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# Evolution of 𝜈=1 Bilayer Quantum Hall Ferromagnet

## Abstract

The natures of the ground state in a $`\nu _\mathrm{T}=1`$ bilayer quantum Hall system at a variety of layer spacing are investigated. At small layer separations the system exhibits spontaneous interlayer phase coherence. It is claimed that the Halperin’s (1,1,1) state is not relevant in the incompressible regime near the incompressible to compressible transition point in which the Josephson-like effect was observed. The two-particle correlation function shows the deflated correlation hole at this regime. An effective model that can give a good approximation to the ground state is proposed. A connection to the modified composite fermion theory is discussed.

PACS: 73.43.-f, 73.21.-b

The fractional quantum Hall effect which appears in a two-dimensional electron system in a strong magnetic field exhibits rich strong correlation phenomena. For a decade, a large number of studies have been made on bilayer quantum Hall systems which consist of a pair of two-dimensional electron gases separated by a distance so small as to be comparable to the typical spacing between electrons in the same layer. The characteristic parameters of this system are the filling factor $`\nu _\mathrm{T}=2\pi l^2n`$, the distance between the layers $`d`$, and the interlayer tunneling rate $`\mathrm{\Delta }_{\mathrm{SAS}}`$. Here $`n`$ is the total electron density of the system and $`l`$ is the magnetic length. This system can be mapped to an equivalent spin-1/2 system by assigning $``$($``$) pseudo spins to electrons in the upper (lower) layer, where the actual electron spins are assumed to be polarized.
In this system, various ground states and spectacular excitations are realized depending on the parameters. The Coulomb interaction term consists of direct and exchange terms. Because the latter term tends to align the pseudo spins of the electrons, the ground state has a ferromagnetic long range order at $`\nu _\mathrm{T}=1/q`$ ($`q`$ odd) when $`d0`$. At finite layer separation, the direct part of the electron-electron interaction produces a local capacitive charging energy that is minimized when the two layers have equal electron density and cause the easy-plane(XY) type symmetry in the pseudospin space. The ferromagnetic order corresponds to the spontaneous interlayer phase coherence.

The simplest Abelian quantum Hall states for the bilayer systems at $`\nu _\mathrm{T}=2/(m+n)`$ are described by the two-component generalization of the Laughlin wave function first introduced by Halperin.

$`\mathrm{\Psi }_{m,m,n}={\displaystyle \underset{i<j}{}}(z_i^{}z_j^{})^m{\displaystyle \underset{i<j}{}}(z_i^{}z_j^{})^m{\displaystyle \underset{i,j}{}}(z_i^{}z_j^{})^n\mathrm{e}^{\frac{1}{4}{\scriptscriptstyle (|z_i^{}|^2+|z_i^{}|^2)}}.`$ (1)
Based on the numerical diagonalization, Yoshioka et al. investigated that these variational wave functions give a good approximation to the ground state at a certain $`d`$ and $`\nu _\mathrm{T}`$.  In the case of small layer separation at $`\nu _\mathrm{T}=1`$, the ground state is $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{1,1,1}`$ state with the ferromagnetic order which can also be regarded as an excitonic state.

On the other hand, for an infinite separation, the bilayer systems at $`\nu _\mathrm{T}=1`$ reduces to two compressible uncorrelated $`\nu =1/2`$ systems. This compressible state was discussed by Halperin et al.  as a Fermi-liquid state of the composite fermions.  The approximated wave function in this limit may be written as a simple product:

$`\mathrm{\Psi }_{\mathrm{IFL}}=\mathrm{\Psi }_{\mathrm{FL}}(\{z^{}\})\mathrm{\Psi }_{\mathrm{FL}}(\{z^{}\}).`$ (2)
This state is called the independent Fermi-liquid state. Here $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{\mathrm{FL}}(\{z\})=P_{\mathrm{LLL}}\mathrm{det}M_{i<j}(z_iz_j)^2\mathrm{e}^{\frac{1}{4}_i|z_i|^2}`$ is the wave function of a Fermi-liquid-like compressible
state at $`\nu =1/2`$, and $`P_{\mathrm{LLL}}`$ is the projection operator
to the lowest-Landau-level, $`\mathrm{det}M`$ is a Slater determinant with the plane-wave matrix elements $`M_{ij}=\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}k_ir_j}`$. Varying the layer separation, the quantum Hall to no quantum Hall transition occurs. Based on the Chern-Simons effective field theory, several predictions have been proposed theoretically. In a recent experimental study, Spielman et al. observed resonant interlayer tunneling at zero-bias in this system. They also have recently observed the quantized Hall drag. Because the peak of the differential conductance and the quantized Hall drag are observed near the transition point, the properties of the ground state in this regime should be clarified. Several scenarios have been proposed for the evolution of the ground state as the layer separation increases from zero to infinity. The existence of the charge-density-wave state with the interlayer coherence near transition point is considered in the framework of the Hartree-Fock approximation and the effective field theory. Bonesteel et al. postulate the pairing of the composite fermions of isolated $`\nu =1/2`$ layers and obtained a charge gap inversely proportional to $`d^2`$ which cause the quantum Hall effect. Kim et al. discussed the paired states in detail and proposed several candidates of the ground state wave function. In numerical studies, Schliemann et al. suggested a single-phase transition in the pseudospin degrees of freedom, and Nakajima found that the spectral function changes qualitatively around transition point. The estimated critical value agrees with the experiment by Spielman et al.. However we do not have a clear understanding of the nature of the ground state around the transition point. In this letter, using the numerical diagonalization on a torus geometry, we study the details of the evolution of the bilayer system between small and large $`d/l`$ regime in the absence of interlayer tunneling.

The kinetic part of the Hamiltonian quenches into the lowest Landau level, so we consider the interaction Hamiltonian in a projected Hilbert state into the lowest Landau level:

$`H={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\mathrm{\Omega }}}{\displaystyle \underset{𝐪\sigma \sigma ^{}}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}V_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}(𝐪)\rho _\sigma (𝐪)\rho _\sigma ^{}(𝐪),`$ (3)
where $`\sigma ,\sigma ^{}`$ are pseudospin indices, $`\rho _\sigma (𝐪)`$ is the density operator in the layer $`\sigma `$, and $`V_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}(𝐪)`$ is the Fourier component of $`V_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}(r)=e^2/ϵ\sqrt{r^2+d^2\delta _{\sigma ,\sigma ^{}}}`$. When the layer separation $`d`$ vanishes, the Hamiltonian has the pseudospin SU(2) rotational symmetry that means $`[H,𝐒]=0`$. Here $`𝐒`$ is the total pseudospin operator,

$`𝐒={\displaystyle \underset{m=1}{\overset{N}{}}}c_{m\sigma }^{}{\displaystyle \frac{𝝈_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}}{2}}c_{m\sigma ^{}},`$ (4)
where $`m`$ means a single particle electron state and $`N`$ is the number of electron. Then the ground state $`|\mathrm{\Psi }`$ can be also the eigen state of the $`𝐒^2`$ and $`S_z`$;

$`𝐒^2|\mathrm{\Psi }`$ $`=`$ $`S(S+1)|\mathrm{\Psi }`$ (5)
$`S_z|\mathrm{\Psi }`$ $`=`$ $`\left({\displaystyle \frac{N_{}N_{}}{2}}\right)|\mathrm{\Psi }.`$ (6)
For ferromagnetic state $`S=N/2`$.

For the finite value of the layer separation $`d/l`$, the direct part with zero wave vector contributes as a static charging energy $`(2d/N)S_z^2`$  which makes $`S_z=0`$. Because the symmetry of the Hamiltonian is reduced from SU(2) to U(1), the ground state is no longer the eigen state of $`𝐒^2`$ although it still is an eigen state of $`S_z`$. We define the length of the total pseudospin by the expectation value $`\mathrm{\Psi }|𝐒^2|\mathrm{\Psi }=S(S+1)`$. In Fig.2 the value of $`S/N`$ as a function of $`d/l`$ is plotted. The deviation from the ferromagnetic state with increase of $`d/l`$ can be seen.

To investigate the nature of the ground state we calculate the two-particle correlation function $`g_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}(𝐫)`$ which is defined as

$`g_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}(𝐫)={\displaystyle \frac{1}{N(N1)}}{\displaystyle \underset{𝐪}{}}\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}𝐪𝐫}S_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}(𝐪)`$ (7)
where

$`S_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}(𝐪)=\mathrm{\Psi }|\rho _\sigma (𝐪)\rho _\sigma ^{}(𝐪)|\mathrm{\Psi }`$ (8)
is the structure factor. Fig.2(a) shows the $`g_{}(𝐫)`$ (solid line) and $`g_{}(𝐫)`$ (dashed line) in the system with $`d/l=0.3`$. Around the origin, both $`g_{}(𝐫)`$ and $`g_{}(𝐫)`$ behave as $`r^2`$. $`g_{}(0)=0`$ shows a clear correlation hole. Such a behavior is the characteristic of the $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{1,1,1}`$ state. Actually overlap between the $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{1,1,1}`$ and the wave function of the exact ground state is almost unity in this regime.

Next we consider the case $`d/l=0.9`$. This regime may correspond to that in which the Josephson-like effect was observed in Spielman et al’s experiment. Actually Fig.1 shows that the ferromagnetic order or the interlayer phase coherence survives at this point. The system should be in a quantum Hall regime according to several experimental data and theoretical analysis, but $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{1,1,1}`$ is not relevant at this point. The small but finite value of $`g_{}(0)`$ indicates that the correlation hole deflates gradually. The decline of the correlation hole may lead to non-singular behavior of the zero-bias conductivity. The $`g_{}(𝐫)`$ in Fig.2(b) shows not only short range interlayer correlation but the fact that the electrons in the ‘down’ layer is attracted to the electron in the ‘up’ layer at the origin.

