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# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

In 1980 von Klitzing et al  have shown that the Hall conductivity is given by an integer multiple of $`e^2/h`$ so that an accurate value of $`e^2/h`$ can be measured. Later on, it was found by Tsui et al  that not only the integer but also the fractional multiples of $`e^2/h`$ can be identified at high magnetic fields. Recently, Pan et al have obtained the measurements of the quantum Hall effect upto a magnetic field of 42 T. They have obtained the effective charge of a fraction of unity from the minima in the longitudinal resistivity. The minima are found at $`\nu `$=2/11, 3/17 3/19, 2/13, 1/7, 2/15, 2/17 and 1/9. It is believed that magnetic flux is quantized so that the field can be written as,

$$B=\frac{nhc}{\nu e}$$
$`(1)`$
where $`n`$ is the electron density per unit area, $`n=n_o/A`$. We can define the effective charge of the quasiparticles as,

$$e_{eff}=\nu e$$
$`(2)`$
so that $`\nu `$ determines the fraction which gives the charge. We can write,

$$B=s\varphi _o=\frac{nhc}{\nu e}$$
$`(3)`$
so that

$$s=n/\nu ,\varphi _o=hc/e.$$
$`(4)`$
So far we have used only one concept, i.e., flux is quantized except that the effective charge is taken to be different from $`e`$. We have not used the concept of Landau levels. We shall interpret the data of longitudinal resistivity of GaAs/AlGaAs. We define the resistivity as,

$$\rho _{xx}=\frac{h}{\nu e^2}.$$
$`(5)`$
Since the effective charge is $`\nu e`$, we can pick up the minima in $`\rho _{xx}`$ and measure the value of $`\nu `$ experimentally and tabulate them. Here the job of the experimentallist is finished. In this way the charge is parameterised. It is another problem to find the theory which changes the charge $`e`$ to $`\nu e`$.

## 2 CF phenomenological model

We discuss the composite fermion, (CF), phenomenological model first suggested by Jain. We propose that there are two types of particles, the electrons and the CFs. They both see the quantized field except that the field seen by CF is not equal to that seen by the electron. Let us say that B is seen by the CF and B by the electron. The quantization conditions are,

$$\nu B=n\varphi _o(electrons)$$
$`(6)`$
and

$$\nu ^{}B^{}=n\varphi _o(CF).$$
$`(7)`$
Usually all particles should see the same value but in this picture different particles see different values. This is justified by finding a way to go from B to B. We consider the even number $`2p`$ of fluxes attached to the electron so that $`2pn\varphi _o`$ is a field which measures the difference between the field seen by the electron and that seen by CF. The field can be parallel to that of the electron or it can be antiparallel so that we can use both the signs, $`\pm `$ and write the field experienced by the CF as,

$$B^{}=B\pm 2pn\varphi _o.$$
$`(8)`$
Thus the field seen by the CF is given by the electron field and the flux field. Now substituting (6) and (7) in (8) gives,

$$\nu ^{}=\frac{\nu }{(1\pm 2p\nu )}.$$
$`(9)`$
For p = 1,

$$\nu ^{}=\frac{\nu }{(2\nu +1)},\frac{\nu }{(2\nu 1)}.$$
$`(10)`$
Let us flip the sign of $`\varphi _o`$ and use other even numbers so that,

$$|\nu ^{}|=\frac{\nu }{(2\nu \pm 1)},\frac{\nu }{(4\nu \pm 1)},\frac{\nu }{(6\nu \pm 1)},\frac{\nu }{(8\nu \pm 1)}.$$
$`(11)`$
These series can be identified in the experimental data and it appears that identification of the series is equivalent to observation of the CF. This is the CF model and every thing appears to be fine.

## 3 Composite Fermions and Biot and Savart’s law

Are there any concepts in the CF phenomenological model? If the idea was to find the series of charges, there was no trouble at all. However, if the series is to be linked to some theory then there is trouble. From eq.(6) and eq.(7),

$$\nu B=\nu ^{}B^{}$$
$`(12)`$
The factor $`\nu `$ has the charge. Therefore, in order to keep the product constant, we can increase the charge and reduce the field so that $`\nu B`$ is unchanged. In the Biot and Savart’s law, the field can be reduced by reducing the current or charge, i.e., the field cannot be reduced by increasing the charge. On the otherhand in the CF, the field is reduced by increasing the charge. Since the current is flow of charge, the result (12) is not in conformity with the Biot and Savart’s law. In eq(11), the sign of $`\nu ^{}`$ has been changed in one of the formulae. The equation (8) already has both signs. The question is whether the sign of $`\varphi _o`$ can be changed in the flux quantization. If the field is to be written as a quantized flux, the sign of the field should be the same as that of the flux. Therefore, eqs.(6) and (7) do not allow to change the sign of the flux $`\varphi _o`$, otherwise the flux $`\varphi _o`$ will become equal to zero. Therefore, the use of both signs in (8) is not consistent. In spite of the problem with the sign of the flux and the Biot and Savart’s law, the CF agrees with the data. When we start with the fractions of charges which are the same as the experimental values, and work out the fields and fluxes, we find that there is disagreement with the established laws. Therefore the assumptions of the model are not correct.

Let us consider the Biot and Savart’s law. The flow of current, $`I`$ or charge, $`e`$, produces a magnetic field,$`B`$. This is usually achieved by making a coil so that the field produced by the current is along the axis of the coil. Since $`2pn\varphi _o`$ is a field, the current, $`I_\varphi `$, associated with this field is to be determined by $`2pn\varphi _o`$=2$`I_\varphi /cR_1`$ where $`R_1`$ is the radius of curvature of the coil and $`c`$ is the velocity of light. Now if there is a need to attach the field $`2pn\varphi _o`$ to $`B`$, then the current $`I_\varphi `$ must be added to $`I`$. Then we can get the field $`B+2pn\varphi _o`$ but the charge corresponding to $`I_\varphi `$ must also be carried to $`e`$. It is not possible to change the field without changing the charge. This means that the flux can be attached only when charges are also attached. The attachment of flux in (8) without any regard of adding currents is not allowed by the Biot and Savart’s law. Attaching two flux quanta to one electron is thus not allowed. In Fig.1, we draw a picture of coil current and field. The current I gives the field B as shown in Fig.1(a), Iϕ gives Bϕ as shown in Fig.1(b). The Fig.1(c) shows the attachment of two flux quanta to one electron and Fig.1(d) four flux quanta. These additional fluxes attached to one electron make the composite fermions (CFs). There are even number of fluxes, as many as 8, attached to one electron.

Let us consider the even flux quanta. Depending on the value of $`n`$, let us say that $`2pn\varphi _o`$=1 T, then for 2, 4, 6, and 8 quanta, the field becomes,

$$B2,B4,B6,B8,etc.$$
$`(13)`$
Consider B-2 = 12.5 T, then B=14.5 T and we expect features at B-4=10.5T, B-6= 8.5T, B-8= 6.5 T, etc. but there are no such features in the experimental data at these fields. Instead of even feature (13) there are features according to series (11). We have generated two series, one according to even number in (8) and the other according to (5) with charge determined by (11). The expression (8) for B is independent of the effective charge $`\nu `$ or $`\nu ^{}`$. Therefore, the even features of (8) should be observed independent of the observation of the charge series.

## 4  Back Calculation

If we write 2 and $`\pm 1`$, then we can generate 1/3 and 1 charge. By using even numbers, all of the odd numbers can be generated. Therefore, we obtain 2p$`\pm `$ 1, 4p$`\pm `$ 1, 6p$`\pm `$ 1, 8p$`\pm `$ 1, etc. Now, look for fields so that we can get $`B\pm 2pn\varphi _o`$ and flux quantization gives, B=n$`\varphi _o`$. The total field B$`\pm 2pn\varphi _o`$ can also be quantized so that B=n$`\varphi _o/\nu ^{}`$. In this way we can generate the CF model. This means that odd denominators are observed in the charge but the construction made (8) is not correct. It violates the Biot and Savart’s law. The series of fractions such as p/(2p$`\pm `$ 1) are thus phenomenological and hence give the correct answers, which are based on the experimental data. However, in nature the field is not quantized as in (8).

## 5 Conclusions

In conclusion, the simulation of the CF model from the experimental data is not correct, i.e., it violates (a) the Biot and Savart’s law, and (b) the even fields as in (13) are not observed. The composition of fields as in (8) with flux quantization in one term as in (8) is not correct. The eq.(12) is not consistent with the Biot and Savarts law. It has been found that the CF are inconsistent with a fermion statistics. Apparently as Wilczek first thought, the attachment of flux quanta to electrons is not yet found. Usually when new discoveries are made they are consistent with the already known physics but the CF is not.

References

1. K. von Klitzing, G. Dorda and M. Pepper, Phys. Rev. Lett. 45, 494 (1980).
2. D.C. Tsui, H.L. Störmer and A.C. Gossard, Phys. Rev. Lett. 48, 1559 (1982).
3. W. Pan, H. L. Stormer, D. C. Tsui, L. N. Pfeiffer, K. W. Baldwin and K. W. West, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 176802(2002).
4. J.K. Jain, Phys. Rev. Lett. 63, 199 (1989).
5. K. N. Shrivastava, cond-mat/0202459.
6. F. Wilczek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 48, 957 (1982).

Fig.1: Biot and Savart’s law shows that (a) the current I produces the field B and (b) a current of $`I_\varphi `$ produces the field of 2pn$`\varphi _o`$.(c) Two flux quanta attached to one electron and (d) four flux quanta attached to one electron. The attachment of flux quanta to one electron is not consistent with the Biot and Savart’s law.


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# Magnetically warped discs in close binaries

## 1 Introduction

Much of the variability of cataclysmic variables can be traced to instabilities in the accretion disc. Thermal-viscous instability leads to dwarf nova outbursts, and tidal instability leads to superhumps and superoutbursts. More recently, people have been giving thought to warp-type instabilities. Pringle (1996) showed that radiation from the central accreting object will exert an asymmetric force on either surface of the disc that can be sufficent to warp it. However, relatively extreme conditions are required to generate a warp in this way (Ogilvie & Dubus 2001). In this paper we show numerically that stellar magnetic fields can warp the disc of a cataclysmic variable. In particular we shall focus on the effects of the secondary (donor) star’s magnetic field.

