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# References

PROPERTIES OF THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM AND THE PROPAGATION OF COSMIC RAYS IN THE GALAXY

A.D.Erlykin 111Corresponding author: Erlykin A.D., e-mail: A.D.Erlykin@durham.ac.uk,2, A.A.Lagutin 3, A.W.Wolfendale 1

(1) Department of Physics, University of Durham, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK

(2) P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Leninsky Prosp., Moscow 117924, Russia

(3) Altai State University, Dimitrova st. 66, Barnaul 656099, Russia

## Abstract

The problem of the origin of cosmic rays in the shocks produced by supernova explosions at energies below the so-called ’knee’ ( at $`310^6`$ GeV ) in the energy spectrum is addressed, with special attention to the propagation of the particles through the inhomogeneous interstellar medium and the need to explain recent anisotropy results, . It is shown that the fractal character of the matter density and magnetic field distribution leads to the likelihood of a substantial increase of spatial fluctuations in the cosmic ray energy spectra. While the spatial distribution of cosmic rays in the vicinity of their sources ( eg. inside the Galactic disk ) does not depend much on the character of propagation and is largely determined by the distribution of their sources, the distribution at large distances from the Galactic disk depends strongly on the character of the propagation. In particular, the fractal character of the ISM leads to what is known as ’anomalous diffusion’ and such diffusion helps us to understand the formation of the Cosmic Ray Halo. Anomalous diffusion allows an explanation of the recent important result from the Chacaltaya extensive air shower experiment , viz. a Galactic Plane Enhancement of cosmic ray intensity in the Outer Galaxy, which is otherwise absent for the case of the so-called ’normal’ diffusion. All these effects are for just one reason: anomalous diffusion emphasizes the role of local phenomena in the formation of cosmic ray characteristics in our Galaxy and elsewhere.

1. Introduction Since the early fifties supernova remnants ( SNR ) have been considered as the most likely sources of Galactic cosmic rays ( following the pioneering work of I.S.Shklovsky ). The main arguments for his proposal were sufficient energy deposition and the presence of non-thermal radio emission which indicates that SNR are the sites of electron acceleration. Later theoretical analysis of diffusive shock acceleration, which was supposed to be the main mechanism of particle acceleration in SNR, confirmed that they can produce a power law spectrum of cosmic rays over a wide range of energies, and thus explain one of the most prominent features of the cosmic radiation.

Although there is evidence at GeV gamma ray energies for SNR acceleration of the initiating particles , since the development of high energy ( TeV ) gamma ray astronomy doubts have begun to arise as to the role of SNR as the main sources of cosmic rays above some 10’s of GeV. These doubts are inspired by the continuing absence of direct observations of TeV gamma-rays from known SNR which could be associated with the accelerated protons and nuclei. Another serious problem for the SNR model, and, indeed, for any model in which the source distribution is similar to that of SN, in terms of dependence of number on Galactocentric distance, is that the radial gradient of the proton and nuclei intensity in our Galaxy has been found to be less than the gradient of supernovae. Interestingly, the gradient for electrons - as determined from low energy gamma rays , and synchrotron radiation  \- seems ’normal’.

Further problems are that the energy of the knee ( $`10^6`$ GeV ) is above the maximum energy of accelerated protons in all models. Also, the required $``$10% efficiency of the energy transfer from the kinetic energy of the SNR shock to the energy of accelerated particles may well be too high in that the efficiency observed hitherto appears to be less than about 1% . However, it must be said that the problem of maximum energy is less severe if, as we maintain, the knee is associated with ’heavy nuclei’, specifically oxygen and iron . A way forward is to search for other sources of TeV cosmic ray nuclei ( eg  ) or to re-examine the manner in which cosmic rays propagate through the Galaxy, viz, whether or not the propagation has the usually-adopted Gaussian form ( spatially, about the source ). It is the latter approach that we adopt here. Specifically, we wish to see to what extent, the adoption of a more realistic model of cosmic ray diffusion in the ISM helps in the quest for an explanation of the following ’cosmic ray anomalies’: the small cosmic ray gradient ( for protons and nuclei ), the extended cosmic ray halo, the Galactic Plane Enhancement in the Outer Galaxy and the energetics problem. However, indirectly we also test the basic conception that the main source of cosmic rays are SNR with their diffusive shock acceleration mechanism producing the energy spectrum with a power law exponent about 2.15.

2. The properties of the interstellar medium ( ISM ) 2.1. Connection of the diffusion characteristics with the spectrum of magnetic turbulence in the ISM

It is well known that the distribution of matter and magnetic fields in the Galaxy is highly non-homogeneous on different spatial scales. Gaseous clouds with very different densities, temperatures and degrees of ionization move through space in a highly turbulent way. Many evidences both from theory and observations of the existence of multiscale structures in the Galaxy have been found during a few last decades ( see, for instance, . Filaments, shells, clouds and other entities are widely spread in the ISM. A rich variety of structures which are created in interacting phases and have different properties can be related to the fundamental property of the turbulence, called the intermittency.

