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# Superconductivity in quantum-dot superlattices composed of quantum wire networks

## Abstract

Based on calculations using the local density approximation, we propose quantum wire networks with square and plaquette type lattice structures that form quantum dot superlattices. These artificial structures are well described by the Hubbard model. Numerical analysis reveals a superconducting ground state with transition temperatures $`T_c`$ of up to 90 mK for the plaquette, which is more than double the value of 40 mK for the square lattice type and is sufficiently high to allow for the experimental observation of superconductivity.

The electronic properties of solids are closely related to their crystal structure which is strictly determined by the atomic nature of the individual elements. However, the imposition of a superstructure on a given lattice makes the controlled fabrication of structures with chosen properties possible. One approach discussed more recently is to place quantum dot (QD), also known as artificial atoms , on the points of a lattice to form an artificial crystal called a quantum-dot superlattice (QDSL). Prerequisites for obtaining a band structure based on the periodic potential in a quantum-dot lattice are coherent coupling and good uniformity in the QD array. Recent experiments have reported the realization of such QDSLs. The observation of the quantum Hall effect in a lateral periodic potential based on a two-dimensional electron system  is clear evidence of phase coherent transport across unit cells. Schedelbeck et al.  used cleaved edge overgrowth to fabricate coupled QDs that formed in the intersection of three quantum wells. They observed peak-splitting in the photoluminescence spectrum demonstrating the coherent coupling of states localized in the QDs. The QDs formed because of the larger area at the intersections, which lowers the confining potential. In a similar way, QDSLs can be created using two-dimensional quantum wire networks which allow the formation of a large number of coupled dots with the high regularity of the underlying grid. This type of wire network geometry has already been achieved with GaAs  and Si  wires.

The use of QDSLs should make it possible to observe the electron correlation effects predicted in mathematical models of lattice systems, such as the Hubbard model. The Hubbard Hamiltonian is defined as $`H=_{i,j,\sigma }t_{ij}c_{i\sigma }^+c_{j\sigma }+U_in_in_i`$, where $`t_{ij}`$ is the hopping integral between different sites $`i`$ and $`j`$, $`U`$ is the intra-site interaction between electrons with opposite spin, and $`n_i`$ ($`c_i`$) is the electron number (annihilation) operator with spin $`\sigma `$ on site $`i`$. Recently, we have used the spin dependent local density approximation (LDA) as a basis for proposing a feasible method for achieving a ferromagnetic ground state in a Kagome QDSL within a wide electron filling range , which is consistent with a mathematical proof  of the ferromagnetism in the Hubbard model on the Kagome lattice.

In this Letter, we propose a method for forming QDSLs in a quantum wire network of square and plaquette lattices. The plaquette lattice has a square plaquette in each unit cell with four lattice-points at the vertices, as shown in Fig. 1(b). It can be shown that both QDSLs are well represented by the Hubbard model. An interesting difference between the two QDSLs is that the Fermi surface of the plaquette QDSL has disconnected pieces whereas the square QDSL is formed of one piece. To find a correlation effect that reflects both the Coulomb interaction and the structures of the Fermi surface, we studied the existence of superconductivity for both lattices within the framework of the Hubbard model. We found a superconducting ground state where the transition temperature $`T_c`$ of the plaquette lattice is more than double that of the square lattice and sufficiently high to allow superconductivity to be observed experimentally.

We begin with the design of the square QD lattice. We consider the quantum wire network shown in Fig. 1(a). We assume InAs quantum wires buried in In0.776Ga0.224As barrier regions with a band offset of 0.17 eV . Each quantum wire is 50 nm wide and 50 nm high, and the lateral distance between adjacent wires is 61.1 nm. These parameters have been carefully determined. If the lateral distance is too small, the wave function of an electron is extended and QDs are not appropriately formed. By contrast, if the distance is too large, the wave function is too localized at the intersection and the hopping parameter between adjacent QDs becomes very small. The electronic band structures are obtained using first-principles calculations based on the LDA  with the Perdew-Zunger exchange-correlation potential . We assume the effective mass of electrons to be $`m^{}=0.02m_0`$ and the dielectric constant $`ϵ=12.4ϵ_0`$ for the InAs wires. We employ conventional plane wave expansion for the LDA calculation, and include a sufficiently large number of plane waves to ensure numerical convergence.

The LDA band diagram for this wire network is shown in Fig. 2. It can be perfectly fitted to the tight-binding calculation for the square lattice parametrized in Fig. 1(b): the fitting parameters are hopping integrals between adjacent sites ($`t_a=t_b=0.179`$ meV) and much smaller ones between non-adjacent sites ($`t_c=t_d=t_f=0.017`$ meV and $`t_e=0.021`$ meV). This fitting result indicates that the tight-binding approximation is very accurate and the wave function is appropriately localized on a QD . The localization originates from the coherence between the crossed plane waves at the intersection, resulting in a localized state with reduced energy. From another point of view, because of the uncertainty condition between position and momentum in quantum mechanics, the momentum of electrons, or the kinetic energy, becomes lower at a wider area in the intersection. Note that the results for fitted hopping parameters between the nearest neighbor QDs are sufficiently large and the wave function is not too localized on a QD. We should also note that the fitted hopping parameters between the second nearest dots ($`t_c`$, $`t_d`$, and $`t_f`$) and those between the third nearest dots ($`t_e`$) are small. This is due to the large band-offset of In0.776Ga0.224As which suppresses tunneling through this region. Therefore, the hopping parameters are determined by the distance not in a straight line but along the wires. The localization of the wave function also suggests that the intra-dot Coulomb interaction between electrons is large. The intra-dot interaction, simply estimated by subtracting the Ewald sum for inter-dot interactions from the total Hartree energy in the LDA, is $`U=1.8`$ meV, which is similar to that estimated in a QD formed in a spherically symmetric harmonic potential with a 50 nm oscillator length. The value of $`U/t_a10`$ shows that the electrons are strongly correlated and the many-body effects of the electrons should be pronounced.

Next, we consider the plaquette QDSL \[Fig. 1(a)\], which we obtained by alternating the distance between the wires in the wire network for the square QDSL. In our design, the smaller (larger) distance between adjacent wires is 38.8 (83.4) nm. In the tight-binding model parametrized in Fig. 1(b), the hopping parameter between adjacent sites within a plaquette and the one across two plaquettes are different ($`t_at_b`$) unlike in the square lattice ($`t_a=t_b`$). By performing the same analysis undertaken for the square lattice, we confirmed that the tight-binding model provides a good fit with the LDA band diagram with the fitting parameters $`t_a=0.242`$, $`t_b=0.151`$, $`t_c=0.003`$, $`t_d=0.025`$, $`t_e=0.024`$, and $`t_f=0.014`$ in milli-electron volt units. The estimated intra-dot interaction is 1.7 meV.

A characteristic difference between the square QDSL and the plaquette QDSL lies in the structure of the Fermi surface shown in Fig. 3, which is calculated in the LDA with the electron filling $`n=0.8`$ (=number of electrons/number of QDs). The Fermi surface of the square QDSL is connected, while that of the plaquette QDSL has disconnected pieces originating from the band folding. To demonstrate that the difference in the structure of the Fermi surface significantly influences the characteristics of the correlated electrons in QDSLs, we studied superconducting correlations in both QDSLs by assuming the Hubbard model with the estimated hopping and intra-site interaction parameters described above. It has been shown that the repulsive Hubbard model exhibits a superconducting transition. In addition to early calculations , a recent quantum Monte Carlo calculation  indeed shows the enhancement of the pairing correlation with $`d`$-wave symmetry in the two-dimensional repulsive Hubbard model. Here, we employ the fluctuation-exchange (FLEX) approximation  with the Eliashberg equation  in order to evaluate the superconducting transition temperature $`T_c`$ in the Hubbard model for the plaquette and square lattices. The FLEX approximation is a kind of self-consistent random phase approximation and is known to be appropriate for treating the strong antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation that originates from the Coulomb interaction between electrons with opposite spin. We note that the FLEX approximation gives a good estimate of $`T_c`$ for cuprates . For both lattices, we assume the filling of electrons $`n=0.8`$, where the system is far from the antiferromagnetic instability region near half-filling ($`n=1`$) but the spin fluctuation is still large enough to obtain a high $`T_c`$. Our analysis shows that $`T_c`$ for the plaquette QDSL is 90 mK, which is more than double that of $`T_c`$=40 mK for the square QDSL. Both $`T_c`$ values are high enough for us to observe superconductivity experimentally. However, low-temperature measurements are usually limited to a few tens of milli-Kelvins, and a higher $`T_c`$ would be preferable as it would allow us to observe the superconducting transition more clearly. Figure 4 shows the improvement in $`T_c`$ when the hopping parameters $`t_a`$ and $`t_b`$ are changed for $`n=0.85`$ and $`U=7`$. Other small hopping parameters are disregarded ($`t_c=t_d=t_e=t_f=0`$) because they have little influence on the result. Energy is scaled in units of average hopping energy $`t=(t_a+t_b)/2=1`$. In these units, the single-particle bandwidth is simply given by $`4(t_a+t_b)=8`$. We find that $`T_c`$ is enhanced as the difference between $`t_a`$ and $`t_b`$ is increased, and $`T_c`$ for $`t_a=1.5`$ and $`t_b=0.5`$ is more than double that for the square lattice ($`t_a=t_b=1`$).

The mechanism of this large $`T_c`$ enhancement is similar to that recently proposed by Kuroki and Arita . The strength of the superconducting pairing interaction is characterized by the coupling constant in the form

$`V_{\mathrm{eff}}={\displaystyle \frac{_{\stackrel{}{k},\stackrel{}{k}^{}\mathrm{Fermi}\mathrm{surfaces}}V_{\mathrm{pair}}(\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{k}^{})\varphi (\stackrel{}{k})\varphi (\stackrel{}{k}^{})}{_{\stackrel{}{k}\mathrm{Fermi}\mathrm{surfaces}}\varphi (\stackrel{}{k})^2}}`$ (1)
where $`V_{\mathrm{pair}}`$ is the effective electron-electron interaction induced by the pair-scattering process from $`[\stackrel{}{k},\stackrel{}{k}]`$ to $`[\stackrel{}{k}^{},\stackrel{}{k}^{}]`$ on the Fermi surface and $`\varphi (\stackrel{}{k})`$ is the superconducting gap function. Positive values of $`V_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ correspond to an attractive interaction and, roughly speaking, a larger $`V_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ gives a higher $`T_c`$. Reflecting the Fermi surface nesting in the Hubbard model, antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations near half filling enhance the spin susceptibility $`\chi (\stackrel{}{q})`$ \[roughly proportional to $`V_{\mathrm{pair}}(\stackrel{}{q})`$\] around a certain wave vector $`\stackrel{}{q}=\stackrel{}{Q}`$. When pair scattering on the Fermi surface is accompanied by a momentum transfer $`\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{k}^{}`$ around the peak $`\stackrel{}{Q}`$ and a sign change of the gap function $`\varphi (\stackrel{}{k})\varphi (\stackrel{}{k}^{})<0`$, this scattering process gives significant positive contributions to $`V_{\mathrm{eff}}`$. In the square lattice, the Fermi surface is perfectly nested at half-filling and $`\chi (\stackrel{}{q})`$ exhibits the antiferromagnetic peak at $`\stackrel{}{Q}=(\pi ,\pi )`$. Since the gap function $`\varphi (\stackrel{}{k})=\mathrm{cos}k_x\mathrm{cos}k_y`$ with $`d_{x^2y^2}`$ symmetry has nodes on the Fermi surface, some pair scatterings transferring $`\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{k}^{}=\stackrel{}{Q}(\pi ,\pi )`$ between two points \[indicated by solid arrows in Fig. 3(a)\], where the gap function has the opposite sign, make significant positive contributions to $`V_{\mathrm{eff}}`$. However, some other scatterings $`\stackrel{}{k}\stackrel{}{k}^{}=\stackrel{}{Q}+\mathrm{\Delta }\stackrel{}{Q}`$ with the same sign of $`\varphi (\stackrel{}{k})`$ (indicated by dotted arrows) reduce $`V_{\mathrm{eff}}`$. In the plaquette lattice, the Fermi surface is folded in half and an antiferromagnetic peak emerges at $`\stackrel{}{Q}0`$ with a finite spread $`\mathrm{\Delta }\stackrel{}{Q}`$. The Fermi surface is separated by lines $`|k_x|=|k_y|`$, and is separated into pieces, each of which has a gap function with the same sign, as shown in Fig. 3(b). Dominant scattering processes around $`\stackrel{}{Q}0`$ always make positive contributions to $`V_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ and significantly enhance $`T_c`$. For a dimerized lattice, which is somewhat similar to a ladder system , Kuroki and Arita  have shown that a very high $`T_c`$ can be reached based on this mechanism. However, to raise $`T_c`$ in a dimerized lattice, it is necessary to tune three different hopping-parameters, whereas, in plaquette lattice-patterns, only two hopping parameters determine $`T_c`$, and these can be easily modulated by selecting the wire geometry.