The light-curves of many cataclysmic variables exhibit periodicities close to but distinct from the orbital period. These signals are categorised as positive superhumps if they are longer than orbital and negative superhumps if they are less than orbital. Both are thought to emanate from the disc with the well established explanation for the former being that they are the visible consequences of an eccentric disc precessing with respect to the binary’s tidal field (see O’Donoghue 2000 for a review). Negative superhumps have not been studied in nearly as much detail. The observations of negative superhumps are summarised in Patterson (1999) in which 11 systems are listed. With periods typically a few per cent less than orbital, a key feature of negative superhumps is that they appear to be independent of positive superhumps. They have been observed both in the absence of and in conjunction with their better studied brethren.

Patterson et al. (1993) suggested that negative superhumps occur when the accretion disc is tilted to the binary plane. Just as the line of nodes of the Moon’s orbit about the Earth regresses, so too the intersection of the disc and binary planes precesses retrogradely. The effect is present in the purely dynamical problem and is analogous to the eccentric disc case. A test particle in circular orbit around a single star has three natural frequencies, that of its azimuthal motion ($`\omega `$), and those of any radial or vertical motion. Around a single star these frequencies are identical and any perturbation to a circular orbit causes the particle to orbit in an ellipse. For a particle in orbit around a star in a binary we find that the tidal field breaks the symmetry of the three periods. The radial frequency becomes slightly lower than ($`\omega `$) and the vertical frequency slightly higher. As a result, the axis of any perturbation to the orbit will precess. Analytical calculations (e.g. Papaloizou & Terquem 1995) and numerical simulations (e.g. Larwood et al. 1996; Wood et al. 2000) showed that an initially rigidly tilted disc in a binary system will precess retrogradely, approximately as a rigid body, as a result of the gravitational torque acting on the disc.

The major stumbling block for the warped disc hypothesis has been the lack of a viable mechanism for generating it. Three possibilities can be explored. A warp might have developed as a result of an impulsive torque or out of the plane initial condition, and then precessed freely (see e.g. Larwood et al. 1996). A second possibility is that the warp developed from a co-planar disc via an instability. Lubow (1992) and Pringle (1996) discussed dynamical and radiative disc instabilities respectively. The third possibility, the one explored in this paper, is that the warp is excited by continual forcing out of the plane.

Both impulsively and resonantly generated warps would be forced back into the plane as the disc evolved viscously. Murray & Armitage (1998) presented a series of calculations suggesting that the dynamical and radiative instabilities were too weak to overcome viscosity. Whilst continual forcing could overcome the problem of viscous flattening, the long term disc response will not be free precession but be with the same period as the forcing.

The inspiration for this paper was the idea espoused by Terquem and Papaloizou (2000), that a warp might be induced in a circumstellar disc by the stellar magnetic field. Should the axis of the magnetic field be misaligned with the binary rotation axis, then the magnetic field will exert a torque in the plane of the accretion disc. Terquem and Papaloizou were interested in T Tauri stars, however the principle could equally be applied to a cataclysmic variable with a moderately magnetised accreting white dwarf. Lai (1999) described in detail the mechanisms by which the stellar magnetic field would couple with the disc. Again however his attention was directed more at X-ray accreting pulsars and not at cataclysmic binaries.

We carried out an initial series of smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations and did indeed find that vertical structure was induced in the disc. However this structure co-rotated with the accreting star and could not possibly generate the periods characteristic of negative superhumps. We will describe these simulations in a subsequent paper (Wynn, Murray & Chakrabarty in preparation). Pringle (private communication) suggested we allow the donor rather than the accretor to be magnetised. Whereas the primary star in a cataclysmic variable typically rotates several times faster than the binary, the secondary is tidally locked and hence co-rotates with the binary. This paper describes a series of simulations with which we sought to determine whether the resultant accretion disc structure was approximately stationary in the binary or in the inertial frame.

Several authors have already performed detailed analysis of the suitability of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) technique for modelling three dimensional structure in accretion discs. Murray (1997) and Yukawa, Boffin & Matsuda (1997) demonstrated that tidally excited spiral structure is resolved in well constructed two dimensional and three dimensional SPH simulations respectively. Larwood et al. (1996) modelled the precession of tilted discs in close binaries. They followed the long term evolution of discs tilted at 45 and 90 degrees to the binary plane using $`17500`$ particle simulations. Nelson & Papaloizou (1999) studied the propagation of bending waves in accretion discs. They specifically tested SPH simulations against the linear theory of warped discs and found good agreement. Calculation resolution ranged from $`20000`$ to $`102000`$ particles. They later (Nelson & Papaloizou 2000) studied the warp produced by the Bardeen-Petterson effect using simulations ranging up to $`200000`$ particles in size. Wood, Montgomery & Simpson (2000) used simulations with 25000 particle resolution to follow the precession of a pre-tilted disc in a close binary.

The calculations described later in this paper involve over $`500000`$ particles. At this resolution we are not limited to resolving the gross features of the warp itself. We can also determine the the vertical structure caused by the tidal forces of the secondary, and then follow the interaction between the two.

## 2 Magnetised secondaries

The secondary stars in cataclysmic variables have rotational periods which are tidally locked to the binary’s orbital period, and are typically of the order of a few hours. The connection between rapid stellar rotation rates and chromospheric, and by implication magnetic, activity has long been established (eg. Kraft, 1967; Skumanich, 1972). This connection is often invoked as an argument in favour of the magnetic nature of the rapidly rotating secondary stars in CVs. Direct observational evidence for magnetic activity remains elusive however. Some of the stongest evidence comes from observations of star spots (and their close association with magnetic activity) in the CV ST Leonis Minoris (Howell et al., 2000) and the pre-CV V471 Tau (Applegate & Patterson, 1987) as well as in a number of other types of close binary systems. The evidence for solar-type activity cycles in the secondary stars of CVs is discussed by Bianchini (1990). Any such cycle would imply the presence of significant magnetic fields. The existance of these magnetic fields has strong theoretical support. Angular momentum loss by magnetic braking of the secondary star is the generally accepted mechanism driving the orbital evolution of CVs above the orbital period gap (Verbunt & Zwann, 1981; Mestel & Spruit, 1987). Moreover, theories which attempt to explain the sychronism between the binary orbital period and the rotational periods of magnetic white dwarfs in CVs require secondary magnetic moments of the order $`\mu _210^{33}`$ \- $`10^{34}`$ G cm3 (eg. King, Whitehurst & Frank, 1990).

For the purposes of the simulations presented in this paper we assume that the secondary stars in CVs have a significant dipolar magnetic field, and that the magnetic moment is similar to that quoted above. This implies that the (unperturbed) field strengths close to the edge of the accretion disc are of order $`10^2`$ G. As the gas in the accretion disc orbits the white dwarf in the binary it will twist the field of the secondary star and induce currents within the disc. The interaction of these currents and the imposed magnetic field gives rise to a variety of forces. King (1993) developed a drag prescription to parametrise the effects of these magnetic forces on accreting gas in the AM Herculis sub-class of cataclysmic variables. Pearson, Wynn and King (1997) later made use of this prescription to study the effects of the azimuthal force arising from the interaction of radial surface currents and the vertical component of the magnetic field on the structure of a two dimensional disc in the orbital plane of the binary. This study showed that disc-field interaction caused the disc to lose angular momentum (to the secondary star via the field lines) causing the disc radius to decrease, and enhancing the mass accretion rate. Moreover, resonance phenomena similar to those in the SU UMa systems caused the disc to become eccentric. In this paper we extend the analysis of the effect of the magentic field on the accretion disc to three dimensions.

Lai (1999) made a detailed analytic study of the torques to which a disc is subjected to when an external stellar field is imposed upon it. In the general case he found that a warping torque resulted from the interaction of the azimuthal component of the stellar magnetic field and the radial surface current on the disc induced by the twisting of the threaded vertical field component. However, the details of the disc-field interaction remain unclear, in particular there is little agreement on the range and strength of the magnetic stresses over the disc. In order to examine the response of a fluid disc to an applied warping torque we implemented a simplified version of the magnetic interaction in which the gas within the disc is subject to an acceleration of the general form

$$\text{a}_{\mathrm{mag}}k[\text{v}\text{v}_f]_{}$$
(1)
where v and $`\text{v}_\mathrm{f}`$ are the velocities of the material and field lines respectively, and the suffix $``$ refers to the velocity components perpendicular to the field lines. The parameter $`k1/t_{\mathrm{mag}}`$ reflects the details of the plasma-magnetic field interaction, and for the purposes of this paper we adopt the simple scaling $`kB^2(r,\theta ,\varphi )`$ and assume that the magnetic field has a purely dipolar form. We can estimate the magnitude of $`k`$ in the vicinity of the accretion disc in a cataclysmic variable with a magnetic secondary star from the comparison of (1) and the calculations of Lai (1999). Equating the force per unit area in each case we have

$$\mathrm{\Sigma }k[\text{v}\text{v}_f]_{}\frac{\mu _2^2}{2\pi r_2^6}$$
(2)
where $`r_2`$ is the distance from the secondary star and $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is the surface density of the accretion disc. Typically $`r_210^{10}`$ cm, $`\mu _210^{34}`$ G cm3, $`\mathrm{\Sigma }100`$ g cm-2 and $`|[\text{v}\text{v}_f]_{}|100`$ km s-1 in a CV giving $`k(10^{10}\mathrm{cm})10^2`$ s-1. This simplistic form of the magnetic force preserves all of the components required to induce a warp within the disc and has a magnitude of the order of that expected of magnetic stresses induced on the accretion disc by a magnetic secondary in a CV.

