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# A Low Upper Limit to the Lyman Continuum Emission of two galaxies at 𝑧≃3Based on observations obtained in service mode at the ESO VLT for the program 65.O-0631

## 1 Introduction

The integrated ultraviolet background (UVB) arising from quasars and hot, massive stars in star-forming galaxies is likely responsible for maintaining the high degree of ionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM) we observe in the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ forest lines in the absorption spectra of background QSOs (e.g. Bechtold 1994; Giallongo et al. 1996). Moreover it can affect the processes of galaxy formation and evolution in particular for the less massive systems (e.g. Babul & Rees 1992; Benson et al. 2001).

The contribution of QSOs to the UVB as a function of redshift is the easiest to assess with some degree of reliability based on the estimates of the quasar luminosity function from $`z=0`$ to $`z5`$ (e.g. Haardt & Madau 1996).

Hot, massive stars in star-forming galaxies have also been suggested as important contributors to the UVB (Bechtold et al. 1987; Songaila, Cowie, & Lilly 1990; Miralda-Escudé & Ostriker 1990; Bianchi, Cristiani, & Kim 2001) at early epochs. Photometric and spectroscopic data on the galaxy population at $`z3`$ are increasing rapidly (Steidel et al. 1996; Lanzetta et al. 1996; Giallongo et al. 1998; Fontana et al. 1999, 2000) and are providing statistical information on the galaxy luminosity and spatial distributions (Steidel et al. 1999, Poli et al. 2001). Intermediate resolution spectroscopy of the brightest fraction of the high redshift galaxies has been effectively used to derive unique information on the physical properties of these stellar systems like the star formation rate, gas dynamics, metallicity, and dust content (e.g. Pettini et al. 1998).

The detection by Tytler et al. (1995) and by Cowie et al. (1995) of CIV in the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ forest clouds has provided the first evidence of widespread chemical enrichment in the IGM at $`z3`$. Madau & Shull (1996) have computed the ionizing stellar radiation flux which accompanies the production of metals at high-$`z`$, thus realizing that this may be significant, comparable to the QSO contribution if a fraction $`25`$% of the UV radiation emitted from stars can escape into the intergalactic space.

As a consequence, the importance of the contribution to the UVB by the galaxy population depends on the ionizing escape fraction of the UV photons which is a poorly known parameter. At low redshifts, Giallongo, Fontana, & Madau 1997 and Shull et al. (1999) have emphasized that the galaxy contribution is already comparable to the QSO contribution for an escape fraction of 5%. This value is consistent with the upper limits derived from the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT) by Leitherer et al (1995) and Hurwitz et al. (1997) and more recently from the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) by Deharveng et al. (2001).

At the intermediate redshifts $`z1`$ recent preliminary results by Ferguson (2001) obtained by means of deep HST imaging with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph STIS seem to indicate a slightly higher average upper limit for the UV ratio of the order of $`f_{esc}18`$%.

All these attempts made at low-intermediate redshifts have failed so far to derive a statistically significant detection of the UV escape fraction. Steidel, Pettini & Adelberger (SPA) (2001) on the contrary have recently obtained the first significant detection of Lyman limit flux in a sample of 29 $`z3.40\pm 0.09`$ Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) using spectra obtained in a multi object spectroscopy configuration devoted to the redshift identification of the high $`z`$ galaxy sample. The detected Lyman limit flux corresponds to an escape fraction of $`f_{esc}=65`$%. A value that is $`3.613`$ times higher than previous upper limits.

In the same period we have also started a program to measure the UV escape fraction by means of deep long slit spectra of individual galaxies. This approach avoids possible biases inherent to the procedure of combining spectra of several different galaxies. We report here the results from two galaxies observed at slightly lower redshift ($`z33.3`$) with the FORS2 low resolution spectrograph at the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) telescope in the spectral range $`35006500`$ Å.

## 2 Observations

Our galaxies are two among the bright end of the Steidel et al. (1996) sample of $`z3`$ star forming galaxies observable from Paranal. They are identified as C2 and D6 and have been observed by Pettini et al. (1998) with an infrared spectrograph to compare the Balmer/OII line emission with the UV continuum emission. They are not included in the subsample used by SPA to produce the composite spectrum and measure the UV ionizing fraction. The two galaxies have magnitudes of $`R=23.55`$ and $`R=22.88`$ and redshifts $`z=3.319`$ and $`z=2.961`$ for C2 and D6, respectively, and have different properties in terms of Lyman-$`\alpha `$ emission, UV shape and dust reddening as shown by Pettini et al. (1998).

The galaxies were observed in the period July - August 2000 with the FORS2 instrument at the Kueyen VLT telescope in service mode. The total exposure times were 19429 sec for C2 and 16432 sec for D6. The targets were observed in general at low zenithal distances with low airmass (1.07 and 1.3 for C2 and D6) to minimize atmospheric absorption.

The spectroscopic observations were performed in long slit with the grism 300V+20. The useful wavelength coverage ranges from 3500 Å to about 6500 Å and the spectral resolution is 420. The extraction and calibration of the spectra has been performed using the context LONG in the ESO-MIDAS package.

After the standard bias subtraction and flatfield normalization, the 2D spectra were stacked from the original frames and an optimal extraction was performed. The wavelength calibration in each frame was used to check the stability of the 2D target position before the stacking. We optimized the subtraction procedure of the sky/detector background which is of course the main source of random and systematic errors for the flux calibrated extracted spectra. Because of background variation on several scales on the chip, sky subtraction was optimized differently in the UV and red part of the spectrum. In particular, different regions above and below the target spectrum were selected in the UV and red parts. A linear fit was adopted for the background shape perpendicular to the dispersion direction. The slope of the linear fit was different for the UV and red part of the spectrum.

In this respect, it should be emphasized the advantage for long slit spectra to perform an optimal sky subtraction. Indeed weak fluctuations in emission or absorption perpendicular to the dispersion direction can affect the estimate of the background level. For this reason, wide regions sufficiently far away from the target were selected for the background subtraction. In this way, the weak fluctuations present in these wide regions were easily removed.

The spectrum extraction was performed using an optimal extraction method fitting the spatial profile of the spectrum. The extraction slit was quite short, 7 pixels or 1.4 arcsec, to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio.

Standard flux calibration was performed to provide a relative flux calibration of the spectra. Wavelength calibration was performed applying the dispersion relation without rebinning at any constant wavelength bin size. This procedure keeps unchanged the original pixel noise but produces a slight variation of the wavelength bin along the spectra.

The calibrated spectra were corrected for atmospheric extinction adopting the airmass values previously mentioned. Finally they have been corrected also for interstellar extinction using the E(B-V) values of 0.015 and 0.05 obtained from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database for the galaxies D6 and C2, respectively and adopting the standard Seaton (1979) extinction curve.

The final extracted and calibrated spectra are shown in Fig.1 and Fig.2 (upper panels) with the resulting noise level. Strong SiII1260, OI1303, CII1334, SiIV1398, SiII1526, CIV1548 absorption lines are clearly visible in the spectra and give the same absorption redshifts for the two galaxies as provided by Pettini et al. (1998). Their rest frame equivalent widths are of the order of 3 Å. At the same time, the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ emissions are different being stronger in D6 with $`W=41/(1+z)=10.5`$ Å than in C2, $`W=14.5/(1+z)=3.4`$ Å and correspondingly the UV dust absorption estimated by Pettini et al. (1998) in the two galaxies is stronger in C2 (A1500=1.14) than in D6 (A1500=0.8).

## 3 Results

It is clear from Fig.1 and Fig.2 (lower panels) that there is no significant emission shortward of the Lyman limit (912 Å) in both galaxies. The average flux is zero and the noise level in the spectra can provide a useful upper limit to the $`f_{1500}/f_{900}`$ ratio and hence to the UV escape fraction. As in SPA we define a spectral region shortward of the Lyman Limit sufficiently large to have enough statistics but keeping at the same time a low noise level. The selected rest frame region is between 880 and 910 Å.

The pixel-to-pixel noise rms obtained in the selected region is $`\sigma (880910)=3.3`$ (relative flux densities in Hz-1) for the galaxy C2 which corresponds to an average upper limit flux in the region of $`f_{900}<3.3/\sqrt{54pxl}=0.45`$. The corresponding average flux level at 1500 Å is $`33\pm 2.5/\sqrt{21pxl}=33\pm 0.6`$. The resulting lower limit to the observed $`f_{1500}/f_{900}`$ ratio is $`f_{1500}/f_{900}>73`$ for the galaxy C2.

Similarly for the galaxy D6 the pixel-to-pixel noise rms obtained in the selected region is $`\sigma (880910)=1.1`$ corresponding to an average upper limit flux in the region of $`f_{900}<1.1/\sqrt{50pxl}=0.16`$. The corresponding average flux level nearby 1500 Å rest frame is $`11\pm 1.5/\sqrt{30pxl}=11\pm 0.3`$. The resulting lower limit to the observed $`f_{1500}/f_{900}`$ ratio is $`f_{1500}/f_{900}>69`$.

The escape fraction defined as the fraction of emitted 900 Å photons that escapes the galaxy without being absorbed is difficult to estimate since it depends on the intrinsic spectral shape of the source and its reddening. A definition of the UV ionizing escape fraction $`f_{esc}`$ related to the actual measure is represented by the ratio $`f_{1500}/f_{900}`$ related to the 1500 Å escape fraction by SPA to avoid any dependence on uncertain parameters like dust reddening. Specifically we adopt a relative escape fraction $`f_{rel,esc}3\times f_{900}/f_{1500}`$ where the factor 3 is the $`f_{1500}/f_{900}`$ ratio expected from the stellar synthesis models (cf. SPA). The uncertainties on this predicted value depend on the adopted initial mass function and stellar ages and ranges from about 2.5 to 5.5. We adopt the same factor 3 used by SPA for comparison.

To use the observed $`f_{1500}/f_{900}`$ ratios for the estimate of the relative UV escape fraction, a correction should be made to take into account for the opacity present shortward of the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ and in particular in the Lyman continuum region. This opacity is due to the intervening neutral hydrogen not directly associated with the galaxies, the so called intergalactic medium (IGM). This correction is negligible at low redshifts $`z<0.1`$ but becomes important at $`z3`$ and should be taken into account. It is clear that a careful correction for intervening absorption in individual objects requires high resolution spectra. In our case we adopt the same correction estimated by SPA in an empirically way using a composite QSO spectrum with a mean redshift of $`z3.47`$. From this composite spectrum the decrement due to intervening HI absorption has been estimated to be $`f_{1500}/f_{900}=3.85`$. Since our galaxies have redshifts not far from that of the QSO composite spectrum, we have adopted the same correction factor.

The resulting $`1\sigma `$ upper limit to the relative UV ionizing escape fraction in both galaxies at $`z=33.3`$ is $`f_{rel,esc}3\times 3.85\times f_{900}/f_{1500}<16`$%.

## 4 Discussion

Steidel and collaborators have provided the first significant detection in a sample of $`z3.4`$ Lyman break galaxies (LBGs). They have used a composite spetrum made by 29 LBGs spectra obtained from the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer at the Keck telescope. For the average sample they derive an observed ratio $`f_{1500}/f_{900}=17.7\pm 3.8`$. In Fig.1 and Fig.2 (lower panels) the expected ratio derived by SPA corresponds to the thick horizontal line shown between 880 and 910 Å. The smoothed versions of the spectra to the instrumental resolution are also shown as thick curves only for illustrative purposes. The smoothed spectra fluctuate around the zero flux level shortward of 910 Å and the resulting upper limit on the relative escape fraction, $`f_{rel,esc}16`$%, is 4 times lower than the $`f_{rel,esc}=65`$% SPA detection.

