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INT-PUB-02-44  hep-th/0207133

Quasinormal Modes of Near Extremal Black Branes

Andrei O. Starinetsstarina@phys.washington.edu

Institute for Nuclear Theory, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195

Abstract

We find quasinormal modes of near extremal black branes by solving a singular boundary value problem for the Heun equation. The corresponding eigenvalues determine the dispersion law for the collective excitations in the dual strongly coupled $`𝒩=4`$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at finite temperature.

In memory of Aleksandr Sergeevich Vshivtsev

July 2002

1. Introduction

The gauge theory/gravity correspondence \[1,,2,,3\] provides useful insights into the properties of a strongly coupled supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theory at non-zero temperature. A well-known example is the finite-temperature $`𝒩=4`$ $`SU(N)`$ SYM theory in $`4d`$ which in the large $`N`$, large ’t Hooft coupling limit is dual to the gravitational background of $`N`$ parallel near extremal three-branes, with temperature related to the parameter of non extremality. For this theory, a number of quantities such as the free energy \[4,,5\], the Wilson loop \[6,,7\], the shear viscosity \[8,,9\], the $`R`$-charge diffusion constant  , and the Chern-Simons diffusion rate  have been computed using the methods of gauge theory/gravity duality. Since supersymmetry is broken at finite temperature and thus no non-renormalization theorem is expected to hold, quantities computed in the strong coupling regime using a gravity dual differ from their analogues obtained at weak coupling via perturbation theory. The results of a gravity calculation are then regarded as a prediction for the SYM theory, assuming that the AdS/CFT correspondence is valid at finite temperature1 A non-trivial check of the validity of the correspondence at finite temperature was made recently in  ..

Dynamical properties of a thermal gauge theory are encoded in its Green’s functions. In the context of AdS/CFT, Minkowski space Green’s functions can be computed from gravity using the recipe given in . Unfortunately, for a non-extremal background, only approximate expressions for the correlators are usually obtained. For example, the retarded propagator of the gauge invariant local operator $`F^2`$ (dual to the dilaton) defined by

$$G^R(\omega ,𝐤)=i𝑑td^3xe^{i\omega t+i\mathrm{𝐤𝐱}}\theta (t)[F^2(x),F^2(0)]$$

can be explicitly computed only at zero or very high (with respect to the absolute value of momentum) temperature. At zero temperature, the retarded propagator (1.1) has a branch cut singularity for $`|\omega |>|𝐤|`$,

$$G^R(\omega ,𝐤)=\frac{N^2(\omega ^2+𝐤^2)^2}{64\pi ^2}\left(\mathrm{ln}|\omega ^2+𝐤^2|i\pi \theta (\omega ^2𝐤^2)\text{sgn}\omega \right).$$

In the high temperature limit $`\omega /T1`$, $`|𝐤|/T1`$, the propagator is analytic in the complex $`\omega `$-plane,

$$G^R(\omega ,𝐤)=\frac{N^2T^2}{16}\left(i\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\pi T\omega +𝐤^2\right).$$

However, for generic values of $`\omega `$ and $`𝐤`$, we expect $`G^R(\omega ,𝐤)`$ to have poles corresponding to the spectrum of collective excitations of the SYM plasma.

One can compare the situation to the simpler case of the $`2d`$ CFT dual to the Bañados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole background. There, the retarded Green’s functions can be computed exactly. For illustration, consider the case of the conformal dimension $`\mathrm{\Delta }=2`$. Then

$$G_{2d}^R(\omega ,k)=\frac{\omega ^2k^2}{4\pi ^2}\left[\psi \left(1i\frac{\omega k}{4\pi T}\right)+\psi \left(1i\frac{\omega +k}{4\pi T}\right)\right],$$

where we have put $`T_L=T_R`$ and ignored the constant prefactor for simplicity. The high temperature limit of (1.1) is an analytic function of $`\omega `$. In general, however, $`G_{2d}^R(\omega ,k)`$ has infinitely many poles located at

$$\omega _n=\pm ki\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4}\pi T(n+1),n=0,1,\mathrm{}.$$

When $`T0`$, the poles merge forming branch cuts. One can use the asymptotic expansion $`\psi (z)\mathrm{log}z1/2z+\mathrm{}`$ (valid for $`|\text{arg}z|<\pi /2`$) to find the zero-temperature limit of (1.1) (ignoring the contact terms) :

$$G_{2d}^R\frac{\omega ^2k^2}{4\pi ^2}\mathrm{log}|\omega ^2k^2|i\frac{\omega ^2k^2}{4\pi }\theta (\omega ^2k^2)\text{sgn}\omega .$$

For spacelike momenta, $`|\omega |<k`$, the imaginary part of $`G_{2d}^R`$ is exponentially suppressed.

Even though the retarded Green’s function in $`4d`$ cannot be found explicitly, the location of its singularities and thus the “dispersion law” of thermal excitations at strong coupling can be determined precisely. As shown in  , this amounts to finding the quasinormal frequencies of dilaton’s fluctuation in the dual near-extremal black brane background as functions of the spatial momentum2 Note that the poles (1.1) of $`G_{2d}^R(\omega ,k)`$ coincide with the quasinormal frequencies of BTZ black hole . . Recently, there has been considerable interest (inspired by the AdS/CFT duality conjecture) in studying quasinormal modes of Schwarzschild- AdS black holes3 References to the early works on quasinormal modes in asymptotically AdS spacetime as well as to works considering bulk dimension other than five can be found in  , . \[12,,13,,14,,15,,16,,17,,18\]. Here, we consider the non-compact case directly. This corresponds to finding quasinormal frequencies for an infinitely large AdS black hole.

Computing the scalar quasinormal frequencies in the black brane background is equivalent to solving the two-parameter singular spectral problem for the equation with four regular singularities (Heun equation). In this paper, we solve this problem by using the elegant method based on Pincherle’s theorem. The eigenvalue equation is written in terms of continued fractions and solved numerically. Similar approach had been used by G. Jaffé  in 1933 to find the spectrum of the hydrogen molecule ion. Later, it has been applied to the problem of quasinormal modes in asymptotically flat spacetimes by E.W. Leaver  .

The paper is organized as follows. In the next section, we formulate the problem of finding the quasinormal modes of near-extremal black three-brane in terms of the singular boundary value problem for Heun equation. In section 3 this boundary value problem is solved by analyzing the associated linear difference equation and applying Pincherle’s theorem. The results (quasinormal frequencies $`\omega _n`$ and the “dispersion law” $`\omega (𝐤)`$) are presented in section 4. The discussion follows in section 5.

2. Quasinormal modes and the boundary value problem for Heun equation

The metric corresponding to the collection of $`N`$ parallel non-extremal three-branes in the near-horizon limit is given by

$$ds^2=\frac{r^2}{R^2}\left(fdt^2+d𝐱^2\right)+\frac{R^2}{r^2}\left(f^1dr^2+r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_5^2\right),$$

where $`f(r)=1r_0^4/r^4`$. According to the gauge theory/gravity correspondence, this background with the parameter of non-extremality $`r_0`$ is dual to the $`𝒩=4`$ $`SU(N)`$ SYM at finite temperature $`T=r_0/\pi R^2`$ in the limit $`N\mathrm{}`$, $`g_{YM}^2N\mathrm{}`$.

Using the new coordinate $`z=1r_0^2/r^2`$ and the Fourier decomposition

$$\varphi (z,t,𝐱)=\frac{d^4k}{(2\pi )^4}e^{i\omega t+i𝐤𝐱}\varphi _k(z),$$

the equation for the minimally coupled massless scalar in the background (2.1) reads

$$\varphi _k^{\prime \prime }+\frac{1+(1z)^2}{z(1z)(2z)}\varphi _k^{}+\frac{\lambda ^2}{4z^2(1z)(2z)^2}\varphi _k\frac{q^2}{4z(1z)(2z)}\varphi _k=0,$$

where $`\lambda =\omega /\pi T`$, $`q=|\stackrel{}{k}|/\pi T`$. Eq. (2.1) has four regular singularities at $`z=0,1,2,\mathrm{}`$, the corresponding pairs of characteristic exponents being respectively $`\{i\lambda /4,i\lambda /4\}`$; $`\{0,2\}`$; $`\{\lambda /4,\lambda /4\}`$; $`\{0,0\}`$.

Quasinormal modes are defined as solutions of Eq.(2.1) obeying the “incoming wave” boundary condition at the horizon $`z=0`$ and the vanishing Dirichlet boundary condition at spatial infinity $`z=1`$. The first condition singles out the exponent $`\nu _0^{(1)}=i\lambda /4`$ at $`z=0`$.

The most straightforward way to find quasinormal modes would be to construct a local series solution $`\phi _{loc}(z,\lambda )`$ to Eq.(2.1) with the exponent $`\nu _0^{(1)}`$ near the origin, prove its convergence at $`z=1`$, and determine the eigenfrequencies $`\lambda _n(q)`$ by solving the equation $`\phi _{loc}(1,\lambda )=0`$ numerically. This approach works quite well for the low-level eigenfrequencies, and in fact it has been successfully used in a number of publications on quasinormal modes in asymptotically $`AdS`$ space. Here we would like to solve the above eigenvalue problem in a somewhat different way which, in our opinion, is more appealing both analytically and numerically.