## 3 Code aspects

We use a smoothed particle hydrodynamics code that has been described extensively elsewhere (Truss et al. 2000, Murray 1996). The code uses operator splitting to separate the calculation of the gravitational and magnetic forces from that of the gas-dynamical processes. The code has been parallelised using OpenMP to run on shared memory parallel supercomputers. The viscosity is slightly modified from Murray (1996). We are free to choose the length scale in the viscosity term so we set it to equal the disc scale height, and so are able to reproduce a Shakura-Sunyaev $`\alpha `$ viscosity. The viscosity term also produces a bulk viscosity of similar magnitude in regions where the velocity field is significantly divergent. A variable smoothing length $`h`$ is used. To ensure the disc is everywhere resolved $`h`$ must be less than the scale height whilst maintaining an adequate number of neighbours.

We use an isothermal equation of state. In other words we assume any viscously dissipated energy is instantly radiated away.

The magnetic interaction is implemented by including the acceleration given by equation 2 along with the gravitational terms in the operator split equations of motion.

As in previous papers we have normalised units so that the binary separation $`d`$, the total system mass $`M`$, and the binary angular velocity $`\mathrm{\Omega }_b`$ are all equal to one.

## 4 Calculations

The system and code parameters for the calculations are listed in Table 1. We constructed a three dimensional initial state for the calculation by running a two dimensional non-magnetic simulation to equilibrium. The particles were then replicated in z to produce a three dimensional disc which was then followed for several orbits to allow vertical oscillations to die out. The resulting disc comprised 536033 particles. It is shown in plan view, shaded according to surface density, in figure 1. Tidally inspired spiral shocks are clearly visible. We see no evidence that spiral shocks are suppressed or any weaker in three dimensions than in two dimensional calculations.

We also show the silhouette of the initial disc (figure 2) as would be seen by an observer on the disc plane. This figure was obtained by plotting all the particles on the $`\theta z`$ plane. The two spiral arms produced 50 per cent increases in the disc height which should be observable in X-ray and EUV observations of eclipsing systems (see e.g. Billington et al., 1996).

As we shall see below, the starting disc was not in equilibrium with the mass addition stream from the secondary star. However the time-scale for mass evolution is much longer than that for magnetically induced evolution and this did not affect our results.

We completed two simulations; a reference calculation with no magnetic field, and a second in which the magnetic field was added instantaneously. The dipole orientation

$$\widehat{\mu }=\mathrm{sin}(\varphi _\mathrm{d})(\mathrm{cos}(\theta _0+\mathrm{\Omega }_bt)𝐢+\mathrm{sin}(\theta _0+\mathrm{\Omega }_bt)𝐣)+\mathrm{cos}(\varphi _\mathrm{d})𝐤$$
(3)
where the angular speed of the binary $`\mathrm{\Omega }_b=1`$. $`𝐢`$,$`𝐣`$ and $`𝐤`$ are the cartesian unit vectors. In our coordinates the disc lies in the x-y plane with the angular momentum vector of the binary in the positive z direction.

Mass transfer from the secondary was incorporated into the simulations by adding single particles from $`L_1`$ at intervals $`\mathrm{\Delta }t=0.01P_{\mathrm{orb}}`$. As in previous simulations (e.g. Murray, 1996), the initial velocity of injected particles was taken from Lubow & Shu (1977). The disc was not in equilibrium with the mass transfer stream which was only incorporated into the simulation as a useful tracer of the secondary magnetic field. Gas flow on the secondary star was not resolved in the calculations.

The calculations described here (and their antecedents) took the order of one week of wall time on 8 processors of an SGI Origin 2000 or 3000.

## 5 Results

In this section we show that the drag on an accretion disc, exerted by a tilted magnetic dipole anchored to the secondary star, results in a warp. Figure 3 is a sequence of six disc silhouettes, each generated in the same manner as figure 2. The snapshots show the disc at equally spaced times from $`t=510`$ (in our units $`P_{\mathrm{orb}}=2\pi `$). Whilst the disc is approximately symmetric about its midplane in the first three panels, by the fourth ($`t=8`$) it is warped.

We have plotted six plan views of the disc vertical structure in figure 4, corresponding to the snapshots in figure 3. Each image is constructed by interpolating particle $`z`$ (averaged over all particles in a region) to a grid. Blue regions of the disc are predominantly below the $`z=0`$ plane. Green regions are approximately symmetric about the midplane, and yellow-red regions are more extended above $`z=0`$. The magnetic torque deflects the stream of gas from the secondary above the plane (redwards). Contours have also been drawn to aid the eye. Figures 3 and 4 therefore show the disc’s initial response to an instantaneously applied out of plane force.

Less than one binary period after the magnetic force was applied, the disc warp was a coherent global structure (panel 1). However one sixth of a binary period later (panel 2) the warp was no longer apparent. It reappeared again, much stronger, in panels three and four. In each image the warp is a disc-wide structure, with the spiral density waves in the initial disc having been rapidly diminished by the warp.

If one follows, for example, the yellow-red zone from panel to panel one sees that the warp has precessed retrogradely in the binary frame. The disc precession with respect to the inertial frame occurred on a much longer time scale so quantitative analysis of the calculations was required.

We Fourier transformed the disc’s vertical structure in both azimuth and time, as in Murray & Armitage (1998).

The sine transform of the vertical displacement,

$$S_{\mathrm{sin}}^z(t)=\frac{1}{\pi N}_t^{t+2\pi }(\underset{p=1}{\overset{N}{}}z_p(t^{})\mathrm{sin}(\theta _p))\mathrm{dt}^{},$$
(4)
where $`\theta _p`$ is the angular position of particle $`p`$ (measured in the inertial frame) and $`N`$ is the total number of particles. The cosine transform is defined similarly and the mode strength is set equal to the root mean square of the two. The mode strength has units of length, and so a large response would be of the order of the disc height ($`0.01d`$). As a check, we returned to the initial disc (as shown in figure 1) and applied a uniform tilt of five degrees to it. We then evolved the tilted disc for one orbital period, and applied equation 4. We found $`S^z0.02`$ which agreed with the average vertical displacement of the particles.

Figure 5 overlays the warp mode strength for the two calculations. For convenience only we have normalised both curves, by a factor $`10^3`$. No warp developed in the reference calculation, and the corresponding curve (dashed line) is noisy but with typical magnitude of only $`10^4`$ or a factor two hundred smaller than for the five degree warp.

When the magnetic field was switched on in the second calculation, the disc immediately responded (solid line). Instead of increasing to a steady value however, the warp mode strength oscillated with a period $`P_\mathrm{w}=0.987\pm 0.003P_{\mathrm{orb}}`$ as the warp slowly precessed retrogradely in the inertial frame, and the structure of the warp changed as it moved relative to the binary. High time resolution animations of the disc motion were also made that confirmed this to be the precession period. Typical amplitudes of $`S^z`$ for the magnetic calculation were of the order of $`10^3`$, about a factor ten or twenty less than for the tilted disc. These amplitudes then agree with the vertical structure shown in figure 9.

There was a secular decline in warp amplitude. Now in these simulations we had $`\alpha =1`$ and disc scale height $`H0.04r`$. One can estimate the time scale for viscous forces to flatten a warp $`t_\mathrm{f}\alpha (r/H)^2\mathrm{\Omega }^1`$. At the disc outer edge $`t_\mathrm{f}300`$, not entirely inconsistent with the decay time scale apparent in figure 5, particularly when one considers the disc shrinkage over the course of the magnetic calculation. Reducing the effective $`\alpha `$ of the disc would result in more rapid damping of the warp.

The applied magnetic torque swiftly removed angular momentum from the outer disc, causing it to shrink. Figure 6 shows the evolution of the average disc radius ($`R_\mathrm{d}`$), which we define to be the radius of a circle with the same area as the disc. The figure clearly shows that the disc shrinks after the application of the magnetic field. This was predicted by the earlier treatment of Pearson, Wynn and King (1997) and is a consequence of the relation $`t_{\mathrm{visc}}(R_\mathrm{d})t_{\mathrm{mag}}(R_\mathrm{d})`$. Figure 7 shows the mass declined more rapidly for the torqued disc than for the reference calculation. Energy dissipation (which can be equated to bolometric luminosity for the disc) due to viscosity in the two discs is plotted in figure 8. The sharp rise in dissipation correlates with an accelerated rate of accretion onto the white dwarf. It is no surprise therefore that the warp strength declined in figure 5.

Figures 9 and 10 show the changes in silhouette and plan view respectively over the time period $`t=2227`$. The retrograde precession of the warp can clearly be seen in figure 10. The variations in warp amplitude are also apparent. The warp almost disappeared when it was $`180^{}`$ out of phase with the magnetic torque (in between panels 3 and 4). Even then however the disc was not flat, but the vertical structure that was present at that time was symmetric about the midplane (figure 9 panels 3 and 4). Half a binary period later (between panels 6 and 1 as the structure changed cyclically) the warp was reinforced by the magnetic torque and the disc was most distorted. In panel 1 for example the scale height varied by as much as 30 % around the circumference of the disc. Such variations are sufficiently large to be observable in nearly edge on systems. Again we refer to the Billington et al. (1996) analysis of ultraviolet superdips in OY Car.

A simple toy model, constructed by the anonymous referee, is very helpful in understanding the results shown in figures 4, 5 and 10. Consider a single annulus of the disc, and neglect pressure and viscosity. If the inclinations are small, then the tilt of the annulus can be described by a variable $`𝐖(t)=l_\mathrm{x}+il_\mathrm{y}`$ (where $`x`$ and $`y`$ are spatial coordinates measured in the binary frame). $`𝐖(t)`$ obeys a linear equation of the form

$$\frac{d𝐖}{dt}=i\omega _\mathrm{p}𝐖\gamma (𝐖𝐖_\mathrm{B}),$$
(5)
where $`\omega _\mathrm{p}<0`$ is the tidal precession rate in the binary frame, and $`\gamma `$ represents the effect of the magnetic drag. In the absence of precession, the drag forces would bring the disc tilt $`𝐖`$ to coincide with $`𝐖_\mathrm{B}`$ (determined by the orientation of the secondary magnetic field) on a timescale $`1/\gamma `$. Starting with zero initial tilt, we have

$$𝐖(t)=𝐖_\mathrm{B}\frac{\gamma }{\gamma i\omega _\mathrm{p}}[1\mathrm{exp}(i\omega _\mathrm{p}\gamma )t].$$
(6)
The oscillations in tilt amplitude in figure 5 are neatly explained as $`|𝐖|`$ is oscillatory with frequency $`\omega _\mathrm{p}`$. Equation 6 also shows that the warp’s precession is a transient response to the initial kick of the magnetic field. The steady state disc response will be a disc warp that is stationary in the binary frame.