To understand this state we consider an effective model state which is defined as a ground state of the following pseudo potential interaction; $`V_l^{}=0,V_l^{}=\delta _{l,1}`$.

The negative sign in $`V_l^{}`$ means interlayer attraction in the $`l=1`$ channel of the angular momentum. This state has the imperfect correlation holes. On the other hand, $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{1,1,1}`$ is defined as the ground state of the pseudo potential interaction $`V_l^{}=V_l^{}=\delta _{l,0}`$. In Fig.3, overlap between the exact ground state and these model states are shown. We find our effective model becomes relevant at $`d/l=0.85`$. The maximum value of overlap is $`0.996`$.

To see the nature of the crossover between Halperin’s (1,1,1) model and our attractive model, we consider a model Hamiltonian with pseudo potential interaction $`V_l^{}=\mathrm{cos}\theta \delta _{l,0}\mathrm{sin}\theta \delta _{l,1}`$, $`V_l^{}=V_l^{}=0`$. We calculated the relevant value of $`\theta `$ which has a maximum overlap with the exact ground state as a function of $`d/l`$ and found a continuum transition from $`\theta =0`$ ((1,1,1) model) to $`\theta =\pi /2`$ (attractive model). This is the decay of correlation hole. When the layer spacing $`d`$ exceeds $`1.4l`$, the nature of correlation changes qualitatively. The two-particle correlation functions $`g_{}`$ and $`g_{}`$ exhibit a $`2k_F`$-like oscillation. Such a behavior was discussed in a monolayer system with $`\nu =1/2`$ by Rezayi and Read where $`k_F`$ ($`=1/l`$ in $`\nu =1/2`$ ) is a Fermi wave number of the composite fermion.

Finally we consider the evolution of the ground state based on a modified composite fermion theory. This theory of the bilayer system was formulated by Rajaraman.  A filling factor $`\nu _\mathrm{T}=1`$ system was discussed by several authors. We introduce composite fermion feild; $`\varphi _\sigma ^{}(𝐫)=\psi _\sigma ^{}(𝐫)\mathrm{e}^{J_\sigma (𝐫)}`$ where $`\psi _\sigma `$ is the electrons field operator and $`J_\sigma (𝐫)=R_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}d^2𝐫^{}\rho _\sigma ^{}(𝐫^{})\mathrm{ln}(zz^{})\frac{eB}{4}|𝐫|^2`$ has a role of the flux attachment. The matrix $`R`$ is appropriately determined by interlayer interaction at a corresponding layer separation. For $`\nu _\mathrm{T}=1`$ bilayer system, when the layer separation is sufficiently large, the Fermi-liquid state of the composite fermions with $`R_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}=2\delta _{\sigma ,\sigma ^{}}`$ corresponds to eq.(2). On the other hand, for small $`d/l`$, we should choose $`R_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}=2\delta _{\sigma ,\sigma ^{}}`$ because of strong interlayer interaction. These theories are called independent composite fermion and mutual composite fermion theories respectively. The operation of the flux attachment is carried on by a two-body interaction that cause a pairing instability of the composite fermions. The wave function of the interlayer paired state is written as

$`\mathrm{\Psi }=\mathrm{Pf}K(𝐫_i^\sigma 𝐫_j^\sigma )\mathrm{\Psi }_{R_{},R_{},R_{}},`$ (9)
where $`\mathrm{Pf}K=𝒜(K_{1,2}K_{3,4}\mathrm{})`$ is an antisymmetric product and the factor $`K(𝐫)=\frac{1}{\mathrm{\Omega }}_𝐤\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}𝐤𝐫}\left(\frac{E_𝐤ϵ_𝐤}{\mathrm{\Delta }_𝐤^{}}\right)`$ is determined by the procedure of the Bogoliubov transformation. $`\mathrm{\Delta }_𝐤`$ is a pairing gap, $`ϵ_𝐤=k^2/2m^{}ϵ_\mathrm{F}`$, and $`E_𝐤=\sqrt{ϵ_𝐤^2+|\mathrm{\Delta }_𝐤|^2}`$. $`\mathrm{Pf}K(𝐫_i^\sigma 𝐫_j^\sigma )`$ is the wave function of the composite fermions that is a real space representation of the BCS-like paired state. When $`d/l`$ is small, we consider the case $`R_{\sigma ,\sigma ^{}}=2\delta _{\sigma ,\sigma ^{}}`$. For a week pairing state in the terminology of Read and Green, in the $`l_z=1`$ channel $`\mathrm{\Delta }_𝐤=\mathrm{\Delta }\left(\frac{k_x\mathrm{i}k_y}{k_F}\right)`$, $`K(𝐫)=1/z`$. Using the Cauchy identity, one obtain $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{1,1,1}`$ from eq.(9). On the other hand, for large $`d/l`$ case, Kim et al. proposed several paired state of the independent composite fermions. However anything of that kind was not found in our calculation. It rather seems that our results of the two-particle correlation function indicate the continuum development of electrons pairing in $`l_z=1`$ channel that corresponds to $`l_z=1`$ pairing of the mutual composite fermions. This is understood as follows. Note the interlayer Coulomb interaction reduces the interlayer pairing. Starting from $`d=0`$, where the mutual composite fermion theory gives $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{1,1,1}`$ as the ground state, increase of $`d/l`$ makes the interlayer pairing develop further because of the reduction of the interlayer interaction. We note that the increase of $`d/l`$ also decreases a spin stiffness coefficient and makes the charge gap decrease. In Fig.4, the $`r`$-dependence of the function $`|K(r)|`$ with two case of the intensity of the interlayer pairing $`\mathrm{\Delta }/ϵ_\mathrm{F}`$ are plotted. We found that at $`\mathrm{\Delta }/ϵ_\mathrm{F}=\sqrt{2}`$, $`|K(r)|`$ coincides with $`1/r`$ completely that lead to $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{1,1,1}`$. At $`\mathrm{\Delta }/ϵ_\mathrm{F}=3`$, $`|K(r)|`$ behaves as $`1/r^{1.4}`$ asymptoticaly at large $`r`$ $`(>10l)`$ and $`1/r^2`$ at small $`r`$ $`(<10l)`$. This $`1/r^2`$ behavior at small $`r`$ with eq.(9) is consistent with the contraction of the correlation hole seen in Fig.2(b).

In this letter we have investigated the evolution of the bilayer quantum Hall ferromagnetic state. Around $`d/l1`$ $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{1,1,1}`$ is not relevant as a trial wave function. We proposed an attractive model that has imperfect correlation holes and gives a good approximation to the ground state. In our model state, the electrons are interacting attractively in $`l_z=1`$ channel which is connected to the paired state of the mutual composite fermion theory. The crossover corresponds to a decline of the correlation hole that is consistent with the fact that as $`d/l`$ is increased the peak of the zero-bias conductance and the Hall drag resistance turned down in the experiments.

We are grateful to N. Shibata and A. H. MacDonald for useful discussions and members of MacDonald group in the University of Texas for their hospitality. This work is supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) 10640301 from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture.


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# Variationally complete actions on compact symmetric spaces

## 1 Introduction

The main result of this paper is the following theorem.

Theorem An isometric action of a compact Lie group on a compact symmetric space is variationally complete if and only if it is hyperpolar.

Variationally complete actions were introduced by Bott in  (see also ). Let $`G`$ be a compact Lie group acting on a complete Riemannian manifold $`M`$ by isometries. A geodesic $`\gamma `$ in $`M`$ is called *$`G`$-transversal* if it is orthogonal to the $`G`$-orbit through $`\gamma (t)`$ for every $`t`$. One can show that a geodesic $`\gamma `$ is $`G`$-transversal if there is a point $`t_0`$ such that $`\dot{\gamma }(t_0)`$ is orthogonal to $`G\gamma (t_0)`$. A Jacobi field along a geodesic in $`M`$ is called *$`G`$-transversal* if it is the variational vector field of a variation through $`G`$-transversal geodesics. The action of $`G`$ on $`M`$ is called *variationally complete* if every $`G`$-transversal Jacobi field $`J`$ in $`M`$ that is tangent to the $`G`$-orbits at two different parameter values is the restriction of a Killing field on $`M`$ induced by the $`G`$-action. It is proved in  on p. 974 that instead of requiring tangency at two different points in the definition of variational completeness it is equivalent to require tangency at one point and vanishing at another point.

Conlon considered in  actions of a Lie group $`G`$ on a complete Riemannian manifold $`M`$ with the property that there is a connected submanifold $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ of $`M`$ that meets all orbits of $`G`$ in such a way that the intersections between $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ and the orbits of $`G`$ are all orthogonal. Such a submanifold is called a *section* and an action admitting a section is called *polar*. Notice that neither do we assume as Conlon in  that $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is closed nor do we assume that it is properly embedded as is usually required in the recent literature on the subject. It is easy to see that a section $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is totally geodesic in $`M`$. An action admitting a section that is flat in the induced metric is called *hyperpolar*. Conlon proved in  that a hyperpolar action of a compact Lie group on a complete Riemannian manifold is variationally complete. Notice that he does not use in his proof that the sections of the action are closed. His result therefore implies one direction of the main theorem of this paper.

In the case of Euclidean spaces, hyperpolar representations were classified by Dadok in . As a consequence of his classification he obtained that a hyperpolar representation of a compact Lie group is orbit equivalent to the isotropy representation of a symmetric space. (We recall that two isometric actions are said to be *orbit equivalent* if there is an isometry between the action spaces under which the orbits of the two actions correspond.)

