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# UCTP101.02 Non-Vanishing Cosmological Constant Λ, Phase Transitions, And Λ-Dependence Of High Energy Processes

## 1 introduction

The notion of phase transition plays an important role in our understanding of particle physics at the fundamental level. It also plays an important role in the inflationary cosmology. One may therefore view this notion as an important factor in shaping our ideas of the Universe today. Its most concrete realization has been through spontaneously broken symmetry. For whatever dynamical reasons, when a phase transition takes place, there will be a contribution to the vacuum energy density $`\rho _{vac}`$ of space-time. On the basis of Einstein’s field equations, such a non-vanishing vacuum energy is equivalent to having a cosmological constant, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, given by

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }=8\pi G_N\rho _{vac},$$
(1)
where $`G_N`$ is Newton’s constant. This relation raises a number of interesting issues. Among these, the one that has received a good deal of attention in recent years is that, the contribution to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ from each phase transition, such as that at the electroweak scale, is very large  according to the current theories. It follows that unless a delicate cancellation mechanism such as supersymmetry has been in operation over the entire range of scales from the time of big bang to present, it would be difficult to account for the smallness of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{observed}`$ according to standard interpretations. On the other hand, if we view the vacuum energy arising from phase transitions as the primary source of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, a constant $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is not compatible with such phase transitions.

Another issue which arises from the equality given by Eq. (1) is that for finite $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, the asymptotic symmetry group of space-time is not Poincaré but de Sitter (dS) or anti-de Sitter (AdS) group. On the other hand, the well known Einstein mass-energy relation $`E=mc^2`$ is a consequence of Poincaré symmetry and is valid only in Minkowski space-time. One of the aims of the present work is to point out how the rest energy expression is modified in dS4 and AdS4 spaces and how they depend on the cosmological constant and the vacuum energy. As mentioned above, if we take the connection between $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ and phase transitions seriously, there must have been some periods in the history of the Universe, at which the value of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ changed significantly because of phase transitions. In particular, at some such periods, the value of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ must have been very large. It would be of interest to see how the kinematics of high energy reactions were modified during such periods and whether this led to any testable consequences. It will be seen below that if again we take the phase transition, or its realization as spontaneously broken symmetry, as the primary source of a non-vanishing $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, it may be possible to test some of the consequences at the next generation of high energy colliders. To accomplish this, it will be necessary to reexamine the relation between the processes in the current high energy experiments and the period (energy scale) in the history of the Universe at which such processes occurred routinely. The consequences will be significant  if a high energy experiment modifies the local structure of space-time for a short period of time, so that the immediate neighborhood of a collision departs from the Minkowski space and becomes a dS or AdS space-time. In both dS and AdS spaces the ground state energies, i.e., the analogs of the energy in Einstein’s mass-energy relation, depend not only on the mass but also on spin and on $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, with the correct value of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ to be determined such that it is appropriate to the relevant energy scale.

The mathematical frameworks for obtaining the analogs of Einstein’s mass-energy relation in AdS4 and dS4 spaces depend on a mixture of the representation theory of the corresponding groups and the field theoretic constructions in these spaces. Most of this already exist in the literature in one form or another. The construction of the representations for these groups relies on the structure of appropriate little groups. For AdS4 group, the relevant little group is  the compact group $`SO(2)\times SO(3)`$, and it allows for a simple identification of an appropriate energy operator. For the dS4 group, the simplest choice for a subgroup is the maximal compact subgroup  $`SO(4)`$. However, when the representations are induced in this way, the direct identification of one of the generators with an energy operator does not lead to a physically suitable energy spectrum. So, we will use an alternative realization of the algebra due to Bohm . In both spaces, to relate the eigenvalues of the quadratic Casimir operators to the physical masses, it is necessary to introduce the concept of mass as the pole of the propagator in an appropriate quantum field theory. To lowest order this pole would be that of the Green’s function for a dS4 ( or AdS4 ) invariant differential equation. As is familiar from field theories in Minkowski space time, it is desirable that such an equation become conformally invariant in the limit of vanishing mass . Combining these concepts, and assuming the existence of an invariant vacuum state , it is then possible to obtain an expression for the ground state energy. In carrying out this project, one must also carefully keep track of the dependence on the cosmological constant, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. In the discussions of the representation theories of AdS and dS groups mentioned above, the explicit values of the radii of curvatures of the corresponding spaces play no essential roles, so that they are often set equal to unity. In view of Eq. (1) and the point of view emphasized in this work, to extract physical consequences it is essential that we explicitly display the dependence on this dimensional parameter or, equivalently, the cosmological constant.

The change in the asymptotic structure of space-time from Minkowski to dS or AdS spaces implies a change in the asymptotic symmetry group of space-time. In particular, it implies the breakdown of translational invariance. In the last decade, possible violations of Lorentz and CPT symmetries have been studied in great detail . In the same vein, the results presented in this work may also be viewed as probing the possible violation of translational invariance.

## 2 The dS and AdS Spaces and Algebras

We begin with some of the well known properties of these spaces and algebras. The dS and AdS spaces and algebras have many features in common. So, we give the details for one of them and then indicate the changes, if any, in the corresponding expressions for the other space and algebra. As much as possible, we will follow the notation and conventions of reference .

The anti-de Sitter space in 3+1 dimensions can be viewed as a subspace of a flat 4-dimensional space with the line element

$$ds^2=dX_AdX^A=dX_0^2dX_1^2dX_2^2dX_3^2+dX_4^2$$
(2)
It is determined by the constraint

$$(X_0)^2(X_1)^2(X_2)^2(X_3)^2+(X_4)^2=l^2$$
(3)
where $`l`$ is a real constant and is related to the cosmological constant according to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=l^2`$. The set of transformations which leave the line element invariant form the AdS4 group $`SO(3,2)`$. We will actually deal with the universal cover of this group.

Similarly, the dS4 space can be viewed as a subspace of a flat 4-dimensional space with line element

$$ds^2=dX_AdX^A=dX_0^2dX_1^2dX_2^2dX_3^2dX_4^2$$
(4)
It is determined by the constraint

$$(X_0)^2(X_1)^2(X_2)^2(X_3)^2(X_4)^2=l^2,$$
(5)
where now $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=l^2`$.

The AdS4 algebra consists of the elements $`M_{AB}`$ satisfying the commutation relations

$$[M_{AB},M_{CD}]=i\left(\eta _{AD}M_{BC}+\eta _{BC}M_{AD}\eta _{AC}M_{BD}\eta _{BD}M_{AC}\right).$$
(6)
With the index $`A=(\mu ,4)`$ and $`\mu =0,1,2,3`$, we can write the algebra in a more familiar four dimensional notation by setting

$$M_{\mu 4}=l\mathrm{\Pi }_\mu .$$
(7)
With the notation

$$ϵ^{0123}=1;\eta ^{ab}=(1,1,1,1),$$
(8)
we get

$$[M_{\mu \nu },M_{\rho \sigma }]=i\left(\eta _{\mu \sigma }M_{\nu \rho }+\eta _{\nu \rho }M_{\mu \sigma }\eta _{\mu \rho }M_{\nu \sigma }\eta _{\nu \sigma }M_{\mu \rho }\right)$$

$$[M_{\mu \nu },\mathrm{\Pi }_\rho ]=i\left(\eta _{\nu \rho }\mathrm{\Pi }_\mu \eta _{\mu \rho }\mathrm{\Pi }_\nu \right)$$
(9)
$$[\mathrm{\Pi }_\mu ,\mathrm{\Pi }_\nu ]=il^2M_{\mu \nu }=i\mathrm{\Lambda }M_{\mu \nu }.$$

As expressed in terms of the cosmological parameter $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, this algebra also holds for dS4. It can be seen that, under suitable conditions, in the limit of vanishing $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, the AdS4 and dS4 algebras contract to the Poincaré algebra.

The AdS4 and dS4 groups have each two Casimir invariants. The quadratic ones are given, with appropriate signs for $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, by

$$I_1=\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{2}M_{AB}M^{AB}=\mathrm{\Pi }_\mu \mathrm{\Pi }^\mu \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{2}M_{\mu \nu }M^{\mu \nu }$$
(10)
The important point here is that, in contrast to Poincaré algebra, for AdS4 as well as dS4 algebras the quantity $`\mathrm{\Pi }_\mu \mathrm{\Pi }^\mu `$ is not an invariant by itself. As a result, the analogs of Einstein mass-energy relation $`E=mc^2`$ will also depend on spin and the cosmological constant, as we shall see below.

The second Casimir invariant $`I_2`$ for either AdS4 or dS4 algebras can be written as

$$I_2=\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{16}V_AV^A,$$
(11)
where

$$V^A=ϵ^{ABCDE}M_{BC}M_{DE}.$$
(12)
Defining the analog of the Pauli-Lubanski operator as

$$W^\mu =V^\mu =ϵ^{\mu \nu \rho \sigma }\mathrm{\Pi }_\nu M_{\rho \sigma },$$
(13)
we can write $`I_2`$ in four dimensional notation for both algebras:

$$I_2=W_\mu W^\mu \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{16}(V^4)^2$$
(14)
## 3 Massive Unitary Representations

It will be recalled that for the Poincaré group, the construction of unitary representations begins by identifying an appropriate little group. For massive momenta, e.g., the little group is $`SO(3)`$. Then the corresponding induced representation would be specified by the ground state eigenvalues of the Casimir operators, i.e., by the (rest) energy $`E_0`$ and spin $`s`$. The quantity $`E_0^2`$ is thus the ground state eigenvalue of the quadratic Casimir operator $`P_\mu P^\mu `$ of the Poincaré algebra. The notion of mass is then introduced as the pole of the propagator in the corresponding field theory. For the Poincaré group, this equation is the relativistically invariant free massive Klein-Gordon equation. Then, noting that the d’Alembertian operator is just the representation of the Casimir operator $`P_\mu P^\mu `$ in terms of differential operators, one obtains:

$$[P_\mu P^\mu m^2c^4]\varphi =0$$
(15)
This provides a group theoretic basis for obtaining the expression $`E_0=mc^2`$. One can follow the same recipe for relating the notions of mass and energy in dS4 and AdS4 spaces. To this end, we must first obtain the ground state eigenvalues of the corresponding quadratic Casimir operators. We begin with AdS4.

The massive discrete unitary representations for AdS4 algebra has been known for sometime . With $`SO(2)\times SO(3)`$ as maximal compact subgroup, let

$$H=l\mathrm{\Pi }_0;J_\pm =M_{23}\pm iM_{31};J_3=M_{12}.$$
(16)
The $`J`$’s form the algebra of the $`SO(3)`$. They commute with $`H`$ which generates the $`SO(2)`$ part. The quantity $`\mathrm{\Pi }^\mu `$ has the same dimension as $`P^\mu `$ in the Poincaré algebra, so that it is natural to identify $`\mathrm{\Pi }^0`$ as the energy operator. The generator $`H`$ is then the dimensionless version of the energy operator. So, we can label our states by the eigenvalues of one or the other of these operators.

