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# Ordering in Heisenberg Spin Glasses

## Abstract

For five different Heisenberg spin glass systems, torque experiments were performed in applied magnetic fields up to $`4T`$. The Dzyaloshinski-Moriya random anisotropy strengths, the in-field torque onset temperatures, and the torque relaxation were measured. Critical exponents were estimated independently using a standard protocol. The data are strong evidence for a true spin glass ordered state which survives under high applied magnetic fields; they can be interpreted consistently in terms of a chiral ordering model with replica symmetry breaking as proposed by Kawamura and coworkers.

The earliest experimental examples of spin glass (SG) ordering were dilute magnetic alloys with Heisenberg local spins; however recently much more work has been carried out on Ising systems, particularly through sophisticated numerical methods. For Ising spin glasses (ISGs) in dimension three, large scale numerical measurements show unequivocally that in zero field there exists a true critical transition at a finite temperature $`T_g`$ Og ; KY ; pala ; pom ; bal . For some time now theoretical attention has been focused on a longstanding controversy as to the correct description of the physics of the ISG frozen state : does it resemble the Replica Broken Symmetry (RSB) solution of the mean field model parisi , has it a much simpler structure described by the scaling or ”droplet” approach FH , or is the correct description intermediate KMPY  ? In-field properties should distinguish between RSB and scaling models, because for RSB there should be a phase transition line under an applied magnetic field, while for the scaling model the true phase transition exists only in zero field, and any apparent transition line under field is a transitory relaxation effect. However because of numerical difficulties, there is still no definitive consensus for 3d ISGs marinari1 ; jerome ; krz .

For a Heisenberg SG (HSG) in 3d, numerical work appears to demonstrate conclusively that there should be no ordering of the pure Edwards-Anderson type until zero temperature olive ; matsubara1 ; kawamura1 ; kawamura2 . Experiments on the other hand clearly demonstrate that order at finite temperatures exists in these systems, at least under zero applied field. By exploiting the magnetic torque technique on HSGs with a range of random anisotropy strengths, we show that the SG order existing in zero field survives under strong applied magnetic fields. We have also estimated critical exponents of the same set of samples. The experimental data are compared with the predictions of the chiral order mechanism proposed by Kawamura and co-workers kawamura1 ; kawamura2 ; kawamura3  for HSGs, which is a one step RSB model.

We have carried out extensive torque measurements on samples of the textbook alloy SGs AgMn, CuMn, AuFe, on a thiospinel insulating SG $`CdCr_{2x}In_xS_4`$, and on an amorphous alloy SG FeNi(PBAl). While there have been numerous longitudinal magnetisation and susceptibility measurements with increasingly subtle protocols on many SGs, torque experiments (which are essentially equivalent to transverse magnetization measurements) can provide complementary information on transverse magnetization irreversibility and relaxation NdeC , inaccessible to techniques where the field orientation is held fixed. In a polycrystalline HSG the torque signal only exists because of the local random Dzyaloshinski-Moriya (DM) interaction fertlevy . The DM anisotropy is due to a sum of spin-spin terms of the form $`\text{D}_{ij}(\text{S}_i\times \text{S}_j)`$ where $`\text{D}_{ij}`$ represents a spin orbit interaction on a third site which can be magnetic or not. For a given instantaneous set of spin orientations $`\text{S}_i(t)`$ there will be conventional spin-spin interaction terms plus the DM terms, and the system on cooling will try to organise itself to minimise the total energy. Suppose the sample is cooled in an applied field $`\text{H}_0`$ to a temperature low enough for the spin system to become rigid, so each local spin has taken up a fixed orientation and all the spins are clamped together. If the field is now turned through a small angle, the rigid spin system will rotate bodily (the relative orientations of the spins will not change) so that the remnant magnetisation $`\text{M}_r`$ turns towards the new direction H of the field and takes up an orientation which minimises the total energy $`\text{H}\text{M}_r`$ plus the sum of the rotated DM terms, and which is not parallel to H. With no internal spin reorganisation there will just be an effective unidirectional anisotropy $`K`$ acting on the spin system fertlevy . In other words there will now be a transverse component of the magnetisation perpendicular to the new direction of the field which gives rise to a torque signal

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }=\text{H}\times \text{M}$$
(1)
The intrinsic anisotropy of a sample can be estimated by extrapolating the torque measurements to zero temperature where the rigid spin system torque will saturate with field at a field and time independent value $`K(0)\theta `$. At non-zero T and a frozen-in spin system there will be a quasi-static torque after the turning procedure with magnetic creep of the type familiar from residual magnetisation measurements in SGs. When the spin system is not rigid but can reorganise during the rotation of the field because of rapid local spin relaxation, no torque will be observed. A field-temperature phase diagram can be drawn using the observation of non-zero torque on a chosen time and sensitivity scale as a criterion for a phase boundary.

We use a specially constructed torquemeter with a symmetric axial suspension, a horizontal superconducting Helmholtz coil to provide the field, and a capacity bridge detector. The principal protocol used was to field cool (FC) the sample from well above $`T_g`$ in a fixed orientation applied field down to the measuring temperature $`T`$. After the sample temperature reached equilibrium, the field was turned typically through $`5^o`$ in $`20`$ seconds. The torque signal was monitored for the range of times from 10 seconds to 3600 seconds after the turn was completed. The zero field transition temperatures $`T_g`$ of the samples and the normalized $`K(0)`$ are given in Table 1.

We show in Figure 1 normalised effective phase lines for the different samples. To define the transverse irreversibility onset for this figure the torque measuring time was chosen as $`100`$ seconds after turning and the onset was defined to occur when the signal dropped to less than $`10^3K(0)`$. The ”error bars” in Figure 1 correspond to a plausible range of onset criteria are used. We have also estimated the longitudinal irreversibility onset for the same samples using standard FC and ZFC measurements performed with a SQUID magnetometer. The magnetisation irreversibility results are consistent with many other observations of this type in the literature, in particular the ”weak irreversibility” line of kenning . There is a large section of the field-temperature plane where transverse irreversibility appears very clearly in the torque measurements, but where there is no visible longitudinal irreversibility. Comparing Table I and Figure 1 it is clear that there is a systematic change in the form of the transverse onset lines with anisotropy. Transverse and longitudinal (not shown in the figure) irreversibility lines fuse at progressively lower $`T/T_g`$ as the anisotropy increases. For the systems which are in the weak anisotropy limit, a quasi-vertical section of the transverse onset line sets in at a temperature marginally below $`T_g`$. Data on the moderately strong anisotropy sample AuFe were discussed in dorothee . The relaxation of the torque signal was studied systematically for all samples. As an example of the behaviour seen in a weak anisotropy system, AgMn torque relaxation data taken at $`H=3T`$ for temperatures $`T`$ ranging from $`4.5K`$ to $`9.5K`$ are shown in Figure 2.

It can be seen that in all cases the relaxation is essentially pure algebraic, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(t)t^\alpha `$, so no relaxation time can be defined. $`\alpha `$ increases slowly with $`T`$, so the relaxation ressembles the well known zero field remanent magnetisation relaxation. At each temperature $`\alpha `$ is almost field independent, Figure 3. No aging effects have been observed for torque relaxation after FC. These relaxation data are in striking contrast to magnetisation relaxation results reported for an ISG sample under applied field mattsson . In the Ising case an effective relaxation time $`\tau (H)`$ was extracted from ac susceptibility measurements and was found to drop exponentially with increasing applied field. For instance at the temperature $`\frac{T}{T_g}=0.7`$, at $`H=0.3T`$ $`\tau (H)`$ was 300 seconds while by $`H=1.5T`$, $`\tau (H)`$ had dropped to about $`3`$ milliseconds; an extrapolation to $`H=4T`$ would lead to something like $`\tau (H)10^{10}`$ seconds. The Ising behaviour was interpreted in terms of the droplet approach as showing that there was no real transition in field but only a pseudo-transition which could be put down to strongly field dependent relaxation effects.

A contrario in the present weak anisotropy HSG case, for a wide range of fields the torque onset is field independent, the torque relaxation has no time scale and $`\alpha `$ is nearly field independent. This behaviour can be taken as characteristic of a true in-field phase transition.
It has already been noted that published experimental critical exponent estimates for spin glasses show wide variations. We have carried out static magnetisation measurements on our five samples using a commercial SQUID magnetometer in order to estimate static critical exponents. The protocol used was identical in all cases and followed that established by bouchiat . There are no time dependencies in these measurements. In each case where comparisons can be made the exponent results from the present work are in excellent agreement with the published estimates levy ; bouchiat ; hammann ; gunnarsson . All measurements indicate strongly positive $`\eta `$ values for the weak anisotropy cases. The details of the analysis of the present data will be presented elsewhere dorothee2 .