Negative superhumps have not been subject to the same degree of scrutiny as their positive counterparts. We are confident that positive superhumps arise in a precessing disc (see most recently Rolfe, Haswell & Patterson, 2001). Observations of negative superhumps are limited to photometry, with no information regarding either temperature or location of the emitting region. Patterson et al. (2001) describes a persistent negative superhump observed in the nova-like variable V751 Cygni, and states that “… many nova-like variables in their bright state and with $`P_{\mathrm{orb}}=34`$ hr show negative superhumps”. They do not show the close association with superoutbursts that normal superhumps do, and they do not appear in very low mass ratio systems (i.e. those below the period gap).

Positive superhumps are caused by a tidal resonance which can only act upon an accretion disc if the ratio of secondary to primary stellar masses $`q\stackrel{<}{}1/3`$ (Lubow 1991; Murray, Warner & Wickramasinghe 2000). Lubow (1992) showed that a second resonance that acts to tilt the disc, almost exactly overlays the eccentric resonance. The tilt resonance is however much weaker, and simulations described in Murray & Armitage (1998) failed to produce a disc warp, but with 30 000 particles in the calculations any detection of a warp would have been marginal.

It is worth revisiting the problem, making use of the much higher resolution now available to us ($`10^6`$ particles) and also considering a higher mass ratio. The strength of the tilt resonance goes as $`q^2`$ and mass ratios of observed negative superhumpers are closer to $`1/3`$ rather than the $`3/17`$ used in Murray & Armitage. The calculations presented in this paper give us confidence that smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations are an appropriate tool for studying the evolution of warp modes in discs, however the warps are generated.

## 6 Conclusions

We have followed the evolution of a warp in a close binary accretion disc. An initially planar disc was subjected to a force that modelled the effects of an inclined magnetic dipole centred on the mass donor star. The magnetic field was assumed to be fixed in the binary frame.

Other authors have modelled the evolution of discs with pre-existing warps, or of discs that were misaligned with the binary plane. However these are the first hydroydnamic simulations to follow the initial development of a warp, and the first to show how the warp structure varies as it precesses.

The disc’s initial response to the inclined field was complicated by spiral shocks excited by the secondary’s tidal field. However the spiral shocks are strongly damped by the developing warp. In turn the warp structure rapidly simplified and steady, uniform retrograde precession (in the inertial frame) occurred.

The amplitude and structure of the warp depended upon its phase with respect to the perturbing force (and hence of the binary). The warp was maximum when it was reinforced by the magnetic force. However $`180\mathrm{deg}`$ later, when the warp and the force were anti-phased, the disc was almost flat. We measured the period of the motion of the warp with respect to the binary to be $`P_\mathrm{w}=0.987\pm 0.003P_{\mathrm{orb}}`$.

We suggest therefore that negative superhumps could be explained not simply via the retrograde precession of a warped disc, but in terms of changes in the discs vertical structure that occur on the same period, $`P_\mathrm{w}`$. Because of the very limited observations of negative superhumps we can but hypothesise as to the precise location of the luminosity variations. One possibility is the changing disc aspect presented to the accretion stream as the warp precesses. Alternatively, negative superhumps may be the result of radiation from the central source being reprocessed over a changing disc surface.

In subsequent papers already in preparation we shall discuss both the evolution to steady state of discs in magnetised systems, and the influence of magnetised accretors on disc structure.

## acknowledgements

Calculations for this paper were performed on the UK Astrophysical Fluids Facility SGI Origin 3000, and on the Leicester Mathematical Modelling Centre Origin 2000. The latter machine (HEX) was purchased with an EPSRC grant. Phil Armitage, Jim Pringle and Andrew King provided ideas and influenced the content. Chakrabarty is employed on a postdoctoral fellowship funded by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust. The code was parallelised by Michael Truss. Finally, many thanks to the anonymous referee who cast a fresh eye over our work and presented a simple explanation for the simulation results.


text:
# Factorization and superpotential of the 𝑃𝑇 symmetric Hamiltonian

## 1 Introduction

The $`PT`$ symmetric complex potentials suggested in  have recently attracted a fair amount of attention. It was shown that for several $`PT`$ symmetric complex potentials the spectrum of the corresponding Hamiltonian is real so long as the $`PT`$ symmetry is not spontaneously broken. Just this feature is the main reason of interest to them. Recently it has been proved that supersymmetric (SUSY) quantum mechanics (for a review see ) is a useful tool for the investigation of the eigenvalue problem not only for the Hermitian Hamiltonian but also for the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with a complex potential .

In this paper we shall answer the following question. What general expression for the superpotential leads to the $`PT`$ symmetric potentials. This gives us a possibility to obtain a general expression for the quasi-exactly solvable (QES) $`PT`$ symmetric potential for which we know in explicit form one eigenstate. In this connection it is worth to note that the nature of $`PT`$ symmetric QES potentials of a special form has been studied in  (see also references therein).

Note that there is no problem to generate the QES arbitrary complex potential with one known eigenstate. Even for the case of two or three eigenstates it is possible to obtain a general expression for a complex QES potential using the supersymmetric method proposed in  when the $`PT`$ symmetry is not imposed. But when the $`PT`$ symmetry is imposed on the potential then it is not a trivial problem to a obtain a general expression for the QES potential even with one known eigenstate. Only this problem is considered in the paper.

## 2 Superpotential of the $`PT`$ symmetric potentials

Let the Hamiltonian read as

$$H=\frac{1}{2}\frac{d^2}{dx^2}+V(x),$$
(1)
where $`V(x)=V_1(x)+iV_2(x)`$ is a complex potential. The Hamiltonian is called $`PT`$ symmetric when

$$PTH=HPT,$$
(2)
where $`P`$ is the parity operator acting as the spatial reflection: $`Pf(x)=f(x)`$, and $`T`$ is the complex conjugation operator: $`Tf(x)=f^{}(x)`$. In the explicit form the condition of the $`PT`$ symmetry for a potential $`V(x)`$ reads

$$V^{}(x)=V(x).$$
(3)
Suppose that the Hamiltonian can be written in the factorized form

$$H=\frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{d}{dx}+W\right)\left(\frac{d}{dx}+W\right)+\epsilon =\frac{1}{2}\frac{d^2}{dx^2}+\frac{1}{2}(W^2W^{})+\epsilon ,$$
(4)
where $`W`$ is the so called superpotential, $`W^{}=dW/dx`$, $`\epsilon `$ is the energy of factorization. Note that in our case $`W`$ and $`\epsilon `$ are complex valued. The wave function corresponding to the energy $`\epsilon `$ reads

$$\psi _\epsilon =Ce^{{\scriptscriptstyle W𝑑x}}.$$
(5)
Using (1) and (4) we obtain the relation between the potential and the superpotential

$$V(x)=\frac{1}{2}(W^2W^{})+\epsilon .$$
(6)
Then the $`PT`$ symmetry condition (3) reads

$$(W^{}(x))^2+\frac{d}{dx}W^{}(x)+2\epsilon ^{}=W^2(x)\frac{d}{dx}W(x)+2\epsilon .$$
(7)
Thus the potential $`V(x)`$ is $`PT`$ symmetric when the superpotential satisfies condition (7). To solve this equation we rewrite it in the following form

$$U_+^{}(x)=U_+(x)U_{}(x)+2(\epsilon \epsilon ^{}),$$
(8)
where

$`U_+(x)=W(x)+W^{}(x),`$ (9)
$`U_{}(x)=W(x)W^{}(x).`$ (10)
As follows from (9) and (10) $`U_+`$ is $`PT`$ symmetric and $`U_{}`$ is anti $`PT`$ symmetric

$`U_+^{}(x)=U_+(x),`$ (11)
$`U_{}^{}(x)=U_{}(x).`$ (12)
Equation (8) can be easily solved with respect to $`U_{}`$ for a given $`U_+`$ or vice versa. We use the solution with respect to $`U_{}`$, i.e.,

$$U_{}=\frac{U_{}^{}{}_{+}{}^{}2(\epsilon \epsilon ^{})}{U_+}.$$
(13)
Then from (9) and (10) we obtain

$$W=\frac{1}{2}\left\{U_++\frac{U_{}^{}{}_{+}{}^{}2(\epsilon \epsilon ^{})}{U_+}\right\}.$$
(14)
This expression for the superpotential is the main result of this paper. It is interesting to note that equation (8) and the expression for superpotential (14) are formally similar to the equation and superpotential obtained in our papers  where we studied the real QES potential with two known eigenstates.

Substituting (14) into (6) we obtain the $`PT`$ symmetric potential which can be written in the following form

$$V(x)=\frac{1}{8}(U_+^2+U_{}^2)\frac{1}{4}U_{}^{}+\frac{1}{2}(\epsilon ^{}+\epsilon ).$$
(15)
Note that for this potential we know in the explicit form at least one level $`\epsilon `$ and the corresponding wave function (5). This function corresponds to the discrete spectrum when it vanishes at infinity or to the continuum spectrum when it is restricted. In these cases potential (15) can be called the $`PT`$ symmetric QES potential with one known eigenstate. It is also possible that (5) will not satisfy the necessary conditions. Then this function does not belong to the eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian.