On the other hand, we classified variationally complete representations in . As a consequence of our classification we obtained that a variationally complete representation of a compact Lie group is hyperpolar. Di Scala and Olmos gave in  a very short, simple proof of this result. It follows that a representation is hyperpolar if and only if it is variationally complete.

Next we discuss the case of compact symmetric spaces. There are two important classes of examples of hyperpolar actions on them. It is clear that a cohomogeneity one action of a compact Lie group on a compact symmetric space is hyperpolar. Hermann constructed in  a class of examples of variationally complete actions on compact symmetric spaces which in fact turned out to be hyperpolar. Namely, if $`K_1`$ and $`K_2`$ are two symmetric subgroups of the same compact Lie group $`G`$, then the action of $`K_1`$ on $`G/K_2`$ is hyperpolar and so is the action of $`K_1\times K_2`$ on $`G`$. Kollross  classified hyperpolar actions on compact *irreducible* symmetric spaces. It follows from his classification that, in the irreducible case, all hyperpolar actions belong to either one of these classes.

Finally, we add that the concepts of hyperpolarity and variational completeness admit natural extensions in the context of proper Fredholm actions of Hilbert-Lie groups on Hilbert spaces (see  and ). We shall make use of them in the course of our proof.

## 2 The proof of the theorem

Conlon proved in  that hyperpolar actions are variationally complete as we pointed out in the introduction. In this section we will prove the converse of his result for actions on compact symmetric spaces. Our strategy is as follows. First we reduce to the case of a symmetric space of compact type. Next we lift the action on the symmetric space to a variationally complete action of a path group on a Hilbert space. Then we use an argument similar to that in  to show that the lifted action is hyperpolar. Finally, it is easy to see that a section for the action on the Hilbert space induces a flat section for the original action.

Let $`M`$ be a compact Riemannian symmetric space. We identify $`M`$ with the coset space $`G/K`$, where $`G`$ is the connected component of the group of all isometries of $`M`$ and $`K`$ is the isotropy subgroup of a chosen base point. Let $`H`$ be a compact Lie group acting by isometries on $`M`$. An action of a group is variationally complete (resp. hyperpolar) if and only if the same is true for the restriction of that action to the connected component of the group. This follows from the definition in the case of variationally complete actions and is easy in the case of hyperpolar actions, see Proposition 2.4 in . We can thus assume that $`H`$ is a connected, closed subgroup of $`G`$.

Let $`\widehat{M}`$ be a compact Riemannian covering space of $`M`$ which splits as a product of a torus $`T^k`$ and a symmetric space $`N`$ of compact type. Let $`\widehat{G}`$ be the connected component of the group of all isometries of $`\widehat{M}`$. Then $`\widehat{G}`$ is a covering group of $`G`$ and we let $`\widehat{H}`$ denote the subgroup of $`\widehat{G}`$ which is the connected component of the inverse image of $`H`$. Notice that the action of $`\widehat{H}`$ on $`\widehat{M}`$ is variationally complete if the one of $`H`$ on $`M`$ is so. In this case, the restriction $`\sigma _2`$ of the action of $`\widehat{H}`$ to $`N`$ is clearly still variationally complete. We will prove below that a variationally complete action on a symmetric space of compact type is hyperpolar. Since the restriction $`\sigma _1`$ of the action of $`\widehat{H}`$ to $`T^k`$ is orbit equivalent to the action of a torus on $`T^k`$ and therefore hyperpolar, it follows that the product action $`\sigma _1\times \sigma _2`$ on $`T^k\times N=\widehat{M}`$ is hyperpolar. The action of $`\widehat{H}`$ on $`M`$ is therefore also hyperpolar since it is orbit equivalent to the product action of $`\sigma _1\times \sigma _2`$ on $`\widehat{M}`$, which can be seen by arguments similar to those in the proof of Theorem 4 (ii) in  or of Proposition 3.4 (d) in . Now we can simply project a section of the $`\widehat{H}`$-action in $`\widehat{M}`$ down to $`M`$ to see that the action of $`H`$ on $`M`$ is hyperpolar.

It follows from the discussion in the previous paragraph that from now on we can restrict to the case where $`M`$ is of compact type. In this case the group $`G`$ is semisimple. There is an involution $`\sigma `$ of $`G`$ such that $`K`$ is open in the fixed point set of $`\sigma `$. Now the Lie algebra of $`G`$ decomposes into the $`\pm 1`$-eigenspaces of $`d\sigma `$, $`𝔤=𝔨+𝔭`$, where $`𝔨`$ is the Lie algebra of $`K`$, and the Riemannian metric in $`M`$ is the $`G`$-invariant metric induced by some $`\text{Ad}_G`$-invariant inner product on $`𝔤`$. The group $`H`$ is a closed subgroup of $`G`$ so that it acts on $`M`$ by left translations, and $`H\times K`$ acts on $`G`$ by $`(h,k)g=hgk^1`$, where $`hH`$, $`kK`$ and $`gG`$. Clearly, the projection $`\pi :GG/K`$ is an equivariant Riemannian submersion.

###### Lemma 1

If the action of $`H`$ on $`M`$ is variationally complete, then the action of $`H\times K`$ on $`G`$ is also variationally complete.

Proof. Let $`\gamma `$ be an $`H\times K`$-transversal geodesic in $`G`$ defined on $`[0,1]`$ and let $`J`$ be an $`H\times K`$-transversal Jacobi field along $`\gamma `$ such that $`J(0)=0`$ and $`J(1)`$ is tangent to the $`H\times K`$-orbit through $`\gamma (1)`$. We must show that $`J`$ is the restriction along $`\gamma `$ of an $`H\times K`$-Killing field.

We first identify the tangent and normal spaces to the $`H\times K`$-orbits in $`G`$. Let $`𝔥`$ be the Lie algebra of $`H`$. Then $`𝔥`$ is a subalgebra of $`𝔤`$ and we denote by $`𝔥^{}`$ its orthogonal complement in $`𝔤`$ with respect to the $`\text{Ad}_G`$-invariant inner product on $`𝔤`$. Note that $`[𝔥,𝔥^{}]𝔥^{}`$ and that $`𝔨`$ and $`𝔭`$ are also mutually orthogonal in $`𝔤`$. Given $`aG`$, the tangent space to $`HaK`$ at the point $`a`$ is $`𝔥a+a𝔨`$. Therefore the left translates under $`a^1`$ of the tangent and normal spaces of $`HaK`$ at $`a`$ are respectively $`𝔩^a:=𝔨+\text{Ad}_{a^1}𝔥`$ and $`𝔪^a:=𝔭\text{Ad}_{a^1}𝔥^{}`$. It will be convenient to set $`𝔮^a:=𝔨\text{Ad}_{a^1}𝔥`$.

Let $`\gamma (0)=aG`$. Then $`\gamma (t)=ae^{tX}`$ for $`X𝔪^a`$. Since $`J(0)=0`$, setting $`\gamma _\alpha (t)=ae^{t(X+\alpha Y)}`$, where $`Y𝔪^a`$ and $`Y=a^1J^{}(0)`$, defines a variation of $`\gamma =\gamma _0`$ through $`H\times K`$-transversal geodesics which induces $`J`$. Since $`\pi :GG/K`$ is an equivariant Riemannian submersion and each $`\gamma _\alpha `$ is a horizontal curve with respect to $`\pi `$, we have that $`\{\pi \gamma _\alpha \}`$ is a variation of $`\overline{\gamma }=\pi \gamma `$ through $`H`$-transversal geodesics in $`M`$. Moreover, the associated $`H`$-transversal Jacobi field $`\overline{J}`$ along $`\overline{\gamma }`$ satisfies $`\overline{J}(0)=0`$, $`\overline{J}^{}(0)=a\pi _{}Y`$, and $`\overline{J}(1)`$ is tangent to the $`H`$-orbit through $`\pi (ae^X)`$. It follows by variational completeness of the action of $`H`$ on $`M`$ that $`\overline{J}`$ is the restriction along $`\overline{\gamma }`$ of an $`H`$-Killing field on $`M`$, namely $`\overline{J}(t)=Z\overline{\gamma }(t)`$ for some $`Z𝔥`$, which yields

$$\overline{J}(t)=\frac{}{\alpha }|_{\alpha =0}e^{\alpha Z}\pi (ae^{tX})=\frac{}{\alpha }|_{\alpha =0}ae^{tX}\pi (e^{tX}a^1e^{\alpha Z}ae^{tX})=ae^{tX}\pi _{}\text{Ad}_{(ae^{tX})^1}Z.$$

This equation gives $`\overline{J}(0)=a\pi _{}\text{Ad}_{a^1}Z`$. Since we already know that $`\overline{J}(0)=0`$, we get that $`\pi _{}\text{Ad}_{a^1}Z=0`$, and then $`\text{Ad}_{a^1}Z𝔨`$. Hence $`\text{Ad}_{a^1}Z𝔮^a`$.

Since $`X𝔭`$, the left translations by $`e^{tX}`$ define isometries of the symmetric space $`M`$ which form a one-parameter group of transvections, that is, each one of them induces parallel transport along the geodesic $`s\pi (e^{sX})`$. Denote by $``$ the Levi-Civita connection of $`M`$. Then we have

$$a^1\overline{J}^{}(0)=a^1_{a\pi _{}X}\overline{J}=_{\pi _{}X}(a^1\overline{J})=\frac{d}{dt}|_{t=0}\pi _{}\text{Ad}_{(ae^{tX})^1}Z=\pi _{}[\text{Ad}_{a^1}Z,X].$$

We deduce that $`\overline{J}^{}(0)=a\pi _{}[\text{Ad}_{a^1}Z,X]`$. But we already know that $`\overline{J}^{}(0)=a\pi _{}Y`$. Since $`Y𝔪^a𝔭`$ and $`[\text{Ad}_{a^1}Z,X][𝔮^a,𝔪^a]𝔪^a𝔭`$, this implies $`Y=[\text{Ad}_{a^1}Z,X]`$.