We will discuss the results in terms of the chiral ordering model of Kawamura and coworkers kawamura1 ; kawamura2 ; kawamura3 . Chiral ordering was invoked as a possible mechanism for HSGs some time ago olive  ; the influence of weak DM interactions on SG ordering has also been studied in the context of dilute magnetic semiconductors marinari2 ; larson ; see also matsubara2 . In the Kawamura model the mechanism of HSG ordering is through the chiral order parameter. The numerical data indicate that the form of the ordering is one step RSB, and that the pure chiral ordering is very robust against applied magnetic fields kawamura3 . A pure chiral ordering would be invisible experimentally but it would be ”revealed” by even a weak local anisotropy term such as DM anisotropy which links together the chiral order parameter and the spin order parameter. As a rule of thumb, the weaker the anisotropy the more similar the qualitative behaviour should appear to that of the pure chiral case though detailed numerical calculations as a function of the DM interaction strength and applied field have not not been performed so far. The field-temperature phase diagram should mimic that of the HSG mean field model MF  with distinct quasi ”Almeida-Thouless” longitudinal and ”Gabay-Toulouse” transverse irreversibility lines (though the physical mechanisms in the mean field and chiral models are quite different kawamura3 ). As in the mean field model, the transverse irreversibility onset represents a true phase transition. Also as in the mean field model, for low fields such that the anisotropy dominates (i.e. $`HS<DS^2`$) , the longitudinal and transverse irreversibility lines should fuse. This fusing should thus extend from very near $`T_g`$ for low anisotropy down to much smaller values of $`\frac{T}{T_g}`$ for systems where the anisotropy is stronger. For strong applied fields the transverse irreversibility line rises well above the longitudinal irreversibility line, finally saturating at a high field for low temperatures kawamura3 . The qualitative agreement between model and experiment is striking; both indicate that the weak anisotropy SG ordering is very robust against applied magnetic fields. The model also predicts the observed relative weakening of the transverse irreversibility with increasing anisotropy. A satisfactory quantitative comparison can be made between the pure chiral model and the weak anisotropy sample torque experiments dorothee2 . It can also be noted that the numerical work on the pure chiral model kawamura2  indicates a strongly positive critical exponent $`\eta `$, similar to the strongly positive $`\eta `$ values obtained from the analysis of the experimental data on the weak anisotropy systems.

Turning to the strong anisotropy cases such as the $`FeNi(PBAl)`$ sample, ordering is much less robust under an applied field, as for the $`FeMnTiO_3`$ ISG system mattsson . Numerical work also indicates that if there is true in-field ordering in a 3d ISG it is rapidly destroyed by a magnetic field krz . In view of the similar low field memory properties observed in HSGs and ISGs vincent , it would be surprising if the physics of the two types of system were fundamentally different (RSB for the HSGs, ”droplet” for the ISGs).

In conclusion, we have made detailed measurements of the DM anisotropy, the transverse irreversibility onset and relaxation, and the critical exponents for five different HSGs. We find that the behaviour is strongly anisotropy dependent; for weak anisotropy the tranverse irreversibility onset is very robust under strong applied magnetic fields, which is the sign of in-field spin glass ordering characteristic of RSB whatever the detailed physical model. It is perhaps the first time that unequivocal evidence can be given in favour of RSB ordering in the experimental SG context. Although further numerical work involving anistropy and applied fields would be most welcome, a satisfactory solution to the HSG ordering enigma appears to be the chiral model kawamura1 ; kawamura2 ; kawamura3  which is in the RSB class.


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# Selective d-state Conduction Blocking in Nickel Nanocontacts

## I Introduction

Recent conductance data of nanocontacts and break junctions in a magnetic transition metals such as Ni have shown interesting and partly unexpected results. While early conductance histograms for Ni at room temperature in air appeared basically structureless , Oshima et al. , who worked in vacuum, at variable temperature, and with the possibility of a magnetic field, found conductance steps preferentially near 2 and 4 (in units of $`g_0=e^2/h`$, the conductance quantum per spin) at RT and zero field, near 4 at 770 K and zero field, and near 3 (occasionally near 1) at RT with a field. Ono et al. , reported again 2 for Ni in zero field, and 1 for Ni in a field. Break junction data by Yanson  show a step at conductance about 3.2 in zero field. While the reasons for this diversity are not always clear, there seems to be a consensus, based also on other data for noble metals, that the ultimate contact must be monatomic. For a monatomic noble metal contact, for example, the availability of a single $`s`$ electron channel for both spins species immediately rationalizes a conductance step of 2, as is generally observed .

The general question which we broach – if not yet fully solve of course – is what to expect for the number of truly conducting electronic channels in a monatomic nanocontact of a magnetic transition metal, one possessing partly filled, bulk-polarized $`d`$ electron states besides the $`s`$. In order to pursue this first rationalization attempt we shall purposely adopt an oversimplified model, consisting of just a single monatomic, regular, tipless Ni chain. While that model is surely quite different from the true nanocontact, as it neglects the presence of the supporting tips and the general lack of regularity near the ultimate bridging atom, its simplicity is crucially useful. It allows a detailed microscopic study, that can bring to light new potential phenomena.

Because the model possesses no tips, the only measure of conductance we will discuss will be simply the number of one-dimensional bands for each given spin (”channels”) crossing the Fermi level, no allowance made at this stage for imperfect transmission, and for the ensuing noninteger values found in reality. Moreover, standard electronic structure calculations are mean-field in character, imply for a transition metal one-dimensional nanowire a magnetic long-range order which is in reality suppressed by fluctuations, or that can only be supported by tips under special spatial circumstances. Nonetheless, since our work is aimed at understanding much more basic questions, these problems are not really relevant at this stage. The mean field channel counting is moreover probably not bad anyway, as shown for example by the large U 1D Hubbard model, where $`K_\rho =1/2`$ in that spin-singlet Luttinger liquid  implies one effective conducting channel in place of two, exactly the same as if there were magnetic long-range order.

Our results indicate that the minimal channel number of the nonmagnetic monatomic Ni nanowire should be as large as 8, a large number when compared with experimental steps around 2 and 4 (large even after considering a limited transmission for a $`d`$ state). Ferromagnetic polarization, which in mean field is quite strong and lowers the energy considerably, only reduces the channel number to 7, and does not remove the disagreement. However, insertion of a single magnetization reversal (a sort of collinear ”Bloch wall”) inside the monatomic magnetic nanowire leads to a sharp drop from 7 to 2 channels, a value now much closer to the experiments. Inspection of calculated bands and wavefunctions clearly indicates that the magnetization reversal along the wire leads to a selective blocking of $`d`$-electron propagation, leaving only the $`s`$-electron fully conducting.

## II Method

Calculations were carried out in the framework of density-functional theory (DFT) in the local density approximation (LDA). The Perdew-Zunger parametrization  of exchange-correlation energy was used. The nuclei and the core electrons are described by ultrasoft pseudopotentials  with the parameters of Ref. . The Ni single atom contact was simulated by a regular monatomic Ni wire, infinite along the $`z`$ axis, and periodically repeated in a square lattice along $`x`$ and $`y`$. The spacing used, 8.46 Å, was checked to be large enough to avoid measurable wire-wire interactions. The kinetic energy cut-offs of the plane wave basis set were 25 Ry and 300 Ry for the wave functions and the charge density, respectively. Integration of the 1D Brillouin zone was done on a uniform mesh of 80 $`k`$-points. These parameters proved sufficient to provide converged results. The integration up to the Fermi level was done by a standard broadening technique  with the smearing parameter of 0.002 Ry.

A single Ni atom per cell is required for both nonmagnetic and ferromagnetic states. To study the state with spin reversal (actually two spin reversals with periodic boundary conditions) we extended our cell up to 8 Ni atoms. While our calculations were restricted to collinear spins thus excluding for simplicity the possibility of spin moment rotation, the magnetization magnitude and sign were allowed to vary with total freedom as a function of position. In order to find the state of lowest energy with a given total magnetization we applied the fixed-spin-moment (FSM) method , introducing two Fermi energies $`E_F^\pm `$ for different spin directions. The difference $`B=(E_F^+E_F^{})/2`$ is a magnetic field which is needed to stabilize the state at the chosen magnetization. The stable configurations correspond to zero magnetic field (when $`E_F^+=E_F^{}`$).