This result can also be compared with other measures derived for individual galaxies at lower redshifts. At $`z<0.1`$ the most recent result has been obtained by Deharveng et al. (2001) for the nearby galaxy Mrk 54 using the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). No flux was detected shortward of 910 Å and the lower limit to the ratio of $`f_{1500}/f_{900}`$, as measured from the noise level, was 108 (converting their fluxes in erg/s/cm2/Hz) without correction for intervening IGM absorption). This can be translated in an upper limit to the relative UV escape fraction of $`f_{rel,esc}3`$% (this value is different from the one reported by the authors because of their different definition of the escape fraction which depends on the flux emitted in the H$`\alpha `$ line). Other 4 $`f_{1500}/f_{900}`$ ratios reported in their paper from previous observations with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (Leitherer et al. 1995) give average upper limits in the range $`f_{rel,esc}2030`$% (with no correction for intervening IGM absorption).

At the intermediate redshifts $`z1`$ recent preliminary results by Ferguson (2001) obtained by means of deep HST imaging with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) seem to indicate a slightly higher average upper limit for the UV ratio of the order of $`f_{1500}/f_{900}17`$ corresponding to a relative escape fraction of $`f_{rel,esc}18`$% (preliminary estimate including intervening IGM absorption).

Our upper limits derived from the individual spectra of two galaxies at $`z=33.3`$ are more similar to the limits derived from HUT, FUSE and HST at lower redshifts than to the detection by SPA using a composite Keck spectrum of galaxies at $`z3.4`$.

In an attempt to understand the difference between the result by SPA and our result, we note the following. The upper limit for the two galaxies we observed are very close in value, although the two galaxies have different properties in terms of Lyman-$`\alpha `$ emissions and dust reddening. On the other hand it is clear that the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ emissions of our galaxies ($`W=3,11`$ Å for C2, D6 respectively) are lower than the average Lyman-$`\alpha `$ emission in the SPA composite spectrum ($`W20`$ Å). In fact, the $`z3`$ galaxy sample used by Shapley et al. (2001) to estimate the optical luminosity function shows a median Lyman-$`\alpha `$ equivalent width of 0. This implies that about half of the sample shows Lyman-$`\alpha `$ in absorption and half shows Lyman-$`\alpha `$ in emission. The Lyman-$`\alpha `$ equivalent widths of our two galaxies are close to the typical $`W`$ of the spectroscopic galaxy sample at $`z3`$. Thus, it is possible that significant UV ionizing photons can escape only the fraction of the $`z3`$ galaxy population with strong Lyman-$`\alpha `$ emission. To test this hypothesis it could be interesting to compare the escape fraction for the strong Lyman-$`\alpha `$ emitters to that for the galaxies with Lyman-$`\alpha `$ in absorption in the SPA sample.

If this hypothesis were correct it would imply that the average escape fraction of ionizing UV photons present at $`z33.5`$ could be smaller than previously thought. The consequences of this for the estimate of the UVB produced by the high $`z`$ star forming galaxies can be evaluated adopting as a reference value our upper limit of $`f_{rel,esc}16`$%. At $`z3`$ the galaxy contribution has been recently evaluated by SPA who adopted their estimate of the 1500 Å galaxy luminosity function and their derived escape fraction of 65%. Their resulting UVB intensity from the galaxy population alone is $`J=1.2\times 10^{21}`$ ergs s-1 cm-2 Hz-1 sr-1 which is already larger than the value estimated by the ”proximity effect” in the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ forest of QSO absorption spectra, $`J=57\times 10^{22}`$ ergs s-1 cm-2 Hz-1 sr-1 (see e.g. Giallongo et al. 1996; Scott et al. 2000). The addition of the contribution by the QSO population would increase this discrepancy. To alleviate the problem they argued about a possible overestimate of the QSO contribution to the UVB. Bianchi et al. (2001) used the observed UV star formation history and three different values for the intrinsic $`f_{1500}/f_{900}`$ ratio, namely 5.3, 21, 42 corresponding to $`f_{rel,esc}=57,14,7`$%, respectively, (following the definition of $`f_{rel,esc}`$ adopted in the present paper) to compare the contribution of the two populations to the UVB and the effects on the evolution of the Lyman-$`\alpha `$ forest. It is found that, to avoid an overprediction of the total (QSO$`+`$galaxies) UVB respect to the value derived from the ”proximity effect”, the relative escape fraction should be of the order of or smaller than 15%. In this respect our upper limit supports a scenario where the total UVB is consistent with the ”proximity effect” at $`z3`$ with a galaxy contribution of $`J6\times 10^{22}`$ ergs s-1 cm-2 Hz-1 sr-1, i.e. no more than a factor 2.5 higher than the QSO contribution. An UVB produced by this mixed population could account for the metal enrichment of the IGM and for the SiIV/CIV metal-line ratios observed in high resolution QSO absorption spectra (see e.g. Giroux & Shull 1997).

In summary, many pieces of evidence, from the limits derived at lower and intermediate redshifts to the upper limit of $`f_{rel,esc}16`$% presented in the present paper, point toward a lower ionizing escape fraction. We emphasize that our result, however robust, is based on the observations of two $`z3`$ galaxies only. A large statistical sample is needed to confirm its implication on the UV background evolution. This is within the grasp of the current instrumentation at very large telescopes.

We are grateful to C. C. Steidel, M. Pettini and collaborators for providing the finding charts of the two galaxies.


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# Grover’s search algorithm and the quantum measurement problem

## I Introduction

The measurement problem lies at the root of all interpretational problems of quantum mechanics. Once the wavefunction of a system is assumed to contain the most complete information possible of the system, the measurement problem is inevitable. Let a system be in the pure state

$$|S=\underset{i}{\overset{n}{}}c_i|S_i,\underset{i}{\overset{n}{}}|c_i|^2=1$$
(1)
where $`|S_i`$ are a complete set of eigenstates of some observable $`A`$. If one measures $`A`$ on this state, one would get the result $`a_i`$ with probability $`|c_i|^2`$, and once the measurement is complete, the state is forced into the eigenstate $`|S_i`$. This does not imply that the system is a statistical ensemble of these states $`|S_i`$ with probabilities $`|c_i|^2`$ in the sense of classical probability theory, and the measurement simply removes the ignorance. The simplest way to see this is to compare the density matrix of a pure state $`|\mathrm{\Psi }`$,

$$(\rho )_{ij}=(|\mathrm{\Psi }\mathrm{\Psi }|)_{ij}=c_i^{}c_j$$
(2)
which is non-diagonal with that for a ‘mixture’,

$$(\widehat{\rho })_{ij}=|c_i|^2\delta _{ij}$$
(3)
which is diagonal. Although (2) and (3) give identical results for the probabilities of obtaining the various eigenvalues $`a_i`$ of the observable $`A`$, they predict quite different results for observables that do not commute with $`A`$.

According to standard measurement theory a measurement quenches the off-diagonal interference terms and reduces the density matrix of a pure state like (2) to the diagonal form (3). This loss of coherence or reduction of the state vector cannot result from Schrödinger evolution which is unitary, causal and reversible. A measurement interaction first entangles a system $`S`$ with the measuring apparatus $`X`$. In general one obtains the state

$$|\mathrm{\Psi }=\underset{i}{\overset{n}{}}c_i|S_i|X_i$$
(4)
where the states $`|X_i`$ span the pointer basis. This is a unitary Schrödinger process that von Neumann calls ‘process 2’. It correlates every state $`|S_i`$ with a definite apparatus state $`|X_i`$. Since, however, this is an entangled state, it has to be reduced to a particular state $`|S_i|X_i`$ before the result can be read off. ‘Process 1’ is a non-unitary process that achieves this by projecting the state $`|\mathrm{\Psi }`$ to this state with the help of the projection operator $`\mathrm{\Pi }_i=|X_iX_i|`$. One then obtains the reduced density matrix

$$\rho \widehat{\rho }=\underset{i}{}\mathrm{\Pi }_i\rho \mathrm{\Pi }_i$$
(5)
which is diagonal and represents a heterogeneous mixture with probabilities $`|c_i|^2`$. This is the least understood aspect of quantum mechanics and lies at the root of all its interpretations.

There is no universally accepted solution to this problem within standard quantum mechanics. The many-worlds interpretation tries to solve this problem by rejecting the projection postulate and postulating instead that the universe splits into $`n`$ orthogonal universes at every measurement, each carrying one possible result of the measurement, and that no communication is possible between these universes. This is considered by some as the only possible solution to the problem, but is rejected by many on aesthetic grounds (it being extravagant in its unverifiable profusion of parallel universes). Environment induced decoherence was also thought to be an alternative solution, but it has become clear now that although an extremely useful concept of great practical importance in its own right, it does not actually solve the measurement problem as it has no explanation for the occurrence of individual events, i.e., why all diagonal elements of the reduced density matrix except one vanish for a single process (like the blackening of a single spot on a photographic plate). It is in this context that the Grover search algorithm offers a plausible solution.

## II The Grover search algorithm

Suppose one wants to search a telephone number in a telephone directory of a large city with $`N`$ entries. A classical computer will have to carry out $`𝒪(𝒩)`$ operations. Grover’s algorithm can speed up this search and complete it in $`𝒪(\sqrt{𝒩})`$ operations on a quantum computer. We wish to point out that this search algorithm also offers a plausible solution to the measurement problem. The essential point is that the algorithm which is essentially of ‘process 2’ type amplifies the amplitude of an identified target (the amplitude corresponding to a particular eigenstate in this case) at the cost of all other amplitudes to a point where the latter become so small that they cannot be recorded by detectors of finite efficiency. This therefore replaces von Neumann’s ‘process 1’.

Let us see how this can happen. Let the set {$`|S_i|X_i`$} (where i=1, 2, …, N) in eqn. (4) be the search elements that a quantum computer inside the apparatus has to deal with. Let these elements be indexed from $`0`$ to $`N1`$. This index can be stored in $`n`$ bits where $`N=2^n`$. Let the search problem have exactly $`M`$ solutions with $`1MN`$. Let $`f(\xi )`$ be a function with $`\xi `$ an integer in the range $`0`$ to $`N1`$. By definition $`f(\xi )=1`$ if $`\xi `$ is a solution to the search problem and $`f(\xi )=0`$ if $`\xi `$ is not a solution to the search problem. One then needs an oracle that is able to recognize solutions to the search problem. This is signalled by making use of a qubit. The oracle is a unitary operator $`O`$ defined by its action on the computational basis:

$$O:|\xi |q|\xi |qf(\xi )$$
(6)
where $`|\xi `$ is the index register, $``$ denotes addition modulo $`2`$, and the oracle qubit $`|q`$ is a single qubit that is flipped if $`f(\xi )=1`$ and is unchanged otherwise. Thus,

$`|\xi |0`$ $``$ $`|\xi |0\mathrm{if}|\xi \mathrm{is}\mathrm{not}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{solution}`$ (7)
$`|\xi |0`$ $``$ $`|\xi |1\mathrm{if}|\xi \mathrm{is}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{solution}`$ (8)
It is convenient to to apply the oracle with the oracle qubit initially in the state $`|q=(|0|1)/\sqrt{2}`$ so that

$$O:|\xi |q(1)^{f(\xi )}|\xi |q$$
(9)
Then the oracle marks the solutions to the search by shifting the phase of the solution. If there are $`M`$ solutions, it turns out that one need only apply the search oracle $`𝒪(\sqrt{𝒩/})`$ times on a quantum computer.

