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# Effective interaction for 𝑝𝑓-shell nuclei

## Abstract

An effective interaction is derived for use in the full $`pf`$ basis. Starting from a realistic G-matrix interaction, 195 two-body matrix elements and 4 single-particle energies are determined by fitting to 699 energy data in the mass range 47 to 66. The derived interaction successfully describes various structures of $`pf`$-shell nuclei. As examples, systematics of the energies of the first $`2^+`$ states in the Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, and Ni isotope chains and energy levels of 56,57,58Ni are presented. The appearance of a new magic number 34 is seen.

The nuclear shell model has been very successful in our understanding of nuclear structure: once a suitable effective interaction is found, the shell model can reproduce/predict various observables accurately and systematically. For light nuclei, there are several “standard” effective interactions such as the Cohen-Kurath ck  and the USD usd  interactions for the $`p`$ and $`sd`$ shells, respectively. On the other hand, in the next major shell, i.e., in the $`pf`$-shell, a unified effective interaction for all nuclei in this region has not been available. The $`pf`$-shell is quite important for a variety of problems in nuclear structure, such as the stability/softness of the magic number 28, and nuclear astrophysics, such as electron capture in supernovae explosions. Thus, a sound, systematic and precise description of the $`pf`$-shell nuclei is urgent and important. In this Letter, we present a unified effective interaction which one can apply to the shell-model description of the entire $`pf`$-shell.

The spin-orbit splitting gives rise to a sizable energy gap in the $`pf`$-shell between the $`f_{7/2}`$ orbit and the other orbits ($`p_{3/2}`$, $`p_{1/2}`$, $`f_{5/2}`$), producing the $`N`$ or $`Z`$=28 magic number. However, the excitations across the gap are important for ground and excited state properties of many $`pf`$-shell nuclei. It is intriguing to understand how this magic number persists or fades away in various situations. We shall discuss this point in this Letter, and the word “cross-shell” refers to the $`N`$ or $`Z`$=28 shell gap hereafter. Because of such cross-shell mixing, shell-model calculations including all $`pf`$-shell configurations are necessary, and the predictive power obtained with a unified effective interaction in the full $`pf`$-shell space is very important. The full $`pf`$-shell calculation, however, leads to the diagonalization of huge Hamiltonian matrices with dimensions of up to 2 billion. The extreme difficulty of dealing with such large matrices is the major reason why a unified effective interaction has been missing for the $`pf`$ shell. The Monte Carlo Shell Model (MCSM) introduced recently qmcd ; mcsm  has changed the situation by making such calculations feasible over the entire region of the $`pf`$-shell. Also conventional shell-model calculations have advanced.

The effective interaction can in principle be derived from the free nucleon-nucleon interaction. In fact such microscopic interactions have been proposed for the $`pf`$-shell kb ; g-mat  with certain success particularly in the beginning of the shell. These interactions, however, fail in cases of many valence nucleons, e.g., 48Ca g-mat  and 56Ni.

These microscopic interactions can be modified empirically so as to better reproduce experimental data. The monopole-modified interaction, KB3 kb3 , and also the shell-gap readjusted version, KB3Gkb3g , appear to be quite successful in the lower $`pf`$-shell ($`A`$ 52). But these modifications turn out to be insufficient for a consistent description of the cross-shell properties: e.g., the 2$`{}_{1}{}^{}{}_{}{}^{+}`$ level of 56Ni with KB3G is predicted about 2 MeV higher than the observed value.

The FPD6 interactionfpd6  is of another type: an analytic two-body potential was assumed with parameters determined by a fit to the experimental data of $`A`$=41$``$49 nuclei. It successfully describes heavier $`pf`$-shell nuclei, such as 56Ni and 64Ge qmcd ; mcsm . There are, however, some defects, for instance, in the single-particle aspects of 57Ni.

We now turn to our new interaction. An effective interaction for the $`pf`$-shell can be specified uniquely in terms of interaction parameters consisting of 4 single-particle energies $`ϵ_a`$ and 195 two-body matrix elements $`V_{JT}(ab;cd)`$, where $`a,b,\mathrm{}`$ denote single-particle orbits, and $`JT`$ stand for the spin-isospin quantum numbers. Although $`ϵ_a`$’s include kinetic energies as well, they are treated as a part of the effective interaction as usual. We adjust the values of the interaction parameters so as to fit experimental binding energies and energy levels. We outline the fitting procedure here, while details can be found in gf40a . For a set of $`N`$ experimental energy data $`E_{\mathrm{exp}}^k`$ ($`k=1`$, $`\mathrm{}`$, $`N`$), we calculate corresponding shell-model eigenvalues $`\lambda _k`$’s. We minimize the quantity $`\chi ^2=_{k=1}^N(E_{\mathrm{exp}}^k\lambda _k)^2`$ by varying the values of the interaction parameters. Since this minimization is a non-linear process with respect to the interaction parameters, we solve it in an iterative way with successive variations of those parameters followed by diagonalizations of the Hamiltonian until convergence.

Experimental energies used for the fit are limited to those of ground and low-lying states. Therefore, certain linear combinations (LC’s) of interaction parameters are sensitive to those data and can be well determined, whereas the rest of the LC’s are not. We then adopt the so-called LC methodlc , where the well-determined LC’s are separated from the rest: starting from an initial interaction, well-determined LC’s are varied by the fit, while the other LC’s are kept unchanged (fixed to the values given by the initial interaction).

In order to obtain shell-model energies, both the conventional and MCSM calculations are used. Since we are dealing with global features of the low-lying spectra for essentially all $`pf`$-shell nuclei, we use a simplified version of MCSM: we search a few (typically three) most important basis states (deformed Slater determinants) for each spin-parity, and diagonalize the Hamiltonian matrix in the few-dimensional basis approximation (FDA). The energy eigenvalues are improved by an empirical correction formula with parameters fixed by cases where more accurate results are available. This is called hereafter few-dimensional approximation with empirical corrections (FDA\*), which actually yields a reasonable estimate of the energy eigenvalues with much shorter computer time.

In the selection of experimental data, in order to eliminate intruder states from outside the present model space, we consider nuclei of $`A47`$ and $`Z32`$. As a result 699 data of binding and excitation energies (490 yrast, 198 yrare and 11 higher states) were taken from 87 nuclei : 47-51Ca, 47-52Sc, 47-52Ti, 47-53,55V, 48-56Cr, 50-58Mn, 52-60Fe, 54-61Co, 56-66Ni, 58-63Cu, 60-64Zn, 62,64,65Ga and 64,65Ge. We assume an empirical mass dependence $`A^{0.3}`$ of the two-body matrix elements similarly to the USD interactionusd . We start from the realistic G-matrix interaction with core-polarization corrections based on the Bonn-C potential g-mat , which is simply denoted G hereafter. 70 well-determined LC’s are varied in the fitting procedure, and a new interaction, GXPF1, was obtained with a rms error 168 keV within FDA\*.

The first $`2^+`$ energy level of even-even nuclei are a good systematic measure of the structure. The left panel of Fig. 1 shows them for the Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, and Ni isotopes. The lightest nucleus in each isotope chain corresponds to $`N`$=$`Z`$ because of the mirror symmetry. The energies are computed by FDA\* and by exact or nearly exact conventional shell-model calculations by the code MSHELLmshell . The former gives a reasonable approximation to the latter, while the differences are up to 0.2 MeV. The overall description of the $`2^+`$ levels is quite successful throughout these isotope chains. In all cases, the energy jump corresponding to $`N=28`$ shell closure is nicely reproduced.

A basic aspect of the effective interaction is provided by the effective single-particle energies (ESPE)kb3 ; mcsm-n20 . The ESPE depends on the monopole part of the Hamiltonian, and reflects angular-momentum-averaged effects of the two-body interaction for a given many-body system. In the right panel of Fig. 1, ESPE’s of the neutron orbits are shown. A new $`N`$=34 magic structure has been predicted in magic . In fact a large energy gap ($``$ 4.1 MeV) between $`p_{1/2}`$ and $`f_{5/2}`$ can be seen in the ESPE for Ca and Ti isotopes.

As predicted also in magic , due to the large attractive proton-neutron matrix elements, the ESPE of the $`\nu f_{5/2}`$ orbit comes down as $`\pi f_{7/2}`$ orbit is occupied, reducing this subshell gap. One can indeed see this change in Fig. 1: the $`N`$=34 subshell becomes weaker in Cr, and disappears in Fe and Ni. This means that the $`N`$=34 magic number arises only in neutron-rich Ca and Ti isotopes, and is gone in stable nuclei. On the other hand, the ESPE’s of Ni isotopes in Fig. 1 indicate that the $`f_{5/2}`$, $`p_{3/2,1/2}`$ orbits are degenerate to a good extent, forming a subshell which resembles a degenerate pseudo $`sd`$\- shell. This fact may be relevant in constructing some algebraic models, for instance, a pseudo SU(4) of IBM-4 pseudo\_su4 .

In the Ca isotopes, a prominent peak in the calculated 2+ excitation energy can be seen at $`N`$=34, which is as high as that of the doubly magic nucleus 48Ca. This is exactly due to the $`N`$=34 subshell closure discussed above. Note that this calculation is a result of the diagonalization of the Hamiltonian, whereas the ESPE reflects only its monopole part. The subshell gap at $`N`$=32 is much smaller ($``$1.6 MeV) between $`p_{3/2}`$ and $`p_{1/2}`$, and shows less pronounced effect in a consistent manner with experiment. The gap at $`N=34`$ is not large with the FPD6 interaction as can be inferred from the 2+ state systematics shown in Fig. 4 of prisc . Thus the experimental energy of the 2+ state in 54Ca will be an important test of the $`pf`$-shell Hamiltonians.