In summary, we proposed a QDSL design based on square and plaquette type structures in quantum wire networks. Both QDSLs are well represented by the Hubbard model. We studied superconducting transitions for both QDSLs using the Hubbard model and found the $`T_c`$ for the plaquette QDSL to be more than double that for the square QDSL. The estimated $`T_c`$ value in the plaquette QDSL is sufficiently high to allow us to observe superconductivity experimentally. Finally, we note that the transition temperature of cuprates might be increased close to room temperature if the material is patterned in a plaquette type lattice.

The authors are grateful to K. Sakairi for useful discussions, and S. Kurihara and H. Aoki for stimulating discussions. They also thank A. Richter for his critical reading of the manuscript and S. Ishihara for his continuous encouragement and helpful advice. This work was partly supported by the NEDO International Joint Research Grant, the NEDO under the Nanotechnology Materials Program, and ACT-JST.


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# Multiwavelength optical observations of chromospherically active binary systems

## 1 Introduction

This paper is a part of our ongoing project on multiwavelength optical observations aimed at studying the chromosphere of active binary systems. For this purpose we use the information provided by several optical spectroscopic features that are formed at different heights in the chromosphere (see Montes et al. 1997, Paper I; Montes et al. 1998, Paper II; Montes et al. 2000, Paper III). In addition to study stellar activity, the high resolution spectroscopic observations we use in this project allow us to determine radial velocities and to obtain and improve fundamental stellar parameters.

In this paper we focus our attention on the X-ray/EUV selected chromospherically active binary BK Psc (2RE J003939+103925, BD+09 73, G 1-10, LHS 1118). It is a high proper-motion star with photometry reported by Stephenson (1986), Sandage & Kowal (1986) and Weis (1991) ($`V`$=10.5; $`UB`$ = 0.97; $`BV`$ = 1.17; $`VR`$ = 0.73; $`RI`$ = 0.60). Bidelman (1985) gives a K5 spectral type for this star that was confirmed later by Jeffries et al. (1995), but Stephenson (1986) listed it as K4:p. Due to a blue excess in the ($`UB`$) color index the presence of a white dwarf companion has been suggested by Weis (1991) and Cutispoto et al. (1999). Radial velocity variations indicate that it is a binary system (Jeffries et al. 1995; Cutispoto et al. 1999), but no orbital solution has been determined until now. BK Psc was detected as an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source by the ROSAT Wide Field Camera all-sky survey (Pounds et al. 1993; Pye et al. 1995). The chromospheric activity of this star was detected in the optical identification program of ROSAT EUV Sources by Mason et al. (1995) ($`EW`$(H$`\alpha `$)=1.1 Å and $`EW`$(Caii K)=2.7 Å) and Jeffries et al. (1995) (strong H$`\alpha `$ emission above the continuum, $`EW`$(H$`\alpha `$)=1.0 Å). Finally, Cutispoto et al. (1999) found that the best fit for their observed colors ($`V`$=10.43; $`UB`$ = 0.92; $`BV`$ = 1.16; $`VR`$ = 0.73; $`VI`$ = 1.49) and Hipparcos distance ($`d=32.8`$ pc) is obtained by assuming a K5V or K6V primary, a M4V secondary and a possible white dwarf (WD). These authors also confirm the optical variability of this star (photometric period $`P_{\mathrm{phot}}=2.24\pm 0.04`$ days), previously reported in the SAAO Annual report (1993) ($`P_{\mathrm{phot}}=2.17`$ days).

In this paper we present high resolution echelle spectra of BK Psc, obtained at different epochs, that allow us to measure radial and rotational velocities by using the cross-correlation technique. With these observations we confirm the binary nature (SB1) of this system and determine its orbital solution for the first time. We have obtained an orbital period of 2.17 days, very close to the photometric period of 2.24 days, indicating nearly synchronous rotation. Furthermore, we have applied the spectral subtraction technique to study the chromospheric excess emission in the Ca ii H & K, Ca ii IRT, H$`\alpha `$ and other Balmer lines from the primary and secondary components of the system. Preliminary results for this system can be found in Gálvez et al. (2001) and Montes et al. (2001a).

In Sect. 2 we give the details of our observations and data reduction. In Sect. 3 the procedures to obtain the stellar parameters and the orbital determination of the binary system are described in more detail and the results are discussed. The individual behavior of the different chromospheric activity indicators is described in Sect. 4. Finally in Sect. 5 we give the conclusions.

## 2 Observations and data reduction

The spectroscopic observations of BK Psc were obtained during four observing runs:

1) 2.2 m-FOCES 1999/07
This run took place on 24-29 July 1999 using the 2.2 m telescope at the German Spanish Astronomical Observatory (CAHA) (Almería, Spain). The Fibre Optics Cassegrain Echelle Spectrograph (FOCES) (Pfeiffer et al. 1998) was used with a 2048x2048 (15$`\mu `$) LORAL$`\mathrm{\#}`$11i CCD detector. The wavelength range covers from 3910 to 9075 Å in 84 orders. The reciprocal dispersion ranges from 0.03 to 0.07 Å/pixel and the spectral resolution, determined as the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the arc comparison lines, ranges from 0.09 to 0.26 Å.

2) INT-MUSICOS 2000/08
This run was done on 11-14 August 2000, with the 2.5 m Isaac Newton telescope (INT) at the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos (La Palma, Spain) using the ESA MUSICOS Spectrograph. This is a fibre-fed cross-dispersed echelle spectrograph (Baudrand & Bohm 1992) and developed as a part of MUlti-SIte COntinuous Spectroscopy (MUSICOS) project. During this observing run, a 2148x4148 pixel EEV10a (EEV4280) CCD detector was used. The wavelength range covers from 4000 to 10000 Å in 87 orders. The reciprocal dispersion ranges from 0.03 to 0.08 Å/pixel and the spectral resolution (FWHM) from 0.06 to 0.24 Å.

3) NOT-SOFIN 2000/11
This run took place on 6-9 November 2000 using the 2.56 m Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT). The Soviet Finnish High Resolution Echelle Spectrograph (SOFIN) was used with an echelle grating (79 grooves/mm), camera ASTROMED-3200 and a 1152x298 pixel EEV P88100 CCD detector. The wavelength range covers from 3900 to 8400 Å in 37 orders. The reciprocal dispersion ranges from 0.06 to 0.14 Å/pixel and the spectral resolution (FWHM) from 0.15 to 0.42 Å.

4) 2.2 m-FOCES 2001/09
The last run took place on 21-24 September 2001 using the 2.2 m telescope at the German Spanish Astronomical Observatory (CAHA) (Almería, Spain). In this run, the FOCES spectrograph (Pfeiffer et al. 1998) was used with a 2048x2048 (24$`\mu `$) SITE$`\mathrm{\#}`$1d CCD detector. The wavelength range covers from 3450 to 10700 Å in 112 orders. The reciprocal dispersion ranges from 0.04 to 0.13 Å/pixel and the spectral resolution (FWHM) ranges from 0.1 to 0.34 Å.

In Table 1 we give the observing log. For each observation we list date (Day), universal time (UT), exposure time (Exp), and the signal to noise ratio (S/N) measured in the H$`\alpha `$ line region.

The spectra have been extracted using the standard reduction procedures in the IRAF111IRAF is distributed by the National Optical Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation. package. The wavelength calibration was obtained by taking spectra of a Th-Ar lamp. Finally, the spectra have been normalized by a polynomial fit to the observed continuum.

## 3 Stellar parameters of the binary system

The adopted stellar parameters of BK Psc are given in Table 2. Spectral type and the photometric data ($`V`$, $`BV`$, $`VR`$, $`P_{\mathrm{phot}}`$) are taken from Cutispoto et al. (1999). Orbital period ($`P_{\mathrm{orb}}`$) and projected rotational velocity ($`v\mathrm{sin}i`$) have been determined in this paper (see below). The astrometric data (parallax, $`\pi `$, proper motions, $`\mu `$α$`\mathrm{cos}\delta `$ and $`\mu `$δ) are from Hipparcos (ESA 1997) and Tycho-2 (H$`ø`$g et al. 2000) catalogues.

### 3.1 Spectral types

In order to obtain the spectral type of this binary sytem we have compared our high resolution echelle spectra, in several spectral orders free of lines sensitive to chromospheric activity, with spectra of inactive reference stars of different spectral types and luminosity classes observed during the same observing run. This analysis made use of the program starmod developed at Penn State University (Barden 1985) and modified later by us. With this program a synthesized stellar spectrum is constructed from artificially rotationally broadened, radial-velocity shifted, and weighted spectra of appropiate reference stars. We have obtained the best fit between observed and synthetic spectra when we use a K5V primary component without any contribution from a secondary component. As reference stars we have used the K5V stars HD 154363 for the first run, 61 Cyg A for for the other three runs. This spectral classification is in agreement with K5 spectral type reported by Bidelman (1985) and Jeffries et al. (1995), and the K5/6:V + M4:V classification given by Cutispoto et al. (1999), where the M4V secondary has no apreciable contribution to the spectra.

### 3.2 Rotational velocity

The projected rotational velocity ($`v\mathrm{sin}i`$) of this star has been previously estimated as $`<12`$ km s-1 (Jeffries et al. 1995) and 18$`\pm `$2 km s-1 by Cutisposto et al. (1999).

By using the program starmod we have obtained the best fits for each observing run, with $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ values around 15-18 km s-1. In order to determine a more accurate rotational velocity of BK Psc we have made use of the cross-correlation technique in our high resolution echelle spectra by using the routine fxcor in IRAF. When a stellar spectrum with rotationally broadened lines is cross-correlated against a narrow-lined spectrum, the width of the cross-correlation function (CCF) is sensitive to the amount of rotational broadening of the first spectrum. Thus, by measuring this width, one can obtain a measurement of the rotational velocity of the star.

The observed spectra of BK Psc were cross-correlated against the spectrum of a template star (a slowly rotating star of similar spectral type) and the width (FWHM) of CCF determined. The calibration of this width to yield an estimation of $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ is determined by cross-correlating artificially broadened spectra of the template star with the original template star spectrum. The broadened spectra were created for $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ spanning the expected range of values by convolution with a theoretical rotational profile (Gray 1992) using the program starmod. The resultant relationship between $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ and FWHM of the CCF was fitted with a fourth-order polynomial. We have tested this method with stars of known rotational velocity, obtaining a good agreement. The uncertainties on the $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ values obtained by this method have been calculated using the parameter $`R`$ defined by Tonry & Davis (1979) as the ratio of the CCF height to the rms antisymmetric component. This parameter is computed by the task fxcor and provides a measure of the signal to noise ratio of the CCF. Tonry & Davis (1979) showed that errors in the FWHM of the CCF are proportional to $`(1+R)^1`$ and Hartmann et al. (1986) and Rhode et al. (2001) found that the quantity $`\pm v\mathrm{sin}i(1+R)^1`$ provide a good estimate for the 90$`\%`$ confidence level of a $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ measurement. Thus, we have adopted $`\pm v\mathrm{sin}i(1+R)^1`$ as a reasonable estimate of the uncertainties on our $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ measurements.