## III Ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic monatomic wires

The ground state of a monatomic Ni wire in a large interval of interatomic distances (including the limiting case of infinitely separated free Ni atoms) is calculated to be ferromagnetic (Fig. 1). The nonmagnetic state (magnetization everywhere identical to zero) has a higher total energy compared to the ferromagnetic one, by about 0.12 eV/atom at the equilibrium spacing (total energy minimum). The equilibrium interatomic distances both for nonmagnetic ($`a=2.06`$ Å) and for ferromagnetic ($`a=2.11`$ Å) Ni wires are found to be considerably smaller than the corresponding bulk value $`a_{\mathrm{Bulk}}=2.42`$ Å. Not surprisingly, magnetism suddenly disappears, and the wire turns nonmagnetic below a critical spacing of about 1.9 Å. This situation is demonstrated in the inset of Fig. 1 where the magnetic moments of bulk Ni and of an isolated Ni atom are also indicated. As could be expected the equilibrium moment of the wire ($`M=1.11\mu _B`$) is intermediate between the atomic and the bulk values.

The ballistic conductance of a contact is given by Landauer’s formula which in the case of perfect transmission and independent channels has a simple form $`G=Ng_0`$, where $`g_0=e^2/h`$ is the conductance half quantum and $`N`$ is the number of conducting channels per spin. We thus estimated the total conductance by simply counting the number of channels, that is the number of bands of either spin crossing the Fermi level. In Fig. 2 we present the band structure of the nonmagnetic and ferromagnetic Ni wires at their equilibrium interatomic distances. The valence electrons in the atom are $`3d`$ and $`4s`$, and each band is correspondingly labeled by its main atomic character. The $`s`$ and $`d_{z^2}`$ bands are strongly hybridized, while $`d_{x^2y^2}`$, $`d_{xy}`$ are split from $`d_{xz},d_{yz}`$ by the uniaxial wire crystal field. There are 8 channels in the nonmagnetic wire, reduced to 7 in the ferromagnetic wire. That is so much larger than the basic experimental conductance step of 2, to suggest the need to identify some mechanism blocking some of the channels – presumably the $`d`$ channels and allowing only the remaining to conduct.

## IV Nanowire with a domain wall: $`d`$ electron blocking

A ferromagnet generally contains Bloch walls, separating domains with different magnetization directions. Inside the wall, which is generally rather thick, the magnetization rotates gradually between one direction and the other. Given two tips connected by a nanocontact, it is possible that a wall might be trapped precisely there . Although in that case the spin reversal might be more abrupt, and thus more costly per unit section than in the bulk, the monatomic contact size could nonetheless minimize the total energy cost. We thus investigated the possibility that the two tips in the nanocontact under some circumstances might be magnetized in opposite directions forming thereby a spin reversal configuration. The spin reversal costs some energy so that this configuration should have an intermediate energy between the uniform ferromagnetic and the nonmagnetic states. To simulate this situation we considered large cell monatomic wire calculations where any local magnetization was allowed, but the total magnetization $`M`$ was required to vanish, $`M=0`$. In a sufficiently long Ni wire, that must lead to a ground state consisting of periodically repeated up and down spin ferromagnetic segments, separated by walls. Moreover if the walls are sharp, which turns out to be the case, the cell length can be quite small, and we found a unit cell including 8 Ni atoms quite adequate. The resulting ground state has, roughly speaking, 4 atoms with positive and 4 atoms with negative magnetization (Fig. 3a). This state is more stable than the nonmagnetic state, because the cost of the two walls, estimated to be $`2\times 0.2`$ eV, is smaller than the energy gained by magnetizing the two domains, roughly $`8\times 0.12`$ eV. Moreover, symmetry at $`M=0`$ requires that $`B=E_F^+E_F^{}=0`$, so that the auxiliary magnetic field of this state is zero, and the energy bands (Fig. 3b) are spin degenerate.

The new striking feature is that some of the $`d`$ bands, including the $`d_{xy},d_{x^2y^2}`$ bands, formerly crossing the Fermi level, have now turned into flat dispersionless levels. The wave functions of these bands (Fig. 4) are strongly localized and therefore cannot contribute to conductance. Viceversa the $`sd_{z^2}`$ states which remain delocalized are still able to conduct. As a result the number of conducting channels has been reduced by the wall from 7 to 2.

This selective $`d`$ electron blocking is easily rationalized in terms of the up and down spin effective potentials, which inside each domain have a sizable offset, and which alternate as one moves from one domain to the next. The $`d`$ states, whose mass is large, form quantum well states in this alternating potential, and are localized. The $`s`$ states, much lighter by comparison, are simply scattered but do not localize.

## V Conclusions

We studied an idealized Ni monatomic wire, and discovered that a domain wall in that wire has a very important blocking effect, selectively suppressing the free motion of the $`d`$ electrons, but not of the $`s`$ electrons. At a nanocontact separating two tips with reversed magnetizations, the effective potential offset can act as a strong barrier yielding total reflection for the heavy $`d`$ electrons alone. It is believed that this effect may be at work in some of the data quoted, and it will be interesting to explore further consequences of this mechanism experimentally.

Acknowledgments

This work was sponsored by MURST COFIN99, by INFM/F, PRA NANORUB, INFM/G, and ”Iniziativa Transversale calcolo parallelo”. Calculations have been performed on the CRAY T3E at CINECA in Bologna using the PWSCF package .


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# History Memorized and Recalled upon Glass Transition

## Abstract

The memory effect upon glassification is studied in the glass to rubber transition of vulcanized rubber with the strain as a controlling parameter. A phenomenological model is proposed taking the history of the temperature and the strain into account, by which the experimental results are interpreted. The data and the model demonstrate that the glassy state memorizes the time-course of strain upon glassification, not as a single parameter but as the history itself. The data also show that the effect of irreversible deformation in the glassy state is beyond the scope of the present model.
Authors’ remark: The title of the paper in the accepted version is above. The title appeared in PRL is the one changed by a Senior Assistant Editor after acceptance of the paper. The recovery of the title was rejected in the correction process.

There are a group of phenomena where the exchange of the relative magnitude of the system’s relaxation time and the timescale of observation plays an important role. They are the subject of active interest of both non-equilibrium statistical physics and material sciences. Examples are the glass transition, fluidization, plasticization, etc., for which the relaxation time depends on the temperature, the concentration of solute or plasticizer, the applied force and so on. This paper addresses a general problem for such phenomena: In what manner and to what extent memories can be stored upon freezing as its internal frozen state, and also can be read out upon defreezing?

In order to study the memory effects in the frozen state, it is versatile to introduce an experimentally controllable parameter other than the temperature to control the relaxation time of the system. In the present paper, the following methods are adopted for this purpose: (1) We establish the experimental method to measure the glass to rubber transition of rubber under strain. We prepare samples in glassy states by three different protocols, and study the glass to rubber transition of those samples using two different modes of measurement. (2) Also we propose a phenomenological model equation as a natural extension of the linear viscoelastic model. We show both experimentally and theoretically that the time-course of the strain itself is memorized as a history in the glassy state. (3) We show the limitation of the present model to cover the irreversible properties in the glassy state.

The material studied here is made of synthetic cis-1,4 polyisoprene kindly supplied by Toyo Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. The number of monomer units between crosslinks is estimated to be 190 from the Mooney-Rivlin elastic coefficient, and 200 from the equilibrium swelling ratio by the use of toluene as a solvent where the polymer-solvent interaction parameter of 0.34 is employed. The samples, typically 20mm$`\times `$2mm$`\times `$0.5mm in their original size, are placed in a temperature controlled (less than $`\pm 1^{}`$C above $`90^{}`$C) ethanol bath, except for the case of stretching at room temperature, where it is done in the air. The length of sample $`\mathrm{}`$ is monitored by a displacement sensor controlled by a motor and the tension $`f`$ is measured by a force gauge. The nominal stress is given by $`\frac{f}{d_0w_0}`$ and the strain, in terms of the elongation ratio $`\lambda =\frac{\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{}_0}=1+\gamma `$, where $`\mathrm{}_0`$, $`d_0`$ and $`w_0`$ are the original length, thickness and width, respectively. No correction is made for the thermal expansion of the rubber.

Three protocols to prepare the stretched glassy states are the following. (HT) The samples are stretched at room temperature (the rubber region) followed by quenching to $`55^{}`$C and cooled to $`100^{}`$C at ca. 3K/min. (GT) The samples are quenched to $`61\pm 1^{}`$C (the glass transition region), stretched at a strain rate, $`\dot{\gamma }`$, of 0.045 s-1 and kept at a prescribed length for a given time, and then cooled to $`100^{}`$C. (LT) The samples are quenched to $`76`$ or $`90\pm 1^{}`$C (the glassy state), then stretched and cooled to $`100^{}`$C. In the last protocol a neck is formed and propagated on stretching at a draw speed of 0.18 mm/s.

Two modes of measurement of the glass to rubber transition are employed: Stress-free mode – After releasing the stress of stretched glasses at $`100^{}`$C, the length of the sample is measured on heating at 1K/min under the stress-free condition. Isometric mode – At $`100^{}`$C, the stress is released (except for one case, see below), and then the length of the sample is fixed (Upon release of the stress, the elongation ratio changes typically from 4.03 to 3.995). After that the tension is measured on heating at 1K/min with the length being kept fixed.

