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# The H I Environment of Three Superbubbles in the Large Magellanic Cloud

## 1. Introduction

The evolution of superbubbles created by the supernovae (SNe) and stellar winds of OB associations is a critical determinant of the structure and energetics of the interstellar medium (ISM). The coronal component of the ISM, or hot ionized medium (HIM) is believed to originate within such superbubbles and supernova remnants (SNRs; e.g., Cox & Smith 1974), hence the evolution of these structures determines whether and how this hot gas is released into the diffuse HIM. Models for the ISM are strongly dependent on whether the HIM is a pervasive, dominant component, as envisioned by e.g., McKee & Ostriker (1977), or whether it plays a lesser role as favored by, e.g., Slavin & Cox (1993), returning to a paradigm closer to the two-phase ISM of Field, Goldsmith, & Habing (1969). Superbubble evolution also directly impacts the relative volumes of enriched, coronal gas in galactic disks vs. halos (e.g., Shapiro & Field 1976). Similarly, superbubbles and their related filaments are thought to provide much of the structure for the diffuse ISM, including warm and cold H I and the warm ionized medium (e.g., Kennicutt et al. 1995). Superbubble activity is therefore fundamental to the ISM phase balance, structure, and kinematics; and it is also a principal driver of galactic evolutionary processes.

The standard model for the evolution of these superbubbles is an adiabatic, pressure-driven shell with continuous mechanical energy injection (e.g., Pikel’ner 1968; Castor, McCray, & Weaver 1975). The mechanical power $`L`$ is provided by stellar winds and SNe of the parent OB association. In this model, an outer shock sweeps up ambient ISM into a thin cooled shell, while an inner, reverse shock thermalizes the mechanical energy, thereby generating the hot interior whose pressure drives the shell growth. It is generally assumed that successive SNe can be approximated as a continuous energy injection, and that all the available SN energy is thermalized (e.g., Mac Low & McCray 1988). The standard, adiabatic model then yields simple analytic relations governing the shell evolution:

$$R\left(L/n\right)^{1/5}t^{3/5},$$
(1)
$$v=\text{ }\mathrm{}R\left(L/n\right)^{1/5}t^{2/5},$$
(2)
where $`R`$ and $`v`$ are the shell radius and expansion velocity, respectively, $`n`$ is the ambient density, and $`t`$ is elapsed time.

There are several lines of evidence supporting this standard model for superbubble evolution (see Oey 1999): a few young, stellar wind-dominated objects have well-constrained $`L`$ from classification of the stellar populations, and show reasonable consistency with the predicted kinematics (Oey 1996b). In addition, multiwavelength observations of highly active star-forming regions like 30 Doradus (Wang 1999) and the starburst galaxy NGC 5253 (Strickland & Stevens 1999) show hot gas morphologically contained within cooler shell structures. Higher ionization species like C IV and Si IV have been detected in lines of sight through all superbubbles with available observations (Chu et al. 1995), suggesting interface zones between hot and cold gas. In addition, the superbubble size distribution derived from the standard model is in remarkable agreement with observed size distributions of H I shells in the Magellanic Clouds (Oey & Clarke 1997; Kim et al. 1999).

However, other evidence suggests that superbubble evolution is often not nearly as simple as described by the standard model. The first problem is that the model overestimates the shell growth rate for young, wind-dominated superbubble nebulae (Oey 1996b; García-Segura & Mac Low 1995; Drissen et al. 1995). This could be due to a systematic understimate in the ambient densities $`n`$ by up to a factor of $`10`$, or to a similar overestimate in the input power $`L`$ predicted by the assumed stellar mass-loss rates. Secondly, Oey (1996b) identified a class of superbubbles that exhibit expansion velocities that are several times higher than predicted, relative to their radii. Most of these also show anomalously bright X-ray emission, which suggests shell acceleration by SNR impacts (Chu & Mac Low 1990; Oey 1996b). In such cases, not all the available SN energy will be thermalized to power the shell expansion, thus the effect of discrete SNe on shell evolution remains unclear.

Clarifying the structure of the ambient medium is clearly essential in determining the origin of these discrepancies. Since most estimates of the ambient $`n`$ for young nebular shells are based on the H$`\alpha `$ electron densities, the presence of a massive H I shell component could imply a significant underestimate in assumed $`n`$. Another possibility is that the structure of the ambient medium is highly irregular, providing openings to a network of low-density channels. In that case, the superbubble could be ruptured in one or more locations, depressurizing the interior and releasing hot gas into these channels. Soft X-ray imaging with Einstein and ROSAT suggests this process in at least one object, DEM L152 (Chu et al. 1993; Magnier et al. 1995) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). These minor blowouts would then cause accelerated, high-velocity kinematics in excess of the standard model predictions (e.g., Oey & Smedley 1998; Mac Low et al. 1998). Expansion into the density gradient perpendicular to galactic disks offers an additional systematic explanation for anomalously fast shell expansion in face-on galaxies (Silich & Franco 1999).

## 2. Observations

### 2.1. Optical narrowband imaging

In order to examine their interstellar environment in more detail, we therefore obtained H I imaging around three nebular superbubbles in the LMC. All three objects are among those found by Oey (1996b) to show anomalously high expansion velocities relative to their radii. The characteristics of these objects are summarized in Table 1: columns 1 and 2 give their identifications in the H$`\alpha `$ catalogs of Davies, Elliott, & Meaburn (1976) and Henize (1956), respectively; and column 3 gives the shell radius $`R`$ from Oey (1996b), assuming a 50 kpc distance to the LMC. All three objects contain OB associations in projection, and their stellar content was classified by Oey (1996a). The stars with the earliest spectral types within each superbubble are listed in column 4. Finally, column 5 lists the ratio of predicted to observed H$`\alpha `$ luminosity $`L_{\mathrm{H}\alpha }(\mathrm{pred})/L_{\mathrm{H}\alpha }(\mathrm{obs})`$, determined by Oey & Kennicutt (1997) from the observed stellar population.

We obtained optical narrowband imaging of these objects in the light of H$`\alpha `$, \[O III\]$`\lambda `$5007, \[S II\]$`\lambda \lambda `$6717,6731, and also red and green continuum. These observations were obtained from the Magellanic Clouds Emission-Line Survey (MCELS; Smith et al. 1999), which is nearing completion at the CTIO/U. Michigan 0.9-m Curtis Schmidt Telescope. The observations for DEM L301, which are also part of this survey, were published by Oey et al. (2000), and similar narrowband imaging was reported by Skelton et al. (1999). The filter bandwidths for H$`\alpha `$, \[O III\], and \[S II\] are 30Å, 40Å, and 50Å, respectively, with wider continuum filters (see Smith et al. 1999); the spatial resolution is about $`34\mathrm{}`$, with 2.3″ px<sup>-1</sup>. Figure 1 shows color composite images constructed from the continuum-subtracted optical narrowband observations. H$`\alpha `$ is shown in red, \[O III\] in green, and \[S II\] in blue. The nebular gas in all three objects is well-defined, highly circular, and filamentary. The MCELS narrowband frames of DEM L25 and DEM L50 were flux-calibrated with two longslit spectra of positions in DEM L25. These were obtained at the CTIO 1.5-m telescope on 2001 August 1 under photometric conditions.

### 2.2. H I and continuum observations

We used the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) to construct aperture synthesis imaging of these regions in the 21-cm H I line. As seen in Figure 1, DEM L25 and L50 are separated by only $`0.5^{}`$, so for these targets we mosaicked a single field from 13 pointings. Our field for DEM L301 comprises 7 pointings. We obtained the observations in four configurations: 750A (1996 Nov 27), 750D (1997 Jan 5–7), 1.5C (1997 Sep 3), and 1.5D (1997 Mar 26–30). Excluding the data from the baselines involving antenna 6, these configurations yield 40 independent baselines ranging from 30 to 1470 m. The 21-cm line observations were carried out for an LMC heliocentric radial velocity $`v_{\mathrm{hel}}297\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. The bandwidth of 4 MHz was divided into 1024 channels, which were then binned to 512 channels. These correspond to a velocity coverage $`33<v_{\mathrm{hel}}<627\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, with resolution 1.65 $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ and sensitivity of 2.2 K. We simultaneously observed the 20-cm, 1.380 GHz continuum emission with a bandwidth of 128 MHz and full polarization information.

We observed the primary flux calibrator PKS B1934–638 at the start and end of each observing run. For phase and amplitude calibration, we observed PKS B0454–810 and PKS B0407–658. To increase the $`uv`$ coverage in the shortest baselines, we also merged our data with fields from the LMC ATCA survey of Kim et al. (1998) and the Parkes single-dish survey (Staveley-Smith et al. 2001). For DEM L25 and L50, we included 50 fields from the ATCA survey, and for DEM L301, we included 37 fields. The pointing positions of our new data were adopted to coincide with the central pointings from the survey data. Altogether, these observations yield H I imaging at 50″ resolution within roughly $`40\mathrm{}`$ of each object.

The calibration and mosaicking of the radio data were carried out with Miriad software. Our data were transformed to the image plane using superuniform weighting and a Gaussian taper of 40″. We deconvolved the beam using a maximum entropy method, and this was then merged with the ATCA data and regridded Parkes data. We adopted a flux ratio between the Parkes data and our data of 1.2 for DEM L25 and L50, and 1.0 for DEM L301.

## 3. Results

The optical emission-line properties of DEM L301 are discussed in detail by Oey et al. (2000), who also present the individual narrowband images of that object used here. Similar CCD narrowband imaging of DEM L301 was obtained and discussed by Skelton et al. (1999). In addition, Oey et al. (2000) obtained longslit spectrophotometry and compared these with tailored photoionization and shock models, showing that the observed line ratios appear to result from a combination of shock and density-bounded photoionization.