In the Ni isotopes, both experimental and theoretical $`2^+`$ excitation energies drop at $`N`$=34, where ESPE of $`\nu p_{1/2}`$ and $`\nu f_{5/2}`$ are almost degenerate and therefore the collectivity is enhanced. It is remarkable that the drastic change of the structure among those nuclei can be described by a single effective interaction. Toward the end of the $`pf`$-shell ($`N`$=40), effects of $`g_{9/2}`$ seem to appear.

The nucleus 56Ni is a challenge for a unified description of nuclei in the cross-shell region of the $`pf`$-shell. The stability of the $`(f_{7/2})^{16}`$ core plays important roles, while most of existing effective interactions fail in reproducing certain properties related to the core softness. In Fig. 2 energy levels of 56,57,58Ni are shown. Theoretical levels are obtained by MCSM calculations, where typically 13 $`J`$-compressed basis statesmcsm  are taken for each state. These MCSM calculations are more accurate than the FDA\*. The agreement between the theory and the experiment is satisfactory.

In the calculated spectrum of 56Ni, the deformed band discussed in ni56deform ; rudolph  appears as $`0_3^+`$, $`2_2^+`$, $`4_4^+`$, $`6_3^+`$, $`\mathrm{}`$. In the yrast band, we obtain $`B`$(E2; $`0_1^+`$ $``$ $`2_1^+`$)=5.5$`\times `$102 e2fm4, while in the deformed band, $`B`$(E2; $`0_3^+`$ $``$ $`2_2^+`$)=1.8$`\times `$103 e2fm4. Here, effective charges, $`e_p`$=1.23, $`e_n`$=0.54, are taken mcsm . The former $`B`$(E2) value is in agreement with experiment kraus . The probability of the $`(f_{7/2})^{16}`$ configuration in the ground state is 69%. This value is larger than that obtained by FPD6 (49%)mcsm , while is smaller than the corresponding quantity for 48Ca (94% for GXPF1).

In order to study the core-softness, we made a rather “soft” interaction (GXPF2). For 20 matrix elements of the type $`V_{JT}(aa;bc)`$ where $`a=f_{7/2}`$ and $`b,ca`$, we keep their G interaction values. We then carried out a fit for 60 best determined LC’s, and came up with a rms error of 188 keV for 623 data within FDA\*. This means that the fit is only slightly worse (by $``$20 keV) than GXPF1. The probability of $`(f_{7/2})^{16}`$ configuration in the ground state of 56Ni is 49% suggesting its softness. Thus the energy data included in the fit can be reproduced about equally well within certain allowance of the softness. The core property, however, is important for certain observables. For example, the total Gamow-Teller strength from the ground state is calculated as $`B(GT_+)`$=11.3 (9.5) for GXPF1 (GXPF2). Since this is 13.7 for the closed shell, one sees the degree of the quenching which can be crucial in the electron capture in the supernovae explosion. From the KB3, one obtains 10.1 langGT .

In the lowest three states $`3/2^{}`$, $`5/2^{}`$, and $`1/2^{}`$ of 57Ni, the $`(f_{7/2})^{16}`$ core is broken similarly to 56Ni ground state, and these are “single-particle” states built on top of the correlated 56Ni ground state. Their relative positions are determined mainly by the ESPE’s. In $`pf`$-shell nuclei, in general, the cross-shell excitations occur rather commonly in low-lying states semi . In 57Ni, states above the three “single-particle” states contain further cross-shell excitations, which provide a good testing ground for cross-shell two-body matrix elements. A similar situation has been seen in 56Ni particularly for its 4p-4h deformed band, while such effects are less evident in 58Ni, with an exception of the $`0_3^+`$ state which contains a sizable amount of proton 2p-2h excitations nakada . In these examples np-nh refers to the particle-hole excitations across the gap on top of the correlated ground state semi . A comprehensive picture for such a wide variety of states requires the full-space calculations with an appropriate effective interaction.

The description of odd-$`A`$ nuclei is also an important test of the interaction. We again consider Ni isotopes as examples, for which energy levels of yrast $`1/2^{}`$, $`3/2^{}`$, and $`5/2^{}`$ states are shown in Fig.3. Experimentally, as the number of neutrons increases, both $`1/2^{}`$ and $`5/2^{}`$ states come down relative to $`3/2^{}`$ level, forming nearly degenerate states around 63Ni. This characteristic feature is nicely reproduced by both GXPF1/2 interactions. The downward slope of $`5/2^{}`$ level, however, seems to be somewhat too steep, especially in GXPF1, which leads to some deviations within about 0.2 MeV, while the basic degeneracy around 63Ni is clearly maintained. Since the results of the FDA\* used in the fit are much closer to experimental spectra, a part of this deviation is due to the uncertainty in the FDA\*.

These yrast levels contain similar amount of cross-shell excitations within each isotope. In fact, the occupation number of $`f_{7/2}`$ orbit varies from 15.0 (14.6) for 57Ni to 15.6 (15.5) for 65Ni by GXPF1 (GXPF2), while the difference among the lowest 3 states within each isotope is less than 0.3. Therefore the core excitation appears to play a minor role for describing relative energies of these lowest 3 levels. However, it should be emphasized that the GXPF1/2 interactions can describe these lowest levels as well as non-yrast levels for which the cross-shell excitation is essential.

In usual shell model interactions, we often take the single-particle energies $`ϵ_a`$ from experimental energy spectra of the one-particle/hole system on top of the assumed inert core. In the case of $`pf`$-shell, many existing effective interactions such as KB3 borrow them from 41Ca. However, our main purpose is not to describe light $`pf`$-shell nuclei from the beginning of the shell, but to treat cross-shell excitations over $`N`$ or $`Z=28`$ shell gap. Therefore, in the present approach, we have assumed single-particle energies as parameters and determined them by the fit.

In Table 1 the single particle energies relative to $`p_{3/2}`$ orbit are shown for various interactions. It is remarkable that the single-particle energy spacing between $`f_{7/2}`$ and $`p_{3/2}`$ orbits in GXPF1/2 interactions is enhanced by about 0.9 MeV in comparison to the energy spectrum of 41Ca (or KB3). This difference in single-particle energies results from the exclusion of energy data of $`A<47`$ nuclei from the fit. The wave functions of nuclei near 40Ca contain relatively large amounts of intruder state admixtures, and the $`sd`$-shell should be included in their description. A fit in which the single-particle energies are fixed to their values in 41Ca is possible, but the total rms error in the energies becomes larger. The ESPE of GXPF1 interaction for Ca isotopes becomes very close to that of KB3, which is known to be quite successful for light $`pf`$-shell nuclei, already around $`A45`$ (where the difference is less than 0.2 MeV). Thus the description of $`A<47`$ nuclei by GXPF1/2 interactions is still reasonable and similar to that of KB3, except for the those nuclei at the very beginning of the shell.

In Fig. 4(a), a comparison between GXPF1 and G is shown for the 195 two-body matrix elements. One finds a strong correlation. On average, the $`T`$=0 ($`T`$=1) matrix elements are modified to be more attractive (repulsive). The majority of most attractive matrix elements are $`T`$=0 ones, and, in particular, the two most attractive ones belong to $`T`$=0 f7f5 in both GXPF1 and G, where the notation f7f5 refers to the set of matrix elements $`V_{J,T}(ab;ab)`$ with $`a=f_{7/2}`$, $`b=f_{5/2}`$.

In Fig. 4(b) the difference between GXPF1 and G is shown for several $`T`$=0 diagonal matrix elements. The fit makes them more attractive. Although the f7f7 matrix elements are dominated by the monopole shift, i.e., a $`J`$-independent correction, the corrections to cross-shell matrix elements f7p3 and f7f5, become larger for higher $`J`$’s. Such $`J`$-dependences beyond the monopole shifts are of interest. The same feature is also found in GXPF2. Apart from these corrections, notable differences between G and GXPF1 are found in the $`T=1`$ monopole-pairing cross-shell matrix elements.

In summary, a new unified $`pf`$-shell effective interaction, GXPF1, has been obtained. The GXPF1 interaction has monopole properties enforced by the energy data, and it properly handles cross-shell excitations, leading to a successful description of structure of Ni isotopes. Corrections beyond the monopole shifts are important. The systematic behavior of the energies for the lowest $`2^+`$ levels of even-even nuclei are in good agreement with experiment, suggesting that collective properties are well described. We investigated the possible range of the softness of $`N`$=$`Z`$=28 core, coming up with another interaction, GXPF2. The applications to unexplored regimes of large neutron numbers or high excitation energy is of great interest. For example, the GXPF1 interaction demonstrates the appearance of a new magic number $`N`$=34 magic  in neutron-rich nuclei. Future experiments will test the predictions and provide guidance for further improvements in the Hamiltonian.

The authors thank M. Hjorth-Jensen for providing us the interaction matrix elements. A part of numerical calculations were carried out by a parallel computer, Alphleet at RIKEN. This work was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)(2)(10304019), and by a Grant-in-Aid for Specially Promoted Research (13002001), and by the US National Science Foundation Grant PHY-0070911.