We can choose the remaining six generators of AdS4 algebra such that they can act as raising and lowering operators for eigenvalues of $`\mathrm{\Pi }^0`$. To this end, let

$$B_i^\pm =M_{0i}\pm il\mathrm{\Pi }_i;i=1,2,3.$$
(17)
All three of the plus (minus) operators raise (lower) the eigenvalues of $`H`$ :

$$[H,B_i^\pm ]=\pm B_i^\pm .$$
(18)
In this $`\{H,J,B\}`$ basis, the quadratic Casimir operator will take the form

$$I_1=\mathrm{\Pi }_0(\mathrm{\Pi }_0\frac{3}{l})+\frac{1}{l^2}\stackrel{}{J}^2+\frac{1}{l^2}B_i^+B_i^{},$$
(19)
where in the last term a sum over the index “i ” is to be taken.

Using the above preparations, we can now label  the discrete representations of AdS4 algebra by the labels induced by subgroup $`SO(2)\times SO(3)`$. Depending on whether we use eigenvalues of $`\mathrm{\Pi }_0`$ or $`H`$, they are:

$$|E,j,j_3,E_\mathrm{\Lambda }>;|h,j,j_3,E_\mathrm{\Lambda }>.$$
(20)
The quantity $`E_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is the energy scale associated with the value of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ or, equivalently, with the radius of curvature $`l`$. For these unitary representations, we denote the lowest (ground state) eigenvalues by $`E_0`$ and $`s`$, respectively. This means, in particular, that

$$B_i^{}|E_0,s,s_3,E_\mathrm{\Lambda }>=0.$$
(21)
Applying the quadratic Casimir operator on a ground state, we get

$$I_{AdS}|E_0,s,s_3,E_\mathrm{\Lambda }>=[E_0(E_03E_\mathrm{\Lambda })+E_\mathrm{\Lambda }^2s(s+1)]|E_0,s,s_3,E_\mathrm{\Lambda }>,$$
(22)
Comparing this expression with the corresponding eigenvalue for the Poincaré algebra, it is already clear that the ground state energy $`E_0`$ will depend on $`s`$ and on $`E_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$.

Next, consider the dS4 algebra. In this case, the maximal compact subgroup is $`SO(4)`$. Its labels can be used to induce and classify the unitary representations of the dS4 algebra . To construct an appropriate energy-momentum operator, however, we will make use of a representation of dS4 algebra pioneered by Bohm , in which the unitary principal series of dS4 are realized on an identical pair of positive energy representations of the Poincaré group. Both the Poincaré and dS4 groups contain the Lorentz group as a subgroup. The corresponding generators, $`M_{\mu \nu }`$ satisfy the commutation relations given in Eq. (9). Let $`P_\mu `$ represent the (commuting) translation generators of the Poincaré algebra, so that its quadratic Casimir operator is given by $`P^2=P_\mu P^\mu `$. Then, using a notation similar to that for AdS4 given above, let

$$\mathrm{\Pi }_\mu =P_\mu +[\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{2P^2}]^{1/2}\{P^\nu ,M_{\nu \mu }\},$$
(23)
where, as in previous section, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=l^2`$ is the cosmological constant. It is easy to check that the $`\mathrm{\Pi }_\mu `$’s defined in this way satisfy the commutation relations given in Eq. (9). Therefore, we have a representation of the dS4 algebra in terms of the operators $`P_\mu `$ and $`M_{\mu \nu }`$.

In this representation of dS4 algebra, the quadratic Casimir operator of the algebra given by Eq. (10) can be expressed as

$$I_1=P_\mu P^\mu +\frac{9}{4}E_\mathrm{\Lambda }^2+E_\mathrm{\Lambda }^2\omega _\mu \omega ^\mu .$$
(24)
In this equation, the quantity

$$\omega _\mu =\frac{1}{2}ϵ_{\mu \nu \rho \sigma }P^\nu M^{\rho \sigma }$$
(25)
is the Pauli-Lubanski operator of the Poincaré algebra. Also, as in the case of AdS4 algebra, we have replaced the cosmological constant with the corresponding energy scale $`E_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$.

We can now compute the eigenvalues of $`I_1`$ acting on positive energy representations of the Poincaré group. We label the Poincaré state with its ground state (rest) energy $`E_0`$ and its spins $`s`$. Thus we have

$$I_{dS}|E_0,s,E_\mathrm{\Lambda }>=[E_0^2+E_\mathrm{\Lambda }^2(\frac{9}{4}s^2s)]|E_0,s,E_\mathrm{\Lambda }>.$$
(26)
The range of values of $`s`$ is the same as one of labels for the unitary principal series representations of the dS4 group, so that we can take $`s`$ as a suitable definition of spin in dS4 space. Similarly, the operator $`P^0`$ has the correct dimension and the range of eigenvalues to be identified as the energy operator. We note, however, that, in contrast to Poincaré algebra, since $`P_\mu P^\mu `$ is not an invariant of dS4 algebra, $`E_0mc^2`$ in dS4 space. The connection to mass will be discussed in the next section.

## 4 $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$-Dependence of Mass-Spin-Energy Relations

We now turn to the issue of how the notion of mass arises in dS4 or AdS4 spaces and how it gets related to the eigenvalues of their respective quadratic Casimir operators. In a standard field theory, the mass of a particle is identified as the pole of the propagator for the corresponding field. To lowest order, the propagator is the classical Green’s function for an invariant differential equation. For a scalar field in Minkowski space, e.g., it is the Green’s function for the Klein-Gordon equation

$$\left(^\mu _\mu +m^2\right)\varphi (x)=0,$$
(27)
This equation immediately generalizes to curved space-time by replacing $`_\mu `$ with an appropriate covariant derivative $`_\mu `$:

$$\left(_\mu ^\mu +m^2\right)\varphi (x)=0.$$
(28)
It has been observed, however, that in contrast to Klein-Gordon equation the massless limit of this equation is not conformally invariant . If we require, in analogy with the corresponding situation in Minkowski space, that the massless limit of the relevant differential equation be conformally invariant, we must modify this equation by a term proportional to the scalar curvature :

$$\left(_\mu ^\mu +\frac{R}{3}+m^2\right)\varphi (x)=0.$$
(29)
where for dS4 and AdS4 spaces,

$$R=\pm \frac{3}{2l^2}$$
(30)
More generally, for a particle of any spin, we have

$$\left(_\mu ^\mu E_\mathrm{\Lambda }^2\beta _s+m^2c^4\right)\mathrm{\Psi }_s=0,$$
(31)
where $`\beta _s`$ is a rational number that can be different for different spin. It is to be noted that the question of whether or not the massless limit of a wave equation in curved space should have the same symmetry, i.e., conformal invariance, as that of the corresponding equation in Minkowski space, must ultimately be settled by its physical predictions. As far as the result given below are concerned, conformal invariance or lack thereof affects the value of the coeffeciant $`\beta _s`$.

With a suitable differential equation at hand, it is now straight forward to connect it to the quadratic Casimir operator, $`I_1`$, of the dS4 or AdS4 algebra. This can be worked out in a manner which is familiar from the relation indicated in the previous section between the d’Alembertian operator and the quadratic Casimir operator of the Poincaré (Lie) algebra in Minkowski space. This means that to have an invariant differential equation, we must have

$$I_1=_\mu ^\mu +b(s).$$
(32)
where the quantity $`b(s)`$ can depend on spin. Using the field equation and the eigenvalues for $`I_1`$ of dS4 given by Eq. (26), we get

$$m^2c^4=E_0^2+E_\mathrm{\Lambda }^2(\frac{9}{4}s^2s+\beta _s)b(s).$$
(33)
Similarly, using Eq. (22) for AdS4, we get, with in general a different value for $`\beta _s`$,

$$m^2c^4=E_0(E_03E_\mathrm{\Lambda })+E_\mathrm{\Lambda }^2(s^2+s+\beta _s)b(s).$$
(34)
The precise form of $`b(s)`$ will depend on the choice of unitary representations and other constraints. For example, for the discrete unitary series of AdS4, one can use the non-negativity of the norms of the states  to get

$$m^2c^4=E_0(E_03E_\mathrm{\Lambda })+E_\mathrm{\Lambda }^2(2+ss^2).$$
(35)
What is important for our purposes is that both for dS4 and AdS4 the expression for the ground state energy is of the form

$$E_0=E_0(m,s,E_\mathrm{\Lambda }).$$
(36)
## 5 Potential Experimental Consequences and Speculations

One of the straight forward but important consequences of a non-vanishing cosmological constant is that it changes the asymptotic symmetry group of space-time from Poincaré group to de Sitter or anti-de Sitter group. One immediate consequence of this is that the familiar Einstein rest energy expression $`E_0=mc^2`$ is modified to an expression given by Eq. (36), involving mass, spin, and an energy scale determined by the cosmological constant. Moreover, if our current theories of particle physics based on spontaneously broken symmetry and phase transition are correct, then there must have been some periods in the history of the Universe, in which the value of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, and hence of $`E_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, changed significantly. This is clearly not compatible with the idea that a single constant $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, vanishing or non-vanishing, has controlled the expansion of the Universe. It thus appears that a suitable theoretical framework would have to regard $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ as a dynamical quantity, which is both space and time dependent. The explicit construction of such a framework is beyond the scope of this work. Here, we confine the discussion to some general remarks on the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$-dependence of high energy processes.

Let us consider one of the potential experimental consequences of the expression given by Eq. (36). To this end, it will be recalled that the quantity $`E_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is the energy associated with the radius of curvature, $`l_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, of the AdS4 or dS4 space. This energy scale is related to but is distinct from the scale at which the vacuum energy is evaluated. The difference between the two has to do with the appearance of Newton’s constant $`G`$ in Eq. (1). As a first try, let us assume, somewhat naively, that it is the current value $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0`$ of the cosmological parameter that should set the energy scale $`E_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. Then, given the current bounds ,

$$l_{\mathrm{\Lambda }_0}=|\mathrm{\Lambda }_0|^{\frac{1}{2}}10^{28}cm.$$
(37)
It follows that

$$E_{\mathrm{\Lambda }_0}10^{33}eV$$
(38)
So, if the relevant energy scale $`E_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ in Eq. (36) were set by the current value of the cosmological parameter, the deviation from $`E=mc^2`$ would be very small, and there would be no hope for the experimental detection of such deviations in the existing or the planned future colliders.