By making a transformation of the dependent variable

$$\varphi (z)=z^{\frac{i\lambda }{4}}(z2)^{\frac{\lambda }{4}}y(z),$$

Eq.(2.1) can be reduced to the standard form of the Heun equation \[21,,22\],

$$y^{\prime \prime }+\left[\frac{\gamma }{z}+\frac{\delta }{z1}+\frac{ϵ}{z2}\right]y^{}+\frac{\alpha \beta zQ}{z(z1)(z2)}y=0,$$

where $`\alpha `$, $`\beta `$, $`\gamma `$, $`ϵ`$ depend on $`\lambda `$,

$$\alpha =\beta =\frac{\lambda (1+i)}{4},\gamma =1\frac{i\lambda }{2},\delta =1,ϵ=1\lambda /2,$$

and $`Q`$ is the so called “accessory parameter” given in our case by

$$Q=\frac{q^2}{4}\frac{\lambda (1i)}{4}\frac{\lambda ^2(2i)}{8}.$$

We would like to determine values of $`\lambda `$ and $`q`$ for which Eq. (2.1) on the interval $`[0,1]`$ has solutions obeying the boundary conditions $`y(0)=1`$, $`y(1)=0`$.

Before turning to the solution, let us remark that Eq. (2.1) with $`\lambda =0`$ has received some attention previously in connection with the so called “glueball mass spectrum” in $`QCD_3`$ , ,, . Approximate analytic expressions for the “glueball” massess squared $`M_n^2=q_n^2`$ were found either via the “brute force” WKB calculation  or by appealing to the unpublished results of the RIMS group  (both approaches give satisfactory agreement with the results obtained by numerical integration). Introducing a non-zero $`\lambda `$ and using the “incoming wave” boundary condition makes the problem considerably more complicated, as is evident from Eqs. (2.1) and (2.1) .

3. Solving the boundary value problem

3.1. Local solutions

The Frobenius set of local solutions near each of the singularities can be easily constructed.

At $`z=0`$, the local series solution corresponding to the index $`\nu =0`$ and normalized to 1 is given by

$$y_0(z)=\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_n(\lambda ,k)z^n,$$

where $`a_0=1`$, $`a_1=\frac{Q}{2\gamma }`$, and the coefficients $`a_n`$ with $`n2`$ obey the three-term recursion relation

$$a_{n+2}+A_n(\lambda )a_{n+1}+B_n(\lambda )a_n=0,$$

where

$$A_n(\lambda )=\frac{(n+1)(2\delta +ϵ+3(n+\gamma ))+Q}{2(n+2)(n+1+\gamma )},$$

$$B_n(\lambda )=\frac{(n+\alpha )(n+\beta )}{2(n+2)(n+1+\gamma )}.$$

The series (3.1) is absolutely convergent for $`|z|<1`$ and, in general, is divergent for $`|z|>1`$. The condition for convergence at $`|z|=1`$ involves parameters of the equation and will be investigated below.

At $`z=1`$, the difference of the exponents has an integer value, and we expect the local solution there to contain logarithms. Indeed, the set of local solutions is given by

$$y_1(z)=(1z)^2\left(1+b_1^{(1)}(1z)+b_2^{(1)}(1z)^2+\mathrm{}\right),$$

$$y_2(z)=1+b_1^{(2)}(1z)+hy_1(z)\mathrm{log}(1z)+b_2^{(2)}(1z)^2+\mathrm{},$$

where $`b_1^{(1)}=(q^2\lambda ^2+3\lambda (1i))/12`$, $`b_1^{(2)}=(q^2+\lambda ^2+\lambda (1i))/4`$, $`h=(q^2\lambda ^2)^2/32`$, and the coefficients $`b_n^{(1,2)}`$, $`n2`$, can be found recursively from the relation similar to the one in (3.1) . Solving the differential equation Eq. (2.1) essentially means finding the connection between the sets of local solutions.

3.2. The connection problem

From the general theory of linear differential equations, it follows that three solutions $`y_0(z)`$, $`y_1(z)`$, $`y_2(z)`$ are connected on $`[0,1]`$ by the linear relation

$$y_0(z)=𝒜(\lambda ,q)y_1(z)+(\lambda ,q)y_2(z),$$

where $`𝒜`$, $``$ are independent of $`z`$. The vanishing Dirichlet boundary condition for quasinormal modes at $`z=1`$ implies $`=0`$, which is the equation for eigenfrequencies $`\lambda _n`$. If $`\lambda =\lambda _n`$, $`y_0(z)`$ is proportional to $`y_1(z)`$, and thus it is simultaneously a Frobenius solution about $`z=0`$ (with exponent $`0`$) and a Frobenius solution about $`z=1`$ (with exponent $`2`$). Such a solution is called a Heun function  . We learn that quasinormal modes of black branes are Heun functions. Unfortunately, the connection problem for the Heun equation remains unsolved, and explicit expressions for the coefficients $`𝒜`$, $``$ are unavailable, with the exception of some special cases4 Schäfke and Schmidt  give the connection coefficients in terms of the $`n\mathrm{}`$ limit of $`a_n`$ obeying Eq. (3.1) . Although the asymptotic behavior of $`a_n`$ near $`n=\mathrm{}`$ can be studied by means of local analysis, it only determines $`a_n`$ up to a $`\lambda `$-dependent coefficient which is essentially the very quantity we are looking for.. There is, however, an indirect way of determining for which values of $`\lambda `$ and $`q`$ the connection coefficient $``$ vanishes. This is achieved through an analysis of convergence.

3.3. The analysis of convergence

The convergence of the series (3.1) can be analyzed by studying the large $`n`$ asymptotic behavior of the linear difference equation (3.1) . One finds5 Necessary information about second order linear difference equations can be found, for example, in the excellent review paper by Wong and Li  . that Eq. (3.1) possesses two linearly independent asymptotic solutions of the form

$$a_n^{(1)}2^nn^{1\frac{\lambda }{2}}\underset{s=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{c_s^{(1)}}{n^s},$$

$$a_n^{(2)}n^3\underset{s=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{c_s^{(2)}}{n^s},$$

where the coefficients $`c_s^{(1,2)}`$ can be found recursively using the asymptotic expansion of $`A(n)`$, $`B(n)`$. In particular, we have $`c_1^{(1)}=(q^2\lambda ^2+\lambda (1+i)+2\lambda ^2(1+i))/4`$, $`c_1^{(2)}=(12q^2+\lambda ^23(1+i)\lambda )/4`$. Equation (3.1) is called a minimal solution to Eq. (3.1) , and Eq. (3.1) represents a dominant one. This distinction reflects the property

$$\underset{n\mathrm{}}{lim}\frac{a_n^{(1)}}{a_n^{(2)}}=0,$$

and will be useful later on. Using Eqs. (3.1) , (3.1) , we obtain

$$\left|\frac{a_{n+1}^{(1)}}{a_n^{(1)}}\right|=\frac{1}{2}\left[1\frac{2+\text{Re}\lambda }{2n}+O\left(\frac{1}{n^2}\right)\right],$$

$$\left|\frac{a_{n+1}^{(2)}}{a_n^{(2)}}\right|=1\frac{3}{n}+O\left(\frac{1}{n^2}\right).$$

Equations (3.1) , (3.1) imply6 See  , §2.37.  that generically the series (3.1) converges absolutely for $`|z|1`$ for any value of $`\lambda `$. This proves that the equation

$$\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}a_n(\lambda ,k)=0$$

can indeed be used to compute the quasinormal frequencies numerically. What is more interesting, however, is that in some cases the radius of convergence increases. It happens when the minimal solution (3.1) exists. In that case the series (3.1) converges absolutely for $`|z|<2`$ and thus represents an analytic function (the Heun function) in that region.

