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# Microscopic Phase Separation in the Overdoped Region of High-𝑇_𝑐 Cuprate Superconductors

## Abstract

We propose a phenomenological model for high-$`T_c`$ superconductors (HTSC) assuming: (1) a microscopic phase separation between superconducting and normal-metal areas in the overdoped region; and (2) existence of a homogeneous superconducting phase only below the pseudo-gap $`T^{}`$ line, which shows a sharp reduction towards $`T^{}0`$ at a mildly overdoped critical concentration $`x_c`$. This model explains anomalous doping and temperature dependences of $`n_s/m^{}`$ (superconducting carrier density / effective mass) observed in several overdoped HTSC systems. We point out an analogy to superfluid 4He/3He films, and discuss an energetic origin of microscopic phase separation.

PACS: 74.20.-z, 74.25.Dw, 74.72.-h, 74.80.-g

Since the discovery of high-$`T_c`$ cuprate superconductors (HTSC), accumulated studies have revealed unusual phenomena in the underdoped (UD) region, such as, correlations between $`T_c`$ and $`n_s/m^{}`$ (superconducting carrier density / effective mass) at $`T0`$ shown by measurements of the magnetic field penetration depth $`\lambda `$ , and the pseudo-gap phenomena . These results stimulated development of various theories / models for condensation, including Bose-Einstein (BE) to BCS crossover , phase fluctuations , XY-model  and BE condensation . These models \[3-8\] assume the existence of pre-formed charge pairs above $`T_c`$. Different pictures, however, assume single charge above $`T_c`$ based on the resonating-valence-bond concepts .

Several anomalous results have been found also in the overdoped (OD) region: $`\mu `$SR studies on Tl2Ba2CuO6+δ (Tl2201)  revealed that $`n_s/m^{}`$ at $`T0`$ decreases with increasing hole doping. This tendency has been observed subsequently in thin film La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO)  and bulk YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO)  systems in the OD region. The “coherence peak” in ARPES spectra  also follows this behavior of $`n_s/m^{}`$ in the OD region. Meanwhile, Tallon and Loram  noticed a sharp reduction of the pseudo-gap $`T^{}`$ line in the temperature $`T`$ vs. hole-concentration $`x`$ phase diagram heading towards $`T^{}0`$ at a critical concentration $`x_c0.19`$ holes/Cu which lies in the mildly OD region. In view of the existence of superconductivity in $`x>x_c`$ where the $`T^{}`$ line does not exist, Tallon and Loram  have advocated a view point that the pseudogap phenomena is not representing pre-cursor superconducting phenomena, but should be ascribed to a tendency towards a ground state competing with superconductivity.

We have, however, suggested another possible view point in which $`T^{}`$ is ascribed to a signature of a gradual pre-formation of pairs  while the anomaly in the OD region to a phase separation . In the present paper, resorting to a model-calculation of $`n_s/m^{}`$, comparison with experimental results, a crude estimate of competing electrostatic and condensation/pairing energies, and analogy to 4He/3He films, we demonstrate that our picture with microscopic phase separation between superconducting and normal-metal regions can quantitatively account for several anomalous results in the OD region. We have pointed out an analogy to He films in a recent conference . The present model introduces a new type of possible charge heterogeneity to HTSC systems, in addition to other known examples, such as charge/spin stripes .

Figure 1(a) shows the results of $`T_c`$ versus the muon spin relaxation rate $`\sigma n_s/m^{}`$ at $`T0`$ of YBCO , Zn-doped YBCO ($`y=6.7`$)  and overdoped Tl2201  systems. $`T_c`$ increases with increasing hole doping following a linear line in the UD, a saturation in the optimal $`T_c`$ (OPT), and a recurring behavior in the OD region. This figure for HTSC systems exhibits a striking resemblance to the corresponding plot for superfluid 4He and 4He/3He films in non-porous  and porous media , shown in Fig. 1(b). Here, the superfluid transition temperature $`T_c`$ is plotted versus the superfluid density $`n_{s2d}/m^{}4n_{b2d}/m_b`$ at $`T0`$, where $`n_{b2d}`$ and $`m_b`$ represent the 2-dimensional area density and mass of superfluid He atoms (bosons) and $`n_{s2d}=2n_{b2d}`$ and $`m^{}=m_b/2`$ represent corresponding values in fermion terminology.

Simple hole doping in underdoped HTSC can be viewed as analogous to He films on Mylar . Zn-doped YBCO  can be compared to He films in porous Vycor glass , since a non-superconducting / non-superfluid area is formed around Zn / pore surface as a “healing region”, while $`T_c`$ is determined by the remaining superfluid density in both cases. We assumed a normal region with the area of $`\pi \xi _{ab}^2`$ ($`\xi _{ab}`$ is the in-plane coherence length) on the CuO2 plane around each Zn, and showed that the reduction of $`n_s/m^{}(T0)`$ with increasing Zn concentration in YBCO and LSCO can be explained by this “swiss cheese model” . This hypothesis has been confirmed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements . Such a coexistence of superfluid / normal regions can be viewed as an example of a “microscopic phase separation”. We also found a similar situation in HTSC superconductors with static stripe spin freezing .

When 3He is mixed into 4He, the superfluid transition temperature is reduced with increasing 3He fraction $`p_3`$, as shown by the phase diagram in the inset of Fig. 1(b). There is a large region of phase separation between boson-(4He)-rich and fermion-(3He)-rich liquids. In a bulk mixture, the lighter fermion-rich liquid in the upper part of a container does not mix with the boson-rich superfluid. Adsorption of 4He/3He mixture onto fine alumina powder  presumably keeps boson-rich and fermion-rich liquids coexisting in a microscopic length scale, resulting in a superfluid film in the full range of $`p_3`$.

The results of 4He/3He mixture on alumina powder  in Fig. 1(b) exhibit a roughly-linear relation between $`T_c`$ and the superfluid density. This behavior is analogous to that of the overdoped HTSC systems in Fig. 1(a). Both of these cases represent the response of superfluidity / superconductivity to increasing fermions (3He and holes). In all the cases of He films in Fig. 1(b), $`T_c`$ is determined by the area-averaged superfluid density. Similarity between Fig. 1(a) and 1(b) suggests the possibility that $`T_c`$ in HTSC systems may also be determined by $`n_s/m^{}`$ at $`T0`$ averaged over a length scale of several times $`\xi _{ab}`$.

Figure 2(a) compares the doping dependence of $`n_s/m^{}`$ from $`\mu `$SR  with that of the “gapped” response $`\gamma _s`$ in the T-linear term $`\gamma `$ of the specific heat , observed in Tl2201. The normal state value $`\gamma _n`$ in Tl2201 above $`T_c`$ is virtually independent of doping, which implies no doping dependence of $`m^{}\gamma `$. By the broken line, we show a projected variation of the normal-state carrier density / mass, $`n_n/m^{}x/\gamma _nx`$. Departure of $`n_s/m^{}`$ from $`n_n/m^{}`$ suggests that only a part of normal-state carriers form superfluid. We cannot ascribe this departure to the scattering effect, since the transport mean-free path l of Tl2201 is much longer than $`\xi _{ab}`$, even for a highly overdoped sample with $`T_c20`$ K . The BCS theory with retarded interaction cannot account for this phenomenon . The common behavior of $`n_s/m^{}`$ and $`\gamma _s`$ in Fig. 2(a) suggests a possibility that the departure of $`n_s`$ from $`n_n`$ maybe related to a volume effect.

Motivated by these observations, we propose a phase diagram of HTSC systems shown in Fig. 3, where the $`T^{}`$ line is ascribed to pair formation, and the OD region is characterized by a phase separation between the hole-poor superconducting region with $`x_s(T)`$ along the $`T^{}`$ line and the non-superconducting hole-rich region with $`x_f(T)`$ along the $`T_c`$ line in the OD region. We assume a microscopic phase separation via formation of non-superconducting regions with the length scale of $`\xi _{ab}`$, analogous to the “swiss cheese model” in Zn-doping, as illustrated in Fig. 3. For simplicity, we perform a model calculation assuming (1) parabolic shape of the $`T_c`$ line which has maximum at $`T_c(x_{opt}=0.15)T_c^{max}`$ and intersects with $`x`$ axis at $`x_{max}=0.27`$ and $`x_{min}=0.03`$; and (2) linear $`T^{}`$ line connecting $`T^{}(x_{opt})=T_c^{max}`$ and $`T^{}(x_c=0.19)=0`$. For a given hole concentration $`x_1x_{opt}`$, cooled down from high temperature, we assume the system to separate at $`TT_c`$ into the superconducting liquid with $`x_s(T)`$ and normal liquid with $`x_f(T)`$, having the volume fraction of $`p_s`$ and $`p_f=1p_s`$, respectively, where $`x_1=(x_sp_s+x_fp_f)`$. Below $`T=T^{}(x_1)`$, the total volume becomes superfluid.

To consider an energetic origin of phase separation, let us imagine a capacitor having an area $`A\pi \xi _{ab}^2`$ for $`\xi _{ab}=15`$ Å and thickness comparable to the average interlayer distance $`c_{int}6`$ Å, charged with $`+/`$ $`Q2e`$ given by the deviation from average charge $`(x_{max}x_c)/2=0.04`$ \[holes/Cu\] multiplied to the number of Cu atoms (48) in the area $`A`$. An assembly of alternating charge layers stacked along the c-axis direction can be expressed by sets of such capacitors with the charge $`+/`$ $`Q/2e`$ on each plate. The electrostatic energy to have one such capacitor is $`E=(Q/2)^2/C0.8/ϵ0.1`$ eV, where $`ϵ10`$ represents an effective static dielectric constant due to atoms and ions between the CuO2 planes, and $`C`$ denotes the capacitance. Imagine hole-poor and hole-rich regions, adjacent to each other, each having area $`A`$ on a given CuO2 plane. To create this situation we need energy $`2E`$ per area $`2A`$ on a CuO2 plane. In view of further energy saving via Madelung potential, we estimate the actual electrostatic energy $`E_{Coulomb}`$ to be roughly $`0.1`$ eV.

