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# Hole-doping dependence of percolative phase separation in Pr0.5-δCa0.2+δSr0.3MnO3 around half doping

## I INTRODUCTION

What is the origin of the “Colossal Magnetoresistance” (CMR)? Since the discovery of the CMR, an extensive research effort was done in this subject in order to elucidate the reasons for the appearance of an enormous reduction of the resistivity ($`\rho `$) with the application of a magnetic field ($`H`$) in the manganese perovskites A1-xA$`{}_{x}{}^{}{}_{}{}^{}`$MnO3 (A=La, Pr, Nd, Y and A=Ca, Sr, Ba) and in other related half metals. However, the complexity of the phase diagrams of these compounds indicate that the underlying mechanism of the CMR is not universal. In addition, the single- or poly-crystalline character of the samples also influences the magnetotransport response of the material. In strongly ferromagnetic (FM) compounds like La2/3Sr1/3MnO3, the single crystals exhibit the CMR at the vicinity of the Curie temperature $`T_C`$ as a linear decrease of $`\rho `$ with $`H`$ associated to the reduction of spin fluctuations, while polycrystals show a very different behavior, with a large fall of $`\rho `$ at low fields (LFMR) followed by a much slower decrease of the resistance. The LFMR is related to the reduction of the missalignment of the magnetization of contiguous grains and is enhanced with decreasing $`T`$. On the other hand, a much higher decrease of several orders of magnitude of $`\rho `$ is achieved in charge-ordered antiferromagnetic (CO/AFM) compounds like (Pr,Nd)1/2Ca1/2MnO3. In this case the CMR is related to the transformation of the CO/AFM state into the FM metallic one, however magnetic fields of several tens of Teslas are necessary to observe this effect.

In the recent past, an interesting and potentially useful phenomenon of phase separation (PS) have been discovered. The PS consists of the simultaneous coexistence of two or more magnetic (electronic) phases, like the FM, CO/AFM and paramagnetic (PM) ones. In phase separated manganites, the metal-insulator (MI) transitions occur in a percolative way, and a high CMR is achieved with moderated fields. With the application of a magnetic field an increase of the FM clusters is favored and the resistivity decreases due to the improvement of the geometrical factor for the current transport. Several workers have started to address the problem of percolation of the binary metal-insulator mixture, such as critical percolation thresholds and critical exponents, and its relation to CMR. However, the wide range of possibilities given by the phase diagrams of low-bandwidth manganites makes these works just the beginning of the subject. For example, the major part of that previous research was done near doping $`3/8`$, where CO appears at high $`T`$ (but lower than $`T_{CO}`$) and the ground state is essentially FM metallic. On the other hand, in compounds presenting PS near half doping, as for example Pr0.5Ca0.2Sr0.3MnO3, Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3, and La0.5Ca0.5MnO3, the high temperature phase is the FM one (below $`T_C`$), and lowering $`T`$ below $`T_{CO}`$ it turns to a CO/AFM state.

The PS is observed in compounds which are located near first order MI transitions. In this sense, random disorder has been shown to play a fundamental role due to its ability to overcome the small energy difference between the competing phases near the transition, thus inducing the inhomogeneous state. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies at low $`T`$ in (La1-yPry)5/8Ca3/8MnO3 have shown that in the CO/AFM matrix there exist FM clusters of irregular shape with a size of several hundred of nanometers. These observations make unlikely the charge segregation in this kind of phase separation, contrary to that observed in slightly doped AFM manganites. The FM correlations inside a mainly CO/AFM phase is also observed in magnetization ($`M`$) measurements, which exhibit a clear FM component that allows to estimate the overall FM phase fraction $`X`$.

The first order MI transition can be tuned, for example, by changing the average ionic radius of the A-site $`r_A`$. This is the case of the Pr0.65Ca0.35-xSrxMnO3 manganite, which for $`x=0`$ is CO/AFM and for $`x=0.35`$ is FM metallic, while in the $`x=0.10`$ composition the PS between these phases is observed. In the (La0.25Pr0.75)0.7Ca0.3MnO3 compound, Babushkina et al. have explored the MI transition by partial oxygen isotope substitution.

In the present paper, we tune the MI transition by changing the hole concentration ($`n`$) in Pr0.5-δCa0.2+δSr0.3MnO3, where $`n=0.5+\delta `$, around half doping ($`0.46n0.54`$). Since the ionic radius of the Pr3+ and Ca2+ ions are similar, the advantage of this system is that $`r_A`$ is kept constant, so the changes in the physical properties are intrinsically related to the variation of $`n`$. We show that almost the complete phase diagram of these samples is phase separated below $`T_C`$. In the whole temperature range the amount of FM phase continuously decreases with increasing $`n`$. In addition, the low temperature MI transition of the $`n0.5`$ samples is of percolative nature, i.e. for $`T_{MI}<T<T_{CO}`$ the resistivity decreases with increasing $`T`$ due to the enlargement of $`X`$. In this $`T`$ range the conductivity is successfully described in terms of the usual percolation theory, though possible geometrical and low-dimensional effects need to be considered. The CMR behavior for percolated samples is very different to that of the nonpercolated ones.

## II EXPERIMENT

Powdered samples of Pr0.5-δCa0.2+δSr0.3MnO3 were prepared by the nitrate decomposition route. The raw materials (CO3Sr, CO3Ca and metallic Mn and Pr) were mixed in the stoichiometric amounts and disolved in nitric acid for the nitrates formation. Then the nitrates were heated at 800C in air for 16h for their decomposition. The resulting powders were pressed into pellets and treated in air at 1450C for 12h. Finally, the samples were cooled down to 800C at 3C/min and then quenched to room temperature.

The energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) experiments, carried out in a Philips 515 scanning electron microscope (SEM), indicate that the samples have no deviations from the nominal stoichiometry within the experimental resolution. The SEM observations also show well connected grains, whose sizes range from $`3`$ to $`6\mu m`$. From thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) the oxygen content was found to be $`3.000\pm 0.001`$.

Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) data were recorded on a Phillips PW 1700 diffractometer using CuK$`\alpha `$ radiation and a graphite monochromator. X-ray data at room temperature were refined by the Rietveld method with the FULLPROF program.

The magnetization data as a function of $`T`$ and $`H`$ were measured between $`10`$ and $`300K`$ in a commercial SQUID magnetometer equipped with a $`5T`$ magnet. Electron spin resonance (ESR) experiments were carried out in a Bruker ESP-300 spectrometer at 34GHz (Q-band) for $`100KT300K`$. The electrical resistivity was measured by the usual four probe method in the $`5300K`$ temperature range with $`0H12T`$.

## III RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

### A X-ray diffraction

The XRD results show that the samples mainly belong to the orthorhombic $`Pbnm`$ space group. However, a minority amount of a tetragonal phase ($`I4/mcm`$ space group) is also present in the samples. In Fig. 1 we present the diffractogram of the sample $`n=0.54`$, which has been satisfactorily adjusted proposing a model with both symmetries (the small vertical bars below the XRD data indicate the position of the Bragg reflections of both symmetries). From the Rietveld refinements, we found that the amount of tetragonal phase increases with increasing $`n`$, from $`0\%`$ for $`n=0.46`$ to $`13\%`$ at $`n=0.54`$. In the inset of Fig. 1 we show a blow-up of the diffractograms of the $`n=0.46`$, $`0.50`$ and $`0.54`$ samples, for $`2\theta `$ between $`46.25^{}`$ and $`48.25^{}`$. In this plot, a small peak can be clearly observed at $`2\theta 46.5^{}`$ in the $`0.54`$ sample, which gradually disappears with decreasing $`n`$. As labeled in the figure, this peak corresponds to the (004) reflection of the $`I4/mcm`$ symmetry. On the contrary, the intensity of the larger peak at $`2\theta 47.2^{}`$ corresponding to the (220) reflection of the orthorhombic symmetry gradually increases with decreasing $`n`$. It can be also observed that the distortion of the majority orthorhombic phase is increased as $`n`$ increases, as indicated by the larger splitting between the (220) and (004) reflections of the $`Pbnm`$ space group.

Our XRD results are in agreement with the previous ones. The Pr0.7Sr0.3MnO3 ($`\delta =0.2`$ and $`n=0.30`$ in our notation) has been found to belong to the orthorhombic $`Pbnm`$ space group while in the Pr0.4Ca0.3Sr0.3MnO3 compound ($`\delta =0.1`$ and $`n=0.60`$) the orthorhombic phase was found to coexist with a small amount of the tetragonal one.

### B Magnetization and ESR measurements

The magnetization as a function of $`T`$ was measured at $`H=100Oe`$ in zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) processes, and is shown in Fig. 2 for all the samples studied. Although all the curves present similar transitions (PM to FM and then to AFM on lowering $`T`$), several differences are found. First at all, the $`M`$ values clearly decrease a factor $`15`$ as $`n`$ increases from $`0.46`$ to $`0.54`$. Second, qualitative differences can be observed between the samples in the left panels ($`n0.50`$) and those samples in the right ones ($`n>0.50`$). For $`n0.50`$ the temperature where the ZFC and FC data collapse on a single curve remarkably coincides with the maximum of $`|dM/dT|`$, thus we identify that temperature as $`T_C`$. However, for $`n>0.50`$ the $`T_C`$ is much higher than the $`T`$ where the maximum derivative occurs. In the following of the present section we will show that this behavior is related to the fact that the “FM” phase for the $`n>0.50`$ samples is not a true long-range-order ferromagnet, but a coexistence with a majority PM phase is the true state. For these samples, the $`T`$ of maximum derivative is an artifact generated by the growth of the FM phase fraction with decreasing $`T`$ below $`T_C`$. Similarly, the low-$`T`$ AFM state (at $`T<T_{CO}`$) is not a pure phase for all the samples, and it can be anticipated that the amount of FM component remains high in the $`n=0.46`$ sample, while it decreases as $`n`$ increases. An additional qualitative difference is observed for $`n`$ below and above $`0.5`$: for $`n>0.5`$ a second increase of $`M`$ is found for $`T`$ below $`T_h100K`$, which we assume to be induced by the extra holes added into the insulating band of the CO $`n=0.50`$ compound ($`\delta =0.02`$ and $`0.04`$ for $`n=0.52`$ and $`0.54`$, respectively).

