin}^2(\eta _kt/2)/\pi t\eta _k^2`$ is a sinc-function of $`\eta _k`$ normalized to 1.

For $`t\mathrm{\Omega }^1`$ the first term on the rhs of (11) is a sum of peaks, whose spacings are much greater than their width $`2/t`$. The fast oscillating second term is also peaked at $`\omega =\omega _k`$, but we then find that the ratio of the first to the second terms, and that of their counterparts in (9), is $`(\mathrm{\Omega }t)^11`$. In the long-time limit, we then neglect these fast oscillating terms and obtain from Eqs. (7)-(11) that $`P(t)=\mathrm{exp}[R(t)ϵ_c^2t]`$, where $`R(t)`$ in Eq. (8) now involves $`F_t(\omega )_k|\lambda _k|^2S(\eta _kt/2)`$. For even longer times, exceeding the effective correlation (memory) time of the reservoir, $`t_c\mathrm{max}_k\{1/\xi (\omega _a+\omega _k)\}`$, the functions $`S(\eta _kt/2)`$ become narrower than the respective characteristic widths of $`G(\omega )`$ around $`\omega _a+\omega _k`$, and one can set $`S(\eta _kt/2)\delta (\eta _k)`$. Then Eq. (8) is reduced to

$$R=2\pi \underset{k}{}|\lambda _k|^2G(\omega _a+\omega _k),$$
(12)
which holds if

$$Rt_c1.$$
(13)
This condition is well satisfied in the regime of interest, i.e., weak coupling to essentially any reservoir, unless (for some $`k`$) $`\omega _a+\omega _k`$ is extremely close to a sharp feature in $`G(\omega )`$, e.g., a band edge . Hence, the long-time limit of the general decay rate (8) under the APM is a sum of the GR rates, corresponding to the resonant frequencies shifted by $`\omega _k`$, with the weights $`|\lambda _k|^2`$. Formula (12) provides a simple general recipe for manipulating the decay rate by APM. Its powerful generality allows for the optimized control of decay, not just for a single level, but also for band characterized by a spectral distribution $`P(\omega _a)`$ (e.g., inhomogeneous or vibrational spectrum). We can then choose $`\lambda _k`$ and $`\omega _k`$ in Eq. (12) so as to minimize the decay of (7) convoluted with $`P(\omega _a)`$. The following limits of (12) will be now analyzed.

(i) Monochromatic perturbation: Let $`ϵ(t)=ϵ_0e^{i\delta _{af}t}`$. Then $`R=2\pi G(\omega _a+\mathrm{\Delta })`$, where $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\delta _{af}=\text{const}`$ is an AC Stark shift. In principle, such a shift may drastically enhance or suppress $`R`$ relative to $`R_{\mathrm{GR}}`$. It provides the maximal variation of $`R`$ achievable with an external perturbation, since it does not involve any averaging (smoothing) of $`G(\omega )`$ incurred by the width of $`F_t(\omega )`$: the modified $`R`$ can even vanish, if the shifted frequency $`\omega _a+\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is beyond the cutoff frequency of the coupling, where $`G(\omega )=0`$ (Fig. 1a,b). Conversely, the increase of $`R`$ due to a shift can be much greater than that achievable with the AZE . In practice, however, AC Stark shifts are usually small for (CW) monochromatic perturbations, whence pulsed perturbations should often be used, resulting in multiple $`\omega _k`$ shifts according to (12).

(ii) Impulsive phase modulation (PM): Let the phase of the coupling amplitude jump by an amount $`\varphi `$ at times $`\tau ,2\tau ,\mathrm{}`$. Such modulation can be achieved by a train of identical, equidistant, narrow pulses of nonresonant radiation, which produce pulsed AC Stark shifts $`\delta _{af}(t)`$ in (3). Now $`ϵ(t)=e^{i[t/\tau ]\varphi }`$, where $`[\mathrm{}]`$ is the integer part. One then obtains that $`ϵ_c=1`$ and $`Q(t)=t`$. The decay is given by Eqs. (7) and (8), where $`F_t(\omega )`$ can be obtained in a closed form. For sufficiently long times one can use Eq. (12). The poles and residues of $`\widehat{ϵ}(s)=(1e^{s\tau })/[s(1e^{i\varphi s\tau })]`$ yield $`\omega _k=2k\pi /\tau \varphi /\tau `$ and $`|\lambda _k|^2=4\mathrm{sin}^2(\varphi /2)/(2k\pi \varphi )^2`$. For small phase shifts, $`\varphi 1`$, the $`k=0`$ peak dominates, $`|\lambda _0|^21\varphi ^2/12`$, whereas $`|\lambda _k|^2\varphi ^2/4\pi ^2k^2`$ for $`k0`$. In this case one can retain only the $`k=0`$ term in Eq. (12) \[unless $`G(\omega )`$ is changing very fast\]. Then the modulation acts as a constant shift $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\varphi /\tau `$. With the increase of $`|\varphi |`$, the difference between the $`k=0`$ and $`k=1`$ peak heights diminishes, vanishing for $`\varphi =\pm \pi `$. Then $`|\lambda _0|^2=|\lambda _1|^2=4/\pi ^2`$, i.e., $`F_t(\omega )`$ for $`\varphi =\pm \pi `$ contains two identical peaks symmetrically shifted in opposite directions (Fig. 1a) \[the other peaks $`|\lambda _k|^2`$ decrease with $`k`$ as $`(2k1)^2`$, totaling 0.19\].

The above features allow one to adjust the modulation parameters for a given scenario to obtain an optimal decrease or increase of $`R`$. The PM scheme with a small $`\varphi `$ is preferable near the continuum edge (Fig. 1a,b), since it yields a spectral shift in the required direction (positive or negative). The adverse effect of $`k0`$ peaks in $`F_t(\omega )`$ then scales as $`\varphi ^2`$ and hence can be significantly reduced by decreasing $`|\varphi |`$. On the other hand, if $`\omega _a`$ is near a symmetric peak of $`G(\omega )`$, $`R`$ is reduced more effectively for $`\varphi \pi `$, as in Ref. , since the main peaks of $`F_t(\omega )`$ at $`\omega _0`$ and $`\omega _1`$ then shift stronger with $`\tau ^1`$ than the peak at $`\omega _0=\varphi /\tau `$ for $`\varphi 1`$.

(iii) Amplitude modulation (AM) of the coupling arises, e.g., for radiative-decay modulation due to atomic motion through a high-$`Q`$ cavity or a photonic crystal  or for atomic tunneling in optical lattices with time-varying lattice acceleration . Let the coupling be turned on and off periodically, for the time $`\tau _1`$ and $`\tau _0\tau _1`$, respectively, i.e., $`ϵ=1`$ for $`n\tau _0<t<n\tau _0+\tau _1`$ and $`ϵ=0`$ for $`n\tau _0+\tau _1<t<(n+1)\tau _0`$ ($`n=0,1,\mathrm{}`$). Now $`Q(t)`$ in (7) is the total time during which the coupling is switched on. This case is also covered by Eq. (12), where the parameters are now found to be $`ϵ_c^2=\tau _1/\tau _0`$, $`\omega _k=2k\pi /\tau _0`$, $`|\lambda _0|^2=\tau _1/\tau _0`$, $`|\lambda _k|^2=(\tau _1/\tau _0)\text{sinc}^2(k\pi \tau _1/\tau _0)`$ ($`k0`$).

It is instructive to consider the limit wherein $`\tau _1\tau _0`$ and $`\tau _0`$ is much greater than the correlation time of the continuum, i.e., $`G(\omega )`$ does not change significantly over the spectral intervals $`(2\pi k/\tau _0,2\pi (k+1)/\tau _0)`$. In this case one can approximate the sum (12) by the integral (8) with $`F_t(\omega )(\tau _1/2\pi )\text{sinc}^2(\omega \tau _1/2)`$, characterized by the spectral broadening $`1/\tau _1`$ (Fig. 2 – inset). Then Eq. (8) for $`R`$ reduces to that obtained when ideal projective measurements are performed at intervals $`\tau _1`$ .