Figure 1 shows the stress recovery upon the glass to rubber transition in the isometric mode of the sample prepared by the protocol-HT. No stress emerges in the glassy state and the stress recovers the rubbery values corresponding to a given strain at the glass-rubber transition. The glass transition temperature $`T_\mathrm{g}`$ is determined as the center temperature of the stress recovery process; $`T_\mathrm{g}`$ decreases with the elongation ratio (see also Fig.4 below). In the rubber region, the tension is approximately proportional to the absolute temperature, and the decrease in tension arising from crystallization, which is observed only for $`\lambda =5`$ above $`35^{}`$C, is outside of the range of the data shown.

Figure 2 shows the variation in elongation ratio of the sample with temperature under the stress-free mode. The samples are graduated in ink in 0.5mm intervals at room temperature, and we monitor the change in the length by a video recorder. In the glassy state, the samples maintain their length, and start shrinking at the glass-rubber transition down to the original length. The shrinkage of the graduation on rubber is macroscopically homogeneous in both protocols-HT and -LT. The bending and coiling on contraction can be avoided by placing the sample in transparent plastic tubes with holes. For the samples prepared by the protocol-HT ($`\lambda _{\mathrm{HT}}`$), the temperature to start shrinking is about $`60^{}`$C and decreases slightly with elongation. The neck part of the samples prepared by the protocol-LT has similar elongation ratio, $`\lambda _{\mathrm{LT}}4`$, and this part shrinks macroscopically homogeneously. The shrinking starts, however, at lower temperatures than the samples prepared in the protocol-HT by about $`5^{}`$C.

The data by the isometric-mode and stress-free modes (Figs.1 and 2) show the similar effects of elongation on the glass to rubber transition for the samples prepared by the protocol-HT, but the glass to rubber transition is observed at lower temperatures in Fig.1 than Fig.2 by several degrees. The difference can be ascribed to the method of measurement: the characteristic times observed by the strain and by the stress measurements differ by the ratio of the relaxed modulus to the unrelaxed one.

The inset of Fig.3 shows the aging of stress at $`61^{}`$C in the protocol-GT, just after the stretching process. After four different aging times indicated by the arrows, the sample is cooled down to $`100^{}`$C. The results of stress recovery on heating in the isometric mode are shown in the main part of Fig.3, together with a result for a sample prepared by the protocol-LT. For comparison we also show a datum ($``$, denoted by GT-C) of the sample whose history is the same as the one denoted by GT:0 min($``$), except that the stress was not released at $`100^{}`$C. In the last sample, the tension decreases slowly with temperature below $`65^{}`$C because, at least partly, of the thermal expansion of the sample. In the remaining samples, on the other hand, the tension shows a prominent maximum where the temperature is nearly the $`T_\mathrm{g}`$ of the sample of the protocol-HT with $`\lambda _{\mathrm{HT}}=4`$. The effect of aging is evident: the temperature at which the tension departs from zero increases as a function of the aging time. The sample prepared by the protocol-LT shows a still more pronounced memory effect.

The dependence of $`T_\mathrm{g}`$ on elongation ratio is shown in Fig.4. For the samples prepared by the protocol-HT, $`T_\mathrm{g}`$ decreases with strain and stress. On the other hand, the samples prepared by the protocol-GT, whose $`T_\mathrm{g}`$ is defined here as the peak temperature in Fig.3, show various values of $`T_\mathrm{g}`$ in spite of nearly the same elongation ratios.

We propose the following phenomenological model equation for the stress $`\sigma (t)`$ at the time $`t`$ as a functional of the strain $`\gamma (t^{})`$ and the temperature $`T(t^{})`$.

$`\sigma (t)=\sigma _\mathrm{R}(T(t),\gamma (t))+G_{\mathrm{}}{\displaystyle _{\mathrm{}}^t}[\gamma (t)\gamma (t^{})]{\displaystyle \frac{𝒢\left(\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t^{})\right)}{t^{}}}dt^{},`$ (1)
where $`\sigma _\mathrm{R}`$ represents a rubber-like response, $`G_{\mathrm{}}`$ is the modulus of the glass well below $`T_\mathrm{g}`$. In our experiment the Young’s modulus of the stretched glass at $`100^{}`$C is about $`2\times 10^9\mathrm{Pa}`$ assuming 0.5 for the Poisson’s ratio, while the rubber-like Young’s modulus at room temperature is $`8.6\times 10^5\mathrm{Pa}`$. $`\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t^{})`$ is defined by $`\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t^{})_t^{}^t[\tau (T(u),\gamma (u))]^1du`$, giving the intrinsic time lapse between $`t^{}`$ and $`t(>t^{})`$, which is measured with the instantaneous relaxation time $`\tau (T,\gamma )`$ as a function of $`T`$ and $`\gamma `$. $`𝒢(z)`$ is the scaled relaxation function which decreases from $`𝒢(0)=1`$ to $`𝒢(\mathrm{})=0`$. Upon integration by parts, Eq.(1) reduces to the form similar to the familiar linear viscoelasticity equation, $`_{\mathrm{}}^t𝒢\left(\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t^{})\right)\dot{\gamma }(t^{})dt^{}`$, but the original form Eq.(1) is physically more inspiring for the present purpose: The second term on the right hand side of Eq.(1) reads that, the fraction $`\frac{}{t^{}}𝒢\left(\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t^{})\right)\mathrm{d}t^{}`$ of the mechanical elements has become effective since the time slice $`[t^{},t^{}+dt^{}]`$, and each engaged element contributes to the stress by $`G_{\mathrm{}}[\gamma (t)\gamma (t^{})]`$ at $`t`$. In the special case of $`𝒢(z)=e^z`$, Eq.(1) reduces to the Maxwell-type model, $`(\frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d}t}+\frac{1}{\tau (\gamma ,T)})[\sigma \sigma _\mathrm{R}]=G_{\mathrm{}}\frac{\mathrm{d}\gamma }{\mathrm{d}t}`$, which has been proposed independently of us in  to study the aging, where the temperature dependence of $`\tau `$ was not scrutinized.

Below, the results of our experiment are explained qualitatively on the basis of Eq.(1), except for the protocol-LT. We assume that for $`T>T_\mathrm{g}(\gamma )`$ the relaxation time $`\tau (T,\gamma )`$ is of the microscopic order while for $`T<T_\mathrm{g}(\gamma )`$ it is beyond the experimental timescale. If we stretch the rubber at $`T>T_\mathrm{g}(\gamma )`$, the integral of Eq.(1) is $`\dot{\gamma }\tau 1`$, and the stress is rubber-like: $`\sigma \sigma _\mathrm{R}`$. If the temperature is decreased rapidly across $`T_\mathrm{g}(\gamma )`$ within a short time, $`𝒢\left(\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t^{})\right)`$ increases suddenly from $`0`$ to $`1`$, because $`\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t^{})`$ decreases abruptly. Thus the integral in Eq.(1) will yield $`\gamma (t)\gamma (t_0)`$, where $`t_0`$ is the time at which $`T`$ reaches well below $`T_\mathrm{g}(\gamma )`$, say, $`T=100^{}`$C. As long as the sample is in the glassy state, $`\stackrel{~}{t}`$ does not increase, and the system behaves as a solid elastic body. At this stage, the stress is released (except for the protocol GT-C mentioned above), say at $`t_1`$($`>t_0`$). Thus $`\gamma _1\gamma (t_1)`$ satisfies

$$0=\sigma _\mathrm{R}(T,\gamma _1)+G_{\mathrm{}}_{\mathrm{}}^{t_0}[\gamma _1\gamma (t^{})]\frac{}{t^{}}𝒢(\stackrel{~}{t}(t_0,t^{}))𝑑t^{}.$$
(2)
As long as the temperature is well below $`T_\mathrm{g}(\gamma (t_0))`$, $`\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t^{})=\stackrel{~}{t}(t_0,t^{})`$ holds in the integral of Eq.(1), thus $`t_1`$ does not appear in this expression. If we fix $`\gamma (t)`$ at $`\gamma _1`$ upon reheating (isometric mode), $`\sigma (t)`$ of Eq.(1) departs from zero when $`T(t)`$ approaches $`T_\mathrm{g}`$ from below: $`\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t^{})`$ abruptly increases and the integral tends towards 0 rapidly, leaving only the rubber-like elasticity for $`\sigma (t)`$ (Fig.1). On the other hand, the reheating under the stress-free mode leads to a funny phenomenon: In response to the decrease of the integral in Eq.(1), the rubber-like tension $`\sigma _\mathrm{R}`$ tends to shrink the sample. However, the decrease of $`\gamma (t)`$ is decelerated when the point $`T(t)=T_g(\gamma (t))`$ is approached. As the result, the strain $`\gamma (t)`$ nearly traces the part of the curve of $`T=T_g(\gamma )`$, as the temperature is gradually raised (Fig.2). Note that the situation would be completely different for the systems with $`\mathrm{d}T_g/\mathrm{d}\gamma >0`$.