As template stars for BK Psc we have used the slowly rotating K5V stars above mentioned in the spectral type classification. We have determined $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ by this method in all the spectra of BK Psc available and the resulting weighted means in each observing run are 16.2$`\pm `$2.1, 16.4$`\pm `$0.7, 19.5$`\pm `$0.8, and 15.0$`\pm `$1.0km s-1 respectively. The weighted mean for all the observing runs is 17.1$`\pm `$0.5 km s-1, which is the value given in Table 2.

### 3.3 Radial velocities and orbital parameters

Recently, Jeffries et al. (1995) and Cutispoto et al. (1999) have noted that BK Psc is a single-lined spectroscopic binary (SB1), but they provided only four radial velocity measurements. The detailed analysis of our spectra and our radial velocities measurements. confirm the SB1 nature of this system. In our spectra only the photospheric absorption lines coming from the primary component are observed throughout all the spectral range. On the contrary, the chromospheric emission lines from both components are detected in our spectra (see Fig. 2), and thereby it has been possible to measure the radial velocity of the secondary and in this way to obtain the orbital solution of the system as in the case of a double-lined spectroscopic binary (SB2).

For the primary component of BK Psc the heliocentric radial velocities have been determined by using the cross-correlation technique. The spectra of BK Psc were cross-correlated order by order, by using the routine fxcor in IRAF, against spectra of radial velocity standards with similar spectral type taken from Beavers et al. (1979). The radial velocity was derived for each order from the position of the cross-correlation peak, and the uncertainties were calculated by fxcor based on the fitted peak height and the antisymmetric noise as described by Tonry & Davis (1979). In Table 3 we list, for each spectrum, the heliocentric radial velocities ($`V_{\mathrm{hel}}`$) and their associated errors ($`\sigma _V`$) obtained as weighted means of the individual values deduced for each order. Those orders that contain chromospheric features and prominent telluric lines have been excluded when determining the mean velocity.

For the secondary component, we have used the information provided by the chromospheric emissions that are detected for both components in the H$`\alpha `$, Ca ii H & K and other Balmer lines. The contribution of each component to the observed profile has been deblended by mean of a two Gaussian fit (see Fig. 2) and the relative wavelength separation of the secondary component with respect to the primary has been used to determine its heliocentric radial velocity (listed in Table 3).

We have computed the orbital solution of BK Psc using our eleven data of radial velocities (for both component) and the four values given (only for the primary) by Jeffries et al. (1995) and Cutispoto et al. (1999) (see Table 3). The radial velocity data (Table 3) are plotted in Fig. 1. Solid circles represent the primary and open circles represent the secondary. The curves represent a minimum $`\chi ^2`$ fit orbit solution. The orbit fitting code uses the Numerical Recipes implementation of the Levenberg-Marquardt method of fitting a non-linear function to the data and weights each datum according to its associated uncertainty (Press et al. 1986). The program simultaneously solves for the orbital period, $`P_{\mathrm{orb}}`$, the epoch of periastron passage, $`T_0`$, the longitude of periastron, $`\omega `$, the eccentricity, $`e`$, the primary star’s radial velocity amplitude, $`K_1`$, the heliocentric center of mass velocity, $`\gamma `$, and the mass ratio, $`q`$. The secondary star’s radial velocity amplitude, $`K_2`$, is $`qK_1`$. The orbital solution and relevant derived quantities are given in Table 4. In this Table we give $`T_{\mathrm{conj}}`$ as the heliocentric Julian date on conjunction with the hotter star behind, in order to adopt the same criteria used by Strassmeier et al. (1993) in their catalog of chromospherically active binary stars. We have used this criterion to calculate the orbital phases of all the observations reported in this paper.

This binary system results in a circular orbit ($`e`$ = 0.0025) with an orbital period of 2.1663 days, which is very similar to its rotational period derived from the photometry ($`P_{\mathrm{phot}}`$ = 2.24 days) indicating nearly synchronous rotation.

### 3.4 Other derived quantities

For the K5V spectral type of the observed primary component we can adopt from Landolt-Börnstein tables (Schmidt-Kaler 1982) a primary mass $`M_1`$ = 0.67 $`M_{}`$. According to the mass ratio ($`q=M_1/M_2`$ = 1.80) from the orbital solution we estimate for the secondary a mass $`M_2`$ = 0.37 $`M_{}`$ which corresponds (Schmidt-Kaler 1982) to a M3V star. With these spectral types the difference in bolometric magnitudes between both components is 2.5 and the difference in visual magnitudes is 3.9 which is in agreement with an unseen secondary component and the spectral classification reported by Cutispoto et al. (1999).

We have estimated the radius of the primary component by using the parallax (30.52 mas) given by Hipparcos (ESA 1997) and the unspotted $`V`$ magnitude, taken as the brightest magnitude (10.43) of the values given by Cutispoto et al. (1999). This $`V`$ magnitude is very close to the value given by Hipparcos ($`V_T=10.60`$ that corresponds to $`V=10.48`$). As the system is relatively close, to calculate the absolute magnitude $`M_V`$, no interstellar reddening was assumed. The bolometric correction ($`BC=0.72`$) corresponding to the K5V primary from (Schmidt-Kaler 1982) has been used to compute the bolometric magnitude, $`M_{bol}`$ and luminosity, $`L/L_{}`$. Assuming that the contribution of the secondary to this total luminosity is very small, we have used this $`L/L_{}`$ and the effective temperature ($`T_{eff}=4350`$ K) corresponding to a K5V to determine a radius (we called $`R_{Hip}`$) for the primary $`R_{Hip}=0.60\pm 0.04R_{}`$. The errors in these derived quantities are dominated by the error in the parallax ($`\pm 1.79`$ mas) given by Hipparcos and in the $`T_{eff}`$ ($`\pm 100`$ K). This radius can be compared with an independent determination of the minimum radius ($`R\mathrm{sin}i`$). Taking as rotational period the photometric period (2.24 days) given by Cutispoto et al. (1999) and the rotational velocity $`v\mathrm{sin}i=17.1`$ determined by us we found $`R\mathrm{sin}i=0.76\pm 0.03R_{}`$. The error in this case is dominated by the uncertainty in $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$. This value of $`R\mathrm{sin}i`$ should be smaller than $`R_{Hip}`$, but we have found a value slightly larger. Within the errors, however, the agreement between both radii is acceptable. In addition, the radius for a K5V in Schmidt-Kaler (1982), $`R=0.72R_{}`$, is halfway between $`R_{Hip}`$ and $`R\mathrm{sin}i`$. This low value of $`R_{Hip}`$ also suggests that the $`V`$ magnitude we have used can be effected by cool spots on the stellar surface. Using the measured minimum radius $`R\mathrm{sin}i`$ and the effective temperature ($`T_{eff}=4350`$ K) corresponding to a K5V we obtain a low limit of the of the stellar luminosity ($`L=0.167L_{}`$) and brightness ($`V=9.88`$). Using this luminosity and the the mass-luminosity relation for main sequence stars we obtain an estimate of the mass of the primary (0.594 $`M_{}`$) that is compatible with the mass of a K5V-K7V. With this mass and the minimum mass obtained from the orbital solution the mass for the secondary is $`M_2`$ = 0.33 $`M_{}`$ which correspond to a M3V star, similar to the result obtained with the first method described above.

We can summarize the adopted and derived quantities of the primary and secondary components of BK Psc as follows:

$$PrimaryK5V=\{\begin{array}{cc}M_{1(K5V)}=0.67,M_{1min}0.59M_{}\hfill & \\ R_{1(K5V)}=0.72,R_1\mathrm{sin}i0.76R_{}\hfill & \\ T_{1(K5V)}=4350K\hfill & \end{array}$$

$$SecondaryM3V=\{\begin{array}{cc}M_20.37,M_{2min}0.33M_{}\hfill & \\ R_{2(M3V)}=0.45R_{}\hfill & \\ T_{2(M3V)}=3470K\hfill & \end{array}$$

The inclination of the system is $`i`$ = 62.4o if we compare the minimum mass of the primary ($`M_1`$ sin$`{}_{}{}^{3}i`$=0.466 $`M_{}`$) deduced from the orbit with the mass adopted for a K5V. The minimum inclination angle for eclipses to occur ($`i_{min}`$) is given by $`\mathrm{cos}i_{min}=(R_1+R_2)/a`$. Using the radii adopted for the primary and secondary components and the semi-mayor axis of the orbit ($`a\mathrm{sin}i`$) lead to $`i_{min}=80.1^o`$. Since the photometric observations show no evidence of eclipses, the inclination of BK Psc must be lower than 80.1o, which is in agreement with the previous estimation of $`i`$.

### 3.5 Kinematics and age

BK Psc is a high proper-motion star included in the studies of Stephenson (1986), Sandage & Kowal (1986) and Weis (1991). It is a relatively nearby star (d = 32.8 pc) with astrometric data measured by Hipparcos (ESA 1997) and Tycho-2 (H$`ø`$g et al. 2000) catalogues (see Table 2).

We have computed the galactic space-velocity components ($`U`$, $`V`$, $`W`$) using as radial velocity the center of mass velocity ($`\gamma `$) (for details see Montes et al. 2001b). The resulting values and associated errors are given in Table 5.

The large total velocity $`V_{\mathrm{Total}}`$ and the $`U`$, $`V`$, $`W`$ velocity components that lie clearly outside the young disk population boundaries in the ($`U`$, $`V`$) and ($`U`$, $`W`$) diagrams (Eggen 1984, 1989; Montes et al. 2001b) indicate that BK Psc is an old disk star.

The spectral region of the resonance doublet of Li i at $`\lambda `$6708 Å is included in all our spectra of BK Psc. The detailed analysis of the spectra indicates that this line is not detected in this star. As it is well known, this spectroscopic feature is an important diagnostic of age in late-type stars. In addition, it is also known that a large number of chromospherically active binaries shows Li i abundances higher than other stars of the same mass and evolutionary stage (see Paper II, III and references therein). Therefore, non- detection of the Li i line in this active star indicates that it is an old star which is in agreement with its kinematics.

## 4 Chromospheric activity indicators

The echelle spectra analysed in this work allow us to study the behaviour of the different indicators from the Ca ii H & K to the Ca ii IRT lines, which are formed at different atmospheric heights. The chromospheric contribution in these features has been determined by using the spectral subtraction technique described in detail by Montes et al. (1995a) and Paper I, II, and III. The synthesized spectrum was constructed using the program starmod. Taken into account the stellar parameters derived in Sect. 3 we have used only a K5V primary component without any contribution from a secondary component. The inactive K5V stars used as reference stars are HD 154363 for the first observing run, and 61 Cyg A for the other three runs.

In Table 6 we give the excess emission equivalent width ($`EW`$) (measured in the subtracted spectra) for the Ca ii H & K, H$`ϵ`$, H$`\delta `$, H$`\gamma `$, H$`\beta `$, H$`\alpha `$, and Ca ii IRT ($`\lambda `$8498, $`\lambda `$8542, $`\lambda `$8662) lines. When the emission features from both components can be deblended, we give the $`EW`$ for the hot and cool (H/C) components. The uncertainties in the measured $`EW`$ were estimated taking into account: a) the typical internal precisions of starmod (0.5 - 2 km s-1 in velocity shifts, and $`\pm `$5 km s-1 in $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$), b) the rms obtained in the fit between observed and synthesized spectra in the spectral regions outside the chromospheric features (typically in the range 0.01-0.03) and c) the standard deviations resulting in the $`EW`$ measurements. The final estimated errors are in the range 10-20%.