This energy cost for charge disproportionation competes with the gain of condensation and pairing energies $`E_{CP}`$ for having the hole-poor area $`A`$ with $`q_s=A\times x_c9e`$ charges paired and condensed. Assuming $`\mathrm{\Delta }=1.7k_BT_c`$ energy gain per charge and $`T_c90`$K, we obtain $`E_{CP}0.12`$ eV. For BE condensation, $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ should be replaced by the sum of the pairing energy $`k_BT^{}`$ and the condensation energy $`k_BT_c`$, while for BCS condensation $`E_{CP}`$ has to be multiplied by the ratio 0.1-0.2 of $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ to the effective Fermi energy $`ϵ_F0.2`$ eV. Even in the purely superconducting region at $`xx_c`$, the system might spontaneously introduce some charge heterogeneity within $`x_{min}<x<x_c`$ to gain the pairing energy.

In LSCO, for example, the random spatial distribution of Sr2+ will further reduce $`E_{Coulomb}`$ substantially. The area $`A`$ with 48 Cu atoms is associated with $`N_{Sr}`$ 8-10 Sr ions in the OPT region. We expect $`\sqrt{N_{Sr}}3`$ random fluctuations in this number, which would promote natural formation of hole-rich and hole-poor regions. The combination of these effects can make $`E_{CP}>E_{Coulomb}`$, and possibly result in a microscopic phase separation to minimize the total energy. In the capacitor argument, both $`E_{CP}`$ and $`E`$ are proportional to $`A`$. This feature does not give any preference for the magnitude of $`A`$. The lower limit of $`A`$ is related to $`\xi _{ab}`$ and the discreteness of the charge. The upper limit of $`A`$ may be related to the energy gain via $`\sqrt{N_{Sr}}\sqrt{A}`$ and loss of percolation / proximity effect of superconducting regions for larger $`A`$.

Using the model shown in Fig. 3, we calculated the superfluid density $`n_s(T=0)`$ as $`n_s=x`$ for $`xx_c`$ and $`n_s=x_cp_s`$ for $`x_c<x<x_{max}`$, where $`p_s`$ and $`p_f`$ are volume fractions of hole-poor liquid with $`x_c`$ and hole-rich liquid with $`x_{max}`$, $`p_s=1p_f`$, and $`x=x_cp_s+x_{max}p_f`$. We assumed $`T_c^{max}=90`$ K, $`x_c=0.19`$ and $`x_{max}=0.27`$, and show the results in the inset of Fig. 1(a). In Fig. 2(b), we also compare the published results for YBCO  and the variation of $`n_s`$ from our calculation. The good agreements of calculation and experiments demonstrate that the phase separation can account for the “recurring” behavior of $`n_s/m^{}(T0)`$ in the OD region and its anomalously sharp change around $`x_c`$.

The $`\mu `$SR results of $`n_s/m^{}`$ in Tl2201  and overdoped LSCO systems  exhibit anomalous temperature dependence characterized by increasing sharpness near $`T0`$ with increasing doping, as shown in Fig. 4(a) and 4(c). Unfortunately, the $`\mu `$SR results were obtained on ceramic specimens, which often show deviation from predicted variation for d-wave energy gap even in the OPT region. This feature prohibits detailed comparison with theories. However, we performed model calculation in the following assumptions/steps: (1) the thermal pair-breaking effect within the hole-poor superconducting region can be represented by the experimental results $`\sigma _{OPT}(T)`$ obtained for specimens in the (nearly) OPT region with highest $`T_c`$; (2) $`n_s/m^{}(T)`$ of OD specimens can be calculated by multiplying the hole concentration of the hole-poor superconducting region $`x_s(T)`$ at $`T`$ with its volume fraction $`p_s(T)`$, and further by $`\sigma _{OPT}(T)/\sigma _{OPT}(T=0)`$. The results of this calculation, shown in Fig. 4(b) for Tl2201 and Fig. 4(c) for LSCO, reproduce the observed temperature/doping dependence very well.

In overdoped cuprates, we are not sure whether the non-superconducting hole-rich regions are spatially pinned to charge randomness, or they are dynamically fluctuating. STM measurements would be most effective to study this feature. A similar departure of $`n_s/m^{}`$ from $`n_n/m^{}`$ was also found in the 2-d organic superconductor (BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2 . It will be interesting to investigate the applicability of our model to BEDT and other superconducting systems. In conclusion, we have presented a model with microscopic phase separation to account for the anomalous behavior observed in overdoped HTSC systems. The present picture provides a possible way to reconcile the existence of superconductivity in the OD region with the sharp reduction of the $`T^{}`$ line.

This work was supported by NSF-DMR-98-02000 and 01-02752, and US-Israel Binational Science Foundation. The author acknowledges useful discussions with M. Randeria and O. Tchernyshyov.


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# A stationary source of non-classical or entangled atoms

## Abstract

A scheme for generating continuous beams of atoms in non-classical or entangled quantum states is proposed and analyzed. For this the recently suggested transfer technique of quantum states from light fields to collective atomic excitation by Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage \[M.Fleischhauer and M.D. Lukin, Phys.Rev.Lett. 84, 5094 (2000)\] is employed and extended to matter waves.

Since the experimental realization of Bose-Einstein condensation of atoms  much effort has been put into the generation of coherent matter waves (atom-lasers) . Besides being of fundamental interest, coherent matter waves are anticipated to lead to a substantial increase of interferometer sensitivities as compared to their optical counterparts due to the much smaller wavelength. On the other hand particle sources have a significantly smaller brightness than lasers and consequently a much higher level of shot-noise. By now experimental techniques have advanced to the point that shot-noise limited operation is achievable in the laboratory  and quantum fluctuations represent a true sensitivity limit for atom interferometer. Furthermore recent advances in quantum information science lead to an increased interest in sources of entangled massive particles. Some time ago Kitagawa and Ueda  as well as Wineland et al.  proposed to use atom beams in spin-squeezed states to reduce the noise level in interferometers and atomic clocks. While optical techniques to generate non-classical light are by now well developed , less progress has been made for massive particles. We here propose a novel scheme for generating continuous beams of atoms in non-classical quantum states extending the recently suggested quantum-state transfer between light and atoms to matter waves .

Several proposals for generating atomic beams with non-classical quantum correlations have been put forward and in part experimentally implemented. Hald et al.  reported about spin squeezing of trapped atoms created by squeezed-light pumping. The transfer was however accompanied by spontaneous emission and only a limited amount of spin squeezing could be achieved. A higher degree of noise reduction was obtained by Kuzmich et al.  by continuous QND measurements on an atomic beam. Recently Pu and Meystre  and Duan et al.  have proposed to make use of collisional interactions in a Bose condensate to create squeezing or entangled pairs of atoms. Conceptually related is the squeezing and entanglement generation by dissociating diatomic molecules . Finally the generation of number squeezing in a BEC in an array of weakly linked traps was reported by Orzel et al. .

Recently we have proposed a technique to transfer the quantum state of photon wave-packets to collective Raman excitations of atoms in a loss-free and reversible manner . First experiments  have confirmed important aspects of this proposal. It is based on the adiabatic rotation of dark-state polaritons, which are quasi-particles associated with electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), from a light field to a stationary spin excitation. When an optically thick sample of 3-level atoms in Raman configuration is irradiated by a strong coherent Stokes field, the absorption of the pump field is suppressed. Associated with this is a substantial reduction of the group velocity of the pump pulse  which corresponds to a temporary storage of its quantum state in atomic spins. A complete and persistent transfer can however only be achieved by a dynamical reduction of the group velocity due to a decrease of the Stokes field intensity in time. Although an application of this technique to generate entangled or squeezed samples of atoms has been proposed in , it requires an explicit time dependence and is thus limited to pulsed light. For many applications, in particular sub-shot noise matter-wave interferometry and continuous teleportation a stationary source of non-classical atoms is desired. We here show that a complete transfer is possible under stationary conditions in a set-up where atoms move through a spatially varying Stokes field creating an explicitly time dependent interaction in their rest frame. In this way a simple and robust cw source of atoms in non-classical or entangled states can be build.

We consider the 1-dimensional model shown in Fig. 1. A beam of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$-type atoms with two (meta)-stable lower levels interacts with a quantized pump and a classical Stokes field. Atoms in different internal states are described by three bosonic fields $`\mathrm{\Psi }_\mu (z,t)`$ ($`\mu =1,2,3`$). The Stokes field is characterized by the Rabi-frequency $`\mathrm{\Omega }(z,t)=\mathrm{\Omega }_0(z)\mathrm{e}^{i\omega _s(tz/c^{})}`$ with $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0`$ taken real, and the quantized pump field by the dimensionless positive frequency component $`\widehat{E}^{(+)}(z,t)=(z,t)\mathrm{e}^{i\omega _p(tz/c)}`$, where $`c^{}`$ denotes the phase velocity projected onto the $`z`$ axis. The atoms are assumed to enter the interaction region in state $`|1`$.