On the other hand, if our current theories of particle physics based on spontaneously broken symmetry and phase transition are correct, then there must have been some periods in the history of the Universe, in which the value of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, and hence of $`E_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, were large. For example, in the electroweak epoch characterized by $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{EW}`$, the kinematics of a typical electroweak process must have depended significantly on $`E_{\mathrm{\Lambda }_{EW}}`$. It is then of interest to see whether this kind of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$-dependence can be detected in high energy collicer experiments. In this respect, we note that a typical high energy collider experiment at, say, 20 TeV does not necessarily involve a phase transition leading to a significantly larger value of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. But it is conceivable that in future collider machines a mechanism could be devised such that, in the immediate neighborhood of the collision, one can justify the connection between the scale of the experiment and the value of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ corresponding to a phase transition at that scale. Assuming such a connection, let us compute the expected order of magnitude deviations from $`E=mc^2`$ law.

For energies of the order of 200 GeV corresponding to the electroweak phase transition, the radius of curvature $`l_{\mathrm{\Lambda }_{EW}}\frac{1}{4}`$ cm. So, $`E_{\mathrm{\Lambda }_{EW}}10^4`$ eV. For high energy experiments of order 20 TeV, one finds $`E_{\mathrm{\Lambda }_{TeV}}1`$ eV. Finally, for energies of order 1000 TeV, the value of $`E_\mathrm{\Lambda }2500`$ eV. For particles of small mass such as neutrinos, these deviations from the standard rest energy will lead to significant changes in kinematics at very high energies. It may be possible to test this proposal in not too distant a future.

Acknowledgments: This work was supported, in part by the Department of Energy under the contract number DOE-FGO2-84ER40153. I would like to thank Philip Argyres for reading the manuscript and making valuable suggestions for improvement. I am also indebted to Professor Arno Bohm for discussion and correspondence concerning his work.


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# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

In 1971, one of us suggested that renormalization group equations could have limit cycle solutions as well as fixed points when the renormalization group equations involve two or more coupling constants . The 1971 paper did not mention the possibility that renormalization group equations might have limit cycle solutions even for differential equations for only one coupling constant. But in 1993, the two of us defined a simple Hamiltonian that requires the renormalization of just a single bare coupling constant $`g_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, where $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is the cutoff . The bare coupling constant, we demonstrated, exhibits limit cycle behavior in the limit $`\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{}`$. To be precise the coupling constant $`g_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ was found to decrease steadily as $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ increased, until $`g_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ reached $`\mathrm{}`$, after which it jumped to $`+\mathrm{}`$ and started its next cycle of steady decrease. However, we did not recognize or comment that this behavior constituted a limit cycle. Moreover, the Hamiltonian we defined is singular, in such a way that it presumably does not have well-defined s-wave scattering phase shifts. The model has well-defined bound states, and our renormalization group analysis was based on keeping the finite bound state energies fixed as $`\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{}`$.

The model Hamiltonian we published in 1993 has no known physical application. But in 1999, Bedaque, Hammer, and Van Kolck showed that a three-body Hamiltonian with two- and three-body delta function potentials and a cutoff in momentum space is renormalizable and that the three-body coupling approaches a limit cycle as the cutoff lambda approaches $`\mathrm{}`$ , much as it does in our 1993 model. Bedaque et al built on earlier work of Thomas  and Efimov , that was recently reviewed by Nielsen, Fedorov, Jensen, and Garrido . However, the mathematics of the three body system is complex, and it is surely useful to have simpler models to study that exhibit limit cycles too.

In this paper, we discuss a discretized version of the Hamiltonian we introduced in 1993. With a cutoff, the discretized model takes the form of a finite size matrix with discrete eigenvalues. The discrete matrix has a diagonal sub-matrix, plus two off-diagonal pieces with two coupling constants. The Hamiltonian requires renormalization in the limit of infinite cutoff. Just as in the continuum case, the renormalization can be constructed analytically and leads to a limit cycle in one of the two couplings, while the second coupling constant stays fixed. But the analytically obtained limit cycle is defined only for a discrete sequence of cutoffs, rather than for a continuously varying cutoff. Using numerical procedures, it is possible to define and compute a renormalization process with a continuously varying cutoff, but our studies with the continuous cutoff variation will not be discussed here.

The finite matrix Hamiltonians can be diagonalized numerically, when the cutoff is small enough. The renormalizability of the Hamiltonians we will discuss here can be demonstrated to high numerical accuracy with cutoffs small enough to allow numerical diagonalization. We will provide the demonstration with a comparison of the eigenvalues of two matrices with two different cutoffs, one of size 37x37, the other of size 42x42.

The Hamiltonian to be used in this paper has the form

$$H_{mn}(g_N,h_N)=(E_mE_n)^{1/2}\left[\delta _{mn}g_Nih_Ns_{mn}\right],$$
(1)
where $`m`$ and $`n`$ are integers. For $`m=n`$, $`\delta _{mn}=1`$ and $`s_{mn}=0`$. For $`mn`$, $`\delta _{mn}=0`$ and $`s_{mn}=(mn)/|mn|`$. The numbers $`E_n=b^n`$ with $`b>1`$, are eigenvalues of the operator $`H_0`$ that has matrix elements $`m|H_0|n=H_{mn}(0,0)`$. The eigenvalues are called kinetic energies of the corresponding eigenstates, $`|n`$. The remaining part of the Hamiltonian, $`H_I=HH_0`$, is called an interaction, and $`H_I(0,0)=0`$. The largest energy allowed in the dynamics is $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_N=b^N`$, which defines the ultraviolet cutoff so that the subscripts $`m,nN`$.

The continuous version of this model  is recovered in the limit $`b1`$. The discrete model itself has been discussed in the case $`h_N=0`$ using similarity renormalization group idea  and Wegner’s equation . It was shown that the model exhibits asymptotic freedom for $`h_N=0`$. Hamiltonians of Eq. (1) with $`h_N=0`$ can be derived in a number of ways, ranging from a discretization of a nonrelativistic Schrödinger equation for a particle on a plane with a two-dimensional $`\delta `$-potential, to a discrete version of the transverse dynamics of partons in quantum field theory.

At first, the model with $`h_N0`$ does not appear much different from the one with $`h_N=0`$. All Hamiltonians defined by Eq. (1) are hermitian and have a general ultraviolet logarithmically divergent structure. The divergence originates in the fact that the far off-energy-shell matrix elements of $`H_{mn}`$, i.e. those with $`|mn|1`$, behave like $`(E_mE_n)^{1/2}`$. Therefore, perturbation theory produces large-energy contributions of the form $`_i(E_mE_i)^{1/2}(1/E_i)(E_iE_n)^{1/2}`$, and every energy scale contributes a significant amount to the sum, which grows linearly with the number of initially included scales, $`N=\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{\Lambda }_N/\mathrm{ln}b`$. The dependence of the unrenormalized coupling constants $`g_N`$ and $`h_N`$ on $`N`$, is expected to compensate this effect. As we will demonstrate below, when $`h_N`$ is not zero, the model exhibits limit cycle behavior as N goes to infinity. We will prove this by deriving a renormalization group equation that determines $`g_{N1}`$ (used with a cutoff $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{N1}`$ ), given $`g_N`$ and $`h_N`$ used with cutoff $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_N`$, such that the low energy eigenvalues stay fixed.

This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 describes the discrete RG flow of the model Hamiltonians $`H(g_N,h_N)`$ with $`N`$. The structure of eigenstates of these Hamiltonians is also briefly described. Section 3 shows a numerical example of the spectrum of renormalized Hamiltonians and their discrete rescaling properties. The spectrum is found to contain a sequence of negative (bound state) eigenvalues, one per cycle. Section 4 concludes the paper.

## 2 Renormalization group trajectories

The eigenvalue problem

$$\underset{n=\mathrm{}}{\overset{N}{}}H_{mn}\psi _n=E\psi _m,$$
(2)
can be solved for $`\psi _m`$, $`mN`$, assuming that one knows $`E`$, by using the Gaussian elimination procedure. In the first step one can express $`\psi _N`$ in terms of all other components, $`\psi _n`$ with $`n<N`$. In the next step, one expresses $`\psi _{N1}`$ in terms of components $`\psi _n`$ with $`n<N1`$, and so on. In fact, this procedure can be carried out without knowing $`E`$ if the eliminated energy scales are much larger than $`E`$. Thus, when one is interested in the eigenvalues of order $`b^M`$ with $`M\mathrm{}`$, one can eliminate states from some huge energy range between $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_N=b^N`$ and some fixed $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0=b^{N_0}`$, where $`N_0`$ is much smaller than $`N`$ and still $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0E`$. The new, much smaller eigenvalue problem will have the cutoff $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0`$ and the corresponding coupling constants. When the recursion for the whole sequence of the coupling constants $`(g_N,h_N)`$, $`(g_{N1},h_{N1})`$,…, $`(g_{N_0},h_{N_0})`$, is found, one can trace it back starting from some assumed finite values $`(g_0,h_0)`$ at a finite $`N_0`$ and see what happens with $`(g_N,h_N)`$ when the cutoff number $`N\mathrm{}`$.

To carry out the above procedure, it is convenient to introduce a small number $`\stackrel{~}{E}=E/b^N`$ and write the eigenstate components in the form $`\psi _n=b^{n/2}\varphi _n`$ for all $`nN`$. The eigenvalue Eq. (2) becomes:

$`(1\stackrel{~}{E})\varphi _N`$ $`=`$ $`g_N\sigma _N+ih_N\sigma _{N1},`$
$`(1b\stackrel{~}{E})\varphi _{N1}`$ $`=`$ $`g_N\sigma _N+ih_N\left(\varphi _N+\sigma _{N2}\right),`$
$`(1b^2\stackrel{~}{E})\varphi _{N2}`$ $`=`$ $`g_N\sigma _N+ih_N\left(\varphi _N\varphi _{N1}+\sigma _{N3}\right),`$
$`:`$
$`(1b^n\stackrel{~}{E})\varphi _{Nn}`$ $`=`$ $`g_N\sigma _N+ih_N\left(\varphi _N+\mathrm{}\varphi _{Nn+1}+\sigma _{Nn1}\right),`$
$`:`$ $`,`$
where $`\sigma _i=_{j=\mathrm{}}^i\varphi _j`$. If $`E`$ and $`n`$ are finite and $`N\mathrm{}`$, $`b^i\stackrel{~}{E}`$ for $`i=0,1,\mathrm{},n`$ on the left hand sides of the above equations do not count. The first step of the Gaussian procedure gives

$$\varphi _N=(g_N+ih_N)\sigma _{N1}/(1g_N).$$
(3)
Substituting this result into the remaining equations, one obtains a new set that does not explicitly involve the component with largest kinetic energy but has a different coupling constant instead. Namely,