Thus the AM scheme can imitate measurement-induced (dephasing) effects on quantum dynamics, if the interruption intervals $`\tau _0`$ exceed the correlation time of the continuum. This indeed has been observed  for atom tunneling in optical lattices whose tilt (acceleration) was periodically modulated as above. For its analysis we have used the approximate expression for $`\mathrm{\Phi }(t)`$ obtained in , which yields the reservoir spectrum $`G(\omega +\omega _a)`$ (Fig. 2 – inset), with one maximum at $`\omega \omega _g`$, $`\mathrm{}\omega _g`$ being the lattice band gap. The decay probability $`P(t)`$, calculated in Fig. 2 (curves 1-4) for parameters similar to , completely coincides with that obtained for ideal impulsive measurements at intervals $`\tau _1`$  and demonstrates either the QZE (curve 2) or the AZE (curve 3) behavior.

The universal Eq. (8), which is a result of unitary analysis, is valid also when $`ϵ(t)`$ is a stationary random process. If such a process is characterized by the correlation time $`\nu ^1`$, one can use a master equation to show that, for $`t\nu ^1`$, we have $`P(t)e^{Rt}`$, where the decay rate (provided that $`R\nu `$) still has the general form (8), but with

$$F_t(\omega )F(\omega )=\pi ^1ϵ_c^2\text{Re}_0^{\mathrm{}}\overline{ϵ^{}(t)ϵ(0)}e^{i\omega t}𝑑t,$$
(14)
$`F(\omega )`$ being the normalized spectrum of the random process and $`ϵ_c^2=\overline{|ϵ(t)|^2}`$, where the overbar denotes ensemble averaging. Expression (8) with the substitution (14) is completely analogous to the universal formula describing measurement effects on quantum evolution in . This analogy between unitary and measurement effects stems from the ability to emulate projective measurements by the dephasing of the level evolution caused by classical random fields .

There may, however, be a notable difference between projections and random-field dephasing. Projective measurements at an effective rate $`\nu `$, whether impulsive or continuous, usually result in a broadened (to a width $`\nu `$) modulation function $`F(\omega )`$, without a shift of its center of gravity, $`\mathrm{\Delta }=𝑑\omega \omega F(\omega )0`$ . This feature was shown  to be responsible for either the standard QZE scaling, $`R1/\nu `$, or the AZE scaling. In contrast, a weak and broadband chaotic field such that $`|\chi |\overline{I}\nu _B`$, where $`\overline{I}`$ is the mean intensity, $`\nu _B`$ is the bandwidth, and $`\chi `$ is the effective polarizability, would give rise to a Lorentzian dephasing function $`F(\omega )`$ in (14) with a substantial shift $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\chi \overline{I}`$. This shift would have much stronger effect on $`R`$ than the QZE or AZE caused by the width $`\nu \chi ^2\overline{I}^2/\nu _B|\mathrm{\Delta }|`$.

We have presented here a general theory of dynamically modulated quantum decay, which offers new insights into the possibilities of controlling its non-Markovian dynamics by off-resonant electromagnetic fields. Its unified form (7), (8) encompasses, as special cases, all the modulation schemes of current interest, satisfying the factorization condition \[cf. Eq. (6)\] . Whereas its limit (14) may imitate measurement effects (the QZE and AZE), the modulation or spectral-shift parameters allow us to “engineer” (suppress or enhance) more effectively the decay into a given reservoir. Thus, measurements are shown to have no advantage as a means of either suppressing or enhancing decay compared to APM. Moreover, the coherent nature of APM makes it much more appropriate than measurements for decoherence suppression in quantum information applications, which require reversible transformations of quantum superposed states.

This work has been supported by EU (ATESIT Network), the US-Israel BSF, and the Ministry of Absorption (A. K.).


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# Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90cBased on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile.

## 1 Introduction

Tremendous progress has been made in recent years in the detection of globular cluster (GC) populations around galaxies beyond the Local Group (e.g., Harris, 1991; Blakeslee, 1999). The globular cluster populations of well over 100 galaxies up to distances $`100h^1`$ Mpc have now been studied in various environments in the hope of gaining further insight into galaxy formation and evolution. Studies have shown that the number of globular clusters associated with any particular galaxy varies widely, from none for M32 to $`20,000`$ for the cD galaxy M87 (e.g., Harris, 1991).

A useful parameter for quantifying the total number of globular clusters per galaxy is the specific frequency, $`S_N=N_{tot}10^{0.4(M_V+15)}`$, which is defined as the total number of globular clusters, $`N_{tot}`$, per unit galaxy luminosity (normalized to $`M_V=15`$; Harris & van den Bergh, 1981). Previous studies have shown that globular cluster populations vary systematically with galaxy type and environment (Harris, 1991; West, 1994). Characteristic values of $`S_N`$ range from $`S_N1`$ for field spiral galaxies, to $`S_N24`$ for field ellipticals, to $`S_N57`$ for ellipticals in dense environments, and up to $`S_N1020`$ for supergiant ellipticals at the centers of rich clusters. (We note that normalization with respect to bulge luminosity for spiral galaxies would increase the value of $`S_N`$, see Côte et al. 2000.) Yet, which factor has the greatest influence on globular cluster formation—galaxy type or environment—is unclear.

Several competing theories have been proposed to explain the origin of the observed variations in globular cluster systems of different galaxies. Among these are: galaxy mergers (Schweizer, 1986; Ashman & Zepf, 1992), accretion via tidal stripping or merging (Côte, Marzke, & West 1998; Côte et al. 2000), and two-stage collapse models (Forbes, Brodie, & Grillmair 1997). At present, it is unclear whether a single mechanism, or a combination of proposed formation scenarios, can explain the properties of globular cluster systems (Kissler-Patig, 2000). Determining which scenario most accurately describes the formation of globular clusters will require the investigation of GC systems in a wide range of environments.

In this paper we present observations of the globular cluster population of two galaxies in Hickson compact groups; HCG 22a (NGC 1199) and HCG 90c (NGC 7173). Compact groups are interesting because, although they are small (typically 3–7 member galaxies per group), they are extremely dense systems, comparable in density to the cores of rich Abell clusters (e.g., Hickson, 1982; Hickson et al., 1992). This makes them a useful tool for probing the influence of environment on globular cluster formation.

Figure Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. and Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. show V band images of HCG 22a and 90c, respectively. Both HCG 22 and 90 have been detected by ROSAT and each group has been shown to be a weak X-ray source (Ponman et al., 1996). Table 1 summarizes the general properties of these systems. We discuss each in detail below.

### 1.1 Hickson Compact Group 22

HCG 22 initially was thought to contain five members (three ellipticals and two spirals) but later redshift measurements determined that two of the elliptical galaxies (HCG 22d and 22e) were most likely background galaxies since their heliocentric radial velocities are $`7000\text{km}\text{s}^1`$ greater than the remaining group members (Hickson et al., 1992). The median heliocentric radial velocity of the three bona fide group members is $`2700\text{km}\text{s}^1`$, with a velocity dispersion of $`43.7\text{km}\text{s}^1`$.

From Table 1, the heliocentric velocity of HCG 22a is $`2705\text{km}\text{s}^1`$ which indicates that this galaxy is most likely located near the group center of mass. Hickson et al. (1992) estimated the mass-to-light ratio of HCG 22 to be $`M/L1.3h^1M_{}/L_{}`$ and a projected median galaxy-to-galaxy separation of $`26.9h^1\text{kpc}`$. The group crossing time, defined as the ratio of the crossing time to the age of the universe, is $`Ht_c=0.1905`$ which is greater than the median value of $`Ht_c=0.016`$ determined for all of the Hickson compact groups combined (Hickson et al., 1992). This suggests that galaxy mergers and interactions may be less important for HCG 22 than for other compact groups with shorter crossing times.

### 1.2 Hickson Compact Group 90

HCG 90 consists of four bright galaxies (two ellipticals, a spiral, and an irregular) with a median heliocentric group radial velocity of $`2640\text{km}\text{s}^1`$ and a velocity dispersion of $`100\text{km}\text{s}^1`$ (Hickson et al., 1992). The mass-to-light ratio of HCG 90 is given by Hickson et al. (1992) as $`M/L12.3h^1M_{}/L_{}`$ and a median projected galaxy separation of $`29.5h^1\text{kpc}`$. Table 1 lists the heliocentric radial velocity of HCG 90c as $`2696\text{km}\text{s}^1`$, which indicates that this galaxy is probably close to the center of mass of the group.