It is convenient to introduce slowly varying amplitudes, and a decomposition into velocity classes $`\mathrm{\Psi }_1=_l\mathrm{\Phi }_1^l\mathrm{e}^{i(k_lz\omega _lt)},\mathrm{\Psi }_2=_l\mathrm{\Phi }_2^l\mathrm{e}^{i[(k_l+k_p)z(\omega _p+\omega _l)t]},\mathrm{\Psi }_3=_l\mathrm{\Phi }_3^l\mathrm{e}^{i[(k_l+k_pk_s)z(\omega _p\omega _s+\omega _l)t]}`$, where $`\mathrm{}k_l`$ is the momentum of the atoms and $`\mathrm{}\omega _l=\mathrm{}^2k_l^2/2m`$ the corresponding kinetic energy in the $`l`$th velocity class. $`k_p`$ and $`k_s`$ are the wave-vector projection of pump and Stokes to the $`z`$ axis. The atoms shall have a narrow velocity distribution around $`v_0=\mathrm{}k_0/m`$ with $`k_0|k_pk_s|`$. All fields are assumed to be in resonance for the central velocity class. The equations of motion for the matter fields read

$`\left({\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}k_l}{2m}}{\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}\right)\mathrm{\Phi }_1^l`$ $`=`$ $`ig^+\mathrm{\Phi }_2^l,`$ (1)
$`\left({\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}k_l}{2m}}{\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}\right)\mathrm{\Phi }_3^l`$ $`=`$ $`i\mathrm{\Omega }_0\mathrm{\Phi }_2^li\delta _l\mathrm{\Phi }_3^l,`$ (2)
$`\left({\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}(k_l+k_p)}{2m}}{\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}\right)\mathrm{\Phi }_2^l`$ $`=`$ $`(\gamma +i\mathrm{\Delta }_l)\mathrm{\Phi }_2^l`$ (4)
$`i\mathrm{\Omega }_0\mathrm{\Phi }_3^lig\mathrm{\Phi }_1^l+F_2^l,`$
where $`g`$ is the atom-field coupling constant and $`\mathrm{\Delta }_l\mathrm{}k_lk_p/m+(\omega _{21}\omega _p)`$ and $`\delta _l\mathrm{}k_l(k_pk_s)/m+(\omega _{31}\omega _p+\omega _s)`$ are the single and two-photon detunings. Here second derivatives of the slowly-varying amplitudes were neglected and sufficiently slow spatial variations of $``$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0`$ assumed. $`\gamma `$ denotes the loss rate out of the excited state and $`F_2^l`$ the corresponding Langevin noise operator. The propagation equation for the elm. field reads

$`\left({\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}+c{\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}\right)(z,t)=ig\mathrm{\Psi }_1^+(z,t)\mathrm{\Psi }_3(z,t).`$ (5)
The classical Stokes field is taken to be much stronger than the quantum pump and is assumed undepleted.

In the following we will omitt all Langevin noise terms $`F_2^l`$ as well as homogeneous contributions to the solutions. Thus the operator relations derived are only valid when taken in normal-ordered correlation functions.

Consider a stationary input of atoms in state $`|1`$, i.e. $`\mathrm{\Psi }_1(0,t)=\sqrt{n}`$, where $`n`$ is the constant total density of atoms. In the limit of a weak quantum field and weak atomic excitation one finds

$`\mathrm{\Phi }_1^l(z,t)\mathrm{\Phi }_1^l(0,t2mz/\mathrm{}k_l)=\sqrt{n}\xi _l\mathrm{e}^{i\phi _l(z,t)},`$ (6)
where $`_l\xi _l=1`$ and $`\phi _l(k_lz\omega _lt)`$. Furthermore

$`\mathrm{\Phi }_3^l(z,t)={\displaystyle \frac{g}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0}}\sqrt{n}\xi _l\mathrm{e}^{i\phi _l(z,t)}+`$ (7)
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{i}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0(z)}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}(k_l+k_p)}{2m}}{\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}+i\mathrm{\Delta }_l+\gamma \right)\mathrm{\Phi }_2^l(z,t),`$ (8)
$`\mathrm{\Phi }_2^l(z,t)={\displaystyle \frac{i}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0(z)}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}k_l}{2m}}{\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}+i\delta _l\right)\mathrm{\Phi }_3^l(z,t).`$ (9)
First the case of perfect two-photon resonance for all atoms shall be discussed, i.e. $`\delta _l0`$. Here one can invoke an adiabatic approximation, leading to

$`\mathrm{\Phi }_3^l(z,t)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{g(z,t)}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0(z)}}\sqrt{n}\xi _l\mathrm{e}^{i\phi _l(z,t)},`$ (10)
$`\mathrm{\Phi }_2^l(z,t)`$ $`=`$ $`i{\displaystyle \frac{g\sqrt{n}}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0(z)}}\xi _l\mathrm{e}^{i\phi _l(z,t)}\left({\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}+v_l{\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{(z,t)}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0(z)}},`$ (11)
with $`v_l=\frac{\mathrm{}k_l}{2m}`$.

Substituting the latter result into the equation of motion for the radiation field yields

$`\left[\left(1+{\displaystyle \frac{g^2n}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}+c\left(1+{\displaystyle \frac{g^2n}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}}{\displaystyle \frac{v_0}{c}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}\right]=`$ (12)
$`={\displaystyle \frac{g^2n}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}}v_0\left({\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{\Omega }_0(z)\right),`$ (13)
with $`v_0_l\xi _lv_l`$.

Thus the quantum pump field propagates with a group velocity

$`v_{\mathrm{gr}}=c{\displaystyle \frac{\left(1+\frac{g^2n}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}\frac{v_0}{c}\right)}{\left(1+\frac{g^2n}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}\right)}}`$ (14)
which approaches $`v_0`$ if $`\mathrm{\Omega }_00`$. Note that $`v_0>0`$ was assumed here. In the case of atoms moving against the direction of light propagation, i.e. for a negative $`v_0`$, a vanishing and even a negative value of $`v_{\mathrm{gr}}`$ can arise. Moving the medium against the very small group velocity would effectively freeze or redirect the light pulse  (note that Galilean laws apply since $`|v_{\mathrm{gr}}|c`$). In reality, however, non-adiabatic effects and associated losses prevent the latter to happen .

The r.h.s. of eq.(13) describes a reduction / enhancement due to stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in a spatially varying Stokes field. It can be seen that this is only possible if $`v_00`$ in accordance with the observation in  that a unidirectional transfer of excitation requires an explicit time dependence. For non-vanishing $`v_0`$ a space-dependent Stokes field in the laboratory frame is equivalent to a time-dependent field in the rest frame of the atoms.

Eq.(13) has the simple solution

$`(z,t)=(0,t\tau (z)){\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{cos}\theta (z)}{\mathrm{cos}\theta (0)}},`$ (15)
where $`\tau (z)=_0^zdz^{}v_{\mathrm{gr}}^1(z^{})`$ and we have introduced the mixing angle $`\theta (z)`$ according to $`\mathrm{tan}^2\theta (z)\frac{g^2n}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}\frac{v_0}{c}`$. If $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0(z)`$ is a sufficiently slowly, monotonically decreasing function of $`z`$ which approaches zero, the amplitude of the pump field decreases to zero as well. At the same time one finds from (10) for $`\mathrm{\Phi }_3\mathrm{\Psi }_3\mathrm{e}^{i\{(k_pk_s)z(\omega _p\omega _s)t\}}`$:

$`\mathrm{\Phi }_3(z,t)=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{c}{v_0}}}\mathrm{tan}\theta (z)(z,t)`$ (16)
If at the input of the interaction region $`\theta (0)=0`$ and at the output $`\theta (L)=\pi /2`$ this yields

$`\mathrm{\Phi }_3(L,t)=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{c}{v_0}}}(0,t\tau ),`$ (17)
with $`\tau =_0^Ldzv_{\mathrm{gr}}^1(z)`$. The factor $`\sqrt{c/v_0}`$ accounts for the fact that the input light propagates with velocity $`c`$ while the output matter field propagates only with $`v_0`$. As can easily be seen, the input flux of photons is thus equal to the output flux of atoms in state $`|3`$: $`c^+_{\mathrm{in}}=v_0\mathrm{\Psi }_3^+\mathrm{\Psi }_3_{\mathrm{out}}`$. Eq.(17) is the main result of the paper. It shows that in the present set-up the quantum properties of an input electromagnetic field can be completely transferred to an atomic beam. This is illustrated in Fig. 2, where the average value and fluctuations of the photon number $`\widehat{n}(z)`$ and the number of atoms in state $`3`$, $`\widehat{m}_3(z)`$ passing a plane at position $`z`$ during a certain time interval are shown. The exchange of photons into state-$`3`$ atoms is apparent. Due to the incomplete transfer of excitations atom-number fluctuations reach a maximum for intermediate $`z`$, but $`\mathrm{\Delta }m_3^2_{\mathrm{out}}\mathrm{\Delta }n_{\mathrm{ph}}_{\mathrm{in}}`$.

Thus continuous matter waves with non-classical quantum correlations can be generated out of cw non-classical light. Since the mapping technique can be applied to separate Raman transitions at the same time, it is also possible to transfer entanglement from a pair of cw light beams as generated for example in parametric down-conversion to a pair of atomic beams.

In the derivation of the above result several approximations have been invoked. In the following the validity of those will be discussed in more detail. The first approximations made are that of a weak quantum pump field and weak atomic excitation. It can easily be seen from eq.(10) that the ratio of the intensity of the pump to the Stokes field is given by the ratio of the atomic number density in state $`|3`$ to the total number density, even when the Stokes field goes to zero: $`g^2^+/\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2=\mathrm{\Psi }_3^+\mathrm{\Psi }_3/n`$. It is thus sufficient to fulfill the condition of weak atomic excitation, which requires that the input flux of atoms is much larger than the input flux of pump photons. This condition requires some experimental efforts and may not be easy to satisfy. On the other hand rather high flux densities of atoms can be achieved in supersonic beam configurations or (with narrow velocity distributions) in atom lasers.

A second assumption made is that of perfect two-photon resonance. This condition can only be fulfilled if either the velocity spread of the atoms is extremely small or if the relative wave-vector of pump and Stokes fields projected onto the $`z`$ axis vanishes. Both conditions are not easy to satisfy. They require either a substantial level of longitudinal cooling, i.e. a coherent source of input atoms or a careful design of pump and Stokes field geometry. For a quantitative analysis a non-vanishing but constant value of $`\delta _l=\delta `$ is considered in the following. In this case there is a contribution to $`\mathrm{\Phi }_2^l`$ even in lowest order of the adiabatic expansion.

$`\mathrm{\Phi }_2^l`$ $``$ $`\mathrm{\Phi }_2^l+{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \mathrm{\Omega }_0}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2\delta (\mathrm{\Delta }i\gamma )}}{\displaystyle \frac{g}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0}}\sqrt{n}\xi _l\mathrm{e}^{i(k_lz\omega _lt)}`$ (18)
which gives rise to an additional dissipative loss term in the equation for $``$

$`\left[\left(1+{\displaystyle \frac{g^2n}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}+c\left(1+{\displaystyle \frac{g^2n}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}}{\displaystyle \frac{\overline{v}}{c}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}\right]=`$ (19)
$`={\displaystyle \frac{g^2n}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}}\overline{v}\left({\displaystyle \frac{}{z}}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{\Omega }_0(z)\right)`$ (20)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{g^2n}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\delta ^2\mathrm{\Omega }_0\gamma }{(\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2\delta \mathrm{\Delta })^2+\delta ^2\gamma ^2}}\right)+\mathrm{}`$ (21)
where the dots indicate additional imaginary terms that affect only the phase of $``$.