In contrast, DEM L25 and L50 emit substantially more H$`\alpha `$ luminosity than apparently can be provided by the stars (Table 1). This implies an additional ionization mechanism, most plausibly shock heating. Figure 1$`a`$ shows a dramatic contrast between DEM L25 and L50 in \[O III\] emission: while DEM L25 shows a ratio of \[O III\]$`\lambda 5007`$/H$`\alpha `$ $`0.8`$, the main shell of DEM L50 shows almost no detection in \[O III\]. There is some \[O III\] emission from the SNR N186 D, which is the small loop at the north end of DEM L50 (see §3.2 below), but Lasker (1977) cites the lack of \[O III\] emission in the main shell as evidence that N186 D is physically separate from the remainder of the system. The \[O III\] emission from DEM L25 is surprising in view of the stellar populations: DEM L25 has only a single O9 V star, whereas DEM L50 has one O6.5 V star and several late-type O stars. We would have expected \[O III\] emission from both nebulae, since it is even seen in H II regions dominated by O9 stars (Hunter 1992; Hunter & Massey 1990). However, the extremely low ionization parameter in these shell structures is likely to quench the photoionized \[O III\] emission in these objects (e.g., Oey et al. 2000; Garnett & Kennicutt 1994). The \[O III\] from DEM L25 is therefore most likely caused by an additional heating mechanism, probably shock excitation.

The nebular kinematics of all three superbubbles have been studied extensively (e.g., Rosado et al. 1981; Lasker 1981; Dopita et al. 1981; Rosado et al. 1982; Meaburn, McGee, & Newton 1984; Rosado et al. 1990). All three show highly complex nebular velocity structure, and do not exhibit simple uniform expansion. The complex kinematics were cited as evidence consistent with the suggestion of internal SNR impacts to explain the anomalously high velocities (Oey 1996b).

Figure 2 shows the wide-angle maps of H I column density $`N`$(H I) around these regions. The circles indicate the positions of the superbubbles at their approximate angular size. Figure 3 gives a closer look with composite images of the optical and H I data. Red is H$`\alpha `$, green is \[O III\], and blue is now H I. It is apparent that the neutral environment varies dramatically among the three objects. DEM L25 and L50 appear to be situated in a large H I void, roughly 1.4 kpc in diameter, which apparently corresponds to the supergiant shell LMC 8 (Meaburn 1980). This structure is also clearly seen in the full H I map of the LMC contructed by Staveley-Smith et al. (2001), which combines data from the Kim et al. (1998) ATCA survey and the Parkes multibeam receiver data. Within this void, there is a patch of H I emission corresponding to DEM L50, but no apparent H I associated with DEM L25. Figure 4 shows H I maps of the region over six velocity intervals, which are the average over four channels. The mean velocity is shown in the upper left of each panel. The environment of DEM L301 (Figure 3$`b`$) shows neutral gas throughout the region in projection, but our data again show no apparent correspondence in the H I distribution with the nebular superbubble (see below). Figure 5 shows H I maps of this region averaged over five velocity channels. Hence, despite the similar appearance of the three shells in H$`\alpha `$, their H I environments are different to an extreme.

### 3.1. DEM L25

As mentioned above, Oey & Kennicutt (1997) found that both DEM L25 and DEM L50 show more H$`\alpha `$ emission than can be accounted for by the late-type O stars present within these objects. Both nebulae might therefore be expected to be radiation-bounded and associated with neutral gas. The environment of DEM L25 is consistent with the superbubble being nestled within a partial H I hole (Figure 6), within a region where typically $`N`$(H I)$`1.0\times 10^{20}\mathrm{cm}^2`$. While some of the emission seen to the NE of DEM L25 probably belongs to an unassociated velocity component, the individual channel maps do remain consistent with general H I anticorrelation for the superbubble (Figure 4).

The H I scale height $`h`$ of the LMC is dependent on radius, and difficult to determine because of the galaxy’s low inclination angle. Kim et al. (1998) estimated a characteristic $`h600`$ pc, which is weighted toward outer radii and assumes that the stars and gas are coupled. A more classical analysis by Kim et al. (1999) suggests $`h180`$ pc, assuming stars and gas are not coupled. Elmegreen, Kim, & Staveley-Smith (2001) note a break in the H I power spectrum around a scale of 100 pc, which may also indicate a low value of $`h`$. Here we adopt a value of $`h=300`$ pc as a compromise estimate. If the value of $`N`$(H I) found in the DEM L25 environment is characteristic of the ISM in this region, our adopted $`h`$ implies an ambient volume density of $`n(\mathrm{Hi})0.05\mathrm{cm}^3`$. This low value is related to the location of DEM L25 within the supergiant shell environment mentioned above.

There is no emission that unambiguously could correspond to a neutral shell of swept-up material, thus it may be that the entire shell is ionized. As seen in Figure 1, DEM L25 shows the highest excitation among the three objects, with \[O III\]$`\lambda 5007`$/H$`\alpha `$ $`0.8`$, despite the fact that DEM L25 has the latest-type OB stars of the three nebulae. The ratio of observed to predicted H$`\alpha `$ luminosity is so high, $`L_{\mathrm{H}\alpha }(\mathrm{obs})/L_{\mathrm{H}\alpha }(\mathrm{pred})=8.6`$ (Table 1), that an additional ionization mechanism is unavoidable. This is consistent with the high \[O III\]/H$`\alpha `$ ratio, and it is therefore less surprising to find no neutral gas component.

Figures 3$`a`$ and 6 show that on the west side of DEM L25, the superbubble is interacting with an H I cloud. This is apparent both morphologically and from the enhanced optical nebular emission, indicating a density increase in the optical shell as would be expected from a collision. The \[S II\]/H$`\alpha `$ ratio is also higher in the interaction zone, ranging around $`1.1`$, as would be expected from a ram pressure-induced shock. The mass of the H I cloud is $``$1.3$`\times 10^4\mathrm{M}_{}`$, as measured within a 230″ box centered at 04 53 49.4, –70 00 12 (J2000). Figure 7 shows an E-W position-velocity (PV) slice across the cloud, showing essentially a single component with a systemic velocity of 240 $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. The velocity dispersion at the interaction zone is about twice as large as for the remainder of the cloud, as is qualitatively expected from a collision. The surrounding H I spatial distribution suggests that the shell is expanding into the cloud, or rather than that the entire superbubble has a systemic velocity in collision with the cloud. The standard, wind-driven evolution predicts a shell expansion velocity $`v_s15\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, based on the observed stellar population and shell size (Oey 1996b). This value represents a rough lower limit to the collision velocity, since H$`\alpha `$ kinematic observations by Rosado et al. (1982) show much higher velocity structures that may imply $`v_s`$ up to 70 $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. We note that no kinematic features are seen in the H I observations at these high velocities, again arguing that the shell itself is fully ionized.

To the N and NE of DEM L25 is denser H I gas (Figure 3$`a`$), which is a southern extension from a major star-forming region with high-density gas about 300 pc to the north (Figures 2$`a`$ and 6). Figure 8 shows the PV diagram for a N-S slice at position 04 54 28.9, –69 56 21.0, to the NE of the shell. Two distinct kinematic components are clearly apparent around 245 and 270 $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, which undoubtedly correspond to those seen in the unresolved observations by Meaburn et al. (1984). These two components are continuously present over most of the H I emission in the large mass immediately to the NE of DEM L25 and contrast with the single component of the cloud to the W. The existence of two, continuous, distinct velocity components is puzzling, but is a common feature that is also seen, for example, in the Small Magellanic Cloud (Staveley-Smith et al. 1997).

### 3.2. DEM L50

DEM L50 shows an H I configuration that is virtually inverse to that of DEM L25. DEM L50 clearly shows associated H I, plausibly in a neutral shell envelope outside the nebula, while the surrounding environment has a low density. For a single $`1.65\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ channel, our 3$`\sigma `$ limit is 2.0$`\times 10^{19}\mathrm{cm}^2`$, although the effective detection limit depends on the kinematic range of the structure. Binning over four channels ($`\mathrm{\Delta }v=6.6\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$) as shown in, e.g., Figure 4 gives a nominal detection limit of 4.0$`\times 10^{19}\mathrm{cm}^2`$. This limiting ambient H I column density corresponds to a volume density of $`n(\mathrm{Hi})0.02\mathrm{cm}^3`$, an extremely low value that is again associated with the interior of the supergiant shell environment. Figure 9 shows the excellent spatial correspondence of the H$`\alpha `$ (image) and $`N`$(H I) (contours) maps. The total integrated emission of 282 Jy $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ within a 610″ box implies a total H I mass of 1.7$`\times 10^5\mathrm{M}_{}`$ for this material. For comparison, the ambient density of 1.4 $`\mathrm{cm}^3`$ estimated by Oey (1996b) and 50 pc radius imply a swept-up mass of 1.6 $`\times 10^4\mathrm{M}_{}`$. This therefore suggests that the ambient density was underestimated by an order of magnitude from the H$`\alpha `$ emission. Alternatively, it may that most of the H I originates in a structure exterior to the superbubble, although this seems unlikely because of the spatial correlation between the H$`\alpha `$ and H I emission in Figure 9.