Thus, even though the connection coefficient $`(\lambda ,q)`$ in Eq. (3.1) remains unknown, finding zeros of $`(\lambda ,q)`$ is equivalent to finding a condition under which the minimal solution to Eq. (3.1) exists. Such a condition is conveniently supplied by Pincherle’s theorem  which states that the minimal solution exists if and only if the continued fraction

$$\frac{B_0(\lambda )}{A_0(\lambda )}\frac{B_1(\lambda )}{A_1(\lambda )}\frac{B_2(\lambda )}{A_2(\lambda )}\mathrm{}$$

converges. Moreover, in case of convergence one has

$$\frac{a_{n+1}}{a_n}=\frac{B_n(\lambda )}{A_n(\lambda )}\frac{B_{n+1}(\lambda )}{A_{n+1}(\lambda )}\frac{B_{n+2}(\lambda )}{A_{n+2}(\lambda )}\mathrm{}.$$

The right hand side of Eq. (3.1) is generated by a simple algorithm. Define $`r_n=a_{n+1}/a_n`$. Then Eq.(3.1) can be written as

$$r_n=\frac{B_n(\lambda )}{A_n(\lambda )+r_{n+1}}.$$

Applying (3.1) repeatedly, one gets Eq. (3.1) . Now, setting $`n=0`$ in Eq. (3.1) we have

$$\frac{Q}{2i\lambda }=\frac{B_0(\lambda )}{A_0(\lambda )}\frac{B_1(\lambda )}{A_1(\lambda )}\frac{B_2(\lambda )}{A_2(\lambda )}\mathrm{}.$$

This is the transcendental eigenvalue equation which determines the quasinormal frequencies. Equation (3.1) can be solved numerically with great efficiency using a variety of methods (see  , which also includes a discussion of the error analysis). Here we use a nonlinear backward recursion which amounts to breaking the continued fraction (3.1) by setting $`r_n`$ to zero7 To improve the convergence of continued fractions, one can instead set $`r_n`$ to its asymptotic value at $`n_{}`$, $`r_n=1/2(2+\lambda )/4n_{}+\mathrm{}`$, as suggested by Nollert  . for some large $`n_{}`$ and computing backward to get $`r_0`$. Stability can be checked by choosing a larger value of $`n_{}`$ and repeating the calculation.

4. Quasinormal frequencies

For $`q=0`$, the lowest 15 quasinormal frequencies $`\lambda _n`$ obtained by solving Eq. (3.1) numerically are listed in Table 1 and shown in Fig. 1. The results suggest that the number of frequencies is infinite, and that their large $`n`$ asymptotic behavior is given by the simple formula

$$\lambda _n^\pm =\lambda _0^\pm \pm 2n(1i),$$

where $`\lambda _0^\pm \pm 1.21390.7775i`$. In terms of the original variable $`\omega `$, Eq. (4.1) is written as

$$\omega _n^\pm =\omega _0^\pm \pm 2\pi Tn(1i),$$

where the coefficient in front of the parentheses is the bosonic Matsubara frequency and $`\omega _0^\pm =\pi T\lambda _0^\pm `$.

$`n`$ $`\text{Re}\lambda _n`$ $`\text{Im}\lambda _n`$  $`1`$ $`\pm 3.119452`$ $`2.746676`$  $`2`$ $`\pm 5.169521`$ $`4.763570`$  $`3`$ $`\pm 7.187931`$ $`6.769565`$  $`4`$ $`\pm 9.197199`$ $`8.772481`$  $`5`$ $`\pm 11.202676`$ $`10.774162`$  $`6`$ $`\pm 13.206247`$ $`12.775239`$  $`7`$ $`\pm 15.208736`$ $`14.775979`$  $`8`$ $`\pm 17.210558`$ $`16.776515`$  $`9`$ $`\pm 19.211943`$ $`18.776919`$  $`10`$ $`\pm 21.213025`$ $`20.777232`$  $`11`$ $`\pm 23.213896`$ $`22.777489`$  $`12`$ $`\pm 25.213896`$ $`24.777489`$  $`13`$ $`\pm 27.213896`$ $`26.777489`$  $`14`$ $`\pm 29.213896`$ $`28.777489`$  $`15`$ $`\pm 31.213896`$ $`30.777489`$

Table 1: The lowest quasinormal frequencies $`\lambda _n`$ for $`q=0`$.

Fig. 1: The lowest 15 quasinormal frequencies in the complex $`\lambda `$-plane for $`q=0`$.

Fig. 2: Re $`\lambda `$ vs $`q`$ (with the interval $`\mathrm{\Delta }q=0.5`$) for the lowest five quasinormal frequencies. The zeros approach the line Re $`\lambda `$ = $`q`$ as $`q\mathrm{}`$.

Fig. 3: Re $`\lambda `$ vs $`q`$ (with the interval $`\mathrm{\Delta }q=1`$) for the lowest five quasinormal frequencies.

Fig. 4: \- Im $`\lambda `$ vs $`q`$ (with the interval $`\mathrm{\Delta }q=1`$) for the lowest five quasinormal frequencies.

The lowest eigenfrequency in Table 1 can be compared with the result of Horowitz and Hubeny  for a large $`5d`$ Schwarzschild- AdS black hole. Normalizing the $`r_+=100`$ entry in Table 1 of  appropriately ($`\lambda =\omega R^2/r_+`$, $`R=1`$), we have $`\lambda ^{(100)}3.1196272.746655i`$ which is fairly close to our result $`\lambda ^{(\mathrm{})}3.1194522.746667i`$.

The dependence of the lowest five quasinormal frequencies on $`q`$ for $`q[0,100]`$ is shown in Figs. 2-4. All five branches stay above the line Re $`\lambda =q`$ (Re $`\omega =|𝐤|`$) slowly approaching it in the low-temperature limit $`q\mathrm{}`$. The imaginary part of the branches tends to zero in the same limit. Figures 2-4 bear resemblance to the dispersion law of thermal excitations in a weakly coupled Yang-Mills plasma8 Note, however, that in this paper we consider correlators of the gauge-invariant operators rather than the gluon propagator..

All quasinormal frequencies have negative imaginary parts. This fact can be proven rigorously using an argument based on the “energy-type” integral  or by writing Eq. (2.1) in the Regge-Wheeler form and essentially repeating the proofs for AdS black holes given recently in , . It reflects the stability of the near-extremal metric against a scalar perturbation. On the field theory side, the negative sign corresponds to the damping of the plasma excitations.

The computed frequencies appear to be symmetric with respect to the imaginary $`\lambda `$ axis, i.e., the eigenvalue equation (3.1) seems to give complex-conjugate pairs of solutions in terms of the variable $`i\lambda `$. This symmetry does not seem to be explicit in Eq. (3.1) 9 The symmetry, however, is obvious in the original form of the equation (2.1) . I thank A. V. Shchepetilov for pointing this out to me..

5. Discussion of results

The results are compatible with expectations outlined in the Introduction. The retarded Green’s function has infinitely many poles in the complex $`\omega `$-plane whose location depends on the spatial momentum. There is a “mass gap”: for small enough values of $`\lambda `$ the propagator $`G^R(\omega ,𝐤)`$ is analytic in agreement with Eq. (1.1). In the low-temperature limit $`\lambda \mathrm{}`$, $`q\mathrm{}`$ singularities merge, forming branch cuts of the zero-temperature propagator 10 The zero-temperature limit (1.1) of $`G^R(\omega ,𝐤)`$ can be obtained from the Heun equation using the Langer-Olver asymptotic expansion (see ). (1.1) as in the BTZ case.

The distribution of quasinormal frequencies in the complex $`\omega `$ plane for an asymptotically AdS background appears to follow a much simpler pattern than the one corresponding to the asymptotically flat case (compare Fig. 1 in  ). In particular, Chandrasekhar’s “algebraically special” solution is absent: there are no frequencies with Re $`\lambda =0`$. Obviously, all statements about the behaviour of higher order modes are conjectural. It would be very desirable to confirm the asymptotic formula (4.1) analytically, possibly by using the complex WKB method. We remark, however, that the analogous problem remains unsolved even in the much studied case of a Schwarzschild black hole in flat space.

Spectra of excitations in more realistic theories can be similarly studied provided their gravitational duals are known explicitly. It would also be interesting to determine the poles of the current and energy-momentum tensor correlators at finite temperature, whose hydrodynamic limit has recently been computed in  .

Finally, studying gravitational quasinormal modes may be important in investigating the stability of the non extremal black brane background.

Acknowledgments

It is a pleasure to thank P.K. Kovtun, D.T. Son and L.G. Yaffe for discussions. I would also like to thank A. Nuñes-Nikitin and A. V. Shchepetilov for valuable comments on the manuscript. This work is supported in part by DOE grant No. DOE-ER-41132.

References

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# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

The search for rare decays of charm particles is reaching a point where long range effects should be observable in the next few years. In order to perform the analysis of such small data sets, several techniques have become de facto standards in the last decade. In this talk, we will show new rare charm decay results from the FOCUS experiment. The analysis has been performed utilizing a bootstrap technique which we will describe below.

## 2 Technique

The FOCUS analysis technique has emphasized a careful approach to the treatment of backgrounds in a limited statistics analysis. The usual approach is to select cuts to optimize signal efficiency relative to background sidebands. This “blind” technique, where the signal region is masked off, can still lead to a downward fluctuation of the sidebands relative to the masked off “signal” region and a more conservative limit on average.

Further, authors frequently use the technique outlined in reference  to calculate the confidence levels used in the calculation of their limits. The approach in  does not explicitly include fluctuations in the background. Indeed, the PDG  suggests presenting a measure of the experimental sensitivity in addition to the reported limit whenever experiments quote a result since none of the methods suggested , including , properly deal with fluctuations in the background and bias in selecting the data.