To start with, the quantum computer, assumed to be an integral part of the final detector, is always in the state $`|0^n`$. The first step in the Grover search algorithm is to apply a Hadamard transform to put the computer in the equal superposition state

$$|\psi =\frac{1}{\sqrt{N}}\underset{\xi =0}{\overset{N1}{}}|\xi $$
(10)
The search algorithm then consists of repeated applications of the Grover iteration or Grover operator $`G`$ which can be broken up into the following four operations:

1. The oracle $`O`$.
2. The Hadamard transform $`H^n`$.
3. A conditional phase shift on the computer with every computational basis state except $`|0`$ receiving a phase shift of $`1`$, i.e.,

$$|\xi (1)^{f(\xi )}|\xi $$
4. The Hadamard transform $`H^n`$.

These operations can be carried out on a quantum computer. The combined effect of steps $`2,3`$ and $`4`$ is

$$G=H^n(2|00|I)H^n=2|\psi \psi |I$$
(11)
where $`|\psi `$ is given by (10).

The Grover operator $`G`$ can be regarded as a rotation in the two dimensional space spanned by the vector $`|\psi `$ which is a uniform superposition of the solutions to the search problem. To see this, define the normalized states

$`|\alpha `$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{NM}}}{\displaystyle \underset{\xi }{\overset{^{\prime \prime }}{}}}|\xi `$ (12)
$`|\beta `$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{M}}}{\displaystyle \underset{\xi }{\overset{^{}}{}}}|\xi `$ (13)
where $`_\xi ^{^{}}`$ indicates a sum over all $`\xi `$ that are solutions to the search problem and $`_\xi ^{^{\prime \prime }}`$ a sum over all $`\xi `$ that are not solutions to the search problem. The the initial state can be written as

$$|\psi =\sqrt{\frac{NM}{N}}|\alpha +\sqrt{\frac{M}{N}}|\beta $$
(14)
so that the apparatus (with the built-in quantum computer) is in the space spanned by $`|\alpha `$ and $`|\beta `$ to start with. Now notice that the oracle operator performs a rotation about the vector $`|\alpha `$ in the plane defined by $`|\alpha `$ and $`|\beta `$, i.e.,

$$O(a|\alpha +b|\beta )=a|\alpha b|\beta $$
(15)
Similarly, $`G`$ also performs a reflection in the same plane about the vector $`|\psi `$, and the effect of these two reflections is a rotation. Therefore, the state $`G^k|\psi `$ remains in the plane spanned by $`|\alpha `$ and $`|\beta `$ for all $`k`$. The rotation angle can be found as follows. Let $`\mathrm{cos}\theta /2=\sqrt{NM/N}`$ so that $`|\psi =\mathrm{cos}(\theta /2)|\alpha +\mathrm{sin}(\theta /2)|\beta `$. Then one can show that

$$G|\psi =\mathrm{cos}\frac{3\theta }{2}|\alpha +\mathrm{sin}\frac{3\theta }{2}|\beta $$
(16)
so that $`\theta `$ is indeed the rotation angle, and so

$$G^k|\psi =\mathrm{cos}(\frac{2k+1}{2}\theta )|\alpha +\mathrm{sin}(\frac{2k+1}{2}\theta )|\beta $$
(17)
Thus, repeated applications of the Grover operator rotates the vector $`|\psi `$ close to $`|\beta `$. When this happens, an observation in the computational basis produces one of the outcomes superposed in $`|\beta `$ with high probability. Grover has shown later that the Hadamard transforms can be replaced by more general transforms . Finally, we would like to point out that in a quantum measurement only one outcome must occur and hence, the number $`M`$ of simultaneous solutions that the Grover algorithm searches is always unity.

Let us see how it works out in the typical case of the Stern-Gerlach experiment. The index register in this case consists of the two states $`|X_{}|`$ and $`|X_{}|`$ where $`|X_{}=|(x_1,y_1)`$ and $`|X_{}=|(x_2,y_2)`$ correspond to the two spots on a two-dimensional screen in the $`(x,y)`$ plane. Since $`M=1`$ and $`N=2`$, the initial state of the detector is a $`5050`$ superposition of $`|\alpha `$ and $`|\beta `$. What happens in an individual event (the appearance of a single spot at certain times either at $`(x_1,y_1)`$ or $`(x_2,y_2)`$) is that the Grover search $`G`$ rotates the initial state of the apparatus to one of the two solutions, each solution occurring with $`50\%`$ probability.

## III Conclusions

What we have shown is that the Grover search is a plausible explanation of how individual events occur in standard quantum mechanics. The entire process is unitary, i.e., of type 2 but yet it is possible to get information from these events because the amplitudes that are made arbitrarily small by the Grover search cannot be detected by measuring devices of finite efficiency. The projection postulate accounts for individual events but at the expense of unitarity. The decoherence approach, on the other hand, preserves unitarity but fails to account for individual events. In this sense the explanation in terms of the Grover search is different from both the von Neumann projection postulate and the environmentally induced decoherence approach. This proposal is also entirely different from the many-worlds interpretation as it works in a single universe. The mystery of the von Neumann projection or the Everett splitting of the universe is replaced by the riddle of how precisely a measuring apparatus executes the Grover algorithm.

## IV Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai for their hospitality and providing a stimulating environment during the recently held school on Quantum Physics and Information Processing (18-27 March, 2002) during which we mentioned to Lov Grover the possibility of using the quantum search algorithm as a solution to the measurement problem. We are also thankful to 1998 Computing Ltd., UK for financial support to attend the Workshop and to the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India for a research grant that enabled this work to be undertaken.


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# A strengthening of the Nyman-Beurling criterion for the Riemann Hypothesis

## 1. Introduction

We denote the fractional part of $`x`$ by $`\rho (x)=x[x]`$, and let $`\chi `$ stand for the characteristic function of the interval $`(0,1]`$. $`\mu `$ denotes the Möbius function. We shall be working in the Hilbert space

$$:=L_2(0,\mathrm{}),$$

where the main object of interest is the subspace of Beurling functions, defined as the linear hull of the family $`\{\rho _a|1a\}`$ with

$$\rho _a(x):=\rho \left(\frac{1}{ax}\right).$$

The much smaller subspace $`^{nat}`$ of natural Beurling functions is generated by $`\{\rho _a|a\}`$. The Nyman-Beurling criterion (, ) states, in a slightly modified form  (the original formulation is related to $`L_2(0,1)`$), that the Riemann hypothesis is equivalent to the statement that

$$\chi \overline{},$$

but it has recently been conjectured by several authors111see , , , , , , , , , , ,  that this condition could be substituted by $`\chi \overline{^{nat}}.`$ We state this as a theorem to be proved below.

###### Theorem 1.1.

The Riemann hypothesis is equivalent to the statement that

$$\chi \overline{^{nat}}.$$

To properly gauge the strength of this theorem note this: not only is $`^{nat}`$ a rather thin subspace of $``$ but, as is easily seen, it is also true that $`\overline{}`$ is much larger than $`\overline{^{nat}}`$.

By necessity all authors have been led in one way or another to the natural approximation

(1.1)
$$F_n:=\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\mu (a)\rho _a,$$

which tends to $`\chi `$ both a.e. and in $`L_1`$ norm when restricted to $`(0,1)`$ (see ), but which has been shown (, ) to diverge in $``$. In unpublished work one has tried to prove convergence under the Riemann hypothesis of subsequences of $`\{F_n\}`$ such as when $`n`$ is restricted to run along the solutions of $`_{a=1}^n\mu (n)=0`$. Another attempt by J. B. Conrey and G. Myerson  relates to a mollification of $`F_n`$, the Selberg approximation, defined in  by

$$S_n:=\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\mu (a)\left(1\frac{\mathrm{log}a}{\mathrm{log}n}\right)\rho _a.$$

A common problem to these sequences is that if they converge at all to $`\chi `$ in $``$ they must do so very slowly: it is known  that for any $`F=_{k=1}^nc_k\rho _{a_k}`$, $`a_k1`$, if $`N=\mathrm{max}a_k`$, then

(1.2)
$$F\chi _{}\frac{C}{\sqrt{\mathrm{log}N}},$$

for an absolute constant C that has recently been sharpened by J. F. Burnol . This, as well as considerations of  summability of series, led the author in  as well as here to try to employ symultaneously, as it were, the whole range of $`a[1,\mathrm{})`$. Thus we define for complex $`s`$ and $`x>0`$ the functions

(1.3)
$$f_s(x):=\underset{a=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^s}\rho _a(x).$$

For fixed $`x>0`$ this is a meromorphic functions of $`s`$ in the complex plane since

$$f_s(x)=\frac{1}{x\zeta (s+1)}\underset{a1/x}{}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^s}\left[\frac{1}{ax}\right],$$

where the finite sum on the right is an entire function; thus $`f_s`$ is seen to be a sort of correction of $`1/\zeta (s)`$. Assuming the Riemann hypothesis we shall prove for small positive $`ϵ`$ that

$$f_ϵ\overline{^{nat}},$$

and then, unconditionally, that

$$f_ϵ\stackrel{}{}\chi ,(ϵ0),$$

so that $`\chi \overline{^{nat}}`$.

## 2. The Proof

### 2.1. Two technical lemmae

Here $`s=\sigma +i\tau `$ with $`\sigma `$ and $`\tau `$ real. The well-known theorem of Littlewood (see  Theorem 14.25 (A)) to the effect that under the Riemann hypothesis $`_{a=1}^{\mathrm{}}\mu (a)a^s`$ converges to $`1/\zeta (s)`$ for $`\mathrm{}(s)>1/2`$ has been provided in the more general setting of $`\mathrm{}(s)>\alpha `$ with a precise error term by M. Balazard and E. Saias (, Lemme 2). We quote their lemma here for the sake of convenience.

###### Lemma 2.1.

Let $`1/2\alpha <1`$, $`\delta >0`$, and $`ϵ>0`$. If $`\zeta (s)`$ does not vanish in the half-plane $`\mathrm{}(s)>\alpha `$, then for $`n2`$ and $`\alpha +\delta \mathrm{}(s)1`$ we have

(2.1)
$$\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^s}=\frac{1}{\zeta (s)}+O_{\alpha ,\delta ,ϵ}\left(n^{\delta /3}(1+|\tau |)^ϵ\right)$$

It is important to note that the next lemma is independent of the Riemann or even the Lindelöf hypothesis.