The group crossing time was estimated by Hickson et al. (1992) to be $`Ht_c=0.0224`$ , which is only $`12\%`$ of the estimated value for HCG 22. This suggests that galaxy mergers and interactions are likely to have been more important in HCG 90 than for HCG 22 and it is interesting to note that HCG 90 contains a galaxy (HCG 90d) that is clearly interacting with other group members (Longo et al., 1994; Plana et al., 1999).

In this study, we have measured the globular cluster specific frequency of HCG 22a and HCG 90c. In § 2 we present the observations and data reductions. Section 3 presents the results for HCG 22a and 90c in terms of their globular cluster luminosity functions, radial distributions, and specific frequencies. In § 4 we discuss the results of this study in the context of globular cluster formation and the nature of Hickson compact groups.

Throughout this paper, unless otherwise specified, we use $`H_0=50\text{km}\text{s}^1\text{Mpc}^1`$.

## 2 Observations and Data Reductions

Observations of HCG 22a and 90c were obtained on the nights of October 9 and 10, 1993 using the 3.5m New Technology Telescope (NTT) operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in La Silla, Chile. All images were taken with the ESO Multi-Mode Instrument (EMMI) with a Loral 2048 CCD mounted on the red arm. The Loral 2048 CCD chip consists of 2048$`\times `$2048 15$`\mathrm{\mu m}`$ pixels, giving a scale of $`0.29\mathrm{}`$ per pixel at the f/11 Nasmyth focus. Technical limitations during the observing run limited the effective area of the chip to 1700$`\times `$1700 pixels, resulting in a projected sky coverage of $`8.2\mathrm{}\times 8.2\mathrm{}`$.

The observations consisted of $`5\times 900`$ second exposures in the Cousins V and R passband for HCG 22a, and $`6\times 900`$ seconds in V and R for HCG 90c. Since globular clusters around these galaxies can be detected only as a statistical excess of star-like objects, a series of $`5\times 900`$ second exposures in V and R were also taken of a control field located within $`3\mathrm{°}`$ of the target galaxies in order to ascertain the expected number of contaminating Galactic stars and unresolved faint galaxies along the line of sight. The seeing varied during the observing run from $`0.87\mathrm{}`$ to $`0.98\mathrm{}`$ (FWHM), as measured from the individual galaxy frames.

Processing of the raw images was conducted within the IRAF111IRAF is distributed by National Optical Astronomy Observatories, which are operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. environment and involved the standard procedure of bias correction and flat fielding using dome flats. After this initial processing, each set of individual galaxy and control field images were registered to their common coordinate system and median combined to yield a higher S/N image. Instrumental magnitudes were transformed to the standard UBVRI system by measuring several standard stars from Landolt (1992).

At the distance of the target galaxies ($`54`$ Mpc), and with the typical seeing of the combined frames ($`0.9\mathrm{}`$), individual globular clusters are unresolved and appear as an apparent excess of star-like objects around their parent galaxy. In order to maximize the detection of individual globular clusters and to perform accurate photometry, the light from each host galaxy was removed. This was done by using the STSDAS package in IRAF to model the light distribution of each galaxy using the tasks ellipse and bmodel, which fit isophotes and then generate models of each galaxy’s surface brightness profile. The constructed galaxy models were then subtracted from the appropriate image.

The galaxy-subtracted image of HCG 22a revealed a large, central, diffuse structure which is the residual of a known central dust lane (Franx, Illingworth, & Heckman 1989). In order to remove this feature, the galaxy-subtracted image was median filtered using a ring median filter (Secker, 1995) having an inner radius of 6.36 pixels and a width of 1 pixel. The resultant smoothed image was subtracted from the previous image, which helped to remove most of the dust lane feature. A second rectangular median filter of dimension 10$`\times `$10 pixels was applied to the resultant image and this smoothed image was subtracted from the previous image. The galaxy light removal procedure was applied equally to the V and R images.

The HCG 90c galaxy model was subtracted from the parent image and the result was median filtered using a ring filter with the same dimension as that used for HCG 22a. The resultant smoothed image was then subtracted from the previous image, adequately removing all galaxy light. This procedure was applied equally to the V and R images.

Object detection and classification was conducted using the Faint Object Classification and Analysis System (FOCAS) within the IRAF environment (Jarvis & Tyson, 1981; Valdes, 1993). A threshold of $`2.5\sigma `$ above background and a minimum object area of six pixels was used for the detection criteria. The detected objects were classified by FOCAS as star-like or galaxy-like by comparing a model PSF, generated by the average profile of a minimum of ten isolated, unsaturated stars, with the light profile of each object. The object list was then culled of saturated and galaxy-like objects. A master catalog of stellar-like objects detected in both the V and R images was generated for each galaxy and the control field. Only objects that were matched in both filters were included in the final sample, thereby greatly reducing the possibility of false detections of objects. DAOPHOT was used to perform the photometry on all detected objects.

Extinction corrections (Burstein & Heiles 1982) were determined to be negligible for HCG 90 and the control field ($`A_B=0.0`$). For HCG 22, we determined $`A_V=0.08`$ magnitude and $`A_R=0.06`$ magnitude.

### 2.1 Completeness Function

Since the globular cluster population of HCG 22a and 90c are detected only at very faint magnitudes ($`V22`$), the probability of detecting an object as a function of magnitude must be determined as accurately as possible. A “completeness” function was calculated by adding artificial stars (generated using the DAOPHOT routine Addstar) to the galaxy and control field images and then re-running the FOCAS routines. The fraction of detected artificial stars as a function of magnitude was then used to derive the completeness function.

Artificial stars were added to both the V and R images using the same spatial coordinates and with $`\mathrm{V R}=0.4`$ (the approximate color of Milky Way globular clusters; see Peterson 1993). FOCAS was then run exactly in the same manner as that used for real objects, including keeping only those objects detected in both the V and R images.

The photometric magnitude limit of the data is defined as the magnitude at which the probability for detecting an object equals 50% (Harris, 1990) . For magnitudes fainter than this limit, object information is much less reliable and thus all such objects were discarded from further analysis. The completeness limit for HCG 22a was determined to be $`V=24.9`$.

Since noise and degree of crowding increases towards the center of the subtracted galaxy, the completeness function will vary with radial distance from the galaxy center. Artificial stars were placed at different radii from the galaxy center and the completeness limit, as a function of radial distance, was measured. The completeness function was measured as a function of both magnitude and position from the center of the subtracted galaxy.

For HCG 22a, it was determined that for radii $`<`$ 70 pixels, the completeness limit was several magnitudes brighter than for radii $`>70`$ pixels (part of this is due to the small disk-like artifact found at the center of HCG 22a). All objects found within 70 pixels of the galaxy center were discarded and this inner region was not used in any further analysis. For the area outside of this region, the completeness function was found to be approximately the same.

For HCG 90c, the area within 60 pixels of the galaxy center was determined to be unusable due to its bright magnitude completeness limit. This region was masked out and not used in any further analysis. The completeness limit of the area outside of this region was determined to be $`V=24.8`$.

For the control field, artificial star experiments indicate a completeness limit of $`V=24.6`$.

Photometric errors were calculated by determining the standard deviation of the magnitude difference between added and recovered artificial stars. The root-mean-square of the random error for HCG 22a ranged from $`\sigma _{rms}0.01`$ at $`V=22`$ to $`\sigma _{rms}0.06`$ at $`V=24.6`$. For HCG 90c, $`\sigma _{rms}0.01`$ at $`V=22`$ and increased to $`\sigma _{rms}0.09`$ at $`V=24.6`$.

### 2.2 Selection Criteria

The detection of globular cluster candidates can be improved using criteria such as magnitude and shape parameters which are characteristic of globular clusters in general. Since objects detected in both galaxy fields must be compared to objects detected in the control field, all objects in the galaxy image catalogs with magnitudes fainter than $`V=24.6`$ (the completeness limit of the control field) were culled. Also, at the distance of HCG 22a and 90c, the number of globular clusters brighter than $`V=22`$ is negligible and hence all objects brighter than this limit were removed from the object catalogs.

Besides the magnitude criteria, all objects that lie within the masked regions (such as near the galaxy centers and regions containing bright galaxies) were eliminated from the object catalogs. In order to improve the S/N of detected globular clusters over background galaxies, all objects detected more than $`2.13\mathrm{}`$ from the center of HCG 22a were discarded (at this radius the density of globular cluster candidates becomes negligible; see section 3.2). For HCG 90c, a cutoff radius of $`2.58\mathrm{}`$ was chosen.