For the sample prepared by the protocol-GT, the integrand $`[\gamma _1\gamma (t^{})]\frac{}{t^{}}𝒢`$ in Eq.(2) is non-negligible for a substantial range of $`t^{}`$ up to $`t_0`$, since $`\tau `$ is comparable to the experimental timescale in this case. When we start reheating, say after $`t=t_2`$, we have $`\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t^{})=\stackrel{~}{t}(t_0,t^{})+\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t_2)`$. Since $`\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t_2)`$ is independent of $`t^{}`$, this process leads to a common “shift” of the function $`𝒢`$ by $`\alpha `$, $`𝒢(z)𝒢(z+\alpha )`$, in the integral of Eq.(1), with $`\alpha =\stackrel{~}{t}(t,t_2)`$. Except for the special case of $`𝒢(z+\alpha )𝒢(z)`$ for all $`z`$ (i.e. $`𝒢=e^z`$), the equality (2) will be broken under the above shift of $`𝒢`$ at $`t>t_2`$, implying that the nonzero stress reappears upon reheating under the isometric mode (Fig.3). This is the origin of the memory effect. A numerical check has been done with $`𝒢(z)=\theta \mathrm{e}^{\frac{z}{z_1}}+(1\theta )\mathrm{e}^{\frac{z}{z_2}}`$ and $`\tau (T,\gamma _2)`$ at the glass to rubber transition region being a constant independent of $`T(t)`$. The result (not shown) of $`\sigma `$ as the function of the shift $`\alpha \stackrel{~}{t}(t,t_2)`$ reproduces the memory effect. Its peak amplitude decreases with the duration of the aging, while the peak position is found at virtually the same value for various values of $`\alpha `$. More extensive results will be discussed elsewhere.

A critically important remark is that, in the memory effect, the stress $`\sigma (t)`$ depends on the history of $`\gamma (t^{})`$ and $`T(t^{})`$ before $`t_0`$ not through a single “order parameter”. It is true even if $`\tau `$ was constant at around $`T_\mathrm{g}`$: we may regard the integral of Eq.(1) as the linear transformation with the “matrix” $``$ whose $`(z,\alpha )`$ component is $`𝒢(z+\alpha )`$ with $`z0`$ and $`\alpha 0`$. The transformation can then preserve certain amount of information of the “vector” $`\gamma (t^{})`$ with $`t^{}t_0`$ according to the rank of the matrix $``$, i.e., the number of independent “columns” of the matrix $``$. If, for example, $`𝒢(z)`$ consists of $`N`$ exponentially decaying functions, the rank is $`N`$. Thus, it is the time course of the control parameters that is memorized and remembered upon the glass transition. The relation between the aging and the memory effect should be discussed in future in this context.

In summary, the glass-rubber transition was studied for the stretched glasses with the strain as a controlling parameter. The results including the memory effect are interpreted by a phenomenological formula. The form of Eq.(1) is very general, and it may also apply, for example, to dipole glasses where the relaxation may obey the similar relaxational law. The present framework, however, cannot capture the prominent memory effect of the sample stretched in the glassy state (protocol-LT), whose aspect will be addressed elsewhere.

The authors would like to thank F. Lequeux for helpful discussions and for introducing refs., and R. Ohara for supplying the material. This work is partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the Yamada Science Foundation.


text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

In the past, self-gravitating degenerate neutrino matter has been suggested as a model for quasars, with neutrino masses in the $`0.2\mathrm{keV}\text{ }<\text{ }m\text{ }<\text{ }0.5\mathrm{MeV}`$ range . Later it was used to describe dark matter in clusters of galaxies and in galactic halos, with neutrino masses in the $`1\text{ }<\text{ }m/\mathrm{eV}\text{ }<\text{ }25`$ range . More recently, supermassive compact dark objects consisting of weakly interacting degenerate fermionic matter, with fermion masses in the $`10\text{ }<\text{ }m/\mathrm{keV}\text{ }<\text{ }20`$ range, have been proposed  as an alternative to the supermassive black holes that are believed to reside at the centers of many galaxies. It has been pointed out that such degenerate fermion balls could cover  the whole range of the supermassive compact dark objects that have been observed so far with masses ranging from $`10^6`$ to $`3\times 10^9M_{}`$ . Most recently, it has been shown that a weakly interacting dark matter particle in the mass range $`1\text{ }<\text{ }m/\mathrm{keV}\text{ }<\text{ }5`$ could solve the problem of the excessive structure generated on subgalactic scales in $`N`$-body and hydrodynamical simulations of structure formation in this Universe .

So far the masses of $`20`$ supermassive compact dark objects at the center of galaxies have been measured using various techniques . The most massive compact dark object ever observed is located at the center of M87 in the Virgo cluster, and it has a mass of about $`3\times 10^9M_{}`$ . If we identify this object of maximal mass with a degenerate fermion ball at the Oppenheimer-Volkoff (OV) limit , i.e., $`M_{\mathrm{OV}}=0.54M_{\mathrm{Pl}}^3m^2g^{1/2}3\times 10^9M_{}`$ , where $`M_{\mathrm{Pl}}=\sqrt{\mathrm{}c/G}`$ denotes the Planck mass, this allows us to fix the fermion mass to $`m15`$ keV for a spin and particle-antiparticle degeneracy factor of $`g=2`$. Such a relativistic object would have a radius of $`R_{\mathrm{OV}}=4.45R_\mathrm{S}`$ 1.5 light-days (1.19 light-days = 1 mpc), where $`R_\mathrm{S}`$ is the Schwarzschild radius of the mass $`M_{\mathrm{OV}}`$. It would thus be virtually indistinguishable from a black hole of the same mass, as the closest stable orbit around a black hole has a radius of 3 $`R_\mathrm{S}`$ anyway.

Near the lower end of the observed mass range is the compact dark object located at the Galactic center  with a mass of $`M_\mathrm{c}2.6\times 10^6M_{}`$. Interpreting this object as a degenerate fermion ball consisting of $`m15`$ keV and $`g=2`$ fermions, the radius is $`R21`$ light-days $`7\times 10^4R_\mathrm{S}`$ , $`R_\mathrm{S}`$ being the Schwarzschild radius of the mass $`M_\mathrm{c}`$. Such a nonrelativistic object is far from being a black hole. The shallowness of its gravitational potential may be probed by infalling gas and stars orbiting within this fermion ball. A particle at infinity at rest falling towards the fermion ball can merely acquire the escape velocity of $`1700`$ km/s from the center of the fermion ball. Therefore the spectrum of the radiation emitted by the infalling gas will be cut off at high frequencies, as is actually seen in the far infrared spectrum of the enigmatic radio source Sgr A at the Galactic center . From the observed cut-off at $`10^{13}`$ Hz, corresponding to emission at $``$ 10 light-days, in a thin accretion disk scenario, one can deduce a lower limit for the radius of $`R\text{ }>\text{ }`$ 18 light-days . Similarly, the observed motion of stars within a projected distance of $``$ 6 to $``$ 50 light-days from Sgr A  yields, apart from the mass, an upper limit for the radius of the fermion ball $`R\text{ }<\text{ }`$ 22 light-days.

The required weakly interacting fermion of $``$ 15 keV mass cannot be an active neutrino, as it would overclose the Universe by orders of magnitude . Moreover, an active neutrino of $``$ 15 keV is disfavored by the experimental data on solar and atmospheric neutrinos, as these are most probably oscillating into active neutrinos with small $`\delta m^2`$ , and the $`\nu _\mathrm{e}`$ mass has been determined to be $`<3`$ eV . However, the $`15`$ keV fermion could very well be a sterile neutrino, contributing $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}`$ 0.3 to the dark matter fraction of the critical density today. Indeed, as has been shown for an initial lepton asymmetry of $`10^3`$, a sterile neutrino of mass $``$ 10 keV may be resonantly produced in the early Universe with near closure density, i.e. $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}`$ 1 . The resulting energy spectrum of the sterile neutrinos is cut off for energies larger than the resonance energy, thus mimicking a degenerate fermion gas. As an alternative possibility, the $``$ 15 keV sterile neutrino could be replaced by the axino  or the gravitino  in soft supersymmetry breaking scenarios.

