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# A Multivariate Statistical Analysis of Spiral Galaxy Luminosities. II. Morphology-Dependent Multiwavelength Emission Properties

## 1 Introduction

Understanding the structure, formation and evolution of galaxies is one of the main themes of present-day astrophysics. This quest is made difficult by the complexity of galaxies combined with our limited knowledge of their observational characteristics. Different galaxian components \[old, new, evolved stars; active nuclei (AGN); the interstellar medium (ISM) – gaseous; dusty; hot; cold\] contribute in different amounts to the observed emission at different wavelengths, from the radio to the X-rays (see Gallagher & Fabbiano (1990)). Therefore the comparison of global emission properties in a wide range of wavelengths can give us precious insight on the relative importance of these components, as well as on the origin of some parts of the emission spectrum. Since different emission bands have different sensitivities to absorption, their comparison may also give us insight on the dust content of the emitting regions (e.g. Palumbo et al. (1985); Fabbiano & Trinchieri (1987)). Moreover, comparison of global multiwavelength emission properties of galaxies of different morphology can give us insight on the relative presence of different galaxian components throughout the Hubble sequence.

While most of the studies of galaxies make use of individual energy bands, chiefly the optical, but also the radio, and more recently the X-ray and infrared (IR), it is rarer to find work comparing data from two or more emission windows. Yet, when this is done interesting insights may follow. For example, the comparison of H-band and B-band photometry led to the discovery of the well known color-magnitude relation for spiral galaxies (Aaronson, Huchra & Mould (1979); Tully, Mould & Aaronson (1982)), a non-linear correlation between $`L_B`$ and $`L_H`$. The comparison of IRAS far-IR and radio continuum data led to the discovery of the well-known strong correlation and to the convincing association of the radio continuum emission with the star-forming stellar population (Dickey & Salpeter (1984); Helou, Soifer & Rowan-Robinson (1985); de Jong et al. (1985)); comparison of CO, H$`\alpha `$ and IR data led to constraints on star formation efficiencies in spirals (e. g. Young (1990)); comparison of multiwavelength data, including X-rays, in late-type spirals suggested the prevalence of intrinsically obscured compact star-forming regions in higher luminosity galaxies (Fabbiano, Gioia & Trinchieri (1988); Trinchieri, Fabbiano & Bandiera, (1989)).

This paper is a panchromatic study of a sample of 234 normal galaxies extracted from the Einstein Observatory Atlas and Catalog of Galaxies (Fabbiano, Kim & Trinchieri (1992), hereafter FKT). The sample is large enough to divide into morphological sub-samples. Details on the sample selection and properties, and on the compilation of the multi-frequency data are given in Paper I (Shapley, Fabbiano & Eskridge (2001)), together with a description of the statistical analysis of these data. Here we examine the astrophysical import of the results of Paper I, and we support these results with further analysis. We take the panchromatic approach by comparing the global emission properties of spiral and irregular galaxies in six emission windows: X-rays (0.2-4 keV), optical (B), near- (H), mid- (12$`\mu `$m) and far-infrared (60-100$`\mu `$m, FIR), and radio continuum (6cm). We also take into account explicitly the morphological type of the galaxies, by dividing the sample in early (S0/a-Sab), intermediate (Sb-Sbc) and late (Sc-Irr) subsamples, and intercomparing the luminosity correlations in the three subsamples.

Previous panchromatic explorative work including the X-ray band was based on a much smaller sample of 51 spirals observed in X-rays with the Einstein Observatory (Fabbiano & Trinchieri (1985), hereafter FT; Fabbiano, Gioia & Trinchieri (1988) hereafter FGT; see Fabbiano (1990)). This earlier work suggested interesting results and motivated the present effort. Differences were reported in both scatter and power-law ‘slopes’ of the correlations, when comparing bulge-dominated and disk/arm-dominated spirals, pointing to different contributions of bulge and disk to the various emission bands. In late-type spirals, all the correlations appeared to be very tight, but with different power-law slopes. Departures from linearity suggested the prevalence of intrinsically obscured compact star-forming regions in higher luminosity galaxies. Based on the analysis of a yet smaller sample of 17 late-type spirals, the puzzling possibility was advanced of an intrinsic link between X-ray sources and cosmic ray sources responsible for the radio non-thermal continuum (FT, FGT). This radio – X-ray link seems at odds with the prevalent association of radio continuum and the FIR-emitting star-forming component (e.g. Helou, Soifer & Rowan-Robinson (1985)).

Some of the above reports may stem from limited statistics. Others may point to intrinsically complex astrophysical situations. Our present sample, being nearly five times larger than the one used in previous work, gives us an opportunity to look at some of these issues afresh with the benefit of a much stronger statistical foundation. Moreover, this sample comprises 58 S0/a-Sab galaxies, versus the 16 that were included in the FT and FTG works. Furthermore, the inclusion of the 12$`\mu `$m band in the present analysis allows for a more complete wavelength coverage than in previous work. It therefore allows us for the first time to study the average emission properties of early-type spirals with a reasonable degree of confidence.

This paper is organized as follows: after the Introduction (§1.), §2. summarizes the characteristics of the sample and the analysis methods used in Paper I; §3. discusses the evidence linking some emission bands prevalently to the disk/arm component and others to the bulge component as well; §4. and §5. discuss morphology-related differences in the mid-, far-infrared, and radio continuum emission, and their implication for our understanding of the radio continuum and mid-IR emission of S0/a-Sab galaxies; §6. discusses the X-ray – B correlation and the implications of our results for the origin of the X-ray emission of bulge-dominant S0/a-Sab galaxies; §7. discusses the link of the X-ray emission of late-type spirals with the star-forming stellar population, and §8. addresses the non-linear power-law dependencies in disk/arm dominated galaxies; §9. summarizes the results.

## 2 The Sample and Data Analysis

The sample and data analysis procedures are fully described in Paper I. The sample (extracted from FKT) consists of 234 ‘normal’ spiral and irregular galaxies (from S0/a to Irr) observed in (0.2-4)keV X-rays with the Einstein Observatory. The FKT sample included also 21 bright Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), where the X-ray emission is clearly dominated by the nuclear source. We do not use these galaxies in our analysis unless explicitly stated. As discussed in Paper I, the FKT sample selection is optical and reflects the basic incompleteness of the RC2. Since the sample is not statistically complete, nor X-ray selected, it cannot be used to infer directly the X-ray luminosity function of spiral galaxies. However, the FKT sample offers a fair representation of spiral galaxies, with good coverage in both morphological types and luminosity range, and it does not suffer from peculiar distance biases (Paper I). It is therefore a good representative sample for studying average emission properties. This sample represents nearly a five-fold increase by comparison with previous statistical analyses of late-type galaxies observed in X-rays (FT; FGT).

As discussed in Paper I, multiwavelength fluxes were obtained through literature searches, and converted to luminosities for our analysis, using the distances listed and discussed in Paper I. The bands covered include, besides the X-rays, the optical B, near-IR 1.6$`\mu `$m H, IRAS 12$`\mu `$m and FIR (plus individual use in some cases of the 60$`\mu `$m and 100$`\mu `$m data), and 6cm radio continuum. The inclusion of 6cm, instead of 20cm, as an indicator of radio continuum allows us to compare directly the results of the spiral sample with those of E and S0s (Eskridge, Fabbiano & Kim (1995), hereafter EFK). In all cases, both detections and upper limits were included, to avoid obvious flux limit biases in the non-optical bands.

The data were analysed using the censored statistical analysis package ASURV (e.g., Isobe, Feigelson & Nelson (1986); LaValley, Isobe & Feigelson (1992)), and custom multivariate statistical software developed by our group (Paper I). We tested all possible pairs of luminosity variables for statistically significant correlations, and also compared several illustrative sets of flux ratios. We then performed regression analysis on the luminosity correlations and derived regression ‘bisectors’ representing the functional relations between any given pair of variables. To discriminate between intrinsically strong correlations, and correlations that may be the by-product of other stronger links, we performed a multivariate conditional probability analysis using the Partial Spearman Rank method (Kendall & Stuart (1976); see FGT and EFK for previous applications). The use of both detections and limits in the analysis, and the sample selection criteria should protect us from distance biases. However, we also included explicitly the distance in our multivariate analysis, thus confirming that the correlations between luminosities are not a spurious distance effect (see Paper I).

We analysed both the sample as a whole and three subsamples including galaxies of different morphological types: the early sample (58 T=0-2 S0/a-Sab galaxies; we excluded from this subsample 7 Amorphous galaxies with T=0, see Paper I) including galaxies with prominent bulges; the intermediate sample (61 galaxies; T=3-4; Sb-Sbc), typically consisting of luminous bulge/disk spirals; and the late sample (108 galaxies; T=5-10; Sc-Irr), which includes galaxies dominated by the disk/arm star-forming component.

## 3 Morphological Effects in the Global (X-ray to radio) Emission Properties of Spiral Galaxies

It is not surprising that galaxies of different morphological types may emit differently at different wavelengths, either because of their stellar population mix, dust content, active star formation, properties of the ISM, or size and accretion efficiency of the nuclear black hole. What we attempt in this work is a first systematic look at the multi-wavelength global emission properties of spirals. While our original motivation was to see how the X-ray emission fits in the whole, and how it relates to other galaxian components and properties, this work is not biased towards the X-ray properties, because of the properties of our sample (drawn from the RC2, and with comparable biases; Paper I), and our results ought to be valid for the overall panchromatic spectrum of spirals. Comparison with established results will help establish how representative our sample is. Our panchromatic approach may uncover new relations that may shed light on some aspects of the global emission of spiral galaxies.

### 3.1 Correlation Strengths

In Paper I, we have found that both the significance of correlations between different emission bands and their functional relationships (correlation ‘slope’) vary with galaxy morphology. Here, we will examine first the morphological dependence of the correlation ‘strengths’, we will discuss the slopes as well in the following sections of this paper.

Summarizing the results of Paper I:

(1) All correlations are very tight (probability of chance correlation P$`10^6`$) in the late (Sc-Irr) sample.

(2) We notice two separate groups of inter-correlated variables in the early (S0/a-Sab) sample: $`L_{12\mu m}`$, $`L_{FIR}`$, $`L_{6cm}`$ (all with P$`10^6`$); and $`L_X`$, $`L_B`$, $`L_H`$. In the latter group $`L_B`$ is strongly correlated with both $`L_H`$ and $`L_X`$ (P$`10^6`$), while no significant correlation is found between $`L_X`$ and $`L_H`$. Correlations between pairs of variables belonging to different groups are weaker or absent.

(3) The results for the intermediate sample (Sb-Sbc) are somewhat intermediate: strong correlations persist among $`L_{12\mu m}`$, $`L_{FIR}`$, $`L_{6cm}`$ and between $`L_B`$ and $`L_H`$, but significant links of $`L_X`$ with $`L_{12\mu m}`$, $`L_{FIR}`$, $`L_{6cm}`$ now appear.

These results demonstrate the existence of morphological dependencies in the global emission properties of spiral galaxies, and confirm the earlier reports of such effects (FT, FGT). In late-type spirals and irregulars, the generally good correlations point to a general connection of all emission bands with the stellar component. In early-type bulge-dominant galaxies instead, the different correlations strengths observed between the two groups of three variables (X-ray, B, H) and (12$`\mu `$m, FIR, 6cm) suggest possibly unrelated emission mechanisms.

### 3.2 Color Effects

A closer look at the luminosity scatter diagrams (see Paper I for a full compilation) reveals that also the relative amount of emission (i.e., color) in the two bands under examination may be morphology dependent. This effect is evidenced by the comparison of best-fit bisectors for early and late samples, which are shown in two representative instances in fig. 1.