For our analysis, we chose a method  which includes the background fluctuations directly into the calculation of the likelihood. The probability of finding a signal rate $`\mu `$ and a background rate $`b`$ given $`x`$ events in a signal region and $`y`$ events in background sidebands is described by:

$$P_{\mu ,b}(x,y)=\frac{(\mu +b)^xe^{(\mu +b)}}{x!}\frac{(\tau b)^xe^{(\tau b)}}{y!}.$$

Where $`\tau `$ is the ratio of the number of background events in the sideband regions to the signal region. The $`\tau `$ is determined via Monte Carlo. Rolke and Lopez  have shown that this method for determining an upper limit provides better coverage than .

Methods presented by Rolke and Lopez have also been shown to reduce bias in the selection of optimal cuts . Briefly, one uses the computed sensitivity on an ensemble of bootstrapped (sample with replacement) events from the data. The cuts chosen by each selected set in this manner are applied to a second, independent, bootstrapped sample. A sensitivity as well as an upper limit are computed from the second sample. The sensitivity and branching ratio quoted are the median values of the ensemble of results from the second bootstrap.

The data for the analyses presented in this talk were collected using the Wideband photoproduction experiment FOCUS during the 1996–1997 fixed–target run at Fermilab. The FOCUS detector is a large aperture, fixed–target spectrometer with excellent vertexing and particle identification used to measure the interactions of high energy photons on a segmented BeO target. The FOCUS beamline  and detector  have been described elsewhere.

To provide a clean sample of $`D^+`$’s and $`D_s^+`$’s, we look for $`D`$’s through the 3-body decay chain $`D^+(D_s^+)h^{}\mu ^\pm \mu ^+`$ where the $`h`$ represents a pion or a kaon. We use a cut grid based on kinematic variables and particle ID algorithm results that have been shown to be effective for other charm decays. The grid includes cuts on the significance of separation between the interaction and decay vertices ($`L/\sigma `$), the confidence level of the vertex fit of the decay vertex, the confidence level that a particle is identified as a muon, the momentum of muon candidates, and Čerenkov likelihoods based on different particle hypotheses used to separate pions and kaons . The normalizing modes used to compute the branching ratios for $`D^+`$ and $`D_s^+`$ are shown in Figure 1 for the loosest cuts in the grid.

## 3 Results and Systematic Checks

The dominant systematic effects in this analysis have been estimated to occur from the absolute branching ratios  used to calibrate the normalization modes. The systematic errors, which averaged about 7.6% for the $`D^+`$ modes and 27.6% for the $`D_s^+`$ modes, were added to the result using the technique outlined in . As a check on the dual bootstrap, another technique was used that selected a unique cut set based on the results of the cut grid. The cuts used to determine the best sensitivities in the first bootstrap are examined for all modes and a best set is determined based on the most likely cut combination. This cut set is then applied to all modes once in the spirit of a more traditional “blind” analysis.

The results of the analysis are presented in Table 1 below. There is good agreement between the dual bootstrap, the sensitivity and the single cut systematic check. Note that the only mode where the result and the sensitivity show a marked difference is in $`D^+K^{}\mu ^+\mu ^+`$ which might indicate more contamination from $`D^+K^{}\pi ^+\pi ^+`$ than anticipated.

## 4 Comparisons to Experiment and Theory

In Figure 2 below, we show the FOCUS branching ratio limits for the dual bootstrap technique described in the text. Our results are a substantial improvement over previous results  and FOCUS sets a new limit for the MSSM R-Parity violating prediction  for the branching ratio $`D^+\pi ^+\mu ^+\mu ^{}`$ of $`8.8\times 10^6\mathrm{@}`$ 90% C.L..

I am grateful to Daniel Engh for supplying all the FOCUS results presented in this note. I am also grateful to Gustavo Burdman and Paul Singer for their patience during several very useful conversations.


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# XMM-Newton and VLA Observations of the Variable Wolf-Rayet Star EZ CMa: Evidence for a Close Companion?

## 1 Introduction

Theories of the origin of X-ray emission in massive stars are now being reexamined in light of new discoveries by the XMM-Newton and Chandra observatories. Traditionally, the X-ray emission of single OB and Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars without companions has been attributed to shocks distributed throughout their winds that form as a result of line-driven flow instabilities (Lucy & White 1980; Lucy 1982; Baum et al. 1992; Gayley & Owocki 1995; Feldmeier et al. 1997; Owocki, Castor, & Rybicki 1988). Such emission is predicted to be relatively soft (kT $`<`$ 1 keV) and X-ray emission lines formed in an optically thick outflowing wind are expected to be blueshifted and asymmetric due to higher attenuation of the redward portion of the line by receding material on the far side of the star (MacFarlane et al. 1991; Owocki & Cohen 2001).

Recently obtained X-ray grating spectra of several OB stars reveal properties that conflict with the predictions of traditional radiative wind shock theory. In particular, the emission lines of the O9 supergiant $`\zeta `$ Ori (Waldron & Cassinelli 2000) and the B0V star $`\tau `$ Sco (Cohen et al. 2002) are unshifted and show no obvious asymmetries. The lack of asymmetries is difficult to explain if the lines are indeed formed in shocked winds (Owocki & Cohen 2001). Also puzzling is the presence of narrow high-temperature Fe XXIII and Fe XXIV lines in $`\tau `$ Sco indicative of hot plasma well in excess of $``$1 keV. In contrast, much-needed support for the radiative wind shock paradigm has been received from Chandra and XMM-Newton grating observations of the O4 supergiant $`\zeta `$ Puppis, whose emission lines are blueshifted and asymmetric (Cassinelli et al. 2001; Kahn et al. 2001).

Although grating observations are providing stringent tests of wind shock theories in OB stars, the observational picture for W-R stars is much less complete due to the lack of suitable targets bright enough for X-ray grating observations. At current sensitivity levels, grating spectra of sufficient quality for emission line analysis can only be obtained for a few of the brightest W-R $`+`$ OB binary systems such as $`\gamma ^2`$ Velorum (Skinner et al. 2001; Dumm et al. 2002). Such binaries provide crucial information on extrastellar emission from colliding wind shocks between the stars (Cherepashchuk 1976; Prilutskii & Usov 1976; Usov 1992), but this emission is difficult to decouple from any intrinsic stellar emission that may be present since the binary components are usually not spatially resolved in X-rays.

We are thus undertaking an observing program using XMM-Newton aimed at acquiring moderate resolution CCD spectra of fainter W-R stars that are currently beyond the reach of gratings. These include high-interest objects such as the putatively single WN5-6 star WR 110 (Skinner et al. 2002, hereafter SZGS02) and possible binary systems such as EZ CMa discussed here. The large effective area of XMM-Newton is particularly well-suited for obtaining good-quality CCD spectra of such fainter objects in reasonable exposure times. Although CCD spectra do not provide the detailed information on line widths and profiles that can only be obtained with gratings, they are capable of discerning stronger emission lines and provide meaningful constraints on X-ray absorption and the overall distribution of plasma with temperature. Such information is more than adequate to discriminate between the relatively cool emission (kT $`<`$ 1 keV) that is expected from filamentary shocks distributed throughout the wind and harder emission at several keV that is predicted for colliding wind binaries. As such, CCD spectra provide an ideal means for identifying candidate colliding wind binaries that may be amenable to study at higher spectral resolution with next-generation X-ray telescopes.

We present here new XMM-Newton and VLA observations of the nitrogen-type W-R star EZ CMa (= HD 50896 = WR6). This WN4 star has been extensively studied at all wavelengths and shows optical and ultraviolet variability at a well-documented 3.765 day optical period, the origin of which is still not understood. Various explanations have been proposed including an as yet undetected companion (Firmani et al. 1980; Lamontagne, Moffat & Lamarre 1986; Georgiev et al. 1999) and a rotationally modulated wind (St.-Louis et al. 1995). The XMM-Newton observations provide broader energy coverage and higher signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra than in previous observations, giving more accurate measurements of the X-ray absorption and plasma temperature distribution for comparison with emission models. The VLA data yield the first reliable determination of the radio spectral index based on single-epoch multifrequency data.

## 2 Previous X-ray and Radio Observations

EZ CMa has been observed in X-rays by Einstein (Moffat et al. 1982; White & Long 1986), ROSAT (Willis & Stevens 1996 = WS96), and ASCA (Skinner, Itoh, & Nagase 1997). The Einstein and ROSAT observations showed day-to-day X-ray variability at levels of $``$30% but the reality of short-term ($``$ 1 hour) variability reported by White & Long has been questioned in subsequent work (WS96). Moffat et al. claimed that weak modulation at the 3.76 d optical period was present in Einstein data , but a sequence of eight ROSAT exposures failed to confirm this (WS96). Low signal-to-noise ASCA spectra revealed weak emission lines (Si XIII and S XV) and provided the first clear evidence that the X-ray emission is due to an absorbed multi-temperature optically thin plasma. The ASCA observation was not sensitive enough to detect any photons above $``$5 keV, but the more sensitive XMM-Newton observation discussed here shows that such emission is present.