In the recent past, galactic halos have been successfully modeled as a self-gravitating isothermal gas of particles of arbitrary mass, the density of which scales asymptotically as $`r^2`$, yielding flat rotation curves . As the supermassive compact dark objects at the galactic centers are well described by a gas of fermions of mass $`m15`$ keV at $`T=0`$, it is tempting to explore the possibility that one could describe both the supermassive compact dark objects and their galactic halos in a unified way in terms of a fermion gas at finite temperature. We will show in this paper that this is indeed the case, and that the observed dark matter distribution in the Galactic halo is consistent with the existence of a supermassive compact dark object at the center of the Galaxy which has about the right mass and size, and is in thermal and hydrostatic equilibrium with the halo.

## 2 Dynamics of the Stars Near the Galactic Center

We now would like to compare the predictions of the black hole and fermion ball scenarios of the Galactic center, for the stars with the smallest projected distances to Sgr A, based on the measurements of their positions during the last six years . The projected orbits of three stars, S0-1 (S1), S0-2 (S2) and S0-4 (S4), show deviations from uniform motion on a straight line during the last six years, and they thus may contain nontrivial information about the potential. For our analysis we have selected the star, S0-1, because its projected distance from Sgr A in 1995.53, 4.4 mpc or 5.3 light-days, makes it most likely that it could be orbiting within a fermion ball of radius $``$ 18 mpc or $``$21 light-days. We thus may in principle distinguish between the black hole and fermion ball scenarios for this star.

The dynamics of the stars in the gravitational field of the supermassive compact dark object can be studied solving Newton’s equation of motion, taking into account the initial position and velocity vectors at, e.g., $`t_0`$ = 1995.4 yr, i.e., $`\stackrel{}{r}(t_0)(x,y,z)`$ and $`\dot{\stackrel{}{r}}(t_0)(v_x,v_y,v_z)`$. For the fermion ball the source of gravitational field is the mass $`(r)`$ enclosed within a radius $`r`$  while for the black hole it is $`M_c=(R_c)=2.6\times 10^6M_{}`$. The $`x`$-axis is chosen in the direction opposite to the right ascension (RA), the $`y`$-axis in the direction of the declination, and the $`z`$-axis points towards the sun. The black hole and the center of the fermion ball are assumed to be at the position of Sgr A which is also the origin of the coordinate system at an assumed distance of 8 kpc from the sun.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the right ascension (RA) and declination of S0-1 are plotted as a function of time for various unobservable $`z`$’s and $`v_z=0`$ in 1995.4, for the black hole and fermion ball scenarios. The velocity components $`v_x`$ = 340 km s-1 and $`v_y=1190`$ km s-1 in 1995.4 have been fixed from observations. In the case of a black hole, both RA and declination depend strongly on $`z`$ in 1995.4, while the $`z`$-dependence of these quantities in the fermion ball scenario is rather weak. We conclude that the RA and declination data of S0-1 are well fitted with $`|z|0.25^{\prime \prime }`$ in the black hole scenario, and with $`|z|\text{ }<\text{ }0.1^{\prime \prime }`$ in the fermion ball case ($`1^{\prime \prime }=38.8`$ mpc = 46.2 light-days at 8 kpc). Of course, we can also try to fit the data varying both the unknown radial velocity $`v_z`$ and the unobservable radial distance $`z`$. The results are summarized in Fig. 3, where the $`zv_z`$ phase-space of 1995.4, that fits the data, is shown. The small range of acceptable $`|z|`$ and $`|v_z|`$ values in the black hole scenario (solid vertical line) reflects the fact that the orbit of S0-1 depend strongly on $`z`$. The weak sensitivity of the orbit on $`z`$ in the fermion ball case is the reason for the much larger $`zv_z`$ phase-space fitting the data of S0-1 , as shown by the dashed box. The dashed and solid curves describe the just bound orbits in the fermion ball and black hole scenarios, respectively. The star S0-1 is unlikely to be unbound, because in the absence of close encounters with stars of the central cluster, S0-1 would have to fall in with an initial velocity that is inconsistent with the velocity dispersion of the stars at infinity.

Fig. 4 shows some typical projected orbits of S0-1 in the black hole and fermion ball scenarios. The data of S0-1 may be fitted in both scenarios with appropriate choices of $`v_x`$, $`v_y`$, $`z`$ and $`v_z`$ in 1995.4. The inclination angles of the orbit’s plane, $`\theta `$ = arccos $`\left(L_z/|\stackrel{}{L}|\right)`$, with $`\stackrel{}{L}=m\stackrel{}{r}\times \dot{\stackrel{}{r}}`$, are shown next to the orbits. The minimal inclination angle that describes the data in the black hole case is $`\theta `$ = 70o, while in the fermion ball scenario it is $`\theta `$ = 0o. In the black hole case, the minimal and maximal distances from Sgr A are $`r_{\mathrm{min}}`$ = 0.25′′ and $`r_{\mathrm{max}}`$ = 0.77′′, respectively, for the orbit with $`z=0.25^{\prime \prime }`$ and $`v_z`$ = 0 which has a period of $`T_0`$ 161 yr. The orbits with $`z`$ = 0.25′′ and $`v_z`$ = 400 km s-1 or $`z`$ = 0.25′′ and $`v_z`$ = 700 km s-1 have periods of $`T_0`$ 268 yr or $`T_0`$ 3291 yr, respectively. In the fermion ball scenario, the open orbit with $`z=0.1^{\prime \prime }`$ and $`v_z`$ = 0 has a “period” of $`T_0`$ 77 yr with $`r_{\mathrm{min}}=0.13^{\prime \prime }`$ and $`r_{\mathrm{max}}=0.56^{\prime \prime }`$. The open orbits with $`z=0.1^{\prime \prime }`$ and $`v_z`$ = 400 km s-1 or $`z=0.1^{\prime \prime }`$ and $`v_z`$ = 900 km s-1 have “periods” of $`T_0`$ 100 yr or $`T_0`$ 1436 yr, respectively.

In concluding, it is important to note that, based on the data of the star S0-1 , the fermion ball scenario cannot be ruled out. In fact, in view of the $`zv_z`$ phase space, that is much larger in the fermion ball scenario than in the black hole case, there is reason to treat the fermion ball scenario of the supermassive compact dark object at the center of our Galaxy with the respect it deserves.

## 3 Dark Matter in the Center and the Halo of the Galaxy

Degenerate fermion balls are well understood in terms of the Thomas-Fermi theory applied to self-gravitating fermionic matter at $`T=0`$ . Extending this theory to nonzero temperature , it has been shown that at some critical temperature $`T=T_\mathrm{c}`$, a self-gravitating ideal fermion gas, having a mass below the OV limit enclosed in a spherical cavity of radius $`R`$, may undergo a first-order gravitational phase transition from a diffuse state to a condensed state. This is best seen plotting the energy and free energy as functions of the temperature which are three-valued in some temperature interval, exhibiting a Maxwell-Boltzmann branch at high temperatures and the degenerate branch at low temperatures. However, this first-order phase transition can only take place if the Fermi gas is able to get rid of the large latent heat which is due to the binding energy of the fermion ball. As the short-range interactions of the fermions are negligible, the gas cannot release its latent heat; it will thus be trapped for temperatures $`T<T_\mathrm{c}`$ in a thermodynamic quasi-stable supercooled state close to the point of gravothermal collapse. The Fermi gas will be caught in the supercooled state even if the total mass of the gas exceeds the OV limit, as a stable condensed state does not exist in this case.

The formation of a supercooled state close to the point of gravothermal collapse, may be understood as a process similar to that of violent relaxation, which was introduced to describe rapid virialization of stars of different mass in globular clusters  without invoking binary collisions of the stars, as these would not contribute significantly to thermalization on a scale of the age of the Universe. Through the gravitational collapse of a cold overdense fluctuation, $``$ 1 Gyr after the Big Bang, part of gravitational energy transforms into the kinetic energy of random motion of small-scale density fluctuations. The resulting virialized cloud will thus be well approximated by a gravitationally stable thermalized halo. In order to estimate the mass-temperature ratio, we assume that the cold overdense cloud of the mass of the Galaxy $`M`$ stops expanding at the time $`t_\mathrm{m}`$, reaching its maximal radius $`R_\mathrm{m}`$ and minimal average density $`\rho _\mathrm{m}=3M/(4\pi R_\mathrm{m}^3)`$. The total energy per particle is just the gravitational energy

$$E=\frac{3}{5}\frac{GM}{R_\mathrm{m}}.$$
(1)
Assuming spherical collapse  one arrives at

$$\rho _\mathrm{m}=\frac{9\pi ^2}{16}\overline{\rho }(t_\mathrm{m})=\frac{9\pi ^2}{16}\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}\rho _0(1+z_\mathrm{m})^3,$$
(2)
where $`\overline{\rho }(t_\mathrm{m})`$ is the background density at the time $`t_\mathrm{m}`$ or cosmological redshift $`z_\mathrm{m}`$, and $`\rho _03H_0^2/(8\pi G)`$ is the present critical density. We now approximate the virialized cloud by a singular isothermal sphere  of mass $`M`$ and radius $`R`$, characterized by a constant circular velocity $`\mathrm{\Theta }=(2T/m)^{1/2}`$ and the density profile $`\rho (r)=\mathrm{\Theta }^2/4\pi Gr^2.`$ Its total energy per particle is the sum of gravitational and thermal energies, i.e.,

$$E=\frac{1}{4}\frac{GM}{R}=\frac{1}{4}\mathrm{\Theta }^2.$$
(3)
Combining Eqs. (1), (2), and (3), we find

$$\mathrm{\Theta }^2=\frac{6\pi }{5}G(6\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}\rho _0M^2)^{1/3}(1+z_\mathrm{m}).$$
(4)
Taking $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{d}=0.3`$, $`M=2\times 10^{12}M_{}`$, $`z_\mathrm{m}=4`$, and $`H_0=65\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$, we find $`\mathrm{\Theta }220\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, which corresponds to the mass-temperature ratio $`m/T4\times 10^6`$.