The ESR spectra at 34GHz in Fig. 3 help us to distinguish the different magnetic contributions present in the samples. In this figure we present the results at four representative temperatures. In the spectra of the $`n=0.54`$ composition there is superimposed the signal of a dpph marker, indicating the position of the spectroscopic splitting factor at $`g=2.00`$.

Above $`T_C`$ \[see spectra in Fig. 3(d) at $`270K`$\], all samples exhibit a resonance line corresponding to the PM mode, centered at $`g1.97`$ (independent of $`T`$) with a linewidth of $`600Oe`$. The temperature $`207K`$ corresponds approximately to the position of maximum magnetization for all the samples. At this $`T`$, what can be observed is that for $`n=0.52`$ and $`0.54`$ a second broad signal appears mounted over the still present PM line. On the contrary, in the $`n0.50`$ samples the PM resonance is almost not observed and the broad line appears alone. This second resonance is associated with a FM mode, and exhibits very different characteristics with respect to the PM one, namely, the center field is shifted to lower fields due to the appearance of an internal field, the linewidth is substantially larger, and the line presents an important asymmetry between the maximum and the minimum with respect to the base line. In all cases, the temperature where the FM behavior begins to manifest coincides with $`T_C`$ (defined as the collapse of the ZFC and FC curves of Fig. 2). The different response for $`n>0.50`$ indicates that below $`T_C`$ these samples present a coexistence of the FM and PM phases. The onset of short-range FM order indicated by the splitting of the ZFC and FC data was also observed in the Pr0.65Ca0.35-xSrxMnO3 compound.

On lowering $`T`$ below the CO temperature $`T_{CO}175K`$ (the temperature transition to the AFM state) the PM line is totally lost in all the samples. At $`T=150K`$ the only observed response corresponds to the FM signal, which remains present also at $`100K`$. The presence of this signal indicates that below $`T_{CO}`$ all the samples are phase separated, exhibiting the coexistence of the CO/AFM and FM phases.

In the spectra at $`T=100K`$ it must be noted that the $`n>0.50`$ samples present an additional line \[labeled with an asterisk in Fig. 3(a)\] at low fields $`H2.5kOe`$. The appearance of this resonance coincides with the increase of $`M`$ below $`T_h`$. This resonance is likely not related to the FM phase, but it must occur within the CO volume. However, at this moment we cannot distinguish whether it is related to a homogeneous canting of the spins of the CO/AFM phase inducing a weak FM (WF) component or it corresponds to a third different (FM) phase. In spite of this, we note that WF modes in other materials have been found to appear at low fields.

In order to quantify the amount of FM phase we measured $`M(H)`$ curves. The temperature dependent zero-field FM phase fraction $`X(T)`$ can be estimated from the $`T`$ dependence of the spontaneous magnetization $`M_0`$ \[the back-extrapolation of $`M(H)`$ to $`H=0T`$\]. To that end, we have measured for all the samples several $`M(H)`$ curves at different temperatures below $`T_C`$. We show these data in Fig. 4. To obtain these curves, the samples were previously heated up to the PM phase, then were cooled in zero field down to $`10K`$ and finally heated again to the measurement temperature. Therefore, the $`X(T)`$ data that we obtain from these measurements correspond to a ZFC and increasing $`T`$ experiment.

The behavior observed in the $`M(H)`$ data of Fig. 4 even reinforce the features described above. It becomes clear in these curves that, although at $`T_{CO}175K`$ a FM to CO/AFM transition occurs, at $`10K`$ a FM component still persists. This FM component is another signature of the PS. It is also absolutely clear that at $`10K`$ none of the samples are totally FM since the saturated magnetization $`M_S(n)=(4n)\mu _B`$ is never reached.

The $`n=0.46`$ sample, with the highest $`X`$ exhibit FM-like curves. The sample with $`n=0.50`$, below $`T_{CO}`$ presents a pronounced hysteresis in the $`M(H)`$ curves. Initially these curves are also FM-like though they exhibit a low magnetization as compared with $`M_S`$, but above a threshold field of the order of $`1`$-$`2`$ Teslas $`M`$ begins to increase rapidly. This behavior is due to the increase of the FM volume with increasing $`H`$. The increase of $`X`$ with applied field is due to the gain of the Zeemann energy, which induces the swelling of the FM clusters. The need of a threshold field is probably related to the pinning of the interface between the FM and CO/AFM volumes. At $`10K`$, due to the hardness of the CO phase, fields much higher than $`5T`$ are needed to induce such a metamagnetic transition.

The samples with $`n>0.50`$ behave essentially similar at low $`T`$. However, for $`T>T_{CO}`$ these samples show, together with the small FM component, a predominant linear behavior at high fields. The slope is not other than the PM susceptibility that coexists with the short-range ferromagnetism. Indeed, when the temperature crosses $`T_C`$ to the PM state this slope is preserved at similar values while the FM component disappears.

From the data in Fig. 4 we obtain the zero-field $`X(T)`$ as in previous works, estimating from the Brillouin function the spontaneous magnetization $`M_{0FM}(T)`$ of a totally FM sample with the same $`M_S`$ and $`T_C`$. After that,

$$X(t)=\frac{M_0(t)}{M_{0FM}(t)}$$
(1)
where $`t=T/T_C`$ is the normalized temperature. Despite of the mean-field approximation, this method correctly reproduces the $`T`$ dependence of $`X`$. The obtained results for the five samples are presented in Fig. 5. This figure somehow summarizes the conclusions of the magnetic measurements. In the whole $`T`$ range $`X`$ decreases with increasing $`n`$. This result is consistent with that expected from the XRD observations. Since the structural distortion decreases with decreasing doping, it is natural that the FM metallic phase is more favored at lower $`n`$. A similar doping evolution of $`X`$ was observed by Huang et al. in La1-xCaxMnO3 for $`x`$ around $`0.5`$. At $`10K`$ the $`X`$ is $`67\%`$ for $`n=0.46`$ and $`4.6\%`$ for $`n=0.54`$ (a factor $`15`$, as in the $`M`$ vs $`T`$ curves of Fig. 2). At $`n=0.5`$ we obtain $`X18\%`$, comparable to the $`19\%`$ and $`22\%`$ of Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 and La0.5Ca0.5MnO3, respectively. For $`n=0.52`$ and $`0.54`$, if the increase of $`M`$ for $`T<T_h`$ were generated by a homogeneous canting of the AFM phase, the obtained $`X`$ at $`T<T_h`$ ($`T/T_C<0.4`$) would be slightly higher than the actual value since the canting contribution would be included in the measured spontaneous magnetization.

At intermediate temperatures ($`T/T_C0.7`$), the CO/AFM to FM transition is seen as an important increase of $`X`$. At high $`T`$, the $`n0.50`$ samples are almost totally FM and $`X`$ drops abruptly to zero at $`T_C`$, while the other two samples reach a maximum $`X12\%`$ at $`T/T_C0.75`$, after which the FM component smoothly vanishes as $`T`$ approaches $`T_C`$. It is now clear that for $`n>0.50`$, the variation of $`X`$ above its maximum is responsible for the difference between $`T_C`$ and the position of maximum derivative of the $`M(T)`$.

### C Percolative conductivity

In order to analyze the resistivity-FM fraction relation, we measured $`\rho `$ vs $`T`$ curves for all the samples at three different fields $`H=0`$, $`2`$, and $`9T`$, as shown in Fig. 6. Consequently with the $`X`$ behavior, the resistivity increases with increasing $`n`$. Even more notable, the samples with $`n0.5`$ present a MI transition at $`T_{MI}`$, while the $`n>0.5`$ samples show well insulating electrical properties with a resistivity several orders of magnitude higher. The abrupt change of $`\rho `$ from $`n=0.50`$ to $`0.52`$ (more than four orders of magnitude at low $`T`$) is a clear indication that the metal-insulator transition between these samples has a percolative nature, as expected for disorder induced PS. Also the MI transition as a function of temperature is of percolative type. As observed in Fig. 2, the samples with $`n<0.5`$ do not exhibit any magnetic transition at $`T_{MI}`$ justifying a metallic behavior below it. On the contrary, the abrupt fall of $`\rho `$ above $`T_{MI}`$ coincides with the $`T`$ range where the magnetization begins to increase when the system approaches the AFM to FM transition at $`T_{CO}`$ (the range $`0.4<T/T_C<0.7`$ in Fig. 5). Therefore, in this $`T`$ range the resistivity response is unmistakable related to the changes of the FM phase fraction, i.e. at $`T_{MI}`$ a percolative MI transition occurs. Between $`T_{MI}`$ and $`T_{CO}`$ the insulating-like response of $`\rho `$ is given by the enlargement of the metallic paths with increasing $`T`$. Below $`T_{MI}`$, where the FM phase fraction is frozen, the resistivity of the $`n0.5`$ samples present metallic characteristics (slightly decreases with decreasing $`T`$) due to the intrinsic dependence of the metallic volume, and the residual $`\rho `$ obviously decreases with increasing $`X`$. The fact that the samples with $`n`$ above $`0.5`$ are always insulating indicates that the percolation threshold is in between the $`X`$ values of the $`0.50`$ and $`0.52`$ samples.