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# Asymptotic Dynamics of Breathers in Fermi-Pasta-Ulam Chains

## I Introduction

Energy localization in the form of breathers has been intensely investigated over the past several years various . These highly localized long-lived excitations in translationally invariant nonlinear arrays are of great interest because they provide a mechanism for energy storage that does not rely on defects. Indeed, the fact that these excitations are often mobile (which they would in general not be if the localization were defect-induced) makes them particularly interesting in the context of efficient transport of vibrational energy directed .

Exact breather excitations, that is, breathers that persist forever, can be confirmed analytically and constructed numerically for certain nonlinear infinite arrays of interacting masses, among them nonlinear arrays with no local potentials and interactions between neighboring sites that vary as $`(x_ix_j)^n`$ with $`n\mathrm{}`$ breather . The $`x`$’s denote displacements of the masses at sites $`i`$ and $`j`$. When the interactions are not precisely of this form, or when the array is finite, or when other excitations (for example, phonons or other localized excitations) are present in the system, it is no longer possible to prove that there are exact breather solutions. Nevertheless, it is possible to explore the problem numerically. In particular, in this paper we study the asymptotic dynamics of localized excitations in the one-dimensional Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) $`\beta `$-model at zero temperature and during thermal relaxation. We corroborate that long-wavelength thermal excitations have a profound effect on breather stability. Since thermal fluctuations are inevitable in any real system, zero-temperature results must be applied with appropriate caution. These results extend our earlier work to much longer time regimes our1d ; our2d , and agree with and complement those of Piazza et al. piazza1 . The conditions for breather stationarity and longevity are thereby further clarified. We present our numerical results in Secs. II and III, and end with a brief summary in Sec. IV.

## II Breathers at Zero Temperature

The Hamiltonian for the FPU $`\beta `$-model is

$$H=\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}\frac{\dot{x}_i^2}{2}+\frac{k}{2}\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}(x_ix_{i1})^2+\frac{k^{}}{4}\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}(x_ix_{i1})^4,$$
(1)
where $`N`$ is the number of sites, and $`k`$ and $`k^{}`$ are the harmonic and anharmonic force constants, respectively. We set $`k=k^{}=0.5`$ throughout. The equations of motion with free-end boundary conditions are integrated using a fourth order Runge-Kutta method with time interval $`\mathrm{\Delta }t=5\times 10^4`$ (further reduction leads to no significant improvement). The total energy of the array is the sum over individual symmetrized site energies $`E_i(t)`$ our1d . A zero temperature environment with the least disturbance to the dynamics in the chain is achieved by connecting only the ends of the chain to such an environment via a dissipation term. This is accomplished by adding a term of the form $`\gamma \dot{x}_i`$ to the equations of motion for sites $`i=1`$ and $`i=N`$ piazza1 ; our1d .

Since we do not a priori know the form of the longest-lived localized excitation, we initially create an excitation of the “odd parity” breather configuration with amplitudes $`(0,\mathrm{},0,A/2,A,A/2,0,\mathrm{},0)`$, and zero velocity at each site. The frequency of the resulting oscillatory motion increases with increasing $`A`$, which must be chosen so that this frequency is above the phonon band edge at $`\omega =\sqrt{2}`$. This excitation is not an exact stationary solution of the equations of motion, so it typically sheds some energy while re-accommodating amplitudes and frequencies, and settles into an excitation that is very long-lived. The discarded energy appears in the form of phonons that travel away from the localized excitation and dissipate quickly, in a time $`\tau _m`$, across the ends of the chain. The balance of the energy remains localized, most of it ($`98\%`$ for $`A=0.5`$) on the three initially excited sites, and decays exponentially with an extremely long characteristic time $`\tau `$.

To extract exponents and characteristic times, it is crucial to have data that covers both time scales, and to normalize the data in such a way that one behavior does not mask or distort the other intpiazza . We introduce the normalized energy $`E(t)`$ and the modified normalized energy $`E_m(t)`$:

$$E(t)\frac{_{i=1}^NE_i(t)}{_{i=1}^NE_i(0)},E_m(t)\frac{_{i=1}^NE_i(t)}{_{i=1}^NE_i(\tau _m)}.$$
(2)
The denominator in the first contains the initial energies, and in the second the energies after the discarded phonons have dissipated (but before the remaining localized excitation has decayed appreciably). In our illustrations we take $`\tau _m=40,000`$.

In Fig. 1 we show typical results for the normalized energy for three excitation amplitudes over more than six decades of time. The modified normalized energy shows essentially the same behavior. If the decay of the long-lived excitation is exponential, we expect $`\left[\mathrm{log}E(t)\right]`$ and $`\left[\mathrm{log}E_m(t)\right]`$ vs $`t`$ to be straight lines over the appropriate long time intervals. In Fig. 2 we clearly see this behavior, which extends over the entire time interval for the higher (but not the lower) amplitude excitation. The slope for the $`A=0.5`$ curve leads to a decay time of $`\tau =5.32\times 10^9`$, a number reported here merely to stress its enormous magnitude. The frequency of the localized breather increases with increasing amplitude and hence is more separated from the phonon band for larger $`A`$, leading to a slower decay of more energetic breathers. As the breather loses its energy, its frequency decreases, and eventually as it approaches the phonon band edge the decay becomes more rapid. This behavior is evident in the $`A=0.45`$ curve in Fig. 2. We also find that longer chains exhibit a longer decay time: residual amplitude of the breather at sites far from its center decreases rapidly with increasing distance and thus the chain end sites have less energy to dissipate.

Figure 3 confirms the exponential behavior of the breather decay piazza1 ; intpiazza . For two initial amplitudes, the figure shows $`\left[\mathrm{log}(\mathrm{log}E_m(t))\right]`$ vs $`\mathrm{log}t`$, which yields a straight line of slope $`\beta `$ if the decay is of the form $`E_m(t)e^{(t/\tau )^\beta }`$. The inset shows the values of the slopes as a function of time. For $`A=0.5`$ pure exponential behavior $`\beta =1`$ is confirmed throughout the time range presented. The deviation from pure exponential decay for the lower amplitude breather is evident.

A breather of a given amplitude has a well-defined characteristic frequency. In Fig. 4 we show this frequency in relation to the phonon band edge as a function of time for the cases discussed above. For 31-site chains, the frequency of the breather of initial amplitude $`A=0.5`$ decreases very little over the entire simulation, while that of initial amplitude $`A=0.45`$ decreases more markedly. Consistent with the fact that the breather does not disappear entirely in the time range shown, its frequency never reaches the phonon band edge. If the initial amplitude of the excitation were even smaller, or the simulation time much longer, or the chain shorter, the breather would eventually disappear. This last case is illustrated in Fig. 4. The disappearance of the breather coincides with its frequency reaching the band edge. The inset shows $`L`$, the ratio of the energy on the five sites around the breather to the total energy. This parameter is of order unity when most of the energy is localized on a small number of sites.

## III Breathers at Finite Temperatures

The situation is less certain when a localized excitation evolves in a thermal environment. Other excitations in the medium perturb the breather, and its eventual fate varies from one realization to another. To illustrate the complexity of the situation, we present two scenarios.

We begin with a chain that is initially in thermal equilibrium at a nonzero temperature $`T0`$ our1d . At time $`t=0`$, the end sites of the thermalized chain are connected to a zero temperature bath via a purely dissipative term our1d ; piazza1 ; tsironic . We follow the thermal relaxation of the chain and, in particular, the dynamics of breathers that may spontaneously appear during relaxation if the initial temperature is sufficiently high.

Figure 5 shows the evolution of the total energy in a chain of $`30`$ sites initially thermalized at temperature $`T=0.5`$. The figure also shows the energy in only the four sites $`i=13,14,15,16`$. After a relatively short time ($`5000`$ time units in this particular realization) almost all of the energy settles in these sites and remains there. The excitation around the four sites turns out to be an “even parity” breather, with maximum displacements $`A`$ and $`A`$ alternating on sites $`14`$ and $`15`$, smaller but not negligible amplitudes at sites $`13`$ and $`16`$, and essentially no motion of the other sites. The frequency of the breather, initially $`\omega =1.633`$, decreases very little for the duration of the simulation. In Fig. 5 we also present the modified normalized energy. Its decay is clearly exponential, with an enormously long time constant, $`\tau =4\times 10^{13}`$. Thus this breather, even in our relatively short chain, is essentially stationary. This decay time is much longer than that reported in the previous section, consistent with the fact that the amplitude of the breather that has emerged spontaneously is larger. The thermal relaxation process has swept the lattice clean of all other excitations, allowing the breather to survive undisturbed. This process was described in our earlier work our1d ; our2d . There we reported a stretched exponential rather than a purely exponential decay, a conclusion that relied on the normalized rather than the modified normalized energy intpiazza , on a time history that was not sufficiently long, and on a statistical average over a thermal ensemble that included realizations where no breather appeared during the thermal relaxation process (and where the energy dissipation was consequently much more rapid).