In 1941 A.V.Kolmogorov, assuming that all the characteristics of the turbulent medium depend only on the energy flux through the turbulent vortex hierarchy, derived an expression for the spectrum of turbulence ( the energy per unit mass and wave number bin, $`k`$ ). For steady-state hydrodynamic conditions, when the medium is incompressable, magnetic fields are absent and the energy flux does not depend on the viscosity, the spectrum is $`F(k)k^\chi `$ with $`\chi =\frac{5}{3}`$ . At this point it is commonly assumed that not only is the Kolmogorov expression valid for cosmic ray propagation, but, furthermore, that the diffusion process is ’normal’, viz. Gaussian. Specifically, for one-dimensional propagation we can write, for the particle density, $`\rho `$, at distance $`x`$ from a source and at time $`t`$ after a burst of particles is emitted:

$$\rho (x,t)=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi \sigma }}exp(\frac{x^2}{2\sigma ^2})$$
(1)
where $`\sigma =\sqrt{2Dt}`$, $`D`$ being the diffusion coefficient. It will be shown that neither assumption is valid. Concerning the value of $`\chi `$, this changes if magnetic fields are present.

In the case of the gas being conductive, which is the usual state of the interstellar plasma, the turbulent motion generates magnetic fields and they, themselves, have a turbulent structure. The stretching, bending and folding of magnetic field lines by turbulent motions of the medium partially coupled to the field make the magnetic field also highly intermittent, especially on the smaller scales.

Because magnetic irregularities scatter the charged particles, making the propagation of cosmic rays diffusion-like, the spectrum of these irregularities is important for the magnitude of the diffusion coefficient, which governs the transport of the cosmic rays. In 1965 R.H.Kraichnan showed that for the hydromagnetic case with the presence of magnetic fields the turbulence spectrum displays an exact equipartition between the magnetic and kinetic energies and its shape is modified. The predicted magnetic and kinetic energy spectra are both proportional to $`k^\chi `$ with $`\chi =\frac{3}{2}`$ instead of $`\frac{5}{3}`$ .

As remarked already, many cosmic ray workers have used the Kolmogorov form - which has become a sort of ’standard’ for cosmic ray diffusion; however, it is now appreciated that, insofar as most of the ISM is ionized to a significant degree, the Kraichnan form is more appropriate. In fact, we ourselves have prefered the latter  for an empirical reason, viz. that, when married with a ’standard’ SNR production spectrum, the ensuing ambient cosmic ray spectrum has the ’correct’ form.

The Galactic magnetic field is the superposition of a regular spiral component $`B_0`$ and a random component $`B_1`$, which is determined by turbulent motions in the ISM. The mean free path $`\lambda _{sc}`$ for the scattering of a particle with gyroradius $`r_g`$ by random magnetic irregularities with wave number $`k`$ is determined  by

$$\lambda _{sc}=\frac{r_gB_0^2}{B_1^2(k)k}$$
(2)
Here $`B_1^2(k)`$ is the magnetic energy density contained in irregularities with wave number $`k`$ and, since it is determined by the ISM turbulence, $`B_1^2(k)k^\chi `$. Scattering of the particles is most efficient in the ’resonant’ condition when their gyroradii, determined mostly by the regular magnetic field $`B_0`$, is close to the size of the irregularities, i.e. $`r_g1/k`$. In this case the transverse diffusion across the regular magnetic field, which is important for the radial propagation of cosmic rays in the Galaxy, is characterized by the diffusion coefficient $`D_{}`$, where $`D_{}`$ depends on the energy $`E`$ as

$$D_{}(E)=D_0E^\delta $$
(3)
$`E`$ nearly coincides with the rigidity for relativistic protons and electrons and

$$\delta =2\chi $$
(4)
The parallel diffusion along the magnetic field lines which is typical for the cosmic ray propagation orthogonal to the Galactic disk ( there being evidence for field lines perpendicular to the Galactic Plane in the Halo ), is usually faster and goes with the parallel diffusion coefficient $`D_{}D_{}`$ .

It is important to point out that the simple form for the energy dependence of the diffusion coefficient ( equation (3) ) can only apply below a particular energy, $`E_0`$, usually identified with that of the knee in the spectrum ( at $``$ 3 PeV ). At higher energies where the spectrum steepens, it is usually considered that there is insufficient power in the irregularities to maintain the original value of $`\delta `$. The Kolmogorov case corresponds to the assumption of energy injection ( from SNR, etc. ) at the appropriate distance scale for $`E_0`$, viz. a few pc. At higher energies and bigger distance scales not only is the form of $`D(E)`$ very uncertain but near-straight line propagation is not far off.