Figure 10 shows PV diagrams for E-W and N-S slices across the center of DEM L50. Most of the material has a velocity $`247\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. The N-S slice (Figure 10$`a`$) shows a gradient to $`260\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ near the edges, suggesting that most of the central shell material may correspond to a near-side shell expansion velocity of $`v_s13\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. Based on the observed stellar population and shell radius, the standard wind-driven evolution predicts $`v_s20\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ for the originally assumed ambient $`n=1.4\mathrm{cm}^3`$, and $`v_s16\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ for $`n`$ increased by an order of magnitude (Oey 1996b). Both values are consistent with a near-side H I expansion. The H$`\alpha `$ velocity structure is again complex (Rosado et al. 1990); while the reported values are broadly consistent with the principal H I component around $`240\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, it is difficult to identify the optical kinematic structures with the H I. Rosado et al. suggest a possible optical shell expansion of $`v_s25\pm 9\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, reasonably consistent with the tentative near-side H I expansion. Howver, it is also possible that the entire superbubble may have a systemic velocity offset from the ambient ISM, or that the shell kinematics are more complicated.

Figure 11 shows a PV diagram for the SNR N186 D, obtained from a N-S slice at position 05 00 12.3, –70 06 22. Here we do clearly see a $`20\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ line splitting over a region extending about 4′. However, this is puzzlingly inconsistent with H$`\alpha `$ observations suggesting $`v_s90\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ for the SNR, found in the H$`\alpha `$ Fabry-Pérot data of Laval et al. (1989). Their data generally appear to show two components around 160 and 320 $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, and there are no reported velocity structures in the range 240 to 270 $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, which are seen in our H I observations. Our data cube has limiting extremes of 190 and 336 $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, so we cannot adequately probe the same kinematic range as the optical data, but we detect no structures near these extremes in our cube, within our effective detection limit of $`4\times 10^{19}\mathrm{cm}^2`$.

### 3.3. DEM L301

The H I environment of DEM L301 is still different in character from either that of DEM L25 or DEM L50. As seen in Figure 12, there is no apparent correspondence at all between the H I emission and nebular emission, whether as a correlation or anticorrelation. Nor can we identify any correspondence in the individual channel maps, (Figure 5). Figure 13 shows PV diagrams for E-W and N-S slices across the center of the optical nebula. There is no kinematic structure readily identifiable with the superbubble either. Optically, DEM L301 again shows complex, high-velocity components in H$`\alpha `$, with velocity differences up to 100 $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ (Rosado et al. 1981). Since the object is density-bounded and leaking ionizing photons (Table 1), the shell is probably fully ionized, which helps explain the lack of corresponding H I structure. However, this would still imply that the H I distribution is clumpy or patchy, to explain the absence of an H I hole. Typically in this region $`N`$(H I)$`1.3\times 10^{21}\mathrm{cm}^2`$, suggesting a mean volume density of 0.7 $`\mathrm{cm}^3`$.

## 4. 20-cm continuum observations

Our 20-cm (1380 MHz) continuum observations of the three superbubbles show excellent spatial correspondence with the H$`\alpha `$ distributions, as expected for the nebular thermal continuum. We measure flux densities within our 128 MHz bandwidth of $`84\pm 17`$ mJy and $`173\pm 35`$ mJy for DEM L25 and DEM L301, respectively, excluding point sources. The flux density of DEM L50, excluding one point source, is $`229\pm 46`$ mJy, of which $`99\pm 20`$ mJy corresponds to the SNR in the northern region.

Since all three superbubbles have been suggested to be affected by shocks, there may be a non-negligible contribution to the continuum from non-thermal emission. To evaluate this possibility, we constructed spectral index maps using our 1380 MHz data and 843 MHz data from the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope (MOST) survey of the Magellanic Clouds (Turtle et al. 1998). The results are noisy, but broadly suggest that DEM L25 and the SNR N186 D in DEM L50 have spectral indices roughly around $`\alpha 0.8`$ for flux density $`S\nu ^\alpha `$, whereas DEM L301 and the remainder of DEM L50 have lower spectral indices $`\alpha 0.3`$. This is consistent with the stronger shock signatures seen for DEM L25 and SNR N186 D, specifically, the higher \[O III\]/H$`\alpha `$, \[S II\]/H$`\alpha `$, overproduction of H$`\alpha `$, and higher-velocity kinematics. The data thus qualitatively suggest the presence of some non-thermal emission for at least DEM L25 and SNR N186 D. These results are consistent with the spectral indices reported by Filipović et al. (1998) in their multi-band radio continuum survey. For DEM L25 and DEM L50 (unresolved), they obtain $`\alpha =0.67\pm 0.09`$ and $`\alpha =0.73\pm 0.19`$, respectively, while for DEM L301 they find $`\alpha =0.02\pm 0.03`$. These values may be compared to the mean $`\alpha =0.15`$, standard deviation $`\sigma =0.31`$ for H II regions; and mean $`\alpha =0.43`$, $`\sigma =0.19`$ for SNRs, reported by the Filipović et al. (1998) survey.

## 5. Conclusion

We have obtained H I observations of the environment around three optically-selected superbubbles in the LMC. The optical nebulae have similar properties: all are roughly 50 pc in radius and show optical kinematic structures with anomalously high expansion velocities that contrast with values expected from the standard evolutionary model for wind and SN-generated superbubbles. We find that the H I environment within roughly 500 pc of the objects vary to an extreme. DEM L25 shows no H I associated with the superbubble itself, but appears to be nestled within an H I hole, and the shell is interacting with an adjacent H I cloud; DEM L50 shows an H I component to the shell that is $`10`$ times more massive than the ionized shell, but is otherwise in a large H I void; and DEM L301 shows no correlation of any kind between the optical and H I distributions. Furthermore, the high-velocity kinematics observed optically for all three objects are not seen in any of our H I data. These findings strongly caution against inferring properties of the neutral interstellar environment around any individual superbubbles without direct observations.

All three superbubbles have reported signatures suggestive of shock activity, including supersonic nebular velocities. DEM L25 and DEM L50 show elevated H$`\alpha `$ emission in excess of that predicted from photoionization by their classified stellar populations, and DEM L50 encompasses the known SNR N186 D on its northern edge. DEM L25 also shows elevated \[O III\]/H$`\alpha `$ and all objects show high \[S II\]/H$`\alpha `$. The emission-line spectrum of DEM L301 was modeled in detail by Oey et al. (2001), who found evidence of contributions by shock excitation. We examined our 1380 MHz (20 cm) continuum in conjunction with 843 MHz continuum observations from the MOST survey to obtain rough, spatially-resolved estimates of the spectral indices. These suggest some presence of a non-thermal component for at least DEM L25 and the SNR N186 D.

We mentioned above that the new H I data do not show the complex, high-velocity shell components that are evident in the optical nebular data for these objects. However, the uneven H I distributions for DEM L25 and DEM L301 are consistent with the high ionization state of these nebulae, suggesting that these shells are fully ionized. Their patchy H I remains consistent with the optical filaments corresponding to incipient blowout features or material accelerated by SNR impacts, as has been previously suggested. The lack of correspondence between the nebular and H I kinematics is more problematic for DEM L50, although the dominant H$`\alpha `$ and H I components are broadly consistent with each other. The H I velocity profile suggests that the neutral component may correspond to the approaching side of the shell.

We gratefully acknowledge Anne Green for providing the MOST survey data, and Sung Kim for assistance during one of our observing runs. MSO thanks the ATNF/CSIRO for warm hospitality through their Distinguished Visitor Programme. Some of this work was carried out by MSO while at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge and the Space Telescope Science Institute. We also thank the referee, Margarita Rosado, for her helpful suggestions.


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# What does measure the scaling exponent of the correlation sum in the case of human heart rate?

## Abstract

It is shown that in the case of human heart rate, the scaling behaviour of the correlation sum (calculated by the Grassberger-Procaccia algorithm) is a result of the interplay of various factors: finite resolution of the apparatus (finite-size effects), a wide dynamic range of mean heart rate, the amplitude of short-time variability being a decreasing function of the mean heart rate. The value of the scaling exponent depends on all these factors and is a certain measure of short-time variability of the signal.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is often thought to be driven by deterministic chaos inside the heart. This chaos is explained in terms of dynamics of the complex of sino-atrial and atrio-ventricular nodes, which has been successfully modeled as a system of non-linear coupled oscillators, responsible for the heart rhythm Glass ; West .

As a consequence, correlation dimension and related quantities (like Lyapunov exponents and Kolmogorov entropy, etc.) have been thought to be important non-linear measures of HRV. In particular, Babloyantz and Destexhe concluded Babloyantz  that high values of the correlation dimension indicate the healthiness of the heart. Later, the correlation dimension of the heart rate signal has been calculated in a vast number of papers. Meanwhile, it has been pointed out that physiological time-series are typically non-stationary and noisy, and therefore, the correlation dimension cannot be calculated reliably Kantz ; Kanters ; Bezerianos  — the fact which is now widely accepted. In the case of human heart, the “noise” comes from the autonomous nervous system in the form of inputs regulating the heart rate (cf. Berne ; Kaplan ; Rosenblum ). These mostly non-deterministic signals suppress almost completely the underlying deterministic signal. Futhermore, it has been emphasized that a reasonable fitting of a correlation sum to a power law does not necessarily mean that the obtained exponent is the correlation dimension of the underlying dynamical system; instead, thorough non-automatable verification procedure has to be done KantzTextbook . All this leads us to the conclusion that the formally calculated correlation dimension of a heart rhythm does not correspond to the dimensionality of an intrinsic attractor.

Thus, there are two important observations: (a) the correlation sums of human heart rate follow typically a scaling law; (b) in most cases, the scaling exponents are not the correlation dimensions. Then, a natural question arises, what is the physical meaning of these formally calculated exponents?