To estimate the influence of the dissipative term $`\mathrm{\Delta }=0`$ is assumed. Integrating the field equation yields for the loss factor $`\eta `$ of the field amplitude ($`\eta `$)

$`\eta =\mathrm{exp}\left\{\alpha {\displaystyle _0^1}d\zeta {\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{cos}^2\theta (\zeta )x^2}{\mathrm{cot}^4\theta (\zeta )+x^2}}\right\},`$ (22)
with $`\zeta =z/L`$. Here $`\alpha g^2nL/\gamma c`$ is the opacity of the medium in the absence of EIT and $`x\delta \gamma /g^2n\frac{v_0}{c}`$ is a dimensionless quantity characterizing the two-photon detuning. The cosine of the mixing angle is monotonically decreasing from some initial value to zero over the interaction length $`L`$. Assuming $`x1`$ one can give an upper limit to the integral in eq.(22), by replacing the integrand by its maximum value, which is achieved when $`\mathrm{cos}^2\theta |x|1`$. This gives the very good estimate $`\eta \mathrm{exp}\{\alpha |x|/2\}`$. Thus in order to neglect the influence of dissipative losses, it is sufficient that

$`|\delta |{\displaystyle \frac{L}{v_0}}1.`$ (23)
A two-photon detuning can result for example from a residual Doppler shift of the $`13`$ transition. If $`\mathrm{\Delta }v`$ denotes the difference of the velocity in $`z`$ direction with respect to the resonant velocity class, the corresponding two-photon detuning reads $`\delta =\mathrm{\Delta }v(\stackrel{}{k}_p\stackrel{}{k}_s)\stackrel{}{e}_z`$. In this case (23) translates into

$`{\displaystyle \frac{|\mathrm{\Delta }v|}{v_0}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{(k_pk_s)L}}.`$ (24)
It can be seen from (24) that the geometry of the set-up should be chosen in such a way, that the beat-note wave-vector has a minimal projection to the $`z`$ axis. Combining this with the requirement of a spatially decreasing Stokes field $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0(z)`$ is experimentally difficult, but possible in principle. Furthermore other schemes of quantum state transfer that use adiabatic sweeping of the two-photon detuning trough resonance rather than an adiabatically varying Stokes intensity may be employed .

For a monochromatic quantum pump field the conditions for adiabaticity can easily be obtained from those in a stationary medium with time dependent Stokes field  by a simple frame transformation. This yields

$`\gamma {\displaystyle _0^L}dz{\displaystyle \frac{v_0\left(\theta ^{}(z)\right)^2}{g^2n+\mathrm{\Omega }_0^2(z)}}1.`$ (25)
Setting $`\theta ^{}(z)1/L`$ this results in a lower limit for the beam opacity $`\alpha =g^2nL/\gamma c`$ in the absence of EIT

$`\alpha {\displaystyle \frac{v_0}{c}}.`$ (26)
Since $`v_0c`$, a value of $`\alpha `$ much less than unity will be sufficient to guarantee total adiabatic transfer. Note that $`v_0`$ cannot be arbitrarily small, however, since the atom flux at the input has to be much larger than the input photon flux.

In summary we have shown that a complete and loss-free transfer of quantum properties from a cw light field to a continuous beam of atoms is possible using a recently proposed technique based on Raman adiabatic transfer. The combination of a space-dependent Stokes field with a finite momentum of the input matter wave leads to a time-varying Stokes field in the rest frame of the atoms. In this way continuous and monochromatic matter-waves in non-classical or entangled quantum states can be generated out of light fields with corresponding properties.

The financial support of the DFG and the Alexander-von-Humboldt foundation is gratefully acknowledged. S.G. thanks K. Bergmann for the hospitality during his stay in Kaiserslautern and both authors thank him for stimulating discussions.


text:
# Dynamic Resonance of Light in Fabry-Perot Cavities

(January, 2001)

## Abstract

The dynamics of light in Fabry-Perot cavities with varying length and input laser frequency are analyzed and the exact condition for resonance is derived. This dynamic resonance depends on the light transit time in the cavity and the Doppler effect due to the mirror motions. The response of the cavity to length variations is very different from its response to laser frequency variations. If the frequency of these variations is equal to multiples of the cavity free spectral range, the response to length is maximized while the response to the laser frequency is zero. Implications of these results for the detection of gravitational waves using kilometer-scale Fabry-Perot cavities are discussed.

Fabry-Perot cavities, optical resonators, are commonly utilized for high-precision frequency and distance measurements Vaughan:1989 . Currently, kilometer-scale Fabry-Perot cavities with suspended mirrors are being employed in efforts to detect cosmic gravitational waves Abramovici:1992 ; Bradaschia:1990 . This application has stimulated renewed interest in cavities with moving mirrors Camp:1995 ; Mizuno:1997 ; Chickarmane:1998 ; Pai:2000  and motivated efforts to model the dynamics of such cavities on the computer Redding:1997 ; Sigg:1997 ; Bhawal:1998 ; Beausoleil:1999 ; Yamamoto:2000 . Recently, several studies addressed the process of lock acquisition in which the cavity mirrors move through the resonance positions Camp:1995 ; Lawrence:1999 ; Rakhmanov:doppler . In this process, the Doppler effect due to the mirror motions impedes constructive interference of light in the cavity giving rise to complex field dynamics. In contrast, Fabry-Perot cavities held in the state of resonance have usually been treated as essentially static. In this letter, we show that resonant cavities also have complex field dynamics and we derive the condition for dynamic resonance. Our analysis is developed for the very long Fabry-Perot cavities of gravitational wave detectors, but the results are general and apply to any cavities, especially when the frequencies of interest are close to the cavity free spectral range.

We consider a Fabry-Perot cavity with a laser field incident from one side as shown in Fig. 1. Variations in the cavity length are due to the mirror displacements $`x_a(t)`$ and $`x_b(t)`$ which are measured with respect to reference planes $`a`$ and $`b`$. The nominal light transit time and the free spectral range (FSR) of the cavity are defined by

$$T=L/c,\omega _{\mathrm{fsr}}=\pi /T.$$
(1)
The field incident upon the cavity and the field circulating in the cavity are described by plane waves with nominal frequency $`\omega `$ and wavenumber $`k`$ ($`k=\omega /c`$). Variations in the laser frequency are denoted by $`\delta \omega (t)`$. We assume that the mirror displacements are much less than the nominal cavity length and that the deviations of the laser frequency are much less than the nominal frequency.

At any given place the electric field $``$ in the cavity oscillates at a very high frequency: $`(t)\mathrm{exp}(i\omega t)`$. For simplicity, we suppress the fast-oscillating factor and define the slowly-varying field as $`E(t)=(t)\mathrm{exp}(i\omega t)`$. To properly account for the phases of the propagating fields, their complex amplitudes are defined at fixed locations, reference planes $`a_1`$ and $`a_2`$, as shown in Fig. 1. (The small offset $`ϵ`$ is introduced for convenience and can be set to zero at the end of calculations.)

The equations for fields in the cavity can be obtained by tracing a wavefront during its complete round-trip in the cavity (starting from the reference plane $`a_2`$). The propagation delays $`\tau _1`$ and $`\tau _2`$ depend on the mirror positions and are given by

$`c\tau _1`$ $`=`$ $`Lϵ+x_b(t\tau _1),`$ (2)
$`c\tau _2`$ $`=`$ $`ϵx_a(t\tau _2).`$ (3)
Then the fields in the cavity satisfy the equations:

$`E^{}(t)`$ $`=`$ $`r_bE(t2\tau _1)e^{2i\omega \tau _1},`$ (4)
$`E(t)`$ $`=`$ $`r_aE^{}(t2\tau _2)e^{2i\omega \tau _2}+`$ (5)
$`t_aE_{\mathrm{in}}(t2ϵ/c),`$
where $`r_a`$ and $`r_b`$ are the mirror reflectivities, and $`t_a`$ is the transmissivity of the front mirror.

Because the field amplitudes $`E`$ and $`E^{}`$ do not change significantly over times of order $`x_{a,b}/c`$, the small variations in these amplitudes during the changes in propagation times due to mirror displacements can be neglected. Furthermore, the reference planes $`a`$ and $`b`$ can be chosen so that the nominal length of the Fabry-Perot cavity becomes an integer multiple of the laser wavelength, making $`\mathrm{exp}(2ikL)=1`$. Finally, the offset $`ϵ`$ can be set to zero, and Eqs. (4)-(5) can be combined yielding one equation for the cavity field

$$E(t)=t_aE_{\mathrm{in}}(t)+r_ar_bE(t2T)\mathrm{exp}[2ik\delta L(t)].$$
(6)
Here $`\delta L(t)`$ is the variation in the cavity length “seen” by the light circulating in the cavity,

$$\delta L(t)=x_b(tT)x_a(t).$$
(7)
Note that the time delay appears in the coordinate of the end mirror, but not the front mirror. This is simply a consequence of our placement of the laser source; the light that enters the cavity reflects from the end mirror first and then the front mirror. For $`\delta L=0`$, Laplace transformation of both sides of Eq. (6) yields the basic cavity response function

$$H(s)\frac{\stackrel{~}{E}(s)}{\stackrel{~}{E}_{\mathrm{in}}(s)}=\frac{t_a}{1r_ar_be^{2sT}},$$
(8)
where tildes denote Laplace transforms.