###### Lemma 2.2.

For $`0ϵϵ_0<1/4`$ there is a positive constant $`C=C(ϵ_0)`$ such that for all $`\tau `$

(2.2)
$$\left|\frac{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau )}{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}+ϵ+i\tau )}\right|C\left(1+|\tau |\right)^ϵ.$$

###### Proof.

We bring in the functional equation of $`\zeta (s)`$ to bear as follows

$`\left|{\displaystyle \frac{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau )}{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}+ϵ+i\tau )}}\right|`$ $`=`$ $`\left|{\displaystyle \frac{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}ϵi\tau )}{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}+ϵ+i\tau )}}\right|`$
$`=`$ $`\pi ^ϵ\left|{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Gamma }(\frac{1}{4}+\frac{1}{2}ϵ+\frac{1}{2}i\tau )}{\mathrm{\Gamma }(\frac{1}{4}+\frac{1}{2}ϵ+\frac{1}{2}i\tau )}}\right|,`$
then the conclusion easily follows from well-known asymptotic formulae for the gamma function in a vertical strip ( (21.51), (21.52)). ∎

### 2.2. The proof proper of Theorem 1.1

It is clear that we need not prove the if part of Theorem 1.1. So let us assume that the Riemann hypothesis is true. We define

$$f_{ϵ,n}:=\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^ϵ}\rho _a,(ϵ>0).$$

It is easy to see that

(2.3)
$$f_{ϵ,n}(x)=\frac{1}{x}\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^{1+ϵ}}\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^ϵ}\left[\frac{1}{ax}\right],$$

then, noting that the terms of the right-hand sum drop out when $`a>1/x`$, we obtain the pointwise limit

(2.4)
$$f_ϵ(x)=\underset{n\mathrm{}}{lim}f_{ϵ,n}(x)=\frac{1}{x\zeta (1+ϵ)}\underset{a1/x}{}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^ϵ}\left[\frac{1}{ax}\right].$$

Then again for fixed $`x>0`$ we have

(2.5)
$$\underset{ϵ0}{lim}f_ϵ(x)=\underset{a1/x}{}\mu (a)\left[\frac{1}{ax}\right]=\chi (x),$$

by the fundamental property on Möbius numbers. The task at hand now is to prove these pointwise limits are also valid in the $``$-norm. To this effect we introduce a new Hilbert space

$$𝒦:=L_2((\mathrm{},\mathrm{}),(2\pi )^{1/2}dt),$$

and note that by virtue of Plancherel’s theorem the Fourier-Mellin map M defined by

(2.6)
$$\text{M}(f)(\tau ):=_0^{\mathrm{}}x^{\frac{1}{2}+i\tau }f(x)𝑑x,$$

is an invertible isometry from $``$ to $`𝒦`$. A well-known identity, which is at the root of the Nyman-Beurling formulation, probably due to Titchmarsh (, (2.1.5)), namely

$$\frac{\zeta (s)}{s}=_0^{\mathrm{}}x^{s1}\rho _1(x)𝑑x,(0<\mathrm{}(s)<1),$$

immediately yields, denoting $`X_ϵ(x)=x^ϵ`$,

(2.7)
$$\text{M}(X_ϵf_{2ϵ,n})(\tau )=\frac{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau )}{\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau }\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^{\frac{1}{2}+ϵ+i\tau }},(0<ϵ<1/2).$$

By a theorem of Littlewood (, Theorem 14.25 (A)) if we let $`n\mathrm{}`$ in the right-hand side of (2.7) we get the pointwise limit

(2.8)
$$\frac{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau )}{\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau }\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^{\frac{1}{2}+ϵ+i\tau }}\frac{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau )}{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}+ϵ+i\tau )}\frac{1}{\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau }.$$

To see that this limit also takes place in $``$ we choose the parameters in Lemma 2.1 as $`\alpha =1/2`$, $`\delta =ϵ>0`$, $`ϵ1/2`$, and $`n2`$ to obtain

$$\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^{\frac{1}{2}+ϵ+i\tau }}=\frac{1}{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}+ϵ+i\tau )}+O_ϵ\left((1+|\tau |)^ϵ\right).$$

If we now use Lemma 2.2 and the Lindelöf hypothesis applied to the abcissa $`1/2ϵ`$, which follows from the Riemann hypothesis, we obtain a positive constant $`K_ϵ`$ such that for all real $`\tau `$

$$\left|\frac{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau )}{\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau }\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^{\frac{1}{2}+ϵ+i\tau }}\right|K_ϵ(1+|\tau |)^{1+2ϵ}.$$

It is then clear that for $`0<ϵ<1/4`$ the left-hand side of (2.8) is uniformly majorized by a function in $`𝒦`$. Thus the convergence does take place in $`𝒦`$ which implies that

$$X_ϵf_{2ϵ,n}\stackrel{}{}X_ϵf_{2ϵ}.$$

But $`x^ϵ>1`$ for $`0<x<1`$, and for $`x>1`$

(2.9)
$$f_{2ϵ,n}(x)=\frac{1}{x}\underset{a=1}{\overset{n}{}}\frac{\mu (a)}{a^{1+ϵ}}\frac{1}{x},(x>1),$$

which easily implies that one also has $``$-convergence for $`f_{2ϵ,n}`$ as $`n\mathrm{}`$. The factor $`2`$ in the subindex is unessential, so that we now have for sufficiently small $`ϵ>0`$ that

$$f_{ϵ,n}\stackrel{}{}f_ϵ\overline{^{nat}},$$

as was announced above. Moreover, since we have identified the pointwise limit in (2.8) we now have

$$\text{M}(X_ϵf_{2ϵ})(t)=\frac{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau )}{\zeta (\frac{1}{2}+ϵ+i\tau )}\frac{1}{\frac{1}{2}ϵ+i\tau }.$$

Now we apply Lemma 2.2 and obtain, without the assumption of the Riemann hypothesis, that $`\text{M}(X_ϵf_{2ϵ})`$ converges in $`𝒦`$, thus $`X_ϵf_{2ϵ}`$ converges in $``$, and this means that $`f_ϵ`$ also converges in $``$ as $`ϵ0`$ by an argument entirely similar to that used for $`f_{ϵ,n}`$. The identification of the pointwise limit in (2.5) finally gives

$$f_ϵ\stackrel{}{}\chi ,$$

which concludes the proof.

## 3. Some comments and a corollary

The proof of Theorem 1.1 provides in turn a new proof, albeit of a stronger theorem, of the Nyman-Beurling criterion which bypasses the deep and complicated Hardy space techniques. One should extend it to the $`L_p`$ case, that is, to the condition that $`\zeta (s)`$ does not vanish in a half-plane $`\mathrm{}(s)>1/p`$. It should be clear also that we have shown this special equivalence criterion to be true:

###### Corollary 3.1.

The Riemann hypothesis is equivalent to the $``$-convergence of $`f_{ϵ,n}`$ as $`n\mathrm{}`$ for all sufficiently small $`ϵ>0`$.

In essence what has been done is to apply a summability method to the old natural approximation. The convergence on special subsequences both of $`n`$ and of $`ϵ`$ is also necessary and sufficient, and it is proposed here to study this alongside with other summability methods for the natural approximation.
A final remark is in order. Note that we did not employ the dependence on $`n`$ in the Balazard-Saias Lemma 2.1. This dependence would seem to be closely connected to the slowness of approximation to $`\chi `$ indicated in (1.2).
Ackowledgements. The author wants to thank M. Balazard and E. Saias for pointing out their important, delicate lemmae 2.1.

Luis Báez-Duarte
Departamento de Matemáticas
Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas
Apartado 21827, Caracas 1020-A
Venezuela


text:
# From microscopic to macroscopic dynamics in mean-field theory: effect of neutron skin on fusion barrier and dissipation.

## I introduction

The understanding of the formation of compact system during fusion of two nuclei implies the development of nuclear models which can take into account quantum effects, the dynamical evolution and dissipation in a common framework. From that point of view, the description of the conversion of relative motion into internal excitation of the composite system and also the deexcitation of the compound nucleus is far from being complete. Due to the diversity of dissipative mechanisms, the microscopic descriptions of fusion reactions is often substituted by a macroscopic dynamics in which only few relevant degrees of freedom are considered. Such macroscopic description are only valid under a series of assumption like separation in time-scales between relevant and other degrees of freedom. The validity of these hypothesis as well as the link with microscopic theories is under debate.

In the present work, starting from quantum mean-field theory, we address the problem of the reduction of the microscopic dynamics to a macroscopic theory.

### A Mean-field theories

We consider the Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory: one-body degrees of freedom are supposed to be dominant and the description of the system reduces to the time evolution of a Slater-determinant $`|\mathrm{\Psi }`$ in a self-consistent mean-field. Noting $`\rho `$ the associated one-body density matrix, the evolution is given by the Liouville equation

$`i\mathrm{}{\displaystyle \frac{d\rho }{dt}}=[h[\rho ],\rho ]`$ (1)
where $`h\left[\rho \right]`$ is the self-consistent field. Such a picture has been widely used to investigate nuclear dissipative reactions, and gives reasonable results in the case of fusion reactions. In addition, it has the advantage to take into account shell effects and to include the so-called one-body dissipation.

However, fusion reactions and more generally deep inelastic reactions are often described assuming that some macroscopic variables are dominant. Although a large number of work is devoted to this subject, the link between macroscopic dynamics and microscopic approaches such as TDHF is still unclear.

In this paper, we address this problem considering head-on reactions. In this case, the relative distance $`R`$ between nuclei in the entrance channel is known to describe the main features of the dynamics and its evolution follows the classical Hamilton-like equation ***For simplicity, we have written the expression in its simplest form, it should however be noted that other degrees of freedom like angular momentum or mass assymetry may be considered in the formalism.:

$`\{\begin{array}{cc}\frac{dR}{dt}=\hfill & P/\mu (R)\hfill \\ & \\ \frac{dP}{dt}=\hfill & F(R)\gamma \left(R\right)\dot{R}\hfill \end{array}`$ (5)
where $`\mu (R)`$ is the reduced mass of the system and the force is assumed to derive from a potential ( $`F(R)=\frac{V}{R}`$). The dissipation kernel $`\gamma (R)`$ is supposed to reproduce the effect of the other non described degrees of freedom on the considered variables.

The dissipative effects are generally taken by including the one-body dissipation in a liquid drop picture or using an adiabatic approximation in a two-center shell model (see for instance ). However, the understanding of dissipative effects in nuclear collisions is far from being complete and the use of equation (5) rises some questions. A large number of effects are known to participate to the dissipation of the relative to the internal excitation energy during the reaction. Among them, exchange of particles and deformation are generally assumed to be dominant and are accounted as one-body dissipation effects. We would like however to mention that the dissipative process described by equation (5) is obtained using quantum perturbation theory . It is not clear whether it can be applied to the case of violent collisions like fusion.

Mean-field theory like TDHF does a priori includes one-body dissipation in a non-perturbative framework. In addition, it assume neither separation between degrees of freedom nor adiabaticity. However, the link with the so-called one-body dissipation theory is still under discussion.

It should also be noted that friction models assumes a fast equilibration of other degrees of freedom as compared to the relative motion leading to the formation of a compound nucleus at finite temperature. Due to the absence of two-body or higher order correlations, TDHF is unable to account for this effect. From the experimental point of view, the equilibration time is estimated to be of the order of the reaction time , which means that the classical description assuming thermal equilibration assumption is questionable as far as fusion is concerned.

In this paper, we discuss the possibility to use macroscopic equations for TDHF although it does not assume perturbation theory or equilibration. In the following, we show that such a reduction seems possible and gives reasonable results on fusion barriers properties.

Different works already exist on the possibility of such a reduction of microscopic theory . However, as it was already noted in , high numerical accuracy as well as the use of complete realistic effective forces is required. In this article, we use the three-dimensional TDHF code developed by Bonche and co-workers  and the full SLy4d Skyrme force including spin-orbit .

In the following, we apply the mean-field theory to head-on reactions between oxygen isotopes. The static properties of oxygen isotopes are first presented. We then describe the method used to reduce mean-field evolution to the relative distance only and extract quantitative information on the fusion process. The macroscopic potential landscape and the dissipative aspects are then discussed.

## II Results

### A Structure of oxygen isotopes

For each of the considered nuclei, the self-consistent Hartree-Fock equation reads:

$`h[\rho ]|\phi _i^\tau =\epsilon _i|\phi _i^\tau ,`$ (6)
where $`h[\rho ]`$ is the mean-field hamiltonian, $`|\phi _i^\tau `$ denotes the single particle wave functions and $`\tau `$ denotes the isospin quantum number ($`\tau `$ = p \[proton\] or $`\tau `$ = n \[neutron\]). Equation 6 is solved in r-space on a mesh of size $`\left(16fm\right)^3`$ with a step of $`0.8`$ fm. The complete expression of $`h[\rho ]`$ for Skyrme forces can be found for instance in . The resulting single-particle levels energies obtained using the SLy4d Skyrme force are presented in Fig. 1 for the four isotopes 16O, 22O, 24O and 28O.