In order to understand the percolative behavior, in the range $`T_{MI}<T<T_{CO}`$ we obtained the conductivity ($`\sigma =1/\rho `$) as a function of $`X`$ for $`n0.50`$. In this temperature range, $`\sigma `$ changes orders of magnitude due to the variation of $`X`$, thus the intrinsic $`T`$ dependence of the metallic paths can be neglected, at least for $`n=0.50`$ and $`0.48`$. The resulting $`\sigma (X)`$ data are shown in Fig. 7 (the $`\sigma `$ values were obtained from the $`H=0T`$ warming curve, as in the $`X`$ vs $`T`$ experiment of Fig. 5). In the usual percolation theory, the $`\sigma `$ vs $`X`$ relation for $`X`$ near above the percolation threshold (the so-called critical region) is given by

$$\sigma \left(XX_C\right)^t$$
(2)
where $`X_C`$ is the critical percolation threshold and $`t`$ is the critical exponent. The way to obtain both these parameters is to construct a $`\mathrm{log}\sigma `$-$`\mathrm{log}(XX_C)`$ plot, looking for the $`X_C`$ which gives the best linear relation. Once $`X_C`$ is obtained, the slope of this straight line is $`t`$. The proportionality factor in Eq. (2) is a sample dependent constant. In the inset of Fig. 7 we present the $`\mathrm{log}`$-$`\mathrm{log}`$ plot, where a quite fair linearity is observed and from which we obtained $`X_C=15.5(2)\%`$ and $`t=0.96(5)`$ (the $`\sigma `$ of the $`n=0.50`$ sample was multiplied by $`2.45`$ in order to scale with the $`0.48`$ data). The value of $`X_C`$ is in very good agreement with three-dimensional (3D) percolation, where thresholds between $`14`$ and $`19\%`$ are expected. This value of $`X_C`$ also gives now a quantitative support to the expectation that the $`n=0.52`$ and $`0.54`$ samples are not percolated. The horizontal dotted line in Fig. 5 indicates the position of $`X_C`$, and it is very clear that both these samples have a $`X`$ below the threshold in the whole temperature range. Therefore, the insulating state in these samples is an intrinsic behavior of the CO phase.

The almost linear relation between $`\sigma `$ and $`X`$ ($`t=0.96`$) is somewhat surprising. In manganites the critical exponents are usually found to be between $`2`$ and $`4`$. The implications of the value of $`t`$ will be discussed below.

In order to study the percolation physics in the presence of a magnetic field, we have repeated the above analysis with an applied field $`H=2T`$.

The magnetization of the $`n=0.48`$ and $`0.50`$ samples was measured by increasing $`T`$ at $`H=2T`$ after a FC process, since the $`\rho (T)`$ curves in Fig. 6 measured with nonzero field were obtained by this procedure. The $`M(T)`$ data are shown in Fig. 8, where all the magnetic transitions are still observed. In this case, the obtention of the FM phase fraction requires some considerations. On one hand, since the contribution of the AFM phase ($`M_{AFM}`$) at $`H=2T`$ is different from zero, contrary to the case of the zero-field (spontaneous) magnetization $`M_0`$, the value of $`M`$ is not directly proportional to $`X`$. Therefore, the $`M_{AFM}`$ needs to be subtracted. On the other hand, when comparing with the magnetization of a totally FM sample, it must be done at the field $`H=2T`$. However, this point can be neglected since for $`T`$ below $`0.75T_C`$, in a totally FM material the difference between the magnetization at $`H=2T`$ and the $`M_{0FM}`$ is negligibly small. For example, in the $`n=0.46`$ sample which at $`T=200K`$ ($`0.75T_C`$) has a zero-field $`X91\%`$, the $`M_0`$ is $`2.25\mu _B`$ while the $`M`$ at $`H=2T`$ is $`2.34\mu _B`$, i.e. the difference is $`4\%`$, even including a minor contribution of the AFM volume and a possible field-induced increase of $`X`$. Finally, with the above considerations we can write

$$MXM_{0FM}+(1X)M_{AFM}$$
(3)
The $`M_{AFM}`$ can be obtained from the parent compound Pr0.5Ca0.5MnO3, which is totally CO/AFM. Indeed, this compound exhibits well linear $`M(H)`$ curves with no spontaneous magnetization. In the $`T`$ range of our interest ($`75`$-$`175K`$), the susceptibility of this compound is weakly temperature dependent, lying between $`0.040`$ and $`0.045\mu _B/T`$, which indicates that $`M_{AFM}0.08`$-$`0.09\mu _B`$. After this contribution was taken into account, the $`X`$ at $`H=2T`$ was calculated from Eq. (3) and the $`\sigma `$ vs $`X`$ curve of Fig. 9 was obtained. In this case, to obtain the scaling with the $`n=0.48`$ sample, the conductivity of the $`n=0.50`$ one was multiplied by $`1.8`$. The $`\mathrm{log}`$-$`\mathrm{log}`$ plot of these data (inset of Fig. 9) also exhibits a good linear correlation with $`X_C=17.8(2)\%`$ (also in agreement with 3D percolation), and the slope gives an exponent $`t=1.21(3)`$, slightly higher than that without applied field. For comparison, in the same inset we have also included the straight line with slope $`t=0.96`$ (dotted line) in order to highlight the increase of the exponent with the magnetic field.

### D Critical exponents: Relation to percolation mechanisms

Regarding the critical exponent, some experimental works have been performed in PS manganites. In some of them, the authors used the exponent $`t=2`$ expected for a mean-field behavior of the 3D percolation problem and deduced $`X_C`$. In other cases, as in this paper both $`X_C`$ and $`t`$ were deduced, and the obtained exponents lie in the range $`2`$-$`4`$. However, these works were done at doping levels between $`0.3`$ and $`3/8`$, while our samples are situated around half doping. It is feasible that the precise percolation mechanism would depend on the doping level.

There are several ways to change the value of the critical exponent. A lot of experimental and theoretical work focused on this problem indicate that for 3D percolation, $`t`$ lies between $`1.5`$ and $`2`$. However, it has been shown that the conductivity exponent is nonuniversal, and specific geometrical configurations of the contacts between percolating clusters could shift $`t`$ to much higher values, e.g. by the formation of narrow necks. This is in agreement with the exponents found at the $`0.3`$-$`3/8`$ doping range, but in our case $`t`$ is well below $`1.5`$.

There are other ways to produce a decrease on the critical exponent. One of them is also related to the geometry of the percolating clusters. It must be taken into account that the important parameter is not the conductivity, but the percolation probability $`P(X)`$ must be considered. This probability represents the fraction of the sample which belongs to a percolated metallic path (thus $`P(X)X`$). The percolation probability also has a critical behavior as in Eq. (2) with an exponent $`s`$ which is typically $`0.5`$ for common lattice percolation models and $`s=1`$ for other sophisticated branching models which consider Bethe lattices. Then, the conductivity can be obtained as

$$\sigma (X)=\mu (X)P(X)$$
(4)
where $`\mu `$ is an effective mobility determined by the shape of the percolated (infinite) cluster. Therefore, the percolation probability $`P(X)`$ is an upper bound for the conductivity. The optimal case would occur if the connected region were arranged in regular arrays parallel to the applied electric field. This would result in the maximum $`\mu `$, and the ratio of the conductivity of the whole material to the bulk conductivity of the metallic part would be equal to $`P(X)`$, then $`t=s`$. Indeed, the asymmetry observed in the FM signal in our ESR experiments could be showing some degree of shape anisotropy of the FM clusters. On the other hand, the intricate and constricted nature of the percolated paths reduce the mobility. For predominantly chain-like infinite clusters $`\mu (XX_C)`$, thus $`ts+1`$. As a conclusion, the role of the precise topology of the percolated clusters gives rise to a variety of nonuniversal exponents.

On the other hand, exponent values in the range $`1`$-$`1.4`$ are naturally found in two-dimensional percolation systems. This seems to contradict the fact that $`X_C`$ remarkably coincides with the 3D threshold, however it must be taken into account that near half doping the mixed-valence manganites exhibit tendencies toward 2D metallic states in the AFM phase. For example La1-xSrxMnO3 for $`x1/2`$, Pr0.5Sr0.5MnO3, and Nd0.45Sr0.55MnO3 all present the A-type AFM structure at low $`T`$. In this magnetic phase the $`ab`$ planes are ferromagnetically ordered, while contiguous layers have opposite spin direction. In the A-type phase, the electronic properties have been associated to a 2D metallic state due to a $`d_{x^2y^2}`$ orbital ordering within the FM planes. It is possible that in our Pr0.5-δCa0.2+δSr0.3MnO3 samples part of the AFM volume would be of the A-type, exactly in the same way as in Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3, where low $`T`$ neutron powder diffraction (NPD) experiments show that $`20\%`$ of the sample belongs to this phase. Indeed, our samples share a common characteristic with the three previously mentioned A-type compounds. Those manganese perovskites present at room temperature a tetragonal crystal structure, similar to the small amount of the $`I4/mcm`$ space group present in our samples. In fact, Woodward et al. suggested that near half doping, this tetragonal space group favors the occupancy of the $`d_{x^2y^2}`$ orbitals with the A-type AFM phase as ground state. The tetragonal volume in our samples should then produce the appearance of A-type AFM droplets at low $`T`$. Of course our magnetization measurements cannot distinguish between the CE-type (of the CO phase) and the A-type AFM states.

It could be possible that near the percolation threshold of the FM phase, some intercluster regions of the A-type connect the clusters as a sort of valve effect producing an effective 2D behavior, although the value of $`X_C`$ determined by the dimensionality of the clusters themselves is unaltered. When a magnetic field is applied, the spins of the A-type AFM structure begin to orient in the field direction, with a consequent improvement of the electronic coupling between the otherwise decoupled metallic planes. This produces a field-induced dimensional crossover from 2D to 3D that could be responsible for the increase of $`t`$ from $`0.96`$ to $`1.21`$.

The above discussion makes totally clear the need of a close understanding of the percolation mechanism in phase-separated manganites. In this sense the geometry and effective dimensionality as well as doping evolution of the FM clusters become relevant.

