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# 557 GHz Observations of Water Vapor Outflow from VY CMa and W Hydrae

## 1 Introduction

VY Canis Majoris is a highly luminous, variable supergiant. It is strongly obscured; only 1 % of the total luminosity is detected at optical wavelengths. The line of sight optical depths to the star at wavelengths of 1.65, 2.26 and 3.08 $`\mu `$m are 1.86 $`\pm `$ 0.42, 0.85 $`\pm `$ 0.20 and 0.44 $`\pm `$ 0.11 (Monnier et al. 1999). Correspondingly, the star exhibits a huge infrared excess. The star’s distance is believed to be $`D=1500`$ pc, implying a luminosity $`L=5\times 10^5L_{}`$. (cf. Lada & Reid 1978, Richards et al. 1998). A high signal-to-noise ratio infrared spectrum shows the star enveloped in an optically thick dust cloud whose inner edge is at a temperature of several hundred degrees (Harwit et al. 2001, hereafter Paper I). At greater distances from the star the spectrum is dominated by amorphous silicate features.

Strong outflows have been reported by Buhl et al. (1975) who detected thermal emission in the vibrational ground state (v = 0, J = 2 - 1) 86.84686 GHz SiO line. Reid and Dickinson (1976) interpreted these in terms of a stellar radial velocity of $`17.6\pm 1.5`$ km s-1 with respect to the local standard of rest, and an expansion velocity of 36.7$`\pm 2.0`$ km s-1. Three thermally emitted mid-infrared water vapor emission lines seen in high-resolution spectra obtained with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) on the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) indicate a mean radial velocity of order $`20\pm 2`$ km s-1 and a $`25`$ km s-1 outflow velocity (Neufeld et al., 1999). These water vapor outflow velocities are significantly lower than the velocities for SiO cited by Reid & Dickinson (1976) or the 32 km s-1 velocities that Reid & Muhleman (1978) reported for 1612 MHz OH maser outflow.

The effective temperature of the central star appears to be $`T_{}=2,800`$ K (Monnier et al. 1999). The combination of effective temperature, distance, and inferred luminosity fixes the star’s radius at $`R_{}15`$ AU. In the near-infrared at 0.8, 1.28 and 2.17 $`\mu `$m, VY CMa appears embedded in an elongated circumstellar envelope with respective dimensions of $`60\times 83`$, $`80\times 166`$ and $`138\times 205`$ mas (Wittkowski et al. 1998). Working at 11 $`\mu `$m, Danchi et al. (1994) reported a variable photospheric radius ranging from 9.5 to 11 mas, where 10 mas corresponds to a stellar radius of 15 AU; the surrounding dust shell had a corresponding inner radius of 40 to 50 mas and an outer radius of 2.5 arcsec.

To model the dust disk surrounding VY CMa, Efstathiou & Rowan-Robinson (1990, hereafter ERR) assumed that the central star is orbited by a massive dusty disk, which flares out from the star at angles $`\pm 45^{}`$ above and below the disk’s central plane. At angles $`>45^{}`$ off the plane, radiation escapes into space. ERR believe that the line of sight from Earth is inclined at about 43 to the disk’s orbital plane, so that we are looking almost tangentially through the outer layers of the disk. This radiative transfer model has been widely accepted because it accounts for the dust spectrum, the high reddening, and the lack of visible radiation from the star. However, as Ivezić & Elitzur (1995) have emphasized, a correct model must self-consistently couple the equations of radiative transfer to the outflow dynamics. Zubko & Elitzur (2000, hereafter ZE) have recently carried out such a calculation, and used it to extensively model the semi-regular M7.5 red giant W Hydrae.

In this letter we re-examine the outflow problem. In §2, we present new data on the strength and shape of the 557 GHz water vapor line observed with the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) in VY CMa and W Hydrae. In §3 we introduce complementing ISO data. §4 attempts to model the geometry of the VY CMa outflow, while §5 portrays its radial dependence. A concluding section summarizes our findings.

## 2 Observations

In the course of many hundreds of SWAS satellite orbits, between November 1999 and May 2000, we carried out observations on VY CMa in the 556.936 GHz $`1_{10}1_{01}`$ ground state transition of ortho water vapor. All observations reported here were made with the spacecraft in the nodding mode (Melnick et al. 2000), with the telescope’s primary field of view centered on $`\alpha (2000)=07^h22^m58.3^s`$, $`\delta (2000)=`$ $`25^{}46^{}03\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}0`$. The observing time accumulated on source was 7902 minutes (131.7 hours) with an equal time devoted to a blank field displaced south in declination by 0.24.

The observed water vapor line, shown as a histogram in Figure 1, is centered at 556.89 GHz, corresponding to a velocity with respect to the local standard of rest $`v_{LSR}=25`$ km s-1. A fit to the line shape discussed in §4 yields a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of $`35`$ km s-1; the peak signal to noise ratio is $`S/N=7`$. The area under the fit divided by its FWHM yields an antenna temperature $`T_A^{}=0.033\pm 0.005\mathrm{K}450`$ Jy.

Using a beam centered on $`\alpha (2000)=13^h49^m02.1^s`$, $`\delta (2000)=28^{}22^{}03\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}0`$, we carried out observations on W Hydrae in January and February 1999, July 1999, July 2000, and February 2001 for a total of 126.7 hours, and also detected the 557 GHz line. The antenna temperature was $`T_A^{}=0.016\pm 0.004`$ K with a line width $`10.4\pm 2.1`$ km s-1.

## 3 Complementary Water Vapor Data

Neufeld et al. (1999) reported line strengths for more than forty thermal water vapor emission lines from VY CMa observed with ISO, in the wavelength range of $`30`$ to 45 $`\mu `$m. Three transitions, respectively at 29.84, 31.77 and 40.69 $`\mu `$m, were also observed with SWS in its Fabry-Perot mode and exhibited P Cygni profiles and emission lines peaked at an average velocity of $`v_{LSR}20`$ km s-1, consistent with the SWAS observations obtained at a higher velocity resolution of $`1`$ km s-1. The outflow velocity of $`25`$ km s-1 inferred by Neufeld et al. (1999), is also in reasonable agreement with our 557 GHz results. The line profile obtained with SWAS does not exhibit P Cygni profiles, nor would we expect it to because the continuum is too weak to be detected. Archival ISO data obtained with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer, LWS, provide additional flux levels for transitions at 66.44, 108.078, 174.62, and 179.53$`\mu `$m. Table 1 compares these data on VY CMa to measurements on W Hydrae compiled by ZE and found to be in reasonably good agreement with their theoretical model for the star. The table shows the flux levels in VY CMa and W Hydrae to be approximately in the ratio 10:1. The VY CMa data scaled down by a factor of 10 correspond well to the ZE model.

## 4 Modeling the VY CMa Outflow

The outflow from red supergiants is generally assumed to be propelled by radiatively accelerated dust grains that transfer their momentum to ambient gas. The VY CMa mass loss rates cited by different observers range from $``$ 1 to 3$`\times 10^4M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ (cf. Paper I for a summary). The water vapor outflow can be expected to be roughly 1% of this by mass and, given the high Einstein coefficient for the 557 GHz transition, $`A=3.45\times 10^3`$ s-1, the observed emission has to be optically thick. Velocity gradients, however, permit the radiation to escape; otherwise we would see only a velocity component from the approaching part of the outflow, rather than from its entirety.

Despite the disk-shaped outflow postulated by ERR, the structure of the cloud surrounding VY CMa is quite uncertain. Planetary nebulae often light up bipolar flows that may have been ejected during a previous evolutionary phase. Fig 2(a) provides coordinates for an axially symmetric outflow whose axis of symmetry is inclined toward the observer at an angle $`\theta _0`$. A spherically symmetric, constant velocity, optically-thick outflow (model A) would yield a parabolic line shape shown as the solid curve in Figure 2b.