Finally, consider the $`H\times K`$-Killing field in $`G`$ given by

$$Uy=\frac{}{\alpha }|_{\alpha =0}e^{\alpha Z}ye^{\alpha \text{Ad}_{a^1}Z}.$$

Then

$$U\gamma (t)=\frac{}{\alpha }|_{\alpha =0}e^{\alpha Z}ae^{tX}a^1e^{\alpha Z}a.$$

Therefore $`U\gamma (0)=0`$ and

$`{\displaystyle \frac{d}{dt}}|_{t=0}U\gamma (t)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{}{\alpha }}|_{\alpha =0}{\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}|_{t=0}e^{\alpha Z}ae^{tX}a^1e^{\alpha Z}a`$
$`=`$ $`({\displaystyle \frac{}{\alpha }}|_{\alpha =0}\text{Ad}_{e^{\alpha Z}a}X)a`$
$`=`$ $`[Z,\text{Ad}_aX]a.`$
Hence $`a^1\frac{d}{dt}|_{t=0}U\gamma (t)=\text{Ad}_{a^1}[Z,\text{Ad}_aX]=Y.`$ It follows that $`J(t)=U\gamma (t)`$. $`\mathrm{}`$

Let $`V=L^2([0,1];𝔤)`$ denote the Hilbert space of $`L^2`$-integrable paths $`u:[0,1]𝔤`$, and let $`\widehat{G}=H^1([0,1];G)`$ denote the Hilbert-Lie group of $`H^1`$-paths in $`G`$ parametrized on $`[0,1]`$ (the elements of $`\widehat{G}`$ are the absolutely continuous paths $`g:[0,1]G`$ whose derivative is square integrable). We have that $`\widehat{G}`$ acts by affine isometries on $`V`$: $`gu=gug^1g^{}g^1`$, where $`g\widehat{G}`$ and $`uV`$. Let $`𝒫(G,H\times K)`$ denote the subgroup of all paths $`g\widehat{G}`$ such that $`(g(0),g(1))H\times K`$. Let $`\phi :VG`$ be the parallel transport map defined by $`\phi (u)=h(1)`$, where $`h\widehat{G}`$ is the unique solution of $`h^1h^{}=u`$, $`h(0)=1`$. Then it is known that (see ):

1. the action of $`\widehat{G}`$ on $`V`$ is proper and Fredholm;
2. $`\phi (gu)=g(0)\phi (u)g(1)^1`$, where $`g\widehat{G}`$ and $`uV`$;
3. $`𝒫(G,H\times K)u=\phi ^1((H\times K)\phi (u))`$;
4. the action of $`𝒫(G,1\times G)`$ on $`V`$ is simply transitive;
5. $`\phi :VG`$ is a Riemannian submersion and a principal $`\mathrm{\Omega }_1(G):=𝒫(G,1\times 1)`$-bundle;
6. the horizontal distribution $``$ of $`\phi `$ is given by $`(u)=\{\text{Ad}_g\widehat{Y}:Y𝔤\}`$, where $`\widehat{Y}`$ denotes the constant path with value $`Y`$ and $`g`$ is the unique element of $`𝒫(G,1\times G)`$ which satisfies $`u=g\widehat{0}`$;
7. the tangent space to the orbit through $`\widehat{Y}`$ at $`\widehat{Y}`$ is

$$\{[\xi ,\widehat{Y}]\xi ^{}:\xi H^1([0,1],𝔤),\xi (0)𝔥,\xi (1)𝔨\}.$$

###### Lemma 2

If the action of $`H\times K`$ on $`G`$ is variationally complete, then the action of $`𝒫(G,H\times K)`$ on $`V`$ is also variationally complete.

Proof. Let $`\gamma `$ be a transversal geodesic in $`V`$ defined on $`[0,1]`$ and let $`J`$ be a transversal Jacobi field along $`\gamma `$ such that $`J(0)=0`$ and $`J(1)`$ is tangent to the orbit through $`\gamma (1)`$. We must show that $`J`$ is the restriction along $`\gamma `$ of a Killing field induced by the $`𝒫(G,H\times K)`$-action.

Let $`\gamma (0)=uV`$. Since $`𝒫(G,H\times K)\mathrm{\Omega }_1(G)`$, we have that the normal space to the orbit through $`u`$ is contained in the horizontal subspace $`(u)`$. Let $`g`$ be the unique element of $`𝒫(G,1\times G)`$ which satisfies $`u=g\widehat{0}`$. Now $`\gamma (t)=u+t\text{Ad}_g\widehat{X}`$ for some $`X𝔤`$. Since $`J(0)=0`$, setting $`\gamma _\alpha (t)=u+t\text{Ad}_g(\widehat{X}+\alpha \widehat{Y})=g\widehat{t(X+\alpha Y)}`$, where $`J^{}(0)=\text{Ad}_g\widehat{Y}`$ for some $`Y𝔤`$, defines a variation of $`\gamma =\gamma _0`$ through transversal geodesics which induces $`J`$. Since $`\phi :VG`$ is an equivariant Riemannian submersion with respect to the homomorphism $`h𝒫(G,H\times K)(h(0),h(1))H\times K`$, and each $`\gamma _\alpha `$ is a horizontal curve with respect to $`\phi `$, we have that $`\{\phi \gamma _\alpha \}`$ is a variation of $`\overline{\gamma }=\phi \gamma `$ through transversal geodesics in $`G`$. Moreover, the associated transversal Jacobi field $`\overline{J}`$ along $`\overline{\gamma }`$ satisfies $`\overline{J}(0)=0`$, $`\overline{J}^{}(0)=d\phi _u(\text{Ad}_g\widehat{Y})=Ya`$, where $`a=g(1)^1=\phi (u)`$, and $`\overline{J}(1)`$ is tangent to the orbit through $`\overline{\gamma }(1)`$. It follows by variational completeness of the action of $`H\times K`$ on $`G`$ that $`\overline{J}`$ is the restriction along $`\overline{\gamma }`$ of an $`H\times K`$-Killing field on $`G`$, namely $`\overline{J}(t)=Z\overline{\gamma }(t)\overline{\gamma }(t)W`$ for some $`Z𝔥`$, $`W𝔨`$.

Note that $`\overline{\gamma }(t)=e^{tX}a`$. Therefore we can write $`\overline{J}(t)=e^{tX}(\text{Ad}_{e^{tX}}Z\text{Ad}_aW)a`$. It follows that $`0=\overline{J}(0)=(Z\text{Ad}_aW)a`$, so that $`W=\text{Ad}_{a^1}Z𝔨\text{Ad}_{a^1}𝔥=𝔮^a`$ and $`\overline{J}(t)=e^{tX}(\text{Ad}_{e^{tX}}ZZ)a`$. Then we have that $`Ya=\overline{J}^{}(0)=[Z,X]a`$, which gives $`Y=[Z,X]`$.

Finally, consider the one-parameter subgroup $`\{g_\alpha \}`$ of $`𝒫(G,H\times K)`$ given by $`g_\alpha =ge^{\alpha Z}g^1`$. Note that $`g_\alpha (0)=e^{\alpha Z}H`$ and $`g_\alpha (1)=a^1e^{\alpha Z}aK`$, so that $`g_\alpha `$ is well defined. We next show that the Killing field induced by $`\{g_\alpha \}`$ coincides with $`J`$ along $`\gamma `$. It suffices to compare their initial values. Since $`g_\alpha \gamma =(ge^{\alpha Z})t\widehat{X}`$, we have

$$ge^{\alpha Z}\widehat{0}=(ge^{\alpha Z})^{}(ge^{\alpha Z})^1=g^{}g^1=g\widehat{0}=u,$$

and

$`{\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}|_{t=0}{\displaystyle \frac{}{\alpha }}|_{\alpha =0}ge^{\alpha Z}t\widehat{X}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{}{\alpha }}|_{\alpha =0}{\displaystyle \frac{}{t}}|_{t=0}t\text{Ad}_{ge^{\alpha Z}}\widehat{X}+u`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{}{\alpha }}|_{\alpha =0}\text{Ad}_{ge^{\alpha Z}}\widehat{X}`$
$`=`$ $`\text{Ad}_g\widehat{[Z,X]}`$
$`=`$ $`\text{Ad}_g\widehat{Y}.`$
This completes the proof. $`\mathrm{}`$

###### Lemma 3

If the action of $`𝒫(G,H\times K)`$ on $`V`$ is variationally complete, then it is hyperpolar.

Proof. Let $`N_0`$ in $`V`$ be an orbit which is the preimage of a principal orbit of $`H\times K`$ in $`G`$ and $`\gamma `$ a geodesic starting orthogonally to $`N_0`$ in $`p`$, i.e., $`\xi =\gamma ^{}(0)`$ is in the normal space $`\nu _p(N_0)`$. Let $`N_1`$ be the orbit through $`q=\gamma (1)`$ and assume that also $`N_1`$ is the preimage of a principal orbit in $`G`$. It follows from variational completeness that $`\gamma (1)`$ is not a focal point of $`N_0`$ along $`\gamma `$. We will prove that the tangent spaces of $`N_0`$ at $`\gamma (0)`$ and of $`N_1`$ at $`\gamma (1)`$ coincide if considered to be affine subspaces of $`V`$. It follows that the normal spaces of $`N_0`$ at $`\gamma (0)`$ and of $`N_1`$ at $`\gamma (1)`$ coincide which obviously implies that the action is hyperpolar.