Our answer to the posed question is based on very simple observations, which are valid for healthy patients: (a) the long-time variability of the inter-beat intervals (around 500 ms) is typically much higher than the variability on the time scale of few heart beats (less than 50 ms); (b) for those periods, when the mean heart rate is high (i.e. when the subject is performing physical exercise) the heart rate variability is low; (c) the heart rate is controlled by non-deterministic and effectively random signals arriving from the autonomous nervous system. As a consequence, in time delay coordinates, an HRV time-series generates a baseball bat-shaped cloud of points. Although the theoretical value of the correlation dimension of such a cloud is infinite, the finite resolution of the recording apparatus, finite length of the time-series, and the linear structure of the cloud result in a smaller value. This is evident for a very narrow “bat”, which is efficiently one-dimensional. In what follows we show that the correlation dimension reflects the geometrical size of the cloud of points.

The layout of the paper is as follows. First, we give the details of the HRV database used for this study. Second, we provide a short overview of the research results related to the correlation dimension of human heart rhythm. Third, we construct a simple model-time-series, the correlation sum of which scales almost identically to that of real HRV data. Finally, we discuss the universality and implications of our model.

The experimental data analyzed in this paper have been recorded at Tallinn Diagnostic Center. The recordings of ambulatory Holter-monitoring (24 hours, approximately 100 000 data points) were obtained during regular diagnostical examinations and covered over 200 patients with various clinically documented diagnoses (including also many healthy patients). The main groups of patients are shown in Table 1. The resolving power of recordings was 6 ms (sampling rate of 180 Hz). The diagnostics and data verification has been made by qualified cardiologist; the data preprocessing included also filtering of artifacts and arrhythmias.

The concept of correlation dimension, introduced by Grassberger and Procaccia Grassberger , is designed to reflect the number of degrees of freedom of a deterministic system (or the dimensionality of an attractor, which, in principle, can be fractal). For empirical time-series, the phase variables are typically not known. It is expected that the attractors in the phase space are topologically equivalent to the attractors in a reconstructed phase space with time-lag coordinates $`\{x(t),x(t+\tau ),\mathrm{}x[t+(m1)\tau ]\}`$, as long as the embedding dimensionality $`m`$ (the dimensionality of the reconstructed phase space) exceeds the dimensionality of the attractor $`D`$; here $`x(t)`$ is the signal, and $`\tau `$ is a reasonably chosen time lag. This circumstance is exploited by the Grassberger-Procaccia method Grassberger  for the calculation of the correlation dimension. To begin with, the second order correlation sum is defined as

$$C_2(r)=\frac{2}{N(N1)}\underset{i<j}{}\theta (r𝒓_i𝒓_j),$$
(1)
where $`\theta (r)`$ is the Heaviside function, and $`𝒓_i=\{x(t_i),x(t_i+\tau ),\mathrm{},x[t+(m1)\tau ]\}`$, is a point in the reconstructed phase space, and $`i=1,2,\mathrm{},N`$ counts the moments of discretized time. For small $`r`$, the correlation sum is expected to scale as $`C_2(r)r^{D_2}`$, assuming that $`D_2<m`$. The exponent $`DD_2`$ is called the correlation dimension of the system.

A non-linear dynamical system may be chaotic and then the phase trajectory fills the entire phase space. In that case, the correlation dimension $`D_2`$ is equal to the number of degrees of freedom (the dimensionality of the phase space minus the number of conservation laws). This is why $`D_2`$ is often considered as a measure of the complexity of the system. Babloyantz and Destexhe Babloyantz  studied the correlation dimension of the sequence of NN-intervals (intervals between normal heartbeats) of human heart rhythm. For healthy patients and data series consisting of 1000 intervals, they found $`D=5.9\pm 0.4`$. It is widely recognized that life threatening heart pathologies lead to the reduction of the complexity of the HRV signal, c.f. Bassingthwaighte . Correspondingly, the correlation dimension of the heart rate has been often considered as a measure for the healthiness of the heart.

However, the heart is not an isolated system. Although the heart rhythm is generated by the complex of oscillatory elements, its rate is controlled by non-deterministic inputs arriving from the autonomous nervous system. In particular, these inputs lead to the increase of heart rate when the subject is under physical stress, and to slowing down when the subject is at rest, c.f. Kaplan . Healthy heart responds easily to these signals, and is able to adapt to a wide range of beating rates. This responsiveness gives rise to the high variability of the heart rate. Severe heart diseases decrease the responsiveness of the heart with respect to the whole spectrum of signals arriving from the autonomous nervous system; this leads to the loss of apparent complexity of the HRV signal.

The heart is more responsive with respect to the signals of the autonomous nervous system when the heart rate is slow, i.e. when the patient is at rest. In that case, the heart rate variability is driven by weaker signals, like the ones generated by respiration and blood-pressure oscillations. These two stimuli are quasi-periodic, the periods being respectively a few and 10–20 seconds. It should be noted that respiration can be mode-locked to the heart rate. This mode-locking has been demonstrated by simultaneous recording of ECG and respiration activity, together with the technique called cardiorespiratory synchrogram Kurths . The ratio of the mode-locked periods can be small, 2:1, 3:1, 5:2, etc., and the phenomenon can give rise to certain patterns in the reconstructed phase space. These patterns can be easily misinterpreted as traces of an attractor of a non-linear deterministic system, therefore we discuss this aspect in more details.

As mentioned above, HRV signals generate a baseball-bat-shaped cloud of points in a time-lag space. For certain patients, the presence of less densely populated satellite clouds can be observed, see Fig. 1 (note that due to the sparse population of these clouds, the presence or absence of the clouds has almost no effect on the value of $`D`$). We were able to show that for all such patients of our database, the satellite clouds were not related to a deterministic chaos inside the heart. To this end, we studied the fluctuation function

$$F(\nu )=|t_nt_{n+\nu }|$$
(2)
(angular braces denote averaging over $`n`$). Unlike in the case of “single-cloud-patients”, the fluctuation function of the patients with satellite clouds revealed a presence of an oscillatory component, see Fig. 2a. By dividing the entire 24-hour HRV record into one-hour intervals, and calculating the amplitude of the oscillatory component of the fluctuation function for each interval, we were able to locate the periods responsible for the satellite clouds in the reconstructed phase space, see Fig. 2b. These were always the periods before falling asleep, around 10 or 11 pm, characterized by a low heart rate and a high respiration-driven short-time variability. The phase between the heart rate and respiration is locked during tens of seconds, confirming the observations of Kurths et al. Kurths . Thus, in a certain sense, the heart and respiratory complex act as a system of coupled oscillators c.f. Janson ; however, there is no determistic chaos inside the heart. Note that our method of mode-locking detection is very simple, does not require synchronous respiration rhythm recording (unlike the thourough method Kurths ), and can be conviniently used to find relatively short ($``$ 10 min) locking periods from a 24-hour recording.

Our model of the heart rhythm generation is as follows. The non-linear deterministic dynamics inside the heart is almost completely suppressed by the signals arriving from the autonomous nervous system. These signals control the mean heart rate, but obey also a noise-like component, the amplitude of which decreases with increasing mean heart rate. In the case of correlation dimension analysis, this noise-like component is indistinguishable from a Gaussian noise. Therefore, theoretically, the correlation dimension is infinite. The reported relatively small values of the correlation dimension are to be attributed to the finite length of the time series and, most importantly, by finite resolution of the recording apparatus. Regarding the length of the record: typically, the correlation dimension has been found to be at the limit (or beyond) of a credible analysis Kantz ; Smith . Indeed, it has been suggested Kantz ; Smith  that the calculation of the correlation dimension $`D`$ is reliable, if the number $`N`$ of data-points in the time series

$$N10^{D/2+1}.$$
(3)
In Table 2, this criterion is compared with the data of some papers.

In order to test our hypothesis we aimed to construct such random time series (using an algorithm as simple as possible), the correlation sum of which is similar to the correlation sums of the time series of real patients. First we analyzed the sequences of NN-intervals extracted from ECG recordings. The scaling exponent was calculated according to the Grassberger-Procaccia algorithm. The six-dimensional embedding phase space was used for calculations. The choice of the embedding dimensionality was motivated as follows. To begin with, the analysis for phase space with $`m>6`$ is not reliable due to sparse clouds of points (see Eq. 3). Further, $`m=6`$ does still make sense, because most of the previous studies have reported $`D6`$.

Reliable correlation sum analysis is possible only for more or less stationary time series, cf. Kantz . Meanwhile, HRV signal is highly non-stationary, as is evidenced by the multifractal structure of its long-time dynamics Ivanov . The most stationary period in the heart rate dynamics is the sleeping time. This is why we studied only the nocturnal part of the HRV records. The scaling exponent was determined as the slope of the correlation sum $`C_2(r)`$ in log-log plot by performing root-mean-square fit for the almost linear part (at small values of $`r`$) of the curve, see Fig. 3. Note that the leftmost horizontal part of the curve is due to the limited resolving power (6 ms) of the medical equipment: if two NN-intervals differ less than 6 ms, they are recorded to be of the same length. The scaling exponents ranged from $`D=4.2`$ to $`D=5.1`$ and were almost uncorrelated with the diagnoses (see Table 2).