The static solution of Eq. (6) is found by considering a cavity with fixed length ($`\delta L=\mathrm{const}`$) and an input laser field with fixed amplitude and frequency ($`A,\delta \omega =\mathrm{const}`$). In this case the input laser field and the cavity field are given by

$`E_{\mathrm{in}}(t)`$ $`=`$ $`Ae^{i\delta \omega t},`$ (9)
$`E(t)`$ $`=`$ $`E_0e^{i\delta \omega t},`$ (10)
where $`E_0`$ is the amplitude of the cavity field,

$$E_0=\frac{t_aA}{1r_ar_b\mathrm{exp}[2i(T\delta \omega +k\delta L)]}.$$
(11)
The cavity field is maximized when the length and the laser frequency are adjusted so that

$$\frac{\delta \omega }{\omega }=\frac{\delta L}{L}.$$
(12)
This is the well-known static resonance condition. The maximum amplitude of the cavity field is given by

$$\overline{E}=\frac{t_aA}{1r_ar_b}.$$
(13)
Light can also resonate in a Fabry-Perot cavity when its length and the laser frequency are changing. For a fixed amplitude and variable phase, the input laser field can be written as

$$E_{\mathrm{in}}(t)=Ae^{i\varphi (t)},$$
(14)
where $`\varphi (t)`$ is the phase due to frequency variations,

$$\varphi (t)=_0^t\delta \omega (t^{})𝑑t^{}.$$
(15)
Then the steady-state solution of Eq. (6) is

$$E(t)=\overline{E}e^{i\varphi (t)},$$
(16)
where the amplitude $`\overline{E}`$ is given by Eq. (13) and the phase satisfies the condition

$$\varphi (t)\varphi (t2T)=2k\delta L(t).$$
(17)
Thus resonance occurs when the phase of the input laser field is corrected to compensate for the changes in the cavity length due to the mirror motions. The associated laser frequency correction is equal to the Doppler shift caused by reflection from the moving mirrors

$$\delta \omega (t)\delta \omega (t2T)=2\frac{v(t)}{c}\omega ,$$
(18)
where $`v(t)`$ is the relative mirror velocity ($`v=d\delta L/dt`$). The equivalent formula in the Laplace domain is

$$C(s)\frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{\omega }(s)}{\omega }=\frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{L}(s)}{L},$$
(19)
where $`C(s)`$ is the normalized frequency-to-length transfer function which is given by

$$C(s)=\frac{1e^{2sT}}{2sT}.$$
(20)
Eq. (19) is the condition for dynamic resonance. It must be satisfied in order for light to resonate in the cavity when the cavity length and the laser frequency are changing.

The transfer function $`C(s)`$ has zeros at multiples of the cavity free spectral range,

$$z_n=i\omega _{\mathrm{fsr}}n,$$
(21)
where $`n`$ is integer, and therefore can be written as the infinite product,

$$C(s)=e^{sT}\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\left(1\frac{s^2}{z_n^2}\right),$$
(22)
which is useful for control system design111This formula is derived using the infinite-product representation for sine: $`\mathrm{sin}x=x_{n=1}^{\mathrm{}}\left(1x^2/\pi ^2n^2\right)`$..

To maintain resonance, changes in the cavity length must be compensated by changes in the laser frequency according to Eq. (19). If the frequency of such changes is much less than the cavity free spectral range, $`C(s)1`$ and Eq. (19) reduces to the quasi-static approximation,

$$\frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{\omega }(s)}{\omega }\frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{L}(s)}{L}.$$
(23)
At frequencies above the cavity free spectral range, $`C(s)1/s`$ and increasingly larger laser frequency changes are required to compensate for cavity length variations. Moreover, at multiples of the FSR, $`C(s)=0`$ and no frequency-to-length compensation is possible.

In practice, Fabry-Perot cavities always deviate from resonance, and a negative-feedback control system is employed to reduce the deviations. For small deviations from resonance, the cavity field can be described as

$$E(t)=[\overline{E}+\delta E(t)]e^{i\varphi (t)},$$
(24)
where $`\overline{E}`$ is the maximum field given by Eq.(13), and $`\delta E`$ is a small perturbation ($`|\delta E||\overline{E}|`$). Substituting this equation into Eq. (6), we see that the perturbation evolves in time according to

$`\delta E(t)r_ar_b\delta E(t2T)=`$
$`ir_ar_b\overline{E}\left[\varphi (t)\varphi (t2T)+2k\delta L(t)\right].`$ (25)
This equation is easily solved in the Laplace domain, yielding

$$\delta \stackrel{~}{E}(s)=ir_ar_b\overline{E}\frac{\left(1e^{2sT}\right)\stackrel{~}{\varphi }(s)+2k\delta \stackrel{~}{L}(s)}{1r_ar_be^{2sT}}.$$
(26)
Deviations of the cavity field from its maximum value can be measured by the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) error signal which is widely utilized for feedback control of Fabry-Perot cavities Drever:1983 . The PDH signal is obtained by coherent detection of phase-modulated light reflected by the cavity. With the appropriate choice of the demodulation phase, the PDH signal is proportional to the imaginary part of the cavity field (Eq. (26)) and therefore can be written as

$$\delta \stackrel{~}{V}(s)H(s)\left[\frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{L}(s)}{L}+C(s)\frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{\omega }(s)}{\omega }\right],$$
(27)
where $`H(s)`$ is given by Eq. (8). In the presence of length and frequency variations, feedback control will drive the error signal toward the null point, $`\delta \stackrel{~}{V}=0`$, thus maintaining dynamic resonance according to Eq. (19).

The response of the PDH signal to either length or laser frequency deviations can be found from Eq. (27). The normalized length-to-signal transfer function is given by

$$H_L(s)=\frac{H(s)}{H(0)}=\frac{1r_ar_b}{1r_ar_be^{2sT}}.$$
(28)
A Bode plot (magnitude and phase) of $`H_L`$ is shown in Fig. 2 for the LIGO Abramovici:1992  Fabry-Perot cavities with $`L=4`$ km, $`r_a=0.985`$, and $`r_b=1`$. The magnitude of the transfer function,

$$|H_L(i\mathrm{\Omega })|=\frac{1}{\sqrt{1+F\mathrm{sin}^2\mathrm{\Omega }T}},$$
(29)
is the square-root of the well-known Airy function with the coefficient of finesse $`F=4r_ar_b/(1r_ar_b)^2`$. (In optics, the Airy function describes the intensity profile of a Fabry-Perot cavity Born:1980 .)

The transfer function $`H_L`$ has an infinite number of poles:

$$p_n=\frac{1}{\tau }+i\omega _{\mathrm{fsr}}n,$$
(30)
where $`n`$ is integer, and $`\tau `$ is the storage time of the cavity,

$$\tau =\frac{2T}{|\mathrm{ln}(r_ar_b)|}.$$
(31)
Therefore, $`H_L`$ can be written as the infinite product,

$$H_L(s)=e^{sT}\underset{n=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{p_n}{p_ns},$$
(32)
which can be truncated to a finite number of terms for use in control system design.

The response of a Fabry-Perot cavity to laser frequency variations is very different from its response to length variations. The normalized frequency-to-signal transfer function is given by

$$H_\omega (s)=C(s)H_L(s),$$
(33)
or, more explicitly as

$$H_\omega (s)=\left(\frac{1e^{2sT}}{2sT}\right)\left(\frac{1r_ar_b}{1r_ar_be^{2sT}}\right).$$
(34)
A Bode plot of $`H_\omega `$, calculated for the same parameters as for $`H_L`$, is shown in Fig. 3. The transfer function $`H_\omega `$ has zeros given by Eq. (21) with $`n0`$, and poles given by Eq. (30). The poles and zeros come in pairs except for the lowest order pole, $`p_0`$, which does not have a matching zero. Therefore, $`H_\omega `$ can be written as the infinite product,

$$H_\omega (s)=\frac{p_0}{p_0s}\underset{n=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}^{}\left(\frac{1s/z_n}{1s/p_n}\right),$$
(35)
where the prime indicates that $`n=0`$ term is omitted from the product.

The zeros in the transfer function indicate that the cavity does not respond ($`\delta E=0`$) to laser frequency deviations if these deviations occur at multiples of the cavity FSR. In this case, the amplitude of the circulating field is constant while the phase of the circulating field is changing with the phase of the input laser field.

In summary, we have shown that resonance can be maintained in a Fabry-Perot cavity even when the cavity length and laser frequency are changing. In this dynamic resonance state, changes in the laser frequency and changes in the cavity length play very different roles (Eq. (19)) in contrast to the quasi-static resonance state where they appear equally (Eq. (23)). Maintenance of dynamic resonance requires that the frequency-to-length transfer function, $`C(s)`$, be taken into account when compensating for length variations by frequency changes and vice versa. Compensation for length variations by frequency changes becomes increasingly more difficult at frequencies above the FSR, and impossible at multiples of the FSR.

As can be seen in Fig. 3, the response of the PDH error signal to laser frequency variations decreases as $`1/\mathrm{\Omega }`$ for $`\mathrm{\Omega }\tau ^1`$ and becomes strongly suppressed at frequencies equal to multiples of the cavity FSR. In contrast, the response to length variations is a periodic function of frequency as shown in Fig. 2. For $`\mathrm{\Omega }\tau ^1`$, it also decreases as $`1/\mathrm{\Omega }`$ but only to the level of $`(1+F)^{\frac{1}{2}}`$ and then returns to its maximum value. Thus, at multiples of the FSR, the sensitivity to length variations is maximum while the sensitivity to frequency variations is minimum.

Both these features suggest searches for gravitational waves at frequencies near multiples of the FSR. However, because gravitational waves interact with the light as well as the mirrors, the response of an optimally-oriented interferometer is equivalent to $`H_\omega (s)`$ and not to $`H_L(s)`$ Mizuno:1997 . Thus, an optimally-oriented interferometer does not respond to gravitational wave at multiples of the FSR. However, for other orientations gravitational waves can be detected with enhanced sensitivity at multiples of the cavity FSR Schilling:1997 .

We thank Robert Coldwell, Guido Mueller and David Shoemaker for comments on the paper. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under grants PHY-9210038 and PHY-0070854.


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# The Origin of Radio Emission in Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei: Jets, Accretion Flows, or Both?