Now let us consider a case of the $`PT`$ symmetric wave function, namely, $`PT\psi _0=\psi _0`$. In this case we have

$$W^{}(x)=W(x)$$
(16)
and thus $`U_+=0`$. Therefore, in order to use equation (14) for this case we put $`U_+=\alpha f(x)`$, where $`\alpha `$ tends to zero. Then from (14) we obtain

$$W(x)=\frac{1}{2}\left\{\frac{f^{}}{f}B\frac{i}{f}\right\},$$
(17)
where

$$B=\underset{\alpha 0}{lim}2\frac{\epsilon \epsilon ^{}}{\alpha }.$$

We see that the imaginary part of energy must tend to zero. Thus, we show that (14) in the special case (16) reproduces the well known result. Namely when the wave function is $`PT`$ symmetric the eigenvalue is real.

## 3 Examples

To illustrate the described method we give two explicit examples of the $`PT`$ symmetric potentials. All expressions depend on the function $`U_+(x)`$, which can be called a generating function. We may choose various functions $`U_+(x)`$ and obtain as a result various $`PT`$ symmetric potentials. In the considered examples we specially choose such a function $`U_+(x)`$ which leads to the proper eigenfuction. Therefore, the obtained $`PT`$ symmetric potentials are the QES ones with one known eigenstate.

Example 1

Let us consider

$$U_+=\frac{i\alpha }{(x+ia)^n},$$
(18)
where $`n`$ is an odd number. Then

$$U_{}=\frac{n}{x+ia}\frac{4\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha }(x+ia)^n,$$
(19)
$$W=\frac{i\alpha }{2(x+ia)^n}\frac{n}{2(x+ia)}\frac{2\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha }(x+ia)^n,$$
(20)
$$V=\text{Re}\epsilon \frac{\alpha ^2}{8}\frac{1}{(x+ia)^{2n}}+2\frac{(\text{Im}\epsilon )^2}{\alpha ^2}(x+ia)^{2n}+\frac{1}{8}\frac{n^22n}{(x+ia)^2}+2\frac{n\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha }(x+ia)^{n1}$$
(21)
If $`n>1`$ then we can write the wave function in the following form

$$\psi _\epsilon =C(x+ia)^{n/2}\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{i\alpha }{2(n1)}\frac{1}{(x+ia)^{n1}}+2\frac{\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha }\frac{(x+ia)^{n+1}}{n+1}\right)$$
(22)
or if $`n=1`$, it reads

$$\psi _\epsilon =C(x+ia)^{(1i\alpha )/2}\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha }(x+ia)^2\right).$$
(23)
To obtain a bound state we must set $`\frac{\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha }<0`$.

Note that in the case of $`n=1`$ we have the $`PT`$ symmetric harmonic oscillator with a regularized centrifugal-like core which is exactly solvable . Thus, the considered example generalizes the $`PT`$ symmetric harmonic oscillator to the quasi-exactly solvable $`PT`$ symmetric potential with one known eigenstate.

It is interesting to stress that in the limit $`\text{Im}\epsilon 0`$, $`\alpha 0`$ and $`lim2\frac{\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha }=B=const`$ we obtain the $`PT`$ symmetric wave function with a real eigenvalue. This just confirms the result obtained in the end of the previous section.

Example 2

This example represents the periodic $`PT`$ symmetric potential. Let us take

$$U_+=\alpha e^{ikx}.$$
(24)
Then we obtain

$$U_{}=ik4i\frac{\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha }e^{ikx},$$
(25)
and the superpotential, potential and wave function read, respectively,

$$W=\frac{\alpha }{2}e^{ikx}+\frac{ik}{2}2i\frac{\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha }e^{ikx},$$
(26)
$$V=\text{Re}\epsilon \frac{k^2}{8}+\frac{\alpha ^2}{8}e^{2ikx}2\frac{(\text{Im}\epsilon )^2}{\alpha ^2}e^{2ikx}+2k\frac{\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha }e^{ikx},$$
(27)
$$\psi _\epsilon =\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{ikx}{2}+\frac{i\alpha }{2k}e^{ikx}2\frac{\text{Im}\epsilon }{\alpha k}e^{ikx}\right).$$
(28)
In the case of $`\text{Im}\epsilon =0`$ this QES potential becomes exactly solvable and corresponds to the potential studied in .

## 4 Conclusions

We have obtained the general expression for superpotential (14) which corresponds to the $`PT`$ symmetric potential (15). The $`PT`$ symmetric function $`U_+(x)`$ plays the role of the generating function. Choosing different functions $`U_+(x)`$ we obtain different superpotentials (14) and the corresponding $`PT`$ symmetric potentials (6) or (15). This $`PT`$ symmetric potentials can be called as QES potentials with one known eigenfunction (5) and the corresponding energy $`\epsilon `$. Of course, the solution (5) must satisfy necessary conditions in order to be the eigenfunction of the Hamiltonian.

In the considered examples we specially choose the $`U_+(x)`$ which lead to proper eigenfunctions. The potentials considered in examples 1 and 2 are interesting because at some values of the parameters they become exactly solvable potentials which were studied earlier. Thus, the considered examples generalize the exactly solvable $`PT`$ symmetric potentials to the QES potentials with one known eigenstate.


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# Numerical simulations of kinematic dynamo action

## 1 Introduction

Dynamo theory aims at explaining how magnetic fields can be generated and sustained by fluid motions, in the presence of dissipation. Studies of dynamo action in astrophysical objects are usually connected with the question of the existence of fast dynamos (Vainshtein & Zeldovich Vainshtein+Zeldovich1972 (1972)). The fast dynamo problem refers to the generation of magnetic fields in the limit of infinite magnetic Reynolds number $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$, and has been extensively reviewed by e.g. Childress & Gilbert (Childress+Gilbert1995 (1995)).

In the simplest formulation of the kinematic dynamo problem, an initially weak magnetic field is amplified due to the motions of a prescribed, stationary velocity field. Flows that have chaotic transport properties are prime candidates for fast dynamos. They have the ability to amplify the magnetic field exponentially by stretching the magnetic field lines. One such class of flows that is often invoked in fast dynamos studies is the ABC flows (named after Arnold, Beltrami & Childress). A first detailed report of the kinematic dynamo action of ABC flows may be found in Dombre et al. (Dombre+ea86 (1986)), who examined especially the internal symmetries of the velocity field. There is, however, no guarantee that such symmetries are preserved in the eigenmodes of the magnetic field. Some discussion of possible symmetry breaking in the eigenmodes may be found in Galloway et al. (Galloway+ea86 (1984)) and in Galanti et al. (Galanti+ea93 (1993)). They found no evidence of symmetry breaking when the magnetic Reynolds number is limited to very low values, although symmetries are broken for higher values of the magnetic Reynolds number. The presence of symmetry breaking was also shown by Galloway et al. (Galloway+ea86 (1984)) when the wavenumber of the periodic ABC flow is equal to 3 and 4. The conclusion was that the physical reason for the symmetry breaking is unclear and requires further investigation.

Dynamo action in ABC-flows has also been studied to determine the growth rate of the magnetic field for different values of the magnetic Reynolds number (Arnold et al. Arnold+ea83 (1983); Galloway et al. Galloway+ea86 (1984); Lau & Finn Lau+Finn93 (1993)). Results for the case with unit wavenumber, for magnetic Reynolds number up to $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}=1600`$ (Dorch Dorch2000 (2000)) showed that the growth rate saturates at a value close to 0.07. Galanti et al. (Galanti+ea93 (1993)) found that doubling the wavenumber of the flow leads to a sharp increase of the growth rate, while for larger wavenumbers the growth rate scales with the strain rate of the flow (i.e., in proportion to the wave number).

In the current paper we address some of the issues mentioned above by means of numerical kinematic MHD simulations. The dynamics of the magnetic structures in physical space is examined in connection with the amplification mechanism which drives the dynamo action in ABC flows. We also investigate the physical reason that causes the increase of the growth rate of an ABC flow for wavenumbers larger than unity. To achieve this we follow the motion of magnetic field lines in time and demonstrate that the transportation of the weak part of the field is a key factor of the dynamo process.

The numerical aspects of the simulations are described in the following section. The growth rates produced by fast kinematic dynamo action of ABC flows are presented in Section 3. Visualizations of the magnetic structures and field lines in physical space are shown in Section 4. Dynamo action produced by flows without stagnation points is studied in Section 5. Section 6 contains the overall conclusions of the numerical simulations presented here.

## 2 The simulation

Our aim is to study kinematic dynamo action in ABC flows. The time evolution of B is governed by the (dimensionless) induction equation:

$$\frac{𝐁}{t}=\times (𝐮\times 𝐁)+\frac{1}{\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}}^2𝐁,$$
(1)
$$𝐁=𝐮=0,$$
(2)
The velocity field is chosen to have the form of an ABC flow:

$`𝐮_{\mathrm{ABC}}`$ $`=`$ $`A(0,\mathrm{sin}kx,\mathrm{cos}kx)+B(\mathrm{cos}ky,0,\mathrm{sin}ky)`$
$`+`$ $`C(\mathrm{sin}kz,\mathrm{cos}kz,0),`$
where $`k`$ is the wavenumber of the flow. The special case with parameters A=B=C=$`k`$=1 is referred to as the “normal” ABC flow dynamo. In the normal case there are two windows of dynamo action (where the growth rates are positive): A closed one in the interval Rem=8.9–17.5, and an open one for magnetic Reynolds numbers above 27 (Galloway et al. Galloway+ea84 (1984)).

Eq. (1) is solved numerically on a staggered mesh using array valued functions for evaluating the space and time derivatives. A third-order predictor-corrector method (Hyman Hyman1979 (1979)) is used for the time-stepping. The applied numerical scheme (by Galsgaard, Nordlund and others, see Galsgaard & Nordlund Galsgaard+Nordlund1997 (1997); Nordlund et al. Nordlund+ea92 (1992)) ensures Eq. (2). Periodicity of $`2\pi `$ is assumed over a three-dimensional computational domain. The initial magnetic field is a random perturbation with an amplitude of $`10^5`$.