Let $`E_pT_pN_0`$ be the direct sum of the eigenspaces of the Weingarten operator $`A_\xi ^{N_0}`$ corresponding to the nonvanishing eigenvalues and define a corresponding subspace $`E_qT_qN_1`$ with respect to the Weingarten map $`A_\xi ^{N_1}`$. Similarly let $`Z_p`$ be the zero eigenspace in $`T_pN_0`$ and $`Z_q`$ the zero eigenspace in $`T_qN_1`$. We will first prove that $`E_p=E_q`$ using an argument from . Then we will prove that $`Z_p=Z_q`$. It will follow that $`T_pN_0=T_qN_1`$ finishing the proof.

Let $`XE_p`$ be an eigenvector corresponding to the nonvanishing eigenvalue $`\lambda `$ of $`A_\xi ^{N_0}`$. Then $`J(t)=(1\lambda t)X`$ is a transversal Jacobi field along $`\gamma `$ that is tangent to the orbit $`N_0`$ and vanishes in $`t=\frac{1}{\lambda }`$. Variational completeness now implies that this Jacobi field is induced by the action. Therefore $`J(t)`$ is tangent to the orbit through $`\gamma (t)`$ for every $`t`$. Since $`\gamma (1)`$ is not a focal point of $`N_0`$ along $`\gamma `$, we have that $`1\lambda 0`$ and then $`X`$ lies in $`T_qN_1`$. It is now clear have that $`X`$ is an eigenvalue of $`A_\xi ^{N_1}`$ corresponding to a nonzero eigenvalue. This proves that $`E_pE_q`$. Analogous arguments imply $`E_qE_p`$ proving $`E_p=E_q`$.

It is left to prove that $`Z_p=Z_q`$. Let $`XZ_p`$. Let $`\{\psi _\alpha \}`$ be a one-parameter subgroup of $`𝒫(G,H\times K)`$ such that

$$X=\frac{d}{d\alpha }|_{\alpha =0}\psi _\alpha p.$$

The variation $`\{\psi _\alpha \gamma \}`$ induces a Jacobi field $`J`$ along $`\gamma `$ with $`J(0)=X`$. We first show that $`J(t)=X+t\eta `$ where $`\eta \nu _p(N_0)`$. In fact

$$J^{}(0)=\frac{d}{d\alpha }|_{\alpha =0}\psi _{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{}\xi =A_\xi X+_{\frac{d}{d\alpha }}^{}\psi _{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{}\xi |_{\alpha =0}=_{\frac{d}{d\alpha }}^{}\psi _{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{}\xi |_{\alpha =0}$$

which shows that $`J^{}(0)`$ lies in $`\nu _p(N_0)`$ as we wanted to prove.

Our next goal is to show that $`\eta =0`$. Assume that $`\eta 0`$. We know that $`X+\eta T_qN_1`$. Then $`\eta \nu _q(N_1)`$ since $`X+\eta ,\eta =\eta ^20`$. This implies that $`X+\eta Z_q`$ since otherwise $`J^{}(1)=\eta `$ would be a normal vector. Let $`YE_q`$ be the image of $`X+\eta `$ under the orthogonal projection along $`Z_q`$ into $`E_q`$. We have that $`Y0`$ or, which is the same, $`Y,X+\eta 0`$. We know that $`Y,X=0`$ since $`E_p=E_q`$. We also have that $`Y,\eta =0`$ since $`Y`$ is a tangent vector of $`N_0`$ in $`p`$ and $`\eta `$ is a normal vector. Hence we also get $`Y,X+\eta =0`$ which is a contradiction. This proves that $`\eta =0`$. We therefore have that $`J(t)=X`$ which implies that $`XT_qN_1`$ and it is clear that $`XZ_q`$. It follows that $`Z_pZ_q`$. The proof that $`Z_qZ_p`$ is analogous. Hence $`Z_p=Z_q`$. $`\mathrm{}`$

With the following lemma we finish the proof of the theorem in the introduction.

###### Lemma 4

If the action of $`𝒫(G,H\times K)`$ on $`V`$ is hyperpolar, then the action of $`H`$ on $`M`$ is also hyperpolar.

Proof. Let $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ be a section of the action of $`𝒫(G,H\times K)`$ on $`V`$ and let $`A`$ be the image of $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ under $`\phi `$ in $`G`$. We will show that $`A`$ is a flat section of the action of $`H\times K`$ on $`G`$. Since $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is horizontal with respect to the Riemannian submersion $`\phi `$, we have that $`\phi |_\mathrm{\Sigma }:\mathrm{\Sigma }G`$ is an isometric immersion. Property (c) before Lemma 2 implies that $`d\phi _u(T_u\mathrm{\Sigma })`$ is perpendicular to the $`H\times K`$-orbit through $`\phi (u)`$ in $`G`$ for all $`uV`$. It follows that $`A`$ is a submanifold in $`G`$ which meets all orbits perpendicularly. Moreover $`A`$ is flat since $`\phi |_\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is an isometric immersion. This finishes the proof that the action of $`H\times K`$ on $`G`$ is hyperpolar. Similar arguments show that $`\pi (A)`$ is a flat section of the action of $`H`$ on $`M`$. $`\mathrm{}`$

It is interesting to remark that it follows from the results in section 2 of  that, in the case where the metric in $`G`$ is induced from the Killing form of $`𝔤`$, we have that $`A`$ is a torus, and hence $`A`$ and $`\pi (A)`$ are *properly embedded* sections. In the case where the metric in $`G`$ is not induced from the Killing form of $`𝔤`$, we do not know of any example of a hyperpolar action with a section that is not properly embedded. Here we have assumed the symmetric space $`M`$ to be of compact type. On the other hand, if the symmetric space $`M`$ is a torus, a hyperpolar action can have a section that is not properly embedded. To see this let $`T^k`$ be a proper subtorus of $`M`$ that we think of as a Lie group. The orbits of $`T^k`$ are the cosets of $`T^k`$, and the image $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ under the exponential map of the normal space of $`T^k`$ in $`M`$ at the identity element is clearly a section. If $`M`$ is not a rational torus, the subtorus $`T^k`$ can be chosen so that $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is not properly embedded, see section 2 in .

Instituto de Matemática e Estatística
Universidade de São Paulo
Rua do Matão, 1010
São Paulo, SP 05508-090
Brazil
E-mail: gorodski@ime.usp.br

Mathematisches Institut
Universität zu Köln
Weyertal 86-90
50931 Köln
Germany
E-mail: gthorber@mi.uni-koeln.de


text:
# Hidden Subluminous Stars among the FAUST UV sources toward OPHIUCHUS

## 1 Introduction

In the vacuum ultraviolet range observations are very scarce and are limited to very bright sources, such as those measured by the TD-1 mission (Thompson et al. 1978). The FAUST experiment (Bowyer et al. 1993) represents a successful attempt to produce a catalog of fainter UV sources in a few regions of the sky. During the FAUST mission, about 5% of the celestial sphere was observed. First results were published in the FAUST source catalog (FSC: Bowyer et al. 1995).

One of the fields observed during the FAUST mission on board the ATLAS-1 Shuttle mission (Lampton et al. 1993) is located in the outer region of the Ophiuchus molecular cloud. Among the fields observed by FAUST, this is the UV field nearest the galactic equator.

The Ophiuchus molecular cloud region subtends several tens of square degrees on the sky, at a distance of 125 pc. The region observed most intensively within this complex is the $`\rho `$ Ophiuchus core, which is a star formation region. In addition to the core, there are diffuse and filamentary dust structures, as seen on the Palomar Sky Survey(PSS) plates. Owing to the location near the galactic center direction (l $``$355 and b $``$15), with a large number of projected stars, this is a very crowded region.

This paper presents a list of the sources detected in this field and their optical identification, obtained by correlations with published catalogues (section 2 and 3) and by photometric and spectroscopic observations performed at the Wise Observatory (section 4). The results are used below, along with Hipparcos/Tycho results, to identify new hot, sub-luminous stars (section 5). Synthetic photometry using spectral data in the ultraviolet domain allows us to predict the expected UV brightness of a source. Comparing this to the detected UV brightness yields a list of ten objects much brighter in the UV than expected. Nine of these candidates were followed up with spectroscopy to study the Balmer line profiles. We propose that six of these are hot subdwarfs and two are possibly white dwarfs, which were previously misidentified as normal main-sequence stars.

## 2 FAUST observations of Ophiuchus

FAUST (FAr Ultraviolet Space Telescope) is a wide-field ($``$ 80 field of view) telescope with a bandpass from 1400 Å to 1800 Å and an angular resolution of 3.5 arc minutes, designed for imaging in the far ultraviolet. The FAUST telescope operated on board of the space shuttle Atlantis during the ATLAS-1 mission and imaged 22 sky fields. Details of the image reconstruction and performance are given in Bowyer et al. (1993). A catalog of the 4698 UV sources detected by FAUST and of their optical identification, based on positional coincidence with entries from catalogues of stars and galaxies, was produced by Bowyer et al. (1995). Most of the 22 fields were analyzed at the Tel Aviv University and accurate identifications were obtained with the help of ground-based spectroscopy. The results of this systematic analysis have already been presented for the following sky regions: the North Galactic Pole (Brosch et al. 1995); the Virgo cluster region (Brosch et al. 1997); the Coma Cluster region (Brosch et al. 1998); the Fourth Galactic Quadrant region (Brosch et al. 2000a); a region near the North Galactic Pole (Brosch et al. 2000b) and the Antennae and NGC 6752 regions (Daniels et al. 2001). One of the fields observed by FAUST is centered at $`\alpha `$1950=17h20m, $`\delta `$1950=-20000’, on the outskirts of the Ophiuchus cloud, 140.3 NE from the center of the molecular cloud, in a very crowded, low galactic latitude region.