$`(1b\stackrel{~}{E})\varphi _{N1}`$ $`=`$ $`g_{N1}\sigma _{N1}+ih_{N1}\sigma _{N2},`$
$`(1b^2\stackrel{~}{E})\varphi _{N2}`$ $`=`$ $`g_{N1}\sigma _{N1}+ih_{N1}\left(\varphi _{N1}+\sigma _{N3}\right),`$
$`:`$
$`(1b^n\stackrel{~}{E})\varphi _{Nn}`$ $`=`$ $`g_{N1}\sigma _{N1}+ih_{N1}\left(\varphi _{N1}+\mathrm{}\varphi _{Nn+1}+\sigma _{Nn1}\right),`$
$`:`$ $`.`$
The new coupling constant $`g_{N1}=g_N+(g_N^2+h_N^2)/(1g_N)`$, while $`h_{N1}=h_N`$ stays unchanged. Making $`p`$ such steps, one transforms $`(g_N,h_N)`$ into $`(g_{Np},h_{Np})`$, where $`h_{Np}=h_N`$ and

$$g_{Np}=h_N\mathrm{tan}\left[\mathrm{arctan}\left(\frac{g_N}{h_N}\right)+p\mathrm{arctan}(h_N)\right].$$
(4)
It is visible that $`g_{Np}=g_N`$ when $`h_N=\mathrm{tan}(\pi /p)`$. Equation (4) demonstrates that the coupling constant $`g_N`$ completes a cycle when $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_N`$ is reduced to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_N/b^p`$, and the cycle repeats itself in the further reductions. Fig. 1 shows these cycles for $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{16}=b^{16}`$, $`g=0.060606`$ , and $`h_{16}=\mathrm{tan}(\pi /5)`$. If $`g_{16}`$ were zero, the cycle would be symmetric with respect to the axis $`g_N=0`$. On the other hand, components of the eigenvectors of $`H(g_N,h_N)`$ satisfy the recursion

$$\psi _n=b^{1/2}\frac{1ih_NE/b^{n+1}}{1+ih_NE/b^n}\psi _{n+1},$$
(5)
for all $`N`$ and $`nN`$ independently of the value of $`g_N`$.

Note that for real Hamiltonian matrices, i.e. for $`h_N0`$, Eq. (4)implies

$$g_N=\frac{g_0}{1+g_0(NN_0)},$$
(6)
which means asymptotic freedom, or $`g_\mathrm{\Lambda }=g_0/\left[1+g_0\mathrm{ln}(\mathrm{\Lambda }/\mathrm{\Lambda }_0)/\mathrm{ln}b\right]0`$ when $`\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{}`$. This is a fixed point behavior. In contrast, for complex Hamiltonians, Eq. (4) is equivalent to the following renormalization group transformation of $`g_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ from $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_0`$ to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, ($`hh_N=const.`$),

$$g_\mathrm{\Lambda }=h\frac{g_0h\mathrm{tan}\left[c\mathrm{ln}(\mathrm{\Lambda }/\mathrm{\Lambda }_0)\right]}{h+g_0\mathrm{tan}\left[c\mathrm{ln}(\mathrm{\Lambda }/\mathrm{\Lambda }_0)\right]},$$
(7)
where $`c=\mathrm{arctan}(h)/\mathrm{ln}(b)`$, which exhibits the limit cycle.

In the continuum limit of $`b1`$, the sum over energy scales, $`_i𝑑\mathrm{\Lambda }/(\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{ln}b)`$. When the ratio $`r_c=\mathrm{\Lambda }/\mathrm{\Lambda }_0`$ of two cutoffs separated by one complete cycle is kept constant and $`b`$ tends to 1, the difference $`p`$ between powers $`N`$ and $`N_0`$ must grow to infinity, as $`p=\mathrm{ln}r_c/\mathrm{ln}b`$. The corresponding coupling constant $`h=\mathrm{tan}(\pi /p)`$ becomes then equal to $`\pi /p=(\pi \mathrm{ln}b)/\mathrm{ln}r_c`$ and the constant $`c`$ in Eq. (7) becomes equal to $`\pi /\mathrm{ln}r_c`$. This result shows that the limit $`b1`$ in the discrete model reproduces the continuum case from Ref. , and the period ratio is $`r_c=\mathrm{exp}(\pi /c)`$ for all values of the imaginary part $`c`$ of the interaction term. The fixed-point behavior with asymptotic freedom is obtained only in the limit $`c0`$, as the RG behavior in a one long cycle.

## 3 Numerical example

For illustration of the limit cycle from Fig. 1 and to show the existence of bound state solutions associated with it, Table 1 provides results of diagonalization of two Hamiltonian matrices: $`H_1`$ with $`m`$ and $`n`$ ranging from $`M=25`$ to $`N=16`$, and $`H_2`$ with $`N=11`$ and the same $`M`$. Both Hamiltonians have the same values of $`b=2`$, $`h_{16}=h_{11}=\mathrm{tan}(\pi /5)0.726543`$, and $`g_{16}=g_{11}=0.060606`$ . The Hamiltonian $`H_2`$ is considered a result of five discrete RG steps applied to the Hamiltonian $`H_1`$. The infrared cutoff $`M`$ was introduced in order to use a computer for calculations. The lower is $`M`$ the better is the agreement between the example and the cycle theory applicable for $`M\mathrm{}`$. The eigenvalues of small modulus (not too small, however, to stay away from the lower bound $`b^M`$) are identical in both cases within the displayed numerical accuracy. For these eigenvalues, the RG analysis of the previous section is fully confirmed. For eigenvalues close to the artificial lower bound $`b^M`$, the finite size of the matrix changes the pattern in a certain way, which is not relevant here.

The scaling phenomenon of interest is described by showing the ratios of ratios of successive eigenvalues for one matrix to two characteristic numbers. The negative eigenvalues, that correspond to bound states ($`E_n=b^n`$ are positive for all values of $`n`$), appear in a geometric sequence with quotient $`32`$, with accuracy approaching several ppm in the best cases. Thus, there is one bound state per cycle among the solutions. The positive eigenvalues also appear in a geometric sequence, but with a quotient almost equal $`2^{5/4}`$, which can be understood on the basis of dimensional analysis without inspecting details of the solution. Namely, after $`p`$ reduction steps one eliminates $`p`$ states from the dynamics and obtains the Hamiltonian $`H_2`$ that is equivalent to $`b^pH_1=H_1/32`$. Since in every cycle among the $`p`$ states only $`p1`$ have positive eigenvalues and the cycle repeats itself indefinitely, the ratio of the successive $`p1`$ eigenvalues (if such a common quotient exists) must satisfy the condition $`r^{p1}=b^p`$ in order to scale properly from one cycle to another. Therefore, $`r=b^{p/(p1)}`$, and in the example one obtains the factor $`32^{1/4}`$. Deviations from that rule within a single cycle cannot be understood so simply but the calculation shows a repeating sequence within a cycle with all elements very close to $`r`$.

However, the most prominent feature of the example is the appearance of one negative eigenvalue in every cycle. It requires further studies to be fully understood. Here it is noted that when the period $`p`$ tends to infinity with $`h_N0`$, one recovers the case from Ref. , with asymptotic freedom and a bound state, but in infinitely many copies connected together in a sequence. In every single long-cycle link in that chain, looked at in the direction of growing $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, the asymptotically free coupling decreases logarithmically towards large energies until it eventually crosses zero, grows in size and turns up rapidly. A new generation bound state is uncovered at that scale, and a new cycle starts from a large coupling constant that decreases slowly again.

| $`n`$ | $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=2^{16}`$ | $`r`$ | $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=2^{11}`$ | $`r`$ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 13 | 0.954734+05 | - | - | - |
| 12 | 0.328953+05 | 0.819481 | - | - |
| 11 | 0.131845+05 | 0.953270 | - | - |
| 10 | 0.545303+04 | 0.983701 | - | - |
| 9 | 0.228087+04 | 0.994830 | 0.298354+04 | - |
| 8 | 0.956198+03 | 0.997093 | 0.102798+04 | 0.819481 |
| 7 | 0.401063+03 | 0.997590 | 0.412015+03 | 0.953270 |
| 6 | 0.168593+03 | 0.999803 | 0.170407+03 | 0.983701 |
| 5 | 0.709615+02 | 1.001090 | 0.712770+02 | 0.994830 |
| 4 | 0.298253+02 | 0.999652 | 0.298812+02 | 0.997093 |
| 3 | 0.125234+02 | 0.998679 | 0.125332+02 | 0.997590 |
| 2 | 0.526682+01 | 1.000260 | 0.526853+01 | 0.999803 |
| 1 | 0.221724+01 | 1.001270 | 0.221755+01 | 1.001090 |
| 0 | 0.931986+00 | 0.999731 | 0.932040+00 | 0.999652 |
| -1 | 0.391347+00 | 0.998713 | 0.391357+00 | 0.998679 |
| -2 | 0.164586+00 | 1.000270 | 0.164588+00 | 1.000260 |
| -3 | 0.692886-01 | 1.001280 | 0.692889-01 | 1.001270 |
| -4 | 0.291245-01 | 0.999733 | 0.291245-01 | 0.999731 |
| -5 | 0.122296-01 | 0.998714 | 0.122296-01 | 0.998713 |
| -6 | 0.514332-02 | 1.000270 | 0.514332-02 | 1.000270 |
| -7 | 0.216526-02 | 1.001280 | 0.216526-02 | 1.001280 |
| -8 | 0.910135-03 | 0.999730 | 0.910135-03 | 0.999730 |
| -9 | 0.382169-03 | 0.998705 | 0.382169-03 | 0.998705 |
| -10 | 0.160723-03 | 1.000250 | 0.160723-03 | 1.000250 |
| -11 | 0.676587-04 | 1.001230 | 0.676587-04 | 1.001230 |
| -12 | 0.284359-04 | 0.999610 | 0.284359-04 | 0.999610 |
| -13 | 0.119370-04 | 0.998423 | 0.119370-04 | 0.998423 |
| -14 | 0.501683-05 | 0.999594 | 0.501683-05 | 0.999594 |
| -15 | 0.210854-05 | 0.999630 | 0.210854-05 | 0.999630 |
| -16 | 0.882705-06 | 0.995684 | 0.882705-06 | 0.995684 |
| -17 | 0.367003-06 | 0.988875 | 0.367003-06 | 0.988875 |
| -18 | 0.150481-06 | 0.975210 | 0.150481-06 | 0.975210 |
| -19 | 0.584264-07 | 0.923457 | 0.584264-07 | 0.923457 |
| -22 | 0.654169-08 | 0.266298 | 0.654169-08 | 0.266298 |
| -4 | -.622117-06 | 0.964026 | -.622117-06 | 0.964026 |
| -3 | -.206506-04 | 0.998881 | -.206506-04 | 0.998880 |
| -2 | -.661561-03 | 0.999965 | -.661561-03 | 0.999960 |
| -1 | -.211707-01 | 0.999994 | -.211708-01 | 0.999831 |
| 0 | -.677466-00 | 0.999832 | -.677580+00 | 0.994617 |
| 1 | -.216826+02 | 0.994617 | -.217999+02 | 0.824124 |
| 2 | -.697598+03 | 0.824124 | -.846472+03 | - |
| 3 | -.270871+05 | - | - | - |

Table 1. The columns contain: $`n`$ \- the approximate integer powers of $`2^{5/4}`$ ($`2^5`$) that give positive (negative) eigenvalues; $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=2^{16}`$ \- the eigenvalues of the Hamiltonian with $`N=16`$ and $`M=25`$ (see the text for details); $`r`$ \- the ratio of the ratio of two successive eigenvalues to $`2^{5/4}`$ ($`2^5`$) for the positive (negative) eigenvalues; $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=2^{11}`$ \- the eigenvalues of $`H`$ after 5 discrete RG steps (the same $`M`$ is used).