For the bi-conical geometry shown in Figure 2a, the flow directed at angle $`\theta `$ to the observer’s line of sight is radially outward from the origin and describes a circular arc of radius $`aa^{}=aa^{\prime \prime }`$. Its length $`\mathrm{}`$ spans points $`a^{}`$ and $`a^{\prime \prime }`$ on a circle defined by the angle $`\theta _0`$, by the opening angle $`\alpha `$ of the cone, and by the tilt angle toward the observer, $`\theta `$, of the conical surface joining the origin to points on the circular arc. The length of the arc, $`\mathrm{}`$ can be expressed as

$$\mathrm{}=R\mathrm{sin}\theta \left[\pi 2\mathrm{sin}^1\left(\frac{\mathrm{sin}(\theta _0\alpha )+[\mathrm{cos}(\theta _0\alpha )\mathrm{cos}\theta ]\mathrm{cot}\theta _0}{\mathrm{sin}\theta }\right)\right]$$
(1)
The segment formed by joining the origin to points along this arc presents to the observer a pie-shaped area projected on the plane of the sky, of measure $`(R\mathrm{}\mathrm{sin}\theta )/2`$ defined by points $`a`$, $`a^{}`$, and $`a^{\prime \prime }`$. The projected velocity along the observer’s line of sight throughout this surface is $`v=v_0\mathrm{cos}\theta `$; for an optically thick line the velocity distribution yielding the line shape is given by the relative values of $`(R\mathrm{}\mathrm{sin}\theta )/2`$ at different angles $`\theta =\mathrm{cos}^1(v/v_0)`$.

An optically-thick, bi-conical, constant-velocity outflow, symmetric about an axis perpendicular to the observer’s line of sight (i.e. with $`\theta _0=\pi /2`$) and limited to angles less than $`\alpha =\pi /3`$ from the axis of symmetry — with a density independent of angular distance from the axis (model B), yields a line profile shown by the dashed curve in Figure 2b. A uniform bi-conical outflow within an angle of $`\alpha =\pi /4`$ from the axis, and with $`\theta _0=47^{}`$ (model C), would yield the bi-lobed dotted line shape shown in Figure 2b. Neither of these two models produces the line shape observed.

To obtain the line profile for an optically-thick disk, we subtract these respective bi-conical outflows from a spherical outflow. For a disk with axis perpendicular to the line of sight to Earth, and a latitude-independent outflow into a disk with half angle $`\pm 30^{}`$ above and below the symmetry plane, we can subtract the dashed curve in Fig 2b from the solid curve — i.e. models (A - B) — to obtain the fit shown by the dashed line in Fig 1. The line shape expected from the model proposed by ERR $`\mathrm{models}(\mathrm{A}\mathrm{C})`$, would result from a subtraction of the dotted line in Fig. 2b from the solid curve. Figure 1 shows that models A and (A-B), normalized to the line strength and width, give rather better fits to the observed 557 GHz profile than does the ERR model (A-C).

## 5 The Temperature/Radius Profile

Zubko and Elitzur (2000) have devised the most comprehensive computational model of outflow from highly evolved stars developed to date. It derives a profile for temperature $`T`$ and radial distance $`R`$ from the star, $`T^2R`$ constant. The gas in the outflow is primarily heated through collisions with grains, cooled by H2O emission and adiabatic expansion, and effectively acts as though it was in thermal balance with the parent star throughout the flow. In apparent agreement with the general scaling properties proposed by Ivezić & Elitzur (1997) as applied to dusty gaseous outflows, Table 1 shows the good fit of the ZE model to the observed H2O line strengths in W Hydrae, that also scales well to VY CMa.

Given this observed agreement, we adopt the ZE profile, $`T^2R=`$ constant, for VY CMa. Paper I suggests the existence of a dust photosphere at a temperature $`T_p400`$ K in thermal equilibrium with the star. $`R_p`$ is a characteristic radius for this photosphere in thermal balance with the star, $`R_p^2T_p^4=R_{}^2T_{}^4`$, so that the ZE profile can be taken to extend all the way to the stellar surface: $`T^2R=T_{}^2R_{}`$. In Table 3, we list the radial distances at which the VY CMa water vapor lines emanate, on the assumption that the emitting region is optically thick – an assumption justified by the deep P Cyni profiles of even the highest rotational lines observed. The flux received from a circumstellar cloud subtending a solid angle $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ at the observer is then

$$F(\nu )=\frac{2\nu ^2kT}{c^2}\mathrm{\Omega }=\frac{2kT}{\lambda ^2}\frac{R^2}{D^2}\psi $$
(2)
where we assume that all the radiation is in the Rayleigh Jeans part of the spectrum. Table 3 shows this assumption to be consistent; $`D`$ is the distance to the star, $`R`$ is the radial distance of the emitting H2O region from the star, and $`\psi `$ is a constant of order unity that depends on the geometry of the outflow. For a sphere it has a higher value than for a flattened disk. Table 3 assumes $`\psi 1`$. Substituting for the stellar parameters $`T_{}=2800`$ K, $`R_{}=2.25\times 10^{14}`$cm, $`D=4.5\times 10^{21}`$ cm and taking the emission to be blackbody in the frequency interval observed, we can solve for the characteristic distances from the central star and the corresponding temperatures at which the different spectral lines appear to be emitted.

$$R=\left[\frac{1.75\times 10^{25}F(\nu )\lambda ^2}{\psi }\right]^{2/3}$$
(3)
where $`F(\nu )`$ is given in Janskys, and where $`R`$ and $`\lambda `$ both are in units of centimeters. The calculated distances for the last three lines in Table 3 use the full emission line strengths corrected for P Cygni absorption of the continuum. For the longer wavelength lines observed with the ISO LWS, the resolution is insufficient to determine whether self-absorption weakened the lines.

## 6 Conclusions

We have obtained a high-resolution spectrum of the 557 GHz water vapor emission line from the circumstellar cloud surrounding VY CMa, and have obtained a weaker signal from W Hydrae. The observed flux for VY CMa is $`450`$Jy. The line shape is symmetric around a recession velocity $`v_{LSR}=25`$km s-1 and has a FWHM of order $`35`$ km s-1. We have developed analytical line fits for several plausible models of the outflow. Observations that will be possible with the Herschel space telescope should yield improved line shapes that will further constrain outflow models. Archival and published ISO data for VY CMa and W Hydrae, suggest the adoption of a model developed by Zubko & Elitzur (2000) to determine the distance from the central star and the temperature regime around VY CMa from which the H2O lines emanate.

## 7 Acknowledgments

We have been supported by contract NAS-30702 from NASA for work on the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite, SWAS, and contract NASA/JPL 1203030 for work on the Infrared Space Observatory, ISO. We thank Gary Melnick and David Neufeld for critically reading our manuscript, the referee Keiichi Ohnaka for thoughtful and incisive comments, and Viktor Zubko and Moshe Elitzur for their results of unpublished calculations.

References

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Buhl, D., Snyder, L. E., Lovas, F. J. & Jonson, D. R. 1975, ApJ 201, L29

Danchi, W.C., Bester, M., Degiacomi, C.G., Greenhill, L.J. & Townes, C.H. 1994, AJ 107, 1469

Efstathiou, A. & Rowan-Robinson, M. 1990, MNRAS 245, 275 (ERR)

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Figure Captions

Figure 1. The 557 GHz water vapor spectrum of VY CMa obtained with SWAS. The histogram gives the SWAS observations. The solid line is a fit for a spherically symmetric outflow (model A). The dashed line is for a disk viewed edge-on (models A - B); the dotted curve is a fit for the ERR outflow (models A - C). All three curves are normalized to the observed line profile (see text and Figure 2 for details).

Figure 2. (a) The geometry of the outflow for which the velocity profiles were derived. $`R`$ is the radius of a sphere whose radial extent is that of the outflow. For a bi-conical or disk-shaped flow, the angle $`\theta _0`$ gives the tilt angle toward the line of sight. Throughout, we assume for simplicity that the symmetry axis and the line of sight define a plane of mirror symmetry in the outflow. The angle $`\alpha `$ is the opening angle of the conically shaped flow as measured from the symmetry axis. The angle $`\theta `$ defines the radial direction of motion of a volume in the flow relative to the line of sight to the observer. Points $`a`$, $`a^{}`$, and $`a^{\prime \prime }`$ lie in the plane of the sky. (b) The solid curve gives the expected line shape from a spherical outflow (model A). The dashed curve gives the expected line shape for a bi-conical outflow (model B) with $`\theta _0=90^{}`$ and $`\alpha =60^{}`$, while the dotted line (model C) gives the line shape for an inclined bi-conical outflow with $`\theta _0=47^{}`$ and $`\alpha =45^{}`$. Subtracting the bi-conical outflows from that for spherical outflows, respectively, yields the dashed and dotted line profiles for disk-shaped outflows in Figure 1. (See text for details).

| Table 1. Relative o-H2O Flux Levels from VY CMa and W Hydrae | | | | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wavelength | Transition | W Hydraea | Modelb | VY CMac |
| $`\lambda `$ ($`\mu `$m) |  | $`10^{20}`$W cm-2 | $`10^{20}`$W cm-2 | $`10^{19}`$W cm-2 |
| 538.289 | $`1_{10}1_{01}`$ | 0.45 | 0.76 | 0.34 |
| 179.527 | $`2_{12}1_{01}`$ | 8.66 | 12.48 | 8.7 |
| 174.624 | $`3_{03}2_{12}`$ | 9.21 | 8.31 | 8.8 |
| 108.073 | $`2_{12}1_{10}`$ | 13.00 | 15.47 | 13.2 |
| 66.438 | $`3_{30}2_{21}`$ | 22.90 | 18.45 | 17.2 |
| 40.691d | $`4_{32}3_{03}`$ | 23.00 | 36.07 | 36.9 |
| 31.772 d | $`4_{41}3_{12}`$ | 63.0 | 39.95 | 24.1 |
| 29.837 | $`7_{25}6_{16}`$ | 32.00 | 30.72 | 23.5 |
| a ISO from Neufeld et al. (1996), Barlow et al. (1996); SWAS data, this paper | | | | |
| b W Hydrae model from ZE, and 538 $`\mu `$m flux through | | | | |
| private communication from Drs. Zubko & Elitzur | | | | |
| c For sources of data see text | | | | |
| d Blending may need to be taken into account | | | | |

| Table 2. Characteristics of VY CMa and W Hydrae | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Star | VY CMa a | W Hydraeb |
| Star’s Distance (pc) | 1500 | 115 |
| Star’s Luminosity ($`L_{}`$) | $`5\times 10^5`$ | 11,050 |
| Star’s Temperature (K) | 2800 | 2500 |
| Star’s Radius (cm) | $`2.25\times 10^{14}`$ | $`3.9\times 10^{13}`$ |
| Final Outflow Velocity (km s-1) | 20 | 10 |
| Optical Depth | $`A_J3.2`$ | 0.83 at 5500Å |
| Gas-to-dust ratio | $`100`$ | 850 |
| Mass loss rate $`M_{}`$ yr-1 | $`2\times 10^4`$ | $`2.3\times 10^6`$ |
| a Data from Neufeld et al. (1996), Barlow et al. (1996) | | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| b For sources of data see text | | |

| Table 3. Ortho-H2O Emission: Characteristic Distances and Temperatures | | | | | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wavelength | Flux | Radiusa | Temperaturea | $`T_u^b`$ | $`T_l^b`$ |
| ($`\mu `$m) | (Jy) | ($`10^{16}`$ cm) | K | K | K |
| 538.289 | 450 | 8.1 | 148 | 60.95 | 34.23 |
| 179.527 | 3490 | 7.3 | 155 | 114.35 | 34.23 |
| 174.624 | 3440 | 7.2 | 156 | 196.72 | 114.35 |
| 108.073 | 3190 | 6.9 | 160 | 194.05 | 60.95 |
| 66.438 | 2560 | 1.6 | 332 | 410.55 | 194.05 |
| 40.691c | 3360 | 0.99 | 431 | 550.30 | 196.72 |
| 31.772c | 1710 | 0.45 | 626 | 702.21 | 249.37 |
| 29.837 | 1570 | 0.39 | 672 | 1125.55 | 643.34 |
| a Derived from constancy of $`TR^{1/2}`$, see text | | | | | |
| b Level energies divided by Boltzmann constant | | | | | |
| c Blending may need to be taken into account | | | | | |


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# 1 Illustrating the possible routes for finding the scalar field potential in a pure scalar field system and in a system comprised of both a scalar field and a perfect fluid. The cosmological Ermakov-Pinney equation () plays a central role. The two potentials can be found from a given functional form of the oscillator potential, 𝑄(𝜏), or from the scale factors, 𝑎(𝑡). In principle, it is consistent to begin at any point on this Figure. From a cosmological perspective, the scale factor is the primary function of interest, and specifying this parameter from the outset is physically well motivated.

1. Introduction: Observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum  now provide strong support for the inflationary scenario  (for recent reviews, see, e.g., ). The simplest mechanism for inflation utilises the potential energy associated with the self–interaction of a scalar inflaton field to drive the accelerated expansion. High redshift observations of type Ia supernovae suggest that the universe is experiencing another phase of accelerated expansion at the present epoch . This, combined with the CMB data, presents a picture of the universe dominated by a dark energy component . One possible source of this dark energy is a scalar quintessence field that interacts with baryonic and non–baryonic matter in such a way that its potential energy is currently dominating the cosmic dynamics . The observations favour a model of structure formation where 70% of the energy density of the universe is presently in the form of quintessence . The remaining fraction of the energy density is comprised of visible and cold dark matter which collectively act as a pressureless perfect fluid.

The ekpyrotic scenario has recently been proposed as an alternative to the standard inflationary cosmology . In this scenario the big bang is interpreted as the collision of two domain walls or branes travelling through a fifth dimension. Before the collision, the effective dynamics on the four dimensional branes is described by Einstein’s gravity minimally coupled to a self–interacting scalar field. The field parametrizes the separation between the branes and at early times slowly rolls down a negative potential. This results in an accelerated collapse of the universe and since the field is minimally coupled, its energy density is related to the Hubble parameter by the standard Friedmann equation. Thus, self–interacting scalar fields play a central role in modern cosmology and in view of the above developments, it is important to investigate cosmologies that contain both a scalar field and a perfect fluid.

In this paper, we develop an analytical approach to models of this type by expressing the cosmological field equations in terms of an Ermakov system . In general, an Ermakov system is a pair of coupled, second–order, non–linear ordinary differential equations (ODEs)  and such systems often arise in studies of nonlinear optics , nonlinear elasticity , molecular structures , quantum field theory in curved spaces  and quantum cosmology . (For further references, see, e.g., Refs. ).

In the one–dimensional case, the two equations decouple and the system reduces to a single equation known as the Ermakov–Pinney equation . This is given by111Eq. (1) is sometimes referred to as the Milne–Pinney equation .

$$\frac{d^2b}{d\tau ^2}+Q(\tau )b=\frac{\lambda }{b^3},$$
(1)
where $`Q`$ is an arbitrary function of $`\tau `$ and $`\lambda `$ is a constant. Although Eq. (1) is a non–linear ODE, it exhibits a remarkable superposition property  that implies that its general solution can be expressed directly in terms of particular solutions to the related linear, second–order ODE, where $`\lambda =0`$ .

2. The Ermakov–Pinney Equation in Cosmology: We begin by deriving the Ermakov–Pinney equation in a cosmological context. The field equations for a spatially flat, Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) universe with a scalar field and perfect fluid matter source are given by

$`H^2={\displaystyle \frac{\kappa ^2}{3}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\dot{\varphi }^2+V(\varphi )+{\displaystyle \frac{D}{a^n}}\right)`$ (2)
$`\ddot{\varphi }+3H\dot{\varphi }+{\displaystyle \frac{dV}{d\varphi }}=0,`$ (3)
where $`\rho _\varphi \dot{\varphi }^2/2+V(\varphi )`$ is the energy density of the scalar field with potential $`V(\varphi )`$, $`\rho _{\mathrm{mat}}Da^n`$ is the energy density of the barotropic perfect fluid with equation of state $`p_{\mathrm{mat}}=[(n3)/3]\rho _{\mathrm{mat}}`$, a dot denotes differentiation with respect to cosmic time, $`t`$, $`H\dot{a}/a`$ represents the Hubble parameter, $`a`$ is the scale factor of the universe, $`D`$ is an arbitrary, positive constant, $`0n6`$, $`\kappa ^28\pi m_P^2`$ and $`m_P`$ is the Planck mass. Eq. (3) represents the conservation of the energy–momentum of the scalar field and can be expressed in the form $`\dot{\rho }_\varphi =3H\dot{\varphi }^2`$.

One method of reducing this second–order, non–linear pair of ODEs (2)–(3) is to write them as a first–order system. This can be done if the scalar field varies monotonically with cosmic time. It then follows that Eq. (3) can be expressed as

$$\frac{d\rho _\varphi }{d\varphi }=3H\dot{\varphi }$$
(4)
and the Friedmann equation (2) then takes the form

$$\frac{d\chi }{d\varphi }\frac{d\rho _\varphi }{d\varphi }+\left(n\kappa ^2\right)\chi \rho _\varphi =n\kappa ^2D,$$
(5)
where $`\chi a^n`$. The perfect fluid source leads to a non–trivial right–hand side in Eq. (5). The general solution to Eq. (5) can be expressed in terms of quadratures if the functional form of $`\rho _\varphi (\varphi )`$ is known:

$`a(\varphi )=\mathrm{exp}\left[\kappa ^2{\displaystyle ^\varphi }𝑑\stackrel{~}{\varphi }\rho _\varphi (\stackrel{~}{\varphi })\left({\displaystyle \frac{d\rho _\varphi }{d\stackrel{~}{\varphi }}}\right)^1\right]`$
$`\times \left\{\mathrm{\Pi }n\kappa ^2D{\displaystyle ^\varphi }𝑑\stackrel{~}{\varphi }\left({\displaystyle \frac{d\rho _\varphi }{d\stackrel{~}{\varphi }}}\right)^1\mathrm{exp}\left[n\kappa ^2{\displaystyle ^{\stackrel{~}{\varphi }}}𝑑\phi \rho _\varphi (\phi )\left({\displaystyle \frac{d\rho _\varphi }{d\phi }}\right)^1\right]\right\}^{1/n},`$ (6)
where $`\mathrm{\Pi }`$ is a constant of integration. The effects of the fluid source are contained in the second term.

The disadvantage of this change of variables is that it is not valid if the scalar field exhibits oscillatory behaviour at any time. We therefore consider a different approach by differentiating Eq. (2) and substituting Eq. (3). This implies that

$$\frac{\ddot{a}}{a}\frac{\dot{a}^2}{a^2}=\frac{\kappa ^2}{2}\left(\dot{\varphi }^2+\frac{nD}{3a^n}\right).$$
(7)
We now define an effective scale factor, $`b`$:

$$ab^{2/n}$$
(8)
and a new time parameter, $`\tau `$:

$$\frac{d}{dt}b\frac{d}{d\tau }$$
(9)
and since $`b`$ is positive–definite, $`\tau `$ is a monotonic increasing function of cosmic time, $`t`$. Eq. (7) then transforms into the second–order, non–linear Ermakov–Pinney equation

$$\frac{d^2b}{d\tau ^2}+\frac{n\kappa ^2}{4}\left(\frac{d\varphi }{d\tau }\right)^2b=\frac{Dn^2\kappa ^2}{12}\frac{1}{b^3}$$
(10)
and comparison with Eq. (1) then implies that

$$Q=\frac{n\kappa ^2}{4}\left(\frac{d\varphi }{d\tau }\right)^2,\lambda =\frac{Dn^2\kappa ^2}{12}.$$
(11)
The change of variables (8) and (9) is interesting because Pinney  has shown that two linearly independent solutions, $`(b_1(\tau ),b_2(\tau ))`$, of the time–dependent oscillator equation

$$\frac{d^2b}{d\tau ^2}+Q(\tau )b=0$$
(12)
can be combined to give the general solution to the Ermakov–Pinney equation (1):

$$b_P=\left[Ab_1^2+Bb_2^2+2Cb_1b_2\right]^{1/2},$$
(13)
where $`\{A,B,C\}`$ are constants satisfying the constraint equation

$$ABC^2=\frac{\lambda }{W^2}$$
(14)
and the Wronskian

$$Wb_1\frac{db_2}{d\tau }b_2\frac{db_1}{d\tau }$$
(15)
is a constant due to Abel’s theorem. It can be verified by direct differentiation that Eq. (13) does indeed satisfy Eq. (1). An important property of Eq. (12) is that if a particular solution, $`b_1(\tau )`$, is known, a second solution can be written in terms of a quadrature:

$$b_2(\tau )=Wb_1(\tau )^\tau \frac{d\stackrel{~}{\tau }}{b_1^2(\stackrel{~}{\tau })}.$$
(16)
Thus, the general solution to the Ermakov–Pinney equation (10) is found in terms of a particular solution to Eq. (12).

The perfect fluid component $`(D0)`$ results in the non–linear sector on the right–hand side of Eq. (10) and the effects of the scalar field are parametrized entirely in terms of the function, $`Q`$, defined in Eq. (11). We refer to this function as the ‘oscillator potential’. It is worth noting that Eq. (10) is independent of the specific functional form of the scalar field interaction potential, $`V(\varphi )`$.

For the pure scalar field model $`(D=0)`$, Eq. (12) may also be interpreted as a classical analogue of the zero–energy Schrödinger equation, where the scale factor, $`b`$, plays the role of the ‘wavefunction’ and the ‘wave vector’, $`Q(\tau )`$, is determined by the kinetic energy of the scalar field. An equation of this form has arisen previously in studies of FRW cosmologies containing only a perfect fluid source with a constant equation of state $`\omega =p_{\mathrm{mat}}/\rho _{\mathrm{mat}}`$  and for the special case of a self–interacting scalar field that satisfies this condition . This analogy may be extended further by considering an alternative reparametrization, where a new scale factor and time variable are defined by $`ca^{n/2}`$ and $`\sigma 𝑑tc`$, respectively. It follows that Eq. (7) may then be expressed as a one–dimensional Schrödinger equation:

$$\frac{d^2c}{d\sigma ^2}+\left[EP(\sigma )\right]c=0,$$
(17)
where $`E=(n^2\kappa ^2D)/12`$ represents the total energy of the system, and is determined by the momentum of the perfect fluid, and the potential energy is given by $`P=(n\kappa ^2/4)(d\varphi /d\sigma )^2`$ in terms of the scalar field.

There is a close relationship between the Schrödinger equation (17) and the Ermakov–Pinney equation (1), as discussed by Milne , who developed a method for solving the former equation in full generality in terms of a particular solution of the latter, in such a way that the oscillatory behaviour of the wavefunction is manifest. In this approach, the general solution to Eq. (12), or equivalently Eq. (17), is expressed in the form

$$b_H=U\psi (\tau )\mathrm{cos}\left(\sqrt{\lambda }\theta (\tau )+ϵ\right),$$
(18)
where $`\{U,ϵ\}`$ are arbitrary constants and $`\{\psi (\tau ),\theta (\tau )\}`$ are functions that need to be determined. Substituting this ansatz into the homogeneous equation (12) reveals that Eq. (18) represents the general solution if these functions satisfy the coupled system of ODE’s:

$`{\displaystyle \frac{d^2\psi }{d\tau ^2}}+Q(\tau )\psi ={\displaystyle \frac{\lambda }{\psi ^3}}`$ (19)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{d\theta }{d\tau }}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\psi ^2}}`$ (20)
and it follows, therefore, that the general solution to the Schrödinger equation (12) can be deduced, at least with respect to the quadrature, $`\theta =^\tau 𝑑\stackrel{~}{\tau }\psi ^2(\stackrel{~}{\tau })`$, if a solution to the Ermakov–Pinney equation (19) is known.

Furthermore, two linearly independent parametric solutions to Eq. (12) are given by $`b_1=\psi \mathrm{cos}\left(\sqrt{\lambda }\theta \right)`$ and $`b_2=\psi \mathrm{sin}\left(\sqrt{\lambda }\theta \right)`$, where the Wronskian is $`W^2=\lambda `$, $`\theta (\tau )`$ satisfies Eq. (20) and $`\psi (\tau )`$ is a particular solution to Eq. (19). Substituting these two solutions into Eq. (13) gives

$$b_P=\psi \left[A\mathrm{cos}^2\left(\sqrt{\lambda }\theta \right)+B\mathrm{sin}^2\left(\sqrt{\lambda }\theta \right)+(AB1)^{1/2}\mathrm{sin}\left(2\sqrt{\lambda }\theta \right)\right]^{1/2},$$
(21)
where we have employed Eq. (14). This implies that the general solution to the Ermakov–Pinney equation (1) can be determined in terms of a particular solution, $`\psi (\tau )`$, to this equation .

To summarize thus far, the dynamics of a pure scalar field cosmology is determined by a one–dimensional oscillator equation with a time–dependent frequency. Depending on the parametrization chosen, the inclusion of a perfect fluid source results in an effective constant shift in the total energy of the system, as in Eq. (17), or equivalently introduces a non–linear term as is the case in Eq. (10). In particular, the problem of solving Eq. (10) for a coupled perfect fluid and scalar field cosmology has been reduced to solving Eq. (12) for a given functional form of $`Q(\tau )`$. This is interesting because this latter equation has been studied extensively in the literature. For example, algorithms that extend the Wentzel, Kramers and Brilluen (WKB) technique have recently been developed to find power series solutions to Eq. (12) . For related work, see also Ref. .

3. Algorithms for Solving the Field Equations: We now proceed to outline an algorithm for deriving exact cosmological models when both a scalar field and perfect fluid are dynamically significant. Attention to date has primarily focused on pure scalar field models . Some specific models with a perfect fluid were also recently analyzed . ¿From a particle physics perspective the potential of the scalar field is the fundamental quantity that defines the model. In general, however, Eqs. (2) and (3) are very difficult, if not impossible, to solve unless the potential has a specific form, as in the exponential case . There are several possible routes to take when solving the Ermakov-Pinney equation (1). Given its properties as discussed above, one possibility is to specify the time dependence of the scalar field, $`\varphi =\varphi (\tau )`$, since the functional form of $`Q=Q(\tau )`$ is unaltered when deriving the solution (13) from the corresponding solutions to the homogeneous equation (12).

¿From the cosmological point of view, however, it is the time–dependence of the scale factor that is important. In particular, the effective equation of state and the potential of the scalar field can in principle be determined directly from high redshift observations if the dependence of the scale factor on redshift is known to a sufficiently high accuracy . This question has recently attracted renewed interest in light of the proposed Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) .

Instead of choosing the potential, therefore, an alternative approach is to invert the problem by first specifying the dependence of the scale factor on cosmic time . We may begin with an ansatz for the scale factor, $`a_1(t)`$, or equivalently, the rescaled function, $`b_1(t)`$, and use Eq. (12) to find $`Q(\tau )`$. Integrating this function then yields the time–dependence of the scalar field. The general solution to the Ermakov–Pinney equation can be deduced immediately from Eqs. (13) and (16). The scale factor for the Ermakov-Pinney equation in parametric form then follows from Eq. (8). Its dependence on cosmic time may be evaluated by integrating Eq. (9) and inverting the result. Finally, the scalar field potential is reconstructed directly from the Friedmann equation (2), rewritten in terms of the new variables (8) and (9):

$$V(\tau )=\frac{12}{n^2\kappa ^2}\left(\frac{db_P}{d\tau }\right)^2\frac{1}{2}b_P^2\left(\frac{d\varphi }{d\tau }\right)^2\frac{D}{b_P^2}.$$
(22)
The form of $`V(\varphi )`$ then follows by inverting $`\varphi (\tau )`$ and substituting $`\tau (\varphi )`$ into Eq. (22).

The various possible algorithms are illustrated in Figure 1.

4. Exact Cosmologies Sourced by Scalar Fields and Perfect Fluids: We now illustrate this procedure with a number of examples. The simplest case is that of the scale factor as an exponential function of time $`a_1(t)=e^{2t/n}`$ where the power has been chosen so that $`b_1(\tau )=\tau `$ and therefore $`b_2(\tau )=1`$. Such a choice produces a static scalar field, $`d\varphi /d\tau =0`$, corresponding to a pure cosmological constant. The solution for a cosmological constant with a perfect fluid is already known , but this example illustrates the generality of the technique. Thus, from Eqs. (8) and (13), the general solution for the scale factor when a perfect fluid is present is given by

$$a_P=\left(A\tau ^2+2C\tau +B\right)^{1/n},$$
(23)
where $`ABC^2=Dn^2\kappa ^2/12`$. Since the scalar field remains independent of time, the potential is also a constant, $`V=12A/(\kappa ^2n^2)`$, from Eq. (22). Finally, the dependence of the scale factor on cosmic time is deduced by using Eq. (8) and integrating Eq. (9):

$$a_P=\left(\frac{\lambda }{A}\right)^{1/n}\mathrm{sinh}^{2/n}\left(\sqrt{A}t\right).$$
(24)
A more general ansatz for the scale factor is given by

$$a_\pm (t)=Gt^{q_\pm },$$
(25)
where $`q_\pm `$ are constants and $`G[2/(2+nq_\pm )]^{q_\pm }`$. Using the relationship between $`a`$ and $`b`$ given in Eq. (8), it is possible to express the two solutions to the homogeneous equation as

$$b_\pm =\tau ^{p_\pm },$$
(26)
where $`p_\pm =nq_\pm /(2+nq_\pm )`$. Solving the homogeneous equation Eq. (12) then gives the form of the scalar field $`\varphi (\tau )`$,

$$\varphi =F\mathrm{ln}\tau ,$$
(27)
where the constant $`F`$ is related to the power $`p_\pm `$ via the quadratic equation

$$p_\pm =\frac{1\pm \sqrt{1n\kappa ^2F^2}}{2}.$$
(28)
The Wronskian is $`W^2=1n\kappa ^2F^2`$ and, for consistency, we assume that $`n\kappa ^2F^2<1`$ in what follows. The general solution to Eq. (10) is then found by substituting Eq. (26) into Eq. (13) and is

$$a_P=\left(A\tau ^{2p_+}+B\tau ^{2p_{}}+2C\tau \right)^{1/n}.$$
(29)
The analytical form of the potential deduced from Eq. (22) is a combination of exponential functions of the scalar field. The simplest case arises for $`A=B=0`$. Eqs. (11) and (14) then imply a relationship between the constants:

$$D=\frac{12C^2}{n^2\kappa ^2}\left(1n\kappa ^2F^2\right)$$
(30)
and consequently, the scale factor, the scalar field and its potential are given by

$`a_P(t)=\left(Ct\right)^{2/n}`$
$`\varphi (t)=F\mathrm{ln}\left({\displaystyle \frac{C}{2}}\right)+2F\mathrm{ln}t`$
$`V(\varphi )={\displaystyle \frac{CF^2(6n)}{n}}\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\varphi }{F}}\right).`$ (31)
The solution (S0.Ex2) describes a cosmology where the energy density of the scalar field tracks that of the perfect fluid in a way that leaves the dependence of the scale factor on cosmic time unaltered from the pure perfect fluid model . The self–interaction coupling, $`F`$, of the scalar field is constrained only by the condition that the fluid integration constant, $`D`$, be real.

Eq. (S0.Ex2) represents a past or future attractor for the more general classes of solutions given by Eq. (29). For example, if $`A0`$ and $`B=0`$ the potential (shown in Figure 2 for the case of a pressureless fluid) is given by

$$V=\frac{1}{Y}\left[\frac{12}{n^2\kappa ^2}Z^2\frac{F^2Y^2}{2}e^{2\varphi /F}D\right],$$
(32)
where

$`YAe^{2p_+\varphi /F}+2Ce^{\varphi /F}`$
$`ZAp_+e^{[(2p_+1)\varphi /F]}+C.`$ (33)
In the early–time limit $`(\tau 0)`$, Eq. (32) asymptotes to Eq. (S0.Ex2). On the other hand, the potential reduces to

$$V_{\mathrm{}}=\frac{A}{2}\left(\frac{24p_+^2}{n^2\kappa ^2}F^2\right)\mathrm{exp}\left[\frac{2p_{}}{F}\varphi \right]$$
(34)
at late times $`(\tau \mathrm{})`$, since $`p_+>1/2`$. In this limit, the scale factor asymptotes to $`at^p`$, where $`p2p_+/(np_{})`$ and it is straightforward to verify that this power law behaviour is the late–time attractor for a universe dominated by a single scalar field with an exponential potential, $`V\mathrm{exp}\left(\sqrt{2}\kappa \varphi /\sqrt{p}\right)`$. Since $`p_+>p_{}`$, the power of the expansion in this limit, $`p`$, exceeds that of the pure perfect fluid model $`(at^{2/n})`$ and it is greater than unity if $`p_+>n\kappa F/\sqrt{8}`$. In this region of parameter space, therefore, the solution given by Eqs. (29) and (32) describes a universe that behaves as a perfect fluid cosmology at early times. However, the perfect fluid becomes negligible as the expansion proceeds and the universe subsequently enters a phase of power law, inflationary expansion driven by the exponential potential of a scalar field. For $`n=3`$, the fluid is pressureless and current observations indicate that the universe is undergoing such a transition at the present epoch . Thus, it has been demonstrated in the example outlined here that the algorithm for solving the cosmological field equations (2) and (3) using the Ermakov-Pinney equation (10) has generated a new exact solution describing the quintessence scenario. Moreover, exponential potentials often arise in superstring–inspired models through non–perturbative effects .

Another class of solvable models arises when the scale factor is a trigonometric function of $`\tau `$. The two solutions to Eq. (12) are $`b_1=\mathrm{sin}\gamma \tau `$ and $`b_2=\mathrm{cos}\gamma \tau `$, where $`\gamma `$ is a constant and the Wronskian is $`W=\gamma `$. Given this ansatz for the scale factor, the scalar field varies linearly with $`\tau `$, such that

$$\varphi =\frac{2\gamma }{\sqrt{n}\kappa }\tau .$$
(35)
The solution to Eq. (10) is then given by

$$a_P=\left[A\mathrm{sin}^2\gamma \tau +B\mathrm{cos}^2\gamma \tau +C\mathrm{sin}2\gamma \tau \right]^{1/n}.$$
(36)
In general, the potential is a complicated expression of trigonometric functions. However, for the particular choice $`A=B=0`$, Eq. (22) takes the simple form

$$V=\frac{2C\gamma ^2}{n^2\kappa ^2}(n+6)\mathrm{sin}\left(\sqrt{n}\kappa \varphi \right)$$
(37)
and it follows from Eq. (36) that $`Va_P^n`$. Consequently, the potential energy of the scalar field is inversely proportional to the energy density of the perfect fluid.

So far in this section it has been demonstrated that once a solution to the pure scalar field system given in Eq. (12) is known, a solution to the Ermakov-Pinney equation (10) describing a scalar field and perfect fluid cosmology can be found. Before concluding this section, we employ the correspondence summarized in Eqs. (18)–(20) to show the reverse procedure, i.e., to derive a pure scalar field cosmology from a known solution to the Ermakov–Pinney equation (19). We invoke the ansatz $`\psi (t)=\mathrm{\Lambda }e^{\mathrm{\Lambda }t}`$ which in terms of the rescaled time variable $`\tau `$ is $`\psi =\mathrm{\Lambda }\tau `$, where $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is a constant. Substituting this ansatz into Eq. (19) and solving Eq. (11) for the scalar field gives

$$\varphi =\left(\frac{4\lambda }{n\kappa ^2}\right)^{1/2}\frac{1}{\mathrm{\Lambda }^2\tau },$$
(38)
where the integration constant is specified to be zero without loss of generality. Integrating Eq. (20) implies that $`\theta =1/(\mathrm{\Lambda }^2\tau )`$ and after specifying $`U=1`$ and $`ϵ=0`$ for simplicity, the scale factor of the universe and the potential for such a pure scalar field model are given by

$$a=\left[\mathrm{\Lambda }\tau \mathrm{cos}\left(\frac{\sqrt{\lambda }}{\mathrm{\Lambda }^2\tau }\right)\right]^{2/n}$$
(39)
$$V=\frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }^2}{n^2\kappa ^2}\left[6\left(\mathrm{cos}\phi +\phi \mathrm{sin}\phi \right)^2n\phi ^2\mathrm{cos}^2\phi \right],$$
(40)
where $`\phi \sqrt{n}\kappa \varphi /2`$. In the small field limit, $`\phi 1`$, the potential (40) approximates to an inverted harmonic oscillator and for sufficiently small values of the scalar field, the universe undergoes inflation . Potentials of this form generically produce a spectrum of density perturbations in the post–inflationary universe that increases in amplitude on larger scales without producing a detectable signal of gravitational waves . Observations of CMB anisotropies presently favour such a spectrum .

5. Braneworld Scenarios: It is also of interest to consider whether the approach outlined above can be applied to other cosmological scenarios. Considerable attention has been focused recently on the possibility that the observable universe may be viewed as a domain wall or brane  that is moving along a timelike geodesic in a five–dimensional, static, bulk spacetime , where the brane equations of motion are determined by the Israel junction conditions . An observer confined to the domain wall interprets such motion in terms of cosmic expansion or contraction. The junction conditions relate the second fundamental form (extrinsic curvature) of the induced metric on the brane to the energy–momentum tensor of matter confined on the brane. For the case of a spatially flat brane moving through a Schwarzschild–anti de Sitter space, the effective Friedmann equation on the brane is, after some simplifying assumptions , given by

$$H^2=\frac{\kappa ^2}{3}\rho \left(1+\frac{\rho }{2\lambda }\right)+\frac{\mu _n}{a^n},$$
(41)
where $`\lambda `$ is the brane tension, $`\mu _n`$ is related to the mass of the black hole in the bulk and $`n=4`$. The standard, linear dependence of the Friedmann equation on the energy density, $`\rho `$, is recovered in the low–energy regime, $`\rho \lambda `$. Further modifications to the Friedmann equation (41) may also arise in more general braneworld settings. For example, a term of the form $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_6=\mu _6a^6`$, where $`\mu _6<0`$, arises if the black hole carries an electric charge .

For this model, the energy–momentum tensor of matter on the brane is covariantly conserved, and consequently, Eq. (3) must also be satisfied for the case of a single, self–interacting scalar field. Eqs. (3) and (41) are therefore relevant to a number of braneworld scenarios. By differentiating Eq. (41) with respect to cosmic time, substituting for the scalar field from Eq. (3), and using the change of variables (8) and (9), it can be shown that the dynamics of this system can be written in the Ermakov-Pinney form

$$\frac{d^2b}{d\tau ^2}+\stackrel{~}{Q}b=\frac{n^2\mu _n}{4b^3},$$
(42)
where

$$\stackrel{~}{Q}\frac{n\kappa ^2}{4}\left(1+\frac{\rho }{\lambda }\right)\left(\frac{d\varphi }{d\tau }\right)^2.$$
(43)
In Eq. (42), the effects that lead to the quadratic dependence of the Friedmann equation (41) on the energy density of the scalar field modify only the oscillator potential (43), whereas the non–linear term on the right–hand side arises through the bulk black hole contribution. Thus, in principle, a similar approach to that outlined above in Section 3 may be developed for analytically investigating the importance of these terms on braneworld cosmologies. For example, if a given solution is known for the case where there is no black hole in the bulk , it may serve as a seed for generating a corresponding cosmology when the black hole is present. This is interesting since it has recently been shown that such terms can significantly alter the qualitative dynamics of braneworld cosmologies .

6. Summary: In this paper it has been demonstrated that after a suitable redefinition of variables, Eqs. (2)–(3) can be related to the simplest Ermakov system, thus reducing the problem of solving these equations to solving a single second–order, linear ODE. Moreover, the nature of the Ermakov–Pinney equation implies that there exists a correspondence between a spatially flat FRW universe containing a scalar field and a cosmology containing both a scalar field and a perfect fluid. The functional form of the scalar field, $`\varphi (\tau )`$, is identical for the two models, but the potentials, $`V(\varphi )`$, are different in each case. We have proposed an algorithm for finding exact solutions for a scalar field and perfect fluid model by employing a pure scalar field cosmology as a seed. The algorithm is founded on the property that a particular solution to the homogeneous equation (12) leads to the general solution of Eq. (1). It has also been shown that a model containing both a scalar field and perfect fluid can act as a seed for finding more general pure scalar field cosmologies, since a particular solution to Eq. (1) allows the general solution of Eq. (12) to be deduced . Exact solutions are important because they allow one to gain insight into the generic nature of cosmologies of this type and they also provide a framework for classifying the different behaviours that may arise.

The emphasis of the present work has focused on the effect of introducing a perfect fluid source. However, the approach we have developed may also be employed to consider pure scalar field cosmologies in more general spacetimes. In particular, the last term on the right–hand side of Eq. (2) may be interpreted as arising from the spatial curvature of the universe if $`n=2`$, where $`D>0`$ $`(D<0)`$ for negative (positive) curvature. On the other hand, the shear of the spatially flat, anisotropic Bianchi type I metric leads to a term where $`n=6`$.

Finally, it would be of interest to investigate whether other classes of scalar field cosmologies can be analyzed in terms of an Ermakov system. Scalar–tensor cosmologies provide one such example, where the scalar field plays the role of the gravitational coupling . Many higher–order and higher–dimensional theories of gravity, including the string effective actions, may be expressed in a scalar–tensor form . Since these theories are conformally equivalent to Einstein gravity that is minimally coupled to a scalar field, it is to be expected that a similar approach can be employed. A related, but distinct, class of theories has recently been developed to allow for a possible variation in the fine–structure constant . Observational evidence for such an effect has been growing  and this behaviour can again be parametrized in terms of a scalar field that is coupled to the matter fields in an appropriate fashion.

In conclusion, therefore, Ermakov systems have applications in many branches of mathematics and physics. In this paper, we have found that the simplest such system is relevant to scalar field cosmological models that are favoured by astrophysical observations.

Acknowledgments

RMH is supported by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) and JEL is supported by the Royal Society. We thank A. Garcia, B. Mielnik, H. Rosu and C. Terrero for helpful discussions. JEL thanks the group at the Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Mexico, for hospitality under CONACyT grant 38495-E.


text:
# Reanalysis of Ichinohe’s Observations of RU Cam

## Acknowledgments

This work has been based on the VSOLJ Database. The authors are grateful to the VSOLJ staffs, and to M. Sato, who called our attention to the early observations of RU Cam.


text:
# Nuclear medium effects on the 𝜎 mass and width

## I Introduction

In the past few years much effort has been devoted to the study of the $`\pi \pi `$ scattering amplitude in nuclei and its possible experimental signals, like the enhancement of the $`\pi \pi `$ invariant mass distributions close to the two pion threshold, seen in the experiments of pion induced two pion production in nuclei  and the large strength shift found in the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ channel .

The idea of strong threshold effects due to the $`\pi \pi `$ interaction in a dense nuclear medium was first suggested in ref. . These effects would show up in the scalar isoscalar channel and could be interpreted as a drop of the sigma mass in nuclear matter. Later works, paying attention to the chiral constraints of the $`\pi \pi `$ amplitude and trying to use realistic potentials, found indeed an appreciable enhancement of the $`\pi \pi `$ scattering amplitude close to threshold .

These theoretical $`\pi \pi `$ scattering amplitudes in the nuclear medium have been used in the analysis of the $`(\pi ,\pi \pi )`$ reactions in nuclei . Although the modifications of the $`\pi \pi `$ invariant mass distributions produced by the $`\pi \pi `$ scattering go in the right direction, the calculations have not been successful in reproducing the full strength of the medium effects found in the experiment.

In this paper, we will discuss first our approach to the study of the pion pion interaction in nuclear matter. Then, we will show some results on the $`\sigma `$ meson mass and width. Finally, we will discuss the possibility of finding a clear experimental signature of these effects in the $`(\pi ,\pi \pi )`$ and the $`(\gamma ,\pi \pi )`$ reactions.

## II $`\pi \pi `$ interaction in vacuum

In this section we briefly sketch the simple approach of ref. , which is enough for our purposes. More elaborate studies can be found in . The basic idea is to solve a Bethe Salpeter (BS) equation, which guarantees unitarity, matching the low energy results to the chiral perturbation theory ($`\chi PT`$) predictions. We consider two possible intermediate states, $`\pi \pi `$ and $`K\overline{K}`$, labelled 1 and 2 in the formulas. The isospin 0 channel is given by the following combinations

$`|K\overline{K}>={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}|K^+(\stackrel{}{q})K^{}(\stackrel{}{q})+K^0(\stackrel{}{q})\overline{K}^0(\stackrel{}{q})>,`$ (1)
$`|\pi \pi >={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{6}}}|\pi ^+(\stackrel{}{q})\pi ^{}(\stackrel{}{q})+\pi ^{}(\stackrel{}{q})\pi ^+(\stackrel{}{q})+\pi ^0(\stackrel{}{q})\pi ^0(\stackrel{}{q})>,`$ (2)
where $`\stackrel{}{q}`$ is the mesons momentum in the center of mass (CM) system. We neglect the $`\eta \eta `$ channel which is not relevant at the low energies we are interested in.

The BS equation is given by

$$T=VGT.$$
(3)
Eq. 3 is an integral equation and the term $`VGT`$ involves the two mesons one loop divergent integral, (see Fig. 1) where $`V`$ and $`T`$ appear off shell. However, for this channel both functions can be factorized on shell out of the integral. The remaining off shell part can be absorbed by a renormalization of the coupling constants as it was shown in refs.. Thus, the BS equation becomes purely algebraic and the $`VGT`$ originally inside the loop integral becomes then the product of $`V`$, $`G`$ and $`T`$, with $`V`$ and $`T`$ the on shell amplitudes, and $`G`$ given by the expression

$$G_{ii}=i\frac{d^4q}{(2\pi )^4}\frac{1}{q^2m_{1i}^2+iϵ}\frac{1}{(Pq)^2m_{2i}^2+iϵ}$$
(4)
where $`P`$ is the total momentum of the meson-meson system. This integral is regularized with a cut-off adjusted to optimize the fit to the $`\pi \pi `$ phase shifts ($`\mathrm{\Lambda }=1.03`$ GeV).

Finally the potential $`V`$ appearing in the BS equation is taken from the lowest order chiral Lagrangians

$$L_2=\frac{1}{12f^2}<(_\mu \mathrm{\Phi }\mathrm{\Phi }\mathrm{\Phi }_\mu \mathrm{\Phi })^2+M\mathrm{\Phi }^4>$$
(5)
where the symbol $`<>`$ indicates the trace in flavour space, $`f`$ is the pion decay constant and $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$, $`M`$ are the meson and mass $`SU(3)`$ matrices.

In s-wave and for isospin zero the only pieces needed in our calculation are given by

$`V_{11}=<K\overline{K}|_2|K\overline{K}>={\displaystyle \frac{1}{4f^2}}(3s+4m_K^2{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}p_i^2)`$ (6)
$`V_{21}=<\pi \pi |_2|K\overline{K}>={\displaystyle \frac{1}{3\sqrt{12}f^2}}({\displaystyle \frac{9}{2}}s+3m_K^2+3m_\pi ^2{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}p_i^2)`$ (7)
$`V_{22}=<\pi \pi |_2|\pi \pi >={\displaystyle \frac{1}{9f^2}}(9s+{\displaystyle \frac{15m_\pi ^2}{2}}3{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}p_i^2)`$ (8)
This model reproduces well phase shifts and inelasticities up to about 1.2 GeV. The $`\sigma `$ and $`f_0(980)`$ resonances appear as poles of the scattering amplitude. The coupling of channels is essential to produce the $`f_0(980)`$ resonance, while the $`\sigma `$ pole is little affected by the coupling of the pions to $`K\overline{K}`$ .

## III $`\pi \pi `$ scattering in the nuclear medium.

As we are mainly interested in the low energy region, which is not very sensitive to the kaon channels, we will only consider the nuclear medium effects on the pions. The main changes of the pion propagation in the nuclear medium come from the p-wave selfenergy, produced basically by the the coupling of pions to particle-hole ($`ph`$) and Delta-hole ($`\mathrm{\Delta }h`$) excitations .

Thus, the new BS equation now will include the diagrams of Fig. 2 where the solid line bubbles represent the $`ph`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }h`$ excitations.

In fact, as it was shown in , the contact terms with the $`ph`$ ($`\mathrm{\Delta }h`$) excitations of diagrams (b)(c)(d) cancel the off shell contribution from the meson meson vertices in the term of Fig. 2(a). Hence, we just need to calculate the diagrams of the free type (Fig. 1) and those of Fig. 2(a).

There are other medium corrections, like the one depicted in Fig. 3

which has been considered in several papers like  using the linear sigma model. The coupling of the sigma to the nucleons, can be borrowed from the Bonn potential .

In our approach, we start with only pseudoscalar meson fields. The sigma is generated dynamically through the rescattering of the pions. A possible analog to the diagram of Fig. 3 is given by the diagrams of Fig. 4.

In order to evaluate the contribution of these diagrams we use the chiral Lagrangians involving the octet of baryons and the octet of pseudoscalar mesons and these terms result to be proportional to $`\overline{p}\gamma ^\mu p\overline{n}\gamma ^\mu n`$ and thus vanish in symmetric nuclear matter.