Next, we briefly discuss the general-relativistic extension of the Thomas-Fermi theory  for a self-gravitating gas of $`N`$ fermions with mass $`m`$ and degeneracy factor $`g`$ at the temperature $`T`$ enclosed in a sphere of radius $`R`$. We denote by $`p`$, $`\rho `$, and $`n`$ the pressure, energy density, and particle number density of the gas, respectively. In the following we use the units in which $`G=1`$. The metric generated by the mass distribution is static, spherically symmetric, and asymptotically flat, i.e.,

$$ds^2=\xi ^2dt^2(12/r)^1dr^2r^2(d\theta ^2+\mathrm{sin}\theta d\varphi ^2).$$
(5)
For numerical convenience, we introduce the parameter $`\alpha =\mu /T`$ and the substitution $`\xi =(\phi +1)^{1/2}\mu /m`$, where $`\mu `$ is the chemical potential associated with the conserved particle number $`N`$. The equation of state for a self-gravitating gas may thus be represented in parametric form  as

$$n=\frac{1}{\pi ^2}_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑y\frac{y^2}{1+\mathrm{exp}\{[(y^2+1)^{1/2}/(\phi +1)^{1/2}1]\alpha \}},$$
(6)
$$\rho =\frac{1}{\pi ^2}_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑y\frac{y^2(y^2+1)^{1/2}}{1+\mathrm{exp}\{[(y^2+1)^{1/2}/(\phi +1)^{1/2}1]\alpha \}},$$
(7)
$$p=\frac{1}{3\pi ^2}_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑y\frac{y^4(y^2+1)^{1/2}}{1+\mathrm{exp}\{[(y^2+1)^{1/2}/(\phi +1)^{1/2}1]\alpha \}},$$
(8)
where appropriate length and mass scales $`a`$ and $`b`$, respectively, have been chosen such that $`a=b=(2/g)^{1/2}/m^2`$. Restoring $`\mathrm{}`$, $`c`$, and $`G`$, we have

$$a=\sqrt{\frac{2}{g}}\frac{\mathrm{}M_{\mathrm{Pl}}}{cm^2}=1.0798\times 10^{10}\sqrt{\frac{2}{g}}\left(\frac{15\mathrm{k}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}}{m}\right)^2\mathrm{km},$$
(9)
$$b=\sqrt{\frac{2}{g}}\frac{M_{\mathrm{Pl}}^3}{m^2}=0.7251\times 10^{10}\sqrt{\frac{2}{g}}\left(\frac{15\mathrm{k}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}}{m}\right)^2M_{}.$$
(10)
Thus fermion mass, degeneracy factor, and chemical potential are eliminated from the equation of state.

Einstein’s field equations for the metric (5) are given by

$$\frac{d\phi }{dr}=2(\phi +1)\frac{+4\pi r^3p}{r(r2)},$$
(11)
$$\frac{d}{dr}=4\pi r^2\rho .$$
(12)
To these two equations we add

$$\frac{d𝒩}{dr}=4\pi r^2(12/r)^{1/2}n$$
(13)
imposing particle-number conservation as a condition at the boundary

$$𝒩(R)=N.$$
(14)
Eqs. (11)-(13) should be integrated using the boundary conditions at the origin, i.e.,

$$\phi (0)=\phi _0>1,(0)=0,𝒩(0)=0.$$
(15)
It is useful to introduce the degeneracy parameter $`\eta =\alpha \phi /2`$, which, in the Newtonian limit, approaches $`\eta _{\mathrm{nr}}=(\mu _{\mathrm{nr}}V)/T`$, with $`\mu _{\mathrm{nr}}=\mu m`$ being the nonrelativistic chemical potential and $`V`$ the Newtonian potential. As $`\phi `$ is monotonously decreasing with increasing $`r`$, the strongest degeneracy is obtained at the center with $`\eta _0=\alpha \phi _0/2`$. The parameter $`\eta _0`$, uniquely related to the central density and pressure, will eventually be fixed by the requirement (14). For $`rR`$, the function $`\phi `$ yields the usual empty-space Schwarzschild solution

$$\phi (r)=\frac{\mu ^2}{m^2}\left(1\frac{2M}{r}\right)^11,$$
(16)
with

$$M=(R)=_0^R𝑑r4\pi r^2\rho (r).$$
(17)
Given the temperature $`T`$, the set of self-consistency equations (6)-(13), with the boundary conditions (14)-(17) defines the general-relativistic extension of the Thomas-Fermi equation.

## 4 Numerical Results

The numerical procedure is now straightforward. For a fixed, arbitrarily chosen $`\alpha `$, we first integrate Eqs. (11) and (12) numerically on the interval $`[0,R]`$ to find the solutions for various central values of the degeneracy parameter $`\eta _0`$. Integrating (13) simultaneously, yields $`𝒩(R)`$ as a function of $`\eta _0`$. We then select the value of $`\eta _0`$ for which $`𝒩(R)=N`$. The chemical potential $`\mu `$ corresponding to this particular solution is given by Eq. (16) which in turn yields the parametric dependence on the temperature through $`\alpha =\mu /T`$.

The quantities $`N`$, $`T`$,and $`R`$ are free parameters of our model and their range of values are dictated by the physics of the problem at hand. At $`T=0`$ the number of fermions $`N`$ is restricted by the OV limit $`N_{\mathrm{OV}}=2.89\times 10^9\sqrt{2/g}(15\mathrm{keV}/m)^2M_{}/m`$. However, at nonzero temperature, stable solutions exist with $`N>N_{\mathrm{OV}}`$, depending on temperature and radius. In the following $`N`$ is required to be of the order $`2\times 10^{12}M_{}/m`$, so that for any $`m`$, the total mass is close to the estimated mass of the halo . As we have demonstrated, the expected particle mass-temperature ratio of the halo is given by $`\alpha m/T=4\times 10^4`$. The halo radius $`R`$ is in principle unlimited; in practice, however, it should not exceed half the average intergalactic distance. It is known that an isothermal configuration has no natural boundary, in contrast to the degenerate case of zero temperature, where for given $`N`$ (up to the OV limit) the radius $`R`$ is naturally fixed by the condition of vanishing pressure and density. At nonzero temperature, with $`R`$ being unbounded, our gas would occupy the entire space, and fixing $`N`$ would make $`p`$ and $`\rho `$ vanish everywhere. Conversely, if we do not fix $`N`$ and integrate the equations on the interval $`[0,\mathrm{})`$, both $`M`$ and $`N`$ will diverge at infinity for $`T>0`$. Thus, one is forced to introduce a cutoff. In an isothermal model of a similar kind , the cutoff was set at the radius $`R`$, where the energy density was by about six orders of magnitude smaller than the central value. Our choice of $`R=200`$ kpc is based on the estimated size of the Galactic halo.

The only remaining free parameters of our model are the fermion mass $`m`$ and the degeneracy factor $`g`$, which always appear in the combination $`m^4g`$. We fix these parameters at $`m=15`$ keV and $`g=2`$, and justify this choice a posteriori.

The results of numerical integration of Eqs. (11) and (12), without restricting $`N`$, are presented in Fig. 5, where we plot the particle number $`N`$ as a function of the central degeneracy parameter $`\eta _0`$ for several values of $`\alpha `$ close to $`4\times 10^6`$. For fixed $`N`$, there is a range of $`\alpha `$, where the Thomas-Fermi equation has multiple solutions. For example, for $`N=2\times 10^{12}`$ and $`\alpha =4\times 10^6`$ six solutions are found, which are denoted by (1), (2), (3), (3’), (2’), and (1’) corresponding to the values $`\eta _0=`$ -30.528, -25.354, -22.390, 29.284, 33.380, and 40.479, respectively. In Figs. 6 and 7 we plot the corresponding density profiles and enclosed masses, respectively. For negative central value $`\eta _0`$, for which the degeneracy parameter is negative everywhere, the system behaves basically as a Maxwell-Boltzmann isothermal sphere. Positive values of the central degeneracy parameter $`\eta _0`$ are characterized by a pronounced central core of mass of about $`2.5\times 10^6M_{}`$ within a radius of about 20 mpc. The presence of this core is obviously due to the degeneracy pressure of the Fermi-Dirac statistics. A similar structure was obtained in collisionless stellar systems modeled as a nonrelativistic Fermi gas .