### E Magnetoresistance

A notable feature in the $`\rho (T)`$ curves of Fig. 6 is that for $`n0.50`$ an appreciable CMR is obtained with a moderated field of $`2T`$, while for $`n>0.50`$ at this field the resistivity remains almost unchanged. In the latter case, since the FM phase is not percolated the resistivity is dominated by the intrinsic behavior of the CO phase. A proof of this is given by Fig. 10, where we present MR vs $`H`$ curves at $`T=50K`$. For the percolated samples ($`n0.50`$), at the first stages of the $`\rho `$ vs $`H`$ loops ($`H<0.5T`$) there is clearly visible a rapid decrease of $`\rho `$ with increasing $`H`$, and after the field cycling (that produces a considerable hysteresis) the resistivity notably returns to its original value at $`H=0T`$. The initial drop of $`\rho `$ at low fields is related to the LFMR of polycrystalline FM manganites, induced by the spin-polarized tunneling of electrons traveling through percolated paths that cross the grain boundaries. On the other hand, since the $`n>0.50`$ samples are not percolated, there are no metallic paths connecting the electrodes across the whole sample. As a result, the rapid decrease of $`\rho `$ at low fields is not observed. On the contrary, a smooth decrease occurs at low fields, typical of CO manganites. In addition, when the magnetic field is removed in the MR curves of Fig. 10(b), the resistivity does not go back to the initial value, but a much higher conductivity is retained. However, the insulating-like $`\rho (T)`$ curves in Figs. 6(d) and (e) indicate that, even in a FC process fields well above $`9T`$ are necessary to induce the percolation of the FM metallic phase in the $`n>0.50`$ samples.

In order to show the field evolution of the $`X`$ dependence of the MR, in Fig. 11 we show the zero-field $`X(n)`$ curve at $`T=50K`$ in the top panel and in the bottom one the ratio $`\rho (H)/\rho (0)`$ vs $`n`$. It is clear that at low fields, the percolated samples exhibit the more important MR values. As the field increases above $`1T`$, however, the increase of the FM volume provides the dominant contribution producing better MR values in the $`n=0.50`$ sample. As the field reaches much higher values, the relative change of resistivity shifts the higher MR values to the nonpercolated compounds (see the $`X_C`$ line in the top panel).

The results shown in Fig. 11(b) indicate that the ideal materials to produce the highest MR values should be that located close to the percolation threshold. It would be even better if the zero-field FM phase fraction is located slightly below $`X_C`$, in such a way that a small applied field produces the increase of FM volume necessary to percolate the metallic phase thus raising the conductivity several orders of magnitude.

### F Phase diagram

As a summary of our results, in Fig. 12 we present a complete zero-field $`T`$-$`n`$ phase diagram. At high temperature, the $`M`$ and ESR measurements show that the samples are in the PM phase. On lowering $`T`$ below $`T_C`$, FM correlations appear in all the samples. Although the $`T_C`$ is symmetric around $`n=0.50`$, in the samples with doping above this value the FM phase is not long-range-ordered, but coexists with a majority PM phase. In agreement with this, the $`\rho (T)`$ curves do not show any hint at $`T_C`$, while for $`n<0.5`$ the resistivity presents a local maximum at that temperature.

At the CO temperature $`T_{CO}`$ the samples turn into the CO/AFM state. However, a fraction of FM phase persists in all the samples down to the lowest temperatures. The region immediately below $`T_{CO}`$ is characterized by insulating resistivities, however the electrical properties are again different depending on the doping level. For $`n>0.50`$, due to the low values of $`X`$ the insulating state is given by an intrinsic response of the CO volume. On the contrary, for $`n0.50`$ the decrease of the FM volume fraction with decreasing $`T`$ promotes the insulating behavior, though there are percolated metallic paths. In these samples, when the FM phase fraction is frozen a MI transition occurs at $`T_{MI}`$, below which the $`T`$ evolution of $`\rho `$ is intrinsic of the metallic phase. Between $`T_{MI}`$ and $`T_{CO}`$ is where the usual percolation theory accounts for the conductivity variation.

The temperature $`T_h`$ for $`n>0.50`$ indicates the additional magnetization increase at low $`T`$ with the simultaneous appearance of a low-field resonance line in the ESR spectra. Although this is labeled in the phase diagram as the $`F^{}`$ phase, at this moment we cannot distinguish whether this contribution comes from a third phase or from a homogeneous canting of the AFM state. NPD experiments are being performed to elucidate the origin of this magnetic component. These experiments will also help to probe whether or not there exists a small A-type AFM volume in the samples studied here.

By extrapolating the FM fraction toward lower holes concentration, we estimate that for $`n0.43`$ the material should be $`100\%`$ FM. At this doping level the $`T_{MI}`$ and $`T_{CO}`$ should collapse at the same value, and the compound should present metallic properties in the whole $`T`$ range below $`T_C`$. The Pr0.6Ca0.1Sr0.3MnO3 ($`n=0.40`$) and the limiting compound Pr0.7Sr0.3MnO3 ($`n=0.30`$) are indeed in this situation. For $`n>0.50`$ the FM phase is strongly suppressed and the material is essentially CO, in agreement with the much higher structural distortion. In the intermediate region, where the first order phase transition occurs between the metallic and insulating phases the PS is observed, where $`X`$ smoothly decreases with increasing $`n`$ producing a percolative MI transition.

## IV SUMMARY

We studied the magnetic and electric properties of polycrystalline Pr0.5-δCa0.2+δSr0.3MnO3 around half doping. The magnetization and ESR measurements allowed us to characterize the magnetic states of the compound in the whole $`T`$ range, as well as to obtain the FM phase fraction $`X`$ of the PS states as a function of temperature. Consequently with the FM phase fraction behavior, the electrical properties are distinguishable different for $`n`$ below and above $`0.50`$, related to the percolative metal-insulator transition as a function of doping. In the percolated samples ($`n0.50`$), the increase of resistivity with decreasing $`T`$ below $`T_{CO}`$ is related to the reduction of the FM volume. In this $`T`$ range, the conductivity follows the percolative behavior $`\sigma (XX_C)^t`$. The values obtained for $`X_C`$ are in agreement with that expected for conventional 3D percolation. However, the low values obtained for $`t`$ depart from that observed in other compounds, indicating that there should be different percolation mechanisms. On one hand the geometric configuration of the FM clusters is an important issue that needs to be addressed, and on the other hand possible 2D effects could also produce this behavior. In this sense, the increase of $`t`$ with applied field could indicate a field-induced dimensional crossover.

With respect to the MR response, we showed that FM fractions near $`X_C`$ are the optimal for producing large MR ratios with moderated fields. In fact, the percolated samples show very different magnetoresistance properties, specially at low fields.

Finally, the presented $`T`$-$`n`$ phase diagram shows that in a small region of doping level around $`1/2`$ several electronic phases need to be considered. The asymmetric electronic properties observed around half doping can be regarded as related to the doping dependence of the FM phase fraction, i.e. at half doping the percolation of the FM metallic phase occurs.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank A. Caneiro, A.A. Aligia, and J. Milano for useful discussions and for the critical reading of this manuscript. This work was supported by CNEA (Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica), CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas), Fundación Antorchas and ANPCyT (Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, Argentina), PICT 99-03-05266. RDS and LM acknowledge the CONICET for financial support.

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail address: niebied@cab.cnea.gov.ar

FIG. 1. Room temperature X-ray diffractogram of the sample with doping $`n=0.54`$. ($``$) Experimental data and (—) Rietveld refinement using a model with two symmetries: the orthorhombic $`Pbnm`$ and the tetragonal $`I4/mcm`$. ($`|`$) Bragg reflections of both these symmetries. The lower solid line centered at $`0.25`$ is the difference between the experimental data and the refinement. Inset: Blow-up of a selected region of the diffractograms of the indicated samples. This shows the increase of the amount of tetragonal phase with increasing $`n`$.

FIG. 2. Magnetization vs temperature at $`H=100Oe`$ in ZFC (lower curves) and FC (upper curves) processes. The doping level is indicated in each case. The $`T_C`$ is the temperature where the ZFC and FC data collapse on a single curve.

FIG. 3. ESR spectra obtained at $`34GHz`$ for all the samples (as labeled) at four representative temperatures indicated in the panels. The narrow line mounted over the spectra for $`n=0.54`$ corresponds to the dpph marker, which indicates the value $`g=2.00`$. The asterisks in panel (a) show the additional line that appears at the temperature $`T_h100K`$.

FIG. 4. $`M(H)`$ curves at several $`T`$ for the four samples indicated. The sample with $`n=0.48`$ (not shown) presents an intermediate behavior between $`n=0.46`$ and $`0.50`$. All these curves were obtained after heating the samples up to the PM phase, followed by a ZFC to $`10K`$ and subsequent heating to the $`T`$ of the measurement.

FIG. 5. Zero-field FM phase fraction $`X`$ as a function of the reduced temperature. The samples with $`n>0.50`$ show a small FM volume which does not percolate, while for $`n0.50`$ the high $`X`$ values lie above the percolation threshold $`X_C`$ (dotted line).

FIG. 6. $`T`$ dependence of the resistivity for all the samples at several applied fields. Those curves measured with $`H0T`$ were obtained in FC process. The arrows indicate the direction of the temperature variation and $`T_{MI}`$ the metal-insulator transition temperature for the $`n0.50`$ samples.

FIG. 7. Conductivity vs FM phase fraction ($`X`$). The data of the $`n=0.50`$ sample were multiplied by $`2.45`$. The line is a fit with the percolation law $`\sigma (XX_C)^t`$ Inset: $`\sigma `$ vs $`(XX_C)`$ in $`\mathrm{log}`$-$`\mathrm{log}`$ scales, showing the percolative behavior with the indicated values of $`X_C`$ and the exponent $`t`$.

FIG. 8. $`M`$ vs $`T`$ for $`n=0.48`$ and $`0.50`$ measured with an applied field $`H=2T`$ and increasing temperature after a FC process.