In our second scenario, at $`t=0`$ a breather is explicitly injected into a chain that is in thermal equilibrium at a very low temperature (too low for the spontaneous formation of breathers). The chain is then allowed to relax into a zero temperature heat bath. We find that the thermal background invariably sets the breather in motion, and causes the breather to collide with other excitations and with the chain boundaries. Collision events not only cause the breather to keep moving, but also lead to breather degradation through loss of energy upon collision our1d ; our2d . The resulting lifetime $`\tau `$ of the breather is then in general much smaller than in the first scenario. The lifetime is also much smaller than that of a breather of the same amplitude injected into a zero temperature chain. We find this behavior even when the temperature is extremely low (all the way down to $`T=10^7`$). As a quantitative check we have explicitly injected a breather of initial amplitude $`A=0.5`$ into a chain thermalized at $`T=10^6`$. The system is then allowed to relax into a zero temperature bath, as before. Compared to the lifetime of the breather in the zero temperature chain, the lifetime of the breather is now much reduced, $`\tau =1.3\times 10^6`$. A similar comparison with $`A=0.55`$ again leads to dramatically different lifetimes, $`\tau =1.426\times 10^{11}`$ ($`T=0`$) and $`\tau =2.1\times 10^6`$ ($`T=10^6`$). Note that it does not much matter whether the injected breather is of even or odd parity (we inject an odd one).

Why is a breather created spontaneously during thermal relaxation more stable than one explicitly injected into a thermalized chain, even at extremely low temperatures? The answer lies in the effect of different phonons on breather dynamics piazza1 ; our1d ; our2d . Whereas short wavelength zone-boundary phonons contribute to spontaneous breather formation (“modulational instability”), breathers are most strongly perturbed by the longest wavelength phonons. These are also the phonons that dissipate most rapidly out of a chain with free-end boundaries into a zero-temperature bath. In the higher temperature system, when the breather is created spontaneously the long wavelength phonons have already dissipated and, as dissipation continues up the phonon spectrum, the breather is increasingly less disturbed until it reaches a spatially stationary very long-lived configuration our1d . On the other hand, if the breather is injected into a thermalized system, the breather is subject to strong disturbance by long wavelength phonons even at the very lowest temperatures until these phonons dissipate. An injected breather in the thermalized scenario is therefore a more fragile excitation than a spontaneously created breather of the same amplitude. To confirm this description we have followed the dynamics of a breather injected into a relaxing chain after the long wavelength phonons have decayed, and find the breather to be almost as stable as one in a zero-temperature simulation. For example, for a zero-temperature injected breather of initial amplitude $`A=0.6`$ in a chain of 31 sites ($`\omega =1.65`$), we find a lifetime $`\tau =3.10\times 10^{14}`$. In a chain initially thermalized at $`T=10^5`$ and then allowed to relax, if we wait until $`t=15,000`$ before injecting the same breather we find a somewhat shortened but still very long lifetime of $`\tau =6.15\times 10^{13}`$, in any case much longer than it would be if injected at $`t=0`$. We have also observed a breather in a chain whose temperature is maintained at an extremely low but nonzero value. The breather in this case is always fragile, continuing to move and lose energy until it degrades completely. The zero temperature stability of the breather is therefore a somewhat singular result.

## IV Summation

Our work supports three main conclusions concerning the dynamics of breathers in FPU $`\beta `$-chains: 1) At zero temperature in finite chains, breather-like excitations remain stationary and localized, and their energy decays exponentially with time; 2) The decay time at zero temperature is extremely long, increasing with increasing chain length and with increasing initial breather amplitude; 3) Long wavelength thermal background sets the breather in motion, which in turn leads to a more rapid decay of the breather. The zero-temperature result is in this sense fragile.

We have confirmed that breather decay for any particular realization is exponential piazza1  until the breather frequency closely approaches the phonon band edge. However, since the characteristic exponential time varies considerably from one realization to another, an ensemble averaged decay may be of stretched exponential or other form.

## Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to F. Piazza for enlightening discussions. This work was supported by the Engineering Research Program of the Office of Basic Energy Sciences at the U. S. Department of Energy under Grant No. DE-FG03-86ER13606. Support was also provided by a grant from the University of California Institute for México and the United States (UC MEXUS) and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de México (CONACYT).


text:
# On a Question of Craven and a Theorem of Belyi

## Abstract.

In this elementary note we prove that a polynomial with rational coefficients divides the derivative of some polynomial which splits in $``$ if and only if all of its irrational roots are real and simple. This provides an answer to a question posed by Thomas Craven. Similar ideas also lead to a variation of the proof of Belyi’s theorem that every algebraic curve defined over an algebraic number field admits a map to $`P^1`$ which is only ramified above three points. As it turned out, this variation was noticed previously by G. Belyi himself and Leonardo Zapponi.

The first goal of this short note is to answer a question posed by Thomas Craven in . To explain the question we need to recall some definitions. A field $`K`$ is called split Rolle (or for brevity SR) field if for any polynomial $`f(x)K[x]`$ which splits completely in $`K`$ its derivative $`f^{}(x)`$ also splits completely in $`K`$. For any field $`L`$ there is the unique (up to $`L`$isomorphism) smallest SR-field $`K`$ containing $`L`$. It can be obtained by successively adjoining the roots of derivatives of totally split polynomials. We will call this field the SR-closure of $`L`$. The term “split Rolle” is due to Craven, but the problem of classifying SR fields was actually posed by Kaplansky (cf. , p.30).

In  Thomas Craven determined the SR-closure for all finite fields. It turned out that except for $`F_2`$ and $`F_4`$ the SR-closure coincides with the algebraic closure. A very simple proof of this was recently found by C. Ballantine and J. Roberts in . At the end of , T. Craven noted that it is unknown what the SR-closure of $``$ is. It is easy to show that it is contained in the totally real algebraic closure of $`,`$ which is the field consisting of roots of polynomials with rational coefficients that are split in $``$. He wrote that one should not expect these two fields to be the same. The next theorem shows that they do coincide. Moreover, one iteration of the adjoining process is enough.

###### Theorem 1.

Suppose $`f(x)[x]`$ is an irreducible polynomial. Then the following two conditions are equivalent:

1. All roots of $`f(x)`$ are real;
2. There exists a polynomial $`F(x)[x]`$ such that all roots of $`F(x)`$ are rational and $`f(x)`$ divides its derivative $`F^{}(x)`$.

Proof. (2)$``$(1). By Rolle’s theorem $`F^{}`$ has a root between any two consecutive roots of $`F.`$ For each root of $`F`$ its order in $`F^{}`$ is one less than its order in $`F`$. The degree of $`F^{}`$ is one less than the degree of $`F.`$ So all the roots required by Rolle’s theorem are simple, and together with the multiple roots of $`F`$ they exhaust all the roots of $`F^{}.`$ Since $`f`$ divides $`F^{}`$ all roots of $`f`$ are real.

(1)$``$(2). Suppose the degree of $`f`$ is $`n`$, and the leading coefficient $`a_n`$ of $`f`$ is positive. Suppose

$$\alpha _1<\alpha _2<\mathrm{}<\alpha _n$$

are the roots of $`f.`$ Choose rational numbers $`\{q_i\}`$ so that

$$q_1<\alpha _1<q_2<\alpha _2<q_3<a_3<\mathrm{}<q_n<\alpha _n<q_{n+1}.$$

Then

$$f(x)=\underset{i=1}{\overset{n+1}{}}f(q_j)\frac{_{ji}(xq_j)}{_{ji}(q_iq_j)}$$

by the Lagrange interpolation formula. By construction all numbers

$$\frac{f(q_i)}{_{ji}(q_iq_j)}=a_n\frac{_{j=1}^n(q_i\alpha _j)}{_{ji}(q_iq_j)}$$

are positive. Multiplying by a common denominator, we can express some multiple of $`f(x)`$ as

$$\underset{i=1}{\overset{n+1}{}}k_i\underset{ji}{}(xq_j)$$

for some positive integers $`k_1,k_2,\mathrm{},k_{n+1}.`$ Now to complete the proof we notice that the above polynomial divides the derivative of the polynomial

$$F(x)=\underset{i=1}{\overset{n+1}{}}(xq_i)^{k_i}.$$

The above argument can be generalized to completely describe the polynomials that divide a derivative of a polynomial with rational roots.

###### Theorem 2.

Suppose $`f(x)[x]`$ is any polynomial. Then the following two conditions are equivalent:

1. All irrational roots of $`f`$ are real and simple;
2. There exists a polynomial $`F(x)[x]`$ such that all roots of $`F(x)`$ are rational and $`f(x)`$ divides its derivative $`F^{}(x)`$.

Proof. (2)$``$(1). This follows from the argument at the beginning of the proof of Theorem 1.

(1)$``$(2). Multiplying $`f`$ by some polynomial with rational roots, we can assume that set of the roots of $`f`$ is a disjoint union of $`\{q_i\}`$ and $`\{\alpha _i\},`$ where the $`q_i`$ are rational and the $`\alpha _i`$ are simple, and

$$q_1<\alpha _1<q_2<\alpha _2<q_3<a_3<\mathrm{}<q_n<\alpha _n<q_{n+1}.$$

Then we proceed as in the proof of the Theorem 1 to get a polynomial $`F(x)`$ such that the roots of $`F`$ are all $`q_i,`$ and the roots of $`F^{}`$ are all $`\alpha _i.`$ Now taking $`F`$ to a sufficiently high power proves the theorem.

The proof of Theorem 1 also bears some resemblance to the proof of the famous ”Three Points Theorem” of G. Belyi . In fact, similar ideas lead to a variation of its proof, obtained independently by G. Belyi himself, Leonardo Zapponi, and the author (see , , ). It is based on the following theorem.

###### Theorem 3.

Suppose $`n2`$ and $`q_1,q_2,\mathrm{},q_n`$ are rational numbers. Then there exists a rational function with rational coefficients $`f(x)`$ with the following properties.