The associated neutron and proton root mean square radius (RMS) are reported in figure 2. These root mean square radii leads to RMS matter radii in agreement with experimental data for the 16O, 22O and 24O nuclei . A neutron skin is evidenced when the number of neutrons increases.

Once the static properties are obtained, we consider the evolution of the two colliding nuclei in a larger volume $`\left(32fm\right)^3`$ with the same step in r-space as before. The initial distance between the center of the two nuclei is equal to 16 fm. The time step is chosen as $`0.45`$ fm/c. Before showing the results of the dynamical calculation, we discuss the method used to reduce the mean-field dynamics to the time evolution of a few macroscopic coordinates.

### B Reduction to macroscopic dynamics

In order to define the relative distance between the two nuclei, we consider the mean-field equation in r-space and the associated one-body density $`\rho ^\tau (r,r^{})`$ with $`\rho ^\tau =_i|\phi _i^\tau (t)\phi _i^\tau (t)|`$. We assume, as in ref. , that at each time step, the system could be split into two subspaces 1 and 2 with the associated densities $`\rho _x^\tau `$ ($`x=1,2`$). We define the separation plane after the contact at the neck position as it is done generally in macroscopic models.

Once the separation is obtained, we compute for each subspace, the number of neutrons $`N_x=Tr\left(\rho _x^n\right)`$ or protons $`Z_x=Tr\left(\rho _x^n\right)`$, the mean position

$`R_x^\tau <\widehat{r}>_x=Tr\left(\widehat{r}\rho _x^\tau \right)/Tr\left(\rho _x^\tau \right)`$ (7)
and the associated momentum

$`P_x^\tau <\widehat{p}>_x=Tr\left(\widehat{p}\rho _x^\tau \right)`$ (8)
where $`Tr`$ denotes the Trace. Let us first assume that we can neglect the isospin degree of freedom (the validity of this assumption will be discussed in the following). We define the center of mass as well as the associated total momentum:

$`R_x`$ $`=`$ $`\left(N_xR_x^n+Z_xR_x^p\right)/A_x`$ (9)
$`P_x`$ $`=`$ $`P_x^n+P_x^p.`$ (10)
where we have introduced $`A_x=N_x+Z_x`$.
Using Hamilton equation for each subsystem, we estimate the mass from equation 5

$`m_x=P_x/\left({\displaystyle \frac{dR_x}{dt}}\right)`$ (11)
At a given relative distance $`R=R_1R_2`$, we compute the reduced mass associated with the composite system $`\mu (R)=m_1m_2/(m_1+m_2)`$. Note that, since we have a Skyrme force, with in particular $`t_1`$, $`t_2`$ and spin-orbit terms, $`\mu (R)`$ is different from the normal value:

$`\mu _0(R)=m{\displaystyle \frac{A_1(R)A_2(R)}{(A_1(R)+A_2(R))}}`$ (12)
where $`m`$ is the nucleon mass. In our calculation, we obtain $`\mu (R)/\mu _0(R)cte0.67`$ for all systems. This remains valid up to the formation of a compact shape.

Once these quantities have been defined and calculated, the different components entering in Eq. (5): $`R(t)`$, $`dR(t)/dt`$, $`P(t)`$ and its derivative can be computed.

Eq. 5 contains two unknown quantities, the force $`F(R)`$ and the friction coefficient $`\gamma (R)`$. In order to estimate these quantities, a method proposed in ref.  is used. It consists in performing mean-field evolution with two slightly different initial energies $`E^I`$, $`E^{II}`$. At a given position $`R`$, Eq. 5 can be interpreted as a system of two equations with two unknown quantities which reads:

$`\left(\begin{array}{cc}1& \frac{dR^I}{dt}\\ 1& \frac{dR^{II}}{dt}\end{array}\right)\left(\begin{array}{c}F\left(R\right)\\ \gamma (R)\end{array}\right)=\left(\begin{array}{c}\frac{dP^I}{dt}\\ \frac{dP^{II}}{dt}\end{array}\right)`$ (19)
where all derivatives are taken at position R. We checked the numerical stability of the proposed procedure, by solving the classical equation associated with the same initial condition as TDHF evolution and with the friction and potential extracted from it. As expected, we recover the TDHF evolution.

### C Nuclear potential

We performed TDHF calculations with four different initial center of mass energies $`E/A=0.60,0.65,0.70`$ and $`0.75`$ MeV for each reaction. Figure 3 gives the potential for the reactions 16O+16,22,24,28O obtained by inversion of Eq. 19. To extract the nuclear part, we assume $`V_{nuclear}(R)=V(R)V_C(R)`$, where the coulomb part is simply taken as $`V_C(R)=e^2Z_1(R)Z_2(R)/R`$ (dashed line). For each reaction, we have solved Eq. 19 using different couple of TDHF evolution with different initial energies. The solution depends slightly on the couple of trajectories chosen, this uncertainty is represented by errorbars in Fig. 3. The uncertainties are rather small indicating that the microscopic dynamics is already well described by Eq. 5.

Examining the global shape of $`V(R)`$, and in particular the maximum, we see that although the barrier height is slightly affected by the neutron skin, the increase of the neutron number not only increases the barrier position $`R_B`$ but also change its diffuseness. This effect should normally indicate a very different behavior in the sub-barrier fusion of very neutron rich nuclei as compared to stable isotopes. Using a different technique, the same conclusion is drawn in ref.  while in ref. , it is concluded that the excess of neutron does not affect fusion. This point is discussed in the following

### D Dissipation

While numerous works have been devoted to potentials determination, only few quantitative analyses exist on the dissipation effects starting from a non-adiabatic microscopic theory. The method described above gives also information on the dissipative processes. The friction coefficient associated to the mean-field evolution of the system can be computed. It is presented in Fig. 4.

In order to have a global information on the amount of energy transferred from the relative motion into internal degrees of freedom of the compound system, the integrated value of the Rayleigh function can be evaluated. The Rayleigh function gives the rate of energy dissipated by unit of time:

$`E_{ray}(t)=dE/dt=\gamma (R)\dot{R}^2`$ (20)
and its integrated value $`E_{loss}(R(t))`$ reads (Fig. 4):

$`E_{loss}(t)=2{\displaystyle _{t_0}^t}E_{ray}(s)𝑑s`$ (21)
In order to compare different systems, $`\gamma (R)`$ and $`E_{loss}(R(t))`$ are plotted as a function of the relative distance normalized to $`R_{12}=\frac{5}{3}\left(<r_T^2>^{1/2}+<r_P^2>^{1/2}\right)`$ where $`P`$ and $`T`$ refers respectively to the projectile and target. It is worth noticing that dissipation is larger at larger distances than $`R/R_{12}0.7`$ in the case of neutron rich nuclei. However, at intermediate distance $`0.5<R/R_{12}<0.7`$ the dissipation is larger in the symmetric case. We indeed expect a different behavior between symmetric and assymetric systems. If the one-body dissipation picture is correct, part of the viscosity is due to the change of the global shape of the system (the so-called wall dissipation ). In assymetric reactions, this effect should be completed by the friction due to the exchange of nucleons between the two subsystems (the window dissipation ). The link between the friction coefficient in TDHF and the wall plus window picture is however not clear. Indeed, mean-field theory also includes other degrees of freedom which are not taken into account in the wall and window formula. In particular, a fraction of the initial energy is converted into collective excitation (giant resonances). In our case, this effect is also integrated in $`\gamma (R)`$.

We finally would like to mention that, although the dissipation is different between symmetric and assymetric systems, the value of $`E_{loss}`$ at minimal distance of approach is independent of the assymetry.

### E Precise determination of the barrier properties

The possibility to obtain fusion cross-section from mean-field requires a precise estimate of the nuclear potential in the vicinity of the fusion barrier. Details of the fusion barrier extracted using Eq. 5 are shown in figure 5 (gray area).

For 16O+22O and 16O+24O reactions, rather large uncertainties are observed for specific relative distances. These uncertainties represents the dependence of the potential $`V(R)`$ with the initial energies, i.e. the polarisation of the extracted solution using Eq. 5 with mean-field trajectories. In our microscopic calculations, this polarisation could be directly attributed to the appearance of another important degree of freedom which is not included in Eq. 5. Indeed, regions where uncertainties are important are associated with relative distances between protons in the two nuclei differing from the distances between neutrons. In order to account for this additional effect, we have introduced the difference between the proton and neutron relative distances:

$`\mathrm{\Delta }R_{np}=\left(R_1^nR_2^n\right)\left(R_1^pR_2^p\right)`$ (22)
and assumed that the Eq. 5 is modified in order to include this additional degree of freedom:

$`{\displaystyle \frac{dP}{dt}}`$ $`=`$ $`F(R)\gamma \left(R\right)\dot{R}\gamma _{np}(R)\mathrm{\Delta }\dot{R}_{np}`$ (23)
As in the previous case, using three different initial conditions, Eq. 23 can be interpreted as three linear equations with three unknown quantities $`F(R)`$, $`\gamma \left(R\right)`$ and $`\gamma _{np}(R)`$ (see Eq. A16). The inversion of such ensemble of equations is rather difficult since the additional degree of freedom is not always important during the evolution. This often leads to an overcomplete set of equations. A discussion on inversion method is given in appendix A.

Assuming that the dynamical mean-field theory can be reduced to Eq. 23, we obtain the new potentials represented by a black area in Fig. 5. In that case, the initial energy dependence are strongly reduced as compared to the previous calculation indicating the importance of this new degree of freedom. Note that in the symmetric reaction 16O+16O, the additional degree of freedom can be neglected, and the obtained potential strictly corresponds to the old one. It should be noticed that the second maximum present in 16O+22O and 16O+24O reactions using Eq. 5 has disappeared. In order to quantify more precisely the effect of the neutron excess on fusion, we have fitted the new value of $`V(R)`$ in the vicinity of the barrier assuming $`V(R)=V_B\mathrm{\Delta }V_B(RR_B)^2`$. We have reported in table I, the barrier height $`V_B`$, the peak position $`R_B`$ and the deduced curvature $`\mathrm{}\omega _B`$ defined as $`\mathrm{}\omega _B=\mathrm{}\sqrt{\mathrm{\Delta }V_B/\mu _0}`$.

In the case of 16O + 16O, where experimental data exist, a good agreement with the extracted barrier height and position  is found. For other reactions, experimental results are not available. We would like to mention that we have also applied this method to the formation of heavy and very heavy elements. In all cases, we found a good matching with the experimental fusion properties giving additional confidence in the physical meaning of the extracted barriers.

Looking at the three assymetric reactions, the barrier height is almost constant while, as expected, the peak position increases slowly as well as the barrier diffusion. However these trends could not be extended to the symmetric case. This fact associated to the fact that it is not necessary to introduce additional degrees of freedom in the symmetric reaction case, shows the peculiarity of the neutron excess in fusion reactions.

In order to have some qualitative information on fusion cross sections, we have injected the values reported in table I in the Wong formula:

$`\sigma _F(E)={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}\omega _BR_B^2}{2E}}ln\left(1+exp\left(2\pi \left(EV_B\right)/\mathrm{}\omega _B\right)\right)`$ (24)
where E is the laboratory energy. The cross sections for 16O+16O (thin line), 16O+22O (circles) and 16O+28O (thick line) reactions are displayed in Fig. 6. For fusion above the barrier, due to the 1 MeV lower value of the barrier, a larger fusion cross section for the case of neutron rich isotopes as compared to symmetric 16O reaction is expected. However, there is no differences between 22O, 24O or 28O above $`E>10MeV`$.