The measured $`EW`$s given in Table 6 have been corrected for the relative contribution of each component to the total continuum determined by means of the radii and temperatures assumed in Sect. 3. For instance, in the H$`\alpha `$ line region the relative contributions are $`S_\mathrm{H}=0.94`$ for the hot component and $`S_\mathrm{C}=0.06`$ for the cool component, and the corrected $`EW`$s for the hot and cool components are obtained multiplying by a factor $`1/S_\mathrm{H}`$ and $`1/S_\mathrm{C}`$, respectively. Finally, these corrected $`EW`$s have been converted to absolute surface fluxes by using the empirical stellar flux scales calibrated by Hall (1996) as a function of the star colour index. In our case, we have used the $`BV`$ index and the corresponding coefficients for Ca ii H & K, H$`\alpha `$ and Ca ii IRT, using the same as Ca ii H & K for H$`ϵ`$, and derived the H$`\delta `$, H$`\gamma `$ and H$`\beta `$ fluxes by making an interpolation between the values of Ca ii H & K and H$`\alpha `$. The logarithm of the obtained absolute flux at the stellar surface (logFS) for the different chromospheric activity indicators is given in Table 7.

In Figs. 2 and 5 we have plotted for each observation in the H$`\alpha `$ and Ca ii IRT $`\lambda `$$`8498`$, $`\lambda `$$`8542`$ line region the observed spectrum (solid-line) and the synthesized spectrum (dashed-line) in the left panel, and the subtracted spectrum (dotted line), in the right panel. The observing run and the orbital phase ($`\phi `$) of each spectrum are also given in these figures. The observed spectra in the Ca ii H & K line region are plotted in Fig.4, and representative subtracted spectra in the H$`\beta `$, H$`\gamma `$ and H$`\delta `$ line regions are plotted in Fig. 3.

### 4.1 The H$`\alpha `$ line

The H$`\alpha `$ line region is included in our spectra in the four observing runs. In all cases we have detected, in the observed spectra (see Fig. 2 left panel), strong H$`\alpha `$ emission above the continuum coming from the primary component and a small H$`\alpha `$ emission coming from the secondary component. In all the spectra, except two which are very close to conjunction, we were able to deblend the emission coming from both components by using a two-Gaussian fit to the subtracted spectra (see Fig. 2 right panel).

The H$`\alpha `$ emission of the primary exhibits a central self-absorption similar to that observed in many M active stars (Stauffer & Hartmann 1986) and some K active stars like the dK5e binary V833 Tau (Montes et. al. 1995b) and the K4V single star V834 Tau (Montes et. al. 2001c). This self-absorption feature is a consequence of the line formation process in the chromosphere of very active stars (Houdebine & Doyle 1994).

The H$`\alpha `$ emission of BK Psc is persistent during the period of time covered by our observations (from 1999 to 2001). In addition, strong H$`\alpha `$ emission above the continuum from the primary component was also detected in previous spectra of this system taken in 1992 with $`EW`$(H$`\alpha `$) = 1.0 Å (Jeffries et al. 1995) and $`EW`$(H$`\alpha `$)=1.1 Å (Mason et al. 1995). These $`EW`$s are lower than the $`EW`$s determined by us because these authors determined the $`EW`$s in the observed spectra and our $`EW`$s have been measured in the subtracted spectra, after eliminating the photospheric contribution. This persistent H$`\alpha `$ emission detected in BK Psc indicates that it is a very chromospherically active binary system similar to some RS CVn systems like V711 Tau, UX Ari, HU Vir, and DM UMa, and some BY Dra systems like BY Dra itself, and YY Gem, which always show H$`\alpha `$ emission above the continuum.

The detection of H$`\alpha `$ emission from the cool secondary component (M3V) of BK Psc indicates that this star has a very strong H$`\alpha `$ emission, since its photospheric contribution to the observed continuum is practically negligible. Strong H$`\alpha `$ emission is typical of the group of M type stars called dMe stars, some of which also show a scaled-up version of solar flares and are known as flare stars of UV Cet type stars. These latter stars are characterized by dramatic increases in the Hydrogen Balmer emission lines. However, this seems not to be the case for the secondary component of BK Psc since the H$`\alpha `$ emission we have detected has a similar intensity in the four observing runs.

The H$`\alpha `$ emission of the primary component shows small variations with the orbital phase, for instance, in the first run the $`EW`$ changes from 1.7 to 1.1 Å. Seasonal variations are also detected, with larger $`EW`$(H$`\alpha `$) in 1999 than in 2001.

### 4.2 The H$`\beta `$, H$`\gamma `$ and H$`\delta `$ lines

The other three Balmer lines included in all our spectra (H$`\beta `$, H$`\gamma `$ and H$`\delta `$) also show evidence of chromospheric activity. After applying the spectral subtraction, clear excess emission from both components is detected (see Fig. 3). When the S/N is high enough we have deblended the emission coming from both components by using a two-Gaussian fit to the subtracted spectra (see Table 6). The three lines show small seasonal and orbital phase variations with the same trend that the H$`\alpha `$ line.

We have also measured the ratio of excess emission $`EW`$ in the H$`\alpha `$ and H$`\beta `$ lines, $`\frac{EW(\mathrm{H}\alpha )}{EW(\mathrm{H}\beta )}`$, and the ratio of excess emission $`\frac{E_{\mathrm{H}\alpha }}{E_{\mathrm{H}\beta }}`$ with the correction:

$$\frac{E_{\mathrm{H}\alpha }}{E_{\mathrm{H}\beta }}=\frac{EW(\mathrm{H}\alpha )}{EW(\mathrm{H}\beta )}0.24442.512^{(BR)}$$

given by Hall & Ramsey (1992) that takes into account the absolute flux density in these lines and the color difference in the components. We have obtained for the primary component $`\frac{E_{\mathrm{H}\alpha }}{E_{\mathrm{H}\beta }}`$ in the range of 3 to 4 in all our spectra. These values indicate, according to Buzasi (1989) and Hall & Ramsey (1992), the presence of prominence-like material at the stellar surface.

### 4.3 The Ca ii H & K and H$`ϵ`$ lines

The Ca ii H & K line region is included in the spectra of the FOCES 1999 and 2001 observing runs. Only the Ca ii K line is included in the NOT 2000 run, and this spectral region is not covered in the MUSICOS 2000 run. In all the spectra strong emission in the Ca ii H & K lines and a clear emission in the H$`ϵ`$ line coming from the primary component is observed (see Fig. 4). The Ca ii H & K emission lines from the secondary component are also detected with relative wavelength shifts with respect to the primary in agreement with the wavelength shifts calculated in the H$`\alpha `$ and the other Balmer lines.

In our spectra the Ca ii H & K line spectral region is located at the end of the echellogram, where the efficiency of the spectrograph and the CCD decrease very rapidly, and therefore the S/N ratio obtained is very low, and the normalization of the spectra is very difficult. For these reasons we have not applied the spectral subtraction in this spectral region, and we have plotted in Fig. 4 only the observed spectra. The $`EW`$s measured in these spectra are in agreement with the strong Ca ii K emission (EW= 2.7 Å) reported by Mason et al. (1995).

Variations of the Ca ii H & K emissions with the orbital phase and from one epoch to another are observed for the primary component, and as in the case of the H$`\alpha `$ line the level of chromospheric activity is higher in the first observing run than in the last one.

### 4.4 The Ca ii IRT lines ($`\lambda `$8498, $`\lambda `$8542, $`\lambda `$8662)

The three lines of the Ca ii infrared triplet (IRT) are included in our echelle spectra, except $`\lambda `$8662 which is not included in the NOT 2000 observing run. In all the observed spectra of BK Psc a clear emission reversal is observed in the core of the Ca ii IRT absorption lines (see Fig. 5 left panel). After applying the spectral subtraction technique, only the excess emission arising from the primary component is detected (see Fig. 5 right panel). Unlike the other chromospheric activity indicators, no evidence of excess emission is detected from the cooler secondary component, even when in this red spectral region its relative contribution is slightly larger than in the blue one. In addition, the orbital phase and seasonal variations detected in the Ca ii IRT excess emission are more smooth than in the other activity indicators.

We have calculated the ratio of excess emission $`EW`$, $`\frac{E_{8542}}{E_{8498}}`$, which is also an indicator of the type of chromospheric structure that produces the observed emission. In solar plages, values of $`\frac{E_{8542}}{E_{8498}}`$ $``$ 1.5-3 are measured, while in solar prominences the values are $``$ 9, the limit of an optically thin emitting plasma (Chester 1991). The small values of the $`\frac{E_{8542}}{E_{8498}}`$ ratio we have found for the primary component in all our spectra (ranging from 1.3 to 2.4) indicate that the Ca ii IRT emission of this star arises from plage-like regions, in contrast to the Balmer lines that seem to come from prominences. This markedly different behaviour of the Ca ii IRT emission has also been found in other chromospherically active binaries (see Paper III and references therein).

## 5 Conclusions

In this paper a detailed spectroscopic analysis of the recently, X-ray/EUV selected chromospherically active binary BK Psc is presented. We have analysed high resolution echelle spectra taken during four observing runs from 1999 to 2001. These spectra include all the optical chromospheric activity indicators from the Ca ii H & K to Ca ii IRT lines, as well as the Li i $`\lambda `$6707.8 line and other photospheric lines of interest.

The precise radial velocities of the primary component of BK Psc that we have determined, by using the cross-correlation technique, allow us to confirm that it is a single-lined spectroscopic binary (SB1). In addition, as the chromospheric emission lines from the secondary component are also detected in our spectra it has been possible to measure the radial velocities of the secondary. We have used all these radial velocities to obtain, for the first time, the orbital solution of the system, as in the case of a SB2 system. We have obtained a circular orbit with an orbital period of 2.1663 days, very close to its photometric period of 2.24 days (indicating synchronous rotation). By comparison with the spectra of reference stars of different spectral types we have found that the spectra of BK Psc is well fitted with a K5V primary component without any contribution of a secondary component. The minimum masses ($`Msin^3i`$) resulting from the orbital solution are compatible with the observed K5V primary and an unseen M3V secondary. As both components are main sequence stars, we can classify this chromospherically active binary as a BY Dra system (Fekel et al. 1986).

By using the information provided by the width of the cross-correlation function we have determined a projected rotational velocity, $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$, of 17.1 km s-1 for the primary component. Within the errors, the radius for a K5V ($`R=0.72R_{}`$) is compatible with the radius obtained from the Hipparcos data ($`R_{Hip}=0.60\pm 0.04R_{}`$) and the minimum radius ($`R\mathrm{sin}i=0.76\pm 0.03R_{}`$) obtained from $`v\mathrm{sin}i`$ and the photometric period.

The kinematics ($`U`$, $`V`$, $`W`$ space-velocity components) and the non- detection of the Li i line in this active star indicate that it is an old star.

Finally, we have analysed, using the spectral subtraction technique, all the optical chromospheric activity indicators from the Ca ii H & K to Ca ii IRT lines. Both components of the binary system show high levels of chromospheric activity. In the observed spectra we have detected strong emission in the H$`\alpha `$, Ca ii H & K, H$`ϵ`$, and Ca ii IRT lines coming from the primary component, and low emission in the H$`\alpha `$ and Ca ii H & K lines from the secondary. After applying the spectral subtraction the chromospheric excess emission from both components are clearly detected in all the activity indicators except the Ca ii IRT lines. We have used a two-Gaussian fit to deblend the emission coming from both components. The H$`\alpha `$ emission above the continuum from both components seems to be a persistent feature of this system during the period 1999 to 2001 of our observations as well as in previous observations reported by other authors. In addition, the H$`\alpha `$ emission of the primary exhibits a central self-absorption. The ratio $`\frac{E_{\mathrm{H}\alpha }}{E_{\mathrm{H}\beta }}`$ that we have found indicates that the emission of these lines could arise from prominence-like material, whereas the ratio $`\frac{E_{8542}}{E_{8498}}`$ indicates that the Ca ii IRT emission arises from plage-like regions. The excess emission $`EW`$ of the Balmer lines and the Ca ii H & K lines correlate well with each other, but the Ca ii IRT lines show a different behaviour.