Further we generated two surrogate time-series with Gaussian noise: (i) plain Gaussian noise added to a mean rate (see Fig. 4c); (ii) time-series with variable mean rate and modulated noise, generated according to the formula

$$t_n=a+b\mathrm{sin}(fn)+cg(n)\sqrt{1.1+\mathrm{sin}(fn)},$$
(4)
see Fig. 4b. Here, $`t_n`$ denotes the duration of $`n`$-th interval; $`g(n)`$ is a random normally distributed value with zero mean and standard deviation equal to 1. The term $`b\mathrm{sin}(fn)`$ models the variability of the mean heart rate due to physiological processes (physical activity, blood pressure oscillations, etc.). The term $`\sqrt{1.1+\mathrm{sin}(fn)}`$ reflects the empirical observation that the short-time variability of heart rhythm increases together with the mean heart beat interval. Note that both the square-root and sinusoidal dependances are rather arbitrary, the model is not sensitive neither with respect to the particular functional dependencies nor with respect to the modulation frequency $`f`$. The numerical values of these parameters have been chosen as follows: $`a=500`$ms, $`b=110`$ms, $`f=0.005`$, $`c=3.5`$ms; the values of $`t_n`$ were rounded to the nearest multiple of $`6`$ms (the “resolving power”).

For a Gaussian signal, the correlation dimension is infinite and the scaling exponent should be equal to the embedding dimension $`m=6`$. This is exactly what is observed for plain unmodulated Gaussian time-series, see Fig. 5. However, for the noise of modulated amplitude, the finite size effects are significant. Depending on the parameters $`b`$ and $`c`$, the correlation sum in Fig. 6 can be almost indistinguishable from the ones of real patients, see Fig. 4. The scaling exponent $`D`$ of such time-series depends on the amplitude of the Gaussian noise and on the resolving power (which, unlike in the case of real apparatus, was also freely adjustable). By adjusting the above defined parameters $`b`$, $`c`$, and the resolving power, we were able to obtain the values ranging from $`D=4`$ to $`D=6`$.

In conclusion, comparative analysis of real and surrogate data confirmed that the scaling behaviour of the correlation sum and finite values of the formally calculated correlation dimension $`D`$ are the result of the interplay of the following factors: finite resolution of the recording equipment (which leads to finite-size effects), a significant level of long-time variability (the dynamical range of the mean heart rate exceeds the typical level of short-time variability), the fact that the amplitude of short-time variability is a decreasing function of the mean heart rate. The value of the scaling exponent is mostly defined by the dynamics of the short-time variability and resolving power of the recording apparatus; it depends also on on the maximal embedding dimensionality. Therefore, it can be used as a certain measure of short-time variability of the signal (however, in order to obtain comparable values, time-resolution and record length have to be kept constant). The diagnostic and/or prognostic value of this measure is possible, but found to be non-significant for our patient groups (see Table 2). We have also shown that the above drawn conclusion remains valid even in these cases, when certain patterns (satellite clouds) can be observed in time delay coordinates of heart rhythm (see Fig. 3). These patterns are typically due to the respiratory sinus arrhythmia and mode coupling between respiration and heart rhythm without any relation to the (possibly) derministic dynamics inside the heart. Finally, we have devised a simple method of detecting the presence of this mode coupling, based on fluctuation function (2).

The support of Estonian Science Foundation grant No. 4151 is acknowledged. The authors are grateful to Prof. J. Engelbrecht for useful discussions.


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# A remark on the numerical validation of triviality for scalar field theories using high-temperature expansions

## Abstract

We suggest a simple modification of the usual procedures of analysis for the high-temperature (strong-coupling or hopping-parameter) expansions of the renormalized four-point coupling constant in the $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }_4^4`$ lattice scalar field theory. As a result we can more convincingly validate numerically the triviality of the continuum limit taken from the high temperature phase.

preprint: Bicocca/FT October 2000

There has been a steady accumulation of suggestive numerical and analytical evidence, but not yet a complete rigorous proof that the continuum limit of the $`N`$-component $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }_4^4`$ theory, (defined on a lattice and with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor couplings), describes a free (or “trivial”) field theory. The basic clues of this paradoxical no-interaction property were clearly indicated almost half a century ago, but more stringent studies of this conjecture had to wait for the developments of the Renormalization Group(RG) theory. The modern rigorous analyses of Refs. have finally proved that the $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }_d^4`$ theory is non-trivial in $`d3`$ and trivial in $`d5`$ dimensions, at least for not too large values of $`N`$. Triviality is expected to occur (and is supported by numerical calculations) also in $`d=4`$ dimensions. Since, however, the rigorous results in this direction are still partial, various routes to recover an interesting continuum theory have also been explored.

The lattice Euclidean $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }_4^4`$ theory with $`O(N)`$ symmetry is defined by the action

$$S=\underset{x}{}\left\{\beta \underset{\mu }{}\stackrel{}{\varphi }_x\stackrel{}{\varphi }_{x+\mu }+\stackrel{}{\varphi }_x^2+\lambda (\stackrel{}{\varphi }_x^21)^2\right\}$$
(1)
where $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }_x`$ is a real $`N`$-component field at the lattice site $`x`$, $`\mu `$ is the unit vector in the $`\mu `$ direction and $`\lambda 0`$.

For $`\beta \beta _c(N,\lambda )`$, at fixed positive $`\lambda `$ the model has a critical point where a second order transition occurs from a high-temperature(HT) paramagnetic phase to a low-temperature ferromagnetic phase. In the $`\lambda \mathrm{}`$ limit, the model becomes to the lattice non-linear $`O(N)`$-symmetric $`\sigma `$-model or, equivalently, the $`N`$-vector spin model.

The construction of a continuum limit of the lattice theory is reduced to the determination of its critical properties. Here we shall consider only the continuum limit taken from the HT phase. In the context of the RG theory a detailed description is obtained for the asymptotic cutoff dependence of the correlation functions in terms of the weak-coupling expansion of the theory’s beta function.

If we set $`\tau (N,\lambda )=1\beta /\beta _c(N,\lambda )`$, the perturbative RG theory yields the following critical behavior as $`\tau 0`$, for the correlation length

$$\xi ^2(\beta ,N,\lambda )=A_\xi ^2(N)\frac{|ln(\tau (N,\lambda ))|^{G(N)}}{\tau (N,\lambda )}\left[1+O\left(ln(|ln(\tau )|)/ln(\tau )\right)\right]$$
(2)
where $`G(N)=\frac{N+2}{N+8}`$.

The asymptotic behavior of the susceptibility is completely similar

$$\chi (\beta ,N,\lambda )=A_\chi (N)\frac{|ln(\tau (N,\lambda ))|^{G(N)}}{\tau (N,\lambda )}\left[1+O\left(ln(|ln(\tau )|)/ln(\tau )\right)\right].$$
(3)
The fourth derivative of the free energy at zero field $`\chi _4(\beta ,N,\lambda )`$ has the behavior

$$\chi _4(\beta ,N,\lambda )=A_4(N)\frac{|ln(\tau (N,\lambda ))|^{4G(N)1}}{\tau (N,\lambda )^4}\left[1+O\left(ln(|ln(\tau )|)/ln(\tau )\right)\right].$$
(4)
In terms of $`\chi `$, $`\xi ^2`$ and $`\chi _4`$, the dimensionless renormalized 4-point coupling constant $`g_r(N,\lambda )`$ is defined by the critical value of the ratio

$$g_r(\beta ,N,\lambda )=\frac{\chi _4(\beta ,N,\lambda )}{\xi ^4(\beta ,N,\lambda )\chi ^2(\beta ,N,\lambda )}$$
(5)
as $`\tau 0`$.

It can be shown that $`g_r(\beta ,N,\lambda )`$ is non negative for all $`\beta `$. If $`g_r(\beta ,N,\lambda )`$ vanishes as $`\tau 0`$, the continuum limit of the lattice model taken from the high-temperature phase describes a (generalized)-free-field theory, namely a theory where the connected parts of the four-point and higher-point functions vanish.

As $`\tau 0`$, the perturbative RG yields the leading asymptotic behavior, with a well specified universal amplitude

$$g_r(\beta ,N,\lambda )\frac{c(N)}{|ln(\tau )|}\left[1+O\left(ln(|ln(\tau )|)/ln(\tau )\right)\right]$$
(6)
where $`c(N)=2/b_1(N)`$ and $`b_1(N)=\frac{N+8}{48\pi ^2}`$ is the first non-vanishing coefficient of the beta-function.

Therefore the perturbative RG theory implies that $`g_r(\beta ,N,\lambda )0`$ as $`\tau 0`$, namely that the continuum $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }_4^4`$ model is trivial.

Since the validity of the results in eqs.(2), (3), (4), (6) is based upon the (unwarranted) perturbative determination of the beta function, it is interesting, at least, to try to confirm them within different approximation schemes. To this purpose, various HT or strong-coupling expansion analyses have been performed. Many extensive MonteCarlo (MC) lattice simulations have also been carried out and progressively refined in the years, following the rapid evolution of computers and the improvement of algorithms and data analysis. Until now, both the stochastic simulation and the HT series studies have been generally carried out in a completely parallel way. For instance, in the case of the 4d self-avoiding walk model (namely, the $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }_4^4`$ model for $`N=0`$ and $`\lambda \mathrm{}`$) a HT expansion of $`\chi `$ up to order $`\beta ^{13}`$ on the hypercubic lattice has been analyzed in order to detect the logarithmic factor predicted by the RG theory eq.(3) and to estimate its exponent. For the same purpose, $`\chi `$ and $`\xi ^2`$ have been measured in high precision MC simulations. Analogous studies have been devoted to the 4d Ising model (namely, the $`N=1`$ case for $`\lambda \mathrm{}`$) using series O($`\beta ^{17}`$) for $`\chi `$ and $`\chi _4`$ on the hypercubic lattice. The MC simulations of Refs.  have tried to show directly the consistency of the estimates of $`g_r(\beta ,N,\lambda )`$ with the elusive asymptotic behavior eq.(6). A somewhat different approach, based on the scaling properties of the partition function zeroes in the complex $`\beta `$ plane, has been adopted in the simulations of Ref.. Moreover various analytical or semianalytical approaches have also been pursued.