## 4 Conclusion

The possibility of a long asymptotically free cycle due to small imaginary couplings, with an abrupt end and a bound state formation where a new cycle starts, is an interesting feature of our specific model. But the central result of our paper is that such a simple Hamiltonian exhibits limit cycle behavior for non-zero $`h`$ instead of a fixed point. Together with the limit cycle found by Bedaque et al, and implicit in earlier work of Efimov and Thomas, this raises the question of whether limit cycle behavior is a common feature of renormalized quantum theories, outside of those that have already been solved and are known to exhibit fixed points. The model analysis carried out here certainly needs improvements, especially concerning details of the bound state formation and the sharp turn of the coupling where it approaches 1 and Eq. (4) produces a jump.

Separately from the existence of the limit cycle, the model is also valuable because it can be studied using the similarity RG technique (see ), and the latter can be applied to Hamiltonians in quantum field theories of major interest, such as QCD (see e.g. ). (We do not expect QCD in particular to show limit cycle behavior: our comments about limit cycles apply more to broad classes of Hamiltonians, most not yet examined, rather than specific ones already examined as extensively as QCD has been.) The authors have generated numerical solutions to Wegner’s differential equation in the model and found continuous similarity RG evolution of effective couplings with all key features described here. Thus, when one uses the similarity scheme in studies of effective Hamiltonians in more advanced models, one may also encounter complex RG scenarios. It remains to be seen if the model structure reappears in realistic quantum theories.


text:
# Reflection of matter waves by a moving wall

\[

## Abstract

Reflection of a normal incident matter wave by a perfectly reflecting wall moving with a constant velocity is investigated. A surprising phenomenon is found-that if the the wall moves faster than the phase velocity of the incident wave, both the reflected and incident waves propagate in the same direction. This counter-intuitive result is an example which shows that common sense is not always credible when one deals with quantum problems.
PACS numbers: 03.65.Fd, 03.65.Ge

\] The study of the exact solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation has drawn much attention over the past decades. Besides the mathematical interest, the knowledge of the solution may help us to further explore various fascinating quantum phenomena and to clarify some subtle concepts. In classical physics, the knowledge of space-time transformation is essential in understanding many interesting phenomena, such as Doppler effect and optical black holes. However, until recently the importance of the space-time transformation in nonrelativistic quantum systems  has not yet been emphasized or even discussed in most popular textbooks. In this report we study the Doppler effect of the matter waves echo in a one-dimensional quantum system. We find that under appropriate conditions this system shows surprising result. We believe the phenomenon described below is important and deserves more discussions and investigations.

Consider a particle of mass $`m`$ and momentum $`p=\mathrm{}k`$ incident from the left is reflected by a wall moving with a constant velocity $`v`$. The total matter wave $`\psi `$ satisfies the Schrödinger equation $`i\mathrm{}_t\psi (x,t)=(\mathrm{}^2/2m)_x^2\psi (x,t)`$ (here $`x<vt`$, and $`vt`$ represents the position of the wall at time $`t`$ ) and is the sum of the incident wave $`\psi _+=e^{i(kx\omega t)}`$ and reflected wave $`\psi _{}=re^{i(k^{}x\omega ^{}t)}`$:

$$\psi (x,t)=e^{i(kx\omega t)}+re^{i(k^{}x\omega ^{}t)},$$
(1)
here $`\omega =\mathrm{}k^2/2m`$ and $`\omega ^{}=\mathrm{}k^2/2m`$.

Suppose the moving wall is a perfectly reflecting wall. By definition a perfectly reflecting wall is the boundary separates the regions of potential $`V(x)=0`$ and $`V(x)=\mathrm{}`$ where wave function vanishes. Since the wall moves uniformly with velocity $`v`$ we have the boundary condition

$$\psi (vt,t)=0,$$
(2)
which leads to the obvious solution

$$r=1,k^{}=k+\frac{2mv}{\mathrm{}},$$
(3)
and hence the phase velocity $`v_p`$ of the reflected wave $`\psi _{}`$ is given by

$$v_p=\frac{\mathrm{}}{2m}(k+\frac{2mv}{\mathrm{}})=v\frac{\mathrm{}k}{2m}.$$
(4)
Up to now everything seems simple and reasonable. For a wall moves toward the left or moves slowly enough toward the right we have $`k^{}<0`$ and the reflected wave propagates toward the opposite direction of the incident wave, which is consistent with our naive intuition. However, what will happen if the wall moves fast enough so that $`2mv>\mathrm{}k`$? Surprisingly, in this situation $`k^{}>0`$ and hence the incident and reflected waves propagate toward the same direction! Furthermore, if we increase the velocity of the wall such that $`v>\mathrm{}k/m`$ then the reflected wave will propagate faster than the incident wave. One might feel uncomfortable and doubt if this counter-intuitive phenomenon will actually happen. However, since the above derivation based merely on the Schrödinger equation itself and the simple boundary condition (2), the result must be true under the given conditions.

Substitute (3) into (1), and define

$$\overline{x}=xvt,\overline{k}=k\frac{mv}{\mathrm{}},$$
(5)
we have

$$\psi (x,t)=\mathrm{exp}\left[i\left(\frac{mv}{\mathrm{}}x\frac{mv^2}{2\mathrm{}}t\right)\right]\phi (\overline{x},t),$$
(6)
where

$$\phi (\overline{x},t)=2i\mathrm{sin}(\overline{k}\overline{x})\mathrm{exp}\left(i\frac{\mathrm{}\overline{k}^2}{2m}t\right).$$
(7)
Note that Eq.(6) is nothing but the Galilean Transformation from the original reference frame to another one moving with velocity $`v`$ with respect to the first, and $`\phi (\overline{x},t)`$ is the wave function in that system. This observation leads us to a different understanding of Eq. (3). Denote the original reference frame as $`S`$ and the second one as $`S^{}`$. In $`S`$ the incident wave $`\psi _+`$ has wave number $`k`$ and the reflected wave $`\psi _{}`$ has wave number $`k^{}=k+2mv/\mathrm{}`$, as discussed before. On the other hand, in $`S^{}`$ there are two different possibilities. If $`\overline{k}=kmv/\mathrm{}>0`$ we see a incident wave with wave number $`\overline{k}`$ and a reflected wave with wave number $`\overline{k}`$; whereas if $`\overline{k}=kmv/\mathrm{}<0`$ we see a incident wave with wave number $`\overline{k}`$ and a reflected wave with wave number $`\overline{k}`$. Thus in $`S^{}`$ which wave component is defined as the incident wave is determined by the sign of the wave number $`\overline{k}`$. Consequently, Eq. (3) is simply established by transforming the wave function in $`S^{}`$ back to $`S`$.

From these results we have the unnormalized probability density

$$|\psi |^2=4\mathrm{sin}^2\left[\left(k\frac{mv}{\mathrm{}}\right)\left(xvt\right)\right]$$
(8)
and the probability current

$`J`$ $`=`$ $`(\mathrm{}/2mi)(\psi ^{}_x\psi \psi _x\psi ^{})`$ (9)
$`=`$ $`4v\mathrm{sin}^2\left[\left(k{\displaystyle \frac{mv}{\mathrm{}}}\right)\left(xvt\right)\right].`$ (10)
Now, a “drift velocity” $`v_d`$ can be defined as the ratio $`J/|\psi |^2`$, and this definition gives us the reasonable result

$$v_d=v.$$
(11)
This means that the pattern of the particle probability density $`|\psi |^2`$ behind the wall is dragged by the wall and moves uniformly with velocity $`v`$.

In conclusion, we have shown that under appropriate conditions even the simplest one-dimensional quantum scattering shows unexpected results. We believe the phenomenon described in this report is important and hope it can stimulate more related investigations.

This work received support from National Science Council.


text:
# Chemical potential shift in lightly-doped to overdoped Bi2Sr2Ca1-xRxCu2O8+y (R = Pr, Er)

## I introduction

Since the discovery of the high-temperature superconductors, one of the most important but unanswered questions has been how the electronic structure evolves from the antiferromagnetic insulator (AFI) to the superconductor (SC) as a function of doped hole concentration. In the case of La2-xSrxCuO4 (LSCO), recent angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) studies  have shown that in underdoped samples, the chemical potential $`\mu `$ is pinned at $``$0.4 eV above the top of the lower Hubbard band (more precisely, top of the Zhang-Rice singlet band) and spectral weight is transferred from the lower Hubbard band to near $`\mu `$ with hole doping. Also, it has been found from the photoemission measurements of core levels that the chemical potential does not move with hole doping in the underdoped region . These observations indicate a breakdown of the rigid-band picture and are suggestive of a dramatic reorganization of the electronic structure upon hole doping. In fact, the suppression of the chemical potential shift has been attributed to the strong stripe fluctuations in LSCO  because the charge stripes can be viewed as a kind of microscopic phase separation which will pin the chemical potential. More recently, it has been found that the chemical potential in the electron-doped superconductor Nd2-xCexCuO4 (NCCO) shows a monotonous shift without any sign of suppression, indicating a more rigid-band-like behavior . The absence of a suppression of the shift in NCCO is consistent with the absence of stripe fluctuations in this system .

As for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y (BSCCO), which has been most extensively investigated by ARPES , core-level shifts were studied on Bi2Sr2Ca1-xYxCu2O8+y, where hole concentration was varied with Y substitution . The deduced chemical potential showed an abrupt, large downward shift of $`0.7`$ eV upon hole doping in the lightly doped region, which implies that the chemical potential moves from the in-gap region of the parent the insulator to the top of the lower Hubbard band upon hole doping. However, a subsequent study by Tjernberg et al.  showed a different doping dependence of the core-level shifts. Therefore, more systematic studies over a wide concentration range are required to elucidate the intrinsic behavior of the chemical potential shift. So far, it has been difficult to prepare heavily underdoped BSCCO samples with good quality. Recently, high quality crystals of heavily underdoped BSCCO were systematically synthesized by rare-earth ($`R`$) substitution for Ca and the doping dependence of thermodynamic and transport properties have been studied .