## 1 Introduction

Most nearby normal and active galaxies with bulges appear to have supermassive black holes (BHs) at their centers (see Kormendy & Gebhardt 2001 for a review), although galaxies without bulges may lack BHs (Gebhardt et al. 2001). The central BHs are thought to power the low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs) in local Seyfert galaxies and LINERs. In a number of these LLAGNs, the radio emission is compact on milliarcsecond (mas) scales (Falcke et al. 2000; Nagar, Wilson, & Falcke 2001) when imaged with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA; Napier et al. 1993)111The VLBA is operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.. They often have mildly inverted centimeter radio spectra with spectral indices $`\alpha +0.3`$, where $`S_\nu \nu ^\alpha `$ (Wrobel & Heeschen 1991; Slee et al. 1994; Nagar et al. 2000). In our recent VLA study of the Palomar Seyfert sample (Ho, Filippenko, & Sargent 1997), we found that about half of the weak Seyferts selected by optical spectroscopy have flat or inverted radio spectra (Ho & Ulvestad 2001, hereafter HU01; Ulvestad & Ho 2001), These galaxies differ from more luminous Seyferts, which typically have optically thin synchrotron spectra with $`\alpha 0.7`$ (Ulvestad & Wilson 1984, 1989; Ulvestad & Ho 2001). Possible explanations discussed by Ulvestad & Ho (2001) included free-free emission/absorption or an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF; see Narayan, Mahadevan, & Quataert 1998; Quataert 2001).

The Galactic Center source Sgr A\* also has a mildly inverted spectrum at centimeter wavelengths, with $`\alpha +0.3`$ from 1 GHz to over 100 GHz (Falcke et al. 1998). This spectrum is sometimes attributed to an ADAF (e.g., Narayan, Yi, & Mahadevan 1995; Manmoto, Mineshige, & Kusunose 1997). In ADAFs, synchrotron radiation from hot electrons in a $`10^9`$ K gas is self-absorbed, yielding a radio spectral index between +0.3 and +0.4 (Mahadevan 1997; Narayan et al. 1998). X-ray emission arises from Compton scattering or bremsstrahlung, but is far below the Eddington limit, since most of the plasma’s energy is advected into the BH by the ions. The transition from a classical thin accretion disk to an ADAF takes place within $`10^310^4`$ Schwarzschild radii ($`R_\mathrm{S}`$) of the BH. Compact radio emission from a number of LLAGNs has been attributed to ADAF processes similar to those inferred in Sgr A\* (e.g., Fabian & Rees 1995; Mahadevan 1997; Ho et al. 2000; Wrobel & Herrnstein 2000). However, Di Matteo et al. (1999) find that the simplest ADAF models overpredict the radio and submillimeter fluxes in several nearby ellipticals.

Another possible model for Sgr A\* and LLAGNs is that of a compact radio jet in combination with an ADAF (Falcke 1996; Falcke & Markoff 2000; Yuan 2000). As reviewed by Falcke (2001), the jet accelerates slightly due to a longitudinal pressure gradient, and integration of jet radio emission may result in a slightly inverted spectrum. Compton upscattering of the radio photons produces the X-rays. An energetically significant jet or outflow will reduce the accretion rate in the innermost region of the ADAF, which may explain the low level of radio emission seen in some ellipticals (Di Matteo et al. 1999; Quataert & Narayan 1999).

In this Letter, we report four-frequency VLBA imaging of three LLAGNs imaged previously at arcsecond resolution with the VLA (HU01). These galaxies were selected because they have inverted VLA spectra between 1.4 and 4.9 GHz and flux densities sufficiently high ($`>`$10 mJy) for easy imaging with the VLBA. Therefore, they were good candidates for testing the various models that might account for their spectral shapes.

## 2 Observations and Results

The VLBA observed NGC 3147, NGC 4203, and NGC 4579 in March 2001 at central frequencies of 1.667, 2.271, 4.995, and 8.421 GHz. About six hours was spent integrating on each galaxy, divided among the four frequencies. Amplitude calibration used a-priori gain values together with system temperatures measured during the observations, and typically is accurate to 5%. Initial clock and atmospheric (phase) errors were derived from calibrator sources within 2°–4° of the galaxies,

using the technique of phase-referencing (Beasley & Conway 1995). This resulted in galaxy position errors of $`<`$ 1 mas, dominated by uncertainties in the calibrator positions (from Johnston et al. 1995; A. J. Beasley et al., in preparation). The initial phase calibration was limited at low frequencies by the active ionosphere, and at high frequencies by the wet troposphere, but each galaxy was detected at all four frequencies. Phase self-calibration was applied iteratively, resulting in noise-limited images. Approximate beam widths ranged from $`7`$ mas at 1.7 GHz to 1.2 mas at 8.4 GHz, while the rms image noises were 90–150 $`\mu `$Jy beam-1.

Gaussian fitting showed that all VLBA images were dominated by a single unresolved component; we estimate size upper limits of half the beam widths. Derived flux densities are accurate to $`5`$% at 2.3 and 5.0 GHz, and $`10`$% (due to larger self-calibration corrections) at 1.7 and 8.4 GHz. Table 1 summarizes the observations and main results, and Table 2 lists some derived quantities and other pertinent information. Figure 1 shows the high-resolution, unresolved 8.4-GHz images of the galaxies, while Figure 2 compares the radio spectra with that of Sgr A\*.

## 3 Individual Galaxies

NGC 3147.—NGC 3147 contains a Seyfert 2 nucleus in an Sbc galaxy (Ho et al. 1997). The hard X-ray (2–10 keV) luminosity measured with ASCA is $`3.4\times 10^{41}`$erg s-1 (Terashima, Ho, & Ptak 2000a), and observations with the ROSAT HRI (Roberts & Warwick 2000) show that this source is almost certainly located at the nucleus. Our upper limit to the source radius is $``$0.05 pc, or $`1500R_\mathrm{S}`$ for a BH mass of $`3.6\times 10^8`$ $`M_{}`$. We estimated the BH mass using the tight empirical correlation between BH mass and bulge stellar velocity dispersion (Gebhardt et al. 2000; Ferrarese & Merritt 2000), adopting the $`M_{\mathrm{BH}}\sigma `$ relation given by Gebhardt et al. (2000) and $`\sigma `$ = 268 km s-1 from McElroy (1995)222Gebhardt et al. (2000) use $`\sigma =\sigma _e`$, the projected, luminosity-weighted velocity dispersion measured within the effective radius of the bulge. Since our objects do not have measurements of $`\sigma _e`$, we use $`\sigma =\sigma _0`$, the central velocity dispersion; Gebhardt et al. (2000) show that $`\sigma _e\sigma _0`$ within a scatter of $``$10%.. The VLBA flux densities of 7 and 9 mJy at 1.7 and 5.0 GHz can be compared to the VLA peak flux densities of 13 and 10 mJy at similar frequencies in late 1999 (HU01), so there may be weak 1.7-GHz emission on scales between tens of mas and 1 arcsec.

NGC 4203.—NGC 4203 is a nearly face-on S0 galaxy with a LINER 1.9 nucleus (Ho et al. 1997). It has a double-peaked broad H$`\alpha `$ emission line with a full-width near zero intensity of at least 12,500 km s-1 (Shields et al. 2000), and a fairly weak nuclear X-ray source detected with Chandra, having $`L_\mathrm{X}`$(2–10 keV) = $`5.0\times 10^{39}`$ erg s-1 (Ho et al. 2001). For $`\sigma `$ = 124 km s-1 (Dalle Ore et al. 1991), $`M_{\mathrm{BH}}=2.0\times 10^7`$ $`M_{}`$. The upper limit for the source radius is $``$0.02 pc, or $`1.0\times 10^4R_\mathrm{S}`$, and the VLBA flux densities are consistent with the 1999 VLA peaks (HU01).

NGC 4579.—NGC 4579 is an SABb galaxy with a type 1.9 Seyfert or LINER nucleus (Ho et al. 1997). Its broad H$`\alpha `$ line is double-peaked or double-shouldered (Barth et al. 2001), and it contains a variable hard X-ray source (Terashima et al. 2000b) with a 2–10 keV luminosity of $`8.9\times 10^{40}`$ erg s-1 as measured with Chandra (Ho et al. 2001). The BH mass inferred from the

$`M_{\mathrm{BH}}\sigma `$ relation is $`5\times 10^7`$ $`M_{}`$ (Barth et al. 2001). Our VLBA 8.4-GHz beam of 2.4 mas $`\times `$ 1.0 mas limits the source radius to $``$0.03 pc, or $`6200R_\mathrm{S}`$. The 1.7-GHz VLBA flux density is consistent with the previous VLA peak (HU01), while the 5-GHz value is considerably lower (22.8 mJy vs. 38 mJy). Falcke et al. (2001) found this galaxy to be variable at 15 GHz on time scales of 1–3 yr, so the change in the 5-GHz flux density over 17 months is most likely due to variability. This variability implies that the core spectral index changes over time, so model interpretations based solely on the spectral index must be made with caution.

## 4 Implications and Summary

What is the emission mechanism of the radio cores? In the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068, Gallimore, Baum, & O’Dea (1997) resolved the flat-spectrum component S1 at 8.4 GHz using the VLBA; they attributed S1 to free-free emission from a parsec-scale torus. However, other flat-spectrum Seyfert cores are unresolved by the VLBA and appear to have other origins (Mundell et al. 2000). The free-free interpretation also is untenable for our sources because (1) they are much more compact ($`r`$ $`<`$ 0.05 pc) than the dimensions of nuclear tori and (2) they have brightness temperatures ($`T_b`$ $`>`$ $`10^9`$ K; Table 1) more than two orders of magnitude above the values expected for thermal emission. The relatively flat spectra over a factor of 5 in frequency (Fig. 2) seem to rule out free-free absorption as well, though NGC 4579 shows a slight spectral turnover above 5 GHz. Therefore, the prevalence of flat or inverted spectra in LLAGNs cannot, in general, be due to free-free emission or absorption. The brightness temperature limits are consistent with classical synchrotron self-absorption, although more than one self-absorbed component would have to be present, since self-absorbed synchrotron radiation from a single power-law distribution of electrons should result in $`\alpha 2.5`$.