1. For every $`i,`$ $`f(q_i)`$ is either $`0`$ or $`\mathrm{}`$,
2. $`f(\mathrm{})=1,`$
3. The map $`f:P^1P^1`$ is unramified outside $`q_i`$ and $`\mathrm{}`$.

Sketch of the proof. We use the Lagrange interpolation formula for the constant polynomial $`1`$ at the points $`\{q_i\}`$. We multiply the resulting coefficients by a common denominator to get integers $`\{k_i\}`$. Then we choose $`f(x)=\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}(xq_i)^{k_i}.`$

Acknowledgments. I became aware of the SR property and Thomas Craven’s work on it from a question of Steve Fisk, posted on the sci.math.research newsgroup. I am greatly indebted to the people responsible for the creation and maintenance of this wonderful forum. I am also indebted to Bernhard Köck and Leonardo Zapponi for the references to ,  and , and to David Rohrlich for helpful suggestions.


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# First High Contrast Imaging Using a Gaussian Aperture Pupil Mask

## 1 Introduction

The search to directly image an extrasolar Jovian planet requires contrast levels of $``$10-9 a few $`\lambda /D`$ from the central star. Scattered light in a telescope and the diffraction pattern of the telescope’s aperture limit the contrast possible for direct detection of faint companions. The circular aperture of telescopes creates a sub-optimal diffraction pattern, the so-called Airy Pattern which is azimuthally symmetric. In addition, the intensity in the diffraction pattern of the circular aperture declines as $`\theta ^3`$. Currently the best way to diminish the Airy pattern is to use a coronograph by using the combination of a stop in the focal plane that rejects a majority of the central bright object’s light and a Lyot stop in the pupil plane to reject high frequency light (Lyot, 1939; Malbet, 1996; Sivaramakrishnan et al., 2001). Several recent ideas explore the use of alternative “apodized” apertures for high contrast imaging in the optical or near-infrared (Nisenson & Papaliolios, 2001; Spergel, 2001; Ge & Debes, 2002). These ideas revisit ideas first experimented with in the field of optics (Jacquinot & Roizen-Dossier, 1964, and references therein).

Apodizing an aperture rather than creating new technology to null or block a central bright object’s light has several advantages. Alignment of an object with an apodized aperture is not necessary, whereas for nulling interferometry or coronography it is essential. The cost of creating a shaped aperture is also quite low, if one makes the apodized aperture shape as a pupil mask in the optical train. This allows any current telescope to easily perform high contrast imaging. Each telescope would then take images where the contrast would be only limited by atmospheric turbulence and scattered light in the optical system.

A promising design for a shaped aperture was recently suggested by Spergel (2001). In this case the top and bottom edges of the aperture are described by gaussian functions:

$`y_t`$ $`=`$ $`aR\left\{\mathrm{exp}\left[\left(\alpha x/R\right)^2\right]\mathrm{exp}\left(\alpha ^2\right)\right\}`$ (1)
$`y_b`$ $`=`$ $`bR\left\{\mathrm{exp}\left[\left(\alpha x/R\right)^2\right]\mathrm{exp}\left(\alpha ^2\right)\right\}`$ (2)
where $`x`$ goes from $`R<x<R`$. The fourier transform of the aperture shape function gives the resulting diffraction pattern in the imaging plane. Since the fourier transform of a gaussian is another gaussian, the intensity of the diffraction pattern along one image plane axis decreases exponentially, which we denote the high contrast axis. The variables $`a,b,`$ and $`\alpha `$ are all free parameters that can be used to optimize the aperture for depth of contrast, the angle from the central object at which high contrast starts, and the azimuthal area of high contrast.

In order to test the performance of a gaussian aperture pupil mask on a telescope we designed a cold gaussian pupil mask and placed it in the optical train of the Penn State near-IR Imager and Spectrograph (PIRIS) for near-infrared imaging (Ge et al., 2001; Ge & Debes, 2002). Figure 1 shows our pupil mask design. The placement of gaussian apertures avoided the support structure of the telescope to maximize contrast at the cost of halving the resolution of the images. Throughput was also an issue, so to achieve roughly 25% throughput a total of 12 apertures were situated symmetrically in each quadrant of the pupil mask. To maximize the azimuthal coverage so that in any one image roughly half of the azimuthal area was in a high contrast region, we varied the height of the top and bottom of the apertures. Full details of our design will be published in a future paper (Debes & Ge 2002, in preparation). The current pupil design would be well suited for existing 10m telescopes to look for faint companions separated from their parent stars by 5 AU out to $``$40 pc in the visible or $``$10 pc for the near-IR limited only by atmospheric turbulence and scattered light in the telescope. Scattered light is not a hard limit; with a deformable mirror dedicated to correcting mirror surface errors, the levels of scattered light can be reduced by $``$1-2 orders of magnitude (Malbet, Yu, & Shao, 1995).

We report here the first results of observations using the GAPM to demonstrate the feasibility of using such a mask at an observatory. While the testing of optics with a GAPM has been mentioned before (Jacquinot & Roizen-Dossier, 1964, e.g.), to our knowledge these are the first astronomical observations using a GAPM for detecting faint companions. In Section 2 we will describe the observations we have done to date, and in Section 3 we present our results. Finally, in Section 4 we discuss the implications of our results.

## 2  Observations

The stars $`ϵ`$ Eridani (GJ 144 = HD 22049 = HR 1084, V=3.72, d=3.2 pc) and $`\mu `$ Her A (GJ 695A = HD 161797 = HR 6623, V=3.41, d=8.4 pc) were observed with the GAPM. The star $`ϵ`$ Eridani was observed with seven 4s integrations in the K band, while $`\mu `$ Her A was observed with one 3s and one 10s integration in the H band. Both objects were also observed in normal imaging modes. The plate scale and orientation for PIRIS was determined by measuring the positions of several stars in the Orion Nebula and comparing them to 2MASS data. We find that the plate scale of PIRIS is $`.082^{\prime \prime }\pm .001^{\prime \prime }`$ pixel-1.

The GAPM was aligned 23 clockwise from North to line up with the support structure of the telescope. Therefore, the axis of greatest contrast would be oriented perpendicular to the alignment of the mask or along a line running from the NW to the SE in an image.

For our coronographic modes we used a stop in the focal plane that has a gaussian transmission function (Nakajima, 1994) with a fwhm of $``$1′′ in an image. A Lyot stop was placed in the pupil plane whose dimensions were chosen for an optimal combination of throughput and contrast (Ge & Debes 2002; Ftaclas 2001, private communication).

## 3  Results

### 3.1 $`ϵ`$ Eridani

Figure 2 shows a logarithmic scaled image of the PSF of the GAPM rotated so that the high contrast area is horizontal. The PSF of the GAPM is not azimuthally symmetric and the high contrast region extends roughly over 180. The majority of light in the diffraction pattern is spread into the four wings, leaving higher contrast regions between them. For comparison, an image of the theoretical PSF of the GAPM is pictured. No faint companions were detected, but fairly stringent limits can be imposed on what kind of companions would have been detected between 1′′ and 10′′ from the central star in the high contrast regions.

In order to test the level of contrast achieved by the gaussian mask in comparison to other modes of PIRIS, coronographic and adaptive optics observations were taken of the star+faint companion system Gl 105 (Golimowski et al., 1995, 2000). Figure 3 shows the differences in the three modes plus a simulation of the performance of our pupil mask design with no scattered light or atmospheric turbulence. The observations were azimuthally averaged in high contrast areas. For Gl 105, we azimuthally averaged the PSF with the exception of 35 on either side of the faint companion. The resulting profiles were then normalized to peak flux. Further scaling had to be performed for the coronographic and gaussian pupil mask profiles. In these two cases the peak flux could not be determined due to the coronographic mask for Gl 105 and due to saturation for $`ϵ`$ Eridani. In the case of Gl 105 this problem was circumvented by the presence of the companion which was used to properly scale the flux. The error in the curve for the coronograph is due mostly to uncertainties in the positions and flux ratio of the companion and the central star, but should be no larger than on the order of 10%. In the case of $`ϵ`$ Eridani we took unsaturated images of a dimmer standard star and normalized the azimuthally averaged PSF at .82′′. The profile of the GAPM is a composite of those two sets of observations. The error in this normalization is dominated by variations in the PSF and to estimate the effects of this we varied the point at which we normalized the two profiles. We found that at most the error introduced is of the order 25%.

As can be seen in Figure 3, the GAPM performs better than AO alone and is $``$2 times worse than a traditional coronograph $`>`$ 1′′. This is without any attempt to block the light of the central star. We discuss avenues for improving the performance of the mask in Section 4. Comparision of normalized contrast versus $`\lambda /D`$ to other coronographs and to deep HST WFPC2 observations of $`ϵ`$ Eridani show that our gaussian pupil and coronographic mode performs similarly in terms of contrast to previous work done (Schroeder et al., 2000; Hayward et al., 2001; Luhman & Jayawardhana, 2002). It is also evident that several effects degrade contrast severely from the theoretical simulation. A large part of this degradation is due to the scattered light in the telescope and the AO. We discuss the possible causes of contrast degradation in Section 4.