The excess of neutron is also predicted to modify the sub-barrier cross-section : an increase of the sub-barrier cross-section associated with a decrease of the slope of the cross-section is expected. In Fig. 6, a more complex dependence in the slope of the cross-section is observed. It should however be noted that the inclusion of friction, which is neglected in the Wong formula, may change the slope in the sub-barrier region. Since the friction changes considerably between stable and neutron rich nuclei (see Fig. 4), a comparison of the different slopes is difficult. In the case of the two reactions $`{}_{}{}^{16}O+^{22}O`$ and $`{}_{}{}^{16}O+^{28}O`$, friction coefficients have the same behavior as a function of the relative distance and the cross-sections may be compared. In this case, we indeed observe a smaller slope in the $`{}_{}{}^{28}O`$ case.

The evolution of $`\gamma _{np}(R)`$ as a function of the relative distance is shown in Fig. 7 as well as the position of the barrier. The effect of the new coordinate is intermittent. The first maximum of $`\gamma _{np}`$ is close to the barrier. This is directly understood by the fact that, at this point, the difference between proton and neutron distances is maximum. Indeed, in this case, the coulomb repulsion is large, which goes in favour of a larger proton distance while, due to the existence of a neutron skin, the attractive nuclear part acts first on neutrons and thus tends to reduce the neutron distance. After the contact, the effect of $`\gamma _{np}`$ appears periodically due to the appearance of neutron-proton oscillations which are already present in the entrance channel.

The necessity to introduce explicitely the difference between neutron and proton center of mass in neutron-rich nuclei has already been noted in several work . In all cases, it was concluded that the neutron excess is expected to increase the fusion cross-section as also observed in the present work. Different effects are indeed expected to act in this direction: the large extension of the neutron skin which implies the influence of the nuclear field at larger relative distance, the coupling between the soft dipole mode with the relative motion. The time-dependent mean-field model includes all these effects. In particular, the observable $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_{np}`$ is obviously connected to the polarisation of each nucleus before fusion. It should also be noted that $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_{np}`$ is affected by the transfer of particles initiated just after the contact in order to equilibrate the $`N/Z`$ ratio between the two partners. This transfer which is known to induce damping in the relative motion, gives rise to the excitation of a pure collective GDR in the composite nucleus.

Although the additional friction term in Eq. (14) seems to strongly reduce uncertainties on the extracted potentials, for longer time, a more complex dynamics is expected. In particular, it would be convenient to treat also collective processes like the excitation of giant resonances. For instance, the effect of polarisation as well as the onset of the GDR after fusion requires the introduction of potential effect coming from the symmetry energy.

To quantify the amount of energy transferred from the relative motion to the new coordinate, we have also computed a quantity similar to $`E_{loss}`$ noted $`E_{np}`$ which is defined as:

$`E_{np}(R)={\displaystyle _{t_0}^t}\gamma _{np}(R(s))\dot{R}(s)\mathrm{\Delta }\dot{R}_{np}(s)𝑑s`$ (25)
The result of the computation is shown in Fig. 8. The amount of transferred energy to the new observable is directly proportional to the neutron excess.

## III Conclusion

In this paper, we have shown that the properties of a macroscopic dynamics can be rather precisely inferred from a microscopic quantum mean-field dynamics by reducing the one-body information to few collective coordinates. In order to have quantitative information on the barrier properties, the ”naive” reduction taking into account only the relative distance is not sufficient in neutron rich nuclei and it is necessary to introduce the difference between neutrons and protons during the onset of fusion.

We have applied our method to the case of head-on oxygen reactions involving oxygen isotopes. We have shown that, while the fusion barrier is only slightly affected by the neutron skin, the barrier shapes change. We thus expect that the neutron skin will modify preferentially the sub-barrier fusion reactions.

Beside the potential landscapes, the mean-field dynamics gives also information on how the relative motion dissipates into internal excitation of the composite system. Such a dissipation which gives directly the associated friction coefficient has rarely been obtained in non-adiabatic microscopic theory. We have shown that during the initial stage of the reaction, part of the dissipation corresponds to an isospin symmetric dissipation of the relative motion ($`\gamma `$). In this case, the total amount of energy deposited in the system seems independent of the neutron skin. On the other side, another part of the dissipation associated with the neutron-proton difference ($`\gamma _{np}`$) depends explicitely on the neutron excess.

In this work, we have shown how mean-field theory which includes nuclear structure effects and does not invoke specific approximations on macroscopic dynamics, may be very useful to extract quantitative information on the potential landscapes as well as on dissipation.

The techniques developed in this paper may be of particular interest for super-heavy systems in which macroscopic theories are presently widely used. There, friction coefficients are often calculated assuming thermal equilibrium of other degrees of freedom. Such an assumption is not included in TDHF and it would be desirable to compare the two approach.

Acknowledgments

The author thank Paul Bonche for helpful discussion at the initial stage of this work and for providing the three dimensional TDHF code. Usefull discussion with Cédric Simenel, Stéphane Grévy and Olivier Juillet are acknowledged. We finally thank Dominique Durand for a carefull reading of the manuscript.

## A Inversion of equation with $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_{np}`$

Using three TDHF trajectories, noted ( I, II and III), Eq. 23 can be interpreted as a matricial equation which reads for a given position $`R`$:

$`\left(\begin{array}{ccc}1& \frac{dR^I}{dt}& \frac{d\mathrm{\Delta }R_{np}^I}{dt}\\ & & \\ 1& \frac{dR^{II}}{dt}& \frac{d\mathrm{\Delta }R_{np}^{II}}{dt}\\ & & \\ 1& \frac{dR^{III}}{dt}& \frac{d\mathrm{\Delta }R_{np}^{III}}{dt}\end{array}\right)\left(\begin{array}{c}F\left(R\right)\\ \\ \gamma (R)\\ \\ \gamma _{np}(R)\end{array}\right)=\left(\begin{array}{c}\frac{dP^I}{dt}\\ \\ \frac{dP^{II}}{dt}\\ \\ \frac{dP^{III}}{dt}\end{array}\right)`$ (A16)
which we write $`𝒳=`$ in the following. The inversion of A16 is made difficult due to the fact that the additional degree of freedom acts intermittently on the other components. When the coupling between $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_{np}`$ of freedom is small, the set of equations becomes overcomplete.

In order to solve this difficulty, we first consider two TDHF trajectories and solve the two-dimensional Eq. 19. This gives an approximative solution of A16 $`(F_0(R),\gamma _0(R))`$. A measure of the importance of $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_{np}`$ is then obtained by computing the residue of the three dimensional equation:

$`Res(R)=𝒳_0^2`$ (A17)
where $`𝒳_0=^t(F_0(R),\gamma _0(R),0)`$. Example of calculated residue for the 16O+22O and 16O+24O reactions are presented in Fig. 9. We see that a large residu at a given time (or equivalently position) initiate the errors for future time (or lower position). This comes from the fact that we compute $`V(R)`$ by integration of $`F`$ over R from large to small R values.

In this figure, the appearance of larger and larger residues during the approaching phase towards the fused systems is clearly observed. This effect may be seen as the starting of neutron-proton oscillations. We also remark that in between the maxima, the residue is very close to zero and equation A16 reduces to Eq. 19. In our numerical implementation, when the residue is large, we solve equation A16 while for very small values, we switch to Eq. 19.


text:
# 1 Constraints on the mass of the radion assuming 𝑚_ℎ=125 GeV as a function of 𝜉 as described in the text for 𝛾=0.1(green, outer curves) and 0.2(red, inner curves). The allowed region lies between the solid curves. In the lower panel the regions excluded by LEP searches are also shown and they lie between the corresponding solid and dashed curves.

The Randall-Sundrum (RS) model of localized gravity  offers a potential solution to the hierarchy problem that can be tested at present and future accelerators . In the original version of this model, the Standard Model (SM) fields are confined to one of two branes that are embedded in a 5-dimensional anti-de Sitter space (AdS5) described by the metric $`ds^2=e^{2k|y|}\eta _{\mu \nu }dx^\mu dx^\nu dy^2`$, with $`y=r_c\varphi `$ where $`r_c`$ is the compactification radius and $`\varphi `$ describes the 5th dimension. The parameter $`k`$ characterizes the curvature of the 5-dimensional space and is naturally of order the Planck scale. The two branes form the boundaries of the AdS5 slice and gravity is localized on the brane located at $`y=0`$. Mass parameters on the Standard Model brane, located at $`y=r_c\pi `$, are red-shifted compared to those on the $`y=0`$ brane and are given by $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_\pi =\overline{M}_{Pl}e^{kr_c\pi }`$, where $`\overline{M}_{Pl}`$ is the reduced Planck scale. In order to address the hierarchy problem, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_\pi `$ TeV and hence the separation between the two branes, $`r_c`$, must have a value of $`kr_c1112`$. A number of authors  have demonstrated that this quantity can be naturally stabilized by a mechanism which leads directly to the existence of a massive bulk scalar field.

Fluctuations about the stabilized RS configuration allow for two massless excitations described in the metric by $`\eta _{\mu \nu }g_{\mu \nu }(x)`$ and $`r_cT(x)`$. The first corresponds to the graviton and $`T(x)`$ is a new scalar field arising from the $`g_{55}`$ component of the metric and is known as the radion ($`r_0`$). This scalar field corresponds to a quantum excitation of the separation between the two branes. The mass of the radion is proportional to the backreaction of the bulk scalar vacuum expectation value (vev) on the metric. Generally, one expects that the radion mass should be in the range of a few $`\times 10`$ GeV $`m_{r_0}\mathrm{\Lambda }_\pi `$, where the lower limit arises from radiative corrections and the upper bound is the cutoff of the effective field theory. The radion mass $`m_{r_0}`$ is then expected to be below the scale $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_\pi `$ implying that the radion may be the lightest new field present in the RS model. The radion couples to fields on the Standard Model brane via the trace of the stress-energy tensor with a strength $`\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{\Lambda }_\pi `$ of order the TeV scale,

$$_{eff}=r_0(x)T_\mu ^\mu /\mathrm{\Lambda }.$$
(1)
Note that $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=\sqrt{3}\mathrm{\Lambda }_\pi `$ in the notation of Ref. . This leads to gauge and matter couplings for the radion that are qualitatively similar to those of the SM Higgs boson. The collider production and decay of the RS radion has been examined by a number of authors  and has been recently reviewed by Kribs .