FIG. 9. $`X`$ dependence of $`\sigma `$ at $`H=2T`$. In this case the $`\sigma `$ for $`n=0.50`$ was multiplied by $`1.8`$. The data are well fitted with Eq. (2) using $`X_C=17.8\%`$ and $`t=1.21`$ (solid line). Inset: $`\mathrm{log}\sigma `$ vs $`\mathrm{log}(XX_C)`$, where a linear dependence characteristic of a percolation process is observed. The straight dotted line corresponds to an exponent $`t=0.96`$, obtained at zero-field.

FIG. 10. Magnetoresistance vs $`H`$ at $`T=50K`$ of all the studied samples, as labeled. The arrows indicate the direction of the field variation.

FIG. 11. a) $`X`$ (at $`H=0T`$) as a function of $`n`$ at $`T=50K`$. The dotted line indicates the position of the percolation threshold. b) MR vs $`n`$ at the same $`T`$ for several applied magnetic fields, as labeled.

FIG. 12. Phase diagram for the polycrystalline Pr0.5-δCa0.2+δSr0.3MnO3 (hole doping $`n=0.5+\delta `$). Except for $`T>T_C`$ and between $`T_C`$ and $`T_{CO}`$ for $`n<0.50`$, the remaining diagram is completely phase separated. Below $`T_{CO}`$ the CO and FM phases coexist, but the gray region correspond to the percolated samples which follow the indicated percolation law. Below the $`T_{MI}`$ the FM fraction is frozen and the metallic paths show their intrinsic $`T`$ dependence. For $`n>0.50`$, the $`T_h`$ indicates the appearance of the additional resonance line in the ESR spectra concomitant with the magnetization increase. Though we call this the $`F^{}`$ phase, we cannot distinguish between an additional FM phase and a homogeneous canting of the spins in the AFM volume.


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# The Brightest AGB Stars in the Leo I Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

## 1 Introduction

A programme has been started, using the recently commissioned Nagoya-South African 1.4m Infrared Survey Facility (IRSF) at SAAO Sutherland, to study the stellar populations, evolution and structures of Local Group galaxies. One aim of this programme is to detect long period variables (Miras and other types) in these systems and to derive their infrared light curves. The programme will necessarily take several years to complete. In the present communication we discuss the light that initial observations of the dwarf spheroidal galaxy, Leo I, throw on the AGB star population of that galaxy.

## 2 Observations

The IRSF is a 1.4-m telescope constructed and operated in terms of an agreement between SAAO and the Graduate School of Science and School of Science, Nagoya University, to carry out specialized surveys of the southern sky in the infrared. The telescope is equipped with a 3-channel camera, SIRIUS, constructed jointly by Nagoya University and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (Nagashima et al. 1999), that allows J, H  and Ks images to be obtained simultaneously. The field of view is 7.8 arcmin square with a scale of 0.45 arcsec/pixel.

Images centred on Leo I (referred to hereafter as field A) were obtained at two epochs, 2001-01-16 and 2001-12-19, and processed by means of the standard IRSF pipeline (Nakajima, private communication). A single image comprises 10 dithered 30-s exposures. Three such sets of frames were combined to give an effective 900-s exposure in each of J, H  and $`K_s`$ at both epochs. At this stage, the effective field of view is reduced to 7.2 arcmin square. Standard stars from Persson et al. (1998) were observed on each night and the results presented here are in the natural system of the SIRIUS camera, but with the zero point of the Persson et al. standards. At the first epoch, we obtained a supplementary set of images of an adjacent field (field B) centred 7 arcmin to the east of Field A. The two fields overlap by only about 20 arcsec.

Photometry was carried out on the images with the aid of DoPHOT (Schechter, Mateo & Saha 1993) used in fixed-position mode. Since the seeing was much better at the first epoch (1.6 arcsec as opposed to 2.6 arcsec at the second epoch), the $`K`$ image obtained then was used as a template to measure a complete sample of stars to a limiting magnitude of about $`K_s=16.0`$. The data are plotted in Figs. 1 ($`K_s`$ vs $`(JK_s)`$) and 2 ($`(JH)`$ vs $`(HK_s)`$).

In the past, $`E_{(BV)}=0.02`$, derived from Burstein and Heiles (1984) has generally been adopted for this galaxy (e.g. Lee et al. 1993). The results of Schlegel et al. (1998) suggest that a larger value ($`0.04`$) is appropriate. In neither case will this lead to significant reddening at JHK and we have neglected it.

### 2.1 Probable Field Stars

The stars lying to the blue of the main concentration of stars in Fig. 1(a) are shown as crosses there and are similarly marked in Fig. 2 (a). They are likely to be foreground field stars. This view is strengthened by the results for the adjacent field B where the stars in the almost vertical sequence are almost certainly field dwarfs. Two points (filled squares) at $`(JK_s)`$1.5 in Fig. 1(a) and one in Fig. 1(b) are likely, from their colours, to be due to background galaxies. Indeed, close inspection of our images shows evidence for extended emission associated with two of them, one of which is clearly a galaxy on publicly available HST images.

### 2.2 The AGB sequence

Apart from the field stars discussed above and the four very red objects discussed in the next section, all the stars in field A lie on a sequence in Fig. 1(a). Objects identified as carbon stars by Azzopardi, Lequeux & Westerlund (1986 = ALW) or by Demers & Battinelli (2002 = DB) are indicated by star symbols. Photometry was obtained for 21 known or suspected carbon stars in Leo I, which account for all the stars in the ALW and DB lists except for the following: DB 4 and 8 which are seen on the edges of our frames but were not measured; DB 13 and ALW 4 and 6 which are outside our fields.

Using the bolometric corrections for carbon stars as a function of $`(JK)`$ given by Frogel, Persson and Cohen (1980) and a distance modulus of 22.2 for Leo I based on the RGB tip (Lee et al. 1993) 111We have preferred to use this distance modulus rather than that given recently by Held et al. (2001) ((m-M) = 22.0) which depends on an adopted RR Lyrae absolute magnitude. one finds that the carbon star sequence runs from $`M_{bol}=4.2`$ at $`(JK_s)=0.9`$ to $`M_{bol}=5.1`$ at $`(JK_s)=1.7`$. However, as can be seen from work on galactic carbon stars (Whitelock 2000), the stars at the redder end of this sequence may well be Mira variables and cannot be taken as defining the upper limit of the sequence without more observations. All the stars of this sequence are AGB stars. The RGB tip is expected to be fainter than $`M_{bol}=4.0`$ for any reasonable metallicities or ages (see for instance Castellani et al. 1992, Salaris & Cassisi 1998). The present results show clearly how the blue-green grism results of ALW miss the brighter carbon stars and would therefore lead to an underestimate of the brightness of the AGB tip. A similar underestimate of the AGB tip is present in VI work (e.g. Lee et al. 1993, fig 4d). All but one of the brightest, reddest objects constituting the top of the AGB sequence appear in the DB list, and it is interesting to note that the obscured objects discussed below would, when dereddened, extend this sequence to even brighter Ks magnitudes.

At the lower (bluer) end of the AGB sequence in Fig. 1(a) (which is of course determined by our adopted magnitude cut off) there is a group of objects without spectral classification. They lie mainly to the blue of the known carbon stars in Fig 2(a). It would be interesting to know whether these are O or C rich objects. A few of them may be foreground stars.

Fig 1(a) contains an object, without spectral classification, near the top of the AGB sequence with $`(JK_s)=1.66`$. In view of its position in Figs 1(a) and 2(a) it seems likely that it is also a carbon star. The fact that it was not found in the survey of DB may mean that it is a variable and was below the magnitude limit of DB at the time of their observations. The star’s colour and luminosity are similar to those expected for carbon Miras.

### 2.3 Obscured Objects

Four very red objects are conspicuous in Figs 1(a) and 2(a) (field A) while there is an even redder one, though it is rather fainter in Ks, in field B (Figs 1(b) and 2(b)). The positions and photometry of these five objects at JD 2451962.52 are listed in Table 1. Their locations in the colour-magnitude and two-colour diagrams are consistent with their being bright AGB stars obscured by circumstellar dust (see e.g. Whitelock 2000). In view of the fact that the top magnitude or more of the AGB sequence just discussed is heavily, and perhaps entirely, populated by carbon stars, it seems very likely that these obscured stars are also carbon stars. As noted by Nikolaev & Weinberg (2000) several other types of object have colours that would put them in this part of the two-colour diagram, for example, OH/IR stars and protostars. For the reasons outlined above, it seems more likely they are carbon- rather than oxygen stars, though the discussion on ages below is not significantly affected if the latter is the case. The presence of protostars of this brightness in a dwarf spheroidal galaxy would be quite remarkable.

These five stars are the most extreme examples yet found of this type of obscured object in dwarf spheroidal galaxies. The nearest comparable objects, though they are somewhat bluer($`(JK)2.4`$), are the two carbon Miras that have been found in the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal (Whitelock et al. 1999).

### 2.4 Variability

A comparison of the data from the two epochs of observation (JD 2451926.52 and 2452263.55) shows that a number of the brighter stars are variable. We list these stars in Table 2, where we give the magnitude difference between the second and first epochs, together with the standard deviation of the difference based on the internal errors of measurement as given by the DoPHOT program. Stars where variations of at least 4$`\sigma `$ occur in two or more of the passbands are considered to be variables. Three of the obscured stars are included, together with five carbon stars: two from the ALW list, two in common between ALW and DB, and one in the DB list only. There are hints that some of the other carbon stars are also variable. Note that the obscured star C must have a very large amplitude and probably a period of at least 1 year. This is consistent with the fact that stars with JHK colours similar to these stars are generally Mira variables (see Whitelock 2000, fig. 1).

## 3 Discussion

A full discussion of the nature of the obscured stars must obviously be deferred till further variability studies have been made. Neverthless it is of interest to draw some preliminary conclusions.