To quantify this effect for any given pair of variables, we have used the following approach: 1) Using the best-fit regression bisector of the late-type (T=5-10) sample as a reference, we have built the distributions of vertical residuals about this line, for both the T=0-2 and the T=5-10 sample. 2) We have then compared these distributions, to see if we would detect a systematic difference in their means, which would be symptomatic of a morphological dependence of the flux ratios. 3) In order to gauge the significance of these differences, we have performed two-sample tests on the two samples of residuals to derive the probability that the two distributions are both drawn from the same parent population. ASURV provides four different two-sample tests to use for censored data, which differ in the way the censored data are weighted in calculating the test statistic. These methods are Gehan’s Generalized Wilcoxon Test, the Logrank test, Peto and Peto’s Generalized Wilcoxon, and Peto and Prentice’s Generalized Wilcoxon test. We have applied all these tests in each case. Fig. 2 shows representative histograms of residuals and Table 1 tabulates the results for all the distributions of residuals which could be tested, i. e. excluding correlations with double censoring. A positive mean residual for the T=0-2 sample indicates that there is a relative excess in the Y-axis/X-axis ratio for this sample, when compared with the T=5-10 sample.

We see the well-known effect that early-type spirals tend to have redder colors (larger H/B flux ratios) than later-type spirals, reflecting their older stellar population (e.g., Aaronson, Huchra & Mould (1979)). We find a similar H/X effect, while the ratio of X-ray and B fluxes is not morphology dependent. This effect may suggest a closer link of the X-ray with the B-band emission (rather than with the H-band emission), in agreement with previous reports (FT, FTG; see Paper I). The morphological dependencies of the FIR, 6cm, and 12$`\mu `$m scatter diagrams cannot be tested formally, because of double censoring. However, an inspection of the scatter diagrams in Paper I does not reveal any obvious offsets in the early-type versus late-type correlations, although in some cases the correlations follow different power-law relations. Relative to H, we find that early-type (bulge) galaxies tend to be underluminous in FIR, 12$`\mu `$m and 6cm. A similar effect is seen when we compare FIR and 6cm with B, while the B/12$`\mu `$m ratio does not appear to be morphology dependent. Comparisons with the X-rays cannot be formally tested because of double censoring. However visual inspection of the data suggests a similiar behavior as that observed with B.

The relative lack of radio and far-IR emission relative to stellar and X-ray emission we observe in early-type spirals (S0/a-Sab), strengthens the possibility of unrelated emission mechanisms for these two wavebands.

### 3.3 Fundamental and Secondary Correlations

Comparison between different correlations can be pushed further by using conditional probability analysis (e.g. Spearman Partial Rank tests). These tests (see also Paper I) help in distinguishing between ‘fundamental’ and ‘secondary’ correlations, by giving the probability of a correlation existing between two given variables, when other variables are held fixed. Fig. 3 shows results of these tests applied to all three morphological subsamples and suggests some interesting trends. For these tests we have used all the available points for each subset of three variables under consideration, thus maximizing the significance of the results for a given test. In Paper I instead emphasis was given to the uniform analysis of the same sample observed in all six wavebands from radio to X-rays, resulting in smaller working samples.

Summarizing the results displayed in fig. 3:

(1) There are no significant morphological dependencies in the relations among X-ray, B, and H luminosities. The only fundamental link among these variables is the strong link between B and H (see Paper I), which is present regardless of morphological type.

(2) As reported in Paper I, we find a surprising morphological trend in the relations between 12$`\mu `$m, FIR and 6cm luminosities, that persists in a 3-way comparison, and is strenghtened by the present use of a larger sample: (a) While the FIR is always strongly correlated with the 12$`\mu `$m emission, the connection between IR and radio continuum is morphology dependent. (b) There is a strong fundamental link between 12$`\mu `$m and 6cm emission in S0/a-Sab galaxies. (c) In Sc-Irr galaxies instead the strong link of the 6cm emission is with the FIR; note that this 3-way analysis results in a weaker and likely spurious anticorrelation between 6cm and 12$`\mu `$m. (d) In the intermediate sample (Sb-Sbc), the result is transitional. The radio – IR link is weaker ($`P12\%`$) and it appears with both the 12$`\mu `$m and the FIR.

(3) The multivariate analysis confirms the morphology-dependent grouping of the luminosity variables in two groups, disconnected in the S0/a-Sab sample but not in the late Sc-Irr sample (see §3.1. above): (X-ray, B, H) and (12$`\mu `$m, FIR, 6cm). All the many-variable Spearman Partial Rank tests tabulated in Paper I suggest no connections among these two groups in early-type galaxies, while a significant link of the X-ray emission with the FIR emerges in most of the late-sample tests. Three-variable tests including the FIR, X-ray and either B or H show this effect clearly. The X-ray, H, FIR results are displayed in fig. 3.

In §4, §5 and §6 we take a closer look at these relations and discuss further their astrophysical implications.

## 4 The 12$`\mu `$m and FIR correlations

The results of the Partial Rank analysis tabulated in Paper I show that the FIR – 12$`\mu `$m correlation is one of the two strongest fundamental correlations (the other being H – B), regardless of morphological type and of the number of variables considered in the analysis (see also fig. 3). We find that the regression bisector slope of this correlation ($`\alpha `$, where $`L_{FIR}L_{12\mu m}^\alpha `$) flattens from early to late-type spirals (Paper I): 1.23$`\pm `$0.12 in S0/a-Sab, 0.98$`\pm `$0.07 in Sb-Sbc (T=3-4), and 0.74$`\pm `$0.03 in Sc-Irr (T=5-10). The slopes of the early and intermediate samples are consistent with unity (a linear, everything increases at the same rate, correlation) within the errors. However, the slope of the late sample is significantly smaller than 1. Fig. 4 shows the scatter diagram for the late sample, with the regression bisector (solid line), and compares it with the bisector for the early sample (dashed line). The morphological dependency of the bisector slopes may be at least in part a luminosity effect. In particular, the T=0-2 and T=3-4 galaxies (which, within the errors, have consistent slopes) tend to be of high luminosity, while T=5-10 galaxies include a significant number of low-luminosity systems. Omitting the T=5-10 galaxies with Log($`L_{FIR}<42.5`$), the regression slope steepens becoming close to unity. This result suggests that there may be intrinsic differences between the production of FIR and 12$`\mu `$m in low- and high-luminosity late-type galaxies.

We have investigated further the 12$`\mu `$m – FIR link by generating 12/100 vs. B/100 color-color plots for the three subsamples (fig. 5). In the T=3-4 sample, the distribution of points is essentially horizontal, consistent with a constant 12/100 ratio. This is what one would expect if the 100$`\mu `$m and 12$`\mu `$m emission both arise from the ISM in spiral galaxies (e.g. Helou, Ryter & Soifer (1991)), with the 12$`\mu `$m emission resulting from the non-equilibrium heating of small size dust grains by the same UV photons that heat larger grains to give rise to the 100$`\mu `$m flux. As suggested by Helou, Ryter & Soifer (1991) the spread in the 12/100 ratios may result from differences in the dust grain-size distribution of the ISM in different galaxies, which may in part be linked to their star-formation activity. Smaller grains would be destroyed by the more intense UV photon field of more active star-forming galaxies. In agreement with a constant 12/100 color, the 12$`\mu `$m and FIR luminosities are linearly correlated in this sample. The analogous plot for T=5-10 galaxies shows a similar distribution except for a group of galaxies which appear to be both bluer (excess of B relative to 100$`\mu `$m) and brighter in the 100$`\mu `$m band relative to the 12$`\mu `$m than the bulk of the distribution (numbered 1-7 in fig. 5). These objects belong to the group of low luminosity galaxies responsible for the flattening of the FIR – 12$`\mu `$m correlation (fig. 4). These blue dwarf galaxies may be undergoing active star formation, resulting in a depletion of small size interstellar grains. Their blue colors suggests particularly intense UV emission.

The 12/100 vs. B/100 plot for T=0-2 (S0/a-Sab) galaxies differs from those of later types in interesting ways. It presents larger scatter, with a number of points having larger 12/100 and/or B/100 ratios than in later-type galaxies. Some of these points are within the locus of E and S0 galaxies (from EFK, solid polygon in fig. 5) which are distributed mostly within a diagonal strip in this plane. This distribution suggests that the 12$`\mu `$m emission in at least some S0/a-Sab galaxies is due to photospheric and circumstellar emission of red giants \[as in E and S0s, (Knapp et al. (1992)), where a strong correlation between 12$`\mu `$m and B emission is observed (EFK)\]. The points with Log (12/100)$`<`$0 to the left of the E and S0 swath could be explained with extinction; however, their colors are also consistent with those of later-type spirals, and may be indicative of interstellar emission. There are also points in the 12/100 vs. B/100 plot of S0/a-Sab galaxies which lie in a region outside of the observed loci of either later type spirals or E and S0s. Some of these galaxies are well known Seyferts (which were excluded from our correlation analysis; they are identified in fig. 4 by circled symbols), suggesting that this region is occupied by luminous active nuclei. There may be a cross-over of nuclear versus global galaxian emission properties, depending on the relative luminosities of these components: notice that galaxies with mini-AGNs (identified by enclosing squares, from Ho, Filippenko & Sargent (1997)) tend to be in the E and S0 locus, and follow the general distribution of T=3-4 galaxies as well. Note that the strong FIR-12$`\mu `$m correlations of S0/a-Sab galaxies would exist no matter what the energy source that gets re-radiated (stars or AGN).

In summary, the results presented here show an overall connection between mid and far-IR emission in spiral galaxies, regardless of morphological type, in agreement with earlier conclusions on the interstellar origin for both IR emission bands (Helou, Ryter & Soifer (1991)). However, there are complications to this picture. Discrepancies arise in bulge-dominated galaxies, where both red-giants and luminous AGN emission may play a dominant role in the 12$`\mu `$m emission of some galaxies; and in blue late-type dwarf galaxies, where star formation may be particularly active, resulting in the depletion of small size grains and relative lack of 12$`\mu `$m emission.

## 5 The Infrared-6cm Connection: Star Formation and Nuclear Activity

It is well known that radio continuum at 20cm and the far-infrared are correlated. This correlation, discovered soon after IRAS became operational (Dickey & Salpeter (1984); Helou, Soifer & Rowan-Robinson (1985); de Jong et al. (1985)), suggests a strong connection between non-thermal radio continuum emission in galaxies and the star-forming stellar component. Its discovery resolved the debate on the origin of the radio continuum emission of spirals (Lequeux (1971); Biermann & Friecke (1977); Hummel (1990)), by linking the production of relativistic electrons to SNII in the young stellar population.

As shown by our analysis (Paper I) the radio-continuum far-infrared correlation is also highly significant at 6cm, both in early- and in late-type spirals. However, when we explore the relative strengths of the correlations among 6cm, 12$`\mu `$m, and FIR, we find intriguing significant morphological differences (§3, fig. 3) between early- and late-type spirals: in S0/a-Sab galaxies the 6cm radio continuum is directly correlated with the 12$`\mu `$m rather than with the FIR; in Sc and later types (T=5-10) instead the 6cm radio continuum is directly correlated with the FIR emission. These differences in the radio-continuum – IR correlations suggest different origins for the radio continuum emission of S0/a-Sab galaxies and later type spirals.