From the azimuthally averaged profiles, limits to the type of companions we could have detected around $`ϵ`$ Eridani can be estimated. Beyond 4′′ ($``$ 13 AU), any companion with $`\mathrm{\Delta }m_K`$ $`<`$ 9.3 mag would have been detected, and at 8′′ ($``$ 26 AU) any companion $`<`$ 11.8 mag would have been detected. These translate to $`M_K`$ of 13.6 and 16.1 respectively. Age is also an important consideration when talking about faint companions. The age of $`ϵ`$ Eridani is not well known, but should be $`<`$ 1 Gyr (Soderblom & Dappen, 1989; Drake & Smith, 1993). A more recent evaluation on the data for $`ϵ`$ Eridani places the age at .73 $`\pm `$.2 Gyr (Song et al., 2000). We looked at the models of Burrows et al. (1997) and Chabrier et al. (2000) to determine the range of possible companion masses that we could have detected based on .7 Gyr and MK=13.6 and 16.1, corresponding to 38$`\pm `$8 MJ and 20$`\pm `$5 MJ. We derived these estimates by taking a value intermediate to the two models, while the error represents their spread.

### 3.2 $`\mu `$ Her A

A faint companion around $`\mu `$ Her A was detected with high S/N in both GAPM and AO images. Fig 4 shows the raw H image which clearly shows the faint companion. This companion was previously detected in R and I band AO images at Mt. Wilson, and used to explain a radial velocity acceleration corresponding to a $``$30 yr orbit (Turner et al., 2001; Cumming, Marcy, & Butler, 1999; Cochran & Hatzes, 1994). Measurements of the separation from AO images were complicated by the saturation of $`\mu `$ Her A, but the center position was calculated by fitting a gaussian profile horizontally and vertically to unsaturated parts of the PSF. We measured the separation of the companion to be 1.′′3 $`\pm `$ ′′.2 ($``$ 11 AU) with a P.A. of 184 $`\pm `$ 8. Errors represent 2-$`\sigma `$. These measurements are consistent with those reported by Turner et al. (2001), although we measure a change in P.A. of $``$17. The proper motion of $`\mu `$ Her A is -291.42 mas/yr in right ascension and -750.03 mas/yr in declination, which implies that a much larger change in separation would have been detected had the two objects not been bound (Perryman et al., 1997). Our observations confirm the dimmer object to be a proper motion companion and thus physically bound to the brighter star.

The nature of the companion has previously been suggested to be substellar from Monte Carlo calculations of probable mass based on observed angular separation (Torres, 1999). However, the observed photometry of the companion and the age of the primary star do not support that conclusion. Unfortunately, standard star measurements with the GAPM could not be performed, but we took H and K photometry with the normal imaging mode of PIRIS. We find that for the companion $`m_H`$=8.5 $`\pm `$ .1 and $`m_K`$=7.9 $`\pm `$ .1, which corresponds to $`M_H`$=8.9 and MK=8.3. The age of $`\mu `$ Her A has been estimated to be 10.6 Gyr by measurements of its magnetic activity (Barry, Cromwell, & Hege, 1987). However, there is a dependence on such measurements based on the \[Fe/H\] of the star. Using Rocha-Pinto & Maciel (1998)’s correction for metallicity and \[Fe/H\]=.15 from Cayrel de Strobel (1981) gives a corrected age of 4.2 Gyr. Turner et al. (2001) reports a $`\mathrm{\Delta }m_R`$=9.29 and $`\mathrm{\Delta }m_I`$=7.26 between $`\mu `$ Her A and its faint companion. Taking the observed $`m_R`$ and $`m_I`$ of the central star from Johnson et al. (1966) one derives for the faint companion $`m_R`$=12.18 and $`m_I`$=9.77, corresponding to $`M_R`$=12.6 and $`M_I`$=10.2. Along with the age, $`M_R`$, $`M_I`$, $`M_H`$, and $`M_K`$ of the companion, we used the models of Baraffe et al. (1998, 2002) to conclude that its mass should be $``$.13 M. It should be noted that at this mass the R and I band is anamolously bright by .4 and 1.2 mag respectively, while both H and K observations match the models to within the errors. Baraffe et al. (1998) mentions that the opacity around 1$`\mu `$m is not well known and when compared to observations, the models appear to overestimate the opacity in the R band, while underestimating opacity around the V band. In order to test this hypothesis Baraffe et al. (1998) arbitrarily increased the opacity in the V band and found an increase in flux in the I band. At the same time this uncertainty had little effect on the JHK bands. We therefore regard the H and K magnitudes to be a more reliable photometric indicator. Even if the R and I magnitudes are a better measurement to compare to models, the companion is above the hydrogen burning limit. Spectra of the companion would be valuable in definitively settling its identity. Such transition objects are extremely useful for constraining low mass stellar models as well as determining the low mass end of the star formation rate.

## 4  Discussion

These observations represent the first attempt at high contrast imaging with a GAPM. The relative ease and speed with which these first masks have been produced and their performance presents a promising technology that when mature may provide a viable alternative to coronography as a high contrast imaging mode. The fact that this preliminary attempt achieves contrasts similar to modern techniques in coronography while not blocking any of the central star’s light is significant and encouraging for both ground based and space based attempts to directly image extrasolar planets. Several factors have degraded the performance of the mask from reaching its theoretical sensitivities.

Our theoretical treatment of the mask neglects imperfect atmospheric correction, scattered light in the telescope, and the presence of a thermal background, all of which contribute to degrading the performance of the mask. Images of the pupil plane (including the gaussian mask) show the presence of a small diffuse thermal background in the areas that have been blocked and should not emit light, on the order of 1% the peak flux coming through the gaussian openings. Similarly, diffraction at the smallest openings of the gaussian aperture may wash out the gaussian shape and also significantly degrade contrast. Perhaps the most significant degradation comes from the imperfect correction of the atmosphere in the AO system. All of these factors must be quantified fully, which will be explored in a forthcoming paper (Debes & Ge 2002, in preparation).

There are several ways to drastically improve the performance of the GAPM. Suppression of any thermal background, widening the opening of the aperture to reduce diffraction effects, and higher precision construction of the masks all are relatively quick ways to increase performance. Additionally the GAPM should be able to be combined with a coronographic mask in the focal plane. Based on the performance of our coronographic modes that can suppress the light from the central star by about an order of magnitude, we would expect our GAPM and coronographic mask to achieve sensitivities $``$ 5 times better than the coronographic mask and Lyot stop. Longer term goals would be to design telescopes and instruments optimized for the suppression of excess scattered light and aberrations.

We thank D. McCarthy for loaning part of the optics for PIRIS, R. Brown for the PICNIC array, C. Ftaclas for coronographic masks, and A. Kutyrev for filters. Several important discussions with D. Spergel were crucial in our understanding of gaussian apertures. We would also like to thank the invaluable help of the Mt. Wilson staff and L. Engel for design help with the GAPM. J.D acknowledges funding by a NASA GSRP fellowship under grant NGT5-119. This work was supported by NASA with grants NAG5-10617, NAG5-11427 as well as the Penn State Eberly College of Science.


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# There are no iterated morphisms that define the Arshon sequence and the 𝜎-sequence

## 1 Introduction and Background

In 1937, Arshon gave a construction of a sequence of symbols $`w`$ over the alphabet $`\{1,2,3\}`$, constructed as follows: Let $`w_1=1`$. For $`k1`$, $`w_{k+1}`$ is obtained by replacing the letters of $`w_k`$ in odd positions thus:

$$1123,2231,3312$$

and in even positions thus:

$$1321,2132,3213.$$

Then

$$w_2=123,w_3=123132312,$$

and each $`w_i`$ is the initial subword of $`w_{i+1}`$, so the infinite symbolic sequence $`w=\underset{n\mathrm{}}{lim}w_n`$ is well defined. It is called the Arshon sequence.

This method of constructing $`w`$ is called the Arshon Method (AM), and $`\psi `$ will denote the indicated map of the letters 1, 2, 3 according to position as described above.

We will denote the natural decomposition of $`w`$ in $`3`$-blocks by lower braces:

$$w=\underset{}{123}\underset{}{132}\underset{}{312}\mathrm{}.$$

The paper by Arshon  was published in connection with the problem of constructing a nonrepetitive sequence on a 3-letter alphabet, that is, a sequence that does not contain any subwords of the type $`XX=X^2`$, where $`X`$ is any non-empty word of a 3-letter alphabet. The sequence $`w`$ has that property. The question of the existence of such a sequence, as well as the questions of the existence of sequences avoiding repetitions in other meanings, were studied in algebra , discrete analysis  and in dynamical systems .

Any natural number $`n`$ can be presented unambiguously as $`n=2^t(4s+\sigma )`$, where $`\sigma <4`$, and $`t`$ is the greatest natural number such that $`2^t`$ divides $`n`$. If $`n`$ runs through the natural numbers then $`\sigma `$ runs through the sequence that we will call the $`\sigma `$-sequence. We let $`w_\sigma `$ denote that sequence. Obviously, $`w_\sigma `$ consists of $`1`$s and $`3`$s. The initial letters of $`w_\sigma `$ are $`11311331113313\mathrm{}`$.

In , Evdokimov constructed chains of maximal length in the $`n`$-dimensional unit cube using the $`\sigma `$-sequence. Originally, the $`\sigma `$-sequence was defined by the following inductive scheme:

$`C_1=1`$, $`D_1=3`$

$`C_{k+1}=C_k1D_k`$, $`D_{k+1}=C_k3D_k`$

$`k=1,2,\mathrm{}`$

and $`w_\sigma =\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}C_k`$.

