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# GPS observables in general relativity

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## Abstract

I present a complete set of gauge invariant observables, in the context of general relativity coupled with a minimal amount of realistic matter (four particles). These observables have a straightforward and realistic physical interpretation. In fact, the technology to measure them is realized by the Global Positioning System: they are defined by the physical reference system determined by GPS readings. The components of the metric tensor in this physical reference system are gauge invariant quantities and, remarkably, their evolution equations are local.

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In general relativity (GR), the “observables”, namely the physical quantities that we can predict and measure in real experiments, correspond to quantities of the theory that are invariant under coordinate transformations. It is not difficult to construct observables in concrete applications of the theory. Indeed, each physically meaningful number that we actually measure corresponds to one of these observables. For instance, in studying the general relativistic dynamics of the solar system, the distance of a planet from us, at given (solar) time (say, at midnight tonight) is an observable. On the other hand, most of the theoretical work is not done in terms of observables, but rather in terms of gauge dependent, that is, coordinate dependent, quantities. This of course is the reason for which the same physical situation can be described in terms of different metrics tensors. The usual procedure in GR is indeed to develop the theoretical description of a certain physical situation in an arbitrary gauge, and then compute the value of a certain number of coordinate independent observables, which can be compared with observations.

This way of proceeding has an unsatisfactory aspect: we do not have at our disposal a complete set of observables, which we could imagine, in principle, to measure in a simple manner. A physical situation, of course, is characterized by an equivalence class under diffeomorphisms of solutions of the equations of motion; but we do not know how to effectively coordinatize the space of the equivalence classes in terms of realistically observable quantities. The individual observables that we use in concrete applications are just a small number, and are far from capturing the full gauge invariant physics. The difficulty of writing a complete class of observables is in fact well known (see , and references therein), and raises several well known problems. For instance it complicates the canonical analysis of the theory and it is a serious obstacle to quantization. Furthermore, it generates conceptual difficulties for the very physical interpretation of the theory .

Attempts to define a complete class of observables abound in the literature. It is easier to construct such observables in the presence of matter that in the context of pure GR. This is because the difficulty of writing observables is the consequence of the absence of absolute localization in a general relativistic theory. If there is matter we can localize things with respect to the matter. For instance, we can consider GR interacting with four scalar matter fields. Assume that the configuration of the fields is sufficiently nondegenerate. Then the components of metric field at points defined by given values of the matter fields are observable. The idea is clearly the same as defining an observable as the distance between us and a planet: instead of having just a few planets to define a few physical distances, we imagine to have a continuous of matter so that physical distances are defined everywhere. This idea has been developed in a number of variants, such as dust carrying clocks and others, by many authors, including the present one. See  and references therein. One succeeds in constructing a complete set of observables, but the extent to which the result is realistic or useful is certainly questionable. It is rather unsatisfactory to understand the theory in terms of fields that do not exist, or phenomenological objects such as dust, and it is questionable whether these procedures could make sense in the quantum theory, where the aim is to describe Planck scale. Other (earlier) attempts to write a complete set of observables are in the context of pure GR . The idea is to construct four scalar functions of the metric (say, scalar polynomials of the curvature), and use these to localize points. The value of a fifth scalar function in a point where the four scalar functions have a given value is an observable. This works, but the result is mathematically very intricate and physically extremely unrealistic. It is certainly possible, in principle, to construct detectors of such observables, but I doubt any experimenter would get founded for proposing to build such apparata. Do we thus have to declare defeat and, in a general relativistic context, give up the hope of having a complete set of well defined observables, which are realistic, easy to construct, and do not assume that the world is different from what it is?

In this paper, I’d like to argue that we do not have to declare defeat. I propose a simple way out, based on GR coupled with a minimal and very realistic amount of additional matter. Indeed, the solution I discuss is so realistic that it is in fact real: it was inspired by an already existing technology, the Global Positioning System (GPS), the first technological application of GR, or the first large scale technology that needs to take GR effects into account . The other source of the ideas presented here is the Null Surface Formulation (NSF) approach to GR . What follows can be seen as a sort of pedestrian version of some NSF ideas. Ideas related to the ones presented here have been presented by Massimo Pauri and Luca Lusanna . See also .

The idea here is simple. Consider a general covariant system formed eucaby GR coupled with four small bodies. These are taken to have negligible mass; they will be considered as point particles for simplicity, and called “satellites”. Assume that the four satellites follow timelike geodesics; that these geodesics meet in a common (starting) point $`O`$; and, that at $`O`$ they have a given (fixed) speed –the same for the four– and directions as the four vertices of a tetrahedron. The theory might include any other matter. Then (there is a region $``$ of spacetime for which) we can uniquely associate four numbers $`s^\alpha ,\alpha =1,2,3,4`$ to each spacetime point $`p`$ as follows. Consider the past lightcone of $`p`$. This will (generically) intersect the four geodesics in four points $`p_\alpha `$. The numbers $`s^\alpha `$ are defined as the distance between $`p_\alpha `$ and $`O`$. We can use the $`s^\alpha `$’s as physically defined coordinates. The components $`g_{\alpha \beta }(s)`$ of the metric tensor in these coordinates are observable quantities. They are invariant under four-dimensional diffeomorphisms (because, of course, these deform the metric as well as the satellites’ worldlines). They define a complete set of observables for the region $``$.

The physical picture is simple, and its realism is transparent. Imagine that the four “satellites” are in fact satellites, each carrying a clock that measures the proper time along its trajectory, starting at the meeting point $`O`$. Imagine also that each satellite broadcasts its local time with a radio signal. Suppose I am at the point $`p`$ and have an electronic device that simply receives the four signals and displays the four readings. See Figure 1. These four numbers are precisely the four physical coordinates $`s^\alpha `$ defined above. Current technology permits to perform these measurements with accuracy well within the relativistic regime . If I then use a rod, and a clock and measure the physical distances between $`s^\alpha `$ coordinates points, I am directly measuring the components of the metric tensor in the physical coordinate system. In the terminology of Ref. , the $`s^\alpha `$’s are partial observables, while $`g_{\alpha \beta }(s)`$ are complete observables.

As shown below, the physical coordinates $`s^\alpha `$ have nice geometrical properties; they are characterized by

$$g^{\alpha \alpha }(s)=0,\alpha =1,\mathrm{},4.$$
(1)
Surprisingly, in spite of the fact that they are defined by what looks like a rather nonlocal procedure, the evolution equations for $`g_{\alpha \beta }(s)`$ are local. These evolution equations can be written explicitly using the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) variables . Lapse and Shift turn out to be fixed local functions of the three metric.

In what follow, we begin for simplicity by introducing the GPS coordinates $`s^\alpha `$ in Minkowski space. This allows us to introduce some tools in a simple context. Then we go over to a general spacetime. We take the speed of light to be one, signature $`[+,,,]`$, and we assume the Einstein summation convention only for couples of repeated indices that are one up and one down. Thus $`\alpha `$ is not summed over in (1). While dealing with Minkowski spacetime, the spacetime indices $`\mu ,\nu `$ are raised and lowered with the Minkowski metric. We write an arrow over three- as well as four-dimensional vectors.

Consider a tetrahedron in three-dimensional euclidean space. Let its center be at the origin and it four vertices $`\stackrel{}{v}^\alpha `$, where and $`\stackrel{}{v}^\alpha \stackrel{}{v}^\beta =1/3`$ for $`\alpha \beta `$, have unit length $`|\stackrel{}{v}^\alpha |^2=1`$. Here $`\alpha =1,2,3,4`$ is an index that distinguishes the four vertices, and should not be confused with vector indices. With a convenient orientation, these vertices have polar coordinates $`u=(r,\theta ,\varphi )`$

$`v^{1u}`$ $`=`$ $`(1,0,0)`$ (2)
$`v^{2u}`$ $`=`$ $`(1,\alpha ,0)`$ (3)
$`v^{3u}`$ $`=`$ $`(1,\alpha ,2\pi /3)`$ (4)
$`v^{4u}`$ $`=`$ $`(1,\alpha ,2\pi /3)`$ (5)
with $`\mathrm{cos}\alpha =1/3`$, and cartesian coordinates ($`a=1,2,3`$)

$`v^{1a}`$ $`=`$ $`(0,0,1)`$ (6)
$`v^{2a}`$ $`=`$ $`(2\sqrt{2}/3,0,1/3)`$ (7)
$`v^{3a}`$ $`=`$ $`(\sqrt{2}/3,\sqrt{2/3},1/3)`$ (8)
$`v^{4a}`$ $`=`$ $`(\sqrt{2}/3,\sqrt{2/3},1/3).`$ (9)
Let us now go to a four dimensional Minkowski space. Consider four timelike 4-vectors $`\stackrel{}{W}^\alpha `$, of length one, $`|\stackrel{}{W}^\alpha |^2=1`$, representing the normalized 4-velocities of four particles moving away from the origin in the directions $`\stackrel{}{v}^\alpha `$ at a common speed $`v`$. Their Minkowski coordinates $`(\mu =0,1,2,3)`$ are

$$W^{\alpha \mu }=\frac{1}{\sqrt{1v^2}}(1,vv^{\alpha a}).$$
(10)
We fix the velocity $`v`$ by requiring the determinant of the matrix $`W^{\alpha \mu }`$ to be one one. (This choice fixes $`v`$ at about half the speed of light; a different choice changes only a few normalization factors in what follows.) The four by four matrix $`W^{\alpha \mu }`$ plays an important role in what follows. Notice that it is a fixed matrix whose entries are certain given numbers.