The results we have obtained are strikingly similar to those of Nishida et al. (2000) (see also Tanabé et al. 1997, 1999) who found an obscured carbon Mira in each of the intermediate age clusters, NGC 419, NGC 1783 and NGC 1978, in the Magellanic Clouds. These variables have values of $`(JK)`$ (SAAO system) between 3.75 and 4.76. Thus, in colour, the obscured Leo I stars lie between the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal Miras, mentioned above, and the LMC cluster Miras. In the Magellanic Cloud clusters the tip of the unobscured AGB is at $`M_K8.4`$ and $`M_{bol}5.3`$ (using data from Frogel et al. 1990 and distance moduli of 18.6 and 19.0 for the LMC and SMC). In Leo I the corresponding values are –8.3 and –5.1 which however remain uncertain pending full variability studies.

In the Magellanic Cloud clusters the Miras have a mean $`M_K`$ of –8.0 and $`M_{bol}=5.1`$ or slightly brighter. The corresponding figures for the obscured stars in Leo I are quite uncertain both because three, and possibly all, are variable and also because the estimation of bolometric corrections for such stars from $`JHK`$ colours is rather uncertain. The three obscured stars found to be variable have $`M_K=8.0`$ and $`M_{bol}4.9`$ whilst all five obscured stars yield $`M_K=7.6`$ and $`M_{bol}4.6`$. To derive these results for Leo I we have used a relation of $`(HK)`$ to bolometric correction for carbon Miras derived by Whitelock (to be published) which includes the use of ISO data. Thus the tip of the unobscured AGB in $`M_K`$ and $`M_{bol}`$ is very similar in Leo I to that in the three Magellanic Cloud clusters. The obscured AGB may be fainter in $`M_{bol}`$ than the cluster Miras but that is not certain.

It is of some interest to note that if the intrinsic (underlying) colours of the five obscured stars were $`(JK_s)2.0`$, they would all move to a position near the top of the AGB in $`K_s`$, when dereddened using the reddening law ($`\mathrm{\Delta }K\mathrm{\Delta }(JK)`$) found for the circumstellar envelope of the galactic carbon Mira R For (Feast et al. 1984).

The Magellanic Cloud clusters are estimated to have ages in the range 1.6 to 2.0 Gyr, metallicities, \[Fe/H\] $`0.6`$, and turn-off masses of $`1.5M_{}`$. In view of the above discussion it seems likely that the Leo I obscured stars are in the same age and mass range. It is therefore interesting to note that Gallart et al (1999) suggest that major star formation in Leo I stopped about 2 Gyr ago and that a metallicity of that population as high as \[Fe/H\] $`0.6`$ is possible. The results thus suggest that the obscured stars, and the most luminous unobscured AGB stars, at least, belong to this youngest major stellar component of Leo I.

The very red star (star E) in field B is especially interesting. It is $`8`$ arcmin from the centre of Leo I, much further out than any of the other stars we discuss. Even the C stars outside field A, mentioned in section 2.2, are within $`4.5`$ arcmin of the centre. There is HI in a wide area around Leo I and apparently associated with it (Blitz & Robishaw 2000). Star counts (Irwin & Hatzidimitriou 1995) show that Leo I has a tidal radius of 13 arcmin, which extends well beyond the distance of star E from the centre. However the stellar density at these distances is very low compared with that in the main body of the galaxy. Furthermore, in dwarf spheroidals the younger populations are generally more concentrated to the centre than the older ones (e.g. Harbeck et al. 2001). Thus if we have correctly interpreted this star as similar to the obscured AGB stars in field A, and hence relatively young, its position at such a large distance from the centre is remarkable. This is particularly so when it is recalled that such objects are short lived and are therefore tracers of much larger populations. Since the star has only been observed at one epoch we cannot comment on its possible variability222Since this paper was submitted, further images have been obtained which show that star E is variable, which strengthens the assumption that it is an obscured AGB star..

## 4 Conclusions

We have obtained JHKs photometry of a complete sample of stars to Ks=16 in a 7.2 arcmin square field centred on Leo I and in an adjacent field. This sample includes all 21 known carbon stars falling in the imaged area. Our results show that the top one magnitude or more of the AGB in $`K_s`$ is populated entirely or almost entirely by carbon stars. These stars form a sequence in the $`K_s(JK_s)`$ diagram and several of them are variable. In addition there are five very red stars, at least three of them variable, which from their magnitudes and colours are deduced to be AGB tip stars obscured by dust shells. They are strong candidates for Mira variability. These stars, and at least the brightest unobscured AGB stars, probably belong to the youngest and most metal rich of the significant stellar populations in Leo I. Comparison with carbon stars in Magellanic Cloud clusters suggests ages of about 2 Gyr for these stars in agreement with the age of the youngest major population in this galaxy as derived in other ways. Surprisingly, in view of the fact that younger populations are generally more centrally concentrated than others in dwarf spheroidals, one of the obscured stars lies about 8 arcmin from the centre of the galaxy, compared with a tidal radius of 13 arcmin.

### Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Noriyuki Matsunaga for help at the telescope. We also thank Yasushi Nakajima for providing the reduction pipeline and for information on the photometric system. The IRSF project was initiated and supported by Nagoya University and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, and we thank Professor Sato, Professor Nagata and all others involved in the project .


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# A Fortran Code for Null Geodesic Solutions in the Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi Spacetime

## 1 Introduction

It is a basic result of relativity theory that light rays follow null geodesics in curved 4-dimensional spacetimes, and this means that if one is pursuing cosmological applications of solutions of Einstein’s field equations with the aim of comparing the model’s theoretical predictions with the actual data produced by astronomical observations, one requires null geodesic solutions for the chosen metric. In fact, for cosmological applications one only needs the past null geodesics, as what we observe today are events which occurred in the past. Nevertheless, a very basic problem arising in cosmology, and which hinders comparison between theory and observations in other models than the standard Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW), stems from the fact that as soon as we depart from the simple FLRW models largely used by observational cosmologists, the task of finding null geodesic solutions quickly becomes an intractable analytical problem. In fact, this situation is not fully appreciated by many of those dealing with cosmological modelling of astronomical data, inasmuch as the simple FLRW models largely applied in observational cosmology is the exception, since it has a very simple analytical solution for the null geodesic equation.

The Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) spacetime is the most general spherically symmetric dust solution of Einstein’s field equations, having the FLRW models as special sub-cases . By being a spatially inhomogeneous model, that is, where $`\rho =\rho (r,t)`$, it allows us to study scenarios which do not have FLRW’s spatial homogeneity assumed a priori. Due to this, it is the most widely used cosmological model after the standard FLRW, having been applied in a wide range of cosmological problems, from microwave background radiation studies to hierarchical (fractal) modelling, just to quote a few (see , and references therein, for a large number of applications of LTB models in cosmology). However, as is the case with almost all non-standard cosmologies, while it is possible to solve analytically its Einstein’s field equations, LTB’s null geodesic equation remains an intractable analytical problem, unless we rewrite its geometry in terms of the so-called “observational coordinates”. That, however, has the handicap of adding a great deal of mathematical complexity to the problem, since such an approach requires complex mathematical calculations in curved spacetimes , something which may not be required in all LTB applications. Therefore, due to such a wide range of application, a code which produces numerical solutions of LTB null geodesics is desirable.

In this paper I will describe such a code. It deals with LTB geometry in its full generality, being applicable to each of its special sub-cases, parabolic, hyperbolic and elliptic , either separately or together in a single problem encompassing all sub-cases, if desired. It was originally designed to find scale invariant solutions of the average density by means of numerical simulations , but as we shall see below, without changing its core null geodesic calculations the code can be easily adapted to do much more than this, due to its modularity. The original results obtained by this code were recently analytically confirmed, and extended, by other authors  by means of the observational coordinates approach mentioned above. The confirmation of the results of  by  adds then further reliability to the numerical results obtained with the code that will be described below. Besides, those two approaches, numerical and analytical, when applied to a difficult problem such as null geodesic solutions in LTB spacetime, will in fact complement each other, rather than exclude one another. In §2 I will describe version 1.1 of the code, and in §3 the input and output will be discussed. The results are summarized in §4, where I also indicate where the code can be obtained.

## 2 Description of SIMU 1.1

SIMU solves simultaneously two ordinary differential equations (ODE’s) by means of the fourth order Runge-Kutta method with adaptive stepsize control. One differential equation is required for the null geodesic, while the other is needed for obtaining the redshift in this cosmology . The subroutines that carry out the numerical integration are from , and some minor changes necessary for taking the results back to the main program were made, but without changing the actual numerical implementation of the Runge-Kutta method. A full description of the LTB model and notation as used in SIMU is given in . The numerical simulations take advantage of the fact that LTB spacetime geometry has three unknown functions,111 Actually two, as a third can be eliminated by a coordinate transformation.$`F(r)`$, $`f(r)`$, $`\beta (r)`$, respectively representing the amount of gravitational mass within the radius coordinate $`r`$, the overall curvature and dynamics of the model, and the time elapsed since the big bang for each observer located at particular values of $`r`$ . The simulations then take advantage of this freedom, as one starts by choosing these functions, run the program and analyse the results, concluding then whether or not the simulation was successful, and if not choose another set of three functions (see  for a very detailed explanation of this procedure).

The code is implemented in double precision, and it has a built-in methodology for checking the possible catastrophic accumulation of round-off errors. That is done by monitoring the energy equation, as derived from Einstein’s field equations, and its derivative, since, by theory, both must remain unchanged throughout the integration . In addition, to check for accuracy and stability, after the integration the program runs in reverse, that is, it takes the final result and uses it as initial conditions to get another result that can be compared with the original initial condition. The results described in  showed that double precision is enough for maintaining the desired accuracy required by the problem under study. SIMU also calculates the errors associated with each observational quantity evaluated, as well as the propagated errors. This is done by taking the accuracy given by the adaptive method and using this value as the input in the standard propagation error equations. All those details are fully explained in the initial documentation of the code.