###### Acknowledgements.

We would like to thank Dr. B.H. Foing for allow us to use the ESA-MUSICOS spectrograph at Isaac Newton Telescope. We would also like to thank the referee S.V. Berdyugina for suggesting several improvements and clarifications. This work has been supported by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the Spanish MCYT, Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, Programa Nacional de Astronomía y Astrofísica, under grant AYA2001-1448.


text:
# The Role of Millimeter VLBI Observations in AGN Research

## 1. Introduction

Even after more than 40 years after Marten Schmidt’s discovery of the cosmological redshift of the hydrogen lines in 3C 273, and of astrophysical research on Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in general, the enigma of the origin of their extreme luminosity (ranging from radio to Gamma-ray bands) and the creation mechanism for the highly relativistic plasma jets (often extending over many hundred kpc) still is not solved. Although the majority of the scientific community regards accretion onto supermassive black holes as the most plausible explanation for the ‘quasar phenomenon’, many details of the astrophysical processes taking place in the centers of these most luminous objects in the Universe still remain unexplained. In particular is the question of how the relativistic jets are made, accelerated and confined not satisfyingly answered. In order to test existing theories (e.g. the Blandford-Payne magnetic slingshot mechanism), which try to explain the accretion process and the subsequent energy release and jet creation, the direct imaging of the innermost regions of Active Galactic Nuclei is of great importance. The technique of interferometry is the only observing method, which leads to such direct images.

In Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) the angular resolution can be improved, either by increasing the distance between the radio telescopes or by observing at shorter wavelengths. The first approach leads to VLBI with orbiting radio antennas in space (eg. VSOP, Hirabayashi et al. 2000), which however at present gives only an angular resolution of 0.2–0.3 mas (1 mas = $`10^3`$ arcsec) at 5 GHz. The second possibility leads to VLBI at millimeter wavelengths (mm-VLBI), which furthermore facilitates the imaging of compact structures, which are self-absorbed (opaque), and therefore not directly observable, at the longer centimeter wavelengths. Nowadays, mm-VLBI observations are regularly performed at 86 GHz ($`\lambda =3.5`$ mm), where images with an angular resolutions of up to $`50\mu `$as ($`1\mu `$as = $`10^6`$ arcsec) are obtained. The two upper parts of Table 1 summarize the stations, which participate in such global 3 mm-VLBI experiments. VLBI observations at even shorter wavelengths are technically possible (see e.g. Krichbaum et al. 1997 for VLBI at 215 GHz; Greve et al. 2002 for VLBI at 147 GHz), but have not yet passed the stage of test experiments on more than on single baselines. With the coming new generation of large millimeter telescopes and arrays (see Table 1, lower section), global VLBI observations at 2 and 1 mm wavelength should become possible within the next few years. Such observations would result in images of up to $`20\mu `$as resolution, which in the case of the quasar 3C 273 would correspond to a spatial resolution of $`400`$ Schwarzschild radii (for a $`10^9`$ M$`_{\mathrm{}}`$ black hole). One can therefore imagine that for less distant objects (e.g. for nearby radio-galaxies like M 87, Cyg A and 3C 84, or for the compact radio source Sgr A\* in the Galactic Center), future ground based 1 mm-VLBI or space based 3 mm-VLBI should allow the direct imaging of the vicinity of supermassive black holes and eventually even the event horizon111For Sgr A\* the present upper limit to the source size is $`20`$ Schwarzschild radii (cf. Krichbaum et al. 1998).. Thus direct observational tests of general relativity and space-time curvature near large masses will become possible.

In addition to the basic motivation of trying to image the close vicinity of a black hole in an AGN with mm-VLBI, other questions related to the observed source activity (flux density variability, jet kinematics, broad band spectrum) are of direct interest. In jets of compact radio sources, mm-VLBI can detect structural changes at a relatively high observing frequency and in a very early evolutionary stage. This can be used to study the relation between flux density outbursts (broad band, from radio to Gamma-rays) and ejection of new jet components. Such ‘outburst-ejection’ correlations seem to be present in many blazars and are a direct signpost of the acceleration mechanism acting at the center. Through its very high angular resolution, mm-VLBI images of radio-jets also allow to locate moving features in the jet with very high accuracy. Jets of nearby ($`z0.2`$) galaxies can also be resolved transversely. All this facilitates a more precise determination of the structural variations and the jet kinematics. Images obtained from mm-VLBI furthermore allow to trace the jet curvature, frequently observed in many AGN, much closer to the nucleus. Such curvature, which increases towards the center, is an indicator of complicated internal plasma physics (e.g. hydrodynamic or magneto-hydrodynamic instabilities, oblique shocks) and possibly of twisted magnetic fields anchored in a rotating accretion disk.

## 2. The inner jet of 3C 273, a well studied case

In the following paragraph, we present some results for the inner jet of the quasar 3C 273, which can serve in this context as a typical example to illustrate the capabilities of mm-VLBI for future AGN research not only in this but also in other objects:

At sub-milliarcsecond resolution, 3C 273 shows a one sided core-jet structure of several milliarcseconds length. The jet breaks up into multiple VLBI components, which – when represented by Gaussian components – seem to separate at apparent superluminal speeds from the stationary assumed VLBI core. The cross-identification of the model-fit components, seen at different times and epochs, is facilitated by small ($`<0.2`$ mas), and to first order negligible, opacity shifts of the component positions relative to the VLBI-core. Quasi-simultaneous data sets (cf. Fig. 1) demonstrate convincingly the reliability of the component identification, which results in a kinematic scenario, in which all detected jet components (C6 – C18) move steadily (without ‘jumps’ in position) away from the core (Fig. 4). For the components with enough data points at small ($`<2`$ mas) and large ($`>2`$ mas) core separations, quadratic fits to the radial motion r(t) (but also for x(t) –right ascension, and y(t) –declination) represent the observations much better than linear fits. Thus the components seem to accelerate as they move out. The velocities range typically from $`\beta _{app}=38`$ (for $`H_0=100`$ km s-1 Mpc-1, $`q_0=0.5`$).

Dual-frequency maps obtained in 1995 (22/86 GHz) and 1997 (15/86 GHz) allow to measure the spectral index gradient along the jet (see Fig. 2). The spectrum of the jet oscillates between $`1.0\alpha +0.5`$ ($`S_\nu \nu ^\alpha `$). Most noteworthy, the spectral gradients did not change by much over the 2 year time interval, although different jet components occupied this region during this period. Therefore, the geometrical (eg. relativistic aberration) and/or the physical environment (pressure, density, B-field) in the jet must determine the observed properties of the VLBI components. Hence, we conclude that the latter do not form ‘physical entities’, but seem to react to the physical conditions in the jet fluid and from its boundaries.

Further evidence for a fluid dynamical interpretation comes from a study of the shape of the mean jet axis and the transverse width of the jet. Both oscillate quasi-sinusoidally on mas-scales. At 15 GHz, the variation of the ridge-line with time could be determined from 4 VLBA maps obtained during 1995 – 1997 (Fig. 3). The maxima and minima of the ridge-line are systematically displaced. This ‘longitudinal’ shift suggests motion with a pattern velocity of $`\beta _{app}=4.2`$, about a factor of 2 slower than the maximum observed jet speed ($`\beta _{app}8`$). The sinusoidal curvature of the jet axis, however, could also indicate jet rotation rather than longitudinal waves. Helical Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities propagating in the jet sheath (cf. Lobanov & Zensus 2001) could mimic such rotation, which, when seen in projection, would also explain the spectral index oscillation seen in Figure 2.

Additional support for a rotation of the jet around its axis comes from the study of the ejection of new jet components, appearing shortly after prominent flux density outbursts. From Figure 4 and from the VLBI maps, we determined the velocity and the direction of ejection of such new jet components, by fitting a straight line to the inner region of the jet (for $`r0.5`$ mas). From these fits we also obtained the time of ejection, which correlates remarkably well with the occurrence of the known millimeter/optical outbursts. In Figure 5 we plot the ejection velocity and its direction (position angle) versus the time of ejection ($`t_0`$). It is remarkable that ejection velocity and ejection direction show systematic, quasi-periodic variations, indicating a precession of the footpoint of the jet with a period of 15–16 yrs (see also: Abraham & Romero, 1999). In 1982 – 1997 a correlation between optical flux and ejection velocity is indicated (Fig. 5, right panel). At earlier times such a correlation is less obvious, however can not be excluded, since at these times the accurate determination of the ejection velocity was limited by the quality and time sampling of the early (pre 1990) VLBI data. Qian et al. (2001) explain the correlation of ejection velocity and optical flux by a periodic modulation of the jet flow Lorentz factor in a binary black hole system with a precessing accretion disk.

For many AGN, a correlation between flux density variability and ejection of VLBI components is suggested. In 3C 273 we identified 13 jet components (C6 – C18) and traced their motion back to their ejection from the VLBI core. The typical measurement uncertainty for the ejection times $`t_0`$ ranges between 0.2 – 0.5 yr. In Figure 6 (left) we plot $`t_0`$ and the flux density variability at 22 – 230 GHz. We also add the Gamma-ray detections of 3C 273 from EGRET. In Figure 6 (right) we plot the onset times of the mm-flares derived from these light curves (Türler et al. 1999) together with the VLBI ejection time ($`t_0`$) and the Gamma-ray fluxes. For each onset of a mm-flare, we find that a new jet component was ejected.

Although the time sampling of the Gamma-ray data is quite coarse, a relation between component ejection and high Gamma-ray flux appears very likely (note that each Gamma-detection already means higher than usual $`\gamma `$-brightness). From a more detailed analysis (Krichbaum et al. 2002) we obtain for the time lag between component ejection and onset of a mm-flare: $`t_0t_0^{\mathrm{mm}}=0.1\pm 0.2`$ yr. If we assume that the observed peaks in the Gamma-ray light-curve are located near the times $`t_0^\gamma `$ of flux density maxima, we obtain $`t_0^\gamma t_0^{\mathrm{mm}}=0.3\pm 0.3`$ yr. Although the Gamma-ray variability may be faster, this result is fully consistent with the more general finding of enhanced Gamma-ray fluxes mainly during the rising phase of millimeter flares. We therefore suggest the following tentative sequence of events: $`t_0^{\mathrm{mm}}t_0t_0^\gamma `$ – the onset of a millimeter flare is followed by the ejection of a new VLBI component and, either simultaneously or slightly time-delayed, an increase of the Gamma-ray flux. If we focus only on those VLBI components, which were ejected close to the main maxima of the Gamma-ray light-curve in Figure 6, we obtain time lags of $`t_0^\gamma t_0`$ of $`0.5`$ yr for C12, $`0.9`$ yr for C13, $`0.2`$ yr for C16 and $`0.1`$ yr for C18. In all cases, the Gamma-rays seem to peak a little later than the time of component ejection. With $`\beta _{app}4`$ near the core, the Gamma-rays would then escape at a radius $`r_\gamma 0.1`$ mas. This corresponds to $`r_\gamma 2000`$ Schwarzschild radii (for a $`10^9`$ M$`_{\mathrm{}}`$ black hole) or $`610^{17}`$ cm, consistent with theoretical expectations, in which Gamma-rays escape the horizon of photon-photon pair production at separations of a few hundred to a few thousand Schwarzschild radii.

## 3. The Contribution of the SRT

To date, VLBI at 3 mm and shorter wavelengths is still limited in sensitivity. Presently, a few dozens of compact objects with typical flux densities $`S_{86\mathrm{GHz}}0.51`$ Jy can be reliably imaged (e.g. Lobanov et al. 2000). This limitation can be overcome by (i) adding more collecting area, (ii) by enlarging the observing bandwidth and data recording rate (presently $`256`$ Mbits/sec and $`128`$ MHz), and (iii) by correcting phase fluctuations introduced by the atmosphere (water vapor radiometry, dual frequency VLBI). Another limitation is the non-uniformity of the uv-coverage, in particular the lack of short interferometer baselines in present 3 mm-VLBI. Since many AGN are partially resolved and show relatively long VLBI jets even at millimeter wavelengths (at 86 GHz AGN jets can extend over more than 200 beam sizes, cf. Krichbaum et al. 1999), the addition of large and sensitive millimeter telescopes at moderate separations from the existing telescopes is of considerable importance for reliable images. In this context and not only because of its large collecting area, but also due to its southern location within Europe, could the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) make a significant contribution to the scientific research of compact galactic and extragalactic radio sources at millimeter wavelengths.