## 3 Growth rates

Previous numerical simulations (e.g. Arnold et al. Arnold+ea83 (1983); Galloway et al. Galloway+ea84 (1984); Galanti et al. Galanti+ea93 (1993); Dorch Dorch2000 (2000)) have shown that the normal (A=B=C=$`k`$=1) ABC flow very likely acts as a fast dynamo with a growth rate close to 0.077 (corresponding to a time-scale of $`0.25`$ turn-over times). When the wavenumber $`k`$ is larger than unity (where $`k=1`$ corresponds to the largest scale of $`2\pi `$ in the computational domain) the growth rate scales approximately with the rate of strain. These results are confirmed in our simulations and we continue the study of the growth rate of the magnetic field for higher values of $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$.

We first discuss the case with A=B=C=1 and $`k=2`$ before turning our attention to higher wavenumbers: As shown in Fig. (1) the magnetic field is amplified exponentially without oscillations. Initially, several modes may be present, associated with oscillatory growth of the magnetic field (as in the case of a normal ABC flow, Dorch Dorch2000 (2000)), but eventually the mode with the highest growth rate is the only one that remains in the solution (i.e. the dominant mode).

For low $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ the growth rate increases with $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ and reaches its maximum value at $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}=12`$. This value of the magnetic Reynolds number belongs to the first dynamo window for the normal ABC flow dynamo, and corresponds to a maximum growth rate of the magnetic field in this window (Galanti et al. Galanti+ea93 (1993)). With $`k=2`$ the lowest $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ possible for dynamo action is found to be approximately equal to 2. For large $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ the growth rate decreases slightly (in contrast to the low $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ results of Galanti et al. Galanti+ea93 (1993)) but always remains positive and bounded away from zero (Fig. 2). The largest value of $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ considered here is $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}=1600`$. In the high $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ regime the growth rate saturates at a value close to 0.3.

The evidence indicates that the ABC flow with $`k=2`$ is a fast dynamo, since the growth rate seems to saturate at a non-zero value for high $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$. The reason for the enhancement of the growth rate when $`k=2`$ is discussed in the following section.

The results for the growth rate of the magnetic energy at different values of magnetic Reynolds number when $`k=3`$ and $`k=4`$ are shown in (Fig. 3).

A comparison of these results with the $`k=2`$ case (Fig. 2) shows that the growth rate of the magnetic field increases with increasing wave number, in approximate proportionality to $`k`$ for $`k2`$, scaling approximately as $`0.15\times k`$, while the growth rate is unproportionally small ($`0.07`$) for $`k=1`$.

## 4 Magnetic structures

An experiment with $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}=100`$ and a numerical resolution of $`64^3`$ was performed in order to study the dynamics of the magnetic structures in physical space when the wavenumber $`k`$ of the flow is equal to 2. The computational domain then contains eight periodic cells, where each one (initially) reflects the geometrical properties of a standard ABC flow. The magnetic field evolves according to the induction equation Eq. (1) and flux “cigars” are formed at the so-called $`\alpha `$-type stagnation points (Dombre et al. Dombre+ea86 (1986)). These are points (stable manifolds of the flow) with converging streamlines in the plane of the stagnation point and the field is rapidly advected to these regions (Fig. 4). The flux cigars are aligned along the axis of divergence through the $`\alpha `$-type stagnation points.

At the $`\beta `$-type stagnation points (unstable manifolds of the flow) the field is weaker, and takes the form of flux sheets on both sides of the plane of divergence. The flux sheets are formed because of the converging flow along the axis of divergence from the $`\alpha `$-type stagnation points. The flux cigars thus appear to be connected by flux sheets through heteroclinic stream lines.

When the symmetry breaking appears, and the fastest growing eigenmode takes over, the topology of the magnetic field changes. The fastest growing mode does not follow the symmetric configuration of a standard ABC flow—the strong magnetic field is still elongated into flux “cigars” but their size and field strength vary from cell to cell (Fig. 5).

The rate of growth (and decay) of individual flux cigars is different, rather than being uniform as in the normal $`k=1`$ case. The magnetic field for the latter case is recycled inside its cell because of the exact symmetry. The time evolution of the magnetic energy follows a periodic (oscillatory) behavior which is associated with the conservation of symmetry in the fastest growing eigenmode (Dorch Dorch2000 (2000)) in contrast to the dominant mode for the $`k=2`$ case which is a symmetry breaking mode (Galloway et al. Galloway+ea86 (1984)). Visualization of magnetic field lines shows that they are not “trapped” in each individual cell but there is always a “loose” weak field which is transported from cell to cell and is stretched up against the local flux cigars that are passed on the way (Fig. 6).

In general, the increase of the magnetic energy is associated with the stretching, twisting and folding of the magnetic field lines against the local flux cigars in the $`\beta `$-type planes. The field lines coming from a flux cigar are connected through the weak field to the cigars that form the triangles around the $`\beta `$-type stagnation points. The field lines at the corners of the triangle are stretched and added to other flux cigars of neighboring cells through the diverging stream lines. The flux sheets that are formed on both sides of the $`\beta `$-type plane are also folded constructively. The $`\beta `$-type plane is actually a plane of discontinuity where the magnetic field lines change direction and are released to move back into the general flow (Fig. 7).

## 5 Flows without stagnation points

In view of the rôle played by the stagnation points in the normal ABC flow dynamo, it is natural to ask whether they are a necessary ingredient for fast dynamo action. When the parameters A, B and C are varied it is possible for the stagnation points to be created or destroyed (Dombre et at. Dombre+ea86 (1986)). When A=5, B=2, C=2 or A=5, B=2, C=1 (abbreviated as the $`5:2:2`$ and $`5:2:1`$ case, respectively) the flow has no stagnation points. Numerical simulations were performed for both cases and the results obtained are similar. Therefore, only the former case is discussed in detail.

The $`5:2:2`$ flow has four points where the velocity is close to zero (but not zero, hence there are no stagnation points). The disappearance of the stagnation points means that there are no longer any heteroclinic stream lines that connect the points of minimum velocity. However, there are stream lines that converge to these points and stream lines that diverge from these points (Fig. 8). The stream lines of the $`5:2:2`$ flow do not follow any specific symmetry as in the normal ABC flow (which has a three-fold symmetry of stream lines around the stagnation points) and the topology of the flow becomes more complex.

The importance of these minimum velocity points is that they coincide with local extrema of the “perpendicular convergence” of the local motion to a magnetic field line

$$D_{}\mathrm{ln}𝐁/Dt=𝐮_{}$$
(4)
which, apart from diffusive effects, gives the exponential rate of increase of the local magnetic field amplitude (Nordlund et al. Nordlund+ea94 (1994)). In general, it is the gradients of the flow velocity that enable the stretching of field lines that is so essential to the dynamo mechanism, and consequently these points are points where the stretching is at maximum.

### 5.1 Growth rate

Numerical experiments were performed with $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ up to 3200 and numerical resolution up to $`240^3`$ to test whether the $`5:2:2`$ case has vigorous dynamo properties in the kinematic regime. The initial seed field was a random perturbation with an amplitude of $`10^5`$. It was found that the magnetic field is amplified exponentially and the growth rate increases with $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ as illustrated in Fig. (9).

The $`5:2:1`$ case was also examined at high magnetic Reynolds number. The highest value of $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ considered here is $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}=3200`$. The growth rate seems to saturate at a value of about 0.67 as illustrated in Fig. (10).

### 5.2 Flux ribbons

As mentioned above, the $`5:2:2`$ flow has four points with minimum velocity that coincide with local maxima of the function in Eq. (4).

When the induction equation is evolved from a weak random field, flux ribbons arise close to the minimum velocity points. The thickness of the ribbons decreases as $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ increases, presumably scaling as $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}^{1/2}`$, similarly to the flux cigars for the standard ABC flow. The sign (polarity) of their magnetic field changes from ribbon to ribbon. Thus, field lines with opposite polarity may reconnect when two ribbons are close together. The magnetic flux is released through the reconnected field lines (Fig. 11). However, the magnetic ribbons are not confined at certain points but are advected by the flow, and field lines with the same polarity could also be found to approach each other.

### 5.3 The amplification mechanism

The process responsible for driving the amplification mechanism of the mode with the largest growth is the constructive folding of the ribbons.

Two of the most important properties of the $`5:2:2`$ flow is the exponential stretching of the field lines and the way in which the magnetic field is advected and the field lines are packed. Neighboring regions with magnetic field of opposite polarity are destroyed whereas regions with like polarity flux are conserved. Therefore the rate of field generation depends on the global folding of the field lines.

The flow folds the field so as to bring together flux in the same direction. Thus, stretched flux ribbons with the same polarity come into alignment and merge. The constructive folding of the sheets occurs in the vicinity of the minimum velocity points (Fig. 12). Due to the stretching ability of the flow, which is maximum close to these points, the field lines are stretched in these regions.

The flow advects the field so as to bring together stretched field lines with the same polarity. They come into alignment and are folded constructively. These field lines are continuously stretched and also advected by the flow, and move to the vicinity of another neighboring point with minimum velocity, where they fold with new stretched field lines of the same polarity. The folding is again constructive.

Due to the stretching and constructive reinforcement of the magnetic field discussed above, the magnetic energy increases each time the process is repeated.

## 6 Conclusions

The amplification of the dynamo generated field is associated with a combination of stretching, twisting, folding and reconnection of magnetic field lines. The importance of the weak part of the field in the dynamo process is emphasized when the wavenumber of the flow increases. Symmetry breaking allows the transportation of stretched weak magnetic field from cell to cell, where it gets packed against the local flux structures (“cigars”). Most of the space in the bulk part of the flow has passive advection, which does not change at increasing magnetic Reynolds number. The evidence indicates that the invariant properties of the flows (i.e. stretching ability) do not change in the limit of arbitrarily small magnetic diffusivity.