In this paper, we report on a core-level photoemission study of the chemical potential shift $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mu `$ in those Bi2Sr2Ca1-xRxCu2O8+y crystals as a function of doped hole concentration. The chemical potential shift was estimated from the core-level shifts as in the previous studies  utilizing the fact that the energies of core levels are measured reference to $`\mu `$ in photoemission experiments.

## II experiment

Single crystals of Bi2Sr2Ca$`{}_{1x}{}^{}R_{x}^{}`$Cu2O8+y ($`R`$ = Pr, Er) were grown by the self-flux method and the x-ray diffraction pattern showed no trace of impurity phases. Details of sample preparation are given in . The hole concentration $`\delta `$ per Cu atom was estimated from the empirical relationship between $`\delta `$ and the room-temperature thermopower . Errors in $`\delta `$ thus estimated are less than $`\pm `$10 % of $`\delta `$. The hole concentration and the critical temperature were $`\delta =`$0.17, 0.135 and 0.1 and $`T_c=`$ 86, 88 and 48 K for the $`x_{\mathrm{Pr}}=`$0.1, 0.25 and 0.43 samples, respectively, and $`\delta =`$0.135 and $`T_c=`$87 K for the $`x_{\mathrm{Er}}=`$0.1 sample. The $`x_{\mathrm{Er}}=`$0.5 and 1.0 samples were antiferromagnetic insulators and the hole concentration was $`\delta =`$0.05 and 0.025, respectively. The determination of the Néel temperatures $`T_N`$ of the present samples were difficult because of the Er3+ local spins, but we may estimate $`T_N`$50 K and 230 K for $`x_{\mathrm{Er}}=`$ 0.5 and 1.0 from comparison with $`T_N`$ values of Bi2Sr2Ca1-xYxCu2O8+y .

X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were carried out using a Mg $`K\alpha `$ source ($`h\nu =1253.6`$ eV) and a VSW hemispherical analyzer. The energy resolution was about $`0.8`$ eV, which was largely due to the width of the photon source. The samples were cleaved in situ to obtain clean surfaces and measured at $``$ 80 K. The base pressure in the analyzer chamber was $`1\times 10^{10}`$ Torr. All the spectra presented here were taken within four hours after cleaving and no change was observed in the spectra during the measurement. In order to avoid sample degradation or contamination, the samples were cooled to about $`80`$ K. In XPS measurements, high voltages of $`1`$ kV have to be applied to the electron energy analyzer to decelerate photoelectrons, and it is usually difficult to measure the binding energies with an accuracy of $`<100`$ meV. In order to overcome this difficulty, we monitored the applied voltages directly, and confirmed that the uncertainty could be reduced to less than $`10`$ meV . Furthermore, in order to eliminate other unexpected causes of errors, we measured the $`x_{\mathrm{Pr}}=`$ 0.25 and $`x_{\mathrm{Er}}=`$ 0.1 sample as a reference following the measurement of each sample. However, the line shapes were not always identical between the different samples, which sometimes results in uncertainties up to $`\pm `$100 meV in determining the shifts (as indicated by error bars in Figs. 2, 4 and 5).

## III results and discussion

Figure 1 shows the Sr $`3d`$, O $`1s`$ and Bi $`4f`$ core-level XPS spectra of Bi2Sr2Ca1-xRxCu2O8+y (R = Pr, Er). For the Pr samples, the line shape of the Sr $`3d`$ level was almost identical between the different compositions, whereas for the Er samples, it varied slightly with composition on the high binding energy side of the peak. In order to estimate the energy shift, we used the position of the slope on the lower binding energy side of the peak for the Pr samples with higher precision and the peak positions for the Er samples (although only the peak positions are indicated in the figure for clarity). In Fig. 2, the Sr $`3d`$ peak position is plotted as a function of hole concenration $`\delta `$ per Cu atom. The figure shows that the peak moves upwards monotonously with increasing $`\delta `$.

The line shape of the Bi 4f level shown in Fig. 1(b) is mostly identical between the different compositions, and we could use the peak positions to evaluate the energy shift rather accurately. In the region $`\delta 0.1`$, the peak is shifted upwards as $`\delta `$ increases, parallel to the Sr 3d core level. However, in the region $`\delta <0.1`$, the Bi 4f level moves downwards as $`\delta `$ increases, unlike Sr $`3d`$. One can understand this tendency if the mean valence of Bi decreases in the $`\delta <0.1`$ region and the Bi 4f level shows a so-called “chemical shift”. Such a chemical shift cannot occur in the Sr $`3d`$ core level since the valence of Sr2+ should be stable in metal oxides.

As for the O 1s spectra \[Fig. 1(c)\], the line shape is almost identical between the $`\delta =0.025`$ and $`\delta =0.05`$ samples, but becomes broader and somewhat asymmetric as $`\delta `$ increases to $``$0.1. This behavior is consistent with the previous study, where the O 1s core-level spectra were decomposed into several components . Note that in going from $`\delta =0.05`$ to 0.1, where the O $`1s`$ width increases, the Bi 4f level moves to the direction opposite to Sr $`3d`$. Here, it should be remembered that there are at least three kinds of oxygen sites in Bi2Sr2Ca1-xRxCu2O8+y, namely, oxygen in the Bi-O layer, that in the SrO layer and that the CuO2 layer. Then, considering the peculiar shift of the Bi $`4f`$ level, one may speculate that the broadening is caused by different shifts of the O 1s core levels from the diferent oxygen sites in the small $`\delta `$ region.

In order to separately deduce the shifts of the O 1s signals from the different layers, we fitted the O $`1s`$ peak to a superposition of three components as shown in Fig. 3(a). Here, components A, B and C are assigned to oxygens from the CuO2, SrO and Bi-O layers, respectively, following the previous study . In the fitting procedure, we assumed the peak intensity ratio to be A:B:C = 1.2:1.0:1.8 taking into account the amount of excess oxygens $`y=`$ 0.15-0.2 in the Bi-O layers  as well as the mean free paths of photoelectrons escaping from the outermost Bi-O layer. First, we fitted the broad O 1s peak of the $`\delta =0.135`$ sample under the constraint that the widths of the three components were identical, and obtained the energy of each component and the common line width . Then, we fitted the O 1s peaks for the other compositions using the same widths. The shifts of the three components thus deduced are plotted in Fig. 3(b). One notices that as $`\delta `$ increases, the CuO2 and SrO components (A and B) move upwards like the Sr $`3d`$ peak, while the Bi-O component (C) moves to downwards like the Bi $`4f`$ peak, leading to the broadening of the O 1s peak.

As for the Cu 2p core-level spectra (not shown), the peak becomes broader as $`\delta `$ increases in the Er samples. In the Pr samples, the Pr 3d core level overlaps with the Cu 2p core levels and therefore, it was difficult to identify the doping dependence of the line shape. Instead, we used the peak position to crudely estimate the shift of the Cu 2p level. In Fig. 2, we have plotted the shift of the Cu $`2p`$ peak positions for the Pr and Er samples. Thus, we find that the Cu 2p core level moves downards with $`\delta `$. This behavior can be understood if the chemical shift, which is caused by the creation of a “Cu3+” component on the higher binding energy side of the Cu2+ main component, overwhelms the effect of the chemical potential shift, as in the case of LSCO .

In order to deduce the chemical poential shift from the set of the core-level shift data, we note that the shift $`\mathrm{\Delta }E`$ of a core-level energy measured relative to $`\mu `$ is given by $`\mathrm{\Delta }E=\mathrm{\Delta }\mu +K\mathrm{\Delta }Q+\mathrm{\Delta }V_M+\mathrm{\Delta }E_R`$, where $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mu `$ is the change in the chemical potential, $`K\mathrm{\Delta }Q`$ is the chemical shift, $`\mathrm{\Delta }V_M`$ is a shift due to a change in the Madelung potential, and $`\mathrm{\Delta }E_R`$ is the change in the core-hole screening . It has been demonstrated that if the shifts of the metal and oxygen core levels are the same, $`K\mathrm{\Delta }Q`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }V_M`$ are negligibly small . Core-hole screening by conduction electrons can also be excluded from the main origin of the core-level shifts in transition-metal oxides . As mentioned above, in the region $`\delta >0.1`$, the Bi 4f, Sr 3d and O 1s core levels show similar behaviors and therefore we can safely conclude that the shifts are primarily caused by the chemical potential shift. In the region $`\delta <0.1`$, the doping dependences of the core levels are complicated, most likely due to charge transfer from the CuO2 layers (CuO2-Ca$`{}_{1x}{}^{}R_{x}^{}`$-CuO2 blocks) to the Bi-O layers with decreasing $`\delta `$ and the resulting decrease of the Bi valence. Considering the crystal chemistry of BSCCO, the SrO layer is supposed to have fixed charges and the Sr 3d level would be least influenced by the charge transfer, and we assume that the shift of the Sr 3d level most faithfully reflects the chemical potential shift in the entire hole concentration region. Indeed, the shift of the O $`1s`$ peak from the SrO layer as well as that from the CuO2 layer deduced from the line-shape analysis show nearly the same behavior and is most probably caused by the chemical potential shift.

Figure 4 shows the chemical potential shift $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mu `$ relative to $`\delta =0`$ thus deduced for the Er- and Pr-substituted BSCCO samples. The shift is slow in the underdoped regime, and becomes faster as the hole concentration increases. The depression of the chemical potential shift in the underdoped region, i.e., $`|\mu /\delta |`$ $``$ $`0`$ as $`\delta `$ $``$ $`0`$, has been predicted by numerical studies of the two-dimensional Hubbard model  and $`t`$-$`J`$ model . In the Monte Carlo simulations , the calculated $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mu `$ follows $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mu `$ $``$ $`\delta ^2`$. The measured $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mu `$ in BSCCO can be relatively well fitted to $`\delta ^2`$ as shown in Fig. 4. Note that this behavior has not been predicted by mean-field theories such as the Gutzwiller approximation and the dynamical mean-field approximation, which predict that $`|\mu /\delta |`$ $``$ $`\mathrm{}`$ as $`\delta `$ $``$ 0 .