All of these non-perturbative calculations have given results consistent, or at least not in contrast, with the predicted critical behaviors of $`\chi `$, $`\xi `$, and $`g_r`$. However, the cited computations are somewhat limited in their extent, since only the $`N=0`$ and $`N=1`$ cases for $`\lambda \mathrm{}`$, and, the $`N=1`$ case for finite $`\lambda `$ to order $`\beta ^{10}`$ have been considered until now. Moreover, it is a common experience how difficult it is to uncover numerically a logarithmic behavior or, more generally, a logarithmic correction to a power behavior. Indeed, as the computations proceed deeply into the asymptotic regime their reliability decreases and the uncertainties of their results often reach almost the same order of magnitude as the effects that have to be revealed. In the case of the HT expansions, we have also observed that, the methods of Refs. which were very effective in the $`N=0`$ and $`N=1`$ cases, are not as successful when $`N>1`$.

In this note, we do not present new data, but reconsider the HT expansions calculated through order $`\beta ^{14}`$, more than a decade ago, by Lüscher and Weisz for $`\chi `$, $`\xi ^2`$ and $`\chi _4`$ on the hypercubic lattice. They had produced and analysed these series to obtain a bound on the Higgs particle mass as a consequence of the triviality of the scalar sector in the standard model. They used from the outset also the assumption of validity of the perturbative RG and therefore avoided to place too much confidence in the HT series within the critical regime. We make no such assumption, but rather we suggest a slightly different and hopefully more convincing way of analyzing the series, which takes advantage of the specific smoothness features of the HT expansion approach and, in the end, also turns out to be completely consistent with the RG results. We study how accurately an obvious consequence of eq.(6), rather than the equation itself, is confirmed by computations.

We observe that eq.(6) implies that

$$F(\beta ,N,\lambda )=\tau (N,\lambda )\frac{d}{d\beta }(\frac{1}{g_r(\beta ,N,\lambda )})=\frac{b_1(N)}{2}+O\left(ln(|ln(\tau )|)/ln^3(\tau )\right)$$
(7)
as $`\tau 0`$.

In order to confirm triviality, one has then to show at least, that $`F(\beta ,N,\lambda )`$ has a finite limit $`\stackrel{~}{F}(N,\lambda )`$, as $`\tau 0`$. The analysis will be even more compelling if

i) $`\stackrel{~}{F}(N,\lambda )\stackrel{~}{F}(N)`$, namely if the quantity $`\stackrel{~}{F}(N,\lambda )`$ will appear not to depend on $`\lambda `$, as required by universality,

and if, moreover,

ii) $`\frac{2\stackrel{~}{F}(N)}{b_1(N)}1`$, namely if, unlike in previous approaches, it is possible to show complete quantitative consistency between the strong-coupling estimate of $`g_r`$, including the universal amplitude $`2/b_1(N)`$, and the weak-coupling RG prediction eqs.(6),(7).

Since the HT series can be simply written as explicit functions of $`N`$, we can easily repeat the analysis on a wide range of values of $`N`$ and thus further corroborate this result.

Let us stress that the whole analysis cannot be easily performed in the context of a MC simulation, whereas it is completely obvious in a HT series approach.

The main results of our procedure can be summarized into a couple of figures. In Fig.1, for $`N=4`$ , we have plotted the quantity $`y=\frac{2\stackrel{~}{F}(\beta ,N,\lambda )}{b_1(N)}`$ versus the scaled variable $`x=\beta /\beta _c(N,\lambda )`$, in order to be able to compare the curves obtained for various fixed values of $`\lambda `$. The values of $`\beta _c(N,\lambda )`$ used here have been estimated by an analysis of the susceptibility expansions. We have calculated $`F(\beta ,N,\lambda )`$ by simply forming Padé Approximants (PA) of its HT expansion. For each value of $`\lambda `$, we have plotted only the highest non-defective PA, namely the $`[6/6]`$ or the $`[6/7]`$ approximants, as appropriate. The other approximants of sufficiently high order have the same behavior and are not reported in the figure. As $`x1`$, the various curves so obtained appear to tend to unity, independently of $`\lambda `$, within a good approximation, thus confirming i). We expect that the residual small spread of the limiting values would be significantly reduced if we could further reduce the uncertainties in the determination of $`\beta _c(N,\lambda )`$ and if we could devise approximants more accurately allowing for the slowly vanishing corrections to scaling indicated in eq.(7). Of course these improvements are strictly related.

We have performed the above calculation for various values of $`N`$ and, in Fig.2, we have plotted versus $`N`$ the ratio $`R(N)=\frac{2\stackrel{~}{F}(N)}{b_1(N)}`$. For each value of $`N`$ the reported error reflects the spread of this quantity. Within a fair approximation, $`R(N)`$ appears to be unity over a wide range of values of $`N`$, thus confirming ii).

Therefore both graphs indicate a good quantitative agreement with the asymptotic formula eq.(6), obtained within the perturbative RG approach. These very general results are unlikely to be accidental and completely confirm the conventional expectations concerning triviality.

The HT series we have used in this first test are definitely too short to make a more refined analysis possible. The favourable results, however, suggest that this study should be resumed as soon as our systematic work of HT series extension by the linked-cluster method will make new longer expansions available. We do not expect results qualitatively different from this preliminary study, but significant quantitative improvements.

In conclusion, we have shown that a small modification of current procedures of numerical analysis is sufficient to shift the emphasis from a difficult qualitative question, namely how accurately an elusive logarithmic behavior is reproduced by an approximation scheme of inevitably limited precision, to a more quantitative issue. Our technique of analysis for HT series is not more involved than the usual ones, while, for all values of $`N`$, it seems to produce a more convincing numerical validation of the perturbative-RG triviality predictions within the strong-coupling approach.


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# Untitled Document

What is the manifestation of a “quasar” at $`z>10^{10}`$ ?

V. K. Dubrovich

Special Astrophysical Observatory RAS

St. Petersburg 196140, Russia

dubr@MD1381.spb.edu

## Abstract

The process of forming an image of a cosmological point source (CPS) in condition of high optical depth is considered accounting for all types of interactions. It is shown that the energy conservation law causes the size of this image which is keeping constant over all redshifts of the CPSs. This effect must be taken into account for the consideration of the angular power spectrum of the CMBR. In particular, distant point sources and small scale fluctuations which were damping before recombination will contribute their energy in the region of angular scale $`\theta _020^{}`$.

1. One of the main processes in the evolution of matter in the Early Universe is a process of increasing and dissipation any density fluctuations which may be adiabatic fluctuations produced by inflation, primordial black holes, inhomogeneous of distribution of matter and antimatter, etc. Many of them are relatively small in size and rapidly evolve. We consider those of them which become smaller then the horizon before the hydrogen recombination. It seems that they does not produce any observable effects. A lot of articles claim their invisibility. The simplest argument is that the optical depth by the Thomson scattering $`\tau 1`$. It becomes larger than unity at redshift $`z1100`$ and rapidly increase at higher $`z`$ :

$$\tau =n_e\sigma _Tct10^2(1+z),$$
(1)
where $`n_e`$ is the concentration of free electrons (and positrons), $`\sigma _T`$ the cross section of the Thomson scattering, $`c`$ the speed of light, and $`t`$ the cosmological time.

2. But in our case there is a different situation. It is not a point source which is obscured by very thick cloud. Our source is surrounded by homogeneous matter with a very small free path for photons. This situations leads to a very slow diffusion of photon from the point where it was emitted. It means, that photon cannot move far away from the initial point. In a medium with a constant $`n_e`$ it can spread for the time interval $`t`$ in a bubble with the radius $`R`$

$$Rct/\tau ^{1/2}.$$
(2)
In the expanding Universe, where $`n_e1/t^2`$ the free path for photon increases in time and $`Rt^{3/2}`$. But in any case $`R`$ stays always less than the radius of the horizon, $`L`$. The upper limit of $`R`$ is $`R_0`$ at the moment of the hydrogen recombination. At this moment the electron density becomes so small that photons after the last scattering become free. Therefore $`R_0`$ is the last free path for photons before they become free. The simple numerical estimates give $`R_0(0.150.2)L_0`$, with $`L_0`$ being the horizon size at $`z=1100`$. This value of $`R_0`$ corresponds to the angular size $`\theta _020^{}`$. It is easy to show that this result does not actually depend on the initial radius $`R_i`$ and $`z_i`$ of the CPS (for $`z_i10^3`$).

3. It is very important that the intensity of radiation $`I`$ of these bubbles does not depend, in fact, on detail of energy transfer and transport. Indeed, if the radiation of the CPS may convert in several forms such as heating of matter, new electron-positron pairs, shocks or any hydrodynamic motions, then always the total energy within the bubble is keeping constant.

Then, the expansion of the Universe leads to the dissipation of hydrodynamic motions, annihilation of electron-positron pairs and total thermalisation of matter and radiation within the bubble with radius $`R_fL`$. This final radius $`R_f`$ is formed at the moment really not less than $`z=10^7`$. It is obvious that all energy emitted by this object will be trapped within this radius. The only part of the total energy which is transfered into neutrino will escape the bubble. But due to the thermodynamic equilibrium condition, this part cannot be more than 10-20%.

So, we may conclude, that approximately all energy will be in photons, and all variants of energy transformations do not influence $`R_0`$ and $`I_0`$ – the luminosity of bubble at $`z=1100`$.