The total sky area covered by the FAUST Ophiuchus image is $``$ 49.4 square degrees ($`\mathrm{}^{}`$). We analyzed this image using an impartial source detector algorithm (Brosch et al. 1995), that was adopted for the FAUST fields already analyzed at Tel-Aviv. This algorithm takes into account the different image depths that affect various regions of the image and is characterized by a signal-to-noise threshold (Brosch et al. 1997). This impartial automatic algorithm detected 228 UV sources in the Ophiuchus FAUST frame. The FAUST image is shown in Fig 1.

Table 1 lists the coordinates of the detected sources with their calculated coordinates and their UV magnitude. The UV monochromatic magnitude is defined as

$$m_{UV}=21.1752.5log(FD)$$
(1)
where the flux density FD is in erg/sec/cm2/Å. The flux density was derived from the count rate of FAUST, as explained in Brosch et al. (1995). The error in the flux takes into account both the instrumental error and the systematic one resulting from the laboratory calibration of FAUST, as explained in Brosch et al. (1997). Fig 2 shows the distribution in UV flux of the detected sources expressed as monochromatic magnitudes.

As previously mentioned, FAUST sources in this field have already been extracted by Bowyer et al. (1995)-FSC using a flux-limited algorithm. We compared our detections with that from FSC and found that all but nine sources have already been listed in the FSC. Although the detection methods are different, we believe that these additional sources are true detections. The last column of Table 1 lists the number of the source in the FSC catalog. An asterisk marks the nine new detections.

## 3 Identifications of the FAUST sources

The first approach to the identification work has been the search for positional coincidence with various catalogues such as the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO 1966) and the Hipparcos Input Catalog (Turon et al. 1993), mainly through the SIMBAD data base. In addition to the positional coincidence (3’x3’ error box), some astrophysical constraints have been applied, such as that when more than one counterpart lies in the error box of a UV source, the bluest or brightest or earlier-type star was accepted. This search led to a positive identification of 166 sources($``$ 73 %).

For the remaining sources no plausible counterpart could be found using correlations with catalogues entries. This sky region is very crowded, owing to the low galactic latitude of the FAUST frame, and a visual inspection of the E and O prints of the Palomar Sky Survey (PSS) does not allow one to select a reasonable number of candidates among the many stars inside the error box of the UV source.

The adopted approach was to first narrow down the list of possible objects by obtaining multicolor broad-band photometry of the region around each of the unidentified UV sources. The color–color diagram for all the stars inside the error box was used to select the bluest objects, and low-resolution spectra were obtained for these in order to assign a most probable counterpart to the FAUST source.

## 4 Ground-based observations

The search for an optical counterpart to the unidentified FAUST UV sources was performed with ground-based photometry and spectroscopy obtained at the Wise Observatory.

### 4.1 Multicolor photometry

For each of the 62 unidentified FAUST sources, three CCD short exposures have been obtained in blue, visual and red (B, V, R) at the 1m telescope of the Wise Observatory. The camera used is a Tektronix thinned and back-illuminated 1024 x 1024 pixel CCD, which images a field of view of 12’.

Typical exposure times were 180 sec for B, 90 sec for V, and 80 sec for R. Photometric reduction was performed using the DAOPHOT package, and the instrumental magnitudes and color indices (b–v) and (v–r) were obtained for all the stars inside a 3’x3’ error box around each UV source.

The mean intrinsic colors of a star of a given spectral type and luminosity class are well-defined (Johnson 1966). This implies that a color-color diagram can be used to select stars of different spectral types. By plotting the instrumental color indices for all the objects within the error box, the bluest (or earliest-type) stars should reside in a well-defined part of the diagram.

However, the mean colors are well-determined only for unreddened stars. Hence we must address the question on how reddening may affect the measured colors and if the use of reddened colors could bias our selection procedure, which is based on the (b–v) and (v–r) colors. In the following, we assume that there are no significant color terms in the transformation from instrumental to standard colors. This is justified by numerous absolute-photometry studies performed at the Wise Observatory with CCD cameras.

We plot in Fig 3 the mean colors (B–V)0 versus (V–R)0 for main-sequence, giant and supergiant stars (Johnson 1966). Note that the intrinsic (B–V)0 of a B0 type main sequence star is -0.30 while it is (B–V)0= +0.82 for a K0 star. It can be seen that, up to (B–V)0 $``$ 1.0, the locus of the intrinsic colors of the stars is well-defined as a linear relation with an approximate slope of 0.80 for all the luminosity classes. The lines representing the supergiant and bright giant stars diverge from the main sequence line only for the very red stars with (B-V)$`>`$1.0. From the average extinction curve (Savage & Mathis 1979), the slope of the reddening line E(V–R)/E(B–V) is 0.78, very similar to the slope of the intrinsic color-color relation. Hence, the use of instrumental colors instead of intrinsic ones will only underestimate the spectral type along the reddening line. This increases our confidence that the use of the two-color diagram (v–r) versus (b–v) is a suitable tool for selecting the blue color-excess objects inside the error box of the FAUST source.

Fig 4 shows the PSS image of the field around the UV source N.92, whose location is marked by a cross. The brightest star in the field is HD 156169, classified as K0 III.

Three short CCD exposures in B, V, and R were obtained for this field and blue, visual and red instrumental magnitudes were measured for all the objects in a 3’x3’ box centered on the cross. The (b–v) versus (v–r) diagram is shown in Fig 5. It can be seen that all the measured objects, including the one marked by an asterisk, lie on a well defined range of color indices. This object, characterized by the bluest instrumental (b–v) color, was picked up as the possible counterpart to the UV source to be observed spectroscopically. This star, marked by an arrow in Fig 4, was observed later at the Wise Observatory and classified as an early-A type of the proper apparent V magnitude to have the measured UV flux. This test demonstrates the validity of selecting counterparts of UV sources based on color-color diagrams.

For all the UV sources (but one) for which we applied the photometric method, the two-color diagram allowed the selection of one or a few candidates with a blue color excess.

The magnitudes and colors used for the selection are instrumental. Our color calibration is poor, since photometric standard stars were obtained only on a few of the observation nights. We compared the Wise calibrated magnitudes with the $`m_v`$ magnitude from the Guide Star Catalog (Lasker et al. 1987) and found a systematic difference of 0.1 mag for our visual magnitude; this is quite acceptable and does not affect the selection criteria.

Fig. 6 shows the calibrated V–R versus B–V for the stars measured at Wise. The colors for main sequence stars of known spectral type (Johnson 1966) are also marked. It is evident that if we correct for the systematic shift in our magnitudes, and apply the 0.1 mag shift to the visual magnitude, the measured points will lie on the the photoelectric relation.

### 4.2 Spectroscopy

The next step was to obtain spectra of the color-excess candidates, selected by the multicolor photometry. We used the FOSC (Faint Object Spectrometer Camera) at the f/7 focal position of the 1.0-meter telescope at the Wise Observatory and the Tektronix 1024x1024 pixel CCD. The wavelength coverage used was from $`4000`$Å to $`8000`$Å with a resolution of $`4`$Å per pixel. All images were bias-subtracted and flat-fielded, and all spectra were extracted and wavelength and flux-calibrated using IRAF.

Spectral types were derived by comparing the observed spectra with those in the spectral atlases of Jacoby et al. (1984) and of Silva & Cornell (1992). Spectral subclass types could not be assigned, since the spectral coverage did not include the blue region from $`3800`$Å to $`4000`$Å where the relevant lines are located. Only a broad subclass is defined here, such as early or late, and is marked in Table 2 with the symbols e or l. Most spectra show only prominent Balmer absorption lines and are classified as early–type stars, from mid–B to late–A or F.

The low resolution of the spectra prevents a luminosity classification, but supergiants appear in most cases to be ruled out, because supergiant B stars have almost no H$`\alpha `$ absorption while late-A supergiants show reasonably deep He I $`\lambda 5876`$Å absorption.

Table 2 lists the optical counterparts to the FAUST sources and their spectral types obtained from SIMBAD or derived from our observations. The spectroscopic observations obtained at Wise allowed us to assign a spectral type to 60 stars among the 62 unidentified sources.

## 5 Results

The most evident result is that all the UV sources but one have been positively associated with a star of known or observed spectral type. This very high percentage of identifications is the result of our extensive observational program. For one source, N.207, no suitable candidate could be selected from the photometry. For N.97, the bluest candidate selected by the photometry was too faint to be observed with the FOSC camera. A globular cluster (M9) is identified as the optical counterpart of source N.102.

Table 3 lists the distribution of the identified sources according to spectral type.

It is clear that almost all the stars belong to the B or A spectral types. No star later than G was found. Only two sources, N.96 and N.152, are identified with an early G-type star. The \[UV-v\] color for both these stars is negative, while normal G stars are much brighter in the visual range than in the UV. Such a strong UV excess may be due to the presence of some coronal activity or of a hot companion hidden by the late -type star.

Six UV sources are identified with Am or Ap stars. These stars are known to have weak UV flux with respect to the regular A-type stars. While this is true for the Am stars identified with the UV sources N.64 and N.222, the \[UV-v\] colors of Ap stars cover the range of normal A-type stars.