At 86 GHz, the detection threshold on a single VLBI baseline (7 $`\sigma `$, 256 Mbits/sec, 60 sec integration time) is at present 50–100 mJy on the most sensitive baselines (eg. Pico Veleta to Effelsberg) and 300–400 mJy on VLBA baselines. With the telescopes summarized in the top section of Table 1, the baseline sensitivities within Europe are presently a factor of 2–3 higher than in America. This will change when the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and the Mexican Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) start observing at 3 mm. In the near future, also the phased IRAM interferometer on Plateau de Bure (six 15 m antennas) and the 40 m antenna in Yebes could participate in mm-VLBI. This should lower the detection threshold for mm-VLBI in Europe to 30-40 mJy (at 86 GHz). The combination of Plateau de Bure, Yebes and the SRT with the other existing millimeter antennas (Table 1), will not only improve this sensitivity by another factor of $`1.52`$. Equally important, this will also ameliorate the uv-coverage on short uv-spacings (see Fig. 7), in particular for sources which are near or below the celestial equator, and which will be the prime targets for global mm-VLBI with ALMA. With ALMA, the single baseline sensitivity between ALMA, the SRT and other large millimeter telescopes will be as low $`510`$ mJy. Under the assumption of future enhanced bandwidth and Giga-bit recording and with full atmospheric phase correction applied, it could even reach the sub-milli Jansky level. So future mm-VLBI could reach the same sensitivity and could observe the same number of compact sources as cm-VLBI does nowadays.

### Acknowledgments.

Many of the results shown here originate from millimeter-VLBI observations with the following observatories: Effelsberg (MPIfR), Onsala and Sest (OSO), Pico Veleta (IRAM), Haystack (MIT-NEROC), Hat Creek (BIMA), Owens Valley (OVRO), and the VLBA (NRAO). We like to thank all the people who contributed to these observations for their efforts and for their continuing enthusiasm to push VLBI to higher frequencies. TPK also likes to thank the organizers of the SRT-conference for their support and hospitality.


text:
# A survey of 𝐽-spaces

## 1. Basic concepts

A space $`X`$ is a *$`J`$-space* if, whenever $`\{A,B\}`$ is a closed cover of $`X`$ with $`AB`$ compact, then $`A`$ or $`B`$ is compact. A space $`X`$ is a *strong $`J`$-space* if every compact $`KX`$ is contained in a compact $`LX`$ with $`X\backslash L`$ connected. \[As in , all maps are continuous and all spaces are Hausdorff.\]

### 1.1.

Every strong $`J`$-space $`X`$ is a $`J`$-space. The two concepts coincide when $`X`$ is locally connected, but in general (even for closed subsets of $`^2`$) they do not.

## 2. Examples

### 2.1.

A topological linear space $`X`$ is a (strong) $`J`$-space if and only if $`X`$.

### 2.2.

If $`X`$ and $`Y`$ are connected and non-compact, then $`X\times Y`$ is a strong $`J`$-space.111This was proved in .

### 2.3.

Let $`Y`$ be a compact manifold with boundary $`B`$, and let $`AB`$. Then $`Y\backslash A`$ is a (strong) $`J`$-space if and only if $`A`$ is connected.

## 3. Characterizations by closed maps

A map $`f:XY`$ is called *boundary-perfect* if $`f`$ is closed and $`\mathrm{bdry}f^1(y)`$ is compact for every $`yY`$. It follows from  that every closed map $`f:XY`$ from a paracompact space $`X`$ to a $`q`$-space $`Y`$ is boundary-perfect.222$`q`$-spaces (see ) include all locally compact and all metrizable spaces.

### 3.1.

A space $`X`$ is a $`J`$-space if and only if every boundary-perfect map $`f:XY`$ onto a non-compact space $`Y`$ is perfect.

### 3.2.

If $`X`$ is a $`J`$-space, then every boundary-perfect map $`f:XY`$ has at most one non-compact fiber. The converse holds if $`X`$ is locally compact.

### 3.3.

Let $`X`$ be paracompact and locally compact. Then the following are equivalent.

* $`X`$ is a $`J`$-space.
* Every closed map $`f:XY`$ onto a non-compact, locally compact space $`Y`$ is perfect.
* Every closed map $`f:XY`$ onto a locally compact space $`Y`$ has at most one non-compact fiber.

### 3.4.

Let $`X`$ be metrizable. Then the following are equivalent

* $`X`$ is a $`J`$-space.
* Every closed map $`f:XY`$ onto a non-compact, metrizable space $`Y`$ is perfect.

## 4. Characterization by compactifications

Call a set $`AY`$ a *boundary set* for $`Y`$ if $`\mathrm{Int}A=\mathrm{}`$ and, whenever $`UA`$ is open in $`Y`$ and $`\{W_1,W_2\}`$ is a disjoint, relatively open cover of $`U\backslash A`$, then no $`yA`$ lies in $`\overline{W}_1\overline{W}_2`$. Call a set $`AY`$ a *strong boundary set* for $`Y`$ if $`\mathrm{Int}A=\mathrm{}`$ and, whenever $`UA`$ is open in $`Y`$, then every $`yA`$ has an open neighborhood $`VU`$ with $`V\backslash A`$ connected.

It is easy to see that, if $`Y`$ is a manifold with boundary $`B`$, then every $`AB`$ is a strong boundary set for $`Y`$. And it follows from the proof of \[1, Lemma 4\] (or from \[2, Proposition 3.5\]) that, if $`Y`$ is completely regular, then $`\beta X\backslash X`$ is a boundary set for $`\beta X`$.

### 4.1.

Let $`Y`$ be a compactification of $`X`$, and suppose either that $`X`$ is locally compact or that $`Y`$ is metrizable. Then the following are equivalent.

* $`X`$ is a (strong) $`J`$-space.
* $`Y\backslash X`$ is connected and a (strong) boundary set for $`Y`$.

## 5. Preservation

### 5.1.

$`J`$-spaces are preserved by boundary-perfect images. (False for strong $`J`$-spaces, even with perfect images.)

### 5.2.

$`J`$-spaces and strong $`J`$-spaces are preserved by monotone, perfect pre-images.

### 5.3.

If $`X_1`$, $`X_2`$ are connected, then $`X_1\times X_2`$ is a (strong) $`J`$-space if and only if either $`X_1`$, $`X_2`$ are both (strong) $`J`$-spaces or both are non-compact.

### 5.4.

Let $`\{X_1,X_2\}`$ be a closed cover of $`X`$ with $`X_1X_2`$ compact. Then $`X`$ is a (strong) $`J`$-space if and only if $`X_1`$, $`X_2`$ are both (strong) $`J`$-spaces and $`X_1`$ or $`X_2`$ is compact.

### 5.5.

If $`X`$ is a (strong) $`J`$-space, so is every component of $`X`$. (False for $`J`$-spaces).


text:
# Non-abelian Topological Strings and Metastable States in Linear Sigma Model

## I Introduction

QCD with $`N_f`$ flavors of massless quarks possesses the chiral symmetry $`U(N_f)_L\times U(N_f)_R`$. The generators of its diagonal subgroup $`U(N_f)_V`$ are parity invariant while the parity-odd generators give the axial transformations $`U(N_f)_A`$. (The latter do not form a group.) For low energy and temperatures the axial vector part of this symmetry suffers spontaneous symmetry breakdown (SSB), this is indicated by $`U(N_f)_V\times U(N_f)_AU(N_f)_V`$ . This creates $`N_f^2`$ massless pseudoscalar Goldstone bosons known as mesons. However in the real world, chiral symmetry is explicitly broken because of non-zero quark masses. This makes the pseudoscalar mesons massive. Even in the chiral limit, anomaly effects break the $`SU(N_f)_V`$-invariant axial $`U(1)`$ subgroup $`U(1)_AU(N_f)_A`$ to $`Z_{N_f}`$  making the $`\eta ^{}`$ meson heavier compared to other mesons. Finite temperature lattice QCD studies show that chiral symmetry (but for $`U(1)_A`$ of course which is only effectively restored) is restored at temperatures, $`T`$ larger than a critical value $`T_\chi `$. Such chirally symmetric phase of matter is believed to have existed in the early Universe. The matter in the initial stages of the fire ball produced in heavy ion collisions is likely to be in the chirally symmetric phase. To see such a phase transition in laboratory is one of the motivations of heavy-ion collision experiments.

The chirally symmetric and broken phases of QCD are characterized by an order parameter (OP) which is the quark-antiquark condensate known as the chiral condensate $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$. It is an $`N_f\times N_f`$ matrix at each $`x`$. In the chiral symmetry limit (with no anomaly), all possible values of $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ constitute the order parameter space (OPS). In the broken symmetry phase instead, it is diffeomorphic to $`U(N_f)`$. $`U(N_f)`$ as the OPS allows for the existence of “abelian” as well as “non-abelian” topological string defects. Brandenberger et al. first studied the formation of “abelian” strings due to SSB of the $`U(1)_A`$ part of chiral symmetry. In  it was argued that these string defects will exist as long as the anomaly effects are small and will decay as the anomaly becomes substantial. In a previous work we have considered the effects of anomaly on abelian strings . We have argued that abelian strings will exist in the presence of anomaly with the typical structure of $`N_f`$ domain walls connected to the string. Now, a closer look at the full OPS=$`U(N_f)`$ shows that an additional class of topological defects, known as non-abelian (NA) strings can also exist, as the arguments in ref. for example show. Note that here we use the phrase ”non-abelian strings” in same way as the phrase ”non-abelian monopoles”  are used and not in the sense that $`\pi _1(OPS)`$ is non-abelian. Here we find and discuss numerical solutions for these NA strings and note the important differences between the NA and abelian strings. Also we show that in the linear sigma model we employ, metastable vacua exist at zero temperature. Such metastable states have been found to exist in the non-linear sigma model  before, but for temperatures close to the deconfinement and/or chiral phase transition.

In the next section we briefly discuss how the non-abelian string defects arise from the topological structure of the OPS=$`U(N_f)`$ during the SSB of chiral symmetry. In section III we find the numerical profiles for the NA strings using the linear sigma model Lagrangian . In sec. IV we show existence of metastable CP violating states in the above model. In section V we conclude with some speculative remarks on the formation of these string defects and metastable states during and/or after the chiral phase transition.

## II Non-abelian strings in QCD

Topological defects are usually formed in phase transitions associated with SSB with non-trivial OPS. The type of defects formed depends on the dimension $`n`$ of physical space and the topology of the OPS. When the OPS after SSB is discrete, the topological defects are domain walls in 3-dimensional (3-D) physical space. When the OPS after SSB is a circle the defects are vortices in 2-D and strings in 3-D physical spaces. Monopoles arise in 3-D when the OPS after SSB is a 2-sphere ($`S^2`$). For an introduction to and review of topological defects, see . For our discussion we need to know only about the string defects. In the following we discuss briefly about how string defects arise.