Our definition above of the $`\sigma `$-sequence is equivalent to this one.

The motivation for studying the $`\sigma `$-sequence is that this sequence has a close connection to the well-known Dragon curve, discovered by physicist John E. Heighway and defined as follows: we fold a sheet of paper in half, then fold in half again, and again, etc. and then unfold in such way that each crease created by the folding process is opened out into a 90-degree angle. The “curve” refers to the shape of the partially unfolded paper as seen edge on. If one travels along the curve, some of the creases will represent turns to the left and others turns to the right. Now if 1 indicates a turn to the right, and 3 to the left, and we start travelling along the curve indicating the turns, we get the $`\sigma `$-sequence .

Let $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ be an alphabet and $`\mathrm{\Sigma }^{}`$ be the set of all words of $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$. A map $`\phi :\mathrm{\Sigma }^{}\mathrm{\Sigma }^{}`$ is called a morphism, if we have $`\phi (uv)=\phi (u)\phi (v)`$ for any $`u,v\mathrm{\Sigma }^{}`$. It easy to see that a morphism $`\phi `$ can be defined by defining $`\phi (i)`$ for each $`i\mathrm{\Sigma }`$. The set of all rules $`i\phi (i)`$ is called a substitution system. We create words by starting with a letter from the alphabet $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ and iterating the substitution system. Such a substitution system is called a D0L (Deterministic, with no context Lindenmayer) system . D0L systems are a classical object of Formal Language Theory. They are interesting from mathematical point of view, but also have applications in theoretical biology .

Suppose a word $`\phi (a)`$ begins with $`a`$ for some $`a\mathrm{\Sigma }`$, and that the length of $`\phi ^k(a)`$ increases without bound. The symbolic sequence $`\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}\phi ^k(a)`$ is called a fixed point of the morphism $`\phi `$.

We now study classes of sequences that are defined by iterative schemes. There are many techniques to study sequences generated by morphisms . It is reasonable to try to determine if a sequence under consideration can be obtained by iteration of a morphism.

Since the construction of the Arshon sequence $`w`$ is similar to the iterated morphism scheme, and because $`w`$ is constructed by two morphisms $`f_1`$ and $`f_2`$, applied depending on whether the letter position is even or odd, we might expect that there exists a morphism $`f`$ which generates $`w`$. But this turns out not to be true. In , Berstel proved that the Arshon sequence cannot be obtained by iteration of a morphism. However, Berstel’s proof appeals to advanced machinery, namely a sort of Wilf-Fine theorem due to Cobham . In Theorem 1, we show that such machinery is not needed here, and offer a simple and direct proof.

Naturally a question arises as to the possibility of constructing $`w_\sigma `$ using the iteration of a morphism, since such a construction could help us in studying $`w_\sigma `$, and thus in studying the Dragon curve. This also turns out not to be true, as shown in Theorem 10.

## 2 The Arshon Sequence

###### Theorem 1.

There does not exist a morphism whose fixed point is the Arshon sequence.

Note. A corollary of this theorem is the non-existence of a morphism whose iteration gives the Arshon sequence. In fact, if such a morphism exists, it must have the property that $`1`$ is mapped to $`1X`$ by the action of the morphism, where $`X`$ is some word, and from this it follows that the Arshon sequence is a fixed point of this morphism.

###### Proof.

It is enough to prove the non-existence of a morphism $`f`$ with the property $`w=f(w)`$, since from the definition of a fixed point we have that if $`w`$ is a fixed point of the morphism $`f`$ then $`w=f(w)`$. Suppose there exists a morphism $`f`$ such that $`f(1)=X,f(2)=Y,f(3)=Z`$ and $`w=f(w)`$. Moreover, in order to avoid dealing with the identity morphism, we assume that $`|f(123)|>3`$. We do this since $`w`$ is a fixed point of the identity morphism, but iterations of this morphism obviously do not give us the Arshon sequence. From all such morphisms $`f`$ we choose a morphism with minimal length of $`X`$.

Clearly not all of $`|X|`$, $`|Y|`$ and $`|Z|`$ can be 0. Suppose for example then that $`|X|=0`$, $`|YZ|0`$. Then $`w`$ contains the subword $`f(123132)=XYZXZY=YZZY`$. If $`|Z|0`$ then $`w`$ contains the repetition $`ZZ`$. Otherwise $`w`$ contains repetition $`YY`$. This is impossible, hence $`|X|0`$. One can check in the same way that $`|Y|0`$ and $`|Z|0`$. Now $`|X|+|Y|+|Z|3`$, since otherwise $`|f^{\mathrm{}}(1)|=1`$ for $`\mathrm{}=1,2\mathrm{}`$, and $`w`$ is not a fixed point of the morphism $`f`$. Now

$$f(w)=w=XYZXZYZXY\mathrm{},$$

hence $`X`$ consists of $`|X|`$ of the first letters of $`w`$, $`Y`$ is $`|Y|`$ of the following letters, and $`Z`$ is $`|Z|`$ of the letters following that.

We will use upper braces to show the decomposition of $`w`$ into $`f`$-blocks (that is, to show the disposition of the words $`X`$, $`Y`$ and $`Z`$ in $`w`$). We have

$$w=\stackrel{X}{\stackrel{}{\underset{}{123}\underset{}{132}\mathrm{}a_{|X|}}}\stackrel{Y}{\stackrel{}{a_{|X|+1}\mathrm{}a_{|X|+|Y|}}}\stackrel{Z}{\stackrel{}{a_{|X|+|Y|+1}\mathrm{}a_{|X|+|Y|+|Z|}}}\stackrel{X}{\stackrel{}{a_{|X|+|Y|+|Z|+1}\mathrm{}}}\mathrm{},$$

where all $`a_i`$ are letters of the alphabet $`\{1,2,3\}`$.

###### Lemma 2.

We have $`|X|+|Y|+|Z|0(mod3)`$.

###### Proof.

From the structure of $`w`$, the frequencies of 1, 2, 3 in $`w`$ coincide, hence the frequencies of these letters in $`f(w)=w`$ coincide as well. But this is only possible when $`|X|+|Y|+|Z|0(mod3)`$. Indeed, otherwise there are two letters, whose frequencies in $`f(123)=XYZ`$ do not coincide, which implies that the frequencies of these letters in $`f(w)=w`$ do not coincide as well, since $`w`$ can be written as $`w=W_1W_2W_3\mathrm{}`$, where $`W_i`$ is a permutation of the letters $`X`$, $`Y`$ and $`Z`$. ∎

###### Lemma 3.

The situation $`|X||Y||Z|0(mod3)`$ is impossible.

###### Proof.

Suppose $`|X||Y||Z|0(mod3)`$. Then $`X`$, $`Y`$ and $`Z`$ consist of a whole number of 3-blocks. The properties of $`\psi `$ mean that the morphism $`g`$ given by $`g(1)=\psi ^1(X)`$, $`g(2)=\psi ^1(Y)`$, $`g(3)=\psi ^1(Z)`$ satisfies $`w=g(w)`$. By the minimality of $`f`$, $`|g(123)|=3`$, so that $`g(123)=123`$. This implies that $`f(1)=123`$, $`f(2)=132`$, $`f(3)=312`$. However, this impossible, since then $`f(1231)=123132312123`$ is not a prefix $`w`$. ∎

We define the $`N`$th $`f`$-block $`X`$ to be the block $`X`$ obtained by considering the decomposition of $`w`$ into $`f`$-blocks and then taking the $`N`$th block that corresponds to the word $`X`$ (possibly skipping some blocks that corresponds to the words $`Y`$ and $`Z`$ without counting them). Thus, for example, when we say “the 4th $`f`$-block $`X`$”, we mean not the following marked block $`w=XYZ𝐗ZY\mathrm{}`$, but the following marked block $`w=XYZXZYZXYZY𝐗\mathrm{}`$.

###### Lemma 4.

With the assumption of the existence of the morphism $`f`$, $`|X|5`$.

###### Proof.

Suppose $`|X|6`$, that is, $`X=123132\mathrm{}`$. If $`|X|2(mod3)`$ ($`|X|1(mod3)`$), then $`|X|7`$ and using Lemma 2 we consider the 4th $`f`$-block $`X=12\underset{}{313}\mathrm{}`$ ($`X=1\underset{}{231}\underset{}{323}\mathrm{}`$). This contradicts the AM. Hence $`|X|0(mod3)`$.

It follows from Lemma 3 that the situation $`|Y|0(mod3)`$ is impossible. If $`|Y|1(mod3)`$ ($`|Y|2(mod3)`$), then we consider the 10th (3rd) $`f`$-block $`X=12\underset{}{313}2\mathrm{}`$ and it brings us to a contradiction with the AM. Hence if $`|X|6`$ then the morphism $`f`$ can not exist. ∎

###### Lemma 5.

With the assumption of the existence of the morphism $`f`$, $`|X|1`$.

###### Proof.

If $`|X|=1`$, then $`X=1`$ and the length of the words $`f^k(1)`$ for $`k=1,2,\mathrm{}`$ does not increase, whence $`w`$ is not a fixed point of the morphism $`f`$. This is a contradiction. ∎

###### Lemma 6.

With the assumption of the existence of the morphism $`f`$, $`|X|2`$.

###### Proof.

Suppose $`|X|=2`$, that is $`X=12`$.

We have $`|X|2(mod3)`$, hence, using Lemma 2, we have $`|Y|+|Z|1(mod3)`$.