The study of kinematic dynamo action in ABC flows is, from a physical point of view, simple enough since it does not contain the complexity of non-linear back-reaction of the magnetic field. A fully non-linear study of the dynamo problem connects the initial phase of the growth of a weak magnetization state with the saturation of the dynamo generated field.

We have demonstrated that the fast dynamo action reflects the same mechanisms at work whatever the values of the parameters (such as $`\mathrm{Re}_\mathrm{m}`$ and $`k`$) are. The main mechanism is the stretching of the weak magnetic field. This is a first step towards the understanding of the processes at work in a turbulent environment and during the saturation state of a dynamo where the flow has still a good grip on the weakest part of the magnetic field.

It is of course also of great interest to perform dynamo simulations in more realistic (e.g. spherical) geometries, and to include more physical processes such as differential rotation and convection. The advantage of the simulations presented in the current paper is that the individual mechanisms are easily identified and can studied in great detail. Thus, kinematic dynamo experiments such as these can provide very useful clues for the general theory of astrophysical dynamos.

###### Acknowledgements.

VA thanks the EU-TMR for support through a Marie Curie Fellowship. SBFD was supported through an EU-TMR grant to the European Solar Magnetometry Network. The work of ÅN was supported in part by the Danish National Research Foundation, through its establishment of the Theoretical Astrophysics Center. Computing time at the UNI$``$C computing center was provided by the Danish Natural Science Research Council.


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# Control of Dephasing and Phonon Emission in Coupled Quantum Dots

## Abstract

We predict that phonon subband quantization can be detected in the non-linear electron current through double quantum dot qubits embedded into nano-size semiconductor slabs, acting as phonon cavities. For particular values of the dot level splitting $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$, piezo-electric or deformation potential scattering is either drastically reduced as compared to the bulk case, or strongly enhanced due to phonon van Hove singularities. By tuning $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ via gate voltages, one can either control dephasing, or strongly increase emission into phonon modes with characteristic angular distributions.

Coupled semiconductor quantum dots are candidates for controlling quantum superposition and entanglement of electron states. The feasibility of such ‘qubits’ depends on the control of dephasing due to the coupling to low-energy bosonic excitations of the environment. For example, the electronic transport thorouhg double quantum dots is determined by the spontaneous emission of phonons even at very low temperatures FujetalTaretal . If two dots are coupled to each other and to external leads, Coulomb blockade guarantees that only one electron at a time can tunnel between the dots and the leads. Dephasing in such a ‘pseudo spin’-boson system Legetal87 ; BK99  is dominated by the properties of the phonon environment.

As a logical step towards the control of dephasing, the control of vibrational properties of quantum dot qubits has been suggested FujetalTaretal . Recently, considerable progress has been made in the fabrication of nano-structures that are only partly suspended or even free-standing CR98 ; BRWB98 . They considerably differ in their mechanical properties from bulk material. For example, phonon modes are split into subbands, and quantization effects become important for the thermal conductivity SW92 ; GRKV97 ; RK98 . The observation of coherent phonons in dots KW97  in nanotubes DE00  are other examples of low dimensional mesoscopic systems where phonons become experimentally controllable and are the objects of interest themselves.

Double quantum dots are not only tunable phonon emitters FujetalTaretal  but also sensitive high-frequency noise detectors AK00 . Together with their successful fabrication within partly free-standing nanostructures Blietal00 , this suggests that they can be used to control both electrons and phonons on a microscopic scale. This opens a path for realizing mechanical counterparts of several quantum optical phenomena, as for instance the generation of non-classical squeezed phonon states HN97  by time-dependent or non-linear interactions with the electrons.

In this paper, we demonstrate that phonon confinement can be used to gain control of dissipation in double quantum dots, leading to a considerable reduction of phonon-induced decoherence. More precisely, we show that inelastic scattering and the inelastic current channel for electron transport in the Coulomb blockade regime can be drastically reduced as compared to a bulk environment when double dots are hosted by a semiconductor slab that acts as a phonon cavity. This suppression occurs at specific phonon energies $`\mathrm{}\omega _0`$ when the level splitting is tuned to $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\mathrm{}\omega _0`$. Furthermore, for larger energy differences $`\epsilon `$ between the two dot ground states, typical properties MM64Aul73  of a nano-size slab such as phonon-subband quantization can be detected in the staircase-like electronic current $`I(\epsilon )`$ though the dots. In addition, and very strikingly, for certain wave vectors we find negative phonon group velocities and phonon van Hove singularities close to which one can strongly excite characteristic phonon modes with specific emission patterns.

The controlled enhancement or reduction of spontaneous light emission from atoms is well-known in cavity QED cavityQED . Here a single, confined photon mode can be tuned on or off resonance with an atomic transition frequency. In contrast to cavity QED, the vanishing of spontaneous emission in phonon cavities is due to real zeros in the phonon deformation potential or polarization fields rather than gaps in the density of states. This is a peculiar consequence of the boundary conditions for vibration modes which lead to complicated nonlinear dispersions even for homogeneous slabs. As a result, phonon cavities confined in only one spatial direction support a continuous spectrum, and yet suppression of spontaneous emission is possible.

As a model, we consider two tunnel-coupled quantum dots embedded in an infinite semiconductor slab of thickness $`2b`$ in a vertical or a lateral configuration, Fig. 1. The dots are weakly coupled to external leads, and we assume that both the energy difference $`\epsilon `$ and the coupling strength $`T_c`$ between the dots can be externally tuned by gate voltages. In the Coulomb blockade regime, we adopt the usual description in terms of three many body ground states BK99 ; SN96  $`|0`$, $`|L`$, and $`|R`$ that have no or one additional electron in either of the dots, respectively. The coupling to the phonon environment of the slab is described by an effective spin-boson Hamiltonian

$`H`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\epsilon }{2}}\sigma _z+T_c\sigma _x+{\displaystyle \underset{𝐪}{}}\mathrm{}\omega _𝐪a_𝐪^{}a_𝐪`$ (1)
$`+`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{𝐪}{}}\left(\alpha _𝐪n_L+\beta _𝐪n_R\right)\left(a_𝐪+a_𝐪^{}\right),`$
with $`\sigma _z=|LL||RR|`$, $`\sigma _x=|LR|+|RL|`$, $`n_i=|ii|`$ and $`\alpha _𝐪`$($`\beta _𝐪`$) the coupling matrix element between electrons in dot $`L`$($`R`$) and phonons with dispersion $`\omega _𝐪`$.

The stationary current can be calculated by using a master equation BK99  and considering $`T_c`$ as a perturbation. We consider weak electron–phonon coupling and calculate the inelastic scattering rate

$`\gamma (\omega )=2\pi {\displaystyle \underset{𝐪}{}}T_c^2{\displaystyle \frac{|\alpha _𝐪\beta _𝐪|^2}{\mathrm{}^2\omega ^2}}\delta (\omega \omega _𝐪).`$ (2)
For $`\mathrm{}\omega =(\epsilon ^2+4T_c^2)^{1/2}`$ this is the rate for spontaneous emission at zero temperature due to electron transitions from the upper to the lower hybridized dot level.

On the other hand, in lowest order in $`T_c`$, the total current $`I(\epsilon )`$ can be decomposed into an elastic Breit-Wigner type resonance and an inelastic component $`I_{\mathrm{in}}(\epsilon )e\gamma (\epsilon )`$, where $`e`$ is the electron charge. The double dot, supporting an inelastic current $`I_{\mathrm{in}}(\epsilon )`$, therefore can be regarded as an analyzer of the phonon system FujetalTaretal . One can also consider the double dot as an emitter of phonons of energy $`\mathrm{}\omega `$ at a tunable rate $`\gamma (\omega )`$. We show below how the phonon confinement within the slab leads to steps in $`I_{\mathrm{in}}(\epsilon )`$ and tunable strong enhancement or nearly complete suppression of the electron-phonon coupling.

We describe phonons by a displacement field $`𝐮(𝐫)`$ which is determined by the vibrational modes of the slab LL65 . For the following, it is sufficient to consider dilatational and flexural modes (Lamb waves). The symmetries of their displacement fields differ with respect to the slab’s mid-plane. They either yield a symmetric elongation and compression (dilatational mode, Fig. 2 left) or a periodic bending associated with an antisymmetric field (flexural mode, Fig. 2 center). The confinement leads to phonon quantization into subbands. For each in-plane component $`𝐪_{}`$ of the wave vector there are infinitely many subbands, denoted by $`n`$, related to a discrete set of transversal wavevectors in the direction of the confinement. Since there are two velocities of sound in the elastic medium associated with longitudinal and transversal wave propagation, $`c_l`$ and $`c_t`$, there are also two transversal wavevectors $`q_l`$ and $`q_t`$. This is in contrast to the isotropic bulk where one can separate the polarizations. For a slab, the boundary conditions at the surface lead to coupling between longitudinal and transversal propagation MM64Aul73 .

We have numerically determined the solutions $`q_{l,n}(q_{})`$ and $`q_{t,n}(q_{})`$ of the Rayleigh-Lamb equations that describe the dynamics of the confined phonons,

$`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{tan}q_{t,n}b}{\mathrm{tan}q_{l,n}b}}`$ $`=`$ $`\left[{\displaystyle \frac{4q_{}^2q_{l,n}q_{t,n}}{(q_{}^2q_{t,n}^2)^2}}\right]^{\pm 1}`$
$`\omega _{n,q_{}}^2`$ $`=`$ $`c_l^2(q_{}^2+q_{l,n}^2)=c_t^2(q_{}^2+q_{t,n}^2),`$ (3)
together with the dispersion relations $`\omega _{n,q_{}}`$ and the displacement field BAMS9594  associated with a confined phonon in mode ($`n,𝐪_{}`$). The exponents $`\pm 1`$ correspond to dilatational and flexural modes, respectively.