If our galaxies host massive BHs, as suggested by current BH demography studies and the evidence for nonstellar activity summarized in § 3, they must be radiating significantly below their Eddington limits. The nuclear bolometric luminosities of NGC 4203 and NGC 4579 are known from Ho et al. (2000) and Ho (1999), respectively. For NGC 3147, we assume $`L_{\mathrm{bol}}=6.7L_\mathrm{X}`$(2–10 keV), empirically derived from an average of 10 objects analyzed by Ho (1999) and Ho et al. (2000). As shown in Table 2, all three objects are highly sub-Eddington systems: $`L_{\mathrm{bol}}/L_{\mathrm{Edd}}`$ $`<`$ $`10^4`$. In particular, they all lie comfortably within the expected value for ADAFs, which is estimated to be $`L_{\mathrm{bol}}/L_{\mathrm{Edd}}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}10}^2`$ (e.g., Narayan et al. 1998; Quataert 2001). Additional arguments for the existence of ADAFs in NGC 4203 and NGC 4579 are given in Ho et al. (2000) and Ho (2001), among them being the absence of the optical/ultraviolet continuum bump normally attributed to thermal emission from a thin disk. Thus, the compact radio cores could be emission from ADAFs. This is consistent with (1) the compactness of the sources ($`r<10^4R_\mathrm{S}`$), (2) the apparent self-absorbed synchrotron nature of the emission, (3) the brightness temperature limits, and (4) the spectral indices333The apparent spectral turnover in NGC 4579, however, would require some modification of the standard ADAF model, such as inclusion of winds (Quataert & Narayan 1999)..

Notwithstanding these arguments, the majority of the radio emission most likely does not come from accretion flows. We arrive at this conclusion by comparing the luminosity output of the radio and the X-ray bands. Table 2 shows that the ratio of the spectral luminosity at 8.4 GHz to the luminosity in the 2–10 keV band spans $`3\times 10^4`$ $`<`$$`L_{8.4}/L_\mathrm{X}`$ $`<`$$`1\times 10^3`$. Yi & Boughn (1998) give a convenient expression for the relation between radio and X-ray luminosities in a standard ADAF model. Using our values of BH mass and X-ray luminosity in their Equation 2.10, we predict values for $`L_{8.4}/L_\mathrm{X}`$ that are $``$10 times smaller than the observed values. Hence our sources are overluminous in the radio compared to the X-rays. We note that this discrepancy is not alleviated by appealing to more recent variants of the ADAF model that incorporate outflows or convection (e.g., Quataert 2001). Either of these effects will suppress the radio component with respect to the X-rays (Quataert & Narayan 1999; Ball, Narayan, & Quataert 2001), exacerbating the problem. If the radio core were larger than in the canonical ADAF models, the surrounding X-ray bremsstrahlung region would be correspondingly larger, again increasing the discrepancy between our high observed values of $`L_{8.4}/L_\mathrm{X}`$ and the lower model values.

The most likely origins for the radio cores in our three galaxies are compact jets or outflows, as discussed by Falcke (2001) and Nagar et al. (2001). The high brightness temperatures, the flat/inverted spectra, and the compactness of the cores easily can be reproduced in such a model. However, it is unclear if the jet model can self-consistently explain both the radio and X-ray emission, let alone the entire spectral energy distribution. Falcke & Markoff (2000) successfully fitted the radio and X-ray spectra of Sgr A with the jet model, but $`L_{8.4}/L_\mathrm{X}`$ in Sgr A

is $`>`$100 times higher than in our objects during the quiescent X-ray phase found by Baganoff et al. (2001). For a given radio jet power, the X-ray luminosities from self-Compton emission are well-constrained (e.g., Falcke & Markoff 2000), and are unlikely to contribute significantly in our galaxies.

A natural way to account simultaneously for the full spectral energy distribution of LLAGNs, such as those discussed here, is to incorporate facets of both classes of models discussed above, namely a jet and an ADAF (or some closely related variant of a low radiative efficiency accretion flow; see Quataert 2001). This is the approach taken by Yuan (2000), but we note that no existing model self-consistently incorporates both components.

We thank Heino Falcke for helpful discussions and Nadia Afrin for assistance in generating the VLBA observing schedules. This research has made use of NASA’s Astrophysics Data System Abstract Service and the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The work of L. C. H. is partly funded through NASA grants awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.


text:
# CHANDRA DETECTION OF THE RADIO AND OPTICAL DOUBLE HOT SPOT OF 3C 351

## 1 INTRODUCTION

It is generally assumed that the relativistic particles in powerful radio galaxies and quasars, initially generated in the vicinity of the active galactic nucleus and channeled by the radio jets out to hundreds of kpc, are re-accelerated in the radio hot spots, which mark the location of strong planar shocks formed at the heads of the jets themselves (e.g., Begelman et al. 1984, Meisenheimer et al. 1989). One of the most important pieces of evidence in favor of electron re-acceleration in the hot spots is the detection of synchrotron emission in the optical/near-IR band, due to high energy electrons (Lorentz factor $`\gamma >10^5`$) with very short radiative lifetimes (e.g., Meisenheimer et al. 1997 and references therein). X-ray observations of non-thermal emission from the radio hot spots are of fundamental importance to constrain the energetics and the spectrum of the relativistic electrons and to test the re-acceleration scenario. Until the advent of Chandra non-thermal X-ray emission had only been detected from a few hot spots. One well-known detection was the ROSAT PSPC observation of the radio hot spots of Cygnus A (Harris et al. 1994), where the hot spot emission was interpreted as synchrotron-self-Compton (SSC) emission, implying magnetic field strengths in the hot spots close to the equipartition values. Chandra has enabled significant progress in this field, with a number of successful detections in the first 2 years of observations (3C 295: Harris et al. 2000; Cyg A: Wilson et al. 2000; Pictor A: Wilson et al. 2001; 3C 123: Hardcastle et al. 2001; 3C 207: Brunetti et al. 2001; 3C 263, Hardcastle et al. in prep.). With the exception of Pictor A, the best and most straightforward interpretation for the X-ray emission in these objects is provided by the SSC mechanism under approximate equipartition conditions.

In this letter we report on the Chandra discovery of X-ray emission from the double northern hot spot of 3C 351 (components J and L of Bridle et al. 1994) and on the modeling of the broad-band spectrum. $`H_0=50`$ km s-1 Mpc-1 and $`q_0=0.5`$ are assumed throughout; 1 arcsec corresponds to 6.2 kpc at the redshift of 3C 351. Reported errors are at the 90% confidence level.

## 2 TARGET AND DATA ANALYSIS

The powerful double-lobed radio source 3C 351 is identified with a quasar at a redshift $`z=0.371`$ (Laing et al. 1983). In addition to the Chandra data, we have analyzed Very Large Array (VLA) and HST archive data and obtained new $`B`$-band observations with the 3.5m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG).

### 2.1 Radio and optical data

Table 1 lists the observations used in this paper and the derived flux densities at different frequencies. The 1.4 GHz values are derived from an A+B-configuration VLA image published by Leahy & Perley (1991). Excellent high-resolution deep radio images at 5 GHz have been published by Bridle et al. (1994), and the 5-GHz flux density of 3C 351–J is from this paper. Higher frequency radio fluxes have been obtained by reducing archive VLA observations at 15 and 22 GHz. Standard procedures for calibration and deconvolution were applied to the data. The fluxes of the hot spots were corrected for primary beam attenuation and for atmospheric opacity.

Röser (1989) first discovered the northern radio hot spots in the optical band, whereas Lähteenmäki & Valtaoja (1999) found optical linear polarisation ($`I`$\- and $`V`$-band) with the 2.5 m Nordic Optical Telescope on La Palma; to our knowledge, no optical fluxes have been quoted in the literature. On 1995 November 29, 3C 351 was observed with the WFPC2 on the HST for 2400 s using the filter F702W (close to $`R`$-band). We analyzed these HST observations in the standard manner, removing cosmic rays and using the bright quasar nucleus to correct the astrometry. On the basis of positional coincidence we identified optical counterparts of the two northern radio hot spots on the WFPC2 image. In order to better constrain the optical spectra we also observed these hot spots with a 1200-s B-band exposure at the 3.5m TNG on La Palma during the night of 2001 August 16. The hot spots were detected with a high signal to noise and the errors on the fluxes (Table 1), obtained with 4-arcsec aperture photometry (the seeing was 1.5 arcsec), are within 10%.

### 2.2 X-ray data

We have analyzed archival data on 3C 351 observed for 9.8 ks with the Chandra observatory on 2000 June 1 in GTO time. The raw level 1 data were re-processed using the latest version (CIAO2.1) of the CXCDS software. We generated a clean data set by selecting the standard grades (0,2,3,4,6) and energies in the band 0.1–10 keV. The X-ray image is shown in Fig. 1, with superimposed contours of the 1.4-GHz VLA radio image. In addition to the nuclear source, two relatively bright X-ray sources, coincident with the double northern radio hot spot, are clearly detected: $``$ 82$`\pm `$10 and 54$`\pm `$9 net counts are associated with components J and L, respectively. Despite the poor statistics, we have attempted to derive spectral information using appropriate response and effective area functions. In both cases a single power law (3C 351–J: $`\alpha =1.2\pm 0.5`$; 3C 351–L: $`\alpha =1.7\pm 1.2`$), with absorption fixed at the Galactic value $`N_\mathrm{H}=2.26\times 10^{20}`$cm-2 (Elvis et al. 1989), provides an acceptable description of the data.

## 3 EMISSION PROCESSES AND ELECTRON ACCELERATION

### 3.1 Modeling the broad band spectrum

As no bright thermal emission from a cluster around 3C 351 has been detected by the Chandra observation, we find that X-ray emission from any shocked gas in the hot spot region would be orders of magnitude lower than that observed. As discussed in the Introduction, the most plausible non-thermal mechanism responsible for X-ray emission is SSC. In Fig. 2 we show fits to the broad band spectrum of the hot spots 3C351–J and L. The emitted synchrotron and SSC spectra are obtained with standard recipes, assuming an electron energy distribution as derived under basic Fermi-I acceleration theory: a power-law spectrum with injection energy index $`\delta `$ which steepens at higher energies ($`\gamma >\gamma _\mathrm{b}`$) up to a high energy cutoff $`\gamma _\mathrm{c}`$, whereas it flattens at lower energies before a low energy cutoff (equations for the electron spectrum and for the SSC calculation are given in Brunetti et al. 2001, Eqs. 2–9 and Appendix A). The SSC flux is obtained by taking radii $`R_\mathrm{J}=0.1`$ and $`R_\mathrm{L}=0.5`$ arcsec for 3C 351–J and L, respectively (Bridle et al. 1994). The parameters of the spectra obtained from fitting the radio and optical data points, i.e., the electron injection index ($`\delta `$), the synchrotron break ($`\nu _\mathrm{b}`$) and cutoff frequency ($`\nu _\mathrm{c}`$) are given in Table 2 (90% confidence level). A synchrotron spectrum with a cutoff frequency at very high energies is still consistent with the data of 3C 351–J and is also plotted in Fig. 2 in order to show the maximum synchrotron contribution to the X-rays ($`30\%`$ at 90% confidence level). It should be noted that the high-frequency cutoff of 3C 351–J is at least one order of magnitude larger than those of other optical hot spots in the literature, and that the break frequencies for both hot spots are also higher than the typical breaks measured in the synchrotron spectra of optical hot spots (e.g., Meisenheimer et al. 1997; Gopal-Krishna et al. 2001).