Figures Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. and Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. depict the spatial distribution of globular cluster candidates for HCG 22a and HCG 90c. A concentration of star-like objects surrounding each galaxy center is clearly seen.

Figures Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile., Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile., and Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. give the color-magnitude distribution for the galaxy and control fields. It appears from these figures that the distribution of stellar-like objects in HCG 22a and HCG 90c are generally more concentrated at a specific color than those objects found in the control field. Due to the small number of detected objects and the very short color baseline, we have not imposed a color selection criteria.

## 3 Results

### 3.1 Globular Cluster Luminosity Function

At a limiting magnitude of $`V24.6`$ we sample only the brightest fraction of globular clusters present around HCG 22a and 90c. Consequently, it is necessary to extrapolate counts to include the more numerous faint globulars not detected in our images.

Globular cluster luminosity functions are universally well described by a Gaussian function (Harris, 1991) of the form

$$N(V)=Aexp\left[\frac{(mm_o)^2}{2\sigma ^2}\right],$$
(1)
where $`N(V)`$ is the number of globular clusters, $`A`$ is the amplitude, $`m`$ is the apparent magnitude of individual globular clusters, $`m_o`$ is the magnitude of the turnover, and $`\sigma `$ is the dispersion.

The globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF) for each galaxy was constructed from the statistical subtraction of star-like objects measured from the control field. Unresolved objects in the galaxy field will consist of true globular clusters, foreground stars, and faint background galaxies which have stellar-like profiles and were miss-classified by FOCAS. In fact, most of the contamination will be due to faint unresolved galaxies since one expects less than one foreground star per square arcminute at $`V>21`$ (e.g., Ratnatunga & Bahcall, 1985). Since object detection and classification were carried out identically for both the galaxy and control fields, the difference in the number of star-like objects between the galaxy fields and the control field (corrected for completeness and normalized with respect to spatial coverage) should be, statistically, globular cluster candidates.

Fitting a Gaussian function to the GCLF data involves simultaneously fitting three parameters; the turnover, dispersion, and the amplitude. However, since the GCLF data for HCG 22a and 90c are highly uncertain near the completeness limit, it was decided not to attempt to simultaneously solve for all three parameters. The absolute magnitude of the turnover of the GCLF is observed to be roughly the same for all galaxies, regardless of morphological type or local environment (Harris, 1991; Jacoby et al., 1992). We have therefore adopted $`M_V=7.4\pm 0.2`$ for the absolute magnitude of the turnover, which is consistent with previous studies (e.g., Fleming et al., 1995). Since the dispersion of the Gaussian function has been shown to have only a narrow range of values centered on $`\sigma _{gauss}=1.4`$ (Harris, 1991; Jacoby et al., 1992), we have decided to adopt this value. A non-linear weighted least-squares fit of the GCLF of HCG 22a, using $`M_V=7.4\pm 0.2`$, $`\sigma _{gauss}=1.4`$ and a distance of 54.1 Mpc, gives $`A=38.4\pm 8.1`$ with $`\chi _\nu ^2=1.4`$. For HCG 90c, we found $`A=51.3\pm 7.6`$ and $`\chi _\nu ^2=1.9`$, using a distance of 53.9 Mpc. Figure Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. and Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. show the GCLF, with the best-fit Gaussian function, for HCG 22a and HCG 90c, respectively. Counts of stellar-like objects in the galaxy and control fields are given in Table 2 and 3 for HCG 22a and HCG 90c, respectively.

### 3.2 Radial Distribution

In addition to correcting globular cluster counts for incomplete sampling of the GCLF as discussed above, it is also necessary to correct the counts for the limited areal coverage around each galaxy.

The globular cluster radial distribution was measured by dividing the galaxy images into several annuli centered on each galaxy. For each annulus, the total number of globular cluster candidates were corrected for incompleteness and subtracted by the properly normalized control field counts.

The radial distribution was characterized using a power-law of the form, $`\sigma =AR^\alpha `$ (e.g., Fleming et al., 1995). Using weighted non-linear least-squares, the best-fit values for the radial distribution of HCG 22a was determined to be $`A=7.2\pm 1.28`$ and $`\alpha =2.01\pm 0.30`$, with $`\chi _\nu ^2=1.3`$. Figure Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. depicts the radial distribution of globular cluster candidates for HCG 22a along with the best-fit power-law.

For HCG 90c, the best-fit values for the radial distribution was found to be $`A=13.99\pm 1.42`$ and $`\alpha =1.20\pm 0.16`$, with $`\chi _\nu ^2=1.5`$. Figure Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. depicts the radial profile of the globular cluster candidates, along with the best-fit power-law.

A useful comparison can be made between the spatial extent of the globular cluster system and the stellar halo of the parent galaxy. Figure Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. shows the comparison of the radial profile of the globular cluster system and the surface brightness for HCG 22a. The surface brightness data has been taken from Franx et al. (1989) and has been scaled vertically to match the GC profile near its center. A fit to the radial dependence of the halo surface brightness, $`\mu `$, gives, $`\mu R^{2.3}`$, which is consistent with the slope of the radial profile of the GCs ($`\alpha =2.01\pm 0.3`$). Thus, the globular cluster system is as spatially extended as the halo light of HCG 22a, which is consistent with other studies where the GC profiles are either similar to or more extended than the galaxy halo (e.g., Fleming et al., 1995).

The surface brightness profile of HCG 90c was determined from Penereiro (1994) and is compared with the radial distribution of its globular cluster population in Figure Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c11affiliation: Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile.. The surface brightness profile has been scaled vertically to match the globular cluster distribution. A fit to the halo profile gives a slope of $`\mu R^{1.5}`$ and hence, the globular cluster population is spatially more extended than the galaxy halo. We also note that the halo light of HCG 90c is not well defined due to the high surface brightness of the intra-group light (White et al., 2001).

### 3.3 Specific Frequency

As mentioned in Section 1, a useful way of quantifying the globular cluster population of different galaxies is to compare values of specific frequency, $`S_N=N_{tot}10^{0.4(M_V+15)}`$. The first step in calculating $`S_N`$ is to determine the total number of globular clusters, $`N_{tot}`$. The power-law radial distribution function, $`\sigma =AR^\alpha `$, must be integrated from an inner to an outer radius in order to account for the globular clusters that were missed due to spatial incompleteness. Also, the number of globular clusters must be corrected for incomplete coverage of the luminosity function.

#### 3.3.1 Hickson Compact Group 22a

In order to integrate the power-law radial distribution function, inner and outer radial limits must be chosen. Globular cluster distributions normally do not extend to radii inward of 1 kpc from the center of the parent galaxy (e.g., Harris, 1991; Bridges, Hanes, & Harris, 1991), the most likely cause being tidal shocking and dynamical friction which have destroyed globular clusters at distances close to the galaxy center (e.g., Weinberg, 1993). For an outer radius, globular cluster systems generally do not extend past 50 kpc from the center of a typical elliptical galaxy (e.g., Harris & van den Bergh, 1981; Hanes & Harris, 1986; Fleming et al., 1995). Thus for this study, an inner radius of 1 kpc and an outer radius of 50 kpc was adopted for HCG 22a and 90c. These radial limits for HCG 22a correspond to angular distances of $`0.06\mathrm{}`$ and $`3.1\mathrm{}`$. A consistency check is provided by the fact that the radial counts for HCG 22a and 90c appear to reach background levels approximately 50 kpc from the galaxy center.

The integral of the power-law density profile gives $`N_{tot}=\sigma _{cl}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\pi R𝑑R`$, where $`\sigma _{cl}`$ represents the number density of globular clusters. For HCG 22a we have $`N_{tot}=2\pi A_{0.06\mathrm{}}^{3.18\mathrm{}}R^{\alpha +1}𝑑R`$. Solving this equation gives the total number of globular clusters, $`N_{tot}=179\pm 54`$ before including the correction for faint globular clusters that are below our detection limit. If the outer radius was set to a smaller value, say 25 kpc, the total number of globular clusters would be $`148`$ and hence, $`N_{tot}`$ is not extremely sensitive to our chosen value of an outer radius for a steep radial slope of $`\alpha 2.0`$.