In Fig. 5, we compare $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mu `$ for BSCCO with that for LSCO. Both $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mu `$ curves show similar doping dependences in the sense that the shift is slow in the underdoped region and fast in the overdoped region. However, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mu `$ is strongly suppressed in underdoped LSCO as if the chemical potential is pinned by some levels, while such a pinning-like behavior is not evident or much weaker in BSCCO (although a systematic deviation from the $`\delta ^2`$ behavior due to a weak $`\mu `$ pinning cannot be excluded from Fig. 4). Further, the shift in BSCCO is faster than that in LSCO in the entire hole concentration region. These differences indicate that the change in the electronic structure from the AFI to the SC with hole doping is different at least quantitatively between the two systems. In LSCO, it has been found by an ARPES study that $`\mu `$ is located in states which are created within the band gap of the parent insulator La2CuO4. ARPES data of underdoped BSCCO, on the other hand, appear to show a gradual upwards shift of the lower Hubbard band \[around k$`=(\pi ,0)`$\] with hole doping , indicating no pinning behavior. It is highly desired to perform a systematic ARPES study lightly-doped to underdoped BSCCO. Because the pinning behavior of the chemical potential in LSCO has been attributed to charge fluctuations of the stripe-type , the weakness or absence of the pinning behavior in BSCCO indicates that stripe fluctuations, if exist, are weaker in this system.

## IV conclusion

We have measured the chemical potential shift in BSCCO. The measured shift becomes slow in the underdoped region but is better fitted to $`\delta ^2`$ predicted by the numerical study of the two-dimensional Hubbard model than in the case of LSCO. The difference from LSCO is attributed to the weakness of stripe-type charge fluctuations in BSCCO.

## acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank J. Matsuno for useful advice and A. Ino and T. Mizokawa for discussions. This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research in Priority Area “Novel Quantum Phenomena in Transition Metal Oxides” and a Special Coordination Fund for the Promotion of Science and Technology from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).


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# Directionality of Solar Flare Accelerated Protons and 𝛼 Particles from 𝛾-Ray Line Measurements

## 1 Introduction

Gamma-ray lines emitted in solar flares provide information on the composition, spectrum, and angular distribution of accelerated ions that interact in the solar atmosphere (Ramaty, Kozlovsky, & Lingenfelter, 1979). They also provide information on the composition and density of the ambient plasma.

Ramaty & Crannell (1976) performed the first calculations of the spectral shape of emission lines due to Doppler shifts from recoil of excited nuclei after impact by protons and $`\alpha `$ particles. They found that the 16O line at 6.13 MeV has a width of $`100`$ keV (FWHM) under bombardment by an isotropic distribution of protons. This width increases to $`160`$ keV under bombardment by $`\alpha `$ particles. They also estimated the shift of the line centroid, for a flare near the center of the solar disk, for both a downward isotropic distribution and a downward isotropic distribution limited to angles $`30\mathrm{deg}`$ from the radial direction. These estimates indicated red shifts of $`25`$ and 40 keV for proton bombardment and $`45`$ and 60 keV for $`\alpha `$-particle bombardment, respectively.

Ramaty, Kozlovsky, & Lingenfelter (1979) performed detailed calculations of the shapes and shifts of gamma-ray lines from 12C and 16O that have become the basis of a Monte Carlo code fundamental to several subsequent publications. Murphy, Kozlovsky, & Ramaty (1988) used updated cross sections in this code to calculate the solar 7Be, 7Li, and 12C line profiles for isotropic, fan beam, and downward beamed proton and $`\alpha `$-particle distributions having Bessel function energy spectra. They also included contributions to the 12C line from spallation of 16O. They described how these angular distributions can be distinguished from one another using gamma-ray line measurements made at different heliocentric angles, especially when made with a high-resolution spectrometer. Based on an optical model with parameters determined by accelerator particle data, Werntz, Lang, & Kim (1990) developed a computer code that calculated the shapes of the 12C and 16O lines from inelastic collisions of protons. They showed representative spectra for fan beams, downward beams, and isotropic interacting particle distributions for both thick and thin targets. Lang & Werntz (1991) expanded these line-shape calculations by including $`\alpha `$-particle interactions.

Hua & Lingenfelter (1987) provided the first estimate of the angular distribution of accelerated ions at the Sun from measurements of flare-produced neutrons at Earth. They found that the data could only be fit by ions with either an isotropic distribution or a fan beam distribution produced by particles mirroring in a magnetic loop. Hua, Ramaty, & Lingenfelter (1989) applied these transport calculations to the production of nuclear de-excitation $`\gamma `$-ray lines and calculated the time profiles of decaying phases of high-energy flares under the assumption that the energy release occurred over short time period relative to the emission. Their comparisons with limited flare data indicated that transport effects of the particles in magnetic loops dominated the time profiles. Murphy, et al. (1990) applied these transport calculations to determine the shapes of the 7Be and 7Li lines produced in $`\alpha `$-4He fusion reactions. They derived the angular distribution of interacting $`\alpha `$ particles for different amounts of pitch angle scattering caused by MHD turbulence in coronal magnetic loops. The distribution approaches that of a fan beam when there is negligible pitch angle scattering. With increasing pitch-angle scattering a larger fraction of the $`\alpha `$ particles interact in the downward direction. Because Murphy, et al. (1990) were only able to compare their calculations with data from a limb flare, they were not able to constrain the amount of pitch-angle scattering encountered by the $`\alpha `$ particles. Share & Murphy (1997) studied the 7Be and 7Li line profiles in 19 solar flares using the shapes calculated by Murphy, Kozlovsky, & Ramaty (1988). They found that a downward beam of $`\alpha `$ particles could be ruled out in two disk flares, and that isotropic and broad fan-beam distributions of interacting particles were both consistent with all the data.

Recently Kiener, de Séréville, & Tatischeff (2001) have calculated the 4.439 MeV 12C line profiles in more detail than has been done previously. They used new accelerator measurements and have combined the techniques developed by Murphy, Kozlovsky, & Ramaty (1988) and Werntz, Lang, & Kim (1990) to calculate the profiles over a broad range of interacting proton and $`\alpha `$-particle energies, including contributions to the 12C line from spallation of 16O. Their algorithm enables calculation of the line profiles for different interacting particle spectra, angular distributions, and $`\alpha `$/p abundances.

In Figure 1 we plot calculated profiles that illustrate the various processes that contribute to the overall shape of the 12C line. We assume that the proton and $`\alpha `$ particles follow power-law spectra with an index of 4.0 above $``$ 2 MeV/nucleon, are normalized to the same number of interacting particles, and are beamed ($`5^{}`$ exponential fall-off) toward the Sun. The calculations have been done for a flare at a heliocentric of 5. In the left panel we plot the line profiles produced by the inelastic, 12C(p,p$`\gamma `$)12C, and spallation, 16O(p,x$`\gamma `$)12C, reactions. The inelastic reaction dominates and produces a narrower line profile than the spallation reaction. In the right panel we plot the inelastic 12C($`\alpha ,\alpha \gamma `$)12C and spallation 16O($`\alpha ,x\gamma `$)12C reactions. The inelastic $`\alpha `$-particle reactions produce a more complex line profile extending to lower energy than that produced by the protons. We have some concern about the $`\alpha `$-particle induced line shapes, however, because they are only based on optical model calculations that are most accurate for energies above $``$20 MeV/nucleon. Laboratory measurements are an important priority.

We compare the total contributions to the 12C line profile from proton and $`\alpha `$-particle reactions in Figure 2; the proton and $`\alpha `$-particle distributions are normalized to the same number of incident particles and once again follow a power-law spectrum with index 4. The $`\alpha `$-particle induced reactions dominate the line shape for power-law accelerated-particle spectra and $`\alpha `$/proton ratios of $``$0.5 typically found in flares (Share & Murphy, 1997).

In this paper we focus on measurements of the angular distributions of flare-accelerated protons and $`\alpha `$ particles that impact ambient 12C, 16O, and 20Ne through measurements of de-excitation lines from the recoiling nuclei. We use spectral data from the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) gamma-ray spectrometer experiment. Although the spectrometer has only moderate spectral resolution it revealed $``$1% red shifts for flares centered on the solar disk and $``$3% intrinsic widths for all three lines. We also compare the 12C line observations with calculations for different assumed angular distributions of interacting and protons and $`\alpha `$ particles.

## 2 Observations

The nuclear line measurements that we present were derived from 19 solar flares observed by SMM (Share & Murphy, 1995). The gamma-ray spectrometer (Forrest et al., 1980) was exceptionally stable over its full $``$10 year mission. It was also well calibrated. The energy calibration was determined using laboratory sources and was confirmed by observations of unshifted lines: the solar 0.511 MeV (positron annihilation) and 2.223 MeV (neutron capture) lines (Share & Murphy, 2000), and the 4.444 MeV (11B and 12C) and 6.13 MeV (16O) lines from the Earth’s atmosphere (Share & Murphy, 2001). Based on these measurements, we believe that line energies are known to $``$3 keV. The instrumental energy-resolution function was also determined using the laboratory calibrations and confirmed by the same flare and atmospheric line observations. The instrumental resolution was 7.8% (FWHM) at 0.511 MeV, 4.6% at 2.223 MeV, 3.8% at 4.44 MeV, and 3.4% at 6.13 MeV.

Share & Murphy (2000) noted that the measured widths of de-excitation lines in the sum of the 19 flares were broader than predicted by theory for an isotropic distribution of particles. Such broadening could occur if the interacting particle distribution is anisotropic (thus producing Doppler-shifted lines) because spectra from flares at various heliocentric angles were summed together. We therefore summed spectra into 5 groups depending on the heliocentric angle of the flare. The average angle and number of flares in each group are: 5, 1 (unfortunately, this was a relatively weak flare); 30, 3; 43, 5; 74, 5; 86, 5. We plot count spectra in limited energy ranges around the 4.44 MeV 12C/11B, 6.129 MeV 16O, and 1.634 MeV 20Ne de-excitation lines for the five heliocentric angles in Figures 3-5. We fit the count spectra with a power law and a single Gaussian-shaped line with energy, width, and amplitude free to vary. Solid lines through the data represent the best fits. For comparison, in Figure 6 we also plot the count spectra and fits for the thermal neutron capture line that is formed near rest and should appear at 2.223 MeV. The vertical dotted lines are located at the rest energies of the nuclear lines. The centroid energies of the de-excitation lines appear to shift to lower energies for flares close to the center of the solar disk.

We summarize the results on line shifts in Figure 7 where the best fit line energies and uncertainties for the three de-excitation lines and the neutron capture line are plotted as a function of the cosine of heliocentric angle. The line energies and errors were derived by passing an incident photon spectrum, containing a power law and 22 lines from 0.3 to 8 MeV (Share & Murphy, 2001) through the instrument response function, and mapping $`\chi ^2`$; this yielded the same results as we obtained by simply fitting the counts spectrum with a power law and single Gaussian over a restricted energy range (see Figures 3 - 5).