4. Due to the effect of redshift, the value of $`I_0`$, in contrast to $`R_0`$, depends on $`z_i`$ under any other equal conditions. The spatial distribution of $`I`$ within the bubble caused by diffusion is

$$I=I_0\mathrm{exp}(r^2/2R_0^2),$$
(3)
where $`r`$ is a distance from the center of the bubble. Such a distribution is independent on the variations in time of intensity of primordial point source. But $`I_0`$ is the function of time corresponding to the time variations of initial $`I_i`$.

5. The redshifts indicated in the tittle are not specific for this effect. In fact we can consider all other intervals $`10^{10}z10^4`$. However, there appears to be a new effect at smaller redshifts. It is the effect of a non-total energy thermalisation. Any spectrum of photons emitted in the interval of redshift $`10^8z10^5`$ will be converted to the so called $`Y`$-distortions (see Sunyaev i& Zel’dovich 1970; Illarionov & Sunyaev 1974a, 1974b). The energy spectrum of objects irradiated after $`z10^5`$ remains approximately without changes.

6. Another aspect of this problem is the possibility of consideration of the evolution of energy distribution from extended sources. Really we can use all previous reasons to describe all extended objects which have sizes smaller than the current value of $`L`$. It means that we can consider a small scale fluctuations of matter distribution from the tail of the primordial spectrum, caused by inflation. Nowadays there is a wide spread opinion that these fluctuations disappear due to viscosity and their energy are totally redistributed in space (see Silk 1968). So one cannot get any information about this part of the spectrum directly from observations.

What is really happened ? All small wavelength sound waves are really damped, but all their energy are not transported far from the initial region. It is transformed from the kinetic into the thermal energy of matter (the smallest part of it) and mainly in the energy of the CMBR. The final size of the bubble where this energy will be distributed is $`R_0`$.

So on the base of our new result we can say, that actually all small scale fluctuations after dissipation will influence the spectrum of angular scale fluctuations on the scale size $`\theta _020^{}`$. The amplitude of this contribution may depend on the frequency of photons (see point 5). If statistic of these fluctuations is taken into account, one can get some changes in the angular spectrum at the scales $`\theta \theta _0`$ with relatively lower amplitude.

7. In conclusion we would like to emphasize that the correct consideration of the process of energy transfer and transportation from a point like source or a small extended object in highly dense medium leads to a very slow expansion of region where all energy is concentrated.

From this it follows that the observations of the angular fluctuations of the CMBR at the angular scale $`\theta _020^{}`$ will show up the presence of the primordial CPSs, their statistics and their physical properties. Besides one can obtain the information about the small scale density fluctuations caused by inflation.

References

Illarionov A. F., & Sunyaev R. A., SvA, 51, 698 (1974a)

Illarionov A. F., & Sunyaev R. A., SvA, 51, 1162 (1974b)

Silk J., Ap.J., 151, 459 (1968)

Sunyaev R. A., & Zel’dovich Ya. B., Astrophys. Space Sci., 7, 3 (1970)


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# The Supernova-GRB Connection

## I Introduction

This volume in honor of Jan van Paradijs can be regarded as a state of the art reference on, basically, all relevant aspects and observations for GRBs. Basically, references should be given to almost all presentations. For practical reasons, we want to refer globally to those at this point. The evidence for connection between supernovae (SN) and gamma-ray bursters (GRB) include the coincidence between SN1998bw and GRB 980425, bumps in the afterglow of some GRBs which are compatible with an underlying SN explosion, possible identification of the Fe K line in the X-rays, and some evidence that GRBs are related to star forming region. It becomes increasingly obvious that both the mechanism causing GRBs and SNe are intrinsically highly aspherical. These evidences provide the basis for the current suggestions that the SN and GRB are connected. In particular, the direct collapse of the central region a very massive star to a black hole and the connection with the newly found hypernovae is a very attractive option (e.g. Woosley & MacFayden 1999, Fryer et al. 1999). In this scenario, the core of a massive star collapses directly to a black hole. Subsequently, an accretion disk is formed and a ultra-relativistic jet is launched. About 0.5 $`M_{}`$ of radioactive Ni is ejected. Despite the evidence, there are are number of unsolved problems. GRB 980425 was about a factor of 1000 dimmer than typical GRBs. The properties of the optical afterglow of GRBs strongly suggest a very low density environment unlike those to be expected in star forming regions. A low barion load is required despite the jet-launch in a high density star, and there seems to be no coincidence between SNII, SNeIb/c and GRBs. From theory and based on 2-D models, the formation of highly relativistic jets has been demonstrated to occur (Aloy et al. 2000) but the energies of the ultra-relativistic parts of the jet are smaller by many orders of magnitude ($`10^5`$) compared to the emitted $`\gamma `$-ray energy, and the question on the stability of the narrow jets has been posed. Moreover, if $`{}_{}{}^{56}Ni`$ is ejected, we would expect rather two K-shell lines due to $`{}_{}{}^{56}Ni`$ and $`{}_{}{}^{56}Co`$ rather than one feature as reported. We note that neither of the problems must be regarded as a killer for the hyper-supernovae/GRB connection but they have to be solved.
Depending on taste, we may feel close to the solution of the GRB problem, or far away. One of the reasons is the lack of understanding of the ’normal’ core collapse SNe or, more precisely, the mechanism which results into the ejection of the envelope. Here, we want to ask for the current status of core collapse SNe and their relation to GRBs. At the end, we want to discuss the merging between a neutron star and WD as an additional scenario which, at the same time, may account for some of the subluminous thermonuclear explosions (SNeIa) and some of the GRBs.

## II Core Collapse Supernovae

Core collapse supernovae are the final stages of stellar evolution in massive stars during which the central region collapses, forms a neutron star (NS) or a black hole, and the outer layers are ejected. Recent explosion scenarios assumed that the ejection is due to energy deposition by neutrinos into the envelope but detailed models do not produce powerful explosions and, in most cases, do not trigger the ejection of the envelope at all (e.g. Yamada et al. 1999, Ramp & Janka 2000, Mezzacappa et al. 2001).

There is new and mounting evidence for an asphericity and, in particular, for axial symmetry in several SNe which may be hard to reconcile within the spherical picture. This evidence includes the observed high polarization and its variation with time (e.g. Wang et al. 2001, Leonard et al. 2000), pulsar kicks (Strom et al. 1995), high velocity iron-group and intermediate-mass element material observed in remnants (Lucy 1987, Tueller et al. 1991), direct observations of the debris of SN1987A (Wang et al. 2001, Höflich, Khokhlov & Wang 2001), etc. To be in agreement with the observations, any successful mechanism must invoke some sort of axial symmetry for the explosion. As a limiting case, we consider jet-induced/dominated explosions of ”classical” core collapse SNe. The discovery of magnetars (Kouveliotou et al. 1998, Duncan & Thomson 1992) revived the idea that a MHD-jet with appropriate properties may be formed at the NS or BH (LeBlanc & Wilson 1970, Symbalisty 1984). Our study is based on detailed 3-D hydrodynamical and radiation transport models (Khokhlov 1998, Höflich et al. 1998, 2001). We demonstrate the influence of the jet properties and of progenitor structure on the final density, chemical structure and the fallback of material.

### II.1 Results for Jet-Induced Supernovae

The Setup: The computational domain is a cube of size $`L`$ with a spherical star of radius $`R_{\mathrm{star}}`$ and mass $`M_{\mathrm{star}}`$ placed in the center. The innermost part with mass $`M_{\mathrm{core}}1.6M_{}`$ and radius $`R_{\mathrm{core}}=4.5\times 10^8`$ cm, consisting of Fe and Si, is assumed to have collapsed on a timescale much faster than the outer, lower-density material. It is removed and replaced by a point gravitational source with mass $`M_{\mathrm{core}}`$ representing the newly formed neutron star. The remaining mass of the envelope $`M_{env}`$ is mapped onto the computational domain. At two polar locations where the jets are initiated at $`R_{core}`$, we impose an inflow with velocity $`v_j`$ and a density $`\rho _j`$. At $`R_{\mathrm{core}}`$, the jet density and pressure are the same as those of the background material. For the first 0.5 s, the jet velocity at $`R_{\mathrm{core}}`$ is kept constant at $`v_j`$. After 0.5 s, the velocity of the jets at $`R_{\mathrm{core}}`$ was gradually decreased to zero at approximately 2 s. The total energy of the jets is $`E_j`$. These parameters are consistent with, but somewhat less than, those of the LeBlanc-Wilson model.

The reference model: As a baseline case, we consider a jet-induced explosion in a helium star. Jet propagation inside the star is shown in Fig. 2. As the jets move outwards, they remain collimated and do not develop much internal structure. A bow shock forms at the head of the jet and spreads in all directions, roughly cylindrically around each jet. The jet-engine has been switched off after about 2.5 seconds, the material of the bow shock continues to propagate through the star. The stellar material is shocked by the bow shock. Mach shocks travels towards the equator resulting in a redistribution of the energy. The opening angle of the jet depends on the ratio between the velocity of the bow shock to the speed of sound. For a given star, this angle determines the efficiency of the deposition of the jet energy into the stellar envelope. Here, the efficiency of the energy deposition is about 40 %, and the final asymmetry of the envelope is about two.

Influence of the jet properties: Fig. 3 shows two examples of an explosion with a low and a very high jet velocity compared to the baseline case (Fig. 2). Fig. 3 demonstrates the influence of the jet velocity on the opening angle of the jet and, consequently, on the efficiency of the energy deposition. For the low velocity jet, the jet engine is switched off long before the jet penetrates the stellar envelope. Almost all of the energy of the jet goes into the stellar explosion. On a contrary, the fast jet (61,000 km/sec) triggers only a weak explosion of 0.9 foe although its total energy was $`10foe`$.