Topological string defects arise when there exist non-trivial loops in the OPS, for example when it is a circle. A loop going around the circle $`k`$ times cannot be smoothly shrunk to a point or cannot be smoothly deformed to another loop going $`lk`$ times around the circle. So there exist non-trivial loops, characterized by windings, on the circle. There is a close connection between the non-trivial loops and the string defects in physical space, see Fig.1. A string defect of winding $`k`$ corresponds to a non-trivial loop winding $`k`$ times around a circle, not contractible to a point in the OPS, as a loop $`𝐥`$ around the string is traversed once in physical space. In Fig. 1 we show an example of winding number 1 string defect for the case of a complex scalar field $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ with real and imaginary parts $`\mathrm{\Psi }_1`$ and $`\mathrm{\Psi }_2`$ when SSB is of $`U(1)`$. The figure on the left of Fig.1 shows the typical effective potential for such a case. The minima $`M`$ of the potential is a circle with radius $`|\mathrm{\Psi }|`$. The configuration $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ of the string on the loop $`𝐥`$ (on $`xy`$-plane) around the string core is shown on the right. Magnitude of $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ is represented by the length of the vectors and the phase by the angle $`\theta `$ these vectors make with the positive $`x`$-axis. As one goes around $`𝐥`$ once $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ on it traces a complete winding on $`M`$. However, the configuration of $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ could have been such that it winds $`k`$-times (for a winding number $`k`$ string) around $`M`$ for a single loop on $`𝐥`$.

The stability of the string defect is purely due to topological reasons. The total variation $`\mathrm{\Delta }\theta `$ of $`\theta `$ around $`𝐥`$ can have only discrete values, namely integral multiples $`2\pi k`$ of $`2\pi `$. So by smooth changes of $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ on $`𝐥`$, one can not change $`\mathrm{\Delta }\theta `$. Also by smoothly shrinking or enlarging $`𝐥`$, such that it does not cross $`\mathrm{\Psi }=0`$ when $`\theta `$ becomes undefined, one cannot change $`\mathrm{\Delta }\theta `$ if the underlying $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ is continuous. On the other hand if $`𝐥`$ can be shrunk to a point ( keeping $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ continuous and non-zero except perhaps at that point, and $`\mathrm{\Delta }\theta `$ fixed in the process), then either $`k=0`$ or $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ must vanish at that point as it is continuous. By definition, $`k0`$ when there is a string (defect). The point where $`\mathrm{\Psi }=0`$ when $`k0`$ is the core of the string. Strings in 3-D are either infinitely long or exist in loops. As strings have non-zero string tension, a string loop is unstable to shrinking.

It is important to note that string defects arise because one can have loops with non-trivial winding on $`M`$ which is a circle in the above example. Such non-trivial loops exist in $`U(N_f)`$ which is the OPS after SSB of chiral symmetry. Thus let $`T_a`$ (a $`ϵ\{1,N_f^21\}`$) be the $`SU(N_f)`$ Lie algebra generators (the analogues of the Gell-mann matrices $`\lambda _a`$) and

$$T_0=\sqrt{\frac{2}{N_f}}\mathrm{𝟏}.$$
(1)
Noting that

$$T_{N_f^21}=\left(\frac{2}{N_f(N_f1)}\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}\left(\begin{array}{cccccc}1& & & & & \\ & 1& & & & \\ & & .& & & \\ & & & .& & \\ & & & & 1& \\ & & & & & 1N_f\end{array}\right),$$
(2)
a particular non-abelian string configuration is

$$M(\theta )=e^{i\frac{\theta }{N_f}\left[\frac{N_f(N_f1)}{2}\right]^{\frac{1}{2}}T_{N_f^21}}e^{i\frac{\theta }{N_f}\left[\frac{N_f}{2}\right]^{\frac{1}{2}}T_0}$$
(3)
where $`\theta `$ is the angle on $`𝐥`$. The first factor is an open curve in $`SU(N_f)`$ from $`\mathrm{𝟏}`$ to its center $`e^{i\frac{2\pi }{N_f}}\mathrm{𝟏}`$. The second is an open curve in the center $`U(1)`$ of $`U(N_f)`$ from $`\mathrm{𝟏}`$ to $`e^{i\frac{2\pi }{N_f}}\mathrm{𝟏}`$. On taking their product as in the above equation, the values at $`\theta =2\pi `$ multiply to $`\mathrm{𝟏}`$ giving a closed string. The powers $`M(\theta )^N`$ ($`NZ\backslash \{0\}`$) and their (continuous) deformations produce all possible strings, the deformations not changing their topological types. The beginning and end points of the non-abelian and abelian factors remain fixed during these deformations.

Note that in $`M(\theta )^{nN_f}`$ ($`nZ\backslash \{0\}`$), the non-abelian factor

$$e^{in\theta \left[\frac{N_f(N_f1)}{2}\right]^{\frac{1}{2}}T_{N_f^21}}$$
(4)
is a closed loop in $`SU(N_f)`$. Such loops can be deformed to a point as the first homotopy group of $`SU(N_f)`$, $`\pi _1(SU(N_f))`$ is $`0`$. Thus $`M(\theta )^{nN_f}`$ gives the abelian strings. In other words, the elementary strings are given by $`M(\theta )`$ and $`M(\theta )^1`$. Note that by construction $`M(\theta )^n`$ gives a loop winding $`n`$ times. Consider the loop given by

$$M^{}(\theta )=e^{i\frac{\theta }{N_f}\left[\frac{N_f(N_f1)}{2}\right]^{\frac{1}{2}}T_{N_f^21}}e^{i\frac{\theta (N_f1)}{N_f}\left[\frac{N_f}{2}\right]^{\frac{1}{2}}T_0},$$
(5)
for which the open curve in $`SU(N_f)`$ remains the same as that of $`M(\theta )`$, but one traverses the two end points in $`U(1)`$ in an anti-clockwise direction. This loop is actually homotopic to the loop given by $`M(\theta )^{1N_f}`$. That is to say, there is a string loop homotopic to that of $`M(\theta )^{1N_f}`$ which gives the string configuration of (4).

In the above we have considered SSB of chiral symmetry. However in the real world this symmetry is explicitly broken due to quark masses, and also the $`U(1)_A`$ part of $`U(N_f)_A`$ is broken down to $`Z_{N_f}`$ due to axial anomaly and instanton effects.The effect of anomaly changes the usual cylindrical structure of the string creating domain walls connecting to the string core. In the case of abelian strings, for $`N_f=3`$, the string gets connected to three domain walls . In the case of elementary NA strings the number of domain walls can be either one or two as we explain in the next section. The effect of quark masses makes the string configurations non-static. However the string defects are stable against small fluctuations and can only decay due to annihilation with other defects with opposite windings.

In the next section we will numerically find the configuration of the elementary non-abelian strings for the case of $`N_f=3`$. For our calculations we use the linear sigma model Lagrangian considered in ref.. Numerically it is easier to find the static configurations. Because of this we work in the chiral limit which allows for static solutions.

## III Configurations of the non-abelian string

To find the field configurations for the non-abelian strings we consider the following $`U(3)_L\times U(3)_R`$ linear sigma model for $`3`$ quark flavors ,

$`(\mathrm{\Phi })`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{Tr}\left(_\mu \mathrm{\Phi }^{}^\mu \mathrm{\Phi }m^2\mathrm{\Phi }^{}\mathrm{\Phi }\right)\lambda _1\left[\mathrm{Tr}\left(\mathrm{\Phi }^{}\mathrm{\Phi }\right)\right]^2\lambda _2\mathrm{Tr}\left(\mathrm{\Phi }^{}\mathrm{\Phi }\right)^2`$ (6)
$`+`$ $`c\left[\mathrm{Det}\left(\mathrm{\Phi }\right)+\mathrm{Det}\left(\mathrm{\Phi }^{}\right)\right]+\mathrm{Tr}\left[H(\mathrm{\Phi }+\mathrm{\Phi }^{})\right],`$ (7)
where we take $`c>0`$ for specificity. $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ is a complex $`3\times 3`$ matrix of fields of the scalar and pseudoscalar mesons:

$$\mathrm{\Phi }=T_a\varphi _a=T_a(\sigma _a+i\pi _a).$$
(8)
The field $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ transforms under the chiral transformation $`U(3)_L\times U(3)_R`$ as

$$\mathrm{\Phi }U_{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Phi }U_r^{},U_{\mathrm{},r}\mathrm{exp}\left(i\omega _{\mathrm{},r}^aT_a\right).$$
(9)
One can rewrite the infinitesimal left-right transformations in terms of vector-axial vector transformations with parameters $`w_{V,A}^a=(w_l^a\pm w_r^a)/2`$. The infinitesimal form of the $`U(3)_L\times U(3)_R`$ symmetry transformation (9) is

$$\mathrm{\Phi }\mathrm{\Phi }+i\omega _V^a[T_a,\mathrm{\Phi }]+i\omega _A^a\{T_a,\mathrm{\Phi }\}.$$
(10)
$`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ is a singlet under the $`U(1)_V`$ transformations associated with $`exp(iw_V^0T^0)`$. In QCD, they give rise to a conserved charge identified with the baryon number.

In the above model the determinant term takes into account the instanton effect which explicitly breaks the $`U(1)_A`$ symmetry . It is not clear whether such a term can be justified for high temperatures, because vanishing $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ makes the instanton effects to disappear , though lattice results show that $`U(1)_A`$ is effectively restored at slightly higher temperatures  than the temperature at which $`SU(N)_A`$ symmetry is restored. The last term where ($`H=T_ah_a`$, $`h_a=`$ constants) is due to non-zero quark masses. When $`c=H=0`$ and $`\lambda _1>0`$, and $`\lambda _2>0`$, the Lagrangian has a global symmetry $`U(N_f)_V\times U(N_f)_A`$ for $`m^2>0`$. For $`m^2<0`$ the axial symmetry $`U(N_f)_A`$ is spontaneously broken to identity and the OPS is $`U(N_f)`$. This results in $`N_f^2`$ Goldstone bosons. For $`N_f=3`$ these Goldstone bosons are the $`\pi `$’s, $`K`$’s, $`\eta `$ and $`\eta ^{}`$. However when just $`c0`$, the $`U(1)_A`$ is further broken to $`Z_3`$ by the axial anomaly. $`U(3)_A`$ symmetry is, in addition, explicitly broken by non-zero quark masses. Also $`SU(3)_V`$ is explicitly broken due to the difference in $`u,d`$, and $`s`$ quark masses giving rise to splitting in the meson masses.

In order to find the static non-abelian string configurations we take $`H`$ to be zero. Even when $`H=0`$, not all the non-abelian strings are static in the presence of anomaly just like the abelian string. To illustrate this we consider the NA string corresponding to the non-trivial loop $`M(\theta )`$ \[with $`N_f=3`$\] on $`U(3)`$. Scaling $`M(\theta )`$ by the vacuum $`\mathrm{\Phi }_0=\frac{\sigma _0}{\sqrt{6}}\mathrm{𝟏}`$, we get the loop in the space of fields $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ to be

$$\mathrm{\Phi }(\theta )=\frac{\sigma _0}{\sqrt{6}}M(\theta )=\frac{1}{\sqrt{6}}\left(\begin{array}{ccc}\sigma _0& 0& 0\\ 0& \sigma _0& 0\\ 0& 0& \sigma _0e^{i\theta }\end{array}\right).$$
(11)
As only the last diagonal component of $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ varies with $`\theta `$, the anomaly contribution to the effective Lagrangian from such field variation is

$$\frac{c}{3\sqrt{6}}\sigma _0^3cos\theta .$$
(12)
For such a term, the ground state prefers the unique value $`cos\theta =1`$. Because of this, the $`\theta `$ distribution around the string will not be symmetric. In most of the region around the string, $`\theta `$ will take the value $`0`$ which minimizes the potential energy term (10). Non-zero $`\theta `$ values will be confined to a wall-like region. Because of non-zero surface tension of the wall, motion of the string towards the wall decreases the energy of the configuration. So one will not have static solutions in this case.