Consider one of the four 4-vectors, say $`\stackrel{}{W}=\stackrel{}{W}^1`$. Consider a free particle in Minkowski space that starts from the origin with 4-velocity $`\stackrel{}{W}`$. Call it a “satellite”. Its world line $`l`$ is $`\stackrel{}{x}(s)=s\stackrel{}{W}`$. Since $`\stackrel{}{W}`$ is normalized, $`s`$ is precisely the proper time along the world line. Consider now an arbitrary point $`p`$ in Minkowski spacetime, with coordinates $`\stackrel{}{X}`$. We want to compute the value of $`s`$ at the intersection between $`l`$ and the past light cone of $`p`$. The calculation is particularly easy in a Lorentz frame in which the satellite stays still, namely has vanishing 3-velocity, and $`p`$ is in the $`(t,x)`$ plane, with coordinates $`(T,X)`$. Assume $`X>0`$. In this frame, the equation of $`l`$ is

$$x=0,$$
(11)
the proper time is $`s=t`$, and the equation of the (intersection with the $`(t,x)`$ plane of the) past light cone of $`p`$ is

$$(Xx)=\pm (Tt),t<T.$$
(12)
Taking all this together gives

$$s=TX.$$
(13)
Notice now that in this frame $`|\stackrel{}{X}|^2=T^2X^2`$ and $`\stackrel{}{X}\stackrel{}{W}=T`$, so that we can write

$`TX`$ $`=`$ $`T\sqrt{T^2(T^2X^2)}`$ (14)
$`=`$ $`\stackrel{}{X}\stackrel{}{W}\sqrt{(\stackrel{}{X}\stackrel{}{W})^2|\stackrel{}{X}|^2}.`$ (15)
From the last two equations we obtain

$$s=\stackrel{}{X}\stackrel{}{W}\sqrt{(\stackrel{}{X}\stackrel{}{W})^2|\stackrel{}{X}|^2}.$$
(16)
But this equation is Lorentz covariant and therefore it is true in any Lorentz system. (A direct full four dimensional calculation in an arbitrary system gives the same result.)

Let us now consider four satellites, moving out of the origin at 4-velocity $`\stackrel{}{W}^\alpha `$. If they radio broadcast their position, an observer at the point $`p`$ with Minkowski coordinates $`\stackrel{}{X}`$ receives the four signals $`s^\alpha `$

$$s^\alpha =\stackrel{}{X}\stackrel{}{W}^\alpha \sqrt{(\stackrel{}{X}\stackrel{}{W}^\alpha )^2|\stackrel{}{X}|^2}.$$
(17)
We introduce (non-Lorentzian) general coordinates $`s^\alpha `$ on Minkowski space, defined by the change of variables (17). These are the coordinates read out by a GPS device in Minkowski space. The Jacobian matrix of the change of coordinates is given by

$$\frac{s^\alpha }{x^\mu }=W_\mu ^\alpha \frac{W_\mu ^\alpha (\stackrel{}{X}\stackrel{}{W}^\alpha )X_\mu }{\sqrt{(\stackrel{}{X}\stackrel{}{W}^\alpha )^2|\stackrel{}{X}|^2}},$$
(18)
where $`W_\mu ^\alpha `$ and $`X_\mu `$ are $`W^{\alpha \mu }`$ and $`X^\mu `$ with the spacetime index lowered with the Minkowski metric. This defines the the (co-)tetrad field $`E_\mu ^\alpha (s)`$

$$E_\mu ^\alpha (s(X))=\frac{s^\alpha }{x^\mu }(X).$$
(19)
The contravariant metric tensor is given by $`g^{\alpha \beta }(s)=E_\mu ^\alpha (s)E^{\mu \beta }(s)`$. Using $`|\stackrel{}{W}^\alpha |^2=1`$, a straightforward calculation shows that

$$g^{\alpha \alpha }(s)=0,\alpha =1,\mathrm{},4.$$
(20)
This equation has the following nice geometrical interpretation. Fix $`\alpha `$ and consider the one-form field $`\omega ^\alpha =ds^\alpha `$. In $`s^\alpha `$ coordinates, this one-form has components $`\omega _\beta ^\alpha =\delta _\beta ^\alpha `$, and therefore “length” $`|\omega ^\alpha |^2=g^{\beta \gamma }\omega _\beta ^\alpha \omega _\gamma ^\alpha =g^{\alpha \alpha }`$. But the “length” of a 1-form is proportional to the volume of the (infinitesimal, now) 3-surface defined by the form. The 3-surface defined by $`ds^\alpha `$ is the surface $`s^\alpha =constant`$. But $`s^\alpha =constant`$ is the set of points that read the GPS coordinate $`s^\alpha `$, namely that receive a radio broadcasting from a same event $`p_\alpha `$ of the satellite $`\alpha `$, namely that are on the future light cone of $`p_\alpha `$. Therefore $`s^\alpha =constant`$ is a portion of this light cone, therefore it is a null surface, therefore its volume is zero, therefore $`|\omega ^\alpha |^2=0`$, therefore $`g^{\alpha \alpha }=0`$.

Since the $`s^\alpha `$ coordinates define $`s^\alpha =constant`$ surfaces that are null, we denote them as “null GPS coordinates”. It is useful to introduce another set of GPS coordinates as well, which have the traditional timelike and spacelike character. We denote these as $`s^\mu `$, call them “timelike GPS coordinates”, and define them by

$$s^\alpha =W_\mu ^\alpha s^\mu .$$
(21)
This is a simple algebraic relabeling of the names of the four GPS coordinates, such that $`s^{\mu =0}`$ is timelike and $`s^{\mu =a}`$ is spacelike. In these coordinates, the gauge condition (20) reads

$$W_\mu ^\alpha W_\nu ^\alpha g^{\mu \nu }(s)=0.$$
(22)
This can be interpreted geometrically as follows. The (timelike) GPS coordinates are coordinates $`s^\mu `$ such that the four 1-forms fields

$$\omega ^\alpha =W_\mu ^\alpha ds^\mu $$
(23)
are null.

Let us now jump from Minkowski space to full GR. Consider GR coupled with four satellites of negligible mass that move geodesically and whose world lines emerge from a point $`O`$ with directions and velocity as above. Locally around $`O`$ the metric can be taken to be Minkowskian; therefore the details of the initial conditions of the satellites worldlines can be taken as above. The phase space of this system is the one of pure GR plus 10 parameters, giving the location of $`O`$ and the Lorentz orientation of the initial tetrahedron of velocities. The integration of the satellites’ geodesics and of the light cones can be arbitrarily complicated in an arbitrary metric. However, if the metric is sufficiently regular, there will still be a region $``$ in which the radio signals broadcasted by the satellites are received. (In case of multiple reception, the strongest one can be selected. That is, if the past light cone of $`p`$ intersects $`l`$ more than once, generically there will be one intersection which is at shorter luminosity distance.) Thus, we still have well defined physical coordinates $`s^\alpha `$ on $``$. Equation (20) holds in these coordinates, because it depends just on the properties of the light propagation around $`p`$. We define also timelike GPS coordinates $`s^\mu `$ by (21), and we get the condition (22) on the metric tensor.

To study the evolution of the metric tensor in GPS coordinates it is easier to shift to ADM variables $`N,N^a,\gamma _{ab}`$. These are functions of the covariant components of the metric tensor, defined in general by

$`ds^2`$ $`=`$ $`g_{\mu \nu }dx^\mu dx^\nu `$ (24)
$`=`$ $`N^2dt^2\gamma _{ab}(dx^aN^adt)(dx^bN^bdt).`$ (25)
Equivalently, they are related to the contravariant components of the metric tensor by

$$g^{\mu \nu }v_\mu v_\nu =\gamma ^{ab}v_av_b+(n^\mu v_\mu )^2,$$
(26)
where $`\gamma ^{ab}`$ is the inverse of $`\gamma _{ab}`$ and $`n^\mu =(1/N,N^a/N)`$. Using these variables, the gauge condition (22) reads

$$W_a^\alpha W_b^\alpha \gamma ^{ab}=(W_\mu ^\alpha n^\mu )^2.$$
(27)
Notice now that his can be solved for the Lapse and Shift as a function of the three-metric (recall that $`W_\mu ^\alpha `$ are fixed numbers), obtaining

$$n^\mu =W_\alpha ^\mu q^\alpha $$
(28)
where $`W_\alpha ^\mu `$ is the inverse of the matrix $`W_\mu ^\alpha `$ and

$$q^\alpha =\sqrt{W_a^\alpha W_b^\alpha \gamma ^{ab}}.$$
(29)
Or, explicitly,

$$N=\frac{1}{W_\alpha ^0q^\alpha },N^a=\frac{W_\alpha ^aq^\alpha }{W_\alpha ^0q^\alpha }.$$
(30)
The geometrical interpretation is as follows. We want the 1-form $`\omega ^\alpha `$ defined in (23) to be null, namely its norm to vanish. But in the ADM formalism this norm is the sum of two parts: the norm of the pull back of $`\omega ^\alpha `$ on the constant time ADM surface, which is $`q^\alpha `$, given in (29), and depends on the three metric; plus the square of the projection of $`\omega ^\alpha `$ on $`n^\mu `$. We can thus obtain the vanishing of the norm by adjusting the Lapse and Shift. We have four conditions (one per each $`\alpha `$) and we can thus determine Lapse and Shift out of three metric. In other words, whatever is the three metric, we can always adjust Lapse and Shift so that the gauge condition (22) is satisfied.