As mentioned above, the code uses some subroutines from , namely the fourth order Runge-Kutta integration with adaptive stepsize control, the root finding algorithm for the transcendental equations appearing in LTB’s elliptical and hyperbolic sub-cases , the extended trapezoidal rule quadrature algorithm, as well as Simpson’s rule to the desired accuracy. However, apart from those, the remaining subroutines are new, as well as the actual way in which the whole set of subroutines were linked to each other and organized. In addition, the code is extensively commented and widely documented, also having a structure chart showing the dependence among the subroutines and functions. This detailed documentation is added in order to help readers who might be interested in implementing SIMU in their own computer environments, or changing it to suit their specific applications.

It must be mentioned that there are more “state of the art” ways for finding numerical solutions of ODE’s than using the adaptive 4th order Runge-Kutta method. The ODEPACK subroutine package is an example . Nevertheless, although the chosen ODE integrator for SIMU may have already been superseded by better methods, it does solve the proposed problem, and at the desired accuracy. Inasmuch as SIMU is a tested code, with its results having already been analytically confirmed by other authors , there is no need to change to another ODE integrator at SIMU’s current version. The reader must, however, be aware that such a change might be required for other applications of SIMU to LTB spacetime.

The code uses only standard Fortran 77 commands to avoid possible compilation problems with machine dependent commands that are not available universally. If a potential user is only interested in the core of the program, that is, the part which integrates the null geodesic and calculates the observational relations, he or she can simply remove its “tail”, where the observational relations are manipulated according to the aims of the theory studied in , and replace it with something else. This “tail” consists of the two last branches of the structure chart headed by the subroutines FIT and OUTPUT, and are easily spotted in the MAIN. Finally, the functions $`f(r)`$, $`F(r)`$, $`\beta (r)`$ and their derivatives appear in six subroutines at the end of the list so that they can be compiled separately.

The previous version 1.0 (formerly SIMU 5d; see ) had the PGPLOT plotting routines merged into the second half of the OUTPUT subroutine, while version 1.1 removed them and piped the numerical results into eleven independent files, v1 to v11, that are then externally read by the GNUPLOT plotting package in order to produce a graphical output of the results. This is the only difference between versions 1.0 and 1.1, meaning that in version 1.1 the graphical output is completely independent from the code itself. Making this change was justified on two grounds: (i) the GNUPLOT package has greater plotting capabilities, even allowing output formats that can be included directly in the figure environment of any macro. So, producing plots with the results is done by feeding the numerical tables into GNUPLOT itself by means of a script file written for, say, a linux environment; (ii) this feature of having the results outputted into numerical files brings flexibility to the code, as its results can be independently used by another program, if so desired or demanded by another application of the LTB spacetime.

## 3 Input and Output

The actual implementation for the original problem advanced in  was described at length in , where one can find detailed plots with the results and analysis of the various simulations,222 These results were summarized in . as well as detailed explanations of initial conditions and functions used in each simulation. So, in here I shall limit the discussion to the code itself, without dealing with any specific application.

As mentioned above, we require a script file for running a simulation and immediately producing a graphical output. An example of such a script in linux is given as follows:

g77 simu1.1.for
a.out \< in.simu
gnuplot \< in.gnu
latex plots.tex
xdvi plots.dvi

Here the file in.simu contains the maximum value for the radius coordinate $`r`$ for the integration, while in.gnu is a short GNUPLOT script file for inputting the v1 to v11 files and producing files (see appendix A). Finally plots.tex is a file for running the .tex files produced by GNUPLOT in order for the results be available for analysis directly on the screen.

The details of each simulations, as well as accuracy monitoring are given in an outputted file called s1. Appendix B shows the results of a simulation using the value 1.5 for in.simu, and the three functions given as follows: $`f(r)=\mathrm{cosh}(r)`$, $`F(r)=\mathrm{sinh}^3(r)`$, $`\beta (r)=0.7`$.

## 4 Conclusion

In this paper I have described the Fortran 77 code SIMU version 1.1 for calculating solutions of the null geodesics equations in the Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi spacetime geometry. I have discussed the details of the code, input and output, as well as the ways in which it can be possibly modified for other cosmological applications of this geometry. The code is available for download at .

I am grateful to William R. Stoeger for reading the original manuscript, Newton José de Moura Jr. for his assistance with the GNUPLOT package, and the referee for helpful comments. I also thank the Vatican Observatory Research Group for their kind hospitality while writing this paper.

## Appendix A in.gnu Script

set terminal latex
set output ’v1.tex’
set size 1,1
set xlabel "$ $`\backslash `$log d\_l (Gpc)$"
set ylabel "$ $`\backslash `$log $`\backslash `$rho$"
set nokey
plot ’v1’ with points 1 8, ’v11’ with lines 1
set output ’v2.tex’
set xlabel "$d\_l (Gpc)$"
set ylabel "$ $`\backslash `$rho$"
plot ’v2’ with points 1 8
set output ’v3.tex’
set xlabel "$z$"
set ylabel "$d\_l$ $`\backslash `$$`\backslash `$ $(Gpc)$"
plot ’v3’ with points 1 8
set output ’v4.tex’
set xlabel "$z$"
set ylabel "$N\_c$"
plot ’v4’ with points 1 8
set output ’v5.tex’
set xlabel "$r$"
set ylabel "$Field$ $`\backslash `$$`\backslash `$ $EE$"
set yrange \[-10\**-5:10\**-5\]
plot ’v5’ with points 1 8
set output ’v6.tex’
set xlabel "$r$"
set ylabel "$Deriv.$ $`\backslash `$$`\backslash `$ $Field$ $`\backslash `$$`\backslash `$ $EEDSH$"
set yrange \[-10\**-5:10\**-5\]
plot ’v6’ with points 1 8
set output ’v7.tex’
set title "$Center $`\backslash `$rightarrow Border$"
set xlabel "$r$"
set ylabel "$t$"
set autoscale y
plot ’v7’ with points 1 8
set output ’v8.tex’
set title "$Border $`\backslash `$rightarrow Center$"
set xlabel "$r$"
set ylabel "$t$"
plot ’v8’ with points 1 8
set output ’v9.tex’
set title "$Center $`\backslash `$rightarrow Border$"
set xlabel "$r$"
set ylabel "$I$"
plot ’v9’ with points 1 8
set output ’v10.tex’
set title "$Border $`\backslash `$rightarrow Center$"
set xlabel "$r$"
set ylabel "$I$"
plot ’v10’ with points 1 8
quit

## Appendix B Plots of a Single Simulation


text:
# Charge Transport Transitions and Scaling in Disordered Arrays of Metallic Dots

\[

## Abstract

We examine the charge transport through disordered arrays of metallic dots using numerical simulations. We find power law scaling in the current-voltage curves for arrays containing no voids, while for void-filled arrays charge bottlenecks form and a single scaling is absent, in agreement with recent experiments. In the void-free case we also show that the scaling exponent depends on the effective dimensionality of the system. For increasing applied drives we find a transition from 2D disordered filamentary flow near threshold to a 1D smectic flow which can be identified experimentally using characteristics in the transport curves and conduction noise.

\]

A wide variety of disordered systems exhibit threshold behavior and nonlinear response to an applied drive. Examples include flux lines in disordered superconductors,  charge-density-waves (CDW’s) pinned by impurities , Wigner crystals  in semiconductors with charge impurities, and colloids flowing over rough surfaces . Another example is charge transport through metallic dot arrays. Middleton and Wingreen (MW) have considered a model of this system in which the randomly charged dots are separated by tunnel barriers . They found threshold behaviors and scaling of the current-voltage curves of the form $`I=(V/V_T1)^\zeta `$. In 1D they obtain $`\zeta =1.0`$, while for 2D they predict analytically $`\zeta =5/3`$ and find in simulations $`\zeta =2`$. For the 2D systems the simulated flow patterns are not straight but form intricate meandering paths with considerable transverse fluctuations. These same types of meandering paths are also observed in the flow of flux-lines , Wigner crystals , and colloids  above the depinning threshold. Experimental studies in metal dot arrays have also found scaling in the I-V curves for 2D and 1D systems ; however, the scaling exponents in these experiments exhibit a wide range of values. The studies for 1D arrays  find a scaling exponent of $`\zeta =1.36`$, which is less than the value for 2D arrays predicted by MW, but still larger than the expected 1D value of $`\zeta =1.0`$. It is not known if this system is truly 1D, or whether some meandering of the charge in 2D can still occur due to the finite width of the dots. It is also not known how the exponents would change (or whether there would even be scaling) upon changing the system from 2D to 1D by gradually narrowing the array width. Other systems in 2D exhibiting scaling near depinning also show a wide spectrum of scaling exponents , suggesting that the type of disorder and the effective dimensionality of the array plays a crucial role in the transport.

Recently, to address the role of different types of disorder on transport, Parthasarathy et al.  performed experiments on triangular monolayers of gold nanocrystals. Disorder is present in the form of charge disorder in the substrate as well as variations in the interparticle couplings. Structural disorder was also introduced by creating voids in the arrays. The void-free arrays exhibit robust power law scaling with $`\zeta =2.25`$. A single power law could not be fit for the structurally disordered arrays. Parthasarathy et al. conjecture that in arrays with voids, the charge must be shuttled into bottleneck regions, reducing the amount of charge flow. In the theoretical studies of MW where structural disorder was not considered, only power law behavior was observed .

Since the charge flow at depinning in the dot arrays resembles that seen in other systems such as flux lattices, it is of interest to ask whether some of the ideas developed in these other systems can be carried over to the metallic dot system. In disordered vortex systems, theory , simulation , and experiment  show that at low drives the vortex flow is highly disordered, meanders in 2D, and the overall lattice structure is destroyed. For high drives there can be a remarkable reordering transition where the flow occurs in 1D channels and the lattice regains considerable order. For strong quenched disorder in 2D, the highly driven phase forms a moving smectic with order in the transverse but not the longitudinal direction. Here the vortices move in well spaced channels, and the channels are decoupled from one another.