On general grounds of covariance, the radion may mix with the SM Higgs field, which is constrained to the TeV brane, through an interaction term of the form

$$S_{rH}=\xi d^4x\sqrt{g_{ind}}R^{(4)}[g_{ind}]H^{}H.$$
(2)
Here $`H`$ is the Higgs doublet field, $`R^{(4)}[g_{ind}]`$ is the 4-d Ricci scalar constructed out of the induced metric $`g_{ind}`$ on the SM brane, and $`\xi `$ is a dimensionless mixing parameter assumed to be of order unity and with unknown sign. The above action induces kinetic mixing between the $`r_0`$ and $`h_0`$ fields. The resulting Lagrangian can be diagonalized by a set of field redefinitions and rotations ,

$`h_0`$ $`=`$ $`Ah+Br,`$ (3)
$`r_0`$ $`=`$ $`Ch+Dr,`$
with

$`A`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{cos}\theta 6\xi \gamma /Z\mathrm{sin}\theta ,`$ (4)
$`B`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{sin}\theta +6\xi \gamma /Z\mathrm{cos}\theta ,`$
$`C`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{sin}\theta /Z,`$
$`D`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{cos}\theta /Z,`$
where $`h,r`$ represent the physical fields, and

$`\gamma `$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{v}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}},`$ (5)
$`Z^2`$ $`=`$ $`1+6\xi (16\xi )\gamma ^2,`$
with $`v246`$ GeV being the SM vacuum expectation value. The factor $`Z`$ serves to bring the physical radion kinetic term to canonical form and as such it must satisfy $`Z>0`$. For a fixed value of $`\gamma `$ this implies that the range of $`\xi `$ is bounded, i.e., $`\xi _{}\xi \xi _+`$, where

$$\xi _\pm =\frac{1}{12}[1\pm (1+4/\gamma ^2)^{1/2}],$$
(6)
For example, if $`\gamma `$ takes on the natural values $`\gamma =0.2(0.1)`$ then $`\xi `$ must lie in the approximate range $`0.754\xi 0.921(1.585\xi 1.752)`$. The masses of the physical states, $`r,h`$, are then given by

$$m_\pm ^2=\frac{1}{2}\left[T\pm \sqrt{T^24F}\right],$$
(7)
where $`m_+(m_{})`$ is the larger(smaller) of the two masses and

$`T`$ $`=`$ $`(1+t^2)m_{h_0}^2+m_{r_0}^2/Z,`$ (8)
$`F`$ $`=`$ $`m_{h_0}^2m_{r_0}^2/Z^2,`$
with $`m_{h_0,r_0}`$ being the weak interaction eigenstate masses and $`t=6\xi \gamma /Z`$. This mixing will clearly affect the phenomenology of both the radion and Higgs fields. In particular, the bounds on the Higgs mass from the standard global fit to precision electroweak data are modified, allowing for a Higgs boson (and radion) mass of order several hundred GeV . Here, we examine the modifications to the properties of the Higgs boson, in particular its decay widths and branching fractions, induced by this mixing and find that substantial differences from the SM expectations can be obtained.

To make predictions in this scenario we need to specify four parameters: the masses of the physical Higgs and radion fields, $`m_{h,r}`$, the mixing parameter $`\xi `$, and the ratio $`\gamma =v/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. Clearly this ratio cannot be too large as $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_\pi `$ is already bounded from below by collider and electroweak precision data ; Tevatron data for contact interactions yields the constraints $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_\pi \begin{array}{c}>\hfill \\ \hfill \end{array}300,\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1500},\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4500}`$ GeV for $`k/\overline{M}_{Pl}=1.0,\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.1},\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.01}`$, respectively. Curvature constraints suggest that $`k/\overline{M}_{Pl}0.1`$ , which in turn implies $`v/\mathrm{\Lambda }\begin{array}{c}<\hfill \\ \hfill \end{array}0.1`$. For definiteness we will relax this bound somewhat and take $`v/\mathrm{\Lambda }0.2`$ along with a physical Higgs mass of 125 GeV in our analysis. We note that large absolute values of $`\xi `$ and wide ranges of $`v/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ have been entertained in the literature.

The values of the two physical masses themselves are not arbitrary. When we require the weak eigenstate mass-squared parameters of the unmixed radion and Higgs fields to be real, as is demanded by hermiticity, we obtain an additional constraint on the ratio of the physical radion and Higgs masses which depends on both $`\xi `$ and $`\gamma `$. Defining the ratio $`r=(m_+/m_{})^2`$, one finds that these two conditions require that $`r`$ must be bounded from below by

$$r_{min}=1+2t^2\pm 2|t|\sqrt{1+t^2},$$
(9)
where the sign depends on the ordering of $`m_h`$ and $`m_r`$. Note that this bound implies that it is disfavored for the radion to have a mass near that of the Higgs when there is significant mixing. The resulting excluded region is shown in Fig. 1 for the demonstrative case of $`m_h=125`$ GeV. These constraints are found to be somewhat restrictive. The low mass region for the radion is also partially excluded by direct searches at LEP as can be seen from the figure. In calculating the LEP constraints, we fixed $`v/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ to the conservative values of $`v/\mathrm{\Lambda }=0.2(0.1)`$ while varying $`\xi `$, and converted the LEP Higgs search bounds  into constraints for the radion using the appropriate set of rescaling factors. While some of the low mass region for the radion is eliminated for these values of the parameters, the parameter space for a light radion is certainly not closed. As one decreases the assumed fixed value of $`v/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, the size of the allowed low mass region grows since the radion couplings to the $`Z`$ boson are rapidly shrinking.

Once $`\xi ,\gamma `$ and $`m_{h,r}`$ are specified, the angle $`\theta `$ describing the rotations into the Higgs-radion physical states becomes calculable; one finds that

$`\mathrm{tan}2\theta `$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{2tZ^2m_{h_0}^2}{m_{r_0}^2m_{h_0}^2(Z^236\xi ^2\gamma ^2)}},`$ (10)
$`\mathrm{sin}2\theta `$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{2tm_{h_0}^2}{m_r^2m_h^2}}.`$
The weak basis masses are given by

$$m_{h_0}^2=\frac{m_+^2+m_{}^2\pm \sqrt{(m_+^2+m_{}^2)^2(2m_+m_{})^2(1+t^2)}}{2(1+t^2)},$$
(11)
with the sign chosen positive(negative) when $`m_h(m_r)`$ is identified with $`m_\pm `$. In either case one obtains $`m_{r_0}=Zm_+m_{}/m_{h_0}`$.

We now turn our attention to the properties of the Higgs boson in this model when mixing with the radion is included. Following the notation of Csaki et al. , the couplings of the physical Higgs to the SM fermions and massive gauge bosons $`V=W,Z`$ is now given by

$$=\frac{1}{v}(m_f\overline{f}fm_V^2V_\mu V^\mu )[\mathrm{cos}\theta t\mathrm{sin}\theta \frac{v}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}\mathrm{sin}\theta /Z]h,$$
(12)
where the angle $`\theta `$ is defined above and can now be calculated in terms of the four parameters $`\xi `$, $`v/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, and the physical Higgs and radion masses. Note that the shifts to the fermionic and massive gauge boson couplings are identical. Denoting the combinations $`\alpha =\mathrm{cos}\theta t\mathrm{sin}\theta `$ and $`\beta =\mathrm{sin}\theta /Z`$, the corresponding Higgs coupling to gluons can be written as

$$=c_g\frac{\alpha _s}{8\pi }G_{\mu \nu }G^{\mu \nu }h,$$
(13)
with

$$c_g=\frac{1}{2v}[(\alpha +\frac{v}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}\beta )F_g2b_3\beta \frac{v}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}].$$
(14)
Here, the first term is the usual one-loop top-quark contribution to the $`ggh`$ coupling, whereas the second term arises from the trace anomaly and appears solely from the mixing. $`b_3=7`$ is the $`SU(3)`$ $`\beta `$-function and $`F_g`$ is a well-known kinematic function of the ratio of masses of the top-quark to the physical Higgs boson . Similarly the physical Higgs coupling to two photons is now given by

$$=c_\gamma \frac{\alpha _{em}}{8\pi }F_{\mu \nu }F^{\mu \nu }h,$$
(15)
where

$$c_\gamma =\frac{1}{v}[(\alpha +\frac{v}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}\beta )F_\gamma +(b_2+b_Y)\beta \frac{v}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}].$$
(16)
Here, $`b_2=19/6`$ and $`b_Y=41/6`$ are the $`SU(2)\times U(1)`$ $`\beta `$-functions and $`F_\gamma `$ is another well-known kinematic function  of the ratios of the $`W`$ boson and top-quark masses to the physical Higgs mass, and second term again originates from the trace anomaly. Note that in the simultaneous limits $`\alpha 1,\beta 0`$ we recover the usual SM results. From these expressions we can now compute the modifications to the various decay widths and branching fractions of the SM Higgs due to mixing with the radion.

Fig. 2 shows the ratio of the various Higgs partial widths in comparison to their SM expectations as a function of the parameter $`\xi `$ for sample values of $`m_r`$ and $`\frac{v}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$ and assuming that $`m_h=125`$ GeV. The range of the curves reflects the allowed parameter region for $`\xi `$. Several features are immediately apparent: ($`i`$) the shifts in the widths to $`\overline{f}f/VV`$ and $`\gamma \gamma `$ final states are very similar; this is due to the relatively large magnitude of $`F_\gamma `$ while the combination $`b_2+b_Y`$ is rather small. ($`ii`$) On the otherhand, the shift for the $`gg`$ final state can be substantial; here, $`F_g`$ is numerically smaller than $`F_\gamma `$ and $`b_3`$ is quite large, resulting in a large contribution from the trace anomaly term. ($`iii`$) For relatively light radions with a lower value of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, the Higgs decay width into the $`gg`$ final state can be vanishingly small. This is due to a strong destructive interference between the two contributions to the amplitude for values of $`\xi `$ near $`1`$. ($`iv`$) Increasing the value of $`m_r`$ has less of an effect than does a decrease in the ratio $`\frac{v}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$.

The deviation from SM expectations for the various branching fractions, as well as the total width, of the Higgs are displayed in Fig. 3 as a function of the mixing parameter $`\xi `$. As above, the range of the curves reflects the allowed parameter region for $`\xi `$. We see that the gluon branching fraction and the total width may be drastically different than that of the SM. As we will see below, the former may greatly affect the Higgs production cross section at the LHC. However, the $`\gamma \gamma `$, $`f\overline{f}`$, and $`VV`$ (where $`V=W,Z`$) branching fractions only receive small corrections to their SM values, of order $`\begin{array}{c}<\hfill \\ \hfill \end{array}510\%`$ for almost all of the parameter region except near the edges of the parameter space. Observation of these shifts will require the precise determination of the Higgs branching fractions which is obtainable at a future high energy $`e^+e^{}`$ Linear Collider . Once these measurements are performed, constraints on the radion parameter space may be extracted as will be discussed below. These small changes in the $`ZZh`$ and $`hb\overline{b}`$ couplings of the Higgs boson can also lead to small reductions in the Higgs search reach from LEPII. This is presented in Fig. 4 for several sets of parameters; except for extreme parameter cases this reduction in reach is rather modest.

At the LHC, the dominant production mechanism and signal for a light Higgs boson is gluon-gluon fusion through a triangle graph with subsequent decay into $`\gamma \gamma `$. Both the production cross section and the $`\gamma \gamma `$ branching fraction are modified by mixing with the radion, leading to the results illustrated in Fig. 5. This figure shows that the Higgs production rate in this channel at the LHC can be either significantly reduced or somewhat enhanced in comparison to the expectations of the SM due to the effects of mixing. For some values of the parameters the reduction can be by more than an order of magnitude which could seriously hinder the discovery of the Higgs via this channel at the LHC.

The s-channel production of the Higgs boson at a high energy photon photon collider is an important channel for determining the properties of the Higgs. In Fig. 6 we see that decreases in the production rate of the Higgs compared to SM expectations can also occur in the reaction $`\gamma \gamma hb\overline{b}`$ when mixing with the radion is included. Again, once such mixing is taken into account, the event rate is reduced, possibly hampering the statistical ability of a future high energy photon collider to measure the Higgs properties. However, note that the potential reductions in rate for this channel are not as drastic as those which may be realized at the LHC.