We consider the 2nd $`f`$-block $`X`$ and the $`f`$-block $`Z`$ next after it. It can be seen that $`Z`$ begins with 3. We consider the 4th $`f`$-block $`X`$ and $`Y`$ preceding it and find that $`Y`$ ends with 3. But then, considering $`YZ`$, which is a subword of $`w`$, we see, that 33 is a subword of $`w`$, which is impossible. That is for $`|X|=2`$ the morphism $`f`$ cannot exist. ∎

The 3-blocks 123, 231, 312 are said to be odd 3-blocks. All other 3-blocks are said to be even.

###### Lemma 7.

With the assumption of the existence of the morphism $`f`$, $`|X|3`$.

###### Proof.

Suppose $`|X|=3`$, that is $`X=123`$.

We have $`|X|0(mod3)`$, hence, using Lemma 2 we have $`|Y|+|Z|0(mod3)`$. Considering the AM, the 2nd $`f`$-block $`X`$ must be an odd 3-block, hence $`|Y|+|Z|1(mod2)`$.

Let $`|Z|2`$. Then the 2nd $`f`$-block $`Z`$ begins with an even 3-block, and the 3rd $`Z`$ begins with an odd 3-block. This is impossible. (Note that 2 letters define the evenness of the 3-block unambiguously.) Thus $`|Z|=1`$.

Let $`|Y|2`$. In $`XYZ`$ (or in an arbitrary permutation of these letters) there is an even number of 3-blocks, so the 9th $`f`$-block $`Y`$ begins with an odd 3-block, but the 1st $`Y`$ begins with an even 3-block. Hence $`|Y|=1`$.

This is a contradiction with $`|Y|+|Z|0(mod3)`$ (and also a contradiction with $`|Y|+|Z|1(mod2)`$). That is for $`|X|=3`$ the morphism $`f`$ cannot exist. ∎

###### Lemma 8.

With the assumption of the existence of the morphism $`f`$, $`|X|4`$.

###### Proof.

Suppose $`|X|=4`$, that is $`X=1231`$.

We have $`|X|1(mod3)`$, hence, using Lemma 2, we have $`|Y|+|Z|2(mod3)`$.

We have $`|Y|2`$, since otherwise $`Y=3`$ and hence $`XYX`$ which is a subword of $`w`$, contains 3131, which is impossible. Hence $`Y=32\mathrm{}`$. We consider $`ZX`$ and $`ZY`$ and see that $`Z`$ ends with 2, since otherwise $`w`$ contains $`Z1`$ and $`Z3`$, and thus the square 11 or 33. Now $`|Z|2`$, since otherwise $`Z=2`$ and $`XZX`$ which is a subword of $`w`$, contains 1212, which is impossible. Hence $`Z=\mathrm{}32`$, or $`Z=\mathrm{}12`$. The former is impossible since 3232 is contained in $`ZY`$, and hence in $`w`$. The latter is impossible too, since considering the 9th $`f`$-block $`Z`$ and the $`f`$-block $`X`$ following it, we obtain $`ZX=\mathrm{}\underset{}{121}\underset{}{231}`$, which contradicts the AM. That is for $`|X|=4`$ the morphism $`f`$ cannot exist. ∎

###### Lemma 9.

With the assumption of the existence of the morphism $`f`$, $`|X|5`$.

###### Proof.

Suppose $`|X|=5`$, that is $`X=12313`$.

We have $`|X|2(mod3)`$, hence, using Lemma 2, we have $`|Y|+|Z|1(mod3)`$. Then the 4th $`f`$-block is $`X=12\underset{}{313}`$, which is a contradiction with the AM. That is if $`|X|=5`$ then the morphism $`f`$ cannot exist. ∎

From Lemmas 4 – 9 we have a contradiction with the assumption of the existence of the morphism $`f`$. This proves Theorem 1. ∎

Remark. In , Arshon gave the construction of a nonrepetitive sequence $`w_n`$ for an $`n`$-letter alphabet, where $`n`$ is any natural number greater than or equal to 3. It is easy to see that, for even $`n`$, there exists a morphism $`f_n`$ that defines $`w_n`$. Namely, for $`1in`$, one has:

$$f_n(i)=\{\begin{array}{cc}i(i+1)\mathrm{}n12\mathrm{}i1,\hfill & \text{if }i\text{ is odd,}\hfill \\ (i1)(i2)\mathrm{}1n(n1)\mathrm{}i,\hfill & \text{if }i\text{ is even.}\hfill \end{array}$$

Theorem 1 shows that for $`n=3`$ such a morphism does not exist. However, whether there exists a morphism defining $`w_n`$ for arbitrary odd $`n`$ is still an open question.

## 3 The $`\sigma `$-sequence

###### Theorem 10.

There does not exist a morphism whose iteration defines the sequence $`w_\sigma `$.

###### Proof.

Suppose there exists a morphism $`f`$, such that $`f(1)=X`$, $`f(3)=Y`$ and $`w_\sigma =\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}f^k(1)`$. Obviously, $`X`$ consists of the first $`|X|`$ letters of $`w`$, where $`|X|`$ is the length of $`X`$.

###### Lemma 11.

The subsequence of $`w_\sigma `$ consisting of the letters in odd positions is the alternating sequence of $`1`$s and $`3`$s: $`1313131\mathrm{}`$.

###### Proof.

The odd positions of $`w_\sigma `$ correspond to the odd numbers $`n=2^0(4s+\sigma )=4s+\sigma `$, so clearly $`\sigma `$ alternates between $`1`$ and $`3`$. ∎

###### Lemma 12.

If there exists a morphism $`f`$ whose iteration gives $`w_\sigma `$ then $`|X|0(mod4)`$.

###### Proof.

It is easy to see that $`f(1)=1X^{(1)}`$, where $`|X^{(1)}|1`$, since otherwise $`|f^k(1)|=1`$, for $`k=1,2,3\mathrm{}`$, so $`w_\sigma `$ cannot be obtained by iterating $`f`$.

Suppose $`|X^{(1)}|=1`$, that is $`f(1)=11`$. But then $`w_\sigma `$ consists of $`1`$s only, which is impossible, hence $`f(1)=11X^{(2)}`$, where $`|X^{(2)}|1`$.

Suppose $`|X^{(2)}|=1`$, that is $`f(1)=113`$. Since $`w_\sigma `$ has the subword $`111`$, then $`w_\sigma `$ has a subword $`f(111)=113113113`$. If $`f(111)`$ begins with a letter in an odd position, then the marked letters $`\mathrm{𝟏}1\mathrm{𝟑}1\mathrm{𝟏}3\mathrm{𝟏}1\mathrm{𝟑}`$, read from left to right will make up consecutive letters of $`w_\sigma `$ in odd positions. This contradicts Lemma 11. If $`f(111)`$ begins with a letter in an even position, then marking letters in odd positions will lead to the same contradiction with Lemma 11, hence $`f(1)=113X^{(3)}`$, where $`|X^{(3)}|1`$.

Suppose $`|X^{(3)}|=1`$, that is $`f(1)=1131`$. Then $`f^2(1)=11311\mathrm{𝟏}31Y1131`$ and the marked letter does not coincide with the letter of $`w_\sigma `$ standing in the same place, hence $`f(1)=1131X^{(4)}`$, where $`|X^{(4)}|1`$.

If $`|X|`$ is odd, then the marked letters in $`f^2(1)=1131X^{(4)}1\mathrm{𝟏}3\mathrm{𝟏}X^{(4)}\mathrm{}`$ are two consecutive letters in odd places. This contradicts Lemma 11. Hence $`|X|`$ is even.

We have $`f^2(1)=XX\mathrm{}=X1131X^{(4)}\mathrm{}`$, whence the next-to-last letter of $`X`$ is in an odd position and is equal to $`3`$, since otherwise two consecutive $`1`$ in $`w_\sigma `$ stand at odd places, which contradicts Lemma 11. The natural number which corresponds to the next-to-last letter of $`X`$ is written as $`2^0(4s+3)`$, the next number is equal to $`|X|`$ and to $`2^0(4s+3)+1=4(s+1)0(mod4)`$. ∎

The following Lemma is straightforward to prove.

###### Lemma 13.

If $`n_1=2^{t_1}(4s_1+1)`$, $`n_2=2^{t_2}(4s_2+1)`$, $`n_3=2^{t_3}(4s_3+3)`$ and $`n_4=2^{t_4}(4s_4+3)`$ then $`n_1n_2`$, $`n_3n_4`$ can be written as $`2^t(4s+1)`$, and $`n_1n_3`$ as $`2^t(4s+3)`$.

It follows from Lemma 12 that $`|X|=4t`$.

Suppose $`X`$ ends with $`1`$ (the case when $`X`$ ends with $`3`$ is similar), that is at the $`(4t)`$th position in $`X`$ we have $`1`$. According to the multiplication by 2 does not change $`\sigma `$, so at the $`(2t)`$th position in $`X`$ we have $`1`$.

Consider $`f^2(1)=X𝐗\mathrm{}`$. The letters of the marked $`X`$ occupy the positions of $`f^2(1)`$ from $`(4t+1)`$th to $`(8t)`$th. Since $`X=𝐗`$, then at the $`(6t)`$th place we have $`1`$. But $`6t=3(2t)`$, whence, by Lemma 13, at the $`(2t)`$th and the $`(6t)`$th places there must stand different letters. This is a contradiction and Theorem 10 is proved. ∎