Influence of the progenitor: For a very extended star, as in case of ’normal’ Type II Supernovae, the bow shock of a low velocity jet stalls within the envelope, and the entire jet energy is used to trigger the ejection of the stellar envelope. In our example (Fig. 4), the jet material penetrates the helium core at about 100 seconds. After about 250 seconds the material of the jet stalls within the hydrogen rich envelope and after passing about 5 solar masses in the radial mass scale of the spherical progenitor. At this time, the isobars are almost spherical, and an almost spherical shock front travels outwards. Consequently, strong asphericities are limited to the inner regions. After about 385 seconds, we stopped the 3-D run and remaped the outer layers into 1-D structure, and followed the further evolution in 1-D. After about 1.8 $`10^4`$ seconds, the shock front reaches the surface. After about 3 days, the envelope expands homologously. The region where the jet material stalled, expands at velocities of about 4500 km/sec.

Fallback: Jet-induced SN have very different characteristics with respect to fallback of material and the innermost structure. In 1-D calculations and for stars with main sequence masses of less than 20 $`M_{}`$ and explosion energies in excess of 1 foe, the fallback of material remains less than 1.E-2 to 1.E-3 $`M_{}`$ and an inner, low density cavity is formed with an outer edge of $`{}_{}{}^{56}Ni`$. For explosion energies between 1 and 2 foe, the outer edge of the cavity expands typically with velocities of about 700 to 1500 km/sec (e.g. Woosley 1997, Höflich et al. 2000). In contrast, we find strong, continuous fallback of $`0.2M_{}`$ in our 3-D models, and no lower limit for the velocity of the expanding material (Fig. 4 of Khokhlov & Höflich 2001). This significant amount of fallback must have important consequences for the secondary formation of a black hole. The exact amount and time scales for the final accretion on the NS will depend sensitively on the rotation and momentum transport.

Chemical Structure: The final chemical profiles of elements formed during the stellar evolution such as He, C, O and Si are ’butterfly-shaped’ whereas the jet material fills an inner, conic structure (Fig. 4, upper, middle panel).

The composition of the jets must reflect the composition of the innermost parts of the star, and should contain heavy and intermediate-mass elements, freshly synthesized material such as $`{}_{}{}^{56}Ni`$ and, maybe, r-process elements because, in our examples, the entropy at the bow shock region of the jet was as high as a few hundred, a crucial condition for a successful r-process in a high-$`Y_e`$ environment. In any case, during the explosion, the jets bring heavy and intermediate mass elements into the outer H-rich layers.

Radiation Transport Effects: For the compact progenitors of SNe Ib/c, the final departures of the iso-density contours from sphericity are typically a factor of two. This will produce a linear polarization of about 2 to 3 % (Höflich et al. 1995) consistent with the values observed for SNe Ib/c. In case of a red supergiant, i.e. SNe II, the asphericity is restricted to the inner layers of the H-rich envelope. There the iso-densities show an axis ratio of up to $``$ 1.3. The intermediate and outer H-rich layers remain spherical. Thus, even within the picture of jet-induced explosion, the latter effect alone cannot (!) account for the high polarization produced in the intermediate H-rich layers of core-collapse SN with a massive envelope such as SN 1999em where asymmetric ionization by $`\gamma `$ photons for an aspherical chemical distribution of $`{}_{}{}^{56}Ni`$ is crucial (see Fig. 4 and Höflich et al. 2001).

Conclusions: Our calculations show that low velocity, massive jets can explain the observations of core collapse SNe. These kind of jets, however, will not produce typical GRB energies though $`\gamma `$-rays with total energies of $`10^48`$ may be produced at the jet-breakout in case of the explosion of a SNIc (Khokhlov et al. 1998) and, within this picture, events such as SN1998bw/GRB 980425 may be understood. However, the typical properties of the jets make supernovae with neutron star remnants very unlikely candidates to produce GRBs within the same scenario. All potential candidates for a GRB/SN connection seem to require the prompt (MacFayden et al. 2001) or delayed formation of a black hole. Whether this is sufficient, remains to be seen.

## III An alternative scenario:
neutron star - white dwarf mergers

In this section, we want to propose an alternative scenario for SN-GRB-connection: the merger of a CO white dwarf (WD) and a NS. These systems are expected to be formed at a relatively high rate, $`10^410^5`$ per year and galaxy and a large fraction of them will merge within a Hubble time via the emission of gravitational waves, therefore making an important contribution to the population of potential GRB progenitor systems (Davies et al., 2001). In some of these systems, e.g. J1141-6546, the WD seems to have formed before the NS and therefore the time scale to form these systems is set by the neutron star formation time scale. Once formed, 5% (20%, 50%) of the binaries will merge within 106 (107, 108) years, reconciling this scenario with the observation that (at least some) GRBs seem to occur in star forming regions.
The basic phenomenology of the scenario is as follows: the WD transfers mass to the NS, which subsequently settles into an accretion disk around the NS. Once enough material is accreted, the NS may collapse to a black hole (BH). As we will see below, this event may show properties similar to thermonuclear SNe, i.e. SNe Ia and, at the same time, may contribute to the phenomenon called GRBs. Though, this event cannot be the main contributor to either SNe Ia or GRBs because of the rate and properties of typical SNe Ia or of GRBs (Piran, this volume).

Simulation: In the following example, the results are based on a calculation using a smoothed particle hydrodynamics code, in which self-gravity is calculated using a binary-tree, the equation of state accounts for the nuclei, electron-positron pairs and photons. For further details we refer to Rosswog et al. (2001, 2000, 1999). We have followed the final stages of the merging process between a neutron star and a C/O white dwarf of 0.7 $`M_{}`$ and a radius of 7000 km. The neutron star is modelled as a point mass of 1.4 $`M_{}`$, the WD is resolved with $`\mathrm{110\hspace{0.33em}000}`$ particles. To model all the details of the mass transfer from the WD to the NS from the onset until the final WD-disruption is an almost impossible task: the initial mass transfer happens with rates too tiny to be resolved accurately in a full 3D calculation and, even worse, happens on time scales much too long to be followed by an explicit code whose time step is set by the sound velocity within the WD. Therefore the initial separation has to be chosen as a compromise between accuracy and feasibility, we chose 22,000 km in order to see the onset of particles being transferred to the NS within the first orbit. Therefore we neglect the existence of a low-mass disk which may exist before the tidal disruption sets in, but for the current, exploratory purposes this treatment is sufficent. The evolution of the system can be seen in Fig. 5. Within one orbital revolution mass transfer towards the NS sets in and leads to the formation of an accretion disk. This disk is fed continuoulsy from the WD for roughly four orbital periods before, at about 150 s, tidal disruption sets in.
SN: The corresponding temperature and density distributions are shown as a function of the distance to the neutron star at 150 s. At this time, typical densities and temperatures at the central region of the disk ($`r5000\mathrm{}7000`$ km) are 1 to 3 $`\times 10^7`$ g/cm3 and in excess of 1.3$`\times 10^9`$ K, respectively. These conditions are remarkable similar to those found in SNeIa. Under these conditions, the nuclear burning time scales are of the order of 0.1 to 1 sec, i.e. comparable or shorter than the hydrodynamic time scales. A nuclear detonation front will form and burn parts of the envelope. Assuming a time scale of 1 sec, all material with $`log(\rho )`$ larger than 6, 5.6 and 5 g/cm3 will undergo complete Si, explosive O and C burning, respectively. The corresponding products are mainly $`{}_{}{}^{56}Ni`$, $`{}_{}{}^{28}Si`$ and $`{}_{}{}^{16}O`$, respectively. In our example, only $`0.1M_{}`$ of $`{}_{}{}^{56}Ni`$ can be expected to be produced, and about 0.4 to 0.5 $`M_{}`$ are ejected during the thermonuclear explosion. Detailed calculations for the further hydrodynamical evolution and light curves are underway using our radiation hydro code including a detailed nuclear network. This scenario will not be able to account for a typical SNe Ia but it may contribute to the subclass of very underluminous SNe Ia, and it may be able to account for the bumps in some afterglows and the iron K line in the X-ray spectra observed in some GRBs.
GRB: At the end of the simulation roughly 1.9 $`M_{}`$ are contained in the NS+disk-system, around 0.2 $`M_{}`$ form the tidal tail that moves outwards. If we assume that, eventually, the SN-explosion forms a black-hole and that $`0.1M_{}`$ of material in the tidal tail survives the explosion while orbiting around the BH, we are left with the ’standard’ GRB-model, BH + debris, and an energy reservoir of a few times 1052 erg, enough for the estimated, typical GRB-energy of $`5\times 10^{50}`$ erg (Frail et al. 2001). The GRB may occur when the surviving debris falls back towards the BH, the delay between the SN-explosion and the GRB can be expected to be of the order $`\tau _{delay}\tau _{orbit}2\text{ h}\left(\frac{a}{100R_{WD}}\right)^{3/2}`$, where $`a`$ is the semi-major axis of the debris orbit, but this delay is very sensitive to the details of the individual merger process.
The current study should be seen as pilot project to investigate the potential of this scenario. Many aspects have not yet been explored in full. For example, we did not investigate the details of the WD-spins, the ignition process as a function of time, the details of the accretion on the neutron star and so on. These topics are subject to future investigations.

Acknowledgement:S.R. acknowledges the use of the UK Astrophysical Fluids Facility (UKAFF) and of the University of Leicester Mathematical Modelling Centre’s supercomputer (HEX) for the SPH calculations reported above. In parts, this work has been supported by NASA Grant NAG5-7937.

Figure Captions: