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# Torsion points on curves and common divisors of 𝑎^𝑘-1 and 𝑏^𝑘-1

## 1. Introduction

Let $`a,b\pm 1`$ be nonzero integers. One of our goals in this paper is to study the common divisors of $`a^k1`$ and $`b^k1`$, specifically to understand small values of $`\mathrm{gcd}(a^k1,b^k1)`$. If $`a=c^u`$ and $`b=c^v`$ for some integer $`c`$ then clearly $`c^k1`$ divides $`\mathrm{gcd}(a^k1,b^k1)`$ and so for the purpose of understanding small values, we will assume that $`a`$ and $`b`$ are multiplicatively independent, that is $`a^rb^s`$ for $`r,s1`$. Further, since $`\mathrm{gcd}(a1,b1)`$ always divides $`\mathrm{gcd}(a^k1,b^k1)`$, we will assume that $`a1`$ and $`b1`$ are coprime.

Based on numerical experiments and other considerations, we conjecture:

###### Conjecture A.

If $`a,b`$ are multiplicatively independent non-zero integers with $`\mathrm{gcd}(a1,b1)=1`$, then there are infinitely many integers $`k1`$ such that

$$\mathrm{gcd}(a^k1,b^k1)=1.$$

Note that the condition of multiplicative independence of $`a`$ and $`b`$ is not necessary, as the (trivial) example $`b=a`$ shows (the $`\mathrm{gcd}`$ is $`1`$ for odd $`k`$, and $`a^k1`$ for even $`k`$).

A recent result of Bugeaud, Corvaja and Zannier \[BCZ\] rules out large values of $`\mathrm{gcd}(a^k1,b^k1)`$. They show that if $`a,b>1`$ are multiplicatively independent positive integers then for all $`ϵ>0`$,

(1)
$$\mathrm{gcd}(a^k1,b^k1)_ϵe^{ϵk}.$$

Their argument uses Diophantine approximation techniques and in particular Schmidt’s Subspace Theorem. They also indicate that there are arbitrarily large values of $`k`$ for which the upper bound (1) cannot be significantly improved.

In the function field case, when we replace integers by polynomials, we are able to prove a strong version of Conjecture A.

###### Theorem 1.

Let $`f,g𝐂[t]`$ be non-constant polynomials. If $`f`$ and $`g`$ are multiplicatively independent, then there exists a polynomial $`h`$ such that

(2)
$$\mathrm{gcd}(f^k1,g^k1)h$$

for any $`k1`$.

If, in addition, $`\mathrm{gcd}(f1,g1)=1`$, then there is a finite union of proper arithmetic progressions $`d_i𝐍`$, $`d_i2`$, such that for $`k`$ outside these progressions,

$$\mathrm{gcd}(f^k1,g^k1)=1.$$

Note that (2) is a strong form of (1). We derive Theorem 1 from a result proposed by Lang \[L1\] on the finiteness of torsion points on curves - see section 2.

We next consider a generalization to the case of matrices. For an $`r\times r`$ integer matrix $`A\mathrm{Mat}_r(𝐙)`$, $`AI`$, ($`I`$ being the identity matrix) we define $`\mathrm{gcd}(AI)`$ as the greatest common divisor of the entries of $`AI`$. Equivalently, $`\mathrm{gcd}(AI)`$ is the greatest integer $`N1`$ such that $`AImodN`$. We say that $`A`$ is primitive if $`\mathrm{gcd}(AI)=1`$. Note that $`\mathrm{gcd}(AI)`$ divides $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$ for all $`k`$. A similar definition applies to the function field case $`A\mathrm{Mat}_r(𝐂[t])`$. We will study behavior of $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$ as $`k`$ varies for a fixed matrix $`A`$ with coefficients in $`𝐙`$ or in $`𝐂[t]`$. If $`detA=0`$ then it holds trivially that $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)=1`$ for all $`k1`$. So we will henceforth assume that $`A`$ is nonsingular.

For the case of $`2\times 2`$ matrices, we will show in section 3 that if $`ASL_2(𝐙)`$ is is unimodular and hyperbolic, then $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$ grows exponentially as $`k\mathrm{}`$. However, numerical experiments show that for other matrices, $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$ displays completely different behaviour. We formulate the following conjecture:

###### Conjecture B.

Suppose $`r2`$ and $`A\mathrm{Mat}_r(𝐙)`$ is nonsingular and primitive. Also assume that there is a pair of eigenvalues of $`A`$ that are multiplicatively independent. Then $`A^k`$ is primitive infinitely often.

Note that Conjecture B subsumes Conjecture A. It would be interesting to prove an analogue of the upper bound (1) in this setting.

In section 4 we give an example where we can prove Conjecture B. To describe it, recall that one may obtain integer matrices by taking an algebraic integer $`u`$ in a number field $`K`$ and letting it act by multiplication on the ring of integers $`𝒪_K`$ of $`K`$. This is a linear map and a choice of integer basis of $`𝒪_K`$ gives us an integer matrix $`A=A(u)`$ whose determinant equals the norm of $`u`$. We employ this method for the cyclotomic field $`𝐐(\zeta _p)`$ where $`p>3`$ is prime and $`\zeta _p`$ is a primitive $`p`$-th root of unity, and $`u`$ is a non-real unit. We show:

###### Theorem 2.

Let $`u`$ be a non-real unit in the extension $`𝐐(\zeta _p)`$, and $`A(u)SL_{p1}(𝐙)`$ be the corresponding matrix. Then $`A(u)^k`$ is primitive for all $`k0modp`$.

In the function field case, we have a strong form of Conjecture B, which generalizes Theorem 1:

###### Theorem 3.

Let $`A`$ be a nonsingular matrix in $`\mathrm{Mat}_r(𝐂[t])`$. Assume that either

1. $`A`$ is not diagonalizable over the algebraic closure of $`𝐂(t)`$, or
2. $`A`$ has two eigenvalues that are multiplicatively independent.

Then there exists a polynomial $`h`$ such that $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)h`$ for any $`k`$.

If, in addition, $`A`$ is primitive, then $`A^k`$ is primitive for all $`k`$ outside a finite union of proper arithmetic progressions.

*Acknowledgements:* We would like to thank Umberto Zannier for useful discussions and the referee for suggesting several improvements. Some of the results were part of the first named author’s M.Sc. thesis \[Ai\] at Tel Aviv University. The work was partially supported by the Israel Science Foundation, founded by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

## 2. Proof of theorem 1

To prove the theorem, we will use a result which was conjectured by Serge Lang and proved by Ihara, Serre and Tate (see \[L1\] and \[L2\]), which states that the intersection of an irreducible curve in $`𝐂^{}\times 𝐂^{}`$ with the roots of unity $`\mu _{\mathrm{}}\times \mu _{\mathrm{}}`$ is finite, unless the curve is of the form $`X^nY^m\zeta =0`$ or $`X^m\zeta Y^n=0`$ with $`\zeta \mu _{\mathrm{}}`$, that is unless the curve is the translate of an algebraic subgroup by a torsion point of $`𝐂^{}\times 𝐂^{}`$. Applying this result to the rational curve $`\{(f(t),g(t)):t𝐂\}`$, we conclude that only for finitely many $`t`$’s both $`f(t)`$ and $`g(t)`$ are roots of unity when $`f`$ and $`g`$ are multiplicatively independent.

Thus by Lang’s theorem we have that there is only a finite set of points $`S𝐂`$ such that for any $`sS`$ both $`f(s)`$ and $`g(s)`$ are roots of unity. So $`\mathrm{gcd}(f^k1,g^k1)`$ can only have linear factors from $`\{(ts)|sS\}`$. Write

$$f^k1=\underset{j=0}{\overset{k1}{}}(f\zeta _k^j).$$

Any two factors on the right side are coprime, so $`ts`$ can divide at most one of them with multiplicity at most $`\mathrm{deg}(f)`$, and a similar statement can be said for $`g`$. Therefore the required polynomial $`h`$ can be chosen as

$$h(t)=\underset{sS}{}(ts)^{\mathrm{min}(\mathrm{deg}(f),\mathrm{deg}(g))}.$$

For the second part of theorem 1, let $`sS`$ and let $`d_s`$ be the least positive integer such that

$$ts\mathrm{gcd}(f(t)^{d_s}1,g(t)^{d_s}1).$$

Then $`d_s>1`$ because $`\mathrm{gcd}(f1,g1)=1`$, and clearly for $`kd_s𝐍`$,

$$ts\mathrm{gcd}(f(t)^k1,g(t)^k1).$$

Then $`_{sS}d_s𝐍`$ is the required finite union of proper arithmetic progressions outside of which $`\mathrm{gcd}(f^k1,g^k1)=1`$. ∎

Note that Theorem 3 implies Theorem 1. We have chosen to give the proof of Theorem 1 separately to illustrate the ideas in a simple context.

## 3. $`2\times 2`$ matrices

Let $`ASL_2(𝐙)`$ be a $`2\times 2`$ unimodular matrix which is hyperbolic, that is $`A`$ has two distinct real eigenvalues. We show:

###### Proposition 4.

Let $`ASL_2(𝐙)`$ be a hyperbolic matrix with eigenvalues $`ϵ,ϵ^1`$, where $`|ϵ|>1`$. Then $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)|ϵ|^{k/2}`$.

###### Proof.

111We thank the referee for suggesting this proof, which replaces our original, more complicated, version.

Let $`K`$ be the real quadratic field $`𝐐(ϵ)`$ and $`𝒪_K`$ its ring of integers. We may diagonalize the matrix $`A`$ over $`K`$, that is write $`A=P\left(\begin{array}{cc}ϵ& 0\\ 0& ϵ^1\end{array}\right)P^1`$ with $`P`$ a $`2\times 2`$ matrix having entries in $`K`$. Since $`P`$ is only determined up to a scalar multiple, we may, after multiplying $`P`$ by an algebraic integer of $`𝒪_K`$, assume that $`P`$ has entries in $`𝒪_K`$. Then $`P^1=\frac{1}{det(P)}P^{ad}`$ where $`P^{ad}`$ also has entries in $`𝒪_K`$. Thus we have

$$A^kI=\frac{1}{det(P)}P\left(\begin{array}{cc}ϵ^k1& 0\\ 0& ϵ^k1\end{array}\right)P^{ad}.$$

The entries of $`A^kI`$ are thus $`𝒪_K`$-linear combinations $`(ϵ^k1)/det(P)`$ and of $`(ϵ^k1)/det(P)`$. We now note that

$$ϵ^k1=ϵ^k(ϵ^k1)$$

and thus the entries of $`A^kI`$ are all $`𝒪_K`$-multiples of $`(ϵ^k1)/det(P)`$. In particular, $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$, which is a $`𝐙`$-linear combination of the entries of $`A^kI`$, can be written as

$$\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)=\frac{ϵ^k1}{det(P)}\gamma _k$$

with $`\gamma _k𝒪_K`$.

Now taking norms from $`K`$ to $`𝐐`$ we see

$$|\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)|^2=\frac{|𝒩(ϵ^k1)|}{|𝒩(detP)|}|𝒩(\gamma _k)|.$$

Since $`\gamma _k0`$, we have $`|𝒩(\gamma _k)|1`$ and thus

$$|\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)|^2\frac{|𝒩(ϵ^k1)|}{|𝒩(detP)|}ϵ^k$$

which gives $`|\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)|ϵ^{k/2}`$. ∎

A special case of this Proposition appeared as a problem in the 54-th W.L. Putnam Mathematical Competition, 1994, see \[An, pages 82, 242\].

## 4. Cyclotomic Fields

A standard construction of unimodular matrices is to take a unit $`u`$ of norm one in a number field $`K`$ and let it act by multiplication on the ring of integers $`𝒪_K`$ of $`K`$. This gives a linear map and a choice of integer basis of $`𝒪_K`$ gives us an integer matrix whose determinant equals the norm of $`u`$ and is thus unimodular. We employ this method for the case when $`u`$ is a nonreal unit to give a construction of matrices $`A`$ with the property that $`A^k`$ is primitive infinitely often.

We recall some basic facts on units in a cyclotomic field. Let $`p>3`$ be a prime, $`\zeta _p`$ a primitive $`p`$-th root of unity, and $`K=𝐐(\zeta _p)`$ the cyclotomic extension of the rationals. It is a field of degree $`p1`$. The ring of integers of this field $`𝒪_K`$ is $`𝐙[\zeta _p]`$. $`K`$ is purely imaginary, therefore the norm function is positive, and the norm of a unit $`u`$ is always $`1`$. Also note that the structure of the unit group $`E_p`$ of $`𝒪_K`$ is:

(3)
$$E_p=W_pE_p^+,$$

where $`W_p`$ are the roots of unity in $`K`$ and $`E_p^+`$ is the group of the real units in $`𝒪_K`$. A proof of this fact can be found, for example, in \[L3, Theorem 4.1\].

### 4.1. Proof of Theorem 2

We now prove theorem 2, that is show that if $`uE_p\backslash E_p^+`$ is a non-real unit and $`k0modp`$ then the matrix corresponding to $`u^k`$ is primitive.

The method we will use is that if we choose a basis $`\omega _0=1,\omega _1,\mathrm{},\omega _{p2}`$ of $`𝐙[\zeta _p]`$ and take a unit $`U`$ in $`𝐙[\zeta _p]`$, then we get a matrix $`A(U)=(a_{i,j})`$ whose entries are determined by

$$U\omega _i=\underset{j=0}{\overset{p2}{}}a_{j,i}\omega _j.$$

In particular if we find that in the expansion of

$$U=U\omega _0=\underset{j=0}{\overset{p2}{}}a_{j,0}\omega _j$$

we have an index $`j0`$ so that $`a_{j,0}=a_{0,0}`$, then in the matrix $`A(U)I`$ corresponding to $`U1`$, the first column will contain the entries $`a_{0,0}1`$ and $`a_{j,0}=a_{0,0}`$ which are clearly coprime and thus the matrix $`A(U)`$ is primitive.

Another option is to have $`a_{0,0}=0`$ in which case in the matrix of $`U1`$, the $`(0,0)`$ entry is $`1`$ and thus again $`A(U)`$ is primitive. We will apply this method to the case that $`U=u^k`$ is a power of a non-real unit $`u`$ and $`k0modp`$.

Let $`uE_p\backslash E_p^+`$ is a non-real unit. By (3), we can write:

$$u=\zeta _p^xu^+$$

where $`u^+`$ is a real unit and $`x`$ is an integer not congruent to $`0`$ mod $`p`$. Therefore,

$$u^k=\zeta _p^{xk}(u^+)^k$$

and

$$\zeta _p^{xk}u^k=(u^+)^k$$

is real. Therefore it can be represented as an integer combination of $`\zeta _p,\zeta _p^2,\mathrm{},\zeta _p^{p1}`$ as follows:

$$\zeta _p^{xk}u^k=\underset{j=1}{\overset{p1}{}}\alpha _j\zeta _p^j$$

where $`\alpha _j=\alpha _{pj}`$ for each $`j`$. For convenience we will set $`\alpha _0:=0`$.

Multiplying by $`\zeta _p^{xk}`$, we find

$$u^k=\underset{j=0}{\overset{p1}{}}\alpha _j\zeta _p^{j+xk}$$

and changing the summation variable,

$$u^k=\underset{i=0}{\overset{p1}{}}\alpha _{ixk}\zeta _p^i$$

where the index of $`\alpha `$ is calculated mod $`p`$. Using the relation

$$\zeta _p^{p1}=1\zeta _p\mathrm{}\zeta _p^{p2}$$

we find that in terms of the integer basis $`\omega _j=\zeta _p^j`$, $`j=0,\mathrm{},p2`$ we have

$$u^k=\underset{i=0}{\overset{p2}{}}(\alpha _{ixk}\alpha _{p1xk})\omega _i.$$

If $`k0modp`$ then $`2xk0modp`$ since $`x0modp`$. If $`2xk1modp`$ then the coefficients of $`\omega _0`$ and $`\omega _{2xk}`$ are equal. Therefore $`u^k`$ is primitive. If $`2xk`$ is congruent to $`1`$ mod $`p`$, then the coefficient of $`\omega _0`$ vanishes and thus in this case as well, $`u^k`$ is primitive.

Thus we found that if $`k0modp`$, the matrix corresponding to $`u^k`$ is primitive.

Note that by virtue of (3), the eigenvalues of $`A(u)`$ come in complex conjugate pairs whose ratios are $`p`$-th roots of unity. This is somewhat similar to the trivial scalar example described in the introduction, namely $`b=\pm a`$.

## 5. Proof of theorem 3

We extend the idea of the proof of Theorem 1 to cover the matrix case. We first show that there is only a finite set $`S`$ of points $`s𝐂`$ such that $`ts`$ divides $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$ for some $`k`$.

Let $`M`$ be a matrix such that $`MAM^1`$ is in Jordan form. The elements of $`M`$ are meromorphic functions on the Riemann surface $`R`$ corresponding to some finite extension of $`𝐂(t)`$. Denote by $`pr:R^1`$ the associated projection of $`R`$ to the projective line. Let $`S_0`$ be the finite collection of poles of these functions.

Assume first that $`A`$ is not diagonalizable over the algebraic closure of $`C(t)`$. Thus for any $`t_0R\backslash S_0`$, $`A(t_0)`$ is not diagonalizable, and therefore $`A(t_0)^kI0`$ for all $`k`$ (recall that a matrix of finite order ($`A^m=I`$) is automatically diagonalizable), in other words, $`(tt_0)`$ does not divide $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$. Thus only the finitely many linear forms $`ts`$, where $`spr(S_0)`$ is the projection of some point in $`S_0`$, can divide $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$.

We denote by $`\lambda _i(t)`$ the eigenvalues of $`A`$ which are multivalued functions of $`t`$, that is meromorphic functions on the Riemann surface. Assume now that $`\lambda _1`$ and $`\lambda _2`$ are multiplicatively independent, and that $`A`$ is diagonalizable. Suppose that $`(tt_0)\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$ for some $`k>1`$ and $`t_0R\backslash S_0`$. Then $`A^kI`$ evaluated at $`t_0`$ is the zero matrix, and also:

$$M(t_0)(A(t_0)^kI)M(t_0)^1=0,$$

and we deduce that

$$\lambda _1(t_0)^k1=\lambda _2(t_0)^k1=0.$$

In particular, $`\lambda _1(t_0)`$ and $`\lambda _2(t_0)`$ are roots of unity. Thus, we reduce to proving that $`\lambda _1`$ and $`\lambda _2`$ can be simultaneous roots of unity only at a finite set of points.

To prove this, we want to use Lang’s theorem for the curve in $`𝐂^2`$ parameterized by $`(\lambda _1(t),\lambda _2(t))`$. Denote by $`Y`$ the Zariski closure of the image of the map $`(\lambda _1,\lambda _2):R\backslash S_0𝐂^2`$. $`Y`$ is an irreducible algebraic curve in $`𝐂^2`$. If $`Y`$ is of dimension $`0`$, then it is a point, so $`\lambda _1(t)`$ and $`\lambda _2(t)`$ are constants, and since they are multiplicatively independent none of them can be a root of unity. Otherwise, we may apply Lang’s theorem for this curve and conclude that unless the curve $`Y`$ is of the form $`F^m\zeta G^n=0`$ or $`F^mG^n=\zeta `$ with $`\zeta `$ a root of unity (which is not the case when $`\lambda _1`$ and $`\lambda _2`$ are multiplicatively independent) , it has only finitely many torsion points. In other words, there can only be finitely many points of the form $`(\zeta _1,\zeta _2)`$ on $`Y`$, where $`\zeta _1`$ and $`\zeta _2`$ are roots of unity.

We now prove that there is a polynomial $`h`$ such that $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$ divides $`h`$ for all $`k`$. Since there is a finite set $`S`$ of possible zeros of $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$, it suffices to show that the multiplicity of a zero of $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$ is bounded.

Write $`B=MAM^1`$, so $`B`$ is in Jordan form. Denote by $`v_{t_0}(f)`$ the multiplicity of the zero at $`t_0R`$ of $`f`$. So clearly, for any $`t_0R`$ there exists $`c(t_0)𝐍`$ such that

$$v_{t_0}(\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI))c(t_0)+v_{t_0}(\mathrm{gcd}(B^kI)),$$

and for all $`t_0`$ outside the finite set $`S_0`$ of poles of entries of $`M`$, $`c(t_0)=0`$. So it suffices to prove that $`v_{t_0}(\mathrm{gcd}(B^kI))`$ is bounded.

Clearly,

$$\mathrm{gcd}(B^kI)det(B^kI)=\underset{j=0}{\overset{k1}{}}det(B\zeta _k^jI),$$

where $`\zeta _k`$ is a primitive $`k`$-th root of unity. Denoting the diagonal elements of $`BI`$ by $`b_1,\mathrm{},b_r`$, we see that

$$det(B^kI)=\underset{d=1}{\overset{r}{}}\underset{j=0}{\overset{k1}{}}(b_d\zeta _k^j).$$

Because a meromorphic function on a Riemann surface has a finite degree, reasoning as in the proof of theorem 1 we see that for any $`t_0R`$, $`v_{t_0}(_{j=1}^k(b_d\zeta _k^j))`$ is bounded, for all $`k`$. Therefore $`v_{t_0}(det(B^kI))`$ is bounded for all $`k`$.

Now assume in addition that $`A`$ is primitive: $`\mathrm{gcd}(AI)=1`$. For any $`sS`$, the set of $`k`$’s such that $`A(s)^k=I`$, i.e. $`(ts)\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)`$, is an arithmetic progression $`d_s𝐙`$ which is proper since it does not contain $`1`$. Therefore the set of $`k`$ such that $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)1`$ is a finite union of proper arithmetic progressions, and hence for $`k`$ outside this finite union of proper arithmetic progressions, we have $`\mathrm{gcd}(A^kI)=1`$. ∎


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# First-principles calculation of the piezoelectric tensor 𝑑┬⃡ of III-V nitrides

## Abstract

We report direct first-principles density-functional calculations of the piezoelectric tensor $`\stackrel{}{d}`$ relating polarization to applied stress for the binary compounds AlN, GaN, and InN. The values of $`\stackrel{}{d}`$ are rather sensitive to the choice of the exchange-correlation functional, and results are presented for both the local-density and gradient approximations. A comparison with experiment and with values predicted indirectly from the elastic $`\stackrel{}{C}`$ and piezoconstant $`\stackrel{}{e}`$ tensors is also presented.

The piezoelectric tensor $`\stackrel{}{d}`$ of a polar material relates to linear order the induced polarization $`𝐏`$ to the applied stress via

$`P_i={\displaystyle \underset{j}{}}d_{ij}\sigma _j.`$ (1)
It is an especially relevant quantity in the field of III-V nitride compounds, whose piezoelectric and polarization properties are prominent and unusual. As implied by its definition, $`\stackrel{}{d}`$ is relevant to electroacustic applications , and to the determination of polarization and electrostatic fields induced by applied stress or strain in devices or epitaxial nanostructures .

The piezoelectric tensor $`\stackrel{}{e}`$  connecting polarization and strain $`ϵ_i`$ via

$`P_i={\displaystyle \underset{j}{}}e_{ij}ϵ_j,`$ (2)
is related to the $`\stackrel{}{d}`$ tensor of interest here by

$`e_{ij}={\displaystyle \underset{k}{}}d_{ik}C_{kj},`$ (3)
where the $`C_{ij}`$ are the elastic stiffness constants at constant electric field. It is thus possible to compute $`\stackrel{}{d}`$ from the knowledge of elastic constants and $`e`$-piezoconstants (using e.g. the theoretical estimates of Refs.  and , see also below). On the other hand, experiments  directly access the $`d_{ij}`$ measuring the strain $`ϵ_i`$ caused by an applied field E via the converse piezoelectric effect

$`ϵ_i={\displaystyle d_{ij}E_j}.`$ (4)
The $`d_{ij}`$’s in Eqs. 1 and 4 are by definition identical , so that a direct comparison is possible, and especially interesting and useful. Here we compute directly the $`d_{ij}`$ constants in the III-V binary nitrides as derivatives of the polarization with respect to stress, calculating the Berry-phase polarization of a primitive cell explicitly subject to a given external stress. This approach enables us to directly compare the calculated values with experiment, and with indirect theoretical predictions using Eq. 3, and separately calculated $`\stackrel{}{C}`$ and $`\stackrel{}{e}`$ tensors.

The binary III-V nitrides AlN, GaN, and InN crystallize in the wurtzite structure, and they possess three independent components of the piezoelectric tensor, namely $`d_{33}`$, $`d_{31}`$(=$`d_{32}`$), and $`d_{15}`$(=$`d_{24}`$). To compute these constants we run a damped Parrinello-Rahman–like dynamics for each of the compounds considered, with the constraint that the system be subject to a given non-zero stress. The external stress is applied to the zero-stress equilibrium structure, which is identical to that reported in Ref. . As a compromise between the contrasting needs for sufficiently large stresses to obtain polarizations outside the numerical noise, and for sufficiently small stresses to avoid large deformations and non-linearity, we separately apply stress components $`\sigma _1=\sigma _2=\pm 50`$ Kbar in the basal plane, and $`\sigma _3=\pm 50`$ Kbar along the singular axis, to determine $`d_{31}`$ and $`d_{33}`$; for $`d_{15}`$ we apply a shear stress $`\sigma _5=\pm 50`$ kBar. In the case of InN, these stresses and the ensuing deformations may lead to metallization because of the very small calculated DFT band gap. This must be avoided because macroscopic polarization cannot be defined or computed in metallic systems. We found that the maximum applied stress had to be reduced to 5 Kbar for InN (incidentally, this does not causes numerical noise problems in the polarization calculations because of the very strong piezoelectric response of InN). After the bulk structure has been optimized for a given stress, the macroscopic polarization is computed using the Berry phase technique . The stress derivatives of the polarization, i.e. the $`d_{ij}`$’s, are computed numerically using a standard two-points formula.

As for the technical ingredients, we worked in the Density-Functional-theory pseudopotential plane-wave framework using the VASP code  for structure optimization and a custom-made code for the Berry phase polarization. Ultrasoft potentials  were used for all atoms involved , and $`d`$ semicore states were included in the valence for Ga and In. The results reported here were obtained with a plane-wave cutoff of 325 eV, and an (888) Monkhorst-Pack mesh  for Brillouin-zone integration; these parameters were found sufficient to converge the computed stress for the systems considered. As the exchange-correlation functional, we used both the Ceperley-Alder  Local Density Approximation (LDA) in the Perdew-Zunger parameterization, and the Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) in the variant of Perdew and Wang, known as PW91 .

In Table I we report all the $`d_{ij}`$’s calculated within GGA and LDA (the latter are given in square brackets), compared with indirect predictions obtained via Eq.3 using elastic and $`e`$-piezoconstants calculated separately, and with the available experimental data . The calculated results depend considerably on the choice of the exchange-correlation functional, the LDA values being always larger than those of GGA. One can calculate the $`d_{ij}`$’s using elastic and $`e`$-piezoconstant data from e.g. Ref  and Eq. 3 to check consistency. These indirect prediction are reported for a subset of the $`d_{ij}`$ in Table I with the label “indirect”, along with the percent deviations from the directly calculated values. The newly calculated $`C_{11}`$ elastic constants, needed in the evaluation of the “indirect” constants, are also listed. The “indirect” values are always smaller than the directly calculated ones, and in most cases they are within $``$10% of the latter. This suggests that the range of stresses considered here is in the linear regime, and proves the (approximate) consistency of the data with Eq. 3.

The available experimental values are as frequently above as below or within the GGA-LDA range; the deviation are in the range of $`\pm `$4–30 %. From the comparison, it cannot be decided whether the LDA or GGA description is the most reliable. An exception is the shear constant $`d_{15}`$, which is described appreciably better by the LDA for GaN, a similar difference occurring also for InN, for which no experiment is available. This difference is presumably attributable to an incipient failure of GGA in describing accurately the shear elastic response of GaN and InN. There are no GGA calculations available for the latter; in turn, the LDA values of the shear constants by Wright  is in reasonable agreement with experiments.

Concerning the level of agreement of predicted and measured values, several points should be noted. First, all experiments were performed on constrained epitaxial samples. The epitaxial constraint affects the elastic and piezo response of the epilayer, and as a consequence two types of constants are generally reported , clamped (the one actually measured) and free-standing. The latter (with which we compare our calculations), are obtained from the former via a combination of compliance constants (the components of the inverse of $`\stackrel{}{C}`$). This adds some uncertainty to the comparison, given the large spread of the elastic constants values available. The maximum spread for GaN, for example, is as large as 1 pm/V  using different sets of elastic compliance constants.

Second, if the substrate on which the piezoelectric sample is grown is itself piezoelectric, the total deformation measured at the surface of the sample is likely to be influenced by the distortion of the substrate. For example, the two GaN samples used in Ref. are respectively single-crystal (0001)-oriented GaN grown on SiC (0001), a piezoelectric material, and polycristalline (0002)-oriented GaN grown on Si (100); the measured clamped constants are 2.8 and 2.0 pm/V in the two cases, which translates in free-standing bulk constants of about 3.7 (see Table I) and 2.6 pm/V respectively. Assuming the quality of the samples is comparable, and since polycrystallinity in wurtzites is mostly $`c`$-axial (vertical domains), a polarizable substrate may be argued to lead to a $``$ 35% apparent increase in piezoelectric response. The lesser material quality of the polycrystalline sample may be invoked to dispense with it altogether; nevertheless, the argument serves to illustrate the point that the typical error bar expected in these experiments may easily increase to a few ten percent. Similar considerations may apply also to the measurements of Ref.  where a GaN/AlN/Si structure was used.

Third, a clear result of our calculations is that the ratio R=$`d_{33}/2d_{31}`$ is never equal to 2 (it is in fact usually larger). This is to be attributed to the structural and response non-ideality of wurtzite nitrides. In Ref. , $`d_{13}`$ was obtained from $`d_{33}`$ assuming that R=2. Our results seems to invalidate this procedure, hence the measured  values of $`d_{13}`$.

In summary, we have obtained the piezoelectric tensor $`\stackrel{}{d}`$ of III-V binary nitrides from first-principles LDA and GGA density-functional force-stress and polarization calculations. The results are consistent with previously calculated $`e`$-piezoelectric and elastic tensors. Agreement with experiment is only moderately satisfactory (deviations range typically between 4 and 30%). This may be attributed to experimental uncertainties such as the translation from clamped to free-standing measured values, and the response of polarizable substrates, as well as to theoretical uncertainties in the elastic response within GGA vs LDA.

We acknowledge partial support from the Italian Ministry of Research via a Cofin99 project, the INFM Parallel Computing Initiative, and a Cagliari University research fellowship.


text:
# The Spectrum and Variability of Circular Polarization in Sagittarius A* from 1.4 to 15 GHz

## 1 Introduction

The compact radio source in the Galactic Center, Sagittarius A\*, is the best and closest candidate for a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy (Maoz, 1998; Melia & Falcke, 2001). The source Sgr A\* is positionally coincident with a $`2.6\times 10^6M_{\mathrm{}}`$ dark mass (Genzel et al., 2000; Ghez et al., 2000). Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) has shown that this source has a scale less than 1 AU and a brightness temperature in excess of $`10^9\mathrm{K}`$ (Rogers et al., 1994; Bower & Backer, 1998; Lo et al., 1998; Krichbaum et al., 1998; Doeleman et al., 2001). However, strong interstellar scattering of the radiation along the line of sight has been shown to broaden the image of Sgr A\* at radio through millimeter wavelengths (e.g., Lo et al., 1998; Frail et al., 1994). As a consequence, VLBI observations have not convincingly demonstrated the existence of source structure that would be an important diagnostic of physical processes. Long-term studies of Sgr A\* indicate that the source shows no motion with respect to the center of the Galaxy (Backer & Sramek, 1999; Reid et al., 1999). For these reasons, it is inferred that Sgr A\* is a synchrotron or cyclo-synchrotron emission region powered through accretion onto a supermassive black hole (Melia, 1994). Significant details of the emission mechanism are not understood. In particular, leading models propose that the emission originates in an advection dominated accretion flow, or ADAF (Özel et al., 2000); in a convection dominated accretion flow, or CDAF (Quataert & Gruzinov, 2000b); or, in an outflow or jet (Falcke et al., 1993; Falcke & Markoff, 2000).

Polarization has proved to be an important tool in the study of AGN. Studies of linear polarization (LP), which is typically on the order of a few percent or less of the total intensity, have confirmed that the emission process is synchrotron radiation and demonstrated that shocks align magnetic fields in a collimated jet, leading to correlated variability in the total and polarized intensity (Hughes et al., 1985; Marscher & Gear, 1985). Circular polarization (CP), on the other hand, is less well understood in AGN. Typically, the degree of CP is $`m_c<0.1\%`$ with only a few cases where $`m_c`$ approaches $`0.5\%`$ (Weiler & de Pater, 1983; Rayner et al., 2000). The degree of CP usually peaks near 1.4 GHz and decreases strongly with increasing frequency.

Recently, VLBI imaging of several AGN has found localized CP (Homan & Wardle, 1999). In 3C 279, these authors found $`m_\mathrm{c}1\%`$ in an individual radio component with a fractional LP of 10% (Wardle et al., 1998). The integrated CP, however, is less than 0.5%. CP was also discovered in the radio jet of the X-ray binary SS 433 at a level comparable to that of the LP (Fender et al., 2000). The galactic microquasar GRS 1915+105 also shows strong and variable CP that is associated with jet ejections (Fender et al., 2001). The CP in these sources is probably produced through the conversion of LP to CP by low-energy electrons in the synchrotron source. This process is also known as repolarization (Pacholczyk, 1977). CP has been identified through surveys in a number of high luminosity AGN (Rayner et al., 2000; Homan et al., 2001). A survey of low luminosity AGN found CP in only 1 of 11 galaxies, M81\* (Brunthaler et al., 2001). This discovery is of particular interest to this paper because of the similarity of M81\* and Sgr A\*, including the absence of LP.

In recent interferometric work we have shown that the LP of Sgr A\* from centimeter to millimeter wavelengths is extremely low. LP was not detected in a spectro-polarimetric experiment with an upper limit of 0.2% for rotation measures as large as $`10^7\mathrm{rad}\mathrm{m}^2`$ at 8.4 GHz (Bower et al., 1999a). More recently, we have found that LP is less than 0.2% at 22 GHz and less than $`1\%`$ at 112 GHz (Bower et al., 1999c, 2001). Interstellar depolarization is very unlikely within the parameter space covered by these observations. Aitken et al. (2000) have claimed LP of $`10\%`$ at $`\nu 150`$ GHz on the basis of low resolution JCMT observations. If these results hold, then they have significant implications for models of the emission mechanism (Quataert & Gruzinov, 2000a; Agol, 2000; Melia et al., 2000).

Given these stringent limits on LP, the presence of CP is not expected. Nevertheless, we have detected CP at a surprisingly high level (Bower et al., 1999b; Sault & Macquart, 1999). We found the fractional CP $`m_c=0.37\pm 0.04\%`$ at 4.8 GHz and a spectral index $`\alpha 0.5`$ between 4.8 and 8.4 GHz ($`m_c\nu ^\alpha `$). Simple synchrotron models cannot produce the full polarization characteristics without depolarization or repolarization in the source or in the accretion region. The introduction of low energy electrons may lead to these Faraday effects and/or strong gyrosynchrotron emission, which exhibits strong CP (Ramaty, 1969). Interstellar scattering in a magnetized plasma may also lead to CP in radio sources (Macquart & Melrose, 2000).

We describe here VLA and ATCA observations of CP and LP in Sgr A\*. Because of the technical difficulties and the novelty of these observations, especially for the VLA, we emphasize the technique and the sources of error in our discussion. In §2, we discuss the analysis of 20 y of archival VLA data at 4.8 and 8.4 GHz. These data show that the CP is stable over this period. In §3, we summarize new VLA observations in the Summer of 1999 at 1.4, 4.8, 8.4 and 15 GHz. We discuss sources of error in these data in §4. In §5, we introduce new ATCA observations from 1999 at 4.8 and 8.5 GHz. These observations have very different systematic errors from those of the VLA. We consider the long-term evolution of CP in Sgr A\* in §6 based on results from the archival VLA data. We analyse the new VLA and ATCA data in §7 and §8. This includes demonstration of consistency between the various data sets and statistical measures of variability. We discuss our results in §9 and summarize our conclusions in §10.

## 2 VLA Archive Observations and Results

We reduced data of Sgr A\* taken from the VLA archives. All observations were taken from the proper motion data sets of Backer & Sramek (1999). These observations had similar characteristics to those that we reported in Bower et al. (1999b), which were the final epoch of the Bower et al. (1999b) proper motion study. Further details of the observations are given in Bower et al. (1999b).

All observations were made in the A array. Eight epochs of observation were made, each consisting of two or three five-hour runs spaced over a few weeks. Data sets before 1989 include only 4.8 GHz observations. Data sets from 1989 onward include a small amount of 8.4 GHz observations. Each data set has observations of Sgr A\*, W56 (J1745-2820), W109 (J1748-2907), GC 441 (J1740-2930), J1743-0350 and J1751-2523. Sgr A\*, W56, W109 and GC 441 were observed multiple times within an hour. J1743-0350 and J1751-2523 were observed hourly.

Data reduction was performed with AIPS. A priori amplitude calibration was done using a single observation of 3C 286. Amplitude gains were determined with J1743-0350. At 4.8 GHz, we also calibrated the LP. Polarization leakage terms were determined using J1743-0350. Polarization position angles were calibrated with 3C 286. Polarization calibration failed for unknown reasons on 4 February 1989 and 24 April 1998 and these data were excluded from further analysis. The parallactic angle coverage at 8.4 GHz was too limited to permit accurate leakage term calibration. Amplitude gains and leakage terms were transferred from J1743-0350 to the other sources. These sources were then phase-only self-calibrated and imaged in Stokes I, Q, U and V at 4.8 GHz and Stokes I and V at 8.4 GHz. Fluxes were determined by fitting a beam-sized Gaussian at the image center. All self-calibration and imaging were performed using baselines longer than 100 $`k\lambda `$ at 4.8 GHz and 150 $`k\lambda `$ at 8.4 GHz in order to exclude contamination from extended structure.

The results are summarized Figures 1 to 9 and Table 2. Figures 1 and 3 give the measured fractional CP for each source at 4.8 and 8.4 GHz, respectively. The plotted errors are the results of thermal noise. We see clearly in these that there is an apparent variation common to all sources. This indicates that some component of the measured signal is in fact due to instrumental error or due to variable CP in the amplitude calibration source, J1743-0350. We can estimate the degree of this variation with the assumption that the sources W56, W109 and J1751-2523 are unpolarized. The source GC 441 is probably also unpolarized but the limits on fractional polarization in this source are too high because of its low flux density. We estimate the correction as the mean of the fractional CP for W56, W109 and J1751-2523. This correction is subtracted from the raw fractional CP of each source (Figures 2 and 4). The corrections are shown in Figure 5. The application of the correction flattens the light curve in fractional CP for Sgr A\*. It also reduces the scatter between results for Sgr A\* in 6 of 8 epochs at 4.8 GHz (Figure 5). We estimate the error with the rms scatter, which is on the order of 0.1%. This is consistent with the theoretical estimate of the error from our analysis in §4. The results of April 1998 published in Bower et al. (1999b) are more negative by $`0.1\%`$.

Figures 6 and 7 show the total intensity at 4.8 and 8.4 GHz, respectively. Figures 8 and 9 show Stokes Q and U at 4.8 GHz. Plotted errors are thermal noise. Sensitivity limits for Q and U are set at 0.1% by variations in the polarization leakage terms (Holdaway et al., 1992).

## 3 VLA Observations in 1999

Sgr A\* was observed by the VLA in the A array on 13 occasions in 1999. These observations were spaced roughly by one week covering the time range 23 June 1999 to 21 September 1999. The shortest and longest gaps between observations were 5 and 18 days, respectively. Each observation was approximately 4 hours in length.

On all but one day, observations were made at 1.4, 4.8, 8.4 and 15 GHz. On 30 June 1999, observations were not made at 15 GHz. All observations were made with 50 MHz bandwidth in left (LCP) and right (RCP) circular polarization.

Observing was divided into 5 blocks. Each block consisted of a 1.4 GHz segment and a 4.8, 8.4 and 15 GHz segment. Each segment began with a pointing scan on J1733-1304 at 1.4 GHz or 8.4 GHz. Separate pointing scans were necessary because of the uncertain alignment of the 1.4 GHz feed with the higher frequency feeds. The segments continued with observations of J1733-1304, Sgr A\*, J1751-2523 and J1744-3116 at each frequency. The higher frequency feeds are collimated with each other. J1751-2523 was not observed at 15 GHz due to its steep spectrum.

A priori amplitude calibration was performed with the source 3C 286 at all four frequencies. Self-calibration on J1733-1304 determined antenna-based amplitude gains. These gains were transferred to the other sources. LP calibration was performed with J1733-1304. Electric vector position angle calibration was performed using 3C 286. All program sources were phase-only self-calibrated and then imaged in Stokes I, Q, U and V. Fluxes were determined by fitting a beam-sized Gaussian at the image center. All self-calibration and imaging were performed using baselines longer than 100 $`k\lambda `$ at frequencies higher than 4.8 GHz and baselines longer than 30 $`k\lambda `$ at 1.4 GHz in order to exclude contamination from extended structure. Data from 10 August 1999 were corrupt and not used.

We tabulate the mean total intensity and fractional CP in Tables 1 and 2. We show in Figures 10 and 11 the results. Figure 10 shows Stokes V at all four frequencies for the three target sources, Sgr A\*, J1751-2523 and J1744-3116. Figure 11 shows the total intensity evolution for the three target sources. We do not plot LP results but they clearly show no LP for Sgr A\* at all four frequencies at a level of $`0.1\%`$ on all dates. LP measured for J1751-2523, J1744-3116 and J1733-1304 were slowly variable.

## 4 Error Analysis of VLA CP Measurements

The VLA is equipped with RCP and LCP receivers. Stokes V is measured as the difference between the correlated parallel hands in polarization, i.e. $`V=1/2(RRLL)`$. Errors in CP measurements with the VLA have seven origins: one, thermal noise; two, gain errors; three, beam squint; four, second-order leakage corrections; five, unknown calibrator polarization; six, background noise; and seven, radio frequency interference. Primarily, the first four of these are stochastic and the last three are systematic. Our stochastic noise model is parametrized by $`N`$, the number of 2.5 minute scans, and $`N_a`$, the number of antennas (Table 3). For the monitoring observations, $`N=5\pm 1`$. For the archive data, $`N12`$ at 4.8 GHz and $`N4`$ at 8.4 GHz. We discuss each of the noise sources individually and then compare the predictions of our model to the actual measurements. The agreement is good.

### 4.1 Thermal Noise

Receiver noise introduces an error that is inversely proportional to $`\sqrt{N_a(N_a1)BN}`$, where $`B=50`$ MHz is the observing bandwidth. For $`N=5`$ at 8.4 GHz, the error for the VLA is 40 $`\mu \mathrm{Jy}`$, or 0.005% for Sgr A\*. This is an insignificant source of error for our VLA results.

### 4.2 Gain Errors

Calibration can introduce a significant error in CP measurements. This can occur in two ways: one, the amplitude calibration source is too weak for accurate gain measurement; two, the amplitude gains determined for the calibrator are not the same as the gain on the target source. Any errors in our observations are due to the latter. The primary amplitude calibrators, J1743-0350 and J1733-1304, have flux densities on the order of 4 Jy, implying that the SNR of amplitude calibration is on the order of $`10^5`$ for a 2.5-minute scan.

We cannot easily separate the effects of errors from gain variation with sky angle and errors from gain variation with time. However, both errors will likely have a similar signature in RCP and LCP, reducing their effect significantly. Furthermore, the gain curves for VLA antennas are known to be flat at these frequencies, although to what degree is uncertain. Significant gain errors in angle would appear as a systematic shift in the flux densities of the target sources, which is not seen. We can estimate the combined effect of gain variations in time and angle by measuring the variation of the gain solutions. We find from our solutions that the antenna gain variations are typically 0.3%. The total error is inversely proportional to $`\sqrt{N_aN}`$, which is on the order of 0.03%.

### 4.3 Beam Squint

Beam squint is the result of offset RCP and LCP receivers in the VLA antennas (Sault et al., 1991). This introduces a false CP off the beam axis. Pointing errors can, therefore, lead to false CP. In Figure 12, we show the false CP induced due to beam squint for a single antenna and for the array, for pointing errors of $`10^{\prime \prime }`$ (uncorrected pointing) and $`2^{\prime \prime }`$ (best case of reference pointing). The error due to beam squint scales inversely with $`\sqrt{N_aN}`$, if pointing errors are uncorrelated. Rejection of antennas with large amplitude variations is an important step before imaging for reducing the effect of beam squint. A small number of antennas with known pointing problems were routinely rejected.

### 4.4 Second-Order Leakage Terms

Perfect receivers are sensitive to only a single polarization. Real receivers are sensitive to both LCP and RCP. A complete treatment of this polarization leakage leads to an identification of second-order terms that affect Stokes V (e.g., Roberts et al., 1994). These terms are proportional to $`|D|^2I`$ and $`DP`$, where $`I`$ is the total intensity, $`P`$ is the LP intensity and $`D`$ is the leakage fraction. $`|D|`$ is on the order of a few percent for the VLA. For the observed sources, $`P/I1\%`$. For Sgr A\*, $`P/I<0.1\%`$. The sum of these terms contributes approximately 0.03%.

### 4.5 Unknown Calibrator Polarization

This is a systematic error that is introduced in the calibration step. For self-calibration, we assume that the calibration source is unpolarized. The target source polarization will then be offset from its true value by the calibrator polarization. A strongly polarized calibrator will be detectable as a systematic offset in the target sources. This may have played a role in the correction factor applied to the archive data. We show below absolutely determined CP for our calibrator sources from ATCA. These are all on the order of 0.1% or less. This is probably the dominant source of systematic error in the VLA measurements.

### 4.6 Background Noise

The strong background in the Galactic Center can introduce false CP. This is a systematic error that is due to nonlinearity in the amplifier chains. These are known to be linear to better than 1%. This effect is greatest at low frequencies, where the background is brightest. At 4.8 GHz, the shift in system temperature between Sgr A\* and a calibrator source is from 35 to 25 K. This implies an error $`\stackrel{<}{}0.3\%`$ per polarization per antenna. Averaging, we find a total systematic offset of $`\stackrel{<}{}0.04\%`$. The sign of this offset is unknown.

### 4.7 Interference

Interference can also introduce errors in CP. Many satellite and terrestrial beacons radiate in only a single circular polarization. Many of our observations are not made fully in protected radio bands. Interference as a source of CP can be identified if the CP for several nearby sources is similar or if the CP is time-variable. Our consistent detections for Sgr A\* at multiple frequencies and non-detections for calibrator sources argue against interference errors.

### 4.8 Comparison with Measured Errors

We can estimate the actual error in CP by measuring variations in the CP observed for the calibrator sources. The best estimate of the noise in an individual measurement is the rms difference between two consecutive measurements. In an evenly sampled data set this is the structure function of CP evaluated on the shortest sampling time scale. We summarize in Table 4 these values for Sgr A\*, J1744-3116 and J1751-2523. The variations for J1751-2523 are the lowest and, therefore, the most indicative of the noise level at 1.4, 4.8 and 8.4 GHz. The measured values are within 50% of the estimated values (Table 3), confirming our error model. At 15 GHz, the measured variations for J1744-3116 are 0.14%, significantly higher than estimated. There is probably a substantial component from intrinsic variation in J1744-3116, which is apparent at the 0.10% level at the lower frequencies. This implies that the true error at 15 GHz is on the order of 0.10%.

## 5 ATCA Observations in 1999

We observed Sgr A\* with ATCA in the Spring and Fall of 1999. These observations are an important complement to the VLA observations because they have an entirely different set of systematic errors associated with them. Most importantly, the ATCA receives orthogonal linear polarizations. The CP is formed from the sum of correlated cross-hand visibilities rather than from the difference of correlated parallel-hand visibilities. The result is insensitive to amplitude calibration, beam squint, and calibrator polarization. Furthermore, the differences in antenna size and shape, array configuration and location provide a test against effects of background, second-order leakage term and interference. Additionally, separate calibrators and analysis techniques were used. The errors are dominated by thermal effects and leakage term measurements.

Standard polarization observation and reduction techniques are described in Sault et al. (1991). These methods have been shown to produce errors in CP $`0.01\%`$. All analysis was performed with the MIRIAD software Sault et al. (1995). We observed the source B1934-638 to calibrate amplitudes and to determine leakage terms. The compact source J1820-2528 was observed to determine the time-dependent phase solutions. These were applied to Sgr A\* and other calibrators. Observations were performed in the extended 6A and 6D configurations of the ATCA, which have a maximum baseline of 6 km. Only baselines longer than 30 $`k\lambda `$ were used in analysis of Sgr A\*. This smaller limit on the baseline length is necessary because of the more compact configuration of the ATCA.

Observations in the boreal Spring of 1999 were conducted on 11 May, 22 May and 02 June. These observations were each 12 h tracks on Sgr A\*. Sky frequencies were centered at 4.8 GHz and 8.6 GHz with 128 MHz of bandwidth in two polarizations at each frequency. Several calibrators were observed in addition to J1820-2528. Limited observations of J1751-2523, J1733-1304, J1743-038, W56, W109 and GC 441 were also made.

Observations in the boreal Fall of 1999 were made on 8 dates between 11 September and 04 October. Typical tracks were 6h in duration. The sky frequencies were 8.512 GHz and 8.640 GHz with 128 MHz bandwidth at each frequency. Again, J1820-2528 was used as the main phase calibrator. J1744-3116 and J1751-2523 were also routinely observed

We plot in Figures 10 and 11 the results of the ATCA observations for Sgr A\*, J1744-3116 and J1751-2523. Mean CP is listed in Table 2 for all sources. We also produced LP results which are consistent with the VLA results.

We have a few ATCA measurements of the CP in our VLA calibrators J1733-1304 and J1743-038. These low values confirm that the CP in these sources does not strongly bias the VLA results.

## 6 Timescales Greater than 1 Year

From the VLA archive data we see that the CP of Sgr A\* is roughly constant over 18 y. The mean is $`m_c=0.31\pm 0.13\%`$ at 4.8 GHz and $`m_c=0.36\pm 0.10\%`$ at 8.4 GHz. The errors are measures of scatter. Because of our reduction methods, we cannot make any statements about variability within an epoch. However, we can estimate whether there is variability between epochs if we estimate the error in $`m_c`$ for each epoch as the scatter in the measurements added in quadrature with a systematic error of 0.05%. Under the assumption of constant $`m_c`$, the reduced $`\chi ^2`$ is 1.6 at 4.8 GHz and 1.1 at 8.4 GHz. This is consistent with constant $`m_c`$ for the typical error of 0.1% on timescales longer than 1 y and less than 18 y. The mean spectral index is slightly inverted. We find for $`m_c\nu ^\alpha `$, $`\alpha =0.2\pm 0.7`$.

The constant fractional CP occurs simultaneously with a slow change in the total intensity. The total intensity decreases by a factor of $`2`$ in the 18 y period. We find no evidence for LP in Sgr A\* at 4.8 GHz above 0.1% over 18 y.

## 7 Timescales Between 1 Day and 1 Year

We can use the VLA and ATCA observations to constrain the degree of variability of CP in Sgr A\* on timescales between 3 and 100 days. We can also use the VLA data to characterize the spectral evolution of variability from 1.4 to 15 GHz on these timescales. There is good agreement between the results from the VLA and ATCA at 4.8 and 8.4 GHz.

First, we discuss the nature of total intensity variability in Sgr A\*. We can construct a structure function from the VLA and ATCA data. The structure function is defined as

$$D^2(\tau )=\frac{1}{T}_0^T𝑑t\left[S(t+\tau )S(t)\right]^2.$$
(1)
In order to compute this continuous function for our discretely and irregularly sampled data, we calculate the difference for each pair of points and average them in bins. We plot for both sources the structure function of total intensity (Figure The Spectrum and Variability of Circular Polarization in Sagittarius A\* from 1.4 to 15 GHz). Variability increases strongly with frequency. We also see that the structure function rises with $`\tau `$ on timescales of 3 to 100 days at all frequencies. At 4.8 GHz, the structure function continues to increases out to $`>1000`$ days. These results echo the earlier conclusions of Zhao et al. (1992), Backer (1994) and Falcke (1999).

From the CP data, we draw several conclusions. One, the mean fractional CP spectrum is inverted. Two, the degree of variability increases with frequency. Three, the time scale for variability is as short as a few days to a week. Four, the largest change in fractional CP was coincident with the largest total intensity variation.

We plot in Figure The Spectrum and Variability of Circular Polarization in Sagittarius A\* from 1.4 to 15 GHz the mean spectrum and degree of variability of fractional CP in Sgr A\*. The ATCA, VLA and VLA archive results are in good agreement at 4.8 and 8.4 GHz (Table 2). The mean spectrum in the Summer of 1999 is inverted with $`\alpha =0.5\pm 0.2`$. This figure demonstrates the increasing degree of variability with frequency. The degree of variability at 1.4 GHz is consistent with the noise, while the degree of variability at 15 GHz is three times greater than the degree of variability for J1744-3116 (Table 2).

We derive the structure function for the fractional CP in a similar manner to that of the total intensity. The structure functions for Sgr A\* and J1744-3116 are plotted in Figure The Spectrum and Variability of Circular Polarization in Sagittarius A\* from 1.4 to 15 GHz. These structure functions demonstrate a number of our conclusions. One, the increasing degree of CP variability with frequency is again apparent in the VLA data. Two, the degree of CP variability at 4.8 GHz is constant on timescales of 10 to 1000 days. The degrees of CP variability at 1.4, 8.4 and 15 GHz are constant on timescales of 10 to 100 days. Three, episodic CP variability has a substantial impact. The ATCA CP structure function at 8.4 GHz is substantially lower than that of the VLA at 8.4 GHz. Presumably, this is due to one or two major flares during the VLA monitoring and the absence of such events in the ATCA time periods. Four, the ATCA data indicate that there is a sharp decrease in the degree of CP variability on timescales less than 10 days. This may be true at all times or it may be a consequence of the lower overall variability during the ATCA epochs. The VLA data are not sensitive to timescales much less than 7 days. The combined VLA and ATCA structure function at 8.4 GHz (not shown) is consistent with the structure function converging to the 4.8 GHz value on long timescales. Finally, the structure functions for Sgr A\* are substantially greater than that of J1744-3116, emphasizing the reality of the variability. Results for J1751-2523 are qualitatively similar but several times weaker than those of J1744-3116. There is also good agreement between the ATCA and VLA results at 8.4 GHz for J1751-2523.

The VLA light curves indicate that 10 days is a characteristic timescale for the rise and decay of flares in total intensity and CP (Figures 10, 11 and The Spectrum and Variability of Circular Polarization in Sagittarius A\* from 1.4 to 15 GHz). Between day 210 and 217, there is a jump in $`m_c`$ from -0.1% to -1.1% at 15 GHz. This is followed by slow decline in $`m_c`$ over 20 d before another, smaller jump in $`m_c`$ appears. These events are not correlated with any change in $`m_c`$ for J1744-3116. The change between day 210 and 217 is coincident with a significant flare in the total intensity of Sgr A\*. The increase in $`m_c`$ between day 240 and 246 does not appear to have a correlated change in total intensity but it is of a smaller magnitude.

With the sampling available, there is little evidence for a time delay between flares at 15 GHz and 8.4 GHz. The flare on day 217 is not apparent at frequencies below 8.4 GHz. However, the flare at day 246 does appear at 4.8 GHz, although it appears to be of lesser magnitude at 15 GHz than the previous flare.

## 8 Timescales Less than 1 Day

We analyzed the 1999 VLA data on timescales of less than 1 day, as well. We computed the Stokes I and V terms for 30 second averages. The results clearly indicate episodic activity. On some days, there is no evidence for variability in either term. However, at the time of the peak flux density (day 217) we see a $`20\%`$ change in the total flux density over a period of two hours at 15 GHz (Figure The Spectrum and Variability of Circular Polarization in Sagittarius A\* from 1.4 to 15 GHz). Similar, but less prominent changes are apparent at 8.4 and 4.8 GHz. The flux density at these lower frequencies does not clearly saturate in the way that it does at 15 GHz. No change is apparent at 1.4 GHz. A factor of two change in Stokes V is apparent at 15 GHz over the same time range with $`\chi _\nu ^2=3.7`$ (Figure The Spectrum and Variability of Circular Polarization in Sagittarius A\* from 1.4 to 15 GHz). There is a delay between the onset of variability in Stokes I and Stokes V of at least 1 hour. No significant change is apparent at any other frequency in Stokes V due to a lack of sensitivity.

Short-term variability was convincingly seen ($`\mathrm{\Delta }I>100`$ mJy at 15 GHz) in only one other epoch. On day 204, the 15 GHz flux density increased by 150 mJy in two hours. The 8.4 GHz flux density also increased but by a lesser amount and no variability was detected at the lower frequency. There is no evidence for fluctuations in CP on this date.

We computed mean structure functions from the VLA data at a timescale of 1 hour for Sgr A\* and J1744-3116 in total intensity and fractional CP (Figures The Spectrum and Variability of Circular Polarization in Sagittarius A\* from 1.4 to 15 GHz and The Spectrum and Variability of Circular Polarization in Sagittarius A\* from 1.4 to 15 GHz). In total intensity, Sgr A\* is significantly more variable than J1744-3116. The degree of variability increases with frequency as it does on longer timescales. The structure function increases roughly as $`\tau ^{1/2}`$ from 1 hour to 100 days. That power law holds to $`3000`$ days at 4.8 GHz. The power law index is slightly larger than that found by Backer (1994). In fractional CP the structure function on short timescales is dominated by noise. The structure function for Sgr A\* and J1744-3116 are similar at 1 hour. However, the structure for Sgr A\* does increase between 1 hour and 10 days. The high fractional CP structure function at 1.4 GHz is due to the complex extended structure in the Galactic Center, which is not well-modeled on short intervals.

## 9 Discussion

We discussed in detail in Bower et al. (1999b) some of the difficulties in producing high CP and low LP at centimeter wavelengths with a synchrotron source. Interstellar propagation effects predict a very steep-spectrum behavior and are not very efficient (Macquart & Melrose, 2000), so that they cannot be invoked as a major contibutor to the overall CP of Sgr A\*. We conclude that the CP we measure is intrinsic to Sgr A\*. The responsible mechanism then is either circular polarization from gyrosynchrotron emission (Ramaty, 1969) or re-polarization/conversion of LP to CP (Pacholczyk, 1977) — both processes are most efficient in the presence of low-energy electrons with Lorentz factors of only a few. The introduction of a high density region of non-relativistic electrons, either in the accretion region for $`r<0.01`$ pc or in the source itself, can also lead to high depolarization factors needed to suppress the LP (Bower et al., 1999a; Quataert & Gruzinov, 2000a).

Moreover, since the amplitude of total and polarized intensity variability is a function of frequency (Melia et al., 2000) single component, optically thin models (e.g., Duschl & Lesch, 1994) where all frequencies are produced at the same location and scale up and down together, cannot account for these properties. Inhomogenous, multi-component models must be used. This fits with the fact that conversion can produce very high degrees of CP in inhomogeneous sources with a range of spectral indices, including inverted and flat spectra (Jones & Odell, 1977; Jones, 1988).

One can split the total intensity spectrum of Sgr A\* in two or three regimes. The millimeter/submillimeter has an excess of radiation compared to the cm-wave spectrum (Serabyn et al., 1997; Falcke et al., 1998). This bump is most likely associated with a very compact region near Sgr A\*. In addition, the cm-wave spectrum of Sgr A\* may also be separated in two regimes, above and below $`10`$ GHz, based on the fact that the variability behaviour seems to change (Falcke et al., 1998; Zhao et al., 2001).

We may be able to consider the CP spectrum as composed of two components, as well. The low frequency component may be determined from the spectrum on day 210 (Figure The Spectrum and Variability of Circular Polarization in Sagittarius A\* from 1.4 to 15 GHz). This component has a spectral peak near 4.8 GHz and an index $`\alpha 0.5`$ between 4.8 and 15 GHz. This component is apparently steady. The high frequency component is highly variable in the short term. The spectrum on day 217 indicates that the spectrum can be strongly inverted with $`\alpha 1.5`$. The apparent decay time for this component is on the order of 20 days. The decay time is less than the decay time in total intensity, which is $``$ 10 days.

If the higher frequency CP component is associated with the millimeter/submillimeter component, then the fractional CP of that component is much higher than the measured value. In a typical ADAF model, the millimeter/submillimeter component is modeled as thermal gyrosynchrotron emission. At 15 GHz, this thermal component contributes approximately 10% of the total intensity. This ratio holds roughly for the jet model (Falcke & Markoff, 2000) as well as for the low $`\dot{M}`$ model of (Quataert & Gruzinov, 2000a). Thus, the maximum CP at 15 GHz corresponds to $`10\%`$ of the total intensity of the millimeter/submillimeter component.

The coincidence of the brightest CP flare with the brightest total intensity flare suggests that the processes driving these phenomena are fundamentally linked. This flare occurred in phase with the 106 day period in total intensity (Zhao et al., 2001), suggesting that the CP may also be periodic. Since our CP data are only weakly sensitive to timescales of 100 days, we cannot confirm the periodicity in CP. However, sharper definition of the period phase and future CP observations will test this relationship more rigorously. Zhao et al. (2001) found that the periodic variability of Sgr A\* at 15 GHz has an amplitude on the order of 30% of the total intensity. If the CP at 15 GHz is solely associated with this component, then it is $`4\%`$ polarized at its maximum.

An extrapolation of the high frequency CP spectrum at its peak flare state indicates that $`m_c`$ may exceed 10% at 100 GHz. A single observation at 112 GHz found $`m_c<1.8\%`$, indicating that if it does reach 10%, it does so episodically (Bower et al., 2001).

The long-term stability of $`m_c`$ at 4.8 GHz combined with a factor-of-two change in total intensity suggests a linear relationship between CP and total intensity. A propagation effect such as birefringent scattering (Bower et al., 1999b; Macquart & Melrose, 2000) could produce this relationship although it has difficulty accounting for the relatively flat spectrum of the CP. Simple synchrotron emission will produce this effect, too. This requires uniformity in the magnetic pole and accretion conditions over 20 y. Timescales for turbulence in the wind-driven accretion region are on this order of magnitude (Coker et al., 1999). This is a much more interesting limit on the stability of the handedness of CP than the 20 y limit found for luminous AGN, since intrinsic timescales typically scale with the mass of the black hole (Homan et al., 2001). On the other hand, the short timescale variations in GRS 1915+105 probe a very different accretion regime (Fender et al., 2001).

The power law index of the total intensity structure function also emphasizes the differences between Sgr A\* and high luminosity AGN. Hughes et al. (1992) found no sources with a power law index less than 0.7 on timescales of months to $`10`$ years. These differences are not only the result of mass differences (if timescales scale linearly with mass). Our structure function timescales of 1 hour to 100 days would correspond to 1 month to 300 years. Thus, we conclude that variability on short timescales is qualitatively different from that of high luminosity AGN.

Variability in total intensity and in circular polarization appears to occur on a continuum of timescales from 1 hour to $`>`$ 1000 days. The 1-hour timescale is comparable to the timescale for a $`50`$ times flare observed at X-ray wavelengths (Baganoff et al., 2001). The substantially lower amplitude of the radio variability probably implies an inverse-Compton origin for the X-ray photons (Markoff et al., 2001).

We can estimate an upper limit to the size of Sgr A\* at 15 GHz given $`20\%`$ variability over 2 hours. An upper limit to the size of the outburst is then $`c\times 2\mathrm{h}/0.270`$ AU, which is 8 mas at the Galactic Center. This is larger than the 15 GHz scattering size of Sgr A\* (5.4 mas). The observed source size will be 10 mas. If the source does grow to this upper limit size, then it could be readily detected with VLBI at 15 GHz and higher frequencies even if the intrinsic size is proportional to the inverse frequency. There have been no convincing VLBI observations to indicate a deviation from the scattering size at any frequency, however. One could also expect a change in in the centroid of emission that is comparable to the change in the source size. Astrometric experiments in the Galactic Center have achieved sub-mas accuracy (Reid et al., 1999).

The flux density of Sgr A\* appears to decline on a timescale of 10 days. Synchrotron cooling is sufficient only for an ADAF model, where the cooling time at 15 GHz is 25 days. The low density model of Quataert & Gruzinov (2000a) and the jet model (Falcke & Markoff, 2000) predict cooling times of $`200`$ days. Alfven velocities for the ADAF and Quataert & Gruzinov (2000a) model are on the order of $`0.1cR^{0.25}`$, where $`R`$ is the radius in units of the gravitational radius. The crossing time for a source 1 light-hour across would be about 1 day. For a jet model, the Alfven velocity is $`0.5cR^{1/7}`$. The crossing time would be about 1 hour, implying that continuous energization of the emitting region is necessary. This is not unreasonable given the substantial short-term variability seen at the peak of the flare.

We note also that the effects of scattering do not operate on a 10-d timescale. For a relative velocity $`v=100\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ between Earth and the scattering medium, we can calculate the diffractive and refractive timescales at 15 GHz. The diffractive timescale is $`3\mathrm{s}`$. The refractive timescale is $`2\mathrm{y}`$.

The similar LP and CP properties of M81\* and Sgr A\* suggest that there may be a class of low luminosity AGN with these polarization properties (Brunthaler et al., 2001). In addition to an absence of LP and the presence of CP (with a potentially inverted spectrum), the sources both show unusual inverted total intensity spectra. Such total intensity spectra are the result of inhomogeneous electron energy and magnetic field distributions.

## 10 Conclusions

We have presented here VLA and ATCA observations of CP and LP in Sgr A\* that span timescales of 1 hour to 20 y at frequencies between 1.4 and 15 GHz. CP is clearly detected at all frequencies. In the short-term, it is variable with an increasing degree of variability with frequency. The average spectrum is inverted. In the long-term, the 4.8 GHz CP is remarkably stable despite changes in total intensity. LP is not detected at any frequency.

We suggest that the CP has two separate components in frequency. A low frequency component peaks around 5 GHz and then decreases with $`\alpha 0.5`$. A high frequency component is strongly variable. At maximum, the spectrum is inverted at 15 GHz with $`\alpha 1.5`$ and $`m_c1\%`$. At minimum, the high frequency component disappears at the 0.1% level. The coincidence of the maximum in CP with a total intensity maximum suggests that these flaring events are related. The two component nature of the total intensity spectrum suggests that the higher frequency component may be $`10\%`$ circularly polarized at the flare peak.

Future millimeter wavelength observations of CP in Sgr A\* can test this hypothesis. These observations should be timed to test the relationship between flaring in total intensity and in CP.

Finally, we note that these observations demonstrate the importance of CP for diagnosing the physics of compact radio sources. CP observations can constrain models for accretion, outflow and interstellar wave propagation.

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. The Australia Telescope Compact Array is part of the Australia Telescope which is funded by the Commonwealth of Australia for operation as a National Facility managed by CSIRO.

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# A neutral hydrogen survey of polar ring galaxies

## 1 Introduction

A polar-ring galaxy (hereafter referred to as PRG) consists of a flattened galaxy with an outer ring of gas, dust, and stars rotating in a plane approximately perpendicular to the central disc. Kinematically confirmed PRGs with a disc-dominated central galaxy tend to have wide, extended polar rings, while bulge-dominated objects show only short, narrow rings (Whitmore 1991; Reshetnikov & Sotnikova 1997). The PRGs probably represent merger products, and their study may give us valuable clues about the process and frequency of merging; their visible environment appears to be similar to that of normal galaxies (Brocca et al. 1997), which may support long formation and evolution times of the rings. In addition, measurement of rotation in the two nearly perpendicular planes of the ring and galaxy provide one of the few available probes of the three-dimensional shape of galactic gravitational potentials, and hence the shape of dark and luminous matter distributions.

The catalogue of Whitmore et al. (1990, hereafter PRC) provides us with over a hundred known polar-ring galaxies and PRG candidates, as well as a list of possibly related systems, divided into the four main categories listed below. The updated number of objects per category listed here is different from that tabulated originally in the PRC, as since its publication the following 4 category B and 4 category C objects have been promoted to category A: B-03 (=IC 1689), B-17 (=UGC 9562), B-19 (=AM 2020-504), B-21 (=ESO603-G21), C-13 (=NGC 660), C-24 (=UGC 4261), C-27 (=UGC 4385) and C-45 (=NGC 5128); see references in Paper III. All of these will be considered members of the A category in our studies – note that of these objects only B-19 was observed in our present Parkes survey.

1. A: Kinematically-determined Polar-Ring Galaxies (17 objects)
2. B: Good Candidates for Polar-Ring Galaxies (20 objects)
3. C: Possible Candidates for Polar-Ring Galaxies (69 objects)
4. D: Systems Possibly Related to Polar-Ring Galaxies (51 objects)

The scientific goals of our 21-cm H i line surveys of PRGs are to:

1. Establish redshifts for the objects with previously unknown redshift.
2. Measure the amount of neutral hydrogen in these systems and examine its correlations with other observational parameters.
3. Identify objects for subsequent synthesis mapping; H i maps together with optical line studies will show which of the new morphological candidates are true polar-ring galaxies, and high-resolution maps will allow dynamical modelling.

Detailed observations of PRGs in the 21-cm H i line with large radio synthesis telescopes like the Australia Telescope, VLA or Westerbork, are crucial for an understanding of the dynamical state of these systems. Such mapping measures the distribution and the velocity field of gas in the rings, both of which are required for accurate determination of the shape of the dark halo. Together with optical absorption-line studies of the central galaxy, rotation in the ring gas determines whether morphological candidates are true polar rings. Further, knowledge of the ring mass is necessary to assess the stability of the rings against differential precession, an important consideration in estimating the time since its formation.

After having observed a sample of 47 PRC objects in the 21-cm H i line with the 140-foot (43-m) Green Bank telescope (Paper I), 44 PRC objects with the 100-m Effelsberg telescope (Huchtmeier 1996, Paper II) and 50 PRC objects with the 100-m class Nançay telescope (van Driel et al. 2000, Paper III), we now present observations of 33 PRC objects in the southern hemisphere with the 64-m Parkes telescope. Provisional results of a pilot PRG H i survey made at Parkes in 1992 by a member of our team, O.-G. Richter (private communication), were refered to in Paper III.

In Section 2 of the present paper the sample of PRGs observed in H i at Parkes is presented. The observations are described in Section 3, a a brief discussion of the results is given in Section 4 and the conclusions are summarized in Section 5.. An analysis of these, and all other available H i data on PRGs and related objects will be presented in paper V in these series (van Driel et al., in preparation).

## 2 The Parkes polar-ring galaxy sample

Listed in Table 1 are basic data for all 33 galaxies observed for our PRG H i survey at Parkes. These data, compiled from many sources, by no means form a homogeneous set. The sources used, in order of preference, are the online Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database (LEDA) \[http://leda.univ-lyon1.fr\], the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) \[http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu\] and the PRC. Generally, the data listed are mean, corrected values from the LEDA database, while the data in parentheses are uncorrected published values compiled in NED. Note that all radial velocities listed in this paper are heliocentric and calculated according to the conventional optical definition ($`V`$=c($`\lambda `$$`\lambda _0`$)/$`\lambda _0`$). The total blue magnitudes, $`B_T`$ are sometimes indicative only, as they cannot be assumed to be on the same photometric scale, nor do all represent the true total apparent blue magnitude as defined in, e.g., the RC3; sometimes a magnitude measured within a single aperture is used instead. Neither do the isophotal diameters, $`D_{25}`$, represent a homogeneous set of measurements, as they sometimes refer to the size of the faint polar ring, and sometimes to the size of the brighter equatorial disc.

Of the 33 PRC objects observed at Parkes, 28 were selected using the following criteria: (1) South of declination –39 (the limit of our Nançay survey; our Green Bank survey reached –45), (2) from PRC Categories A, B or C , and (3) no published H i detection and not detected in the Parkes HIPASS Public Data Release spectra \[http://www.atnf.csiro.au/research/multibeam/release/\]. Of these 28, 14 have optical redshifts, 5 of which (of B-25, B-26, B-27, C-65 and C-72) are outside the range of the HIPASS spectra, –1281 to 12,741 km s-1.

Besides the 28 objects thus selected, the telescope time allocation also permitted us to observe the following 6 objects: three (PRC A-05 = NGC 4650A, C-11 = NGC 625 and C-42 = NGC 4672) that were detected in HIPASS and previously reported as detected in the literature, two (C-15 = ESO 199-IG12 and C-55 = ESO 143-G37) that were detected in HIPAS, and one (C-14 = NGC 979) whose previously reported detection seems due to radio interference. For details on the available H i data for all objects we refer to Table 2 and Section 4.1.

## 3 Observations

The observations with the Parkes 64-m telescope were made in August 2001, using about 75 hours of telescope time. The data were obtained with the 13-element 21-cm Multibeam receiver (Staveley-Smith et al. 1996), of which the inner 7 elements only were consecutively pointed towards the target galaxy. The FWHM of the telescope in the observing mode used at 21-cm wavelength is $`14^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.4}`$. The autocorrelator was divided into two pairs of cross-polarized receiver banks, each with 2048 channels and a 64 MHz bandpass, giving a radial velocity coverage of about 12,500 km s-1 and a channel separation of 6.6 km s-1. For objects with known redshifts, the centre frequencies of the two banks were generally tuned to an H i velocity of 5,500 km s-1 or 15,000 km s-1, depending on the redshift. For the 3 objects (PRC B-18, C-22 and C-48) with redshifts in the overlapping region, 9,000 to 12,000 km s-1, a centre velocity of 10,000 km s-1was used. For objects of unknown redshift, line searches were first made in the -1000 to 12,000 km s-1 range and, if not detected, in the 8,500-21,500 km s-1 range; the two rms. noise levels listed in Table 1 for undetected objects refer to these two velocity search ranges. The observing time was distributed as equally as possible between the different line searches, about 1.25 hours per velocity range per object, hence the similarity in rms noise levels.

We calibrated, averaged and made a first baseline subtraction in our spectra using the standard multibeam receiver spectral line data reduction package available at the Parkes site, GRIDZILLA. The data were then reformatted, using a routine written by L.S. Staveley-Smith, for further reduction with the CLASS spectral line data reduction package. With CLASS we made a final, third-order polynomial baseline subtraction, and determined the global H i line parameters and rms. noise level in the spectra, after degrading the velocity resolution to 13.2 km s-1 for most spectra (see Sect. 4).

## 4 Results

The reduced Parkes 21-cm spectra are shown in Figure 1 for all objects towards which line emission was detected, clearly or tentatively. For discussion of possible confusion with other galaxies in the beam, see Section 4.1 – we assumed that the emission line detected toward PRC C-14 is due to a nearby galaxy. Basic optical and H i line parameters of all observed objects are listed in Table 1. For the optical data we preferentially used the mean parameters from the LEDA database, or literature values from NED if these were not available (for the optical redshift of PRC B-18, see Section 4.1).

Columns in Table 1 are as follows: (1) galaxy number in the PRC, (2) identifications in other catalogues, (3 & 4) optical centre position, which was used as pointing position for the H i observations, (5) optical systemic velocity and its estimated uncertainty, if available, (6) the total blue magnitude, uncorrected for Galactic or internal extinction, (7) blue major axis diameter at the 25 mag arcsec-2 isophotal level, (8) centre velocity of the H i profile and its estimated uncertainty (see below), (9) width of the H i profile measured at the 50% level of the peak flux density, (10) idem, at the 20% level, (11) integrated H i line flux or an estimated 3$`\sigma `$ upper limit (see below), depending on the blue luminosity of the objects, if known (see text), (12) rms noise level of the spectrum; if two values are listed for an object, the first refers to the $``$-1000 to 12,000 km s-1 velocity range and the second to the $``$8,500 to 21,500 km s-1 range, (13) distance, derived preferably using heliocentric systemic H i line velocities, or otherwise optical velocities, corrected to the Local Standard of Rest following the prescription of Sandage & Tammann (1981, RSA):

$$V_{LSR}=V_{hel}79coslcosb+296sinlcosb36sinb[kms^1]$$
(1)
and assuming a Hubble constant H0=75  km s-1 Mpc-1, (14) blue luminosity, (15) H i mass, derived straight from the measured integrated H i line fluxes without any correction factors, such as for beam filling:

$$M_{HI}=\mathrm{2.356\hspace{0.17em}10}^5D^2I_{HI}[M_{}]$$
(2)
(16) ratio of the total H i mass and blue luminosity.

The instrumental velocity resolution of the reduced data is 13.2 km s-1, except for the narrow profile of C-11 (6.6 km s-1) and for the faint detection seen towards C-14 (26.4 km s-1). We estimated the uncertainties, $`\sigma _{V_{HI}}`$, in the central H i velocities, $`V_{HI}`$, following Fouqué et al. (1990):

$$\sigma _{V_{HI}}=4R^{0.5}P_W^{0.5}X^1[km/s]$$
(3)
where R is the velocity resolution in km s-1, $`P_W`$=($`W_{20}`$$`W_{50}`$)/2 in km s-1 and X is the signal-to-noise ratio of a spectrum, which we defined as the ratio of the peak flux density and the rms noise. According to Fouqué et al., the uncertainty in the linewidths is 2$`\sigma _{V_{HI}}`$ for $`W_{50}`$ and 3$`\sigma _{V_{HI}}`$ for $`W_{20}`$.

As the H i linewidths of detected PRC objects show an increase with luminosity (van Driel et al., in prep.), though with large scatter, the estimated upper limits to the integrated H i line flux, $`I_{HI}`$, are 3 $`\sigma `$ values for flat-topped profiles with an estimated $`W_{20}`$ width depending on the blue luminosity of the galaxies, consistent with the upper limits listed in Paper III. For the 9 objects of unknown redshift, including C-14, a $`W_{20}`$ linewidth of 300 km s-1, was assumed, a typical value for the entire sample. For the objects not detected in the –1000 to 21,500 km s-1 range, the average rms noise level over this entire range was used to estimate the upper limit. The resulting $`M_{HI}`$ and $`M_{HI}/L_B`$ upper limits for the objects without known redshift are obviously only significant if their redshift in fact lies within the velocity range searched.

### 4.1 Notes on individual objects

The data on possible companions that may confuse the Parkes spectra were compiled using the online NED and LEDA databases, searching in an area of 22 diameter (i.e., 1.5 times the telescope’s FWHM) centered on the pointing positions of the telescope (see Table 1). The published H i data on our target PRC objects are summarized and compared to our present Parkes results in Table 2.

Kinematically-determined polar-ring galaxies

A-05 (= NGC 4650A): This is probably the best-studied of all polar ring galaxies, see, e.g., Arnaboldi et al. (1997). Detected in the present survey and in 4 others, including two interferometric mappings (see Table 2). The VLA and Australia Telescope H i imaging show that our single-dish spectrum is not confused by the two other relatively bright, but early-type galaxies in the Parkes beam, NGC 4650 ($`V_{opt}`$=2859 km s-1) and NGC 4650B ($`V_{opt}`$=2515 km s-1). These early-type galaxies are expected to be gas-poor

B-19 (= AM 2020-504): This is the best-studied case of a polar ring around an elliptical galaxy (Arnaboldi et al. 1993a); the other case in our sample is PRC C-42, see below. The polar ring shows a gentle warp and is probably stable, giving time to stars to form and grow old. It has a UV spectrum typical of a starburst galaxy (Arnaboldi et al. 1993b). The object was detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=5006$`\pm `$43 km s-1. Our profile does not seem to be confused by another object in the beam. The H i line velocity corresponds well to the mean optical value of the PRC object, 4989$`\pm `$69 km s-1 (LEDA).

Just outside the telescope’s FWHM radius, two galaxies lie at about 8 distance from the PRC target: the quite face-on (b/a=0.8) 14.0 mag Sc type spiral ESO 234-G016 at $`V_{opt}`$=5215$`\pm `$82 km s-1 and the 14.6 mag Sbc type spiral ESO 234-G017, of unknown redshift. Given the difference in optical velocities (225 km s-1) and the range of velocities in our H i profile, it seems unlikely that the Parkes profile was confused by ESO 234-G016.

Good candidates

B-02 (= PGC 419347): This object does not have a known optical redshift. We detected an H i profile towards it, at $`V_{HI}`$=5361$`\pm `$27 km s-1. At $`7^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.3}`$ distance, around the telescope’s FWHM radius, lies 15.5 mag Sc? type spiral ESO 151-G37, with $`V_{opt}`$=5452$`\pm `$60 km s-1 (Mathewson & Ford 1996), 91 km s-1 higher than the H i value. If the detection were in fact entirely due to ESO 151-G37, its integrated H i line flux would be $``$3.4 Jy km s-1, at $``$50% beam efficiency, implying an $`M_{HI}/L_B`$ ratio of 0.8 $`M_{}`$/$`L_{,B}`$. Such a ratio is about 2.5 times the average for Sc spirals (Roberts & Haynes 1994) and therefore highly unlikely. If, on the other hand, all H i were to be due to B-02 alone, its $`M_{HI}/L_B`$ ratio would be 1.4 $`M_{}`$/$`L_{,B}`$, a quite common value for an object from PRC Category B. A long-slit H$`\alpha `$ spectrum of ESO 151-G37 (Mathewson & Ford 1996) shows a maximum rotational velocity, uncorrected for inclination, of 107 km s-1, much larger than half the $`W_{50}`$ width of our H i spectrum, 45 km s-1. In conclusion, it is not very likely that our H i detection may be confused by nearby ESO 151-G37.

B-06 (= AM 0442-622): detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=7165 km s-1. The only other catalogued galaxy within the telescope’s FWHM, the low surface brightness object LSBG F118-043, of unknown redshift and $`B_T`$ 18.7 mag. Though low surface brightness galaxies can be quite gas-rich, it is $``$2.4 mag fainter than B-06 in the blue, and hence not a likely candidate for confusion with our H i profile. The $`M_{HI}/L_B`$ ratio of 1.4 $`M_{}`$/$`L_{,B}`$ derived for B-06 assuming that all detected gas resides in it is a quite common value among the PRC Category B objects.

B-18 (= AM 1934-563): detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=11282$`\pm `$24 km s-1, with a $`W_{50}`$ width of 193 km s-1. Its nuclear H$`\alpha `$ and $`[`$Nii$`]`$ emission lines (Reshetnikov et al. 2001) indicate fast rotation of the gas in the innermost regions, reaching a projected rotational velocity of $``$230 km s-1 at $``$2′′ from the nucleus, as well as signs of Sy2 or LINER activity. Its mean optical systemic velocity listed in LEDA, 11703$`\pm `$153 km s-1, did not take into account the latter two of the four following published redshifts: 11556$`\pm `$48 km s-1 (Fisher et al. 1995), 11842$`\pm `$120 km s-1 (Allen et al. 1991), 11850$`\pm `$200 km s-1 (Fairall & Jones 1991) and 11613$`\pm `$54 km s-1 (Reshetnikov et al. 2001). From these three values, we derive a weighted mean value of $`V_{opt}`$=11649$`\pm `$60 km s-1, 367 km s-1 ($``$6$`\sigma _{V_{opt}}`$) lower than the H i value, a significantly large difference. Three galaxies of similar size and magnitude can be seen in Figure 1, which appear to form a triplet. Besides the PRC object, these are PGC 399718 ($`B_T`$=15.7 and $`D_{25}`$=$`0^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.7}`$) and PGC 400092 ($`B_T`$=16.2 and $`D_{25}`$=$`0^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.5}`$), both of unknown redshift. The $`M_{HI}/L_B`$ ratio of 1.5 $`M_{}`$/$`L_{,B}`$ we would derive for B-18 if all H i were concentrated in it is quite common for a PRC Category B object, however. In conclusion, we cannot exclude that the H i profile may be confused with, or due to, another member of the triplet.

B-27 (= ESO 293-IG17): not detected in the present survey. Our Green Bank H i survey (Paper I) did not cover the optical redshift of the object (15,300 km s-1), which was published afterwards.

Possible PRG candidates

C-07 (= ESO 113-IG4): an H i line was detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=3587$`\pm `$29 km s-1. The optical systemic velocity, 3130 km s-1 (from Keel 1985), is 477 km s-1 lower than the H i value. Though its uncertainty is listed as 35 km s-1 in LEDA, a value of 200 km s-1 was quoted in Keel’s paper - we adopted the latter uncertainty. Given the relatively large uncertainties involved, the H i and optical velocities may be consistent. No candidates for confusion with our H i spectrum were found within the search area.

C-08 (= ESO 243-IG19): detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=6438$`\pm `$40 km s-1. No optical redshift is known of this object. No candidates for confusion with our H i spectrum were found within the search area.

C-11 (= NGC 625): detected in the present survey and in 6 others (see Table 2), with good agreement between the global H i line parameters measured at different telescopes and in different studies. The galaxy was mapped in H i at the VLA (Côté et al. 2000), where a peculiar gas distribution and kinematics was found. The H i is rotating around the optical major axis, rather than the minor axis, though its distribution is elongated along the major axis - contrary to the situation in polar rings. Multiple velocity peaks occur at many places in the VLA data. Consequently no H i rotation curve could be derived. The ionized gas in the galaxy also follows complex orbits (Marlowe et al. 1997), which do not match the H i kinematics, however. Its is a rather red system (B-R) = 0.89), with a smooth morphology reminiscent of lenticular galaxies, and strong emission lines, like a blue compact dwarf (Skillman et al. 2002) According to Côté et al., the seriously disturbed nature of NGC 625 is due to a major merger event rather than a case of bad digestion of an accreted H i cloud.

C-14 (= NGC 979): No optical velocity is known of this object, and it does not appear to have been detected in H i. A detection with the Green Bank 43-m telescope was reported in Paper I, with a centre velocity of 4775 km s-1, an exceptionally large width of $`W_{20}`$=678 km s-1 and a peak flux density of $``$30 mJy, while at Parkes no line signal was detected by Hawarden et al. (1981), with a published upper limit to the integrated H i line flux of 10.4 Jy km s-1. As no trace of the signal seen at Green Bank can be found in our Parkes data, which have an rms noise level of 3.3 mJy, it must have been due to interference. Our Parkes spectrum shows a marginal H i detection at $`V_{HI}`$=5240 km s-1, which is likely to be associated with ESO 246 G-22, a 14.4 mag SBc spiral with an optical redshift of 5127$`\pm `$60 km s-1(LEDA), $`9^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.1}`$ from the PRC object. We therefore consider PRC C-14 to be undetected in our survey, and the upper limit to its $`M_{HI}/L_B`$ ratio of 0.22 $`M_{}`$/$`L_{,B}`$ listed in Table 1 was estimated using a 300 km s-1 linewidth, like for all objects of unknown redshift.

C-15 (= ESO199-12): A strong H i line was detected in the present survey, with $`V_{HI}`$=6873$`\pm `$18 km s-1 and $`W_{50}`$=409 km s-1. There appears to be a faint detection in the Parkes HIPASS survey data, at $``$7000 km s-1, with a peak flux density of about 30 mJy, like in our spectrum. The large uncertainty in the optical velocity of the object, as listed in LEDA, 6727$`\pm `$358 km s-1, is due to one discrepant measurement: 6296$`\pm `$300 km s-1 (Kirhakos & Steiner 1990), compared to the 7033$`\pm `$35 and 7026$`\pm `$75: km s-1 from, respectively, Da Costa et al. (1991) and Chincarini et al. (1984). Therefore, the optical redshift is rather 7030$`\pm `$60 km s-1, 157 km s-1 (i.e., 2.5$`\sigma _{V_{opt}}`$) higher than the H i value. The only other galaxy of significant size ($`D_{25}`$=$`1^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.2}`$) within the telescope’s FWHM is IC 1877, an edge-on Sb:pec spiral of unknown redshift and $`B_T`$16.2 mag. It does not seem likely that this 1.4 mag fainter object would cause serious confusion in the H i spectrum of the target object. The $`M_{HI}/L_B`$ ratio of 1.25 $`M_{}`$/$`L_{,B}`$ we would derive if all H i was concentrated in the PRC object is not uncommon for PRC category-C objects.

C-16 (= AM 0320-495): our Parkes spectrum only shows an off-beam detection of an unidentified galaxy, with $`V_{HI}`$=1023 km s-1, $`W_{50}`$=207 km s-1 and $`I_{HI}`$=-2.1 Jy km s-1. It appears to be a sidelobe-detection of $`B_T`$ 13.6 mag, Scd spiral IC 1914, at $`27^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.3}`$ distance from the target object. Observations of IC 1914 at Parkes by Longmore et al. (1982) show $`V_{HI}`$=1037 km s-1, $`W_{50}`$=206 km s-1 and $`I_{HI}`$=53.0 Jy km s-1.

C-20 (= ESO 201-IG26): detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=3745$`\pm `$6 km s-1, corresponding well with the optical systemic velocity of 3802$`\pm `$47 (LEDA). Also in, the less sensitive, Parkes HIPASS data a tentative detection is seen at the same velocity. No candidates for confusion with our H i spectrum were found within the search area: at $`2^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.4}`$ distance, low surface brightness object LSBG F202-064, of unknown redshift and $`B_T`$ 17.7 mag, does not seem a likely candidate: though low surface brightness galaxies can be quite gas-rich, it is $``$2.2 mag fainter than C-20. The $`M_{HI}/L_B`$ ratio of 0.95 $`M_{}`$/$`L_{,B}`$ derived for C-20 assuming that all detected gas resides in it is a quite common value for a PRC Category C objects.

C-22 (= ESO 202-G1): in our present survey no H i line is seen at the optical velocity, 10052$`\pm `$50 km s-1 (LEDA; based on 2 published values), while a tentative line signal is seen at $``$9780$`\pm `$30 km s-1, with $`W_{50}`$=220 km s-1 and $`I_{HI}`$=1.4 Jy km s-1. Though no candidates for confusion with our H i spectrum were found within the search area, we cannot be certain that the object was detected, seen the weakness of the tentative line detections and the difference of 272 km s-1 (i.e., 5.5$`\sigma _{V_{opt}}`$) between the well-established optical redshift and our H i value. We have therefore marked the spectral line as ‘marginal’ in Table 2, and we did not derive an H i mass from it.

C-42 (= NGC 4672): it has an elliptical stellar core rotating perpendicularly to the disk and appears to be the end result of the accretion of material in polar orbits in a disk around a pre-existing oblate spheroid, like in the prototype PRC B-19 (Sarzi et al. 2000). The object was detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=3202$`\pm `$6 km s-1, as well as previously at Parkes and at Green Bank (see Table 2) at similar velocities, which are all consistent with the mean optical systemic value of 3346$`\pm `$63 km s-1 (LEDA). The integrated line flux of 7.7 Jy km s-1 measured at Green Bank (Paper I) is significantly lower than the 12.7-15.6 Jy km s-1 found at Parkes (Aaronson et al. 1989, and the present paper). No candidates for confusion with our H i spectrum were found within the search area: though NGC 4677, a 13.9 mag object at $`10^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.7}`$ distance, has a velocity of 3135$`\pm `$40 km s-1 (LEDA), similar to that of the PRC object, it is well outside the telescope’s FWHM and classified as SB0 and therefore expected to be gas-poor.

C-48 (= ESO 326-IG6): not detected in the present survey, nor in our Green Bank survey (Paper I), with an almost two times higher rms noise level of 9.5 mJy.

C-52 (= ESO 232-G4): detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=4951$`\pm `$20 km s-1. Its published optical systemic velocities are 5083$`\pm `$57 km s-1 (Reshetnikov et al. 2001), based on faint lines, and 5600:$`\pm `$200 km s-1 (Fairall 1984), a rather uncertain value. Seen the uncertainties, these values may be consistent with the H i value. Its nuclear spectrum was tentatively classified as LINER: by Reshetnikov et al. (2001). No candidates for confusion with our H i spectrum were found within the search area.

C-53 (= IC 4982): detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=6180$`\pm `$16 km s-1. No object is visible on the DSS at the position given in the PRC, 20h15m$`22^s.4`$, -711113′′ (B1950.0); the galaxy identified as C-53 on Figure 2 in the PRC is actually IC 4982, $`1^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.9}`$ NW of the C-53 position. We therefore used the optical position of IC 4982 as our pointing centre at Parkes and listed its optical characteristics in Table 1. No candidates for confusion with our H i spectrum were found within the search area: IC 4985, $`2^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.4}`$ NE of the target object is a 14.8 mag S0 galaxy at a quite different redshift of $`V_{opt}`$=4442 km s-1(LEDA), and expected to be gas-poor.

C-55 (= ESO 143-G37): detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=3265$`\pm `$9 km s-1. The HIPASS data show an H i detection similar to ours. No candidates for confusion with our H i spectrum were found within the search area: no data are available for the small galaxy pair AM2033-620 at $`6^{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}.2}`$ from the target object.

C-56 (= PGC 128148): detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=6873$`\pm `$18 km s-1. No candidates for confusion with our H i spectrum were found within the search area.

C-67 (= ESO 75-G55): detected in the present survey, at $`V_{HI}`$=6873$`\pm `$18 km s-1. No candidates for confusion with our H i spectrum were found within the search area.

## 5 Conclusions

Of the 18 PRC objects towards which H i line emission was noted, confusion with one or more galaxies in the telescope beam is suspected, though with varying degrees of probability, in three cases (PRC B-02, B-18 and C-14), while one weak H i line (of PRC C-22) is regarded as a tentative detection only, seen the significant difference between the H i and optical velocities. A previously reported detection of PRC C-14, apparently caused by radio interference, was not reconfirmed. Comparing with literature values as well as HIPASS data, the following eight objects were detected for the first time in H i: PRC B-06, B-19, C-07, C-08, C-53, C-55, C-56 and C-67. Of the 33 observed galaxies 22 now have known radial velocities, five of which were determined here for the following objects with previously unknown redshifts: PRC B-06, C-08, C-53, C-56 and C-67.

###### Acknowledgements.

We are grateful to the ATNF staff at the Parkes observatory and in Epping for their assistance with the observations and data reduction. The Parkes Telescope is part of the Australia Telescope, which is funded by the Commonwealth of Australia for operation as a national facility managed by CSIRO. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED), which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database (LEDA). WvD acknowledges the financial support of the ASTE of INSU for the observations at Parkes.