After correcting for the radial incompleteness of detected globular clusters, the incomplete coverage of the luminosity function must be accounted for. Since the luminosity function was assumed to be a Gaussian, the area under the Gaussian function that was accounted for will give a measure of the percentage of observed globular clusters. Integrating the curve from $`\mathrm{}`$ to the photometric limit of the data ($`V=24.6`$), indicates that $`11\pm 3\%`$ of the distribution was observed. Correcting $`N_{tot}`$ for the unobserved part of the luminosity function gives $`N_{tot}^{cor}=1590\pm 854`$.

Once the total number of globular clusters was determined, the specific frequency was calculated from the absolute V magnitude of the parent galaxy. Using an absolute magnitude of $`M_V=22.31\pm 0.07`$ as given by NED222The NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration., the specific frequency was determined to be $`S_N=1.9\pm 1.0`$ for HCG 22a (using $`H_0=75\text{km}\text{s}^1\text{Mpc}^1`$, we find $`S_N=1.7\pm 0.6`$).

#### 3.3.2 Hickson Compact Group 90c

The specific frequency for HCG 90c was calculated in the analogous way as for HCG 22a. The total number of globular clusters, for the chosen radial limits of 1 kpc to 50 kpc ($`0.07\mathrm{}`$ to $`3.5\mathrm{}`$), was determined to be $`N_{tot}=270\pm 28`$. Changing the outer radius to 25 kpc yields $`N_{tot}150`$ and thus the total number of globular clusters is sensitive to the choice of an outer radius because of the shallow radial profile with $`\alpha 1.2`$.

Correcting for the unobserved part of the luminosity function, we determined that $`13\pm 3\%`$ of the total number of globular clusters were observed and that $`N_{tot}^{cor}=2136\pm 718`$. Using an absolute magnitude of $`M_V=21.99\pm 0.03`$, we find that $`S_N=3.4\pm 1.1`$ for HCG 90c (using $`H_0=75\text{km}\text{s}^1\text{Mpc}^1`$, we find $`S_N=4.4\pm 1.3`$).

## 4 Discussion

In this paper we have investigated the globular cluster population of two prominent elliptical galaxies, each located near the center of a Hickson compact group. The globular cluster population has been characterized by measuring the number of globular clusters per unit galaxy luminosity ($`S_N`$), radial distributions, and the globular cluster luminosity function. Although our sample is limited to only two compact group galaxies, we can draw some tentative conclusions.

The most important aspect of this study is the determination of the specific frequency of HCG 22a and HCG 90c. As mentioned in section 1, specific frequency values for field ellipticals generally range from $`S_N=23`$, in contrast to values measured for cD galaxies at the center of rich clusters ($`S_N=1020`$). Although $`S_N`$ seems to follow a general trend that as the local density increases the number of globular clusters per unit galaxy luminosity also increases, there are exceptions (e.g., Harris, Pritchet, & McClure, 1995; Woodworth & Harris, 2000). The evidence seems to suggest that a high density environment, at least at the current epoch, may be a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the formation of high $`S_N`$ galaxies. The relatively low values of $`S_N`$ for HCG 22a and 90c ($`S_N=1.9\pm 1.0`$ and $`S_N=3.4\pm 1.1`$, respectively) suggests that these galaxies formed their globular clusters at a time when they were located in a “field-like” low density environment.

The exact nature of Hickson compact groups has been controversial since some studies have suggested that the majority of compact groups are chance projections of large filamentary structures (Hernquist, Katz, & Weinberg, 1995) or a superposition of galaxies in a much larger group or poor cluster (Walke & Mamon, 1989). N-body simulations have indicated that, given the small crossing times and low velocity dispersions (Hickson et al., 1992), group member galaxies would combine to form a single elliptical galaxy on the order of a few crossing times (e.g., Barnes 1985; Mamon 1987; but see Mamon 2000) and several examples of isolated ellipticals which may be the surviving remnants of galaxy groups have been discovered (Mulchaey & Zabludoff 1999). This suggests that if compact groups are gravitationally bound, group members may be just beginning to come together at the present epoch and that during the time of globular cluster formation, these galaxies were situated in a lower density environment. This scenario is consistent with the specific frequency values measured for HCG 22a and 90c.

Evidence to support the hypothesis that these groups are bound structures include; the detection of $`H_I`$ and X-rays (Williams & Rood, 1987; Pildis, Bregman, & Evrard, 1995; Ponman et al., 1996), indicating significant dynamical evolution and galaxy interaction, the decrease in the relative number of spirals with decreasing group crossing times (Hickson et al., 1992), and the presence of tidal tails and debris in some compact groups (Hunsberger, Charlton, & Zaritsky, 1996).

As mentioned in section 1, both HCG 22 and 90 are weak X-ray emitters. Radial velocity measurements imply that both HCG 22a and 90c are located near the bottom of their group potential well. Also, HCG 90b is clearly interacting with HCG 90d (Plana et al., 1999). HCG 90 has also been shown to contain a spatially extended, diffuse, light component (White et al., 2001). These facts suggests that both HCG 22 and 90 are gravitationally bound structures.

In recent years, it has been shown that the globular cluster systems of many large elliptical galaxies contain two or more chemically distinct sub-populations, usually inferred on the basis of color information (e.g., Ostrov, Geisler, & Forte, 1993; Geisler, Lee, & Kim, 1996; Côte et al., 1998). A number of different theories have been proposed to explain the origin of these different globular cluster populations; among these are models in which two or more bursts of globular cluster formation occur (e.g., Ashman & Zepf, 1992; Forbes & Forte, 2000) or accretion of globular clusters from other galaxies (e.g., Côte et al., 1998, 2000). Given the rather unique environments represented by compact groups, and the roles that mergers may have played, it would be interesting to ascertain whether Hickson compact group galaxies also exhibit multiple globular cluster populations. Unfortunately, the V-R information provided by this investigation does not give us a sufficiently long color baseline to explore this possibility.

## 5 Conclusions

We have studied the globular cluster systems around the early-type galaxies HCG 22a (NGC 1199) and 90c (NGC 7173) using V and R band data obtained from ESO’s NTT. Globular clusters have been detected as a statistical excess of star-like objects surrounding each galaxy. Object detection and classification was performed using FOCAS on galaxy-subtracted images.

The specific frequency of each galaxy was measured assuming a turnover and dispersion of the globular cluster luminosity function. We found that for HCG 22a, $`S_N=1.9\pm 1.0`$, and for HCG 90c, $`S_N=3.4\pm 1.1`$. The total number of globular clusters for HCG 22a was determined to be $`N_{tot}=1590\pm 854`$ and for HCG 90c we found $`N_{tot}=2136\pm 718`$. We also derived the globular cluster surface density profiles and found that for HCG 22a, the underlying starlight is as extended as the GC system. For HCG 90c, we found that the GC system is more extended than the galaxy halo.

From the results of this study, it is clear that further observations are needed to help understand the formation of globular clusters and the nature of Hickson compact groups. Observations which clearly reach the turnover in the globular cluster luminosity function would be of great value since they would provide a more robust determination of the GCLF, radial distribution, and specific frequency. Observations design to detect any bimodality in the color distribution would provide invaluable information on the past history of the globular cluster systems.

Additional observations of a larger sample of compact group galaxies would allow the investigation of potential correlations between galaxy luminosity and $`S_N`$ (since the local environment would be the same for a pair of galaxies in the same group) or other factors such as X-ray luminosity, mass-to-light ratio, and distance from the group dynamical center.

The authors would like to thank the referee for useful comments and suggestions. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. WAB is grateful for the support of the Reinhardt and Sumner fellowships. MJW acknowledges support from NSF grant AST 00-71149 and from NSERC of Canada.


text:
# Chemical Evolution of Elliptical Galaxies as a Constraint to Galaxy Formation Scenarios

## 1. Introduction

Most of the information on elliptical galaxies comes from their integrated properties: by analyzing colors and spectra by means of population synthesis techniques (e.g., Buzzoni et al. 1992; Bruzual & Charlot 1993; Bressan et al. 1994, 1996; Tantalo et al. 1998) one can infer the real abundances of the dominant stellar populations. A value of the elemental ratio \[Mg/Fe\] $`>`$ 0 in the nuclei of ellipticals has been derived; moreover, \[Mg/Fe\] has been found to increase with increasing the galactic mass (Faber et al. 1992; Worthey et al. 1992; Weiss et al. 1995). The overabundance of \[Mg/Fe\] with respect to solar is generally interpreted as due to a short and intense star formation, perhaps coupled to an IMF slightly biased towards massive stars. Other observational hints favoring a scenario in which the bulk of the stellar population is build up on a short timescale are the existence of a tight fundamental plane (FP) in the 3-space of the basic global parameters central velocity dispersion $`\sigma `$, effective radius $`r_e`$, and mean effective surface brightness $`I_e`$ (Bender et al. 1992; Renzini & Ciotti 1993) and the tight color–$`\sigma `$ and color–magnitude relations (Bower et al. 1992) for ellipticals in local clusters, and the modest shift with redshift in the zero-point of the FP, Mg2$`\sigma `$, and color–magnitude relations of cluster ellipticals at intermediate $`z`$ (Dickinson 1995; Ellis et al. 1997; Bender et al. 1998; van Dokkum et al. 1998; Kodama et al. 1998; Stanford et al. 1998). A maximum age difference of $``$ 1 Gyr between the bulk of the stellar population in field and cluster ellipticals at given mass has been inferred (Bernardi et al. 1998; see also Concannon et al. 2000 and Maraston & Thomas 2000), thus suggesting that most stars in ellipticals formed at $`z`$ $`>`$ 3, independently on the environment. The present day Type Ia and II SN rates in early-type galaxies ($`Rate_{SNIa}`$ = 0.18 $`\pm `$ 0.06 SNu, $`Rate_{SNII}`$ $`<`$ 0.02 SNu for $`H_0`$ = 75 km s-1 Mpc-1; Cappellaro et al. 1999) are another argument in favor of a scenario where a long-lasting phase of passive evolution follows an early episode of vigorous star formation. In fact, since Type II SNe come from short-living progenitors whereas Type Ia SNe come from long-living ones, the observed Type Ia and II SN rates imply that star formation in early-type galaxies must be nearly inactive at the present time.

In recent years, a strong connection between quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) observed at high redshifts and their host proto-galaxies has become apparent. In particular, the correlation between the central massive dark object and the hot stellar component of nearby galaxies (e.g., Kormendy & Richstone 1995; Magorrian et al. 1998; van der Marel 1999; Ferrarese & Merritt 2000; Gebhardt et al. 2000) suggests a direct connection between QSO activity and galaxy formation. Several models taking into account jointly the cosmological formation of QSOs and spheroids have appeared in the literature (Silk & Rees 1998; Friaça & Terlevich 1998; Monaco et al. 2000; Granato et al. 2001, among others). Following Monaco et al. (2000) and Granato et al. (2001), the QSOs shine at the centers of the spheroids while a vigorous star formation is building up the bulk of the stellar population. As a consequence of this, the surrounding medium is ionized, the star formation stops and a galactic wind develops. The QSOs shine in an inverted hierarchical order (Monaco et al. 2000), i.e., more massive spheroids experience the shining of the QSO before less massive ones. This scenario closely resembles the ‘inverse wind’ scenario invoked to explain the increase of the \[Mg/Fe\] ratio of the stellar populations in the nuclei of ellipticals with increasing total galactic luminosity (Matteucci 1994). We will show that by adopting the QSO shining times given by Monaco et al. (2000) and Granato et al. (2001) we can account for the main chemical properties of the stellar populations in early-type galaxies, thus giving further support to their model, which already reproduces: i) the evolution of the quasar luminosity function, ii) the 850 and 450 $`\mu `$m source counts together with their related statistics, iii) the mass function of dormant black holes in nearby galaxies and iv) the correlation of the black hole mass with the mass of the host galaxy spheroid.

## 2. The Model

Elliptical galaxies are considered initially as spheres of gas with luminous mass in the range $`M_{gas}`$ $``$ 1.0 $`\times `$ 1010–2.5 $`\times `$ 1012 $`M_{}`$ embedded in a massive dark halo of mass $`M`$ $``$ 7 $`M_{gas}`$. At the beginning, both baryonic and dark matter follow a Navarro, Frenk, & White (1997) density profile. Then, baryonic matter cools, collapses and starts forming stars. We assume a single zone interstellar medium (ISM) with instantaneous mixing of gas throughout. The star formation builds up the bulk of the stellar population with high efficiency in a short timescale. Then, the QSO shines at the centre, ionizes the ISM and stops the star formation. A galactic wind eventually develops at this stage. The shining times, $`t_{QSO}`$, are listed in Table 1 as a function of the initial gaseous mass. We compute the cooling time and the dynamical time at each radius and define $`r_{cool}`$, the maximum radius at which both the cooling time and the dynamical time are still lower than $`t_{QSO}`$. Obviously, only matter inside $`r_{cool}`$ (a fraction $`\alpha `$ of the initial gaseous mass) will enter the process of star formation. The quantity $`\alpha `$ is listed in Table 1.

The star formation rate (SFR) is given by:

$$\psi (t)=\nu M_{cold}(t),$$
(1)
where $`M_{cold}(t)`$ is the gas mass which has cooled by the time $`t`$. The quantity $`\nu `$, expressed in units of Gyr-1, represents the efficiency of star formation, namely the inverse of the timescale of star formation. The timescale of star formation is the maximum between the mean values of the cooling time and the dynamical time inside $`r_{cool}`$.

The fundamental equations of chemical evolution, which allow us to follow the temporal evolution of the abundances of several elemental species in the gas are:

$$\frac{\mathrm{d}G_i(t)}{\mathrm{d}t}=X_i(t)\psi (t)+R_i(t)+\left(\frac{\mathrm{d}G_i}{\mathrm{d}t}\right)_{infall}\left(\frac{\mathrm{d}G_i}{\mathrm{d}t}\right)_{reheat}.$$
(2)
$`G_i(t)`$ = $`X_i(t)M_{cold}(t)`$ is the cold gas mass in form of the element $`i`$; $`X_i(t)`$ is the abundance by mass of the element $`i`$; $`R_i(t)`$ is the rate at which dying stars eject both processed and unprocessed matter (see Matteucci & Greggio 1986). The last two terms on the right account for the accretion of cold gas by infall and for the reheating due to supernova explosions, namely the rate at which the gas is heated by SNe and therefore subtracted to star formation.

As far as the initial mass function (IMF) is concerned, we choose either a Salpeter IMF, $`\varphi (M)`$ $``$ $`M^{1.35}`$, or $`\varphi (M)`$ $``$ $`M^{1.15}`$. The normalization is performed in the mass range 0.1–100 $`M_{}`$.

The average abundances of the composite stellar populations we use are the mass-averaged ones, namely:

$$X_i=\frac{1}{S_{tot}}_0^{S_{tot}}X_i(S)dS,$$
(3)
where $`S_{tot}`$ is the total mass of stars ever born.

## 3. Model results and discussion

In Table 1 we report model parameters \[column (2): initial gaseous mass, in units of $`M_{}`$; column (3): QSO shining time, in units of Gyr; column (4): fraction of $`M_{gas}`$ which cools and collapses before $`t_{QSO}`$; column (5): star formation efficiency, in units of Gyr-1\] and results \[columns (6): mass converted into stars from $`t`$ = 0 to $`t`$ = $`t_{QSO}`$, in units of $`M_{}`$; column (7): average \[Mg/Fe\] of the composite stellar population at $`t`$ = $`t_{QSO}`$; columns (8) and (9): metallicity indices Mg2 and $``$Fe$``$ of the composite stellar population at $`t`$ = $`t_{QSO}`$\]. Results for both $`\varphi (M)`$ $``$ $`M^{1.35}`$ and $`\varphi (M)`$ $``$ $`M^{1.15}`$ are shown for each model galaxy.

Owing to the fact that the QSOs in more massive host proto-galaxies shine before those in less massive ones, larger $``$\[Mg/Fe\]$``$ ratios are displayed by the stellar populations of more massive spheroids, in agreement with observations. In fact, a prolongued star formation period results in adding younger stellar components formed out of iron-enriched gas, due to the temporal delay in type Ia SN explosions which restore the bulk of iron (e.g., Matteucci 1994). Moreover, at the time of the shining of the QSO, all our massive galaxies have reached a roughly solar or even super-solar metallicity at the center, in agreement with observational hints on the metal content in QSO environments (Hamann & Ferland 1999). The theoretical $``$\[Mg/Fe\]$``$, $``$\[Fe/H\]$``$ ratios can be converted into metallicity indices following the prescriptions by Matteucci et al. (1998) to be compared to observations in the Mg2$``$Fe$``$ diagram. We want to stress that introducing a reheating term in Eq.(2) helps us in reproducing the observed range of definition of the Mg2 index (see Fig.1). However, at present we used a very simplified treatment for the SN feedback, taking into account only type II SNe.

Recently, Trager et al. (2000) derived values of the $``$\[E/Fe\]$``$ and $``$\[Fe/H\]$``$ ratios for a sample of ellipticals from a set of observed indices (E refers to all ‘enhanced’ species, see Trager et al.). In Fig.2 we compare our theoretical predictions to their data, relevant to both $`r_e`$/8 (filled circles) and $`r_e`$/2 (open circles). Since we adopt a one-zone model, our results should be considered as relevant to an aperture $`r_e`$. The agreement with the data is quite good. The interesting point is that we do not find the need for a significant young stellar component to be added to the older one in order to reproduce the data.

We have tested the coupled QSO-host galaxy formation scenario against the main chemical properties of the composite stellar populations of early-type galaxies and shown that they can indeed be reproduced, at least in the framework of the simple one-zone chemical evolution model described here. It has been recognised that SNe alone are unlikely to be the source of the overall IGM heating and need to be supplemented or even substituted by some other heating processes (Kravtsov & Yepes 2000 and refs. therein). Radiation from QSO population could provide the required heating (Valageas & Silk 1999). Therefore, further study should be deserved to the topic of the QSO-host galaxy connection.

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text:
# Stripe patterns in a granular system induced by slow deformation of its container

\[

## Abstract

We investigate the formation of stripe patterns that appear on the surface of a dry granular system as the container is deformed very slowly. In an experimental study using nearly mono-disperse glass beads, we found that many faults develop beneath the surface. Our results show that the spacing of stripes is independent of the system size and does not depend significantly on the grain size.

\]

Granular systems under the influence of gravity exhibit a rich variety of interesting phenomena . In the solid phase, it is well known that granular systems differ greatly from ordinary solids with regard to statistical properties of stresses and that the stress distributions within them depend strongly on the history of their formation . Also the deformation of granular matter is usually accompanied by sheet-like localized fluidization appearing in an otherwise solid phase. Such a fluidized region is called a “shear band”, and if it is formed in the bulk, rather than the surface, it is called a “fault” .

We experimentally investigated the formation of stripe patterns formed on the surface of a system of granular matter as a result of the slow deformation of its container. We used spherical glass beads with a nearly mono-disperse size distribution. Our experiments show that these stripes were caused by the formation of many faults beneath the surface, not fluidization on the surface.

Although our investigations were inspired by the accidental finding of one of authors(Kurumatani), we recently realized that in 1928 T. Terada and N. Miyabe reported similar phenomena in the formation of a series of faults in dry sand . They are pointed out similarities with certain geological phenomena. They also found that the faults are approximately parallel and that the angle of inclination of the faults depends on the order of packing. The behavior of these faults reminds us of the formation and arrangement of shear bands in rocks, which have been investigated by several people . The mechanism responsible for the arrangement of faults in granular systems has not yet been revealed. Here we report experimental results elucidating the dependence on various conditions of the spacing of stripes created by faults.

We prepared three kinds of spherical glass beads, made of soda-lime silicated glass of density $`2.5\pm 0.1g/cm^3`$, with average diameters $`D=40,100`$ and $`200\mu m`$. We refer to them as GB40, GB100 and GB200. Their size distributions were nearly mono-disperse, with $`8090\%`$ of the particles having diameters between $`0.9D`$ and $`1.1D`$ . We used a fourth kind of glass beads, with 0.1 mm diameter (GB-01), only for experiments in which we prepared colored layers of beads. The size distribution of GB-01 was somewhat less mono-disperse than those of the other beads.

A schematic depiction of the container and glass beads used in our experiments is given in Fig. 1. As shown there, two rectangular plates are joined to form a V-shape structure held between parallel lateral walls. We refer to the plates as “V-walls”. V-walls and the lateral walls are all made of acrylic plates and V-walls are covered with thin rubber sheets to protect the acrylic from being scratched. The slope of each V-wall is variable. In an experiment, we fixed one of the plates at an angle $`\theta _{fix}`$ and decreased the angle of the other plate, $`\theta `$, from some initial angle $`\theta _0`$ at an almost constant angular velocity, $`\omega `$. For this purpose, we used a motor connected to a power supply with a constant voltage to pull this plate with a string. We first poured a single kind of beads with total weight $`Mg`$ into the container and tapped it a few times to level the surface horizontally. For each experiment, the volume fraction of glass beads in the container was $`0.530.61`$. The volume fraction depended slightly on the type of beads used, and it was not exactly the same for each experiment. However, the results described below seem to be largely insensitive to these differences.

We consider the case with GB100 beads and with parameter values $`M=400g`$, $`\theta =30^{}`$, $`\theta _0=60^{}`$, $`\omega =0.60\pm 0.05^{}/s`$ and $`\theta _{fix}=50^{}`$ as the ‘standard’. In the results described in this paper, we give explicit parameter values only when they differ from these. In the actual experiments, the above-described setup was placed into an airtight container. Before carrying out the experiments, we dried the beads by placing them in this container and using dessicants to keep the relative humidity in the range $`515\%`$. This was done for several days, until their total weight no longer decreased with time.

Lighting the surface obliquely to make the unevenness clearly visible, we photographed the system from a position directly above, using a digital video recorder. Figure 4 displays a typical gray-scale image of a stripe pattern, where the width of the image corresponds to a length of $`128.3mm`$ on the surface, and the vertical axis $`y`$ is parallel to the rotation axis of V-walls. It is seen that stripes extend along the entire length of the granular surface, except near the lateral walls, and that they are almost parallel to the $`y`$ axis. We also see that the spacing of the stripes depends significantly on the value of the $`x`$ coordinate. In order to calculate the spacing of the stripes $`\lambda (x,y)`$ at the place $`(x,y)`$ as a function of position, we processed a image as follows.

We cropped the central region of a snapshot, as shown in Fig. 4 with dotted lines, and measured the brightness $`b_{ij}`$ at a set of points $`\{(i,j)\}`$ of the cropped digital image, where $`x=i\Delta x`$, $`y=j\Delta x`$ and $`\Delta x=0.513mm`$. We first defined the left boundary as $`i=l(j)`$ and the right boundary as $`i=r(j)`$ of the granular surface between V-walls by setting some threshold for $`b_{ij}`$, where $``$ represents an average over the rectangular region of size $`5\times 31`$ pixels centered at $`(i,j)`$. The small white rectangle in Fig. 4 displays this size. We next calculated the gradient of $`b_{ij}`$ with respect to $`i`$ as $`s_{ij}\left(ib_{ij}ib_{ij}\right)/\left(i^2i^2\right)`$, using a least square method. For each value of $`j`$, we determined the intervals in which $`s_{ij}`$ takes negative values, and for the $`k`$th such interval of decreasing brightness, $`I_j^{(k)}`$, we calculated the ‘increment of brightness’ $`\Delta s_j^{(k)}_{iI_j^{(k)}}s_{ij}`$ and the average of $`s_{ij}`$, $`\overline{s}_j^{(k)}`$. We defined the right edge of any interval $`I_j^{(k)}`$ that satisfies both conditions $`\Delta s_j^{(k)}<0.005`$ and $`\overline{s}_j^{(k)}<0.0002`$ to be the center of a dark stripe. The value $`0.005`$ is on the order of the smallest difference in brightness that can be distinguished from the digital images.

We denote to the centers of dark stripes as $`i=c_j^{(m)}`$, where $`m=1,2,\mathrm{},m_j`$ and $`c_j^m<c_j^{(m+1)}`$, and the boundaries of the granular surface as $`c_j^{(0)}l(j)`$ and $`c_j^{(m_j+1)}r(j)`$. For given $`y=\Delta xj`$, the spacing of stripes $`\lambda (x,y)`$ is defined as the distance $`\Delta x(c_j^{(m+1)}c_j^{(m)})`$, where $`\Delta xc_j^{(m)}x<\Delta xc_j^{(m+1)}`$. Using $`\lambda (x,y)`$ defined in this manner, at each $`x`$ we determined its average over $`y`$ and over five experiments, $`\overline{\lambda }(x)`$, and the corresponding standard deviation, $`\Delta \lambda (x)`$. We display these functions in Fig. 4, where the thick curves represent $`\overline{\lambda }(x)`$, with the ordinate scale appearing on the left and the thin curves represent $`\Delta \lambda (x)/\overline{\lambda }(x)`$, with the ordinate scale appearing on the right. We find that the quantity $`\Delta \lambda /\overline{\lambda }`$ is in the range $`0.10.3`$ for uniformly aligned stripes, while it takes larger values for disordered or branching stripes. Above the graph appear parts of snapshots cropped from the central region with respect to $`y`$. The $`x`$ coordinates correspond to the abscissa of the graph below.