The 12C, 16O, and 20Ne de-excitation lines appear to be shifted to lower energies by $``$1% near Sun center. In contrast, the neutron capture line does not exhibit a significant redshift ($`0.1`$%) at Sun center. The higher fitted energies ($`0.3`$%) near the limb may be due to a contribution from other lines, e.g. 32S and 14N that become significant with limb darkening of the 2.223 MeV capture line.

The statistical significance of the line data in Figures 3-5 was also adequate for us to independently fit for the Gaussian widths of the 12C, 16O, and 20Ne de-excitation lines for some of the heliocentric angles. We once again fit the count spectra and obtained the line widths and uncertainties using $`\chi ^2`$ mapping. The line widths derived from these fits with smoothly varying $`\chi ^2`$ maps are plotted in Figure 8 for the three lines. There is no significant variation in the widths as a function of heliocentric angle. The weighted means of the line widths (FWHM) are 155 $`\pm `$ 19 keV, 167 $`\pm `$ 26 keV, and 40 $`\pm `$ 10 keV for the 12C, 16O, and 20Ne lines, respectively. These are $``$3% of the line energies. Earlier calculations (e.g. Murphy (1985)) suggested widths of $``$2% and 2.6% for the carbon line produced by direct excitation and spallation, respectively, from proton interactions. The widths are expected to be even broader if accelerated $`\alpha `$ particles play a significant role in line production (Ramaty & Crannell, 1976; Lang & Werntz, 1991).

## 3 Comparisons with Models

We have calculated the shape of the 12C de-excitation line for different interacting particle distributions based on the recent work of Kiener, de Séréville, & Tatischeff (2001). Line shapes were calculated for the following angular distributions: downward beam (5 exponential fall-off); fan beam following sin$`{}_{}{}^{6}\theta `$ where $`\theta `$ is the angle between the particle velocity and sun center (Murphy, Kozlovsky, & Ramaty, 1988); downward isotropic; and upward isotropic. These calculations were performed for flares at the heliocentric angles of the five grouped SMM observations. From a comparison of the fluxes in the 1.63 MeV (20Ne) and 6.13 MeV (16O) lines for the flares grouped by heliocentric angle, we obtained power-law spectral indices from $``$3.9 to 4.5 for accelerated particles having impulsive-flare abundances and an ambient Ne/O ratio of 0.25 (Ramaty, Mandzhavidze, & Kozlovsky, 1996). In Figure 9 we plot the calculated line profiles for a downward isotropic angular distribution of accelerated particles following a power-law with spectral index 4.0 at the five heliocentric angles. The solid and dotted curves show the shapes for an assumed accelerated $`\alpha `$/p ratio of 0.5 and 0.1, respectively. It is clear that the $`\alpha `$ particles play a dominant role in determining the line shapes when the spectra are this steep. We note that the line width produced by $`\alpha `$ particles is significantly broader than that produced by protons.

We then folded the calculated line profiles for the particle distributions and a power-law continuum through the SMM/GRS instrument response function and fit the count data from 3.8 to 4.8 MeV. The goodness of fit, measured using the $`\chi ^2`$ statistic, is the probability that a fit to a random distribution of numbers about a mean would give a higher value of $`\chi ^2`$ for the same number of degrees of freedom. We found that the derived probabilities were not very sensitive to either the index of the power law or the $`\alpha `$/p ratio. They varied by $`<`$30% for indices ranging from 4 to 5 and $`\alpha `$/p ratios from 0.1 to 0.5. We summarize the results of these fits for the flare spectra accumulated at the 5 heliocentric angles in Table 1 for accelerated power-law particle spectra having an index of $``$4.2 and $`\alpha `$/p ratio of $``$0.3 (typical of flare observations). Results from the Gaussian fits shown in Figure 3, where the line width and energy were free to vary, are listed for comparison. A downward beam of accelerated particles is ruled out by the fits. Both isotropic and broad fan beam distributions also fail to provide acceptable fits to the data. In contrast, a predominately downward distribution of isotropic interacting particles provides acceptable fits, comparable to that obtained by the Gaussian fits. There is a small improvement in some of the fits when an upward isotropic distribution with $``$20% of the amplitude of the downward isotropic distribution is added (see probabilities listed in the parentheses) in column 6.

The angular distributions that we have used in the fits above are approximations to distributions that are derived under more realistic conditions. Hua, Ramaty, & Lingenfelter (1989) and Murphy, et al. (1990) calculated the angular distributions of interacting particles after transport in magnetic loops where the field is constant in the corona and converges from the chromosphere to the photosphere. This calculation takes into account both magnetic mirroring and pitch angle scattering. Hua, Ramaty, & Lingenfelter (1989) define a parameter $`\lambda `$ as the scattering mean free path divided by the half length of the coronal segment of the magnetic loop. They show that pitch angle scattering saturates for $`\lambda `$ = 25; particles are not scattered for $`\lambda \mathrm{}`$. In the left panel of Figure 10 we plot the angular distributions of selected interacting particle distributions. They are plotted versus cos $`\theta `$, where $`\theta `$ is the angle relative to the solar radius. We see that the downward isotropic distribution is a step function in this representation and the fan beam (sin$`{}_{}{}^{6}\theta `$) shows a smoothly falling symmetric distribution about the parallel to the solar surface. The weak pitch-angle scattering distribution, $`\lambda `$ = 300, begins to approach the fan beam but still has a downward component. The strong pitch-angle scattering distribution, $`\lambda `$ = 30, shows a broad downward distribution.

In the right panel of Figure 10 we plot the calculated 12C line profiles for the four angular distributions plotted in the left panel. These calculations were done for a flare at a heliocentric angle of 30, an accelerated $`\alpha `$/p ratio of 0.5, and power law spectral index of 4.0. The downward isotropic and $`\lambda `$ = 30 distributions are similar. Their shapes are indistinguishable for the moderate resolution SMM detectors as reflected in the fits listed in Table 1. The weak pitch angle scattering ($`\lambda `$ = 300) distribution has a blue wing that results in a factor of two poorer fit at 30. The fan beam distribution is significantly different and is clearly incompatible with the SMM line observations.

## 4 Summary and Discussion

We have measured the line energies and widths of $`\gamma `$-ray lines produced by excitation of ambient 12C, 16O, and 20Ne by solar flare protons and $`\alpha `$ particles. The $`\gamma `$-ray spectra from nineteen solar flares observed by the Solar Maximum Mission satellite were grouped by heliocentric angle and were initially fit using Gaussian shaped lines. The goodness of fit was characterized using the $`\chi ^2`$ statistic and the results are listed in Table 1. The Gaussians adequately represented the line shapes obtained with the moderate resolution NaI detectors. The energies of each of the lines were consistent with their rest values for flares observed at the solar limb. The energies of each of the lines decreased by $``$1% for flares observed near the center of the solar disk. All three lines exhibit Doppler broadening of $``$3% FWHM of their rest energies (12C, 155 $`\pm `$ 19 keV; 16O, 167 $`\pm `$ 26 keV; 20Ne, 40 $`\pm `$ 10 keV). These results are suggestive of a broad angular distribution of particles primarily interacting in the downward direction.

The line shapes are determined by the location of the flare, the spectra, angular distribution, and composition of the interacting particles, and the intrinsic shapes determined by nuclear physics (Ramaty, Kozlovsky, & Lingenfelter, 1979; Werntz, Lang, & Kim, 1990; Kiener, de Séréville, & Tatischeff, 2001). We therefore fit the same SMM spectral data obtained at the five heliocentric angle with line shapes derived for downward beam, fan beam, downward isotropic, and isotropic interacting particle distributions. The results of these fits are also given in Table 1. A downward beam is clearly ruled out, while a broad fan beam and an isotropic distribution also appear to be inconsistent with the spectral data. Only a downward isotropic distribution gives acceptable fits, comparable to those derived for Gaussian shaped lines. We note that there is some improvement in the fits when we assume a distribution containing downward and upward isotropic components in the ratio of 5:1. Thus the data are consistent with a very broad angular distribution of particles that primarily interact in the solar atmosphere in the downward direction.

It is important to relate these results on the distribution of interacting particles to their initial acceleration and transport in the solar magnetic loops. We applied the transport and pitch angle scattering model developed by Hua, Ramaty, & Lingenfelter (1989) and Murphy, et al. (1990) to calculate angular distributions of interacting particles. We then folded these distributions into the algorithm that calculates the line shapes (Kiener, de Séréville, & Tatischeff, 2001). From Table 1 we see that a scattering parameter, $`\lambda `$, of 30 provides comparably good line fits to those obtained for a Gaussian and for the downward dominated isotropic distribution. Increasing the scattering parameter (decreasing the amount of pitch angle scattering) by a factor of 10 has only a relatively small effect on the goodness of the fits. It is only when pitch angle scattering completely vanishes, and the particle distribution more closely follows that of a symmetric fan beam parallel to the photosphere, that the model no longer is consistent with the data. This demonstrates that MHD turbulence is significant in the coronal magnetic loops.

As we have discussed earlier, $`\alpha `$ particles play a significant role in determining the $`\gamma `$-ray line shapes for power-law spectra with indices $``$4.0, especially if the accelerated $`\alpha `$/p ratio is $`>`$0.1. In our study of the 12C line shape we noted a small, but not significant, improvement in our fits when we increased the accelerated $`\alpha `$/p ratio to 0.5. Share & Murphy (1997) presented evidence that the average accelerated $`\alpha `$/p ratio is in fact closer to $``$0.5 for photospheric 4He abundances in the interaction region (Mandzhavidze, Ramaty, & Kozlovsky, 1997).

Share & Murphy (1997) also studied the line shapes of the $`\alpha `$-4He fusion lines in 19 individual flares and concluded that a downward beam of particles was inconsistent with the data, but that isotropic or fan beam distributions could fit the data. We have repeated that study using the spectra summed by heliocentric angle. We find that the spectral resolution of the SMM NaI detector is not adequate for us to unambiguously distinguish between isotropic, downward isotropic, and fan beam accelerated particle distributions using the $`\alpha `$-4He fusion lines. We expect that the high-resolution spectrometer on board the recently launched HESSI satellite (Lin, et al., 2000) will be able to distinguish between these distributions, and will determine if the same angular distribution of accelerated particles is responsible for producing both the $`\alpha `$-fusion and de-excitation lines. This same spectrometer will also make more definitive measurements of the amount MHD pitch angle scattering in the coronal magnetic loops.

We are grateful to Benz Kozlovsky and Carl Werntz for discussions related to calculations of the 12C line shapes. We also wish to thank Xin-Min Hua for his assistance with calculations of particle transport in magnetic fields and Vincent Tatischeff for discussions and careful reading of the manuscript. This work was partially supported by NASA DPR 18995.