At radio frequencies Hogg (1989) obtained an average 6 cm flux density S4.89 = 1.05 $`\pm `$ 0.08 mJy from four VLA observations spanning 3.3 years, with no significant variability. Contreras & Rodriquez (2000) analyzed four deep 3.6 cm VLA observations in both A and D configurations obtained during a $``$6 month interval. The source was unresolved and flux densities in the range S8.44 = 1.38 $`\pm `$ 0.03 to 1.62 $`\pm `$ 0.03 mJy were obtained. Given the small flux uncertainties, their results could signal episodic variability. Higher frequency measurements were made by Altenhoff et al. (1994) at 250 GHz, obtaining S250 = 17 $`\pm `$ 3 mJy. A 230 GHz SEST observation by Leitherer & Robert (1991) gave S230 = 14.1 $`\pm `$ 3.1 mJy.

## 3 Observations

### 3.1 XMM-Newton Observations

XMM-Newton observed EZ CMa on 29 - 30 October 2001 as summarized in Table 1. The X-ray telescope is described by Jansen et al. (2001) and our analysis focuses on CCD imaging spectroscopy with the European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC). Data were obtained simultaneously with the EPIC-PN camera (Strüder et al. 2001) and two identical EPIC-MOS cameras (MOS-1 and MOS-2; Turner et al. 2001). We used full-window mode and the thick optical blocking filter. The PN and MOS cameras provide a $``$30 diameter field-of-view and energy coverage from $``$0.2 - 15 keV, moderate energy resolution (E/$`\mathrm{\Delta }`$E $``$ 20 - 50), and $``$5′′ FWHM angular resolution. Grating spectrometer data were also acquired but lacked sufficient counts for analysis.

Data reduction followed standard procedures using the XMM-Newton Science Analysis System software (SAS vers. 5.2). Pipeline-processed events files generated using the most current calibration data were filtered with EVSELECT to select good event patterns. Spectra and light curves were extracted from the filtered events lists within circular regions centered on EZ CMa of radii $``$40′′ (PN) and $``$52′′ (MOS). The PN extraction radius was limited to $``$40′′ in order to exclude photons from an adjacent CCD, thus minimizing calibration uncertainties. The $``$52′′ extraction radius for MOS excludes a weak field source lying $``$57′′ to the south (Fig. 1). Background was extracted from source-free regions of the same size on the same CCD as the source. Spectra were rebinned to a minimum of 20 counts per bin for analysis with XSPEC vers. 11.1 (Arnaud 1996) using various models. These included discrete temperature optically thin plasma codes (VAPEC and VMEKAL) and the differential emission measure (DEM) model C6PVMKL, which is an iterative algorithm based on Chebyshev polynomials (Lemen et al. 1989). For the hard component, bremsstrahlung and power-law models were also examined. All models included an absorption component based on Morrison & McCammon (1983) cross sections.

### 3.2 VLA Observations

EZ CMa was observed with the NRAO 111The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities Inc. VLA during a 3.5 hour interval on 1999 Oct. 19 with the array in hybrid BnA configuration, as summarized in Table 2. It was observed and detected at five frequencies: 1.42 GHz (21 cm), 4.86 GHz (6 cm), 8.44 GHz (3.6 cm), 14.94 GHz (2 cm), and 22.46 GHz (1.3 cm). The observations were made with the full array (minus two inoperable antennas) at each frequency in scans of $``$10 - 12 minutes duration interleaved with scans of the phase calibrator 0608$``$223. The primary flux calibrator 3C286 was observed at each frequency.

Data were edited and calibrated using the AIPS 222Astronomical Image Processing System (AIPS) is a software package developed by NRAO. software package. Maps were produced in both total intensity (Stokes $`I`$) and circularly polarized intensity (Stokes $`V`$) using the AIPS task IMAGR with natural weighting. Both peak and total (integrated) fluxes were measured in cleaned maps using the AIPS tasks TVSTAT (pixel summation within a region defined by the 2$`\sigma `$ contour) and IMFIT (Gaussian source model). These two methods gave good agreement, differing by no more than the RMS noise in the image.

## 4 Results

### 4.1 X-ray Properties of EZ CMa

We summarize below the main observational results from analysis of the images, light curves, and CCD spectra.

#### 4.1.1 X-ray Images

Figure 1 shows the inner region of the combined MOS1 and MOS2 images in broad-band (0.3 - 10 keV) and hard-band (5 - 10 keV) energy filters. EZ CMa is clearly detected in both bands and the X-ray position in Table 3 is offset by only 0.′′59 from the Hipparcos optical position (Perryman et al. 1997). A weak field source lying 57.4′′ south of EZ CMa is visible but there is no SIMBAD counterpart within 30′′ of this faint source.

The hard-band emission is also seen in the PN image, which shows 41 net counts (S/N = 5.8) in the 5 - 10 keV range. Thus, the hard-band emission is present in all three detectors and comprises $``$1.5% of the total counts in each detector. The hard-band emission is not extended and the hard emission peak lies within 0.′′6 of the EZ CMa Hipparcos position. This is the first detection of X-ray photons above 5 keV in EZ CMa and is attributable to the larger effective area of XMM-Newton.

#### 4.1.2 X-ray Light Curves

Figure 2 shows the MOS-1 and MOS-2 light curves in the 0.3 - 8 keV range. This restricted energy range reduces background and thus improves sensitivity to any real variability. The average count rate in each MOS is 0.12 $`\pm `$ 0.02 ($`\pm `$1$`\sigma `$) counts s-1. There are no MOS fluctuations greater than $`\pm `$2.1$`\sigma `$ and there is no clear correspondence between the largest fluctuations in one detector and the other. A fit of an assumed constant count rate source to each light curve binned at 512 s gives P(const) = 0.92 ($`\chi ^2`$/dof = 13.4/22) for MOS-1 and P(const) = 0.87 ($`\chi ^2`$/dof = 15.5/23) for MOS-2. Reducing the bin size to 256 s gives nearly identical values P(const) = 0.92 and 0.86 for MOS-1 and MOS-2.

By comparison, the PN light curve has an average count rate of 0.26 $`\pm `$ 0.03 counts s-1. At a binsize of 256 s there are no fluctuations greater than $`\pm `$2.2$`\sigma `$ and a constant count rate fit gives P(const) = 0.62 ($`\chi ^2`$/dof = 32.9/36). Light curves in soft and hard-bands were also generated and showed similar statistics. For example, the PN light curve in the 2.5 - 8.0 keV band gave P(const) = 0.78 ($`\chi ^2`$/dof = 4.75/8) when binned at 800 s intervals ($``$20 cts/bin).

In summary, we find no large amplitude ($``$3$`\sigma `$) variability during the 3.4 hour observation, but lower level fluctuations at the $`\pm `$2$`\sigma `$ level are present. The probability that these fluctuations represent real variability is P(var) = 0.08 - 0.13 in MOS and P(var) = 0.38 in PN. Thus, real low-level variability is not totally ruled out but is considered unlikely.

A comparison of XMM-Newton and ASCA fluxes does suggest that longer term variability is present. The observed (absorbed) flux in the 0.5 - 10 keV range measured by ASCA in October 1995 was Fx(0.5 - 10 keV) = 1.26 $`\times `$ 10-12 ergs cm-2 s-1 (Skinner, Itoh, & Nagase 1997). In this same energy range the flux observed by XMM-Newton is Fx(0.5 - 10 keV) = 0.96 $`\times `$ 10-12 ergs cm-2 s-1. This represents a 24% decrease, some of which could be due to absolute flux calibration differences between XMM-Newton and ASCA. Thus, any real variability is within the day-to-day fluctuation range of $``$30% found in previous ROSAT monitoring (WS96).

#### 4.1.3 X-ray Spectra

The EPIC-PN spectrum is shown in Figure 3. Several emission lines are visible including Mg XI (log Tmax = 6.8), Si XIII (log Tmax = 7.0), S XV (log Tmax = 7.2) and possible Fe lines in the crowded region near 1 keV. The Si and S lines confirm earlier detections in ASCA spectra (Fig. 3 of Skinner, Itoh, & Nagase 1997).

Based on a comparison of several models fitted to all three spectra simultaneously, we conclude that the best fit is obtained with an absorbed two-temperature optically thin plasma model (2T VAPEC) using nonsolar abundances (Sec. 4.1.4). Isothermal models are unacceptable. The best-fit parameters for the 2T VAPEC model are given in Table 3, and an overlay of this model on the MOS1 spectrum is shown in Figure 4. The emission measure is dominated by a cool component at kTcool $``$ 0.6 keV, but hotter emission is also present. Assuming that the hotter emission is thermal, its derived temperature is kThot = 3.5 \[3.0 - 4.2\] keV, where brackets enclose the 90% confidence interval. About one-half of the observed (absorbed) flux is due to the hot component (Table 3). As shown in Figure 5, essentially all of the flux above 2.5 keV is due to the hot component. For comparison, we have also fitted the ASCA SIS0 spectrum obtained in October 1995 with the 2T VAPEC model. Very similar results were obtained and the best-fit values of NH, kTcool, and kThot all lie within the 90% confindence ranges determined from XMM-Newton spectra (Table 3).