Once data from both the LHC and the Linear Collider (LC) is available, the radion parameter space can be explored using both direct searches and indirect measurements. In fact, the precision measurements of the Higgs boson couplings discussed above can be used to constrain the radion parameter space beyond what may be possible via direct searches for the radion. For purposes of demonstration, let us assume that the LHC and LC determine, within their capabilities, that the Higgs couplings are consistent with the predictions of the SM. Using the expectations for Higgs production at the LHC and LC from the analyses contained in Ref. , we derive the resulting excluded regions in the $`\xi m_r`$ parameter plane. This is displayed in Fig. 7 for various values of $`v/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ for the sample case of $`m_h=125`$ GeV. In this figure, the allowed region lies between the corresponding pair of vertical curves. Here, we see that if such a set of measurements of the Higgs properties are realized, then a large fraction of the radion parameter space would be excluded. Direct radion searches at these colliders would fully cover the lower portion of the remaining parameter space up to the radion search reach. Together, the direct and indirect constraints would then only allow for a high mass radion with small mixing as a possibility under this scenario.

Lastly, we note that the patterns of the shifts in the Higgs boson properties due to radion mixing are distinct from those in other models of new physics. For example, consider the two Higgs double model . In this model, the ratio of the $`hVV`$ coupling to its SM value is given by $`\mathrm{sin}(\beta \alpha )`$ and the similar ratio for the $`ht\overline{t}`$ coupling is $`\mathrm{cos}\alpha /\mathrm{sin}\beta `$, where $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ is the ratio of vevs of the two Higgs doublets and $`\alpha `$ is the mixing angle between the two doublets. In one variant of this model, the corresponding ratio of the $`hb\overline{b}`$ coupling is equal, up to a sign, of that for the $`ht\overline{t}`$ coupling, while in a second version of the model the $`hb\overline{b}`$ ratio is $`\mathrm{sin}\alpha /\mathrm{cos}\beta `$. In either case, this spectrum of couplings cannot be reproduced via radion mixing.

In summary, we see that Higgs-radion mixing, which is present in some extra dimensional scenarios, can have a substantial effect on the properties of the Higgs boson. These modifications affect the total and partial widths, as well as the branching fractions, of Higgs decay into various final states. This, in turn, can significantly alter the expectations for Higgs production at LEP, the LHC, and a photon collider. For some regions of the parameters, the size of these shifts in the Higgs widths and branching fractions may require the precision of a Linear Collider in order to be studied in detail.

Note Added: A related paper  appeared on the arXiv four months after this work and one year after a preliminary version of this work was presented at summer conferences .


text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

Models to study $`q\overline{q}`$ bound states, correlations, or condensates in a hot and dense medium such as nuclear/quark matter are rather elaborate. These models are used to explore the phase structure of QCD in particular in areas presently not accessible to lattice calculations. Little attention, however, has been paid to $`qqq`$ correlations in this context . As three valence quarks are a dominant Fock component in any quark model of baryons those should be relevant in the confinement-deconfinement region from nucleons to quarks.

Another reason to study three-quark correlations is their relevance namely $`q^3`$ correlations to color superconductivity (see e.g. ). It has been shown in a different context (Hubbard model) that the inclusion of three-particle correlations lowers the critical temperature $`T_c`$ compared to the bare two-particle Thouless instability . The existence and the area of the QCD phase diagram where one might find color superconductivity might depend on dynamical details and in particular on the influence of three-quark correlations which have not been investigated so far.

Presently, our aim is to provide a proper framework to tackle the question of three-body correlations at finite temperatures and densities for a relativistic many-body system, i.e. soluble effective Alt-Grassberger-Sandhas (AGS) or Faddeev equations that include medium effects as well as special relativity. To do so, several problems have to be overcome and in what we present here one might consider an approach towards a systematic inclusion of medium effects and relativity in effective three-body equations. In the past years utilizing the Dyson approach we have derived suitable in-medium equations to treat three-body correlations as well as four-body bound states and condensates in a nuclear medium of finite temperatures and densities, see e.g. . These equations are generalized here to include special relativity. To this end we use the light front approach . Except for details in the treatment of the medium the use of the light front at finite densities is similar to that suggested in Ref.  for $`T=0`$.

## 2 Theory

For the time being we consider a zero-range interaction. A simple effective theory of zero range is provided by the Nambu Jona-Lasinio model  that has also been extended to finite temperatures and densities, see, e.g. . Note that due to screening effects the effective potential between quarks may loose the confining property above the critical temperature . However, a closer connection to QCD including confinement is certainly desired, see e.g. . However, presently, the main focus of our approach is on the structure of the relativistic in-medium equation.

### 2.1 Self energy-correction, gap equation

In Hartree-Fock approximation the self-energy correction induced by the medium is given by the gap equation. The gap equation leads to effective masses $`m(\mu ,T)`$ that depend on the temperature $`T`$ and the chemical potential $`\mu `$ of the medium. To proceed we use the light front formalism. The four-dimensional gap equation is projected onto the light front using the Lepage-Brodsky regularization scheme .

$$m=m_0+2i\lambda N_\mathrm{c}N_\mathrm{f}\underset{\mathrm{LB}}{}\frac{d^4k}{(2\pi )^4}\mathrm{Tr}\{S(k)\}\left(1f(k)\right)$$
(1)
The Fermi-Dirac distribution function

$$f(k^+,\stackrel{}{k}_{})=\left(\mathrm{exp}\left[\frac{1}{k_BT}\left(\frac{k_{\mathrm{on}}^{}+k^+}{2}\mu \right)\right]+1\right)^1$$
(2)
is expressed in terms of light front form momenta that are defined by $`\stackrel{}{k}_{}=(k_x,k_y)`$ and $`k^\pm =k_0\pm k_z`$. This treatment leads to the same definition of blocking factors in the limit $`T0`$ as given in Ref. . Note that the on $`k^{}`$-shell light front energy $`k_{\mathrm{on}}^{}=(\stackrel{}{k}_{}^2+m(\mu ,T)^2)/k^+`$ depends on $`\mu `$ and $`T`$. The (familiar) mass dependence is shown in Figure 2.

### 2.2 Two-body case

The technical difficulties including angular momentum in relativistic many-body systems are well known. For the time being we average over the spin projections which means that the spin degrees of freedom are washed out in the medium. This will be improved while the investigation proceeds along the lines suggested in Ref. . Also we expect antiparticle degrees of freedom to be of minor importance for a zero range interaction on the light front . The solution for the two-body propagator $`\tau (M_2)`$ for a zero-range interaction is given by

$$\tau (M_2)=\left(i\lambda ^1B(M_2)\right)^1.$$
(3)
where the expression for $`B(M_2)`$ in the rest system of the two-body system is

$$B(M_2)=\frac{i}{(2\pi )^3}\frac{dxd^2k_{}}{x(1x)}\frac{1f(x,\stackrel{}{k}_{}^2)f(1x,\stackrel{}{k}_{}^2)}{M_2^2M_{20}^2},$$
(4)
where $`M_{20}^2=(\stackrel{}{k}_{}^2+m^2)/x(1x)`$ and $`x=k^+/P_2^+`$.

### 2.3 Three-body case

The solution for the two-body propagator $`\tau (M_2)`$ is the input for the relativistic three-body equation. The inclusion of finite temperature and chemical potential is determined by the Dyson equations as explained, e.g. in Ref. . With the introduction of the vertex function $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ the equation becomes

$`\mathrm{\Gamma }(y,\stackrel{}{q}_{})={\displaystyle \frac{i}{(2\pi )^3}}\tau (M_2){\displaystyle _{M^2/M_3^2}^{1y}}{\displaystyle \frac{dx}{x(1yx)}}`$ (5)
$`{\displaystyle ^{k_{}^{\mathrm{max}}}}d^2k_{}{\displaystyle \frac{1f(x,\stackrel{}{k}_{}^2)f(1xy,(\stackrel{}{k}+\stackrel{}{q})_{}^2)}{M_3^2M_{03}^2}}\mathrm{\Gamma }(x,\stackrel{}{k}_{}),`$
where $`m=m(\mu ,T)`$,

$$k_{}^{\mathrm{max}}=\sqrt{(1x)(xM_3^2m^2)},$$
(6)
and the mass of the virtual three-particle state in the rest system is given by

$$M_{03}^2=\frac{\stackrel{}{k}_{}^2+m^2}{x}+\frac{\stackrel{}{q}_{}^2+m^2}{y}+\frac{(\stackrel{}{k}+\stackrel{}{q})_{}^2+m^2}{1xy}.$$
(7)
The blocking factors, $`1ff`$ that appear in (5) can be rewritten as $`\overline{f}\overline{f}ff`$, where $`\overline{f}=1f`$ to exhibit the particle and the hole blocking. For $`T0`$, $`\overline{f}\theta (kk_F)`$ that cuts the integrals below the Fermi momentum.

## 3 Results

For the time being we assume a bound state $`M_{2B}`$ in the two-body subsystem. This can be relaxed while the investigation proceeds and more realistic models are implemented. Our main focus is on effects the medium has on the competition between two and three-quark states. This is particularly relevant in the vicinity of the critical temperatures. A first step towards this aim here is the investigation of the Mott transition from the three-body bound state to the two body (2+1) channel that differs from the three-nucleon case . To this end, we vary $`M_{2B}`$ implicitly choosing a particular model strength $`\lambda `$ in (3) for each value of $`M_{2B}`$. This is shown in Figure 2. For a given $`M_{2B}`$ the solid line reflects the corresponding three-body bound state for the isolated system. For a temperature of $`T=10`$ MeV the various dashed-dotted lines correspond to increasing chemical potential (see Figure 4 for the corresponding values of $`\mu `$). The long dashed line is the two-body threshold. In a simple chemical picture, the equilibrium composition of the system is dominated by three-body bound states below the dotted line and by two-body states above this line (law of mass action). In Figure 4 we show the binding energies

$`B_3(\mu ,T)`$ $`=`$ $`m(\mu ,T)+M_{2B}(\mu ,T)M_{3B}(\mu ,T)`$
$`B_2(\mu ,T)`$ $`=`$ $`2m(\mu ,T)M_{2B}(\mu ,T).`$
The solid line refers to the isolated case and the various dashed-dotted lines again represent the in-medium results for different chemical potentials at $`T=10`$ MeV. In addition, we refer to the NJL results (dashed line with triangles) given in Ref.  for $`m=450`$ MeV and $`T=0`$: The triangles are for values of $`\mu (T=0)1.0,1.05,1.08,1.12,1.22`$ (top to bottom) in units of the respective $`m(\mu ,0)`$. The dashed vertical lines reflect specific values for $`M_{2B}=m`$ and $`M_{2B}1.88m`$ in our model covering a wide range of $`M_{2B}`$ and for $`T=10`$ MeV. For a given two-body binding energy and increasing chemical potential we find weaker three-body binding. This leads to the disappearance of the three-quark bound state for a certain value of the chemical potential which is known as Mott transition, $`B_3(\mu _{\mathrm{Mott}},T_{\mathrm{Mott}})=0`$. The values of $`T`$ and $`\mu `$ for which this transition occurs is plotted in Fig. 4 for the two different models given above. Clearly the behavior qualitatively reflects the confinement deconfinement phase transition.

In conclusion, we have given a consistent equation for a relativistic three-quark system in a medium of finite temperature and density. This equation includes the dominant effects of the medium, viz. Pauli blocking and self energy corrections. As many details need to be improved, this first calculation shows that for a large range of models the Mott transition agrees qualitatively with the phase transition expected from other sources. Based on this approach it is now possible to systematically investigate the influence of three-quark correlations on the critical temperature and the onset of color superconductivity at high density.

Work supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.