Although the 6cm emission of late-type spirals differs from the non-thermal 20cm emission, by including a fraction of thermal emission from HII regions (Gioia, Gregorini & Klein (1982)), the strong FIR – 6cm link in these galaxies and the linearity of this correlation ($`L_{FIR}L_6^{0.91\pm 0.06}`$), are in agreement with the overall connection of radio emission and star formation, derived from 20cm measurements.

The fundamental 6cm – 12$`\mu `$m correlation of S0/a-Sab galaxies instead argues for a different origin of the 6cm radio continuum in these systems. This correlation appears steeper (slope = 1.79$`\pm `$0.21) than the analogous one for the Sc-Irr sample, which has a nearly linear slope of 0.88$`\pm `$0.07 (fig. 6), that agrees with the overall star formation picture. We suggest that nuclear activity may be responsible for the steep fundamental correlation of S0/a-Sab galaxies. As discussed in § 4, the 12/100 - B/100 color-color plot of S0/a-Sab galaxies suggests that nuclear activity may be important for their 12$`\mu `$m emission. Moreover, we find a remarkable similarity when we compare the 6cm – 12$`\mu `$m scatter plots of ‘normal’ S0/a-Sab’s and bright AGNs (fig 6a). S0/a-Sab galaxies containing bright AGNs were not included in the regression analysis (Paper I) but are plotted as circled points in the scatter diagram. Their distribution is consistent with that of the other points in the diagram, suggesting that the 12$`\mu `$m and 6cm emission of all these galaxies may be connected with nuclear activity. If we calculate the regression bisector, including the AGN, we find a very consistent result (slope $`1.69\pm 0.17`$). Note that a large number of the early sample galaxies host a low-luminosity AGN (see fig. 6a).

The connection of radio-continuum emission with the mid-IR, rather than with the FIR is in itself suggestive of some kind of nuclear activity. Seyfert galaxies and QSOs tend to have significant mid-IR emission (Elvis et al. (1994)). In these bright AGNs the mid-IR emission may be due to thermal emission of circumnuclear dust heated by the intense nuclear UV continuum. Nonthermal radio and 10$`\mu `$m sources have also been found in the nuclei of spirals galaxies, with remarkable spatial similarities (Ho et al. (1989)). In the latter type of nuclei shocks from supernovae may collisionally heat small dust grains in the nuclear region to $`12\mu `$m temperatures, as well as accelerating electrons which interact with the interstellar magnetic field to produce synchrotron radiation (Ho et al. (1989)). Shocks would also be effective in enriching the ISM with small-size grains, resulting in enhanced mid-IR emission. A similar picture may hold for shocks connected with supersonic outflows from an active nucleus.

While the possibility of nuclear activity as an explanation of the radio – mid-IR correlation in S0/a-Sab galaxies is attractive, the steep power-law of this correlation cannot be easily explained in either of the above two scenarios. If the correlation were due to shocks resulting from phenomena linked to star-formation, as in the Ho et al. (1989) scenario, we would expect to see more of a proportionality between radio continuum and mid-IR emission, as observed in late-type spirals. Ho et al. (1989) report such proportionality in point-to-point comparisons of their 10$`\mu `$m and radio continuum maps. In the alternative AGN scenario, where re-radiation of the UV continuum could be responsible for the mid-IR emission, the steep 6cm – 12$`\mu `$m power law could be understood if there were a similar steep dependency between the nuclear radio continuum and the higher energy nuclear continuum. If we take the X-ray emission as an indicator of the latter, and we assume that the UV continuum behaves accordingly, we should then expect to find a similar steep radio – X-ray correlation. Except for a report by Unger et al. (1987), which however includes comparison of an X-ray selected sample of active galaxies (the ‘Piccinotti’ sample; Piccinotti et al. (1982)) with more powerful, optically/radio selected AGN, there is no evidence of such a trend. Within the Piccinotti sample, the radio – X-ray luminosity correlation appears linear (Unger et al. (1987)). The same is true for a correlation between radio core power and X-ray luminosity in powerful 3CR galaxies (Fabbiano et al. (1984)).

The above arguments suggest that if nuclear activity is responsible for the 6cm – 12$`\mu `$m correlation of S0/a-Sab galaxies, these nuclei do not behave either like those of more powerful AGN, or like nuclear regions where the activity may be connected with particularly intense star formation (as in Ho et al. (1989)). However, a similarly steep correlation can be seen in relatively radio-quiet E and S0 (EFK), where nuclear activity (either non-thermal, e.g. Fabbiano, Gioia & Trinchieri (1989), EFK, Ho (1999), or possibly connected with nuclear star formation, e.g. Wrobel & Heeschen (1991)) has also been raised as a possible explanation of the radio continuum emission. If X-ray emitting hot halos are present (see § 7) in the more luminous/massive S0/a-Sab galaxies, these halos may be responsible for diminishing their small-size dust grain population (e.g. see Dwek & Arendt (1992)), resulting in a relatively less intense mid-IR emission at the higher luminosities.

We cannot exclude the possibility that S0/a galaxies alone may be responsible for the steep correlation because the slope flattens to $`1.08\pm 0.12`$ if T=0 (S0/a) galaxies are excluded. However, this flattening may be due to the more restricted radio continuum luminosity range covered by the T=1-2 galaxies in our sample (crosses in fig. 6a). In the region of overlap, S0/a’s cannot be distinguished from Sa-Sab’s, suggesting no major intrinsic difference. We do not find any substantial difference in the results of the multivariate partial rank analysis if we exclude the S0/a galaxies. The 6cm-12$`\mu `$m correlation is still the fundamental one. However, the sample size is in this case reduced to only 14 galaxies. Further analysis of possible morphological differences within early-type spirals will require assembling a substantially larger sample.

## 6 The X-ray – Star-Formation Link in Late-Type Spirals

The connection between X-ray emission and star-formation activity was first suggested by Fabbiano et al. (1982), who reported higher X/B flux ratios in bluer galaxies with disturbed morphologies, possibly resulting from a large number of luminous young massive X-ray binaries, young SNR, and some hot ISM as well (e.g. Fabbiano (1996)). More recently, detailed multi-frequency high resolution images are revealing one-to-one associations between bright X-ray emitting regions and star-forming regions (e.g. in NGC4038/9, Fabbiano et al. (1997), Fabbiano, Zezas & Murray (2001)). FGT (see also Fabbiano (1990)) first discussed the X-ray – FIR correlation in spiral galaxies and connected it with the star-forming galaxian component. Subsequently, David et al. (1992) reported a connection between X-ray emission and FIR in the IRAS Bright Galaxy Sample. This sample, however, includes early, intermediate, and late-type spirals, which, as we have now shown, differ in their integrated emission properties.

As discussed in Paper I, the results of the multivariate – X-ray, B, H, 12$`\mu `$m, FIR, 6cm – conditional probability analysis point to the central role of star-formation in the global emission properties of Sc-Irr galaxies. In these galaxies there are strong intrinsic correlations of mid-IR and radio continuum with the FIR (Paper I). A possible, although weaker, link of X-ray and FIR is also revealed in most of the tests in Paper I (see fig. 3). Added support is provided by the existence of a significant correlation of the $`L_X/L_B`$ luminosity ratio in late-type spiral galaxies with the $`L_{60}/L_{100}`$ ratio (Paper I). The latter is a measure of the FIR color-temperature. Warm FIR color-temperatures (higher $`L_{60}/L_{100}`$ ratios) have been associated with star-formation activity (e.g., Helou, Ryter & Soifer (1991)). They have been found to occur both in high luminosity spirals, suggesting the presence of hidden star forming regions in large disk galaxies, and in blue H$`\alpha `$-bright galaxies, where the association with star formation is more immediate (Trinchieri, Fabbiano & Bandiera, (1989) (TFB) and refs. therein). Therefore, the correlation of the $`L_X/L_B`$ excess with $`L_{60}/L_{100}`$ reinforces the link between $`L_X/L_B`$ and star-formation.

Table 2 summarizes the regression bisectors for the late sample (from Paper I) and also gives bisectors obtained by omitting from the sample the seven blue/FIR-bright dwarfs which appear a group apart in fig. 5. The correlations between X-ray, FIR and 6cm luminosities all follow power-law slopes near 1, consistent with a related origin through star formation, and with the fact that these three emission bands are relatively little affected by extinction – the X-rays are some, but much less than the optical band. However, in the restricted higher luminosity sample the X-ray - 6cm correlation departs significantly from linearity. This flatter slope results from the omission of a single low-luminosity detection from the sample and as such the result calls for future confirmation. If confirmed, it would be consistent with the X-ray – radio-continuum slope found by FGT.

Based on a Partial Rank analysis of a small sample of 17 T$`=410`$ galaxies, FGT suggested a direct link between X-ray and radio continuum emission in late-type spirals. Our present analysis does not confirm this suggestion. If we analyse the correlations among X-ray, FIR and 6cm, with the 53 T$`=510`$ galaxies for which fluxes are available in all these three variables, we find that two correlations are significant, X – FIR ($`P=0.007`$) and FIR – 6cm ($`P<0.005`$), the latter being by far the most significant. There is no direct statistical link between X and 6cm. Thus we conclude that the X-ray – radio continuum correlation is likely to arise from the connection of both emission bands with star-formation in disk/arm dominated galaxies, rather to indicate a direct physical link between X-ray and cosmic ray sources.

## 7 The Steep X-ray – B Correlation

The $`L_XL_B`$ correlation has been the subject of much attention in X-ray studies of normal galaxies of all morphological types (e.g. Fabbiano (1989), EFK), and it has been used to gain understanding on the nature and origin of the X-ray emission. However, our larger sample shows that this correlation is not a fundamental one in spiral galaxies (Paper I). In early-type spirals there is no strong fundamental link between X-rays and any of the other emission bands. In late-type spirals there is a significant - but not overly strong - link only with the FIR (Paper I; § 3; § 6). Perhaps, all the emphasis put into the study of this correlation is unwarranted. However, even if this correlation is not the result of a direct causal link, we can still learn by looking at it more closely.

We find (Paper I) that the $`L_XL_B`$ relationship is significantly steeper than linear in spirals, with slopes of 1.45$`\pm `$0.15 in S0/a-Sab galaxies, 1.53$`\pm `$0.17 in Sb-Sbc, and 1.48$`\pm `$0.13 in Sbc-Irr. These results differ from previous reports of a linear (power-law slope 1) relation between the X-ray and B-band luminosities of spiral galaxies (FT; FGT), which suggested a link between the bulk of the X-ray emission and populations of evolved stellar sources (e.g. X-ray binaries, SNRs; see Fabbiano 1989), belonging to the same stellar component responsible for the blue light. However, the earlier work was based on a much smaller sample of galaxies than presently available (51 versus 234). While all these power-law slopes are statistically consistent with each other, there are considerations that support an intrinsic difference in the phenomena responsible for the bulk of the X-ray emission in early- and late-type spirals. We have discussed in § 6 the linear X-ray – FIR correlation of the late sample, which suggests that the non-linear X-ray – B correlation of late-type spirals and irregulars may arise from extinction in star-forming complexes in the most luminous galaxies. Extinction would affect the B band more than the X-rays, causing a deviation from linearity (§ 8). This explanation does not apply easily to early-type spirals, where dusty active star-forming regions are rare.

The nature of the X-ray emission of early-type, prominent-bulge spirals has been the subject of an on-going controversy, which has sought to establish if and how much of this emission can be ascribed to the thermal emission of an optically thin hot gaseous medium, that may be used to measure the mass of the parent galaxy (Forman, Jones & Tucker (1985), FT, Trinchieri & Fabbiano (1985), FGT, Kim, Fabbiano & Trinchieri (1992), Fabbiano & Juda (1997), Terashima et al. (1994)), in addition to the X-ray binary population that must be present (e.g. Fabbiano (1989)) and it is now seen directly in Chandra images (e.g. Irwin, Bregman & Sarazin (2000)). Detailed hydrodynamical models developed for S0 galaxies may apply, and suggest that although large static halos are not expected, hot ISM in a complex flow state may be found (D’Ercole & Ciotti (1998)). The steep X-ray – B correlation may suggest the presence of gaseous halos in X-ray luminous S0/a-Sab galaxies, by analogy with the similarly steep correlation observed in E and S0 galaxies (Trinchieri & Fabbiano (1985), Canizares, Fabbiano & Trinchieri (1987), EFK, see also the ASCA results of Matsumoto et al. (1997)). Supporting evidence is provided by X-ray spectral data. The average Einstein X-ray colors of Sa galaxies are similar to the colors of S0 and E galaxies where hot halos are found, rather than to those of later types, which are characterized by harder X-ray spectra, typical of X-ray binaries (Kim, Fabbiano & Trinchieri (1992)). ASCA higher resolution CCD spectra of NGC 4594 (Terashima et al. (1994)) and NGC 4736 (Roberts, Warwick & Ohashi (1999)) also support the presence of a thermal gaseous component in these galaxies, which is confirmed in NGC 4736 by the high spatial/spectral resolution Chandra ACIS-S image (Pellegrini et al. (2001); another recent example of a Chandra observation that shows both a population of point-like sources and diffuse emission is the S0/a NGC 1291 Irwin, Bregman & Sarazin (2000)).

‘Hidden’ AGNs may in principle add to the X-ray emission and cause a steep X-ray – correlation. However, we believe that this is unlikely. Fig. 7 shows that luminous AGNs indeed have very significant X-ray excess luminosity, but their distribution is not consistent with the high luminosity extrapolation of the X-ray – B correlation. A large number of galaxies in this sample host mini-AGNs (Ho, Filippenko & Sargent (1997), see fig 7), but it is unlikely that the X-ray luminosity of these galaxies is dominated by this emission. This conclusion is supported by X-ray imaging for at least two X-ray luminous galaxies: NGC 4594 (Fabbiano & Juda (1997), Ho et al. (2001); a LINER galaxy with a compact nuclear radio source, Heckman (1980), Condon et al. (1982)) and NGC 4736 (M94; Cui et al. (1997), Roberts, Warwick & Ohashi (1999), Pellegrini et al. (2001)); in both galaxies the nucleus does not dominate the emission in the soft X-ray band. In NGC 4736, in particular, the Chandra image shows that the nucleus is not even the most luminous source in the central region of this galaxy (Pellegrini et al. (2001)). Moreover, a recent high resolution Chandra survey of a number of mini-AGN galaxies shows in the majority of them nuclear sources with luminosities well below the total galaxian emission (Ho et al. (2001)).

## 8 Non-Linear Power-Law Dependencies in Disk/Arm-Dominated Spirals: extinction and other effects

We have mentioned earlier in this paper and shown in Paper I that in the late (T=5-10; Sc-Irr) sample all the correlations are highly significant. We have also discussed how some of these correlations (e.g. X-ray – FIR) are close to a power-law of slope 1. Others (e.g. B – H, X-ray – B) are not (Table 2).

Extinction in dusty star-forming regions may be responsible for some of these departures from linearity. Extinction would affect the B emission more than longer wavelengths such as H, 12$`\mu `$m, FIR, 6cm, or higher energies such as the X-rays. The $`L_BL_{FIR}^{0.7}`$ relation was first observed by FGT, and explained (see also TFB) with an enhanced dusty compact starburst component in higher-luminosity galaxies. This scenario would also account for the flat $`L_BL_{6cm}`$ power-law: the longer wavelength radio-emission from the star-burst component would not be obscured by the dust in these star-forming regions, and so would scale linearly with the FIR and according to the observed power-law with the optical. The X-ray – B relationship is also not linear, and it could be consistent with the obscuration picture. Assuming 2.5 magnitudes of visual extinction, which is the average value required to explain the departure from linearity of the FIR – B correlation (FGT), we find that the corresponding extinction in the X-ray emission would only be $`A_X0.5`$ mag, much less than the extinction in B. Although $`A_V=2.5`$ mag exceeds the average galaxian extinction, a large amount of obscuration is present in localized star-forming regions (e.g. Engelbracht et al. (1996)). A comparison of X-ray and other waveband emissions in the Antennae galaxy (NGC 4038/9; Fabbiano et al. (1997)) supports the above picture. Intense X-ray, radio, and IR emission regions are co-spatial with the HII regions and nuclear region of this merger galaxy. Considering that the H-band emission is significantly enhanced by red supergiants in dusty star-forming regions (e.g. Engelbracht et al. (1996)), the same star-formation/extinction scenario may naturally explain the flat power-law $`L_BL_H^{0.7}`$, discovered by Aaronson, Huchra & Mould (1979).

The FIR – 12$`\mu `$m departure from linearity has been discussed in §4 and ascribed at least in part to the effect of low-luminosity blue galaxies with large FIR/12$`\mu `$m ratios. However, Table 2 shows that after these galaxies are removed the correlation is still flatter than linear. This flat FIR-12$`\mu `$m correlation may be responsible for the flatter relations of B (and X-rays) with 12$`\mu `$m than with FIR. A possible explanation for this residual effect – to be checked with future IR data – is that our sample is still contaminated by some ‘blue dwarf’ galaxies at the low-luminosity end.

## 9 Summary and Conclusions

We have performed (Paper I) a statistical analysis of 234 normal spiral galaxies from the sample of FKT, which were all observed in X-rays with the Einstein Observatory. This analysis explores relations among 6 emission bands, including X-rays (0.2-4 keV), B, H, 12$`\mu `$m, FIR, and 6cm, in the entire sample of 234 galaxies and in subsamples comprising S0/a-Sab, Sb-Sbc, and Sc-Irr galaxies respectively. In this paper we report morphology-related effects in these results. We also explore the implications of our results for the emission processes of early- (S0/a-Sab) and late-type (Sc-Irr) galaxies separately. The main conclusions of this paper are summarized below:

(1) Bivariate and multivariate correlation analyses suggest clear morphological dependencies of the global radio-IR-optical-X-ray emission properties:

– in late-type galaxies (Sc-Irr), all the emission properties are correlated suggesting a broad connection to the galaxian stellar population;

– in early-type spirals (S0/a-Sab) instead, 12$`\mu `$m, FIR, and 6cm emissions are not connected with either the stellar population responsible for the global near-IR and optical light (H and B) or with the X-ray emission.

– the intermediate sample of Sb-Sbc (T=3-4) galaxies presents intermediate properties, with some links appearing between X-rays and FIR.

(2) The strong, always present, fundamental 12$`\mu `$m and FIR correlation (see also Paper I) agrees with the picture that both emission bands are due to the same photon field interacting with different size grains (Helou, Ryter & Soifer (1991)). However, we also find some effects that point to morphology-related differences in the IR emission processes, and possibly to different (stellar and AGN) sources of radiation in different types of galaxies:

– The 12/100 vs. B/100 color-color plot of S0/a-Sab galaxies presents more scatter than those of later morphological types, that could be explained with both significant red giant circumstellar dust (as in ellipticals and S0s, Knapp et al. (1992)), and nuclear emission.

– Blue late-type dwarf galaxies appear to be underluminous in the mid-IR, suggesting that the composition of the ISM in these galaxies lacks the small grains responsible for the mid-IR emission. This difference may be related to the more intense UV field, suggested by their blue colors.

(3) Our results suggest a difference in the production of radio continuum and IR emission in early- and late-type spirals.

– In Sc-Irr galaxies we find a fundamental, strong, linear radio – FIR correlation, consistent with the previously reported connection of the radio continuum emission with the star-forming stellar population (e.g., Helou, Soifer & Rowan-Robinson (1985)).

– In S0/a-Sab galaxies instead the fundamental radio – infrared link is the 6cm – 12$`\mu `$m correlation, and this correlation is steeper than linear ($`L_{6cm}L_{12}^{1.79\pm 0.21}`$). We propose nuclear activity as the source of this correlation: the close link with the mid-IR argues in itself for this possibility, since mid-IR emission is enhanced in AGN (Elvis et al. (1994)); moreover, the correlation is also consistent with the distribution of bright AGNs in the same diagram. The power-law slope of this correlation is however difficult to explain. Linear correlations would be expected both in the picture of shock-related nuclear emission (e.g., Ho et al. (1989)), and in the more traditional AGN scenario, where the IR emission may be due to re-radiation of the nuclear continuum. The observed non-linearity may be related to the presence of hot gaseous halos in the more luminous galaxies, which may result in depletion of small-size dust grains (and thus a decrease of the 12$`\mu `$ flux). A similar mechanism may operate in E and S0 galaxies, where a steep radio – IR correlation has also been reported (EFK).

(4) In Sc-Irr galaxies the strongest link of the X-ray emission with a stellar indicator is the linear X-ray – FIR correlation. Conditional probability analysis shows that this is a far more significant link that the X-ray – B one, suggesting a connection of the X-ray emission with the star forming stellar component. This conclusion is reinforced by the $`L_X/L_BL_{60}/L_{100}`$ correlation found in Paper I, which associates more intense X-ray emission with hotter IR colors. We find no evidence of a strong intrinsic link of X-ray and radio continuum emission, contrary to the early suggestion of FGT.

(5) Contrary to previous reports, based on much smaller samples (FT, FGT), the X-ray – B correlation is steeper than linear ($`L_XL_B^{1.5}`$), regardless of morphological type.

– In the light of the stronger linear X-ray – FIR correlation, in Sc-Irr this slope may be explained with absorption of the blue light in dusty intense X-ray emitting star-forming regions in bright galaxies.

– In S0/a-Sab galaxies it suggests the presence of an additional emission component, dominating the X-ray emission of the more luminous galaxies. Comparisons with the analogous correlation observed in E and S0s, and with the distribution of AGNs in the $`L_XL_B`$ plot, suggest that hot ISM in X-ray brighter galaxies (as in E and S0s), rather than nuclear activity may be the more viable explanation.

(6) Finally, examining the power-law slopes of the correlations in the late-type spirals (T=5-10), we find linear and non-linear correlations. These different slopes may be related to the prevalence of obscured starforming regions in higher luminosity galaxies, as discussed in FGT.

Given the characteristics of our sample and the analysis techniques employed we believe these results to be free from strong biases (Paper I), and therefore to be representative of the characteristics of normal spiral galaxies. This conclusion is reinforced by the general agreement with previous IR-based work by other authors, using different representative samples of spiral galaxies. However, to confirm and expand these results, the assembly of larger, well defined, possibly complete, samples of spiral galaxies with multi-wavelength coverage is needed. Our results suggest many lines of future investigations: a re-examination of the radio continuum – IR correlations and their morphological dependencies; high resolution observations of early-type spirals in the X-rays, mid-IR, and radio continuum, to isolate nuclear sources in these bands, and to quantify the amount of hot ISM in the X-rays; comparison with optical emission line properties, to further explore the presence and properties of low-luminosity active nuclei; multi-wavelength imaging of luminous late-type galaxies to confirm the impact of dusty star-forming regions in their overall emission.

We thank Paul Eskridge and Martin Elvis for comments and Steve Willner for discussions on the near-IR emission. This work was supported by NASA grants NAG 5–2281 and NAG 5–1937 (ROSAT); NAGW–2681 (LTSA); and by NASA contract NAS 8–39073 (Chandra X-ray Center).


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# An alternative derivation of the gravitomagnetic clock effect

## 1 Introduction

The general relativistic clock effect, as worked out in , consists in the difference in the orbital periods of two clocks moving in opposite directions along a circular equatorial orbit around a central rotating mass. It is not an easy task to derive the general effect within the framework of Einstein’s theory of gravitation; in fact, for orbits of arbitrary inclination to the equatorial plane, the clock effect has been derived only for the case that the orbiting bodies describe spherical orbits of constant “radius” . Moreover, the case of elliptical orbits has not yet been investigated.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative derivation of this effect for orbits with zero eccentricity, in order to make its comprehension more intuitive by stressing and elucidating the analogies and differences between the weak-field and slow-motion approximation of general relativity and electromagnetism. General expressions are given for arbitrary values of inclination as well. They are useful in view of the recent efforts devoted to exploring the possibility of measuring the clock effect by means of artificial near-Earth satellites .

The paper is organized as follows: In Section 2 we deal with an electromagnetic system consisting of two test charges orbiting in opposite directions, acted upon by a central electric field and by a weaker orthogonal magnetic field. The latter is treated perturbatively to first order. Radiative and $`𝒪(v^2/c^2)`$ effects in such a system are neglected in order to outline the main features common to the gravitational case that is treated in Section 3. In this work the gravitomagnetic force is viewed classically as a non-central small linear perturbation of the main central Newtonian gravitoelectric monopole force. Section 4 contains concluding remarks.

## 2 The electromagnetic scenario

Let us consider two identical point charges $`q`$ of mass $`m`$ orbiting a central spherically symmetric distribution of total charge $`Q`$ of opposite sign, e.g. $`Q<0`$ and $`q>0`$. We suppose that the two charges follow identical but opposite closed circular orbits and denote the speeds of the counterclockwise and clockwise moving charges by $`v_+`$ and $`v_{}`$, respectively, i.e. we assume the counterclockwise direction to be positive. In cylindrical coordinates $`\{\rho ,\varphi \}`$, the equation of motion of the two charges reads

$$m\frac{v_\pm ^2}{\rho }=|q|E,$$
(1)
with $`E=|Q|/\rho ^2`$ and both charges describe a complete orbit in the same time $`T^{(0)}`$

$$T^{(0)}=\frac{2\pi \rho }{v_\pm }=\frac{2\pi }{n}=2\pi \sqrt{\frac{m\rho }{|q|E}}=2\pi \sqrt{\frac{m\rho ^3}{|qQ|}},$$
(2)
where it should be noted that the mean motion (i.e. orbital frequency) $`n=\sqrt{|q|E/m\rho }`$ depends on the charge-to-mass ratio $`q/m`$.

If we switch on a magnetic field $`𝐁=B𝐢_𝐳`$ orthogonal to the plane of motion, the two charges will experience an additional Lorentz force $`𝐅_L=(q/c)𝐯\times 𝐁`$, which for $`q>0`$ will be antiparallel to the electric field for the counterclockwise moving charge and parallel to the electric field for the clockwise moving charge. Hence the equation of motion for $`q>0`$ becomes

$$m\frac{v_\pm ^2}{\rho }=qE\frac{q}{c}v_\pm B,$$
(3)
and therefore

$$\left(v_\pm \pm \frac{qB}{2mc}\rho \right)^2=\left(n^2+\frac{q^2B^2}{4m^2c^2}\right)\rho ^2.$$
(4)
We assume that the magnetic field is weak; therefore, we can neglect the square of the Larmor frequency $`q^2B^2/4m^2c^2`$ in comparison with the square of the orbital frequency $`n^2`$ in eq. (4) and obtain $`v_\pm =(nqB/2mc)\rho `$, i.e.

$$\left(\frac{d\varphi }{dt}\right)_\pm =\pm \left(n\frac{qB}{2mc}\right),$$
(5)
or

$$dt_\pm =\pm \frac{d\varphi }{n(1\frac{qB}{2mcn})}\pm \frac{d\varphi }{n}\left(1\pm \frac{qB}{2mcn}\right).$$
(6)
By integrating eq. (6) from 0 to $`2\pi `$ for the counterclockwise orbit and $`2\pi `$ to 0 for the clockwise orbit, we find the orbital periods of the two charges

$$T_\pm =\frac{2\pi }{n}\left(1\pm \frac{qB}{2mcn}\right)=T^{(0)}\pm \frac{\pi }{c}\frac{B}{E}\rho ,$$
(7)
and hence their difference after one revolution

$$T_+T_{}=\frac{2\pi }{c}\frac{B}{E}\rho .$$
(8)
By inspection of eq. (7) we see that the magnetic correction to the orbital period is independent of the charge-to-mass ratio of the orbiting electric charges, in contrast to the unperturbed period $`T^{(0)}`$. Indeed we could have started Section 2 with the less restrictive assumption that the two charges only have the same charge-to-mass ratio.

It is interesting to observe that eq. (8) is an exact consequence of eq. (3), i.e. the weak-field approximation is unnecessary for the validity of this relation. This circumstance has an analogue in the gravitational case discussed in Section 3; that is, eq. (17) below turns out to be exact for circular orbits in the equatorial plane of the exterior Kerr spacetime.

Let us now assume that the two charges are far away from the central charge and current distributions so that the magnetic field can be considered to be generated by a magnetic dipole $`𝐦=\mu 𝐢_𝐳`$ of magnitude $`\mu =IS/c`$, where $`S`$ is the surface area of the loop enclosed by the current $`I`$ and therefore

$$B=\frac{\mu }{\rho ^3},E=\frac{|Q|}{\rho ^2},$$
(9)
which, upon inserting into eq. (8) yield

$$T_+T_{}=\frac{2\pi }{c}\frac{\mu }{|Q|}.$$
(10)
This time difference depends on both the sign of the charges and on the direction of the magnetic field. Upon exchanging the signs of $`Q`$ and $`q`$, i.e. $`Q>0`$ and $`q<0`$, the counterclockwise revolving charge will move faster while the clockwise moving charge will move slower. However, as expected by charge symmetry, eq. (10) will be unaffected if the signs of the charges and of the magnetic field are reversed simultaneously. Further, we note that the radius of the orbit does not appear in eq. (10) and that this time difference can be interpreted as a consequence of the fact that the speed of light has a finite value; indeed, for $`c\mathrm{}`$, $`T_+T_{}0`$.

The main considerations of this section are related, via the Larmor theorem, to certain interesting phenomena in rotating frames of reference .

Orbits of charged particles off the equatorial plane are no longer spatially closed in general because their instantaneous planes undergo Larmor precession induced by the magnetic field and it will thus be necessary to define the relevant periods $`T_\pm `$ in terms of azimuthal closure involving a complete loop in the $`\varphi `$ coordinate. For the description of such a configuration it is useful to introduce the local frame attached to the moving particle, where $`𝐢_R,𝐢_T,𝐢_N`$ denote its orthogonal unit vectors related to the radial, along-track and cross-track directions, respectively. In fact, $`𝐢_T`$ denotes the orthogonal direction, in the instantaneous orbital plane, to the radial one; in general, it does not coincide with the direction along the track unless one considers circular orbits. We will return to the case of spherical orbits in Section 4, where the local frame described here is employed along the unperturbed orbit.

## 3 The gravitational scenario

The electromagnetic scenario previously described is analogous to the following gravitational one: Let us consider a central spherically symmetric mass $`M`$ rotating slowly with its proper angular momentum directed along the $`z`$-axis, $`𝐉=J𝐢_𝐳`$, of an asymptotically inertial frame $`K\{x,y,z\}`$ whose $`(x,y)`$-plane coincides with the equatorial plane of the gravitating source, and a pair of test bodies orbiting along a circular equatorial path in opposite directions. Further, we assume that the radius $`\rho `$ of the orbits is much larger than the Schwarzschild radius $`r_g=2GM/c^2`$ of the central body; this would apply to an experiment in the field of the Earth, for instance. It is well known that in the weak-field and slow-motion approximation of general relativity the stationary spacetime metric of a rotating “spherically symmetric” mass-energy distribution generates the so-called gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic fields

$$𝐄_g=\frac{GM}{r^2}𝐢_R,$$
(11)
$$𝐁_g=𝓇\times 𝐀_g=\frac{2G}{c}\left[\frac{𝐉3(𝐉𝐢_R)𝐢_R}{r^3}\right],$$
(12)
with the gravitomagnetic potential given by

$$𝐀_g=\frac{2G}{c}\frac{𝐉\times 𝐫}{r^3}.$$
(13)
At this point the calculations follow closely those of the electromagnetic case previously examined in Section 2 because the equation of motion of a test body in the “weak” gravitational field of a general stationary axisymmetric mass-energy distribution is analogous to that of a point charge $`q`$ acted upon by electric and magnetic fields E and B,

$$m𝐚_g=m(𝐄_g+\frac{𝐯}{c}\times 𝐁_g).$$
(14)
Therefore, by reasoning as in the electromagnetic case for circular orbits with zero inclination (Section 2), we obtain

$$T_+T_{}=\frac{2\pi }{c}\frac{B_g}{E_g}\rho .$$
(15)
For equatorial circular orbits, eq. (12) immediately yields

$$𝐁_g=\frac{2G}{c}\frac{J}{\rho ^3}𝐢_𝐳.$$
(16)
By inserting $`E_g`$ and $`B_g`$ from eqs. (11) and (16) into eq. (15) we obtain the well-known expression

$$T_+T_{}=4\pi \frac{J}{c^2M}.$$
(17)
It is an interesting feature of eq. (17) that the mass moving in the same sense of rotation as the central mass moves slower than the mass moving in the opposite direction. If we reversed the sense of rotation of the central gravitating source, the clockwise moving test mass would be slower. In this way the sense of rotation of the central mass is no longer a matter of convention but could be related to a physical phenomenon, i.e. the mass loop moving slower. Also in this case, in the limit $`c\mathrm{}`$, $`T_+T_{}0`$.

An interesting feature of gravitoelectromagnetism is the gravitational Larmor theorem  according to which gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic fields are locally equivalent to translational and rotational accelerations of an observer in Minkowski spacetime. The gravitational Larmor theorem is therefore in effect Einstein’s principle of equivalence in the gravitoelectromagnetic context. Note that in eq. (17) the gravitoelectric Keplerian periods $`T^{(0)}=2\pi /n=\sqrt{GM/\rho ^3}`$ cancel out, no matter what the masses of the orbiting particles are, in accordance with the equivalence principle and in contrast to the electromagnetic case, where the unperturbed periods depend on the charge-to-mass ratio of the particles.

Finally, it is worth noting that the gravitomagnetic correction to the unperturbed Keplerian period is independent of the radius of the orbit, a feature also common to the electrodynamic case. Moreover, the Newtonian constant $`G`$ does not appear in eq. (17): this fact may account for the unexpectedly large value of the time shift in the field of the Earth which amounts to about $`10^7`$ s. In some sense, this classical effect is a gravitomagnetic analog of the topological Aharonov-Bohm effect. It turns out that if we deal with the proper periods of the test bodies, i.e. the periods according to comoving clocks, then the result is the same as in eq. (17) up to terms of order $`c^4`$ that depend on $`G`$ and $`\rho `$.

## 4 Arbitrary inclination: inertial azimuthal closure

If the orbital plane has an arbitrary inclination $`i`$ to the equatorial plane of $`K\{x,y,z\}`$, a similar reasoning as in Section 2 holds: the orbital plane undergoes Lense-Thirring precession, which is the gravitational analog of the magnetic Larmor precession. Let us imagine that in the absence of the gravitomagnetic field, the orbit is a circle of radius $`r`$ in a fixed plane that is inclined with respect to the equatorial $`(x,y)`$-plane by the inclination angle $`i`$; that is, the normal to the orbital plane is tilted away from the $`z`$-axis by the angle $`i`$. Moreover, the longitude of the ascending node is given by the azimuthal angle $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$, as in Figure 1. Once the gravitomagnetic field is “turned on,” the orbit will twist out of this fixed plane.

In order to derive analytically the time $`T`$ needed to pass from $`\varphi _0`$ at $`t_0=0`$ to $`\varphi _0+2\pi `$ at $`t_0+T`$ in the equatorial plane of the inertial observer we will use the following reference frames: the asymptotically inertial frame $`K\{x,y,z\}`$ previously defined and a frame $`K^{^{}}\{X,Y,Z\}`$ with the $`Z`$-axis directed along the orbital angular momentum $`𝐋`$ of the unperturbed test body, where the $`(X,Y)`$-plane coincides with the unperturbed orbital plane of the test particle and the $`X`$-axis is directed along the line of nodes. $`K\{x,y,z\}`$ and $`K^{^{}}\{X,Y,Z\}`$ have the same origin located at the center-of-mass of the central body. The transformation matrix $`𝐑_{xX}`$ for the change of coordinates from $`K^{^{}}\{X,Y,Z\}`$ to $`K\{x,y,z\}`$ is given by

$$𝐑_{xX}=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }& \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}i& \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}i\\ \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }& \mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}i& \mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}i\\ 0& \mathrm{sin}i& \mathrm{cos}i\end{array}\right).$$
(18)
Our calculation for the azimuthal period $`T`$ will be valid for a counterclockwise orbit as in Figure 1; however, it is clear from the symmetry of the configuration that the result for the clockwise case ($`T_{}`$) can be simply obtained from our result by reversing the sign of the perturbation term in $`T_+`$. In the asymptotically inertial frame $`K^{^{}}\{X,Y,Z\}`$, let us choose cylindrical coordinates $`\{\rho ,\phi ,Z\}`$ and write eq. (14) in these coordinates. The unperturbed orbit is given by $`\rho r=`$ constant, $`Z=0`$ and $`\phi =\phi _0+nt`$ (with $`n=\sqrt{GM/\rho ^3}`$). Since we will consider the gravitomagnetic acceleration $`c^1\text{v}\times \text{B}_g`$ as a small perturbation of the main gravitoelectric monopole term $`\text{E}_g`$, we evaluate the disturbing acceleration with respect to the unperturbed orbit. By using eqs. (11) and (12), eq. (14) can be written as

$`a_\rho =\ddot{\rho }\rho \dot{\phi }^2={\displaystyle \frac{GM}{\rho ^2}}+2{\displaystyle \frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}}n\mathrm{cos}i,`$ (19)
$`a_\phi =\rho \ddot{\phi }+2\dot{\rho }\dot{\phi }=0,`$ (20)
$`a_Z=\ddot{Z}=n^2Z+4{\displaystyle \frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}}n\mathrm{sin}i\mathrm{sin}(\phi _0+nt).`$ (21)
Here the radial and along-track components of the acceleration are given by $`a_\rho =\ddot{X}\mathrm{cos}\phi +\ddot{Y}\mathrm{sin}\phi `$ and $`a_\phi =\ddot{X}\mathrm{sin}\phi +\ddot{Y}\mathrm{cos}\phi ,`$ respectively. Note that in eq. (21) we retain $`Z`$, because due to the gravitomagnetic non-central acceleration, the motion is no longer confined to a plane and therefore $`Z`$ will be proportional to the gravitomagnetic perturbation and treated to first order.

For a spherical orbit $`\rho `$ remains constant to first order; therefore, from eq. (19) we obtain

$$\phi =\phi _0+nt\frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^3}t\mathrm{cos}i\widehat{\phi }+\delta \phi ,$$
(22)
where $`\widehat{\phi }=\phi _0+nt`$. It follows from the linear dependence of $`\phi `$ on $`t`$ in eq. (22) that eq. (20) is satisfied. The solution of eq. (21) reads

$$Z=2\frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}t\mathrm{sin}i\mathrm{cos}(\phi _0+nt)+k_1\mathrm{sin}nt+k_2\mathrm{cos}nt,$$
(23)
where $`k_1`$ and $`k_2`$ are constants of integration. If we assume that at $`t_0=0`$ the perturbed orbit agrees with the unperturbed orbit, i.e. $`Z(0)=0`$, then $`k_2=0`$ and we will treat $`k_1`$ to first order of the perturbation in what follows. Let us write the general solution of eqs. (19)-(21) as $`X=\rho \mathrm{cos}\phi (t)`$ and $`Y=\rho \mathrm{sin}\phi (t)`$ together with eq. (23). By using $`\mathrm{cos}(\widehat{\phi }+\delta \phi )\mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi }\delta \phi \mathrm{sin}\widehat{\phi }`$ and $`\mathrm{sin}(\widehat{\phi }+\delta \phi )\mathrm{sin}\widehat{\phi }+\delta \phi \mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi }`$, we find

$$X=\rho \mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi }+\frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}t\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{sin}\widehat{\phi },$$
(24)
$$Y=\rho \mathrm{sin}\widehat{\phi }\frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}t\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi },$$
(25)
$$Z=2\frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}t\mathrm{sin}i\mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi }+k_1\mathrm{sin}nt.$$
(26)
From these equations we obtain by means of the transformation (18) the solution in $`K\{x,y,z\}`$,

$$x=\rho (\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi }\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\widehat{\phi })+k_1\mathrm{sin}i\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}nt$$

$$+\frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}t[\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\widehat{\phi }+(\mathrm{cos}^2i2\mathrm{sin}^2i)\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi }],$$
(27)
$$y=\rho (\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi }+\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\widehat{\phi })k_1\mathrm{sin}i\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}nt$$

$$+\frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}t[\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\widehat{\phi }(\mathrm{cos}^2i2\mathrm{sin}^2i)\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi }],$$
(28)
$$z=\rho \mathrm{sin}i\mathrm{sin}\widehat{\phi }+k_1\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{sin}nt\frac{3}{2}\frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}t\mathrm{sin}2i\mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi }.$$
(29)
The temporal behavior of the azimuthal angle $`\varphi `$ can be obtained via

$$\mathrm{tan}\varphi =\frac{y(t)}{x(t)},$$
(30)
and the time $`T`$ needed to pass from $`\varphi _0`$ at $`t_0=0`$ to $`\varphi _0+2\pi `$ at $`t_0+T`$ follows upon expanding the relation

$$\mathrm{tan}\varphi _0=\mathrm{tan}(\varphi _0+2\pi ),$$
(31)
where

$$\mathrm{tan}\varphi _0=\frac{y(0)}{x(0)}=\frac{\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\phi _0+\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\phi _0}{\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\phi _0\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\phi _0},$$
(32)
and

$$\mathrm{tan}(\varphi _0+2\pi )=\frac{y(T)}{x(T)}.$$
(33)
Since the deviation from the unperturbed Kepler period $`T^{(0)}=2\pi /n`$ will be small, let us write

$$T=\frac{2\pi }{n}(1+ϵ),$$
(34)
with $`ϵ1`$ and further

$$\mathrm{sin}nT=\mathrm{sin}(2\pi +2\pi ϵ)2\pi ϵ,$$
(35)
$$\mathrm{cos}\widehat{\phi }(T)=\mathrm{cos}(\phi _0+nT)=\mathrm{cos}(\phi _0+2\pi +2\pi ϵ)\mathrm{cos}\phi _02\pi ϵ\mathrm{sin}\phi _0,$$
(36)
$$\mathrm{sin}\widehat{\phi }(T)=\mathrm{sin}(\phi _0+nT)=\mathrm{sin}(\phi _0+2\pi +2\pi ϵ)\mathrm{sin}\phi _0+2\pi ϵ\mathrm{cos}\phi _0.$$
(37)
Therefore, in the calculations for $`x(T)`$ and $`y(T)`$, terms proportional to $`k_1\mathrm{sin}nT`$, due to eq. (35), will be of second order and will be neglected. Hence we find

$$x(T)=\rho (\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\phi _0\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\phi _0)2\pi ϵ\rho (\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\phi _0+\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\phi _0)$$

$$+2\pi \frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}\frac{1}{n}[\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\phi _0+(\mathrm{cos}^2i2\mathrm{sin}^2i)\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\phi _0],$$
(38)
$$y(T)=\rho (\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\phi _0+\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\phi _0)2\pi ϵ\rho (\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\phi _0\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\phi _0)$$

$$+2\pi \frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^2}\frac{1}{n}[\mathrm{cos}i\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{sin}\phi _0(\mathrm{cos}^2i2\mathrm{sin}^2i)\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Omega }\mathrm{cos}\phi _0].$$
(39)
Using eqs. (31)-(33) and eqs. (38)-(39), we find after some algebra

$$ϵ=\frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^3}\frac{\mathrm{cos}i}{n}(12\mathrm{tan}^2i\mathrm{cos}^2\phi _0).$$
(40)
As expected, $`ϵ`$ is proportional to $`J`$ and vanishes for a nonrotating source. By means of eq. (34) it finally follows that

$$T_\pm =\frac{2\pi }{n}[1\pm \frac{GJ}{c^2\rho ^3}\frac{\mathrm{cos}i}{n}(12\mathrm{tan}^2i\mathrm{cos}^2\phi _0)],$$
(41)
or

$$T_+T_{}=4\pi \frac{J\mathrm{cos}i}{c^2M}(12\mathrm{tan}^2i\mathrm{cos}^2\phi _0).$$
(42)
Let us note that for $`i=0`$, we recover the result of Section 3. On the other hand, $`ϵ`$ diverges for $`i=\pi /2`$. It follows from general relativity that for a geodesic (spherical) polar orbit, the clock effect disappears since the angular momentum vector of the source in effect lies in the orbital plane. The orbital period is then simply given by the gravitoelectric Keplerian period. On the other hand, the period for azimuthal closure is given by $`2\pi (2GJ/c^2\rho ^3)^1`$, which is very long compared to the Keplerian period . This circumstance is reflected in our first-order perturbative result given by eq. (41): For $`i\pi /2,T_\pm \mathrm{}`$. Therefore, in eq. (41), the inclination angle $`i`$ must be sufficiently less than $`\pi /2`$ such that the perturbative treatment in Section 4 remains valid.

An important feature of eq. (41) is that when $`i0,T_\pm `$ depends upon $`\phi _0`$, i.e. the clock effect depends in general on the position of the mass $`m`$ along the orbit at $`t=0`$. This dependence of the clock effect on where the mass $`m`$ is along the orbit when the timing observations begin is illustrated in Fig. 2 and could be helpful in the detection of this effect.

Up to now we have assumed that when unperturbed the two satellites orbit along opposite directions in the same plane with arbitrary inclination $`i`$. Let us now consider the case of two masses $`m_+`$ and $`m_{}`$ having the same distance from the center but moving in different orbital planes, say $`0<i_+<\pi /2`$ and $`\pi /2<i_{}<\pi `$, respectively. Following the same reasoning as before, their orbital periods, as viewed by a static, asymptotically inertial observer and after choosing suitably $`t_0`$ so that $`\phi _0=\pi /2`$, can be written as

$$T_{}=T^{(0)}+2\pi \frac{J}{c^2M}\mathrm{cos}i_+,$$
(43)
$$T_{}=T^{(0)}2\pi \frac{J}{c^2M}\mathrm{cos}i_{}.$$
(44)
From these expressions, we immediately find

$$T_{}T_{}=2\pi \frac{J}{c^2M}(\mathrm{cos}i_++\mathrm{cos}i_{}),$$
(45)
$$T_{}+T_{}=2T^{(0)}+2\pi \frac{J}{c^2M}(\mathrm{cos}i_+\mathrm{cos}i_{}).$$
(46)
From eq. (46) it is seen that the sum of the orbital periods of the two point masses will also show a gravitomagnetic contribution provided the inclinations of the two satellites are different. Note that eq. (45) reduces correctly to eq. (42) if the two orbital planes coincide, while in eq. (46) the gravitomagnetic contribution vanishes. Moreover, a very interesting feature arises for supplementary inclinations of the two satellites, i.e. $`i_++i_{}=180^{}`$; indeed, in this case eqs. (45)-(46) become

$$T_{}T_{}=0,$$
(47)
$$T_{}+T_{}=2T^{(0)}+4\pi \frac{J}{c^2M}\mathrm{cos}i_+.$$
(48)
One of the most striking implications of eq. (48) is that the LARES mission , originally proposed to detect the Lense-Thirring drag of the orbital plane, could also be used to detect the gravitomagnetic contribution to the sum of the orbital periods. However, due to the present uncertainty of the value of $`GM_{},\delta (GM_{})=8\times 10^{11}\mathrm{cm}^3\mathrm{s}^2`$ , the error in the unperturbed Keplerian period of the LAGEOS satellite is larger than the effect to be measured

$$\delta T^{(0)}=1.52\times 10^5\mathrm{s},$$
(49)
$$4\pi \frac{J}{c^2M}\mathrm{cos}i_+=4.71\times 10^8\mathrm{s}.$$
(50)
Therefore, an improvement of our knowledge of $`GM_{}`$ would be necessary before any observables involving the sum of the unperturbed orbital periods and of the gravitomagnetic corrections may become detectable.

Finally, these results suggest that the gravitomagnetic clock effect may be enhanced by considering suitable constellations of satellites orbiting the Earth.

## 5 Conclusions

Exploiting the formal analogy between the law of motion of a charged particle acted upon by an electromagnetic field and the weak-field and slow-motion approximation of general relativity (“gravitoelectromagnetism”), it has been possible to derive in a simple fashion the gravitomagnetic clock effect for a couple of point masses following spherical orbits in space. General expressions for arbitrary values of inclination angle to the equatorial plane are given for these spherical orbits. These results have been obtained by neglecting terms of $`𝒪(c^4)`$; in this way, eq. (42) is equally valid for proper periods of comoving clocks. If the two satellites orbit in planes with different inclinations, the sum of their orbital periods also exhibits a gravitomagnetic part.

It is worth-while to compare our main result eq. (42) with the corresponding general relativistic expression (see  p. 143, eqs. (36)-(37)),

$$T_+T_{}=4\pi \frac{J}{c^2M}\lambda ^{^{}}\mathrm{cos}\alpha ,$$
(51)
where

$$\lambda ^{^{}}=\lambda 3\mathrm{\Phi }_0\mathrm{\Gamma }_0=\mathrm{\Gamma }_02\mathrm{\Gamma }_0^1\mathrm{tan}^2\alpha \mathrm{cos}^2\eta _03\mathrm{\Phi }_0\mathrm{\Gamma }_0.$$
(52)
Here, $`\alpha `$ and $`\eta _0`$ must be replaced by $`i`$ and $`\phi _0`$, respectively, and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_01`$, $`\mathrm{\Phi }_00`$ provided that terms of $`𝒪(c^4)`$ are neglected. For the proper periods of comoving clocks an equation similar to eq. (51) holds, except that $`\lambda ^{^{}}`$ must be replaced by $`\lambda `$. Note that these results have been obtained in a perturbative way and hold only for $`\alpha `$ sufficiently different from $`\pi /2`$. Thus our approach gives the same result for $`T_+T_{}`$ as general relativity once terms of order $`c^4`$ are neglected.

As it is for all general relativistic effects, the observation of the gravitomagnetic clock effect is a tremendously difficult undertaking as well. This becomes immediately clear by noting that for a near-Earth orbit ($`T10^4`$ s) a time variation of $`100`$ ns can be caused equally well by a radial or azimuthal deviation of $`0.1`$ mm from the ideal orbit and therefore all forces that may produce accelerations larger than $`10^{12}`$ m/s<sup>2</sup> must be taken into account. The empirical verification of the clock effect essentially faces two problems: (a) to measure with the utmost precision the actual position of the satellites, (b) to model with extreme accuracy all perturbing forces which will influence the period of the satellites. For a single orbit, this goal is certainly unattainable, but it may become feasible after a sufficiently long time of observation due to the accumulative character of the clock effect. While the present satellite-to-satellite tracking techniques allow the determination of an orbit with an accuracy of $`1`$ cm so that a minimum of $`1000`$ revolutions will be needed for the clock effect to become detectable, the consideration of the perturbing forces at the required level is quite demanding. Non-gravitational perturbations may be overcome by means of modern drag-free technology; however, the correct determination of all gravitational effects is limited by the accuracy of the respective Earth gravity field models that are currently available. Preliminary results suggest that it is in particular the uncertainty in the even zonal harmonics of the spherical expansion of the terrestrial gravitational field  as well as the zonal tidal perturbations  that presently inhibits the successful realization of the clock experiment. It should be mentioned, however, that upcoming geodetic space missions (especially GRACE and GOCE) are expected to improve significantly the accuracy of the gravity field of the Earth and may then allow the observation of the gravitomagnetic clock effect within a few percent accuracy.

L. Iorio is grateful to L. Guerriero and I. Ciufolini for their support and encouragement.

## References


text:
# Manifestation of multiband optical properties of MgB2

\[

## Abstract

The optical conductivity of MgB2 has been determined on a dense polycrystalline sample in the spectral range 6 meV - 4.6 eV using a combination of ellipsometric and normal incidence reflectivity measurements. $`\sigma _1(\omega )`$ features a narrow Drude peak with anomalously small plasma frequency (1.4 eV) and a very broad ”dome” structure, which comprises the bulk of the low-energy spectral weight. This fact can be reconciled with the results of band structure calculations by assuming that charge carriers from the 2D $`\sigma `$-bands and the 3D $`\pi `$-bands have principally different impurity scattering rates and negligible interband scattering. This also explains a surprisingly small correlation between the defect concentration and $`T_c`$, expected for a two-gap superconductor. The large 3D carrier scattering rate suggests their proximity to the localization limit.

\]

The recently discovered copperless superconductor MgB2 has attracted substantial attention. Most researchers agree that MgB2 is a conventional $`sp`$-metal, where a combination of strong bonding and sizable density of states produces a high critical temperature within the standard theory . There is an agreement among theorists that there are two qualitatively different systems of bands in MgB2: quasi-2D $`\sigma `$-bands, and 3D $`\pi `$-bands, and that the former strongly couple to optical E2g phonon at $``$ 600 cm-1. There is also experimental  and theoretical evidence of two different superconducting gaps in this compound.

Optical spectroscopy is a direct probe of the electronic structure, and it has not been supportive of the conventional picture so far: the reported plasma frequency  is $``$ 1.5 eV, in utter disagreement with LDA calculations of $``$ 7 eV . It is tempting to ascribe this to correlation effects, so that the missing spectral weight is shifted to some incoherent excitations. However, there is no reason to expect strong correlations in MgB2, which does not have any d- or f- elements, and is in no proximity to magnetism. Furthermore, recent angle-resolved photoemission data on a single crystal  have found a remarkable correspondence of the observed bands to LDA calculations, implying that there is virtually no renormalization of Fermi velocity in this system, as opposed, for instance, to high-Tc cuprates. Different values for the carrier scattering rate at $`TT_c`$ have been reported from transmission spectroscopy on thin films: 150 cm-1 (18.6 meV), 300 cm-1 (37.2 meV)  and 700 cm-1 (86.8 meV) . Lacking large single crystals, a study of polycrystalline samples is justified as a first step to understand optical properties of this material. In this Communication we report the optical conductivity of MgB2 obtained from a dense polycrystalline sample from ellipsometry and normal-incidence reflectivity in a range from 6 meV to 4.5 eV, which comprises both intraband and low-energy interband excitations. We also report theoretical calculation of the same quantity, including the electron-phonon interaction (EPI) and the polycrystalline nature of the sample. We suggest that the intraband conductivity consists of two qualitatively different components: a narrow Drude peak (DP) due to the $`\sigma `$-bands, and an overdamped DP due to the $`\pi `$-band electrons. The latter scatter so strongly in our sample that one may expect deviations from the Drude shape due to localization effects, and indeed we find that the feature in question deviates from the Drude formula. This model explains naturally a yet unresolved paradox of the two-band scenario : the absence of a pair-breaking by paramagnetic impurities, predicted for two-gap superconductors . In this Communication we concentrate on the broad-range optical properties keeping the FIR study of the superconducting gap for a separate publication.

The sample was synthesized from high-purity powdered Mg and B, as described elsewhere , and then treated in a high-pressure BN cell at 1623 K and 5.5 GPa for 30 minutes and finally quenched to room temperature. A very dense metallic-like sample was obtained. The $`T_c`$ is about 39 K with transition width of less than 1 K both from the DC resistivity and the magnetic susceptibility (Fig.1 (a, b)). The estimated superconducting volume fraction is about 60 %. The X-ray diffractometry (Fig.1(c)) revealed presence of impurity phases which is difficult to avoid in a bulk polycrystalline sample. One can estimate that the sample contains some 5 - 7 % of MgO and about 1 % of other phases. The R(300K)/R(50K) ratio is 2.2.

The sample was cut and dry-polished with a 0.1 $`\mu `$m diamond micropolisher. The surface was black and shiny with an area of about 8 mm2. Because of ellipsometrically detected changes of the optical properties in air, probably due to surface oxidation, the sample was inserted into the cryostat within minutes after polishing to make sure that the near-surface region corresponds to the bulk properties. Normal-incidence reflectivity measurements in polarized light did not reveal any optical anisotropy implying no preferential grain orientation.

We combined ellipsometry and reflection spectroscopy to determine the optical constants for 15 K$`<`$ $`T`$ $`<`$ 300 K. The dielectric function $`ϵ=ϵ_1+iϵ_2`$ was measured directly using a commercial optical ellipsometer with a UHV cryostat in the range 6000 - 37000 cm-1 (0.45 - 4.6 eV) at the angle of incidence $`\theta `$ = 80. The measurements at $`\theta `$ = 60 gave almost the same dielectric function, which is also an indication of isotropic properties of our sample. The normal incidence reflectivity spectra were measured from 20 to 6000 cm-1 (2.5 meV - 0.45 eV) utilizing Bruker 113v FT-IR spectrometer, equipped with a home-design ultra-stable optical cryostat. Absolute reflectivities for each temperature were calibrated with the aid of a gold film, deposited in situ on the sample. In this range the complex reflectivity phase was obtained with Kramers-Kronig (KK) transformation, allowing us to calculate $`ϵ_1`$ and $`ϵ_2`$. The phase spectrum was anchored using ellipsometric data at higher frequencies (see Ref.).