Because of the rather high temperature of the hot component and the low S/N ratio above 4 keV, the hot component can also be modeled as bremsstrahlung or a power-law. Replacing the hot optically thin plasma component in the 2T VAPEC model with a BREMSS model in XSPEC gives kTbrem = 3.4 \[3.0 - 4.1\] keV and no change in the reduced $`\chi ^2`$. Thus, a bremsstrahlung model for the hard component is essentially identical to an optically thin plasma model as expected at these higher temperatures. If a power-law model with an energy dependence E-q is used for the hot component then the best-fit photon power-law index is $`q`$ = 2.5 and the reduced $`\chi ^2`$ increases by 1.6% over the 2T VAPEC value. Issues related to power-law models were discussed in SZGS02 and also apply here.

The presence of a cool and hot emission component is confirmed in the emission measure distribution derived from a fit to all three spectra with the C6PVMKL model, as shown in Figure 6. The cool DEM component has a maximum contribution at kTcool $``$ 0.55 keV, in good agreement with 2T models. The DEM also shows a turnup above $``$4 keV signalling hotter plasma. However, the precise temperature of the hot component cannot be reliably determined from DEM models due to low signal-to-noise above 4 keV.

Some soft emission below 0.5 keV appears to be present in the PN spectrum (Fig. 3), but is not as obvious in the MOS spectra (Fig. 4). PN images in the soft 0.2 - 0.5 keV range show unresolved emission at the stellar position but there is no indication of extended emission from the surrounding ring nebula S 308, in agreement with ROSAT findings (WS96). The best-fit 2T VAPEC model (Table 3) with a single absorption component at NH = 4 $`\times `$ 1021 cm-2 underestimates the flux in the PN spectrum by about 20% ($``$1.8$`\sigma `$) in the 0.3 - 0.43 keV range (see also Fig. 4 of WS96). However, this model provides a satisfactory MOS fit at 0.4 keV. The soft residual in the PN fit can be removed by adding a third optically thin plasma component to the 2T VAPEC model at an uncertain temperature kTsoft $`<`$ 0.3 keV viewed under low ($``$interstellar) absorption NH(ISM) $``$ 5 $`\times `$ 1020 cm-2. Thus, there could be a contribution at low energies from very soft emission which would most likely originate far out in the wind. But, we are unable to state with confidence that such very soft emission is present because of PN calibration uncertainties below 0.5 keV and the reduced sensitivity to soft emission that results from use of the thick optical blocking filter.

#### 4.1.4 Abundances

We are unable to obtain satisfactory spectral fits using either solar abundances (Anders & Grevesse 1989, hereafter AG89) or the WN abundances given in Table 1 of van der Hucht, Cassinelli, & Williams 1986 (VCW86). An absorbed 2T VAPEC model using solar abundances gives $`\chi ^2`$/dof = 465.5/223 = 2.09 and the same model with WN abundances gives $`\chi ^2`$/dof = 383.4/223 = 1.72. Although neither fit is acceptable, the WN abundances yield somewhat better results and we have thus used them as our reference for further variable abundance fitting. These canonical WN abundances reflect chemical composition changes that are thought to occur in WN stars as a result of advanced nucleosynthesis including hydrogen depletion and the enhancment of helium and nitrogen (Willis 1996).

The spectral fits are significantly improved by allowing the abundances of N, Ne, Mg, Si, S, and Fe to vary relative to the VCW86 values. Also, the fit to the weak feature near 3.15 keV can be improved by adding Ar to the canonical WN abundance table and letting it vary. This weak feature could be Ar XVII, but the S XVI line at 3.11 keV may also be contributing. A comparison of 2T VAPEC and C6PVMKL models suggests that Fe is underabundant in EZ CMa by about a factor of four relative to the values in VCW86 (even when Ne is also allowed to vary) and that S is overabundant. Specifically, 2T VAPEC fits give Fe = 0.23 \[0.15 - 0.32\] and S = 2.0 \[1.4 - 2.9\] relative to the VCW86 values, which are by number: Fe/H = 1.904 $`\times `$ 10-3 and S/H = 7.600 $`\times `$ 10-4. Similar values are obtained with a 2T VMEKAL optically thin plasma model. If cosmic abundances (AG89) are used as a reference then the underabundance of Fe persists.

#### 4.1.5 Absorption and Av

Acceptable fits give an equivalent neutral hydrogen column density NH = 4.0 \[3.4 - 4.4\] $`\times `$ 1021 cm-2. This value corresponds to a visual extinction Av = 1.8 \[1.5 - 2\] using the conversion of Gorenstein (1975), which is at least twice as large as the values Av = 0.00 - 0.82 determined from optical studies (van der Hucht 2001, hereafter vdH01). However, if we adopt an absolute visual magnitude Mv = $``$3.5 as typical for WN4 stars (Fig. 4 of vdH01), $`v`$ = 6.94 (vdh01) and the Hipparcos distance of 575 pc, then we obtain Av = 1.64, which is in good agreement with the value obtained above from the X-ray spectra. Thus, the larger Av determined from X-ray spectra is not unrealistic but two factors should be kept in mind. First, a typical value of Mv is difficult to define for WN stars since there is no definite relation between spectral type and bolometric luminosity. Second, the Hipparcos distance is quite uncertain as evident from the parallax measurement $`\pi `$ = 1.74 $`\pm `$ 0.76 mas (Perryman et al. 1997).

### 4.2 Radio Properties

The VLA position (Table 2) is in excellent agreement with the Hipparcos position, with a radio $``$ optical offset $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$RA = $`+`$0.001 s and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$DEC = $`+`$0.07′′. The source is unresolved down to the smallest synthesized beamsize of 0.′′4 $`\times `$ 0.′′3 as indicated by the good agreement between the peak and total fluxes. The total flux at 4.86 GHz is nearly identical to the value S4.86 = 1.05 $`\pm `$ 0.08 mJy measured in 1980 - 1983 with the VLA (Hogg 1989). No circular polarization was detected and the most stringent upper limit on the fractional circular polarization ($`\pi _c`$) from the 8.44 GHz Stokes V image is $`\pi _c`$ $``$ 0.067 (3$`\sigma `$).

As shown in Figure 6, the total fluxes are well-approximated by a power-law of the form Sν $``$ $`\nu ^\alpha `$, where $`\alpha `$ = $`+`$0.69$`\pm `$0.05 (90% confidence errors). This spectral index agrees very well with that expected for free-free emission from a spherical ionized constant-velocity wind (Wright & Barlow 1975). It is also consistent with the value $`\alpha `$ = $`+`$0.64$`\pm `$0.06 derived by Leitherer & Robert (1991) using non-contemporaneous flux measurements. Extrapolating the total 22.4 GHz flux to 250 GHz using $`\alpha `$ = $`+`$0.69 gives a predicted value S$`{}_{}{}^{(pred)}{}_{250}{}^{}`$ = 16.6 $`\pm `$ 0.8 mJy, which is consistent with the measurement S250 = 17 $`\pm `$ 3 mJy obtained by Altenhoff, Thum, & Wendker (1994). Thus, there is good reason to believe that the $`\alpha `$ = $`+`$0.69 power-law extends to frequencies an order of magnitude higher than observed here with the VLA.

#### 4.2.1 Mass Loss Rate

The ionized mass loss rate for an assumed constant-velocity wind can be estimated using the result of Wright & Barlow (1975), namely $`\dot{\mathrm{M}}`$ = C0vS$`{}_{}{}^{0.75}{}_{\nu }{}^{}`$d$`{}_{}{}^{1.5}{}_{kpc}{}^{}`$ M yr-1, where C0 = 0.095$`\mu `$/\[Z$`\sqrt{\gamma g\nu }`$\]. Here, v (km s-1) is the terminal wind speed, Sν (Jy) is the observed radio flux at frequency $`\nu `$ (Hz), dkpc (kpc) is the stellar distance, $`\mu `$ is the mean atomic weight per nucleon, Z is the rms ionic charge, $`\gamma `$ is the mean number of free electrons per nucleon, and g is the free-free Gaunt factor. To evaluate this expression we use the highest signal-to-noise radio detection at $`\nu `$ = 8.44 GHz, S8.44 = 1.74 mJy (Table 2), v = 1700 km s-1 (Hillier 1987; Prinja, Barlow, and Howarth 1990), Z = 1, $`\gamma `$ = 1, and g = 4.78 at 8.44 GHz from the approximation for the free-free Gaunt factor given in Eq.  of Abbott et al. (1986), assuming a temperature at the radio photosphere of T = 10000 K (VCW86). These values give $`\dot{\mathrm{M}}`$ = 6.85 $`\times `$ 10-6 $`\mu `$ d$`{}_{}{}^{1.5}{}_{kpc}{}^{}`$ M yr-1. Assuming $`\mu `$ = 3.9 for a WN star (VCW86) this becomes $`\dot{\mathrm{M}}`$ = 2.67 $`\times `$ 10-5d$`{}_{}{}^{1.5}{}_{kpc}{}^{}`$ M yr-1. The wind luminosity is Lwind = (1/2)$`\dot{\mathrm{M}}`$v$`{}_{}{}^{2}{}_{\mathrm{}}{}^{}`$ = 2.4 $`\times `$ 1037d$`{}_{}{}^{1.5}{}_{kpc}{}^{}`$ ergs s-1.