We find that for both hot spots the SSC mechanism provides a good representation of the Chandra data for magnetic fields, ($`B_{\mathrm{ic}}`$, Table 2), which are a factor of $`3`$ smaller than the equipartition values ($`B_{\mathrm{eq}}`$230 $`\mu `$G for 3C 351–J and $`B_{\mathrm{eq}}`$100 $`\mu `$G for 3C 351–L). For these field strengths, we find that inverse-Compton (IC) scattering of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons could account for $`10`$% of the X-ray flux of 3C 351–L, whereas it does not significantly contribute to the X-ray spectrum of 3C 351–J. It is interesting to note that the X–ray luminosity of 3C 351–J is comparable to or slightly higher than the synchrotron radio to optical luminosity. If the X-rays are of SSC origin, the radiative losses of the relativistic electrons would be dominated by IC (due to second- and third-order scattering) so that the electrons’ cooling times would be a factor of $`4`$ shorter than those due to the synchrotron process alone. However, as the value of the magnetic field strength in the Compton-dominated 3C 351–J is $`3`$ times smaller than equipartition, the radiative cooling time of the electrons emitting synchrotron radiation at $`10^{16}`$Hz is a factor $`2.5`$ larger than that computed under equipartition, so that the acceleration of such particles is eased with respect to the equipartition case. A viable model for the X–ray emission of 3C 351–J can also be obtained with a combination of a synchrotron spectrum and a SSC component (accounting for $`70\%`$ of the flux). In this case, the resulting spectral index would be somewhat steeper than that of the SSC model. This would imply very efficient electron acceleration processes, but the basic SSC model remains unchanged. Improved spectral measurements may be able to settle the size of a possible synchrotron contribution.

Relativistic boosting appears to be necessary to explain the X-ray jet emission in a few core-dominated radio-loud quasars (e.g., Tavecchio et al. 2000; Celotti et al. 2001; Brunetti et al. 2001), however its role in the case of the hot spots is still unclear; for instance, statistical analysis of samples of FRII radio sources implies non-relativistic velocities (e.g., Arshakian & Longair 2000). Under equipartition (in the hot spot frame) IC scattering of CMB photons can produce the observed X-ray fluxes for Doppler factors $`𝒟8`$ and 3.8 in the cases of 3C 351–J and L, respectively. Such factors, however, can only be obtained for relatively small angles between the hot spots’ velocities and the line of sight ($`\theta 6^o`$ with $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{bulk}}>4`$ for 3C 351–J, and $`\theta 15^o`$ with $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{bulk}}>2`$ for 3C 351–L), whereas the radio properties of 3C 351 and the lack of lobe asymmetry suggest much larger inclination angles and smaller hot spot velocities. This problem remains even if we relax the equipartition condition: assuming a departure from equipartition similar to that required by the SSC, a Doppler factor $`𝒟4.5`$ ($`\theta 10^o`$) is necessary to match the X-ray flux of 3C 351–J by IC scattering of the CMB. A second possible way of accounting for the large X-ray fluxes of the hot spots is to require the SSC to be enhanced with respect to the synchrotron emission via Doppler de-boosting. We find, however, that in order to match the data under equipartition conditions $`𝒟0.25`$ is required, implying extremely high bulk Lorentz factors ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{bulk}}1530`$, with $`\theta 3040^{}`$).

### 3.2 Is in situ re-acceleration necessary ?

Based on evidence for relativistic jet bulk motion out to 100-kpc scales, Gopal-Krishna et al. (2001) have reconsidered a minimum loss scenario in which the relativistic electrons, accelerated in the central active nucleus, flow along the jets losing energy only due to the inescapable IC scattering of CMB photons. Under these assumptions, comparing the electron radiative lifetime with the travel time to the hot spots, they find that in situ electron re-acceleration is in general not absolutely necessary to explain the optical/near-IR synchrotron radiation from the hot spots so far detected. Following Gopal-Krishna et al. (2001) we define $`\eta =D_{\mathrm{obs}}/D_{\mathrm{max}}`$, the ratio between the distance of the hot spots from the nucleus and the largest distance covered by the electrons in the jet before dropping to less than e-1 of their initial energy due to IC losses; i.e.,

$$D_{\mathrm{max}}(\mathrm{kpc})145\frac{\beta _{\mathrm{bulk}}\mathrm{sin}\theta }{\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{bulk}}(1+z)^{4.5}}\left[\frac{B(\mu G)}{\nu _\mathrm{c}(10^{14}\mathrm{Hz})}\right]^{1/2}$$
(1)
With $`\theta 30^{}`$ and our constraints on $`\nu _\mathrm{c}`$ and $`B`$ we find $`\eta 26`$$`110`$ (3C 351–J) and $`\eta 9`$$`38`$ (3C 351–L) for $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{bulk}}=2`$$`10`$ (as adopted by Gopal-Krishna et al. 2000). We also find that if the electrons are accelerated in 3C 351–J and then transported in a jet out to 3C 351–L, the lifetime of the optically emitting electrons in 3C 351–L ($`5\times 10^4`$ yr assuming $`B10\mu `$G in the jet) is at least one order of magnitude less than the time necessary to cover the distance between the two hot spots at non-relativistic speeds, and $`\eta `$ is still $`>2.2`$ if they are transported at relativistic speeds. These large values unequivocally point to the necessity of efficient re-acceleration processes in both the northern hot spots of 3C 351.

### 3.3 Electron acceleration in the hot spot

An independent estimate of the magnetic field strength $`B`$ in the hot spot can be obtained in the framework of shock acceleration models. The highest energies of the relativistic electrons accelerated in a shock region by Fermi processes is given by the ratio between gain and loss terms. For a strong shock (here, for simplicity, we consider the non-relativistic case) the largest energy of the accelerated electrons is (e.g., Meisenheimer et al. 1989):

$$\gamma _\mathrm{c}u_{}^2B_+^2\lambda _+(B_+)^1$$
(2)
where $`u_{}`$ is the velocity of the flow in the upstream region (with respect to the shock), $`B_+=\sqrt{B_{\mathrm{ic}}^2+B^2}`$ is the total equivalent magnetic field strength in the downstream region, and $`\lambda _+(B_+)`$ is the mean free path of the relativistic electrons in the downstream region.

The break energy of the electrons in the downstream region (i.e., the highest energy of the oldest electrons in the post shock region) is:

$$\gamma _\mathrm{b}=\frac{\gamma _\mathrm{c}}{1+C\frac{l}{u_+}B_+^2\gamma _\mathrm{c}}\frac{u_+}{l}B_+^2$$
(3)
where $`u_+`$ is the velocity of the flow in the downstream region, $`l`$ is the linear extension of such a region and $`C`$ a constant. Substituting into Eqs.(23) the expression for the synchrotron cutoff frequency, $`\nu _\mathrm{c}\gamma _\mathrm{c}^2B`$, one obtains:

$$B_+2.3\left(\frac{u_+}{0.3}[\frac{\gamma _\mathrm{c}}{\gamma _\mathrm{b}}1]\right)^{2/3}l_{\mathrm{kpc}}^{2/3}\left(\frac{\nu _\mathrm{c}}{10^{15}\mathrm{Hz}}\right)^{1/3}\xi ^{1/3}$$
(4)
where $`\xi =B/B_+`$ is $``$ 0.5 for the hot spot J and 0.9 for L, and the value of $`l_{\mathrm{kpc}}`$ can be estimated from Bridle et al. (1994). For $`\gamma _\mathrm{c}/\gamma _\mathrm{b}>>1`$ Eq.4 reduces to $`B_+\nu _\mathrm{b}^{1/3}`$, and from the values of $`\nu _\mathrm{b}`$ previously constrained we find $`B80`$ and $`30\mu `$G for J and L, respectively, with a formal uncertainty of about a factor 2. These values are in good agreement with the magnetic field strengths implied by an SSC origin for the X-ray emission.

## 4 CONCLUSIONS

The radio to optical spectrum of the two northern hot spots of 3C 351 is well accounted for by a synchrotron model under the standard shock acceleration scenario. The most straightforward interpretation of the X-ray emission discovered by Chandra is the SSC mechanism. A viable model for 3C 351–J is also given by a combination of SSC and synchrotron spectra, with the SSC accounting for $`70\%`$ of the X-ray flux. In order to match the X-ray fluxes a magnetic field strength of a factor 3 lower than the equipartition value is required in both the hot spots. In principle the assumption of relativistic bulk motion of the hot spots might reduce the departure from equipartition, but large ad hoc distortions of the radio jet would be required, with the hot spots moving close to the line of sight. The frequencies of the cutoff in the synchrotron spectra and the magnetic field strengths point to the need for in situ electron (re)acceleration in the region of both the hot spots. When we independently estimate the magnetic field strength of the hot spots, using relationships from standard shock theory, our results are consistent with the more precise value obtained by modeling the X-ray emission as resulting from the SSC mechanism.

This work is partially supported by the Italian Ministry for University and Research (MURST) under grant Cofin99-02-37 and Cofin00-02-36. This paper is based on observations made with the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) operated on the island of La Palma by the Centro Galileo Galilei of the CNAA at the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias. We would like to thank R. Fanti for very useful discussions and A. Zacchei for technical support.