Fig. 7 shows the distribution of the FAUST magnitude versus the instrumental (UV–v) color. There are two points at the extremes of Fig. 7.

The object at the extreme right, N.74, is the faintest UV source detected in this sample and the error in its UV flux is very large ($``$ 45 % ); this affects the error in the color index as well. The point at the extreme left corresponds to source N.228. The (FAUST-v) color of this object is very negative, as expected for a very hot object or a subdwarf. Below we will show that this object is indeed a white dwarf.

### 5.1  A search for Hidden Subluminous Stars

No white dwarf (WD) or hot subdwarf (sd) stars were found as optical counterparts of the FAUST sources using the methods described above. This result is similar to that found in the identification of UV sources in the Virgo FAUST field (Brosch et al. 1997). A deficiency in hot evolved stars was found in other FAUST fields (e.g., Daniels et al. 2001). This could be the result of the lack of such objects in the catalogues from which possible counterparts are selected.

Hot subluminous stars are numerous among blue objects. Systematic colorimetric surveys, such as the Palomar Green (PG: Green et al. 1986) or the US Survey (Usher and Mitchell 1990), show that these objects indeed dominate the population of blue stars down to B=16.5.

Furthermore, far-ultraviolet surveys such as those by the ROSAT Wide Field Camera (Pye et al. 1995) and by the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) (Bowyer et al. 1994, 1996) discovered a substantial number (120) of hot WDs (Barstow et al. 1994a, Barstow et al. 1994b, Marsh et al. 1997, Burleigh et al. 1997). The WDs detected by EUVE are very hot objects, with temperatures greater than several 104 K, whereas FAUST essentially covers lower effective temperatures. At the limit magnitude of our sample of $`m_v12`$, a WD would be a very luminous object ($`M_V`$10). Very few such objects were found by the PG survey.

The number density of WD up to $`M_V`$10 in the PG survey is about 0.04 per 1000 $`pc^3`$ (Boyle 1989). With a maximal distance to detect WD with FAUST set at 25 pc, our sampled volume is $``$ 150 pc3 with an expected total number of WDs to $`M_V`$10 of 6 x 10-3. Furthermore, this prediction is an upper limit, since our sample of UV sources is not magnitude-limited.

In order to search for the missing sd/WD stars in our field we take advantage of the photometric and astrometric information provided by the Hipparcos satellite. We cross-identified our UV sources positions with objects in the Main Part of the Tycho catalog (ESA 1997). For all the UV stars under considerations a Tycho entry is available and a parallax value is significant for 46 entries. Table 4 gives the information retrieved from the Tycho catalog for all the stars and the derived distance (d) and absolute magnitude (MV). Table 4 lists also the proper motion components in milliarsec/yr.

Fig. 8 shows the distribution of the proper motion modulus ($`\mu `$) with respect to the calculated distance (d). As expected for the low galactic latitude of the Ophiuchus field, the sample is composed of stars with small proper motions, consistent with their membership in the disk.

The parallax precision ($`\sigma `$$`/`$$`\pi `$) is very large for all the stars in Table 4 but one, namely SAO 1854091 identified with the source N.222. The median errors of the Hipparcos and Tycho parallaxes increase with apparent magnitude. However, even at the faintest Hipparcos magnitudes (V $``$ 10.5), the median error amounts to few milliarsec(mas) (see The Hipparcos and Tycho catalogues, Fig 3.2.26 and Fig. 3.2.39).

For Tycho parallaxes the median standard error is larger (see The Hipparcos and Tycho catalogues, Fig 3.3.14 and Fig. 3.3.16). For instance at Tycho magnitudes $`V_T=11`$ it amounts to $`50`$ mas. The better precision for Hipparcos stars is implied by the different characteristic of the catalogues, where Hipparcos selected the brighter stars while the Tycho Catalog is a survey of all stars down to its sensitivity limits.

We neglected the presence of extinction in the line of sight and this omission impacts on the assigned absolute magnitude in Table 4. The interstellar extinction is very patchy (Schlegel et al. 1998) and in the Ophiuchus region $`A_v`$ spans from 1 to more than 3 mag.

The parallax errors for almost all the entries in Table 4 are very large. Observation errors that exceed a few mas are an indication of systematic problems in the Hipparcos data reduction. A large error can indicate that the parallax is actually too small to be measured, or can be due to the presence of an undetected multiple system (Perryman et al. 1995)

Fig. 9 shows the histogram of the absolute magnitudes listed in Table 4. The spectral classification of these stars spans types from B to early F, and one would expect that MV should be $``$ 3.9 (Allen 1973) if these would be main-sequence stars, while a significant number of objects in Fig. 9 have faint MV values, as expected for WD or subdwarf stars. Note that the absolute V magnitude of a sdB subdwarf is $`M_V=4.2\pm 0.7`$ (Heber 1986), while that of WDs ranges from 9.5 to 16.5. Vauclair et al. (1997) analyzed the parallaxes obtained by the Hipparcos mission with values obtained through ground observations, including the one-sigma measurements, and found a 2/3 fraction of agreements, compatible with the listed 1 sigma errors. Reid (1997) and Gratton et al (1997) compared the parallax measurements from ground-based data with new ones obtained by the Hipparcos satellite for a sample of subdwarfs. The Hipparcos parallaxes are systematically smaller so that the derived absolute magnitude are on average brighter. After applying the statistical correction for the Lutz-Kelker systematic bias towards overestimating parallax measurements, the mean difference in absolute magnitude is 0.53 $`\pm `$ 0.14 mag.

The MV calculated in Tab 4 for the stars of known spectral type seems systematically underestimated with the respect to the value corresponding to their spectral type and this effect is due to the inaccuracy of the parallax. The astrophysical interest of Tycho parallaxes is restricted to to the brighter stars (Høg et al. 1997) Hence, we may conclude that the search for subluminous stars on the basis of the parallax data of Table 4 is rather unreliable.

Many of the stars in Table 4 are catalogued as stars of known spectral type and some are stars observed at the Wise telescope during the identification program. It is possible, however, that some have not been recognized as subluminous stars at the low resolution and low signal-to-noise quality of the spectra obtained for the FAUST sources identification program.

In an effort to find the most probable subluminous stars among the FAUST stars, we calculated the predicted UV flux at the FAUST wavelength, performing synthetic photometry (section 5.2). Furthermore, we embarked in a follow-up spectroscopic observational program of the candidates, i.e., of the objects showing a FAUST magnitude much brighter than the predicted one (section 5.3). The purpose of these observations was to cull the high gravity stars from the sample of ultraviolet-excess objects, by checking the Balmer line profiles against models.

### 5.2 Predicting the expected UV magnitude

In order to find the most probable subluminous stars hidden among dwarf stars, we calculate the predicted UV flux of a star of a given spectral type and luminosity, using synthetic photometry from spectral data. A code has been developed (Formiggini, in preparation) that uses theoretical and empirical stellar libraries (mainly from IUE). For each specific wavelength and specific filter, the code is able to predict the monochromatic magnitude

$$UV_\lambda =2.5logf_\lambda +const$$
(2)
If no spectral information is available for a star, the (B-V) color is used and the UV magnitude is predicted only on the basis of the photometric information. This code has already been successfully tested for the Virgo FAUST sources listed in the Tycho catalog. The magnitudes predicted for the Virgo UV sources are well-correlated with the FAUST measured ones. A complete discussion of the results of this code, applied to all the FAUST sources, will be presented in a forthcoming paper (Formiggini, in preparation). A preliminary version of this code has been tested on the photometric data set of the TD-1 catalog (Thompson et al. 1978) with satisfactory results.

We applied the code to the sample of 46 stars identified as counterparts of the Ophiuchus FAUST sources for which parallaxes are listed in the Tycho catalog. The visual and blue magnitudes listed in the Tycho catalog have been used for the prediction of the UV magnitudes. The magnitude calculated by the code can be used as an indication of the UV emission expected if the object is a main-sequence star. Fig. 10 shows the measured FAUST magnitudes with respect to the predicted ones. The predicted magnitudes are fainter than the measured ones by one to two magnitudes; this systematic effect will be addressed in the forthcoming paper.

However, the relevant result of the prediction for the present discussion is the definition of a region inside the dotted lines in Fig. 10, which is populated by the majority of the stars listed in Table 4. There are 13 stars outside this region for which FAUST measured a brighter UV magnitude than the one predicted on the basis of the photometric color.

In Fig. 9 we marked, in each magnitude bin, the number of the UV source as listed in Table 1 of each such star. According to their MV, all these stars but one, should belong to the subdwarf or white dwarf luminosity classes. The source N. 222 is classified as an Am star and the metallic lines affect the (B–V) color used for the prediction. Actually, there are twelve ultraviolet excess sources with MV $``$ 5; these are the best candidates for hidden subluminous stars.

### 5.3  Spectroscopic Observations

The twelve UV sources with MV $``$ 5 and with a predicted FAUST magnitude much brighter than the measured one, as explained in the previous paragraph, were observed with the 1.0 meter telescope at the Wise Observatory. The FOSC was used with a 2” slit and a 600 g/mm grism. This yields a wavelength coverage from $`3400`$Å to $`7100`$Å at a spectral resolution of $`3.67`$Å per pixel. Although the spectral resolution is not significantly higher than that used in the earlier identification observations, the exposure times were longer in order to achieve a good signal-to-noise.

The spectra were reduced using standard techniques. Pixel-to-pixel sensitivity variations were removed using flat-field spectra acquired at the beginning of each night, and wavelength calibration was achieved using He-Ar arc spectra observed after each object spectrum. A bright star of known spectroscopical type was observed with the same configuration as used for program stars. The spectra could not be flux calibrated, owing to the narrow slit compared to the seeing size; some of the starlight was lost. Since the purpose of these observations is to cull high-gravity stars from the sample, only relative calibration in a restricted spectral segment is required for profile analysis.