But in the ADM formalism, the arbitrariness of the evolution in the Einstein equations is entirely captured by the freedom in choosing Lapse and Shift. Since here Lapse and Shift are uniquely determined by the three metric, evolution is determined uniquely if the initial data on a Cauchy surface are known. Therefore the evolution in the GPS coordinate $`s^0`$ of the GPS components of the metric tensor, $`g_{\mu \nu }(s)`$, is governed by deterministic equations: the ADM evolution equation with Lapse and Shift determined by equations (2930). Notice also that evolution is local, since the ADM evolution equations, as well as the equations (2930), are local.***This does not imply that the full set of equations satisfied by $`g_{\mu \nu }(s)`$ must local, since initial conditions on $`s^0=0`$ satisfy four other constraints besides the ADM ones.

To understand what is going on in this gauge, consider an arbitrary coordinate system $`x^\mu `$, and an arbitrary coordinate transformation $`s^\alpha =s^\alpha (x)`$ such that the transformed metric tensor satisfies (20). This is equivalent to imposing one differential equation on each of the four functions $`s^\alpha (x)`$, as follows

$$g^{\mu \nu }(x)_\mu s^\alpha (x)_\nu s^\alpha (x)=0.$$
(31)
Equivalently, the problem is to find four independent exact null 1-forms $`\omega ^\alpha =ds^\alpha `$, integrable over a finite region. Or, equivalently again, the problem is to find four nowhere-parallel foliations of Minkowski space with families of null surfaces. The last is precisely the main ingredient of the Null Surface Formulation of GR . A 10 parameter family of solutions of this problem is given by the construction above, namely by the light fronts emerging from the geodesics of the satellites, and labelled with the proper time along these geodesics. Equation (31) has of course more solutions than these, since there are more families of null foliations than the ones constructed here. A null surface in a solution of (31), for instance, does not need to focus in a point. Even less, the surfaces of the family need to focus on a line which is a geodesic, and so on. But if we require that the surfaces focus on a point, that the points are along a timelike geodesic, that the label of the foliation is given by the proper time along this geodesic, and that the four geodesics meet at a single point and with the prescribed angles, then the space of solutions of (31) is reduces down to a finite 10 parameter space. The 10 parameters are the location of the origin $`O`$ and the Lorentz orientation of the tetrahedron of initial velocities. (By pushing $`O`$ all the way to past infinity, one obtains the asymptotic NSF coordinates.)

How can the evolution of the quantities $`g_{\mu \nu }(s)`$ be local? The conditions on the null surfaces described in the previous paragraph are nonlocal. Coordinate distances yield typically to nonlocality: Imagine we define physical coordinates in the solar system using the cosmological time $`t_c`$ and the spatial distances $`x_S,x_E,x_J`$ (at fixed $`t_c`$) from, say, the Sun the Earth and Jupiter. The metric tensor $`g_{\mu \nu }(t_c,x_S,x_E,x_J)`$ in these coordinates is observable, but its evolution is highly non local. To see this, imagine that in this moment (in cosmological time), Jupiter is swept away by a huge comet. Then the value of $`g_{\mu \nu }(t_c,x_S,x_E,x_J)`$ here changes instantaneously, without any local cause: the value of the coordinate $`x_J`$ has changed because of an event happened far away. What’s special about the GPS coordinates that avoids this nonlocality? The answer is that the value of a GPS coordinate in a point $`p`$ does in fact depend on what happens “far away” as well. Indeed, it depends on what happens to the satellite. However, it only depends on what happened to the satellite when it was broadcasting the signal received in $`p`$, and this is in the past of $`p`$ ! If $`p`$ is in the past domain of dependence of a partial Cauchy surface $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$, then the value of $`g_{\mu \nu }(s)`$ in $`p`$ is completely determined by the metric an its derivative on $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$, namely evolution is causal, because the entire information needed to set up the GPS coordinates is in the data in $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$. See Figure 1. Explicitly, the $`s^\alpha =constant`$ surfaces around $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ can be uniquely integrated ahead all the way to $`p`$. They certainly can, as they represent just the evolution of a light front! This is how local evolution is achieved by these coordinates.

Let us summarize. We have introduced a set of physical coordinates, determined by certain material bodies. Geometrical quantities such as the components of the metric tensor expressed in physical coordinates are of course observable. This procedure is well known. The novelty here is that we have shown that in order to obtain physical coordinates, there is no need, as usually assumed, to introduce a large unrealistic amount of matter or to construct complicated and unrealistic physical quantities out of the metric tensor. Indeed, four particles are sufficient to coordinatize a (region of a) four-geometry. Furthermore, the coordinatization procedure is not artificial: it is the real one utilized by existing technology.

Notice that the degrees of freedom of the theory we have considered are still only two per point (plus the 10 parameters of the initial condition of the satellites.) This is why initial data on $`s^0`$ for $`g_{\mu \nu }(s)`$ must satisfy additional constraints. We leave the study of these and the explicit construction of the associated Hamiltonian formalism for future investigations.

We conclude with some simple comments on observability. The components of the metric tensor in (timelike) GPS coordinates can be measured in principle as follows. Take a rod of physical length $`L`$ (small with respect to the distance along which the gravitational field changes significatively) with two GPS devices at its ends (reading timelike GPS coordinates). Orient the rod (or search among recorded readings) so that the two GPS devices have the same reading $`s`$ of all coordinates except for $`s^1`$. Let $`\delta s^1`$ be the difference in the two $`s^1`$ readings. Then we have along the rod

$$ds^2=g_{11}(s)\delta s^1\delta s^1=L^2.$$
(32)
Therefore

$$g_{11}(s)=(L/\delta s^1)^2.$$
(33)
Non-diagonal components of $`g_{ab}(s)`$ can be measured by simple generalizations of this procedure. The $`g_{0b}(s)`$ are then algebraically determined by the gauge conditions. In a thought experiment, a spaceship could travel in a spacetime region and compose a map of values of the GPS components of the metric tensor.

To avoid confusion, it is may be useful to recall here the distinction between partial and complete observables . A partial observable is a quantity to which a measuring procedure can be associated. A complete observable is an observable quantity that can predicted by the theory, or, equivalently, whose knowledge provides information on the state of the system. For instance, in the theory of a single harmonic oscillator $`q(t)`$ the time $`t`$ and the position of the oscillator $`q`$ are partial observables, while the position of the oscillator at a given time, or at the initial time, is a complete observable. The GPS coordinates are partial observables: we can associate them a measuring procedure (this is what has been done in this paper), but we can of course not “predict” $`s^1`$. Equivalently, there is no sense in which the metric field of the universe is characterized by a certain value of $`s^1`$. The complete observables, or true observables, are the quantities $`g_{\mu \nu }(s)`$, for any given value of the coordinates $`s^\mu `$. These quantities are diffeomorphism invariant, are uniquely determined by the initial data and in a canonical formulation are represented by functions on the phase space that commute with all constraints.

Finally, notice that the observables we have defined are a straightforward generalization of Einstein’s “point coincidences”“All our space-time verifications invariably amount to a determination of space-time coincidences. If, for example, events consisted merely in the motion of material points, then ultimately nothing would be observable but the meeting of two or more of these points. . In a sense, they are precisely Einstein’s point coincidences. Einstein’s “material points” are just replaced by photons (light pulses): the spacetime point $`s^\alpha `$ is characterized as the meeting point of four photons designated by the fact of carrying the radio signals $`s^\alpha `$.

I thank Don Marolf for a crucial exchange, Serge Lazzarini for useful comments on an early draft of this paper, John Earman and John Norton for a long term enlightening discussion on observability in GR, Margherita Fiani for explaining to me the technical details on the way the GPS actual functions and Enzo Marinari for motivating me to develop this work. This work was partially supported by NSF Grants PHY-9900791.


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# A New Evolutionary Picture for CVs and LMXBs II. The Impact of Thermal-Timescale Mass Transfer

## 1. Introduction

The standard picture of cataclysmic variable (CV) evolution has in spite of its many benefits serious problems, some of which have been discussed in the previous contribution. If we adopt the new picture sketched therein, it is worth to investigate in detail whether some of these problems have indeed disappeared (without generating an equal number of new ones :-).

As an additional starting point, we take a closer look at some of the individual, strange objects among known CVs. First of all there is AE Aqr, a rapidly spinning intermediate polar at $`P_{\mathrm{orb}}10\mathrm{hr}`$, which apparently has no accretion disk at all. Another puzzling system is V1309 Ori, a polar at $`P_{\mathrm{orb}}8\mathrm{hr}`$. Finally we would like to mention V485 Cen, a system that harbours a probably He-rich donor (Augustijn et al. 1996) at $`P_{\mathrm{orb}}1\mathrm{hr}`$ and may be considered as an example of a binary in-between CVs and AM CVn systems. We will see that all of these can be understood as part of the group of non-standard CVs emerging from higher mass donors, which can be much more evolved (but still on the main sequence) when mass transfer commences.