Figs. 6 and 7 show two important features. First, a galactic halo at a given temperature $`T`$ may or may not have a central core depending whether the central degeneracy parameter $`\eta _0`$ is positive or negative. Second, the closer to zero $`\eta _0`$ is, the smaller the radius is at which the $`r^2`$ asymptotic behavior of the density begins. The flattening of the Galactic rotation curve begins in the range $`1\text{ }<\text{ }r/\mathrm{kpc}\text{ }<\text{ }10`$, hence the solution (3’) most likely describes the Galaxy’s halo. This may be verified by calculating the rotational curves in our model. We know already from the estimate (4) that our model yields the correct asymptotic circular velocity of 220 km/s. In order to make a more realistic comparison with the observed Galactic rotation curve, we must include two additional matter components: the bulge and the disk. The bulge is modeled as a spherically symmetric matter distribution of the form

$$\rho _\mathrm{b}(s)=\frac{e^{hs}}{2s^3}_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑u\frac{e^{hsu}}{[(u+1)^81]^{1/2}},$$
(18)
where $`s=(r/r_0)^1/4`$, $`r_0`$ is the effective radius of the bulge and $`h`$ is a parameter. We adopt $`r_0=2.67`$ kpc and $`h`$ yielding the bulge mass $`M_\mathrm{b}=1.5\times 10^{10}M_{}`$ . In Fig. 8 the mass of halo and bulge enclosed within a given radius is plotted for various $`\eta _0`$. Here, the gravitational backreaction of the bulge on the fermionic halo has been taken into account. The data points, indicated by squares, are the mass $`M_\mathrm{c}=2.6\times 10^6M_{}`$ within 18 mpc, estimated from the motion of the stars near Sgr A , and the mass $`M_{50}=5.4_{3.6}^{+0.2}\times 10^{11}`$ within 50 kpc, estimated from the motions of satellite galaxies and globular clusters . Variation of the central degeneracy parameter $`\eta _0`$ between 24 and 32 does not change the essential halo features.

In Fig. 9 we plot the circular velocity components of the halo, the bulge, and the disk. The contribution of the disk is modeled as

$$\mathrm{\Theta }_\mathrm{d}(r)^2=\mathrm{\Theta }_\mathrm{d}(r_\mathrm{o})^2\frac{1.97(r/r_\mathrm{o})^{1.22}}{[(r/r_\mathrm{o})^2+0.78^2]^{1.43}},$$
(19)
where we take $`r_\mathrm{o}=13.5`$ kpc and $`\mathrm{\Theta }_\mathrm{d}=100`$ km/s. Here it is assumed for simplicity that the disk does not influence the mass distribution of the bulge and the halo. Choosing the central degeneracy $`\eta _0=28`$ for the halo, the data by Merrifield and Olling  are reasonably well fitted.

We now turn to the discussion of our choice of the fermion mass $`m=15`$ keV for a degeneracy factor $`g=2`$. To this end we investigate how the mass of the central object, i.e., the mass $`M_\mathrm{c}`$ within 18 mpc, depends on $`m`$ in the interval 5 to 25 keV, for various $`\eta _0`$. We find that $`m15`$ keV gives always the maximal value of $`M_\mathrm{c}`$ ranging between 1.7 to 2.3 $`\times 10^6M_{}`$ for $`\eta _0`$ between 20 and 28. Hence, with $`m15`$ keV we get the value closest to the mass of the central object $`M_\mathrm{c}`$ estimated from the motion of the stars near Sgr A .

We now present the results of the calculations for fixed particle number and temperatures near the point of gravothermal collapse. In Fig. 10 the energy per particle defined as $`E=M/Nm`$ is plotted as a function of temperature for fixed $`N=2\times 10^{12}`$. The plot looks very much like that of a canonical Maxwell-Boltzmann ensemble , with one important difference: in the Maxwell-Boltzmann case the curve continues to spiral inwards ad infinitum approaching the point of the singular isothermal sphere, that is characterized by an infinite central density. In Fermi-Dirac case the spiral consists of two almost identical curves. The inwards winding of the spiral begins for some negative central degeneracy and stops at the point $`T=2.3923\times 10^7m`$, $`E=1.1964\times 10^7m`$, where $`\eta _0`$ becomes zero. This part of the curve, which basically depicts the behavior of a nondegenerate gas, we call Maxwell-Boltzmann branch. By increasing the central degeneracy parameter further to positive values, the spiral begins to unwind outwards very close to the inwards winding curve. The outwards winding curve will eventually depart from the Maxwell-Boltzmann branch for temperatures $`T\text{ }>\text{ }10^3m`$. Further increase of the central degeneracy parameter brings us to a region, where general-relativistic effects become important. The curve will exhibit another spiral for temperatures and energies of the order of a few $`10^3m`$ approaching the limiting temperature $`T_{\mathrm{}}=2.4\times 10^3m`$ and energy $`E_{\mathrm{}}=3.6\times 10^3m`$ with both the central degeneracy parameter and the central density approaching infinite values. It is remarkable that gravitationally stable configurations with arbitrary large central degeneracy parameters exist at finite temperature even though the total mass exceeds the OV limit by several orders of magnitude.

## 5 Conclusions

In summary, using the Thomas-Fermi theory, we have shown that a weakly interacting fermionic gas at finite temperature yields a mass distribution that successfully describes both the center and the halo of the Galaxy. For a fermion mass $`m15`$ keV, a reasonable fit to the rotation curve is achieved with the temperature $`T=3.75`$ meV and the degeneracy parameter at the center $`\eta _0=28`$. With the same parameters, we obtain the mass $`M_{50}=5.04\times 10^{11}M_{}`$ and $`M_{200}=2.04\times 10^{12}M_{}`$ within 50 and 200 kpc, respectively. These values agree quite well with the mass estimates based on the motions of satellite galaxies and globular clusters . Moreover, the mass of $`M_\mathrm{c}2.27\times 10^6M_{}`$, enclosed within 18 mpc, agrees reasonably well with the observations of the compact dark object at the center of the Galaxy. We thus conclude that both the Galactic halo and center could be made of the same fermions.

An observational consequence of this unified scenario of fermion ball and fermion halo at finite temperature could be the direct observation of the radiative decay of the fermion (assumed here to be a sterile neutrino) into a standard neutrino, i.e., $`f\nu \gamma `$. The X-ray luminosity of the compact dark object is most easily observed. If the lifetime for the decay $`f\nu \gamma `$ is 0.82 $`\times 10^{19}`$ yr, the luminosity of a $`M_\mathrm{c}=2.6\times 10^6M_{}`$ fermion ball would be 0.9 $`\times 10^{34}`$ erg s-1. This is consistent with the upper limit of the X-ray luminosity of $``$ (0.5 - 0.9) $`\times 10^{34}`$ erg s-1 of the source with radius $`0.5^{\prime \prime }`$ $``$ 23 light-days, whose center nearly coincides with Sgr A, as seen by the Chandra satellite in the 2 to 7 keV band . The lifetime is proportional to $`\mathrm{sin}^2\theta `$, $`\theta `$ being the unknown mixing angle of the sterile with active neutrinos. With a lifetime of 0.82 $`\times `$ 1019 yr we obtain an acceptable value for the mixing angle squared of $`\theta ^2=1.4\times 10^{11}`$. The X-rays originating from such a radiative decay would contribute about two orders of magnitude less than the observed diffuse X-ray background at this wavelength if the sterile neutrino is the dark matter particle of the Universe. The signal observed at the Galactic center would be a sharp X-ray line at $``$ 7.5 keV for $`g=2`$ and $``$ 6.3 keV for $`g=4`$. This line could be misinterpreted as the Fe $`K_\alpha `$ line at 6.67 keV. Scattering with baryonic matter within the Galactic center could distribute the energy more evenly in the 2 to 7 keV band. The X-ray luminosity would be tracing the fermion matter distribution, and it could thus be an important test of the fermion ball scenario. Of course the angular resolution would need to be $`\text{ }<\text{ }0.1^{\prime \prime }`$ and the sensitivity would have to extend beyond 7 keV.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research is in part supported by the Foundation of Fundamental Research (FFR) grant number PHY99-01241 and the Research Committee of the University of Cape Town. The work of N.B. is supported in part by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Croatia under Contract No. 00980102.