The contribution $`\gamma _n`$ of subband $`n`$ to the rate (2) is

$$\gamma _n(\omega )=\underset{𝐪_{}}{}\frac{|\lambda _{\mathrm{dp}/\mathrm{pz}}^\pm (\text{q}_{},n)|^2}{\mathrm{}^2\omega ^2}\left|\alpha \pm e^{i𝐪_{}𝐝}\right|^2\delta (\omega \omega _{n,q_{}})$$
(4)
where the vector $`𝐝`$ connects the dots and $`\lambda `$ is the coupling strength of the electron-phonon interaction. We assume that the electron density is sharply peaked near the dot centers and that the dots are located symmetrically within the slab. We consider both the deformation potential (DP), $`\alpha =1`$ in (4), and piezo-electric (PZ) interaction, $`\alpha =+1`$. The coupling strength for DP is

$$\lambda _{\mathrm{dp}}^\pm (q_{},n)=B_n^{\mathrm{dp}}(q_{})(q_{t,n}^2q_{}^2)(q_{l,n}^2+q_{}^2)\text{tsc}q_{t,n}b,$$
(5)
where $`B_n^{\mathrm{dp}}=F_n(\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Xi }^2/2\rho \omega _{n,q_{}}A)^{1/2}`$, $`\text{tsc}x=\mathrm{sin}x`$ or $`\mathrm{cos}x`$ for dilatational and flexural modes, respectively, $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ is the DP constant, $`\rho `$ the mass density, $`A`$ the area of the slab, and $`F_n`$ normalizes the $`n^{\mathrm{th}}`$ eigenmode.

First, we discuss the deformation potential interaction in the vertical configuration (Fig. 1), $`𝐪_{}𝐝=0`$, where only flexural modes couple to the electrons, whereas dilatational modes lead to a symmetrical deformation field (Fig. 2 left) and yield the same energy shift in both of the dots which does not affect the electron tunneling.

Figure 3 (top) shows $`\gamma _{\mathrm{dp}}(\omega )`$ in units of the nominal scattering rate $`\gamma _0T_c^2\mathrm{\Xi }^2/\mathrm{}\rho c_l^4b`$ for $`b=5d`$. The phonon subband quantization appears as a staircase in $`\gamma _{\mathrm{dp}}(\omega )`$, with the steps corresponding to the onsets of new phonon subbands. Most strikingly, a van Hove singularity (arrow) occurs due to zero phonon group velocity at that frequency. This corresponds to a minimum in the dispersion relation $`\omega _{n,q_{}}`$ for finite $`q_{}`$ with preceding negative phonon group velocity due to the complicated non-linear structure of the Rayleigh-Lamb equations for the planar cavity. Additional van Hove singularities occur at higher frequencies (not shown here) as an irregular sequence that can be considered as ‘fingerprints’ of the phonon-confinement in a mechanical nanostructure.

In the lateral configuration (Fig. 1), DP couples only to dilatational modes, in contrast to the vertical case. This is a trivial consequence of the symmetry of the DP of flexural modes (Fig. 2 center) and the fact that in the lateral configuration the dots are aligned mid-plane. The inelastic rate including the lowest 4 modes is shown in Fig. 3 (bottom) in comparision to the bulk rate. The phonon-subband quantization appears as cusps in $`\gamma _{\mathrm{dp}}(\omega )`$ for $`\omega 2\omega _b`$. Again, we observe van Hove singularities as fingerprints of the phonon confinement.

Most strikingly, we find a suppression of the inelastic rate at small energies $`\mathrm{}\omega `$, and even its complete vanishing at the energy $`\mathrm{}\omega _01.3\mathrm{}\omega _b`$ for the lateral configuration. As can be seen from (4) and (5), the rate $`\gamma _0`$ vanishes for the frequency $`\omega _0`$ defined by the condition $`q_t=q_{}`$. This is due to a vanishing divergence of the displacement field u (Fig. 2 right) that implies vanishing of DP $`\text{u}`$. Near $`\omega _0`$, the remaining contribution of the $`n=0`$-subband mode is drastically suppressed compared with 3d phonons (Fig. 3 bottom, inset).

We checked that this decoupling of electrons and phonons is a generic feature due to the slab geometry, as are the steps and van Hove singularities in $`\gamma `$. For the piezo–electric interaction, our results also reveal a complete vanishing of the inelastic rate $`\gamma _{\mathrm{pz}}`$ from dilatational phonons at the energy $`\mathrm{}\omega _0^{}0.7\mathrm{}\omega _b`$ where the induced polarization field is zero DEB02 . Due to the symmetry of the latter, in the vertical and lateral configurations only dilatational and flexural phonons, respectively, couple to the electrons via PZ interaction. Thus, the angular dependence is reversed as compared to the DP case.

An important consequence of these results is that one can ‘switch off’ either PZ scattering in the vertical configuration, or DP scattering in the lateral configuration at a certain energy. Then, the only remaining electron-phonon scattering is mediated by the other interaction mechanism that couples the electrons to the flexural modes. For other frequencies $`\omega `$, the ratio $`\gamma _{\mathrm{pz}}/\gamma _{\mathrm{dp}}b^2`$ can be varied by changing the slab width. Thus, for very small $`b`$ the DP interaction dominates and the proper choice to ‘switch off’ the scattering would be the lateral configuration, with a small contribution remaining if the material is piezo–electric, and vice versa. For a GaAs slab of width $`2b=1\mu `$m and a tunnel coupling $`T_c=10\mu `$eV in the lateral configuration tuned to $`\mathrm{}\omega 0.7\mathrm{}\omega _b`$ (no PZ coupling), we obtain a residual scattering rate of $`\gamma _{\mathrm{dp}}=810^4`$ s<sup>-1</sup> from DP-coupling to flexural modes.

The characteristic energy scale for phonon quantum size effects is $`\mathrm{}\omega _b\mathrm{}c_l/b`$. Using the same parameters as above, we have $`\mathrm{}\omega _b=7.5\mu `$eV in GaAs which is within the limit of energy resolution of recent transport experiments in double dots FujetalTaretal . A finite slab of lateral dimension $`L`$ will lead to a broadening of the structures predicted above since the phonons will aquire a life time $`L/c_{l,t}`$ which leads to a smearing of fine structures in $`\gamma (\omega )`$ on an energy scale $`\mathrm{}c_{l,t}/L1\mu `$eV for $`L=10b`$. Finite temperatures yield a similar broadening on a scale $`k_BT`$. Therefore, low temperatures (20 mK $`2\mu `$eV) are required to resolve the step-like features and the van Hove singularities in the inelastic current $`I_{\mathrm{in}}`$. We mention that vertically polarized shear waves (which are also eigenmodes of the slab) do not couple to electrons via the DP because the induced local change in volume ($`\text{u}`$) is zero. Fortunately, shear waves also do not change the low frequency decoupling discussed above because the only mode that is accessable at low enough energies is the massless mode (linear dispersion) that does not lead to any piezo-electric polarization field. However, at higher frequencies shear subbands can contribute to the electron scattering.

The existence of an energy $`\mathrm{}\omega _0`$ where the electron-phonon interaction vanishes could be used to suppress decoherence in double dot qubit systems with the energy difference $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\sqrt{\epsilon ^2+4T_c^2}`$ tuned to $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\mathrm{}\omega _0`$. For example, using gate voltages to tune $`T_c(t)=\mathrm{\Delta }/2\mathrm{sin}(\mathrm{\Omega }t)`$, $`\epsilon (t)=\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{cos}(\mathrm{\Omega }t)`$ as a function of time defines a one-qubit rotation (‘electron from left to right’) free of phonon interaction $`\gamma (\mathrm{\Delta })=0`$. The condition $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\mathrm{}\omega _0`$ therefore defines a one dimensional ‘dissipation-free manifold’ (curve) in the $`T_c`$$`\epsilon `$ parameter space. In particular, a suppression of decoherence could then be exploited in adiabatic electron transfers RB01  or adiabatic swapping operations SLM01  in coupled quantum dots.

We recall, however, that corrections to $`\gamma `$ of 4th and higher order in the coupling constant (virtual processes) can lead to a small but final phonon-induced dephasing rate even at $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\mathrm{}\omega _0`$. Moreover, the dephasing due to spontaneous emission of photons, although negligeable with respect to the phonon contribution in second order FujetalTaretal , is not altered unless the whole system is embedded into a photon cavity. Similarily, plasmons and electron-hole pair excitations in the leads can lead to dephasing. We suppose that the latter can affect the inter-dot dynamics of the coupled dots only indirectly via coupling to the leads and only weakly contribute to dephasing, as is the case for interactions between dot and lead electrons beyond the Coulomb blockade charging effect.

Alternatively to suppressing dissipation from phonons at certain energies, the van Hove singularities of the same system could be used to enormously enhance the spontaneous emission rate of phonons. The electron current $`I_{\mathrm{in}}e\gamma (\epsilon )`$ at those energies is due to strong inelastic transitions. The term $`\left|\alpha \pm e^{i𝐪_{}𝐝}\right|^2`$ in (4) determines the angular phonon emission characteristic of the double dot. Therefore, as a function of energy and orientation, the double dot can be used as an energy selective phonon emitter with well defined emission characteristics.

In conclusion, we have found that phonon confinement is a promising tool for gaining control of dephasing in double quantum dots via phonons. Once this was achieved, it would be possible to study systematically dephasing due to other mechanisms such as coupling to electronic excitations in the leads. In contrast to cavity QED, where a single, confined photon mode can be tuned on or off resonance with an atomic transition frequency, the vanishing of spontaneous emission in phonon cavities is due to zeros in the phonon deformation potential or polarization fields rather than gaps in the density of states. In addition, we found that phonon emission into characteristic modes can be enormously enhanced due to van Hove singularities that could act as strong fingerprints of the phonon confinement if experimentally detected.

This work was supported by the EU via TMR and RTN projects FMRX-CT98-0180 and HPRN-CT2000-0144, DFG projects Kr 627/9-1, Br 1528/4-1, and project EPSRC R44690/01. Discussions with R. H. Blick, T. Fujisawa, W. G. van der Wiel, and L. P. Kouwenhoven are acknowledged.