Using the range of distance estimates from the Hipparcos value of 0.575 kpc to 1.8 kpc from Howarth & Schmutz (1995) to evaluate the above quantities we obtain $`\dot{\mathrm{M}}`$ = (1.2 - 6.4) $`\times `$ 10-5 M yr-1 and Lwind = (1.1 - 5.9) $`\times `$ 1037 ergs s-1. Smaller values of $`\dot{\mathrm{M}}`$ are obtained using values of Z $`>`$ 1 and $`\gamma `$ $`>`$ 1 obtained from specific atmospheric models (VCW86). However, the values of Z and $`\gamma `$ are quite sensitive to poorly-known stellar parameters and we have thus adopted Z = 1 and $`\gamma `$ = 1 in the above calculation.

## 5 Discussion

The new observational results discussed above provide the most detailed picture to date of the X-ray and centimeter radio properties of EZ CMa. Below, we make comparisons with previous studies and comment on specific emission models.

### 5.1 WN Stars: Comparative Spectroscopy

The XMM-Newton and VLA data for EZ CMa provide a good basis for comparison with similar data recently obtained for WR 110 (SZGS02). For the first time we are able to directly compare the X-ray and radio properties of two WN stars having similar spectral types using analogous data sets.

Table 4 summarizes the X-ray and radio properties of EZ CMa and WR 110, and their X-ray spectra are compared in Figure 8. Overall, the two stars are strikingly similar and the same physical processes are very likely responsible for the X-rays and radio emission in both stars. One notable difference is the larger NH for WR 110, attributable to its stronger interstellar absorption toward the Galactic center (SZGS02). The uncertain distance for EZ CMa introduces some ambiguity into the calculation of $`\dot{\mathrm{M}}`$ and Lx. But, as Table 4 shows, if an intermediate distance of 1.2 kpc is adopted for EZ CMa then $`\dot{\mathrm{M}}`$ and Lx agree with WR 110 to better than a factor of two.

### 5.2 Radiative Wind Shocks

The XMM-Newton spectra provide some constraints on wind shock models. The dominant cool emission component peaking near kTcool $``$ 0.6 keV can potentially be explained by radiative wind shock models, but the hot component requires a different explanation.

Assuming that the cool component is due to shocks distributed throughout the wind, then the observed X-ray temperature provides constraints on the shock speed vs using the adiabatic shock formula kTs = (3/16)m̄v$`{}_{}{}^{2}{}_{s}{}^{}`$. For a helium-rich WN wind m̄ = (4/3)mp where mp is the proton mass. The value kTcool $``$ 0.6 keV gives a typical shock speed vs $``$ 480 km s-1 but the range in temperatures of $``$0.3 - 0.8 keV inferred from the FWHM of the DEM model implies a range of shock speeds vs $``$ 340 - 550 km s-1. These values overlap the range of shock velocity jumps $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$v = 500 - 1000 km s-1 derived in numerical simulations of radiatively driven winds (Owocki et al. 1988).

The average filling factor $`f`$ of X-ray emitting plasma in the wind can be estimated using the procedure given in SZGS02 and the mass-loss parameters from Section 4.2.1. We define $`f`$ = EMx/EMtot where EMx is the volume emission measure of the X-ray emitting plasma and EMtot is the total volume emission measure in the wind. For a He-dominated wind we obtain $`f`$ = 5.34 $`\times `$ 10-3(R/R)$`norm`$/dkpc, where $`norm`$ is the normalization factor from XSPEC VAPEC models. Since only the cool X-ray component can be attributed to radiative wind shocks, we set $`norm`$ = $`norm_{cool}`$ from Table 3 and obtain $`f`$ = 1.8 $`\times `$ 10-7(R/R)/dkpc. For radii of a few solar radii (Hillier 1987) and the range of estimated distances 0.58 - 1.8 kpc, the filling factor need not be larger than $`f`$ $``$ 10-6.

The emergent cool emission detected by XMM-Newton must originate at large distances from the star unless the wind is clumped. Using the same procedure as in SZGS02 along with an intermediate distance d = 1.2 kpc and the mass loss parameters in Sec. 4.2.1, the radius of optical depth unity at 1 keV is Rτ=1(E = 1 keV) = 1.58 $`\times `$ 1014 cm $``$ 10.6 AU. Assuming R $``$ 2 R as a representative value (Hillier 1987; Hamann & Koesterke 1998), then Rτ=1(E = 1 keV) $``$ 1130 R. The harder emission could be coming from much smaller radii. Specifically, Rτ=1(E = 4 keV) $``$ 0.3 AU assuming that the wind absorption cross-section for X-rays $`\sigma _w`$ scales with energy according to $`\sigma _w`$ $``$ E-2.5 (Fig. 1 of Ignace, Oskinova, & Foullon 2000).

The shock speeds, filling factor and value of Rτ=1(E = 1 keV) computed above are nearly identical to those derived previously for WR 110 (SZGS02). The unit optical depth calculations for EZ CMa and WR 110 suggest that soft X-rays ($``$1 keV) emerge at many hundreds of stellar radii in WR stars assuming homogeneous winds, but smaller emergent radii would be possible for clumped winds. Similar conclusions have been reached for some O-type stars (e.g. Hillier et al. 1993). Detailed hydrodynamic simulations are now needed to determine if instability-generated wind shocks can persist to hundreds of radii in WR stars, analogous to those recently undertaken for OB stars by Runacres & Owocki (2002).

### 5.3 On the Possibility of a Compact Companion

Binarity has been suggested as one possible means of explaining the 3.765 day optical variability of EZ CMa. An estimate of the mass of the putative companion Mcomp = 1.3 ($`\pm `$0.4) M derived by Firmani et al. (1980) raised speculation that EZ CMa could have a compact companion (c), making it a rare WR $`+`$ c system (Lamontagne et al. 1986; White & Long1986). But, it was shown that the X-ray luminosity of EZ CMa is about three orders of magnitude lower than the accretion luminosity L$`{}_{}{}^{(acc)}{}_{x}{}^{}`$ $``$10 36 ergs s-1 expected for accretion of the W-R wind onto a neutron star (Stevens & Willis 1998). Similar arguments against a black hole companion based on ASCA luminosities were given by Skinner et al. (1997).

The XMM-Newton results confirm the above luminosity deficit, giving an unabsorbed luminosity Lx = (0.2 - 10 keV) = 3.46 $`\times `$ 1032d$`{}_{}{}^{2}{}_{kpc}{}^{}`$ ergs s-1. At the upper end of current distance estimates, d = 1.8 kpc and Lx = 1033.0 ergs s-1. If only the contribution of the hard component is considered, then Lx,hard(0.2 - 10 keV) = 1032.5 ergs s-1. Thus, if a neutron star companion is present then some mechanism such as rapid rotation near breakup (Davidson & Ostriker 1973) is needed to inhibit accretion.

The strong similarity between EZ CMa and WR 110 (Table 4) presents a new challenge for the compact companion hypothesis. WR 110 has so far shown no clear signs of binarity or periodic optical variability and has not previously been proposed as a candidate WR $`+`$ c system. If EZ CMa has a compact companion, then it is not clear why its X-ray and radio properties would so closely mimic those of another WN star for which evidence of a compact companion is lacking.

### 5.4 On the Possibility of a Normal Stellar Companion

An interpretation of the X-ray emission in terms of accretion onto a compact companion is questionable on the above grounds. However, it is more difficult to rule out a normal (nondegenerate) stellar companion. Such a companion is expected to be much less massive than the W-R star given that the radial velocity variations reported by Firmani et al. (1980) are of low amplitude. Arguments for binarity have recently been strengthened on the basis of long-term coherent optical variability seen in data sets spanning more than 15 years with a well-determined period P = 3.765 $`\pm `$ 0.0001 days (Georgiev et al. 1999). Georgiev et al. have argued that if the optical variability is due to a stellar companion then it is most likely orbiting very close to EZ CMa near the base of the wind in order to explain variations in the N V lines. We show below that a close companion could account for the hard X-ray emission detected by XMM-Newton.

To constrain the separation, we assume that P = 3.765 d is an orbital period and that the companion mass is much less than that of the W-R star Mwr $``$ 16 M (Hamann & Koesterke 1998). Kepler’s third law then gives the separation in AU as aAU $``$ 0.12, or equivalently a $``$ 25 R. A nearly identical separation is obtained if one uses the values of Mwr $``$ 10 M and the companion mass Mcomp $``$ 1.3 M adopted by Firmani et al. (1980).