In order to compare to the recent experiments and to explore the points raised above, we conduct simulations of a simple model for charge transport in 2D arrays with charge disorder and both with and without structural order. In our model we consider square and rectangular arrays of side $`N\times M`$, with periodic boundary conditions in the $`x`$ and, for the 2D systems, $`y`$ directions, containing $`N_c`$ mobile charges. Under an applied drive $`f_d`$ a mobile charge on a site experiences a maximum threshold force $`f_{th}`$ before exiting the plaquette. For actual dot arrays the applied drive comes from an applied voltage $`V`$, and the energy to add an electron to a dot with charge $`q`$ is $`V_{th}=q/C`$ where $`C`$ is the capacitance of the dot. Charge flow will then occur for applied drives $`V>V_{th}`$ for a single dot. In addition, the mobile charges interact via a Coulomb term $`U=q^2/r`$. Since the Coulomb term is long range we use a summation technique  for numerical

efficiency. For arrays without voids, we add disorder by selecting random thresholds $`V_{th}`$ from a Gaussian distribution centered at $`V_{th}^0`$. To study the effect of structural disorder, a portion $`P<0.5`$ of randomly selected sites is effectively voided so that mobile charge cannot flow into them. We do not consider thermal effects since our system is in the Coulomb-blockade regime, so that charging energies are higher than the thermal energies. For increasing applied drive or voltage we measure the global charge flow or current $`I`$. We also measure the trajectories of the flow and the fluctuations in the current, which is proportional to the conduction noise.

We first consider the scaling for ordered arrays in 2D, 1D, and finite width samples. In Fig. 1(a) we show the scaling of the average flow vs applied drive (I-V) curve for the 2D case, and in Fig. 1(b) the 1D case. The curves in Fig. 1(a,b) are for the largest systems we have considered; for smaller systems the scaling regime is reduced. For 2D we find scaling with $`\zeta =1.9\pm .15`$ in fair agreement with the simulation results $`\zeta =2.0`$ of MW, but still lower than the $`\zeta =2.25`$ found in Ref.  for ordered arrays. The simulations for 1D give a linear behavior for much of the curve, suggesting that if a scaling exponent could be ascribed it would be $`\zeta <1.0`$; however, for drives near threshold, a single scaling cannot be applied and the curve bends up. We note that for the depinning of 1D elastic objects such as CDW’s one expects an exponent of $`\zeta =1/2`$ . Experiments measuring the threshold of a single dot also find $`\zeta =1/2`$ . Fig. 1(b) shows that the deviation from linearity occurs only very near threshold, so that the discrepancy between our results and MW may result from MW not being close enough to the

threshold to see the deviation. In Fig. 1(c) we show the scaling for a system with a finite width of $`2\times 500`$, with $`\zeta =1.0`$, and in Fig. 1(d) the scaling for a wider system of $`5\times 500`$ is shown, where we find scaling with $`\zeta =1.41`$. We note that experiments for the 1D arrays  find $`\zeta =1.36`$. Our results suggest that scaling can occur for systems between 1 and 2 dimensions with the value of the exponent monotonically increasing from $`1/2`$ in 1D to 2.0 in 2D. Additional evidence for the increase of the exponent as a function of dimensionality has been obtained in colbalt nanocrystal samples of finite thickness, with an effective dimensionality between 2 and 3. Here exponents of $`2.2<\zeta <2.7`$ are observed . Our results also suggest that the experiment in  is in an effective dimension higher than 2.0. All of the curves in Fig. 1 show a crossover to a linear regime at high drives, which was also seen in the earlier numerical work. We do not find any hysteresis for either the 2D or 1D case.

We next consider the flow transitions for increasing applied drive in the 2D system. In Fig. 2 we show the current paths for three different applied drives above threshold. In Fig. 2(a), at $`f_d/f_{th}=1.1`$ the flow follows meandering paths in only a few regions of the sample, in agreement with the simulations of MW . These flow paths are stationary over time. For higher drives, as seen in Fig. 2(b) at $`f_d/f_{th}=2.0`$, there is a crossover from the static paths to dynamic paths which open, close, and shift position over time. The filamentary flow in this case occurs everywhere in the system over time. For drives at and above the $`f_d`$ value where the I-V curve becomes linear, as seen in Fig. 2(c) for $`f_d/f_{th}=10.0`$, there is a crossover from the meandering 2D flow to straight 1D ordered channels of flow. Fig. 2(c) shows that the charge moves only in 1D channels without any jumping of charge between adjacent channels. The channels themselves carry different amounts of flowing charge due to the different average disorder along the rows. The charges in one channel do not synchronize with the flow of charge in adjacent channels; instead, the channels slide past one another. We term this a smectic flow state since the channels are periodically spaced in the transverse direction but are independently moving in the longitudinal direction. The transition from the disordered to partially ordered flow is very similar to the reordering transitions seen for driven vortex lattices . We observe the same transitions in the systems of finite widths.

In Fig. 3(a) we plot the $`dV/df`$ curve, which is proportional to the resistance $`R`$, for the 2D system in Fig. 1(a). The crossover to the linear regime (with constant $`R`$) appears as the plateau region in $`dV/df`$. Also shown in Fig. 3(a) is the power $`S_0`$ from one octave of the power spectra of the conduction noise at four different applied drives $`f_d`$: $`S_0=_{\nu _1}^{\nu _2}𝑑\nu S(\nu )`$, where $`S(\nu )=|V_x(t)e^{i2\pi \nu t}𝑑t|^2`$. The noise power shows a peak in the scaling regime near $`f_d=0.35`$ and then decreases in the linear regime with a low value of $`S_0`$ during the smectic flow. In Fig. 3(b) we show that a clearer signature of the flow phases can be obtained by examining individual power spectra. For drives in the scaling regime we find a $`1/f^\alpha `$ power spectra, which is indicative of the many different frequencies generated by the complex flow patterns illustrated in Fig. 2(a,b). The large noise power and $`1/f^\alpha `$ signals have also been associated with meandering disordered flow in superconducting vortices. For increasing drive a characteristic peak in the spectra begins to to appear and is most prominent in the smectic flow regime. This peak occurs when the charge in the smectic phase flows in 1D paths along the dots which are in a periodic array of spacing $`a`$. The frequency at which the peak occurs is then $`\nu =v/a`$, where $`v`$ is the average velocity of the charge. For perfectly ordered flow, the peaks would be very narrow. Since the channels have different amounts of flowing charge there is some dispersion in the frequency. The presence of peaks in the power spectra suggests that it would be possible to observe an interference effect, or Shapiro steps, in the I-V curves if an additional applied AC drive is imposed. The steps occur when the frequency of the AC drive matches the internal frequency of the system.

Another experimental probe of the moving smectic phase is the presence of a transverse depinning barrier as first predicted in  for elastic media. If a transverse force is applied to the already longitudinally moving system, then in the disordered regime there is no threshold for transverse motion and some charge will immediately begin to move in the transverse direction. For the high drive regime, after the 1D moving channels have formed, there is a finite transverse threshold since the channels are effectively pinned in the transverse direction. There may also be interesting results for driving along different directions of the dot lattice. Although there is randomness in the individual dot strength, the overall topological order of the array can break the symmetry so that certain directions may allow easier charge flow than others.

We next consider the structurally disordered arrays. We find that for a fixed applied drive, the current is reduced as the void fraction $`P`$ is increased. This is understandable since the charges must flow in increasingly winding patterns to pass the voids, which are effective obstacles. In Fig. 4(a) we plot $`V`$ vs $`P`$ up to $`P=0.49`$

for a fixed $`f_d=0.2`$. For the decreasing value of $`V`$, we find a best fit to a power law with $`V=V_0(0.5P)^{1.5}`$. The current should go to zero for $`P=0.5`$, or the percolation limit, where for an infinite system voids would span the entire system. In our system there is still transport for $`P>0.5`$ due to finite size effects. In Fig. 4(b) we show the current vs applied drive curve for a void fraction of $`P=0.47`$. In this case, we cannot fit a single power law above threshold. In Ref.  the additional features in the I-V curves for the structurally disordered arrays were conjectured to occur due to bottleneck effects caused by the void regions. In Fig. 4(c) we illustrate the current paths for $`f_d/f_{th}=3.0`$ and $`P=0.47`$, showing that there is considerable flow through the system, but that in certain well-defined areas no flow is occurring. Averaging the trajectories over a longer time produces the same flow patterns shown in Fig. 4(c). This is in contrast to the flow pattern in Fig. 2(b), which changes over time, so that for long times flow occurs in all regions of the sample. In Fig. 4(c) some bottlenecks can also be seen in the form of regions where the trajectories are compressed. For the structurally disordered arrays the transition to the smectic flow at higher drives is absent since straight 1D flows cannot occur even in the ohmic regime. The conduction noise shows the same $`1/f^\alpha `$ behavior as the ordered arrays but the peaks in the noise spectra are absent in the ohmic regime.

In summary, we have investigated charge transport in structurally ordered and disordered arrays. For ordered arrays we find scaling in the current vs applied drive curves with $`\zeta =1.9`$ in 2D. For 1D arrays we find that the scaling exponent is less than one. Scaling still occurs for systems with finite width, with the exponent increasing toward $`\zeta =2.0`$ for increasing sample widths. For increasing applied drive in 2D, we show that the crossover to ohmic behavior coincides with a change in the flow from 2D meandering to straight 1D channels or smectic flow. Evidence for this change in the flow also appears in the form of a crossover in the power spectra, which shows a broad $`1/f^\alpha `$ signature in the disordered flow regime, and a characteristic peak or washboard signal in the smectic flow regime. For disordered arrays where a fraction of the sites are replaced with voids, a single power law cannot be fit to the I-V curve in agreement with recent experiments. The transition from the 2D disordered flow to the 1D channel flow is absent in the structurally disordered arrays.

We thank A.A. Middleton, H. Jaeger, and R. Parthasarathy for useful discussions. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. W-7405-ENG-36.