Also we would need to consider diagrams of the type shown in Fig. 5

We also get a negligible contribution to the the $`\pi \pi `$ scattering in the nuclear medium from this diagram .

Finally, we could also include excitation of resonances from the occupied nucleon states by the pair of mesons. The major contribution comes from the $`N^{}(1440)`$ Roper resonance which couples to two pions in the scalar isoscalar channel and plays an important role in the $`\pi N\pi \pi N`$ reaction  and other two pion production processes like the $`NNNN\pi \pi `$ reaction close to threshold . The lowest order Roper contribution diagram is shown in Fig. 6.

Details on the inclusion of this mechanism, the determination of the coupling constants and its effects, which are also small, can be found in ref. .

In Fig. 7 we show our results for the $`\pi \pi `$ scattering amplitude as a function of the nuclear density in a range of energies from 150 MeV to 1100 MeV. As one can see in the figure, there is an accumulation of strength in the imaginary part of the amplitude close to the two pion threshold as it was predicted by  and had been also found in other calculations . The possible relation of this strength to the enhanced two pion invariant mass distribution in $`(\pi ,2\pi )`$ reactions in nuclei at small invariant masses will be discussed in the next section. The strength below the two pion threshold corresponds to the decay into particle-hole states. At intermediate invariant masses we can see a quite strong decrease of the strength of the imaginary part, and also large distortions of the real part of the scattering amplitude. This could lead to some effects, not yet investigated, for two pion production reactions. Below 900 MeV, the effect of the two kaon channel are quite small, and a single channel calculation would lead to quite similar results.

Also the $`f_0(980)`$ resonance properties are modified in the medium. The position of the resonance does not change much as a function of the density. However, the width increases gradually until the resonant shape practically disappears above the normal nuclear density.

In Fig. 8 we show the $`\pi \pi K\overline{K}`$ amplitude. In this channel the $`f_0(980)`$ appears as a Breit Wigner contribution rotated 90 degrees and it is more easily visible, due to the absence of a large background of the $`\pi \pi `$ elastic scattering. The resonant-like behavior found around 300 MeV is mainly produced by the strong coupling of the two kaon channel to the Roper-hole excitation. A detailed discussion on that coupling and results for the $`K\overline{K}K\overline{K}`$ amplitude can be found in ref. .

## IV $`\sigma `$ meson mass and width in the nuclear medium

In this section we will consider the ligthest pole position of the $`\pi \pi `$ scattering amplitude in the S=I=0 channel in the complex energy plane, which corresponds to the $`\sigma `$ resonance. In vacuum, the pole position occurs at a mass around 470 MeV and the width is around 400 MeV . A compilation of values for these magnitudes obtained in several modern analyses can be found in ref. . See also Fig. 1 of ref. .

The analytical structure of the meson meson scattering amplitude is driven by the meson loops depicted in Fig. 9,

which are given by the formula

$$G_{\pi \pi }_0^{\mathrm{}}d^4qD_\pi (q^0,\stackrel{}{q})D_\pi (\sqrt{s}q^0,\stackrel{}{q})$$
(9)
where $`D_\pi `$ is the $`\pi `$ propagator which, in the nuclei, will incorporate the p-wave coupling of the pions to particle-hole and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$-hole excitations. We can simplify the calculation by using the Lehmann representation for the meson propagators

$$D_\pi (q^0,\stackrel{}{q})=\frac{2}{\pi }_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑x\frac{xImD_\pi (x,\stackrel{}{q})}{(q^0)^2x^2+iϵ}$$
(10)
After some algebraic manipulation we obtain

$$G=_0^{\mathrm{}}\frac{dE}{2\pi }(\frac{1}{P^0E+iϵ}\frac{1}{P^0+Eiϵ})F(E)$$
(11)
where $`F(E)`$ is a real function given by

$$F(E)=d^3q_E^E𝑑xImD_\pi ((E+x/2),\stackrel{}{q})ImD_\pi ((Ex/2),\stackrel{}{q})$$
(12)
which in vacuum takes the simple form

$$F_{vacuum}(E)=\frac{p_\pi }{4\pi E}$$
(13)
where

$$p_\pi =\sqrt{\frac{E^2}{4}m_\pi ^2}$$
(14)
The function $`F(E)`$ includes all the phenomenological information on the pion selfenergy in the nuclear medium. The results for several densities are shown in Fig.10

The $`F(E)`$ strength is related to the imaginary part of the $`\sigma `$ propagator and therefore reflects the energy and density dependence of the different $`\sigma `$ decay channels. We can start classifying them according to their density dependence (See. Fig.11).

At low densities, the $`\sigma `$ meson can only decay into two pions, $`\sigma \pi +\pi `$. Therefore we have a threshold at $`E=2m_\pi `$. As the density grows the $`\sigma \pi +(Nh)`$ decay channel becomes relevant and we have a new threshold at $`E=m_\pi `$, which is clearly visible in the curve corresponding to $`\rho =\rho _0/8`$. Finally, at larger densities, mechanisms such as $`\sigma 2(Nh)`$ which go like $`\rho ^2`$ become important. They are possible even at very low energies.

Using the two meson propagator of Eq. 11 we can calculate the scattering amplitude and look for the poles in the complex energy plane. The results are shown in Fig. 12 for densities up to 1.5 $`\rho _0`$. Note, however, that the calculation is more reliable at low densities because some contributions of order $`\rho ^2`$ or higher are missing. We find that both mass and width decrease as the density increases, reaching a mass around 200 MeV and a similar width at 1.5 times the nuclear density.

Similar results are found in other models. See for instance Fig. 10 of ref. . But we should stress that there the changes respond to a reduction of the $`f_\pi `$ value which we have kept constant. The basic ingredient that drives the mass decrease in our calculation is the p-wave interaction of the pion with the baryons in the medium. The change of $`f_\pi `$ as a fuction of density in  and related works is linked to the renormalization of the axial current in nuclei, but in standard many body theory these currents are renormalized using the same lagrangians that in the evaluation of the pion selfenergy . Therefore one should not modify $`f_\pi `$ in these latter approaches to avoid doublecounting. In fact a large change at normal nuclear density would be quite difficult to accommodate to the quite well known pion nucleus phenomenology (pionic atoms, pion absorption, etc.).

## V Experimental signatures

Reactions with two low energy pions in the final state are the obvious candidates to test the $`\sigma `$ meson properties in the nuclear medium. Both CHAOS and CB data on the $`A(\pi ,\pi +\pi )X`$ reaction have been extensively discussed in several talks at this conference. Therefore, we will just comment briefly a few points.

In both cases there are clear and strong medium effects in the scalar isoscalar channels. The CHAOS collaboration has measured several charge channels that show these effects to be absent in other channels.

So far, the theoretical attempts have failed to reproduce existing data. The enhancement obtained at low ”$`\sigma `$” masses by the calculations is too small. There are claims that additional strength would be gained once the effects of the partial restoration of the chiral symmetry are included to the ”standard” nuclear medium effects of the current theoretical analyses. However, even large changes in the pion pion interaction would affect little the calculations. The main reason for this being the very large distortion (quasielastic and absorption) of the initial pions at the CHAOS energies. Because of this, the reaction happens at the nuclear surface, with a quite low effective density.

On the other hand, the $`(\pi ,\pi ^++\pi ^{})`$ and $`(\pi ,\pi ^0+\pi ^0)`$ channels are very small at low invariant masses of the two pions system. Comparing these invariant mass distributions with phase space, and studying the microscopic model for the reaction it is clear that there are strong cancellations between different mechanisms that contribute to this reaction. These cancellations could be modified in nuclei if the relative phases of the involved mechanisms change even slightly and that could produce a large part of the observed effects.

Further and better studies are clearly needed. However, $`(\pi ,\pi \pi )`$ reactions will never be free from the two problems pointed out, the strong initial pion distortion (and therefore small effective density) and the complicated microscopical mechanisms involved. The $`(\gamma ,\pi \pi )`$ process is, at least, free from the first of those problems and look clearly more promising. Some preliminary results have already been presented at this conference by Volker Metag and could be more conclusive in determining the strength of the $`\pi \pi `$ interaction in nuclei.

###### Acknowledgements.

This work is partly supproted by DGICYT contract no. BFM2000-1326 and by the EEC-TMR Program, EURODAPHNE, Contract No. ERBFMRX-CT98-0169.