The important question asked in this contribution would therefore be: How do more massive donor stars (progenitors) in a CV evolve in the light of less effective common envelope (CE) evolution? Can we make at least some of all these loose ends in CV evolution come together?

## 2. Features of Thermal-Timescale Mass Transfer Evolution

Of fundamental importance is the question of thermal stability. When applying standard concepts and assumptions (cf. Ritter 1996) this there is an upper limit $`q_{\mathrm{crit}}`$ on the mass ratio $`M_2/M_1`$ for main sequence (MS) donors, above which mass is transferred on roughly $`M_2`$’s thermal timescale, i.e. leads to Thermal-Timescale Mass Transfer (TTMT). Such phases of TTMT can be computed with a stellar evolution code (Cyg X-2 (Kolb et al. 2000), SN Ia study (Langer et al. 2000), and LMXBs (Podsiadlowski et al. 2001).

An additional second upper limit is due to delayed dynamical instability (DDI, Webbink 1977), thus systems with $`q_{\mathrm{crit}}<q<q_{\mathrm{DDI}}`$ would undergo TTMT and may become ordinary CVs afterwards (or extraordinary ones, like AE Aqr and similar cases).111Our current unability to follow the dynamical evolution in any reliable way forces us to exclude all cases of dynamically unstable mass transfer, although their actual role and importance in close binary evolution is far from being settled.

This leaves a range of initial donor star masses where instead of the normal, stable CV evolution we get a more complex one including an initial, thermally unstable phase of mass transfer. In general, both the sensitivity of such a phase on details of the mass loss, and the wider range of possible nuclear evolution (due to the shorter MS life-time for more massive stars) lead to a much more complex individual mass transfer history. Let us take a closer look with the help of two very different examples.

### 2.1. Two exemplary evolution tracks

The dashed curve in Fig. 1 shows a case of ‘weak’ TTMT. The initial donor star mass $`M_{2,i}=1.6\mathrm{M}_{}`$, filling its Roche lobe in a $`12\mathrm{hr}`$ binary with a $`1.4\mathrm{M}_{}`$ primary star (the sequence actually shows a low-mass X-ray binary with a neutron star accretor). The relatively short orbital period indicates the low age of the donor, which still has around $`56\%`$ hydrogen left in the core at this moment. In contrast, the thick full curve gives the other end of the possible scale of TTMT evolution, showing a secondary of the same mass ($`1.6\mathrm{M}_{}`$), but much further evolved: here the central hydrogen is down to $`5\%`$, which explains the much larger radius and hence the initial orbital period of $`19\mathrm{hr}`$. This binary has a $`0.7\mathrm{M}_{}`$ white dwarf primary, so the initial mass ratio is quite large leading to a very violent initial phase of TTMT, whereas the other example merely shown an initial ‘hump’ of enhanced $`\dot{M}_2`$, hardly modifying the subsequent evolution when compared to say a similar track starting with a $`1.3\mathrm{M}_{}`$ donor.

One of the common assumptions regarding CVs is, that the donors are essentially unevolved main sequence stars, i.e. their mass-radius relation should be close to theoretical ZAMS models. Figure 2 illustrates how different our second track behaves in this respect, showing the mean density $`\rho `$ evolution over donor mass for the two examples. Other lines in the plot show the ZAMS, a fit curve for the location of the He-MS, plus two lines derived from the assumption of completely degenerate stars consisting of either solar (H-rich) material or pure He. A common expression

$$\rho 115P_{\mathrm{hr}}^2\mathrm{gcm}^3,$$
(1)
which is based on Paczyński’s approximation for the Roche radius, allows to translate $`\rho `$ into orbital period (e.g. King 1988).

It is quite obvious from these lines, that while the dashed curve of track 1 nicely follows the ZAMS line, a similar assumption for the radii – say using $`M_2`$-$`P_{\mathrm{orb}}`$ relation – of the other sequence would give completely wrong results. From high to low masses, the donor is very oversized (because it was near the end of its MS life), forced to shrink by the initially fast mass transfer (TTMT), then relaxing back towards its larger equilibrium radius. Around $`0.2\mathrm{M}_{}`$ the old core becomes exposed, and the star is rapidly becoming more compact than a normal MS mass of similar mass (heading from below the ZAMS towards the He-MS, roughly), until degeneracy becomes important and the star turns towards the degenerate He line (at a much shorter orbital period than the corresponding H-rich star, which turns towards the degenerate H-line).

### 2.2. Pre-CV evolution

The diagrams shown in Figs. 3 & 4 of the previous contribution (King & Schenker 2002) are illustrating a scenario when there are two kinds of systems emerging from the common envelope evolution forming the WD in a future CV. In the first ‘normal’ group of systems, some form of magnetic braking is operating on relatively low-mass secondaries to bring them into contact by angular momentum losses. These will become ordinary CVs, hosting effectively unevolved donor stars (due to their low masses and the short timescale associated with a sufficiently effective braking). The other group contains more massive secondaries, that may have no additional braking mechanism at all, but start filling their Roche lobe simply due to expansion on the main sequence. Detailed properties of such a bimodal population depend severely on binary formation, CE evolution, and magnetic braking (or any other angular momentum loss that might be operating). As long as huge uncertainties in the combination of these effects persist, we should try and reverse the problem by trying to make predictions from observed features of the pre-CV and CV population for the required initial states when mass transfer began in each of the systems.

In addition to the discussion in King & Schenker (2002), we would like to make the point here why our track 2 is to be expected to occur assuming a post-CE situation vaguely similar to the simplistic assumption going into the pre-CV plot shown before: A post-CE orbital period of around $`\mathrm{20..30}\mathrm{hr}`$ allows main sequence donors of $`\mathrm{1..2}\mathrm{M}_{}`$ to fill their Roche lobes still on the MS (cf. Fig. 1 in Podsiadlowski et al. 2001). A range of masses framed by the critical interval for TTMT will therefore in many cases include the lowest mass where such a period is still reached on the MS, i.e. lead to an extremely evolved donor with hardly any hydrogen left in its core. In this simplified picture, we thus obtain automatically two very different groups of CVs: Normal one, showing a period gap, a bounce period, and a frontline at the current period minimum, and in addition a very evolved looking group derived from more massive secondary stars via a TTMT phase, many of which have been reduced to the He-rich donors in AM CVn systems.

We do not consider the assumption for such a post-CE configuration to be very special. In fact, even at $`P_{\mathrm{post}\mathrm{CE}}=8\mathrm{hr}`$ system would not have been born below the gap in the age of the galaxy. Given the current status of known pre-CVs, no system but MT Ser (whose orbital period in still debated, cf. Bruch 2002) would indicate such a short birth period after the CE.

It should however also be made clear that the whole issue of TTMT is independent the way systems come into contact. The examples shown allow for a mixture of the two groups, e.g. TTMT in systems driven by magnetic braking. The important effect of TTMT is to allow more massive, and possibly evolved systems to finally evolve towards shorter orbital periods and thus to become CVs, even if no angular momentum loss was operating (or strong enough) at their initial mass.

## 3. Answers to various CV and LMXB problems

Before addressing various problems and how the TTMT population in particular can help to overcome these, we should take a careful look to understand what CVs we do actually observe.

### 3.1. What do we actually see when looking at CV data

Usually distributions of different subclasses and types of CVs are compared over orbital period, so the issue of phase space density needs to be addressed. Low $`\dot{M}`$ – or more accurately low $`\dot{P}`$ – enhances the occurrence of certain objects. Thus it may seem plausible that above the period gap TTMT systems (i.e. evolved donor stars) may dominate the whole population, whereas below the gap (almost) normal looking CVs are the rule. Therefore such a bimodality does not automatically lead to a contradiction with an observational agreement of the standard model.

When it comes to the vicinity of the period gap, one possibly useful way of overcoming the dreaded selection effects could be to specifically analyse the subclass of AM Her magnetic systems. Finally we have to bear in mind that the CV distribution is not a static one, but rather influenced by various temporal evolution effects (generating the observed $`P_{\mathrm{min}}`$, modifying the current masses of systems undergoing a TTMT, …).

### 3.2. Generic properties of TTMT tracks

#### White dwarf masses

Let us assume for simplicity that all WDs in pre-CVs have initially $`0.6M_{}`$. Those who pass through a TTMT can at least during their super-soft phase grow by $`\text{few}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.1}M_{}`$. An example of a systems just having left TTMT is AE Aqr (Schenker et al. 2002), whose WD has a claimed mass of $`0.89\mathrm{M}_{}`$. Under special circumstances some may even grow further and become SN Ia (cf. Langer 2002).

We might therefore expect (or rather, predict) that post-TTMT CVs would have larger $`M_1`$ on average. A larger number of weak cases of TTMT (like the one shown in track 1) might actually smear out such an effect, making it more difficult to establish such a relation (as would a wide initial WD mass distribution).

One of the immediate implications of this would be regarding nova outbursts in the two groups: More massive WDs are supposed to ignite earlier and more frequent, thus possibly leading to a preferential detection of classical novae in post-TTMT systems.

Similarly NSs may grow beyond their limiting mass and collapse into a BH, or at least appear to be significantly more massive than a single NS. Various cases (e.g. XTE J2123-0547) show hints of such an overmassive primary.

#### Chemical abundances, in particular the C/N ratio

The surface abundances of the donors star (or equivalently the accreted matter of disk or stream) can contain a clear signature of CNO processed material. We interpret such observations as clear indications of initially massive, evolved stars.

We have to caution however that there is also the possibility of contamination by the WD (e.g. via novae) that needs to be excluded, in particular when analysing the WD spectrum alone.

A crucial point is, that only very evolved stars on the MS which lose their envelopes rapidly before becoming fully convective can reach extreme C/N ratios (similar to CNO equil.). In less extreme cases some mixture with solar envelope material will take place, leading to dilution and a value of the C/N ratio between solar and the CNO equilibrium value. The required large $`M_2`$ (with a large mass fraction having approached CNO equilibrium abundances of C and N) and a strong TTMT are both natural consequences of the pre-CV scenario described above. This picture is confirmed in AE Aqr (with the largest apparent C/N ratio among CVs), where these requirements come also from its current properties like mass, spin, etc.

Although not quite accurate, we feel confident to infer abundance ratios from the line ratios of Civ and Nv in the UV. Mauche, Lee & Kallman (1997) have analysed IUE data of a large number of CVs. Besides some objects showing a very weak C line, many CVs only have a slight increase in the C/N ratio, which might still carry information about their nuclear past.

An important question (or challenge) to observers will therefore lie in the answer to the question, how many CV show C/N anomalies similar to AE Aqr and V1309 Ori (cf. King et al. 2001), and whether we will be able to reach a stage of quantitative comparison between theory and observations.

### 3.3. A peak at the list of problems

Many problems in the standard model are instantly solved assuming the scenario sketched in this and the previous contribution. At the very least, many of the issues look very different now, and can possibly be overcome easily.

To name but a few, several puzzles in connection with the observed period minimum disappear when interpreted as an age effect (as discussed in King & Schenker 2002). Evolved donors naturally appear above the period gap, and individual systems like AE Aqr or V485 Cen, as well as a whole class of AM CVn binaries find their proper place among the family of CVs and related objects.

Let us now take a closer look at one particular, tricky example.

#### The DN-NL problem just above the period gap

Figure 3 seems to suggest an apparent lack of dwarf novae (DNe) in the period range of $`\mathrm{3..3.5}\mathrm{hr}`$, shown by comparing the distributions of DNe and nova-likes (NL) both binned and cumulative. In a way this may also be described as a slightly different upper edge of the period gap for DNe (as opposed to NL or the all CV subclasses combined). This is very confusing mostly because in the region immediately above the gap the critical mass transfer rate separating stable from unstable disks is believed to be larger than the one required to form the observed period gap in the interrupted magnetic braking picture. In other words: theoretically we would expect to find only DNe just above the gap, i.e. almost the opposite to what is observed.

This fairly long-standing problem still lacks any compelling explanation (Shafter 1992). Our contribution towards a possible solution of this paradoxon is based on the phase space density argument introduced above. In fact the observational probability of finding a system in a certain period range in inversely proportional to

$$\frac{\mathrm{d}\mathrm{ln}P}{\mathrm{d}t}\frac{1}{2}\left(3\zeta _21\right)\frac{\mathrm{d}\mathrm{ln}M_2}{\mathrm{d}t},$$
(2)
i.e. besides $`\dot{M}_2`$ it also depends heavily on the donor stars mass–radius exponent $`\zeta _2`$. A close look at track 2 in Fig. 4 together with its critical stability line for the disk shows, that the system appears as a DN over almost the entire CV period range between $`\mathrm{1..10}\mathrm{hr}`$. Thus this ‘extreme’ TTMT provides a huge spike in observational probability (bottom panel of Fig. 4) between $`\mathrm{6..7}\mathrm{hr}`$ when the convective core of the donor disappears and the orbital period stalls (cf. Fig. 2). Shortly afterwards the star shrinks rapidly, rushing through period space and thus is less likely to be observed as the DN which the system still would be. A suitable superposition of systems of this sort could provide enough DNe to explain the set of low $`\dot{M}_2`$, long period systems that ‘vanish’ and apparently do not follow the paradigm required for the gap formation at all.

Obviously this has not solved the whole of the problem: ‘normal’ systems would still be expected to become DNe as they approach the upper edge of the period gap. As these are the high $`\dot{M}_2`$ fraction of systems in our picture, the stability criterion would have to be modified accordingly to stabilise all disks in these systems. Clearly we still have a way to go before fully understanding this phenomenon.

#### Some of the not-so-well-hidden new problems

A cautionary note should be made to some of the assumptions made in arriving at the above solutions. The post-CE period is most likely not constant in pre-CVs. This may be derived from observational data (Ritter & Kolb 1998), indicating longer periods for more massive systems, however sparse the actual pre-CV data may be. This is also supported by theoretical models, e.g. de Kool & Ritter (1993). Various ad hoc slopes and shifts could modify Fig. 4 significantly and lead to very different proportions and properties of the two groups.

Another possible point of concern is the clump of unusual looking systems around $`P_{\mathrm{orb}}80\mathrm{min}`$, claimed to be post-bounce period systems. Apart from the fact that (as discussed in King & Schenker 2002) this interpretations has a number of problems as well, only a more accurate determination of masses, spectral types, and composition of these systems can unravel the remaining mystery about them. Being at the frontline of the ‘normal’ population group may imply some special properties (e.g. with respect to metallicity) which lead to some unexpected features.

Most seriously, however, we do not understand magnetic braking, even more so after the presentation given at this meeting. Thus we are effectively left without a properly working model for the period gap. Clearly the approach taken herein, i.e. to simply assume a sufficiently strong angular momentum loss mechanism of unknown origin and (nowadays) relatively unmotivated specification (Verbunt & Zwaan) is no longer satisfactory.

## 4. Conclusion

The concept of allowing and even integrating thermal timescale mass transfer into the general evolution of CVs has proven very successful. It allows us to explain many individually strange systems (AE Aqr, V1309 Ori, …, AM CVn!?) that would otherwise break the coherent picture of the standard model.

Closely related is the realization of a second formation channel for CVs, namely forming the CV by nuclear evolution followed by the fast TTMT, that allows angular momentum loss to take over driving the evolution only after this initial phase. The bimodality of CVs formed in both ways thus naturally provides an evolved population and a spread in $`\dot{M}_2`$ above the period gap without necessarily destroying the gap and the population below the gap.

We consider it an important strength of this scenario, that a large number of things appear to fall into place now. In particular, the period minimum can be understood as an age effect, CVs below the gap are generally not born there (but at rather higher masses), and ultra-short period binaries (AM CVn for WD primaries, as well as the corresponding LMXBs) derive from fairly evolved & massive donor stars after passing through a CV-like phase. The overall differences between CVs and LMXBs appear diminished and due to well understood differences between the two primary types. It is reassuring that CVs and LMXBs do follow the same fundamental evolutionary principles after all.

## References

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Bruch, A. 2002, this volume

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King, A. R., & Schenker, K. 2002, this volume

King, A. R., Schenker, K., Kolb, U., & Davies, M. B. 2001, MNRAS, 321, 327

Kolb, U., Davies, M. B., King, A. R., & Ritter, H. 2000, MNRAS, 317, 438

de Kool, M., & Ritter, H. 1993, A&A, 267, 397

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Langer, N., Deutschmann, A., Wellstein, S., & Höflich, P. 2000, A&A, 362, 1046

Mauche, C. W., Lee, Y. P., & Kallman, T. R. 1997, ApJ, 477, 832

Podsiadlowski, Ph., Rappaport, S., & Pfahl, E. 2001, ApJ, submitted (astro-ph/0107261)

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Schenker, K. 2001, in: ‘Evolution of Binary and Multiple Star Systems, Ph. Podsiadlowski, S. Rappaport, A. R. King, F. D’Antona, L. Burderi (eds.), ASP Conf. Ser. 229, 321

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##### Acknowledgments.

Theoretical astrophysics research at Leicester is supported by a PPARC rolling grant.


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# An Accretion-Induced X-ray Flare in Sgr A*

## 1 Introduction

The unusual radio source Sgr A\* appears to be the radiative manifestation of the “dark” matter concentration at the Galactic center (e.g., Melia & Falcke 2001). Discovered by Balick & Brown in 1974, this object is a bright compact source of cm to mm/sub-mm waves, and appears to anchor the stars swarming around it with velocities in excess of one thousand kilometers per second on orbits with a radius no bigger than about ten light days (Ghez et al. 2000). Despite this compelling evidence that a supermassive black hole accounts for most, if not all, of the inferred $`2.6\times 10^6M_{}`$ at the Galactic center, the orbits traced by the stars near Sgr A\* are approximately $`30,000`$ times larger than the predicted size of its event horizon, so alternative explanations cannot yet be ruled out on this basis alone. However, the situation has changed dramatically with the recent Chandra detection of an X-ray flare from this source (Baganoff et al. 2001). The ten-minute variability seen during the three-hour event argues for an emitting region no bigger than about 20 Schwarzschild radii (based on light-travel limitations), constraining the volume within which the matter is compressed by a factor 1,500 better than previous studies (Melia 2001). (For Sgr A\*, the Schwarzschild radius $`r_S2GM/c^2`$ is approximately $`7.7\times 10^{11}`$ cm, or about $`1/20`$ A.U. The gravitational radius $`r_gr_S/2`$ will be used to scale the relevant physical quantities throughout this paper.)

As we shall see below, the characteristics associated with this flare appear to be consistent with a picture in which the dominant emission region, at least at mm/sub-mm and X-ray wavelengths, is associated with a compact Keplerian flow of hot, magnetized gas within $`12`$ gravitational radii of the black hole (Melia et al. 2000; Bromley et al. 2001). This structure may be the inner portion of what forms after the low angular momentum gas (with specific angular momentum $`l60cr_g`$) captured by Sgr A\* circularizes at $`60100r_g`$ (see, e.g., Coker & Melia 1997). Earlier, we showed that the inner $`12r_g`$ of such a configuration could not only produce the mm to sub-mm bump in Sgr A\*’s spectrum (Falcke et al. 1998; Melia et al. 2001), but that it could also account for its linear polarization properties (Aitken et al. 2000; Bower et al. 1999; Melia et al. 2000; Bromley et al. 2001). Sgr A\*’s cm radio emission may instead be due to non-thermal synchrotron processes in the circularization zone, where the flow evolves from quasi-spherical accretion at large radii to a Keplerian structure further in. The quiescent-state X-ray emission detected with Chandra appears to be produced via synchrotron self-Comptonization (SSC) of the mm/sub-mm photons (Liu & Melia 2001). We note, in this regard, that the latest high-energy observation of Sgr A\* appears to be at odds with the much flatter spectrum predicted by large, two-temperature ADAF disks (Narayan et al. 1995).

The flare lasted about three hours; during that time, the hard band X-ray flux decreased by a factor of five in less than ten minutes, consistent with the viscous time scale for the inner $`6r_g`$ of the infalling gas, where most of the high-energy radiation is produced. The dynamical time scale associated with this region is typically shorter, therefore suggesting that the variability during the outburst might be due to an accretion instability within the circularized flow. This points to a highly dynamic event, for which a detailed numerical simulation is required for proper modeling. Nonetheless, the fact that the relevant time scale for establishing equilibrium (i.e., the viscous time scale) in the inner few gravitational radii is much shorter than the duration of the flare means that we can effectively adopt quasi-steady conditions during the state of enhanced accretion. The initial modeling of such an event is therefore straightforward since the structure of the emitting region depends primarily on this mass accretion rate $`\dot{M}`$. In this Letter, we explore a range of possible system configurations that could account for the observed outburst. We demonstrate that the flare can be produced either via thermal bremsstrahlung if the anomalous viscosity decreases with the enhanced $`\dot{M}`$, or via synchrotron self-Comptonization if the anomalous viscosity increases. These scenarios make distinct predictions concerning Sgr A\*’s flare spectrum and the flux density correlations at different wavelengths, which may be tested with future coordinated broadband observations.

## 2 Physics of the Transient Event

Several characteristics associated with the X-ray flare stand out, setting very strict constraints on the nature of this event (Baganoff et al. 2001). First, the flare lasted about three hours and, near its middle, the $`4.58`$ keV luminosity dropped abruptly by a factor of 5 in 10 minutes. The $`24.5`$ keV luminosity followed a similar pattern, though its drop was less sharp, and appeared to lag that of the hard X-rays by a few minutes. Second, the peak of the flaring-state had a luminosity 45 times greater than that of the quiescent-state. This huge enhancement in power suggests that a severe change occurred in the physical properties of the emitting gas, effectively involving the whole region. Third, the flare-state spectrum had a spectral index of $`0.3_{0.6}^{+0.5}`$, which is much harder than that in the quiescent-state (i.e., $`1.2_{0.7}^{+0.5}`$). This contrasts with the prediction of the disc-corona model for AGNs (see, e.g., Ulrich et al. 1997). All these features are quite unique to the X-ray flare in Sgr A\*.

The anomalous viscosity is given as $`\nu (2/3)W_{r\varphi }/\mathrm{\Sigma }\mathrm{\Omega }`$, where $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is the column density, $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is the angular velocity, and $`W_{r\varphi }`$ is the vertically integrated sum of the Maxwell and Reynolds stresses (Balbus et al. 1994). For the problem at hand, the Maxwell stress dominates, and $`W_{r\varphi }\beta _\nu 𝑑z\beta _pP`$ is adequately described by two magnetic parameters in this model: $`\beta _\nu `$ is the ratio of the stress to the magnetic field energy density, and $`\beta _p`$ is the ratio of magnetic energy density to thermal pressure $`P`$. The radial velocity is given by $`v_r(4\beta _p\beta _\nu /9)(GM/r)^{1/2}`$, assuming the gas temperature attains its virial value. From this, we get the viscous time scale for the gas in the inner few gravitational radii of the disk: $`\tau _vr_g/v_r9.6(r/r_g)^{1/2}(0.05/\beta _p\beta _\nu )`$ mins. We note that $`\tau _v`$ is consistent with the variability time scale ($`10`$ mins) within the flare when $`\beta _p\beta _\nu 0.05`$, which is close to the results produced in detailed MHD simulations (Brandenburg et al. 1995; Hawley et al. 1996), when one takes into account the various approximations made in these calculations, their limited spatial resolution and the differences of the physical conditions between their simulations and the accretion model adopted here.

Under the same conditions, the dynamical time scale for gas flowing within the inner Keplerian region is $`\tau _d=2\pi r/v_k`$, where $`v_k=(GM/r)^{1/2}`$ is the azimuthal velocity at radius $`r`$. Its scaled value $`\tau _d1.3(r/r_g)^{3/2}`$ mins suggests that a non-equilibrium process may be responsible for initiating the injection or depletion of matter through the inner orbits, which then results in an overall fluctuation on a viscous time scale as the disk readjusts. As is well known by now (see, e.g., Melia et al. 1992), most of the flux from Sgr A\* at a given frequency is produced by gas in a relatively narrow range of radii (with the highest energy radiation being produced in the most compact regions). Thus, whereas the duration of a fluctuation probably corresponds to the time required for viscosity to re-establish equilibrium, the overall extent of the flare may have been attributable to certain characteristics of the infalling plasma (perhaps its spatial extent, or its clumping profile). There are several possible non-equilibrium processes that could have started the dip near the middle of the burst, including a dynamo-induced magnetization of the orbiting plasma. This can happen over one orbital period, i.e., $`\tau _d`$ (see, e.g., Balbus et al. 1994; Melia, Liu, & Coker 2001). This could, among other things, result in a rapid, though transient, increase in the anomalous viscosity, followed by a rapid draining of the inner disk. Other mechanisms include the intriguing possibility that the infalling plasma may by comprised of clumps with a variety of specific angular momenta, so that the material falling in at later times effectively cancels (or reverses) the angular momentum of the material already in orbit about the black hole. This too can lead to a temporary thinning of the inner disk. Unfortunately the photon statistics during the flare were not of sufficient quality for the spectrum to be determined as a function of time; only data associated with the integrated flux are available, so spectral information that can help us to discern between these effects near the middle of a burst must await future observations.

With this assessment, we conclude that a $`12r_g`$ hot, magnetized Keplerian flow can account for the temporal behavior of the X-ray flare quite naturally. Adopting quasi-steady conditions in the accretion model for Sgr A\* (Melia et al 2001), we note that the structure of the disk is then determined primarily by $`\dot{M}`$ and the anomalous viscosity through this region. The inner boundary condition is chosen such that the stress is zero there. At the outer boundary $`r_o`$, we also need to know the gas temperature $`T_o`$. But this is not difficult to constrain in cases where the inflowing gas is emitting inefficiently before it circularizes (which appears to be the case for Sgr A\*); we would expect that $`T_o`$ should be close to its virial value at that radius, i.e., $`T_o2GMm_p/9kr`$, where $`m_p`$ is the proton mass and $`k`$ is the Boltzmann constant.

Figure 1 shows the profiles of temperature and density as functions of radius for the inner $`12r_g`$ of the Keplerian region in the quiescent state, based on the hot, magnetized disk model described above. The spectral fit corresponding to these conditions is represented by the thin solid curve in Figure 2 (see also Liu & Melia 2001). For this, and all other, models discussed in this paper, the Keplerian structure has an inclination angle of $`45^{}`$ to the line of sight, an inner boundary $`r_i`$ of $`2.4r_g`$ (we use Newtonian geometry for these calculations—the full relativistic treatment will be incorporated into the more detailed numerical simulations to follow) and an outer boundary of $`12r_g`$. The outer boundary temperature is set equal to 45 percent of its virial value. The best fit model for the quiescent emission has an accretion rate of $`7\times 10^{16}`$ g s<sup>-1</sup> and a viscosity parameter $`\beta _\nu =1.0`$. For a plasma with these characteristics, there are essentially three dominant radiation mechanisms: thermal synchrotron produces the mm to sub-mm bump; self-Comptonization of these low-energy photons accounts for the quiescent-state X-ray spectrum; finally, bremsstrahlung can be significant under some conditions. For this particular fit, the high temperature and low number density result in a thermal bremsstrahlung flux density smaller than $`10^{10}`$ Jy at all frequencies, rendering its contribution negligibly small compared to SSC.

The success of this model in accounting for Sgr A\*’s linear polarimetric characteristics (see, e.g., Bromley et al. 2001), together with the natural association we can make between the viscous time scale and the variability of the observed flare, supports the view that the outburst could well have been produced by a transient enhancement of $`\dot{M}`$ through the inner Keplerian region. According to this hot, magnetized accretion model, several important changes are expected to result from the injection of new matter into the system. First, the increase in $`\dot{M}`$ will increase the particle number density in the flow, which implies more efficient cooling and thus a lower temperature. The scale height of the plasma will decrease accordingly, which makes the number density even bigger. Consequently, the radio emission will become optically thin at a higher frequency. (Note, however, that an enhanced accretion rate may also affect the inner boundary condition, which we ignore in this first pass through the problem. If an additional detailed exploration of this picture is warranted by future observations of Sgr A\*, this effect will be included, along with an incorporation of the general relativistic corrections.) Second, the anomalous viscosity is also expected to change, though it is not yet understood whether $`\beta _p`$ and $`\beta _\nu `$ will increase or decrease. In this paper, we therefore consider both circumstances to bracket the range of possible outcomes. For example, Figure 1 shows what happens if $`\dot{M}`$ is increased, corresponding to two rather diverse responses of the anomalous viscosity. The dotted curves represent the physical variables when the viscosity parameter $`\beta _\nu `$ decreases by a factor of about two to $`0.481`$. All the other parameters are the same as in the quiescent state. The decrease in the anomalous viscosity increases the number density even further, and the inflowing gas cools down to about $`10^9`$ K at small radii. The decrease in $`n_B`$ as the gas approaches the inner boundary is due to the zero stress condition there. The dashed curves demonstrate the behavior of $`T`$ and $`n`$ when $`\beta _p`$ increases by a factor of about seven compared to its value in the quiescent state. With an increase in the anomalous viscosity, the effects of an enhanced $`\dot{M}`$ on $`n_C`$ are mostly annulled, and the structure of the inflow is therefore similar to that of the pre-flare state.

## 3 Results and Discussion

The best fit model for an accretion-induced flare in Sgr A\* is shown in Figure 2, which also shows the quiescent-state spectrum for comparison. In this case, the enhancement in $`\dot{M}`$ is coupled with an associated decrease in anomalous viscosity, the combination of which results in an increase of the particle number density by a factor of 30 at the outer boundary. The structure of the Keplerian flow consequently changes considerably (Fig. 1). All three of the emission processes contribute significantly to the overall spectrum. An associated strong sub-mm/far-IR flare is expected during the X-ray outburst. Note, however, that due to a sharp decrease in the gas temperature, the mm flux is not expected to change significantly; depending on the exact model parameters, it may even decrease slightly. It is not yet certain, though, whether this can lead to an anti-correlation between the mm and X-ray flux densities, since the emission from the circularization zone further out may also contribute to the mm spectrum (see also Melia 1992, 1994). Unfortunately, the physics of this region is not yet well understood. Future high-resolution numerical simulations of the time-dependent problem may resolve this ambiguity. For this situation, the high-energy X-ray emission is dominated by bremsstrahlung processes and the spectrum flattens during the flare. We note, however, that SSC may still contribute some flux to the soft X-ray band. This is interesting in view of the fact that a power-law fit to the flare-state spectrum suggests less absorption than expected, implying a low column density. This excess soft X-ray emission may be due to the additional flux produced by SSC above pure bremsstrahlung up to $`4`$ keV. In this paper, we have adopted a quasi-equilibrium assumption for the flare state. The flare’s actual time profile may be reproduced by solving the full time-dependent dynamical equations describing the accretion flow, taking into account the possible asymmetry and diffusion induced by the additional mass injection.

Synchrotron self-Comptonization can also produce significant X-ray emission under some circumstances, specifically, when an increase in $`\dot{M}`$ is associated with an enhanced anomalous viscosity. Due to a decrease in gas temperature, however, the peak of the Compton-scattered spectrum is not expected to shift significantly toward higher frequencies compared to the quiescent state. So the X-ray spectral index should change only marginally from its value in the quiescent state. This does not appear to be consistent with what has been observed. These features are evident in Figure 3, which shows the best fit spectrum when SSC dominates the X-ray flux during the flare; the predicted X-ray spectrum is simply too soft.

This situation is quite different from that of the jet model, in which SSC is invoked as the sole mechanism for producing the X-ray flare (Markoff et al. 2001). In this alternative picture, the gas temperature is a free parameter, and is arbitrarily increased by a factor of three or four to fit the flare-state spectrum. The increase in $`T`$ has the dual effect of shifting the peak of the Comptonized component by more than an order of magnitude to higher frequencies, and flattening and extending the mm spectrum. The combination of these effects makes it possible for the peak of the Comptonized emission to be shifted into the X-ray domain, thereby accounting for a flattening of the spectral index during the flare. In the accretion picture, the enhanced $`\dot{M}`$ suppresses the temperature sufficiently for the Comptonized component to peak at UV energies. Aside from these differences, the jet and accretion models also differ in their predictions for the associated flare at other wavelengths. The accretion model suggests that there should be a correlated strong sub-mm/far-IR flare, whereas the jet scenario predicts a strong IR burst. Coordinated observations at mm/sub-mm and X-ray energies and at X-ray and $`\gamma `$-ray energies are now being planned for the 2002 and 2003 observing cycles, so these differences may soon lead to a possible resolution of which picture accounts for most of Sgr A\*’s radiative emission.

Acknowledgments We are grateful to Fred Baganoff, Marco Fatuzzo and Mark Morris for very valuable discussions. The anonymous referee improved the manuscript significantly with his thoughtful comments. This research was partially supported by NASA under grants NAG5-8239 and NAG5-9205, and has made use of NASA’s Astrophysics Data System Abstract Service. FM is very grateful to the University of Melbourne for its support (through a Miegunyah Fellowship).


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# Long-Range Coherence in a Mesoscopic Metal near a Superconducting Interface

(1995, July)

## Abstract

We identify the different contributions to quantum interference in a mesoscopic metallic loop in contact with two superconducting electrodes. At low temperature, a flux-modulated Josephson coupling is observed with strong damping over the thermal length $`L_T`$. At higher temperature, the magnetoresistance exhibits large $`h/2e`$-periodic oscillations with $`1/T`$ power law decay. This flux-sensitive contribution arises from coherence of low-energy quasiparticles states over the phase-breaking length $`L_\phi `$. Mesoscopic fluctuations contribute as a small $`h/e`$ oscillation, resolved only in the purely normal state.

In a disordered metal at low temperature, electronic coherence persists over the phase-breaking length $`L_\phi `$ AAS . Weak localization, which consists in electron coherent backscattering along a closed diffusion path, induces corrections of the conductance of order the quantum of conductance $`e^2/h`$. The sensitivity of this process to an Aharonov-Bohm flux leads to $`\varphi _0=h/2e`$ periodic oscillations of the resistance of a mesoscopic loop Sharvins ; Pannetier . Hybrid systems made of Normal (N) and Superconducting (S) materials are the scene for new physics, due to the Andreev reflection and the proximity effect. At low temperature ($`k_BT\mathrm{\Delta }`$), incident electrons have an energy much smaller than the gap $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ of S and are Andreev-reflected at the N-S interface into a coherent hole. Spivak and Kmelnitskii investigated the effect of Andreev reflection on weak localization in a S-N-S geometry Spivak . The N metal conductance was predicted to be sensitive to the phase difference between the two superconductors with a period of $`\pi `$, leading to a $`h/4e`$ flux-periodicity in a loop. Petrashov et al. Petrashov  and de Vegvar et al. Vegvar  measured phase-sensitive transport in mesoscopic N-S metallic systems. The interpretation of Ref. Petrashov  results in terms of weak localization is not consistent with the large amplitude of the effect VegvarComm . In fact, the proximity effect in such mesoscopic systems can lead to a zero-resistance state with a well-defined Josephson current Courtois  if N-S interfaces have high transparency. In a two-dimensional electron gas, Dimoulas et al. also observed, beyond the Josephson coupling, large effects of quasiparticle interference on the resistance Dimoulas . Recently, there has been considerable interest in coherent transport through mesoscopic N-S tunnel junctions Kastalsky ; Beenakker . Confinement of electrons and holes by disorder in N induces coherent multiple Andreev reflections, which enhance the low-temperature subgap conductance Hekking . This is exemplified by the flux-modulation of the subgap current in the case of a fork-shaped S electrode Pothier . Volkov showed that this behaviour may be explained by the appearance, despite the barrier, of a small pair-amplitude in N Volkov . This suggests that the proximity effect could explain most of the surprising data on resistive transport in mesoscopic N-S devices, even if classical estimates fail to agree with experimental results.

At present, a clear identification of the different contributions to coherent transport in N-S systems is missing. In this Letter, we describe new experimental results revealing unambiguously the nature of the different contributions to the phase-sensitive current in a mesoscopic N metal with S electrodes. Our experimental situation is greatly simplified compared to others, since we consider only the conductivity of the normal metal, the role of the interface being restricted to providing Andreev reflection. We used a ring geometry similar to that of Ref. Petrashov , in order to control the phase by an external magnetic field, and made a study as a function of temperature. We show under which conditions the Josephson coupling, weak localization and other contributions prevail. One important result is in the intermediate temperature regime, when the thermal length $`L_T`$ is much smaller than $`L_\phi `$ and the sample size. We find a phase-sensitive contribution with an amplitude described by a $`1/T`$ power law. This contribution, much larger than the weak localization contribution, results from the persistence of electron-hole coherence far away from the N-S interface.

The inset of Fig. 1(a) shows a micrograph of a typical sample, made of a square Cu loop in contact with two Al electrodes. The Cu loop and Al electrodes are patterned by conventional lift-off e-beam lithography in two successive steps with repositioning accuracy better than 100 nm. In-situ cleaning of the Cu surface by 500 eV Ar+ ions prior to Al deposition ensures us of a transparent and reproducible interface. We performed transport measurements in a Mumetal-shielded dilution refrigerator down to 20 mK. Miniature low temperature high-frequency filters were integrated in the sample holder RSICourtois . We focus here on the experimental results of one sample representative of others. The 51 $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ normal-state resistance gives an elastic mean free path $`l_p`$ of 16 nm and a diffusion constant $`D`$ of 81 cm2/s. The amplitude of the $`h/e`$ oscillation in the normal state (see below) provides $`L_\phi `$ = 1.9 $`\mu `$m, so that the whole structure is coherent. The much smaller decay length of the pair amplitude in N is $`L_T=\sqrt{\mathrm{}D/2\pi k_BT}=99nm/\sqrt{T(K)}`$. Fig. 1 summarizes our results. Below the superconducting transition of Al at $`T_c`$ 1.4 K, the resistance of the sample decreases (Fig. 1(a)) by an amount corresponding to the coverage ratio of the Cu wire by Al islands ($`20\%`$). This behaviour has already been met in previous experiments  and takes place provided the N-S interface resistance is low. This give us a lower bound of 7 $`\%`$ for the interface transparency $`t_0`$ and an upper bound of 230 nm for the barrier-equivalent length $`L_t=l_p/t_0`$ Zhou . At very low temperature (T $`<`$ 250 mK), the sample resistance drops to a constant value of 16 $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$. The suppression of this drop by a large bias current suggests a Josephson coupling between the two S electrodes. The fraction of residual resistance (31 $`\%`$) can be related to the resistance of the normal metal between each voltage contact and the neighbouring S island (23 $`\%`$), with an extra contribution due to the current conversion. Anticipating the discussion of the results, we show in Fig. 1(b) the temperature dependence of the two main contributions to transport. The Josephson current vanishes rapidly above 250 mK, revealing the exponential decay over $`L_T`$. The amplitude of the observed $`h/2e`$ magnetoresistance oscillations is plotted on the same graph. It represents more than 1 $`\%`$ of the loop resistance and can be reasonably fitted by a $`1/T`$ power law. Let us now discuss these observations in more detail.

Figure 2 shows the current - differentialresistance characteristics for different temperatures between 42 and 225 mK. A sharply peaked feature indicates the switching of the loop into a resistive state. An unexplained additional structure can be seen at higher current. At the highest temperatures, a thermal rounding of the characteristics is visible. The shape of these curves can be qualitatively accounted for in a Resistively Shunted Junction (RSJ) model with thermal fluctuations Charlat . Solving the linearized Ginzburg-Landau equations, it is straightforward to calculate the pair current $`J_s`$ between the two $`\phi `$-dephased S electrodes. If the length L of N metal between the two S electrodes is large compared to $`L_T`$, we find a sinusoidal current-phase relation Note1  :

$$J_s=J_0\mathrm{exp}[L/L_T]\mathrm{cos}(\pi \varphi /\varphi _0)\mathrm{sin}\phi ,$$
(1)
where $`J_0`$ is a constant. The modulation of the maximum pair current by the magnetic flux $`\varphi `$ with a period $`\varphi _0`$ is reminiscent of a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), although our mesoscopic geometry differs strongly from the classical design. Fig. 2 Inset shows the magnetic field dependence of the critical current at 150 mK. The 8.25 mT periodicity gives a flux-periodicity in the 0.25 m2 loop area, in agreement with (1). The observation of a Josephson coupling not found in Ref. Petrashov  is attributed to the high transparency of our N-S interfaces.

In the high temperature regime (500 mK $`<T<T_c`$) the pair current is thermally suppressed. Calculating the thermal fluctuations of the pair current in the RSJ model Bishop , one expects exponentially-small magnetoresistance oscillations :

$$\mathrm{\Delta }R/R_N=(1/8)(\mathrm{}J_s/ek_BT)^2,$$
(2)
which extrapolates to 10-8 at 1 K. In contrast, the magnetoresistance measured at various temperatures in this regime (see Fig. 3(a)) shows pronounced oscillations of $`h/2e`$ periodicity, which is consistent with Ref. Dimoulas . With a sample resistance between the two S electrodes $`R_N`$ = 29 $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$, the relative amplitude reaches about 1.4 $`\%`$ at 1 K. No structure of half periodicity was met when measuring current amplitude was changed . The amplitude of the low-field oscillations plotted in Fig. 1(b) shows a good agreement with a plain $`1/T`$ fitting law. The slight deviation of the data from the $`1/T`$ fit near $`T_c`$ should be related to the depletion of the gap in S. This power-law dependence is a new result, in clear contrast with the exponential damping over $`L_T`$ of the Josephson current. The characteristic features of the observed magnetoresistance oscillations are the following : (i) precise $`h/2e`$ periodicity with a resistance minimum at zero-field, (ii) survival beyond the cut-off $`L_T`$ of the Josephson effect, (iii) vanishing when the superconductivity of Al is destroyed above $`T_c`$ or above critical magnetic field, (iv) same effect observed in samples with only one S island Charlat , (v) clear difference from mesoscopic fluctuations (period $`h/e`$) and weak localization ($`h/2e`$) effects, both of amplitude $`e^2/h`$. For comparison, Fig. 3(b) shows the high-field magnetoresistance of the same sample when Al superconductivity is destroyed. We observe conductance fluctuations, with a $`h/e`$ periodicity and a much smaller amplitude of 0.34 $`e^2/h`$, which gives $`L_\phi 1.9\mu `$m.

Our observations appear to be consistent with recent work from Zhou, Spivak and Zyuzin Zhou  and previous work by Zaitsev Zaitsev  and Volkov et al. Volkov ; VolkovPrivee . Zhou, Spivak and Zyuzin showed that, beyond the expected strong suppression of the electric field in N over a length $`L_T`$ from the N-S interface, corrections to resistive transport survive over distances up to $`L_\phi >L_T`$. These corrections follow a power-law temperature dependence due to the long-range coherence of low-energy electron-hole pairs. Indeed, the decay length $`L_ϵ=\sqrt{\mathrm{}D/ϵ}`$ for the pair-amplitude wave-function $`F(ϵ,x)`$ diverges near the Fermi level $`ϵ`$ = 0 Zhou . Let us propose a simple picture for this effect. At the N-S interface, an incident electron is reflected into a hole of the same energy $`ϵ`$, but with a change in wave-vector $`\delta k=ϵ/\mathrm{}v_F`$ due to the branch crossing. After diffusion to a distance L from the interface, this induces a phase shift $`\delta \phi =\delta kv_FL^2/D=ϵ/ϵ_c`$ between the electron and the hole. This means that at a distance $`L>L_T`$, electron-hole coherence is restricted to an energy window of width the Thouless energy $`ϵ_c=\mathrm{}D/L^2`$ which is small compared to the width $`k_BT`$ of the thermal distribution.

Resistive measurements in mesoscopic systems are strongly sensitive to the nature of electrical probes and the location of electron reservoirs, so that a quantitative description of the resistance behaviour requires consideration of the particular geometry of the sample with its contacts. Nevertheless, the location of the N loop at a distance significantly larger than $`L_T`$ from the N-S interface enables us to select the long-range component of the coherent quasiparticles states. The magnetic field creates an additional phase-shift of $`2\pi `$ between the electron and the hole at flux $`h/2e`$, leading to $`h/2e`$-periodic modulation of the resistance. Here, we do not observe an oscillation amplitude proportional to $`L_T1/\sqrt{T}`$ which would be the contribution of the whole N conductor between reservoirs Zhou , but a $`1/T`$ dependence related to the local contribution of the loop. This phase-sensitive contribution comes from the excess conductivity of those electron-hole pairs which have an energy close to $`ϵ_c`$. Both the temperature dependence and the amplitude of order 1 $`\%`$ of the oscillations are indeed consistent with the ratio $`ϵ_c/k_BT`$. The similarity of this law with the expression of the local electric field at $`L>L_T`$ from Zhou et al. calls for further clarification. At very low temperatures ($`T<ϵ_c/k_B`$), one enters a new regime with the suppression of the conductance enhancement at low voltage Stoof . This is not observed here due to the Josephson coupling, but is observed in samples with a single S island Charlat .

In conclusion, we have clearly identified the different components of the proximity effect in a mesoscopic metal near a superconducting interface. We demonstrated the cross-over between the low-temperature Josephson coupling and a phase-sensitive conductance enhancement at high temperature. Compared to weak localization, this contribution has a larger amplitude and a distinct origin. The observed power-law dependence is consistent with the theoretical description of Zhou et al. Zhou  of long-range coherence of low-energy electron-hole pairs. Further theoretical progress is needed to have a clear physical understanding of the observed phenomena. This new effect could be very powerful in investigating phase-breaking effects in magnetic nanostructures PetrFerro  and electron-electron interaction in metals Zhou ; Stoof .

We thank P. Charlat for help in the experiment, J. Chaussy, A. Volkov and A. Zaikin for stimulating discussions. We are indebted to F. Zhou and B. Spivak for clarifying discussions on their paper Zhou . This work is supported by European Community under contract n CHRX-CT92-0068.