An important issue is the effect of impurity phases on the optical spectra. The main impurity component is MgO, which has almost zero optical conductivity in the studied frequency range except for a few sharp phonon peaks in the FIR range. Using the Maxwell-Garnett theory of the two-component media  one can show that the role of impurity in this case is to reduce the observed conductivity uniformly by 7 - 10 % compared to the impurity-free sample. As impurity concentration is not precisely known, we do not correct the conductivity for this effect, but keep it in mind in the discussion.

The experimental spectra are shown in Fig.2. At high energies the spectra demonstrate very little $`T`$dependence. In the IR range the reflectivity steadily increases with cooling down. An additional small superconductivity-related increase of $`R`$ is observed below $`T_c`$ for $`\omega `$ $``$ 12 meV, in agreement with earlier data . The main low-frequency features of the optical conductivity (Fig.3) are a narrow DP with a small spectral weight, and a broad ”dome” structure extending up to 1 - 1.5 eV. There is a minimum at $``$ 0.15 eV and a broad maximum at $``$ 0.3 eV. The structure itself looks like a strongly damped second DP. Another broad peak is centered at about 3.3 - 3.4 eV. One can note some phonon-like structures in the FIR reflectivity and, correspondingly, conductivity curves. Those structures are not reproducible from sample to sample, therefore we relate most of them to impurity phases .

The standard procedure of quantifying optical spectra is the Drude-Lorentz data fitting: $`ϵ(\omega )=ϵ_{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Omega }_p^2/(\omega (\omega +i\gamma ))+_i\mathrm{\Omega }_{pi}^2/(\omega _{0i}^2\omega ^2i\gamma _i\omega )`$, where $`\mathrm{\Omega }_p`$ and $`\gamma `$ are the plasma frequency and the scattering rate for the DP, and $`\omega _{0i}`$, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{pi}`$ and $`\gamma _i`$ are the frequency, the ”plasma” frequency, and the scattering rate of the $`i`$-th Lorentz oscillator (LO), $`ϵ_{\mathrm{}}`$ is the high-frequency dielectric constant. We fitted simultaneously $`R(\omega )`$ at low frequencies and both $`ϵ_1(\omega )`$ and $`ϵ_2(\omega )`$ at high frequencies (see Fig. 2) with one set of parameters listed in the Table for 300 K.

A good fit can be obtained by introducing two DPs with very different properties (Fig.4). The narrow DP has an almost temperature-independent plasma frequency $``$ 1.4 eV; the temperature dependence of the scattering rate (see inset in Fig.4) scales well with the $`\rho _{\text{DC}}(T)`$ curve (Fig.1(a)). The second DP is anomalously broad ($`\gamma `$ $``$ 1.1 - 1.2 eV). Although its plasma frequency ($``$ 4.9 eV) is much larger than that of the narrow peak, the latter determines the major part of the static conductivity. The ”dome” structure can be fitted with a combination of a broad DP and two LO at $``$ 0.3 and $``$ 0.8 eV. Finally, there is another broad peak centered at $``$ 3.4 eV and a peak at $``$ 5.1 eV.

Let us now compare the data with the first-principles calculations . To account for the polycrystalline sample texture we averaged the in-plane and out-of-plane contributions to the optical conductivity using the effective medium approximation (EMA)  assuming spherical randomly oriented grains. This approach is more accurate at low frequencies, where the wavelength $`\lambda `$ is larger than the typical grain size $`d`$ (in our case of the order of 1-5 $`\mu `$m). For the limit $`\lambda d`$ the reflectivity should be averaged directly rather than conductivity. For highly anisotropic compounds, e.g. cuprates, it was shown that some artificial structures may show up due to reflectivity-averaging effect . Although we take such a possibility very seriously, the fact that the complex dielectric functions obtained by ellipsometry measurements at incidence angles 60 and 80 match very well is an argument that the concept of effective medium conductivity works sufficiently well even in the high-energy part of our measured spectral range.

The interband optical conductivity (Fig.5) was calculated by the WIEN97 LAPW code  using the band structure of Ref.. The experimental peak at 0.3 eV clearly corresponds to the in-plane interband transition between the two $`\sigma `$-bands at 0.35 eV. The broad 3.4 eV peak finds no counterpart in the theory: the closest peak (2.4 eV, in-plane polarization) stems from the van Hove singularity at the M point. The reason for this discrepancy is not clear at the moment, although it might be related to the disorder effects discussed below. The increase of the conductivity above 4 eV, which is simulated by the LO at 5.1 eV, one can probably associate with the intensive out-of-plane maximum at 4.7 eV due to charge excitations between the B and Mg planes .

The intraband conductivity is particularly interesting. The calculated in-plane (out-of-plane) plasma frequencies of the 2D $`\sigma `$-band are 4.1 (0.7) eV, which in the EMA gives 3.0 eV for the effective plasma frequency $`\omega _{p\sigma }`$ of the $`\sigma `$-band. Similarly, for the $`\pi `$-band, we obtain $`\omega _{p\pi }`$ = 6.2 eV. The total plasma frequency $`\omega _p`$ is thus expected to be about 6.9 eV.

The observed $`\mathrm{\Omega }_p`$ of the narrow Drude peak alone (1.4 eV), in agreement with Refs. , is much smaller than the calculated total $`\omega _p`$. It can account for only a small part of the expected total spectral weight. However, about 80% of the missing spectral weight can be found in the features forming the broad ”dome” structure. We suggest therefore that the narrow DP is due to the 2D $`\sigma `$-band carriers, while the broad ”dome” is mainly formed by the intraband excitations within the 3D $`\pi `$-band with some contribution from the low-energy interband transitions between $`\sigma `$-bands. The two orders of magnitude difference in the elastic scattering rates for the $`\sigma `$\- and $`\pi `$-bands can be explained by the principally different nature of the two band systems. The $`\sigma `$-bands have hardly any weight on Mg, while the $`\pi `$-bands hybridize with Mg orbitals. On the other hand, the strong covalent bonding in the B planes makes any defect in this plane energetically very unfavorable, while the loosely bound Mg planes should be prone to all kinds of defects. This implies that electrons in the $`\sigma `$-bands may experience much less defect scattering than those in the $`\pi `$-bands.

Even this model cannot fully explain the small plasma frequency (1.4 eV) of the narrow DP, since the calculated $`\sigma `$-band effective plasma frequency is 3 eV. However, an important piece of physics is the mass renormalization due to strong EPI. This effect is negligible if $`\gamma \omega _{ph}`$, which is usually the case in metal optics. In MgB2, however, the EPI is believed to come mainly from the E2g phonon with $`\omega _{ph}600`$ cm$`^1,`$ larger than the $`\sigma `$-band scattering rate. In this case, the mass renormalization still does not change the DC resistivity, but the peak gets narrower, and fitting by the standard Drude formula produces an $`\omega _p`$, which is, compared to the bare plasma frequency, reduced by a factor $`m^{}/m=1+\lambda `$, where $`\lambda `$ is the EPI constant . The remaining spectral weight is transferred to higher energies, $`\omega >\omega _{ph}`$. The calculated coupling constants for different bands are: $`\lambda _{0\sigma }`$ = 1.2 and $`\lambda _{0\pi }`$ = 0.45. This renormalizes the plasma frequency of the $`\sigma `$-band DP to $`2`$ eV.

Given such a large scattering rate, is the Drude model applicable at all to the $`\pi `$-bands? The calculated Fermi velocity is about 4.9 $`\times `$ 107 cm/s  so that the $`\gamma `$ =1.1 eV =2.7 $`\times `$ 1014 s-1, results in a mean free path $`l`$ = $`v_F/\gamma `$ $``$ 18 Å, comparable with the lattice constant. This signals approaching weak localization of charge carriers by defects, as opposed to Boltzmann transport. The grain boundaries might introduce additional scattering, however, such a short mean free path is difficult to explain by the grain effects only. Localization effects should lead to deviations from the pure Drude formula: an additional suppression of conductivity at $`\omega 0`$ and a characteristic maximum on $`\sigma _1(\omega )`$ curve at frequencies of the order of the inelastic scattering rate. This might explain the broad peak at 0.8 eV, which has almost the same $`\gamma `$ as the broad DP, and comparable spectral weight (see the Table). The combination of these two terms might mimic the deformation of the conventional DP due to localization effects.

Fig.5 shows the effective conductivity (including both interband and intraband components), obtained from first-principle calculations. We calculated the intraband absorption separately for the $`\sigma `$ and $`\pi `$bands, and included the frequency-dependent mass renormalizations and scattering rates due to EPI, as described in Ref.. The EPI Eliashberg function was taken in the Einstein form: $`\alpha _{\sigma ,\pi }^2F(\omega )=0.5\lambda _{0\sigma ,\pi }\omega \delta (\omega \omega _{ph})`$. The values for the $`T`$ = 0 scattering rates were taken from the experiment: $`\gamma _\sigma `$= 15 meV, $`\gamma _\pi `$ = 1.1 eV.

There is a qualitative agreement between the first-principles calculations and the experiment, despite a 50 % difference in plasma frequencies. However, without the two-band scenario the discrepancy would be an order of magnitude bigger. The remaining error may be due to one or more of the following: above mentioned 7 - 10 % scaling of the conductivity due to finite impurity concentration; surface quality issues; grain boundary and localization effects; possible underestimation of $`\lambda `$ in the calculations because of nonlinear EPI.

Let us now make a link to superconductivity. Various experiments indicate that MgB2 cannot be described by the standard BCS theory. The popular two-gap theory  seems to be able to explain the majority of the experiments. However, it is known  that in this case the interband impurity scattering must rapidly suppress $`T_c`$ by isotropization of the order parameter. Such a suppression has not been observed, which can be interpreted as a serious argument against the two-gap model. Our two-Drude picture of the low-energy optical conductivity helps to resolve this paradox. Indeed, the existence of two distinguishable Drude peaks would only be possible provided that the $`\sigma \pi `$ charge scattering is small. In this case impurity scattering, albeit reducing the DC conductivity, does not isotropize the gap, therefore the Anderson theorem holds and no pairbreaking occurs .

It is worth noting that one cannot, based just on the fit quality, choose between our “two-DP” model and a DL fit with the second DP replaced by a broad low-energy ($`\omega _0`$ 0.25 eV) LO. Although the latter interpretation is consistent with the data, we favor the two DP model for the following reasons: (i) the plasma frequency, unlike some other electronic properties, is known to be reproducible by LDA calculations within errors hardly ever larger than 100 %, as opposed to a factor of five discrepancy we would have for MgB2. (ii) With one DP the total $`\omega _p`$ is less than 2 eV; in this case the application of the standard high-$`T`$ limit of the Bloch-Grüneisen formula, $`\rho _{\text{DC}}(T)=8\pi ^2\lambda _{tr}T/\omega _p^2`$ would give the EPI transport constant $`\lambda _{tr}<0.15`$ , an unphysically small value for an covalent-ionic metal with a sizeable density of states. Finally, (iii) the two-DP model resolves naturally the main problem of the two-gap superconductivity model, supported by a variety of experiments.

In summary, the optical conductivity of MgB2 in a wide frequency range was obtained using a combination of ellipsometry and normal incidence reflectometry methods. The drastic suppression of the low-energy spectral weight finds a natural explanation in the multiband model: a narrow Drude peak corresponds to the 2D $`\sigma `$-bands (additionally renormalized by the EPI), while the intraband absorption of the 3D $`\pi `$-bands is spread over a large frequency range up to 1 - 1.5 eV. Optical measurements on high-quality single crystals of MgB2 are necessary to get more reliable data on the optical conductivity and its anisotropy.

This investigation was supported by the Netherlands Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) with financial aid from the Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO). We thank R. K. Kremer for performing the succeptibility measurements.