On the other hand, the loop corresponding to $`M(\theta )^n`$ in OPS gives rise to a string configuration with $`|n|`$ domain walls. This configuration is static as the motion of the string along any domain wall does not decrease the energy of the configuration. To find out the details of one such NA string configuration, we consider $`N_f=3`$ and $`n=2`$. Here $`M(\theta )^2`$ gives a loop homotopic to the loop of $`M^{}(\theta )`$. For $`N_f=3`$, $`M^{}(\theta )`$ is given by $`exp(i\theta T_s)`$ where $`T_s`$ is

$$T_s=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}1& 0& 0\\ 0& 1& 0\\ 0& 0& 0\end{array}\right).$$
(13)
The corresponding loop in the space of fields $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ is from

$$\mathrm{\Phi }(\theta )=\frac{\sigma _0}{\sqrt{6}}M^{}(\theta )=\frac{1}{\sqrt{6}}\left(\begin{array}{ccc}\sigma _0e^{i\theta }& 0& 0\\ 0& \sigma _0e^{i\theta }& 0\\ 0& 0& \sigma _0\end{array}\right).$$
(14)
Writing $`\sqrt{\frac{3}{2}}(\varphi _1+i\varphi _2)`$ for $`\sigma _0e^{i\theta }`$, the effective Lagrangian for such a $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ deduced from (6), with $`\lambda _1=\lambda `$, $`\lambda _2=0`$ and $`H=0`$, is given by

$``$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}_\mu \varphi _1^\mu \varphi _1+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}_\mu \varphi _2^\mu \varphi _2𝒱(\varphi _1,\varphi _2),`$ (15)
where

$`𝒱(\varphi _1,\varphi _2)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{m^2+\frac{\lambda \sigma _0^2}{3}}{2}}\left(\varphi _1^2+\varphi _2^2\right)+{\displaystyle \frac{\lambda }{4}}\left(\varphi _1^2+\varphi _2^2\right)^2`$ (16)
$``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c\sigma _0}{2\sqrt{6}}}\left(\varphi _1^2\varphi _2^2\right)+{\displaystyle \frac{m^2}{6}}\sigma _0^2+{\displaystyle \frac{\lambda }{36}}\sigma _0^4.`$ (17)
The values of the parameters in the above equation are $`\lambda =53.5322`$, $`c=6685.19MeV`$ and $`m^2=(591.256MeV)^2`$. For these values of the parameters we get $`\sigma _0=110.23MeV`$, the sigma meson mass $`m_\sigma =1000MeV`$, and the $`\eta ^{}`$ mass $`m_\eta ^{}=950MeV`$. Note that the anomaly term in $`𝒱`$ expressed in $`\theta `$ is $`c\sigma _0/2\sqrt{6}cos(2\theta )`$ for which $`\theta =0`$ and $`\theta =\pi `$ are degenerate. This leads to a string configuration attached to 2 domain walls. In the following we will find the approximate numerical profile of the string associated with $`M^{}(\theta )`$.

Considering the string along the $`z`$-direction, $`\varphi _i`$ for the static string satisfy the following field equations:

$`^2\varphi _1={\displaystyle \frac{𝒱(\varphi _1,\varphi _2)}{\varphi _1}},`$ (18)
$`^2\varphi _2={\displaystyle \frac{𝒱(\varphi _1,\varphi _2)}{\varphi _2}},`$ (19)
where $`^2=\frac{^2}{x^2}+\frac{^2}{y^2}`$. Since in the presence of anomaly, the string profile is non-cylindrical, one has to find the solution by an energy minimization technique. For this we consider an initial cylindrical configuration with $`\dot{\varphi _i}=0`$ at $`t=0`$ and evolve it with the field equations derived from Eq.(6) with a dissipative term:

$`{\displaystyle \frac{d^2\varphi _1}{dt^2}}+\alpha {\displaystyle \frac{d\varphi _1}{dt}}^2\varphi _1={\displaystyle \frac{𝒱(\varphi _1,\varphi _2)}{\varphi _1}}`$ (20)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{d^2\varphi _2}{dt^2}}+\alpha {\displaystyle \frac{d\varphi _2}{dt}}^2\varphi _2={\displaystyle \frac{𝒱(\varphi _1,\varphi _2)}{\varphi _2}}.`$ (21)
Here $`\alpha `$ is the dissipation coefficient. The dissipation term has been used to converge the initial configuration (the circular configuration, which is not the correct configuration in the presence of the anomaly) to the approximate configuration of the string connected to domain walls. Once the evolution is done for a sufficiently long time, the configuration does not evolve with time even after the dissipation is switched off, which suggests that the configuration is more or less static and so an approximate solution. On evolving the initial cylindrically symmetric configuration with the above equations, the domain walls connected to the string develop. In the numerical work, we considered the $`\eta ^{}`$ mass to be the experimental value $`m_\eta ^{}950MeV`$ and set other pseudoscalar meson masses to zero. In FIG.2 we show the configuration of the string with the domain walls joined to it. In the left figure we plot $`\sqrt{\varphi _1^2+\varphi _2^2}`$, and in the right plot the vector field of $`\mathrm{\Phi }(\stackrel{}{𝐫})=(\varphi _1(\stackrel{}{r}),\varphi _2(\stackrel{}{r}))`$. The magnitude of the field is proportional to the length of the vectors and the angle these vectors make with +ve $`x`$-axis is the phase. Clearly there is no symmetric distribution of the phase around the string. In the core of the string the full chiral symmetry associated with $`T_s`$ is restored. That is because in the string core, as we explain below, $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ becomes $`diag(0,0,constant)`$ which is invariant under transformations generated by $`T_s`$. Although the field configuration has the structure of domain wall, the symmetry is restored only in the core of the string. It is not clear if it is the string tension or the surface tension of the domain wall that will dominate the dynamics when these configurations are formed after the chiral transition.

In the absence of anomaly the NA and abelian string configurations  look superficially similar. But there are crucial differences. For in the core of the abelian string all the components of $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ vanish and so the full chiral symmetry is restored. This is because the phase of all components of $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ change by $`2\pi n`$ ($`n`$ being a non-zero integer) as one goes round an abelian string obliging all these components to vanish at the core of the string. But for a NA string one or more components of $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ need not change in phase as the string is encircled, and hence need not vanish in the string core. As a consequence the full chiral symmetry associated with a particular linear combination of $`T_0`$ and $`T_{N_f^21}`$ for which the nonzero components are singlets is restored. The other difference is as we have mentioned above, for $`c0`$, the elementary abelian string for $`N_f`$ flavours is connected to $`N_f`$ domain walls while the elementary NA strings (associated with $`M(\theta )`$ and $`M(\theta )^1`$) are connected to $`1,2,\mathrm{},N_f1`$ domain walls. (But note that $`M^{}(\theta )`$ has two domain walls.)

## IV Metastable states in $`U(3)\times U(3)`$ linear sigma model

As we have mentioned, in the chiral limit, anomaly breaks $`U(1)_A`$ to $`Z_3`$ in 3 flavour QCD. This leads to a set of discrete ground states related by discrete transformations of $`U(3)`$. It is simple to find out the ground states in the chiral limit. Let us consider the effective potential in Eq.5,

$`𝒱(\mathrm{\Phi })`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{Tr}\left(m^2\mathrm{\Phi }^{}\mathrm{\Phi }\right)+\lambda _1\left[\mathrm{Tr}\left(\mathrm{\Phi }^{}\mathrm{\Phi }\right)\right]^2+\lambda _2\mathrm{Tr}\left(\mathrm{\Phi }^{}\mathrm{\Phi }\right)^2`$ (22)
$``$ $`c\left[\mathrm{Det}\left(\mathrm{\Phi }\right)+\mathrm{Det}\left(\mathrm{\Phi }^{}\right)\right]\mathrm{Tr}\left[H(\mathrm{\Phi }+\mathrm{\Phi }^{})\right].`$ (23)
In the chiral limit when $`H=0`$, one can choose the ground states to be of the form $`\mathrm{\Phi }_0=\overline{\sigma _0}T_0/\sqrt{2}`$. When the anomaly is also absent, $`c=0`$, and all $`U(3)_A`$ rotations of $`\mathrm{\Phi }_0`$ cost no energy. For $`c0`$, only a few discrete axial rotations do not change the potential energy. Thus there are a few ground states. Some of the ground states are obtained by the discrete rotations $`U\mathrm{\Phi }_0U`$, where $`U=exp(i\theta _1/2)`$, with $`\theta _1=\frac{2\pi }{3},\frac{4\pi }{3}`$. Also one can choose $`U=exp(i\theta _2T/2)`$, where $`T`$ is a linear combinations of $`T_a`$’s and $`T_0`$, for example $`T_s`$ in Eq.11. For $`T=T_s`$, $`\theta _2=\pi `$ gives another ground state. All these ground states, except $`\mathrm{\Phi }_0`$, will have non-zero $`U(1)_A`$ phase giving rise to $`CP`$ violating effects .

For the full potential (18), these states with $`\theta _{1,2}0`$ will be of higher energy. Still these states with differing values of $`\theta _{1,2}`$ are separated by energy barriers. When the quark mass is switched on, only one of these states becomes the true ground state. However, for small quark masses, the barrier between the ground state and other states may remain appreciable making them metastable. Because of their $`CP`$ violating nature it is interesting to check if such metastable states can exist after including the effects of the meson masses and their splittings. In the non-linear sigma model  such states are known to appear for temperatures close to the deconfinement transition. Here we now show that such states exist also in the linear sigma model at zero temperature. Since these are due to effects of anomaly we expect that they will survive as long as anomaly effects are significant.

In order to find metastable states, we took the values of the parameters in Eq. (18) from  which give an approximate description of meson masses and their splittings. The ground state is $`\mathrm{\Phi }_0=\overline{\sigma _0}T_0/\sqrt{2}+\overline{\sigma _8}T_8`$, where $`\overline{\sigma _0}130MeV`$ and $`\overline{\sigma _8}24MeV`$ while $`H`$ is $`h_0T_0/\sqrt{2}+h_8T_8`$, where $`h_0=(286.094MeV)^3`$ and $`h_8=(310.960MeV)^3`$. Finally $`\lambda _1=1.4`$ and $`\lambda _2=46.484`$. In order to see possible metastable states, we fix $`\sigma _0`$ and $`\sigma _8`$ and plot the $`\theta _{1,2}`$ dependence of the potential energy. In case there is a local minimum for non-zero $`\theta _{1,2}`$, we then minimize $`𝒱(\mathrm{\Phi })`$ relaxing $`\overline{\sigma _0}`$ and $`\overline{\sigma _8}`$ fixing $`\theta _{1,2}`$. If the new $`\overline{\sigma _0}`$ and $`\overline{\sigma _8}`$ are close to their initial values, then it implies the existence of metastable states. We find no metastable states for non-zero $`\theta _1`$, so there exists no metastable state with purely $`U(1)_A`$ phase. For $`\theta _2`$ there exists a metastable state at $`\theta _2=\pi `$. In Fig. 3 we plot the $`\theta _2`$ dependence of the potential energy for $`m=0`$ and $`m_q0`$. The figure clearly shows that there is a local minimum at $`\theta _2=\pi `$ for $`m_q0`$. Fixing $`\theta _2`$ at $`\pi `$ we minimize $`𝒱(\mathrm{\Phi })`$ varying $`\overline{\sigma _0}`$ and $`\overline{\sigma _8}`$. The new values are $`\overline{\sigma _0}120MeV`$ and $`\overline{\sigma _8}=28MeV`$ indeed very close to the initial values.

## Conclusions

In summary, we have numerically found an approximate static solution of a non-abelian string (domain wall) in the SSB of $`U(N_f)\times U(N_f)U(N_f)`$ in the linear sigma model. Also we have shown that metastable states exist in this model for realistic quark masses. Abelian and non-abelian extended regions in metastable vacua may form during the chiral transition ocurring in the early stages of heavy-ion collisions as well as in the early Universe. However, formation of strings and large metastable domains are complementary as formation of the one suppresses the formation of other. More the number of uncorrelated domains, more are the number of strings, with less probability for an extended domain in a metastable state.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by DOE and NSF under contract numbers DE - FG02 - 85ERR 40231 and INT - 9908763 and by BMFB (Germany) under grant 06 BI 902. We have benefited greatly from discussions with A. M. Srivastava.