We now assume that the hard X-ray component is produced by the W-R wind shocking onto the lower mass companion and that the W-R wind is dominant. In this case the contact surface is the surface of the companion star, as discussed in more detail by Luo, McCray, & MacLow (1990). Because of the close separation, radiative cooling may be important (eq.  of Stevens et al. 1992; eq.  of Usov 1992). We thus consider both adiabatic and radiative shocks. The close separation also raises the question of whether hard X-rays could escape from the overlying W-R wind and be detected. As already noted (Sec. 5.2), the radius of optical depth unity at 4 keV is Rτ=1(4 keV) $``$ 0.3 AU, so some absorption of the hard X-rays could occur. However, the absorption will depend critically on wind properties such as the clumping factor, and the actual value of Rτ=1 in a clumped wind would be less than that given above, which is based on the assumption of a spherical, homogeneous wind. Thus, without more specific information on wind geometry and homogeneity the escape of hard X-rays ($``$4 keV) from radii smaller than 0.3 AU is not precluded.

The inferred radius of the companion Rcomp is obtained by equating the unabsorbed luminosity of the hard component (Table 3) with the predicted shock luminosity, where the predicted shock luminosity is different in the adiabatic and radiative cases (eqs. ,  of Usov 1992, respectively). Using the mass loss parameters in Sec. 4.2.1 and the unabsorbed hard-component flux F$`{}_{}{}^{(hot)}{}_{x}{}^{}`$(0.2 - 10 keV) = 7.8 $`\times `$ 10-13 ergs cm-2 s-1, the adiabatic case gives aAU = 0.20d$`{}_{}{}^{0.25}{}_{kpc}{}^{}`$(Rcomp/R)0.75. For aAU = 0.12 and the probable distance range dkpc = 0.575 - 1.8 the companion radius is Rcomp $``$ 0.4 - 0.6 R. A similar calculation in the radiative case gives Rcomp $``$ 0.12 - 0.16 R. In the above, we have used the luminosity in a specific energy range (0.2 - 10 keV) as an approximation for the total X-ray luminosity integrated over all frequencies. In general, the luminosity within a specific bandpass will be less than the value over all frequencies so the derived values of Rcomp are in fact lower limits.

The observed temperature kThot $``$ 3.5 \[3.0 - 4.2\] keV is also compatible with a shocked companion interpretation. The observed temperature derived from spectral fits is an average that includes contributions from the hottest shocked plasma at kTs,max along the line-of-centers and cooler plasma downstream. Thus, the observed value will in general be less than the maximum temperature. The difference between the observed temperature and kTs,max will depend on several poorly known factors including wind chemical composition and the importance of radiative cooling. As a rough estimate, one expects an observed temperature kT $``$ 0.8kTs,max in the adiabatic case (eq.  ff. of Usov 1992).

For EZ CMa, the maximum predicted temperature for an adiabatic shock in a He-dominated wind is kTs,max $``$ 7.5 keV (Sec. 5.2), assuming that the wind has reached terminal speed v = 1700 km s-1 at the shock. However, at the close separation of interest here (a $``$ 25 R), the wind may not have reached terminal speed. Using the velocity profile and stellar radius Rwr = 2.5 R given by Hillier (1987), we obtain a/Rwr $``$ 10 and the wind is at or near terminal speed when it impacts the companion. But, using the radius Rwr = 3.5 R and $`\beta `$ = 3 wind velocity law of Schmutz (1997) then a/Rwr $``$ 7.1 and the wind speed is vwr $``$ 0.64 v. In this case, kTs,max $``$ 3.1 keV. Thus, based on the rough approximation that the observed temperature should be $``$0.8 kTs,max, we would expect observed values in the range $``$2.5 - 6 keV. The values measured from spectral fits are well within this range.

We thus conclude that the X-ray luminosity and observed temperature of the hard component are compatible with the shocked companion hypothesis. If the companion mass is much less than that of the W-R star then the inferred companion radius is at least Rcomp $``$ 0.2 - 0.6 R. This would correspond to a main-sequence (MS) M-type star, but clearly such a low mass star could not yet have reached the MS if it formed contemporaneously with the W-R star. Thus, a pre-main-sequence (PMS) companion would seem more likely. It may be relevant here that some W-R stars such as $`\gamma ^2`$ Vel are now believed to be associated with PMS objects (Pozzo et al. 2000; Skinner et al. 2001). If the putative companion is indeed a late-type star then interaction of the W-R wind with the companion’s magnetic field would be an important factor to include in more detailed models. Our analysis shows that the observed temperature of the hot component is somewhat less than that expected for an adiabatic shock if the wind has reached terminal speed. This could be an indication that radiative cooling is important and the adiabatic approximation is breaking down at close separation, or perhaps that the W-R wind has not reached terminal speed at the shock. Radiative braking of the WR wind by the the companion star can also lead to lower X-ray temperatures than predicted by simple models (Gayley, Owocki, & Cranmer 1997) but this effect would be of little importance for a lower mass companion that is less luminous than the WR star.

## 6 Summary

Overall, the X-ray properties derived for EZ CMa using new XMM-Newton data are in good agreement with previous ASCA results (Skinner et al. 1997). The improved signal-to-noise in XMM-Newton spectra yields more accurate measurements of the X-ray absorption and plasma temperatures. The temperature of the dominant cool component is identical to that obtained with ASCA, but the hot component temperature is revised upward by $``$35% to kThot $``$ 3.5 \[3.0 - 4.2\] keV.

The origin of the hotter plasma remains obscure, but neutron star accretion models are difficult to justify based on X-ray luminosity considerations and the close similarity between the X-ray and radio properties of EZ CMa and WR 110, where the latter is not a candidate WR $`+`$ c system. We have argued that the hard X-rays could from the W-R wind shocking onto a normal low-mass stellar companion, but direct evidence for such a companion is still lacking. Also, the failure to detect periodic X-ray variability with ROSAT is somewhat difficult to reconcile with a companion interpretation unless the orbital elements are not conducive to X-ray variability, as for example in a low eccentricity orbit. Further broad-band searches for modulated X-ray emission might be worthwhile since ROSAT was not sensitive to emission above 2.5 keV. The XMM-Newton spectra show that about one-third of the observed flux emerges above 2.5 keV (Table 3) and essentially all of this is due to the hard component.

Until conclusive evidence for binarity is found, alternative models that are capable of producing hard X-rays in the absence of a companion should be explored. Of particular interest are models that incorporate wind - magnetic field interactions since it has been proposed that the variability of EZ CMa may be due to corotating structures at or near the surface (St.-Louis et al. 1995). Possible evidence for magnetic activity in the form of short-duration ($``$1 hr) optical variability has also been reported (Duijsens et al. 1996).

The XMM-Newton spectra also reveal two interesting anomalies that deserve further study. First, the absorption column density derived from XMM-Newton spectra (Table 3) is comparable to Einstein and ASCA values and leads to an estimate of Av = 1.8 \[1.5 - 2.0\] that is at least twice as large as previous optical/UV determinations. This suggests that excess X-ray absorption could be present that is not seen in the optical/UV, possibly due to the surrounding ring nebula, or perhaps that Av is slightly underestimated from optical/UV studies. Second, the XMM-Newton spectra indicate that WN abundances may be substantially different than assumed in earlier work. In particular, all spectral models examined here give a best-fit Fe abundance that is a factor of $``$4 below the reference value for WN stars given in VCW86, and a similar depletion is noted when using cosmic abundances (AG89) as a reference. Some caution is advised since the low Fe abundance was inferred from moderate resolution CCD spectra where line blending is present, but the repeatibility of this result across several different types of models does suggest that the underabundance is real.

Finally, the close similarities between EZ CMa and WR 110 apparent in Table 4 and Figure 8 represent a first step toward a unified observational picture of X-ray and radio emission in WN stars. These close similarities provide strong evidence that the physical mechanisms responsible for the X-ray and radio continuum emission in these two WN stars are identical, even though their optical properties are obviously different. If an unseen companion is responsible for the optical variability and hard X-ray emission in EZ CMa then the similarities in Table 4 implicate an unseen companion in WR 110 as well. The properties of such a companion were derived in our previous analysis of WR 110 (SZGS02) but are not as tightly constrained as for EZ CMa since WR 110 has no known regular optical variability on which to base an estimate of the orbital period. Other W-R stars which have so far shown no direct evidence for binarity but which could also harbor unseen companions are those with prominent X-ray emission such as the WN4 star WR1 (HD 4004).

This work was supported by NASA grant NAG5-10325. Research at PSI has been supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation under grant 2100-049343. This work was based on observations obtained with XMM-Newton, an ESA science mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA member states and the USA (NASA). We thank members of the XMM-Newton, VLA, and HEASARC (NASA/GSFC) support teams for their assistance. This research has made use of the SIMBAD astronomical database operated by CDS at Strasbourg, France.