We describe the experimental results below.

Figure 4 displays a series of snapshots taken during the formation of a stripe pattern from $`\theta _0=60^{}`$ to $`\theta =30^{}`$ at decrements of $`5^{}`$, and data for $`\theta =50^{},45^{}`$ and $`40^{}`$. We find that stripes begin to form before $`\theta _0\theta `$ reaches $`10^{}`$, and their amplitudes increase as this value increases. We also find that stripes near centered values of $`x`$ are observed later than those near V-walls. Also, the spacing of stripes decreases when moving from either V-wall forward the center, along the $`x`$ axis.

We were able to observe the movement of grains at the lateral walls because the lateral walls are made of transparent acrylic. In order to visualize the displacement of grains, we prepared horizontal layers of different colored beads prior to the rotation of the plate. In this case we used a larger container, with a setup essentially the same as that described in Fig. 1. In this set of experiments, we used the glass beads GB-01 with $`M=1000g`$. The beads were stained with a water-soluble ink. According to our comparison of systems of stained and unstained beads, there is no difference between the behavior of the two. Figure 4 displays a lateral view of the container. Several faults are observed on each side of the V-shaped container. We find that each fault appears as a stripe on the surface. Also, apparently, every sufficiently thick stripe corresponds to some fault, although it was not possible to detect faults corresponding to narrow stripes appearing near the central region with respect to $`x`$. We believe that this is due to disturbance of the lateral boundaries. The faults we observed were found to be nearly straight, although long faults exhibited slight curves. In our experiment, the most distinct fault, which appeared near the fixed plate, made an angle of $`63\pm 2^{}`$ with respect to the horizontal. We note that the fault was not parallel to the fixed plate with $`\theta _{fix}=50^{}`$ While faults near the moving plate were formed at approximately the same angle (inclined on the opossite direction), their slopes decreased as the plate was rotated.

When we set the angle of the fixed plate $`\theta _{fix}`$ at smaller values, we found that no stripe was formed in the region near the fixed plate, where the surface remains almost horizontal. While the size of this region increased as $`\theta _{fix}`$ decreased, it was found that neither the width of the region in which stripes appear nor the spacing of stripes depends on $`\theta _{fix}`$. These independences suggest that the inclination of the faults we measured above was determined independently on $`\theta _{fix}`$.

We also conducted experiments in an air environment with higher humidity($`50\%`$) and found that striped patterns appear in this case too. To test the case of very low humidity, we also carried out experiments in a nitrogen environment. Before the experiments, we filled the airtight container with nitrogen and then flushed it several times, until the weight of the glass beads no longer decreased. In comparing the results obtained in this case and that described in Fig. 4, we were able to find no difference in the striped patterns appearing in each, within experimental error. In the experiments of Terada and Miyabe mentioned above, they investigated a granular system consisting of baked sand. Our and their results together provide evidence that stripe patterns may appear generally in completely dried granular systems.

We display the results for significantly different angular velocities $`\omega =0.6`$ and $`25.0^{}/s`$ in Fig. 7. We find that the spacing of stripes changes little as $`\omega `$ is increased, although the stripes become somewhat less pronounced. We found that the case in which $`\omega =0.6^{}/s`$ is essentially quasi-static. Thus our results show that stripe patterns appear in the quasi-static deformation of a container and that the spacing is essentially independent on the deformation speed.

Figure 7 displays the data for experiments with different total weights of beads, $`M=200,400`$ and $`600`$, for which the dimension of the system along the $`x`$ direction increases in proportion to $`\sqrt{M}`$. The three functions $`\overline{\lambda }(x)`$ are identical, within experimental error. We find that the spacing of stripes is almost independent of the system size.

In Figure 7, we display the results for the three kinds of glass beads GB40, GB100 and GB200. In the case of GB40, the boundaries between the stripes are sharp, and we observe fine stripes in the central region. By contrast, stripes in the central region are difficult to discern in the case of GB200, which consists of grains with 5 times larger diameter than GB40. Except in the central region, we found that the spacing of stripes does not depend significantly on the size of grains. It is, however, difficult to determine the exact dependence on the grain size because the size distributions and the initial volume fractions of beads in the container differ slightly for the different kinds of beads.

As described above, the stripe patterns observed in our experiments result from the formation of faults developing throughout the bulk of the system, not from surface flow. It is well known that a typical shear band in a granular system has a thickness on the order of several grain diameters, and it is thought to increase with the shear velocity . We believe that these dependences are the reason that the stripes become less pronounced as either the size of the beads or the rate of deformation of the container increases.

It is believed that a shear band in a dry granular system created in the plane in which the Mohr-Coulomb criterion $`\sigma _t\mathrm{tan}\varphi _c\sigma _n`$ is first satisfied, where $`\sigma _n`$ and $`\sigma _t`$ represent the normal and shear components of the stress on this plane. The constant $`\varphi _c`$ is called the ‘maximum angle of internal friction’. By regarding the system as a two-dimensional continuous medium and assuming that this criterion holds critically \[i.e. $`\sigma _t=\mathrm{tan}\varphi _c\sigma _n`$\] at a fault, the inclination of the faults $`\varphi `$ is given by $`\varphi =\varphi _c/2+45^{}`$ with respect to the minimum principal axis of the stress . In our system, the above-described results show that the faults formed near the beginning of the rotation, at a time when the granular surface was still nearly horizontal. If we assume that the minimum principal axis was parallel to this granular surface, we can regard the value of $`\varphi `$ given above to be measured with respect to the horizontal. $`\varphi _c`$ is usually considered, as an approximation, the maximum angle of the slope at which there occurs no surface flow. Measuring this maximum angle for GB-01 to be $`28.1\pm 0.7^{}`$, we estimate that the angle of the faults should be $`\varphi =59.0\pm 0.4^{}`$. While this is not consistent with the experimental value $`63\pm 2^{}`$, these values are quite close, and thus it appears that the assumptions made above are reasonable as the first approximation.

As stated above, the spacing of stripes does not depend significantly on either the system size or the grain size, and the phenomena we have studied are induced by quasi-static deformation. In dry granular systems consisting of spherical rigid particles, frictional coefficients and the acceleration due to gravity are the only parameters characterizing the forces involved in the quasi-static dynamics. A simple dimensional analysis shows that such systems have no characteristic length other than the system size and the grain size. For this reason, we believe that the mechanism responsible for arranging faults possesses no characteristic length to determine their spacing. We note that this differs from the situation involving shear bands appearing in rocks . Our finding that the spacing of stripes becomes smaller as $`x`$ approaches the central region leads us to believe that the spacing in a particular region depends on the depth of the faults in this region that create the stripes.

In summary, we have reported experimental results for a granular system in which stripe patterns result from the slow deformation of a V-shaped container. Our results show that this behavior occur both in the dry granular systems and in quasi-static deformation. The stripe patterns are caused by the formation of many faults, which are arranged approximately parallel to one another on each side of the V-shaped container. From the measurement of the inclination of the faults, we conclude that the stress on each faults is approximately critical at the time that the stripes begin to form. We also found that the spacing of stripes becomes smaller in the central region, away from V-walls, and depends significantly on neither the system size nor the grain size. These results suggest that the mechanism responsible for arranging the faults possesses no characteristic length to determine the spacing.

We acknowledge C. Urabe, N. Yazima and H. Hayamawa for fruitful discussions, G.C. Paquette for reading the manuscript conscientiously, and K. Yamamoto and J. Karimata for providing experimental apparatus and technical advice. We thank S. Nasuno, M. Toda and the members of the Nakaya Ukichiro Museum of Snow and Ice for providing information on the works of T. Terada and N. Miyabe.