### 5.4 The line profiles

Table 5 lists the observed objects. The spectra of source N.92 were of bad quality and were discarded.

A visual inspection of the higher quality spectra reveals the presence of moderately broadened Balmer lines for all the objects observed but one, N. 220. Broad and shallow Balmer lines are the characteristic allowing us to isolate the subdwarf class among the hot stars, since line profiles depend very sensitively on the value of gravity (g) and on temperature (Teff). The absence of the absorption line He II 4686 indicates that the sdO class cannot be assigned to one of the nine objects discussed here.

A reliable determination of stellar atmospheric parameters can be obtained by simultaneously fitting observed line profiles to appropriate model atmospheres. This has been done by many authors using grids of model stellar atmospheres. For instance, such models, in local thermodynamic equilibrium(LTE) and non-LTE, and taking into account the blanketing process, have been computed and used by Saffer et al. (1994) for sdB stars. However the models used by Saffer et al. have not been published.

We found in the literature available models which are the results of a grid of LTE and of some NLTE and blanketed pure-hydrogen models, calculated by Wesemael et al. (1980). These pioneering models are still valid for the aim of our analysis. The influence of NLTE effects and metal-line blanketing on hydrogen line profiles of high gravity stars has been investigated by Napiwotzki (1997) and by Barstow et al. (1998). The NLTE effects are significant only at highest temperatures and at low log g, and the differences are detected only in the core and only at high spectral resolution (Saffer 1994). The metal-line blanketing is more dominant at the the temperature of sdB (see Napiwotzki (1997), fig 10) and should be taken into account for an accurate determination of the atmosphere parameters. More recently, a completely new grid of stellar atmosphere models have been calculated (Barstow et al 2001) using the code TLUSTY (Hubeny and Lanz 1995).

Since the aim of this work is to isolate the subluminous stars, without embarking in an accurate determination of the atmospheric parameters, we compared the Balmer profiles of the observed spectra with the LTE unblanketed model profiles published by Wesemael et al. (1980).

The theoretical line profiles were convolved with the instrumental resolution profile. This profile was determined from the emission lines produced by the He-Ar comparison lamp, and was approximated by a Gaussian profile of FWHM $`6.2`$Å . No simulated continuum, such as a Poisson noise, was added to the model profiles, and no convolution with a rotation broadening function was performed. Rotation could affect the line cores, while we are interested in the change in the line wings due to effective temperature and surface gravity variations. Saffer et al (1994) found that only for very large velocities ($`100`$ $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$) the stellar rotation can perturb the line wings.

Around the Balmer line rest wavelength, two symmetrical $`100`$Å segments of the observed spectrum were extracted, sufficiently far from the line to define adequately the continuum on either side of it. The local slope of the continuum was subtracted from the spectrum. The observed and theoretical line profiles were interpolated and rectified to a linear continuum in a consistent manner.

Fig 11 shows the H$`\beta `$ line profile for the nine objects observed. In some profiles there is a residual systematic deviation in the continuum spectral slope between the model and the data, which should be dealt with for an accurate analysis. The dashed line in Fig 11 is the model profile from Wesemael et al. (1980) for log g=6 and $`T_{eff}=30000`$K. For N.214 and N.228 the dashed line corresponds to a higher gravity model, while the source N.220 shows a narrow line profile.

A proper model atmosphere analysis requires a simultaneous line-by-line analysis. The models in Fig 11 are only indicative and we do not claim that this fitting is a final and authoritative determination of the exact temperature or/and gravity. We can only state that low-gravity models, such as for dwarf stars, are inappropriate for all the candidates observed but N.220.

Another approach is to compare the spectral profile with real stellar atmospheres, such as the spectrum of a dwarf star and of a white dwarf observed under the same conditions as the candidate stars. We observed WD 2032+248 (G186-31), classified as a DA white dwarf with atmospheric parameters $`T_{eff}=19980`$K and log g=7.83 (Bergeron et al. 1992) , and the A0 V star BD +26 2606, which was observed every night. Fig 12a and Fig 12b show the H$`\beta `$ line profile of BD +26 2606 superposed to that for the objects N.211 and N.228. In Fig 12c the H$`\beta `$ line profile for WD 2032+248 is compared with that of N.228. These comparisons enhance the reliability of the classification of the candidates as sdB/WD stars.

Our spectral data are a fair confirmation of the presence of high-gravity atmospheres, i.e., of the presence of a substantial number of subluminous stars in the Ophiuchus FAUST sample. Two of the observed candidates can be fitted with atmospheres of log g $`7`$, as for white dwarfs stars, and six are sdB stars.

Many sdB stars are members of binary systems with cool companions. Analyzing the spectral distribution of a sample of 34 sdB, Aznar Cuadrado and Jeffrey (2001) estimate the sdB binary fraction between 56 % to 100% that have a main sequence star companion. The presence of an undetectable binary companion could indeed be the source of the inaccuracy of the astrometric data.

The spatial distribution of sdB is important for a description of their evolutionary scenario and for the links with other types of stars. sdB stars are one of the evolutionary channels and direct progenitors to white dwarfs. The space density of sdB at bright magnitudes is poorly defined. Complete samples are needed for such investigations, or alternatively a reliable estimate of the completeness of such samples. However the uncertainty on the scale-height distribution adopted, uniform or exponential, make the completeness correction quite difficult.

The PG survey is one of the largest and most studied survey of sdBs. It is, however, generally accepted that the PG sample is quite incomplete at bright magnitudes ($``$ B=12.5). Villeneuve et al (1995) review the problem of completeness and give a revised space density of 3 $`\pm `$ 1 \*10-7 pc-3 and an exponential scale height of the order of 450 $`\pm `$ 150 pc, or alternatively an isothermal disk scale height of 600 $`\pm `$ 150 pc. Mitchell (1998) claims a mix of disk and halo populations. A significant halo component for sdB stars supports the hypothesis of similar spatial distributions for sdB and sdO stars and hence the possibility of an evolutionary process relating sdB and sdO.

A comprehensive search for previously unrecognized subdwarfs in the Hipparcos catalogue has been carried out by Reid at al (2001). Among the stars with parallaxes measured to a precision better than 15 per cent, only few (nine) such stars were discovered. Our analysis shows that combining the UV information with even poorly determined parallaxes, some new sdB are detected, and that indeed more such bright stars are still unrecognized in the existing samples. We are extending this analysis to the other FAUST fields previously identified at the Wise Observatory.

### 5.5 Possible members of the Ophiuchus molecular cloud

The Hipparcos distance of four stars in Table 4 is comparable to the distance of the Ophiuchus molecular cloud with which they appear associated, and their position is about 12o away from the $`\rho `$ Ophiuchus core. Their mean transverse velocity, calculated from the proper motion, is 14 $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$.

Star formation in molecular clouds occurs in two different environments; in small, isolated and dense regions distributed throughout the molecular cloud, such as in Orion, or in a single massive concentration of dense gas, such as the $`\rho `$ Ophiuchi core (Lada et al. 1993). The accumulation of dense gas evolves through star formation, to form a embedded cluster of stars. Dynamical relaxation process, such as energy equipartition, leads to the massive stars releasing potential energy and sinking towards the center while the less massive stars gain kinetic energy and ”evaporate” leaving the cluster and the cloud.

The four stars which have the distance of the Ophiuchus cloud have spectral type later than A7 and are not massive. We suggest that these four stars could have escaped the young cluster by this process of stellar-dynamical evaporation and migrated far away from the region of their formation. At a distance of 125 pc, and with a mean velocity of 14 $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, the evaporation process took place some 3 Myr ago.

## 6 Conclusions

We have analyzed the UV FAUST image in the direction of the Ophiuchus molecular cloud and detected 228 UV sources. Optical identification was presented for all sources. Multicolor broad-band photometry was used in selecting the candidates, followed by low-resolution spectroscopy. Spectral types are presented for 60 stars newly identified as optical counterparts of the UV sources. Most of the UV sources were identified as early-type stars. The Hipparcos/Tycho information was used to calculate the absolute magnitude of these stars. Some 39 UV sources are associated with hot sub-luminous stars, however, the large errors in the parallax measurements prevent a conclusive classifications of them as sd/WD stars.

Synthetic photometry of spectral data was performed in order to predict the expected UV emission, on the basis of the photometric information from Tycho. The comparison of the predicted emission with the FAUST measured magnitudes allowed us to select twelve stars as highly probable hot stars. High signal-to-noise spectra were obtained for nine of these stars and Balmer line profiles were compared with the prediction of atmosphere models and with the spectrum of real stellar atmospheres. Among the nine candidates, six were classified as previously unrecognized sdB stars and two as white dwarfs. The lack of completeness of our sample prevented us from estimating of the local density of subdwarfs. However, our result indicates that more bright subluminous stars are missed in the existing samples.

## Acknowledgments

The UV astronomy effort at Tel Aviv is supported by special grants to develop a space UV astronomy experiment (TAUVEX) from the Ministry of Science, and from the Austrian Friends of Tel Aviv University. Part of this study was supported by a grant from the US-Israel Bi-national Science Foundation. Observations at the Wise Observatory are supported by a Center for Excellence Grant from the Israel Science Foundation. This paper made use of the SIMBAD data base operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. We acknowledge help with this project, at various stages, from Ms. Susanna Steindling, Ms. Orly Kovo and Mr. E. Goldberg and discussions with Martin Barstow.