2.2. Anomalous diffusion in the fractal ISM

Most calculations for the propagation of cosmic rays in the Galaxy have been made using ’quasilinear theory’ , whose validity is limited to very low levels of turbulence and a quasi-homogeneous ISM. The turbulence and diffusion characteristics were connected only via the energy dependence of the diffusion coefficient determined by equations (3) and (4). In fact, as we mentioned in §2.1, the ISM has the multiphase character and is highly non-homogeneous. The turbulence level is quite high and the mean amplitude of the irregular magnetic field in the Galaxy determined by the turbulence is generally of the same order of magnitude as that of the regular field: $`\frac{B_1}{B_0}1.5`$  and this ratio undoubtedly varies from place to place, depending on the proximity of stars of various types and ’shocks’ of a wide range of strengths. The way forward - to advance on the simple homogeneous diffusion approximation - is frought with difficulty but we consider that one, hopefully fruitful, approach is by way of the so-called ’anomalous diffusion’ scenario . Here there are two regimes: that of sub-diffusion, in which there are relatively small spatial displacements and of superdiffusion, where there are large displacements ( the so called ’Levy flights’ ).

An approach to anomalous diffusive propagation has been recently developed by Lagutin et al. . In this work the power law character of the turbulence spectrum provides a self-similarity of the ISM structure, i.e. the ISM is fractal-like . This self-similarity is not global and does not cover the whole Galaxy, but is valid on a wide range of spatial scales, at least in the pc and sub-pc scales of importance here. Indeed the experimental study of the ISM by radio observations revealed that various structures of the ISM are not distributed at random, but obey power-law relations between size, linewidth and mass . These power laws demonstrate the self-similar nature of the ISM and are observed at the scales ranging from 100 pc down to $`210^3`$ pc, i.e. at nearly 5 decades of the wave number $`k`$ from $`210^{20}`$ to $`10^{15}`$ cm-1. It can be that the range is even wider, because direct measurements within the solar system made by Mariner-4 spacecraft found that above $`k610^{12}`$ cm-1 the wave number spectrum of the magnetic irregularities is proportional to $`k^{\frac{3}{2}}`$ for another two decades .

On the basis of the assumption that the ISM has a fractal structure Lagutin et al. have formulated and solved analytically the equation for anomalous diffusion in a fractal medium for different input conditions. The basic equation for cosmic ray concentration n without energy losses and nuclear interactions has the form

$$\frac{dn}{dt}=D(E,\alpha )(\mathrm{\Delta })^{\frac{\alpha }{2}}n(r,t,E)+S(r,t,E)$$
(5)
where $`D(E,\alpha )`$ is the anomalous diffusion coefficient, $`\alpha `$ is an exponent determined by the fractal structure of the medium, $`(\mathrm{\Delta })^{\frac{\alpha }{2}}`$ is the fractional laplacian ( called ’Riss’ operator  ). We remind that the normal diffusion is described by the similar equation, where the first term in its right part is $`D(E)\mathrm{\Delta }n(r,t,E)`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is an ordinary laplacian and the diffusion coefficient $`D`$ depends only on the energy. The details of the solution of the equation (5) are given in .

The solution depends on the anomalous diffusion coefficient $`D(E,\alpha )`$ and the index $`\alpha `$ determines the temporal dependence of the cosmic ray propagation and the shape of the diffusion front. Later we show that its magnitude can be connected with the spectrum of magnetic irregularities. Therefore this index is the fundamental parameter for the propagation of cosmic rays in the turbulent ISM, which determines and interconnects the energy dependence and the speed of propagation as well as the shape of the diffusion front.

The standard diffusion in a homogeneous medium which leads to a Gaussian distribution of particle densities corresponds to $`\alpha =2`$. The case of $`\alpha <2`$ corresponds to the so-called superdiffusive regime of anomalous diffusion.

It is appreciated that there is a certain ad hoc element in the treatment but, at least, the actual ingredients of the real ISM seem to be in place.

3. The model

Our model for particle acceleration by a SNR shock and the subsequent propagation through the ISM is actually a generalization of that described in . The supernova explosions are assumed to be randomly distributed in time. Their spatial distribution in the Galactic disk is assumed cylindrically symmetric, as

$$\rho _{SN}=Af(R,Z)$$
(6)
where

$$f(R,Z)=(\frac{R}{R_{}})^aexp(b(\frac{R}{R_{}}1)\frac{Z}{H_z})$$
(7)
with $`a=1.69\pm 0.22,b=3.33\pm 0.37,R_{}=8.5kpc,H_z=0.2kpc`$ . The normalization constant $`A`$ has been taken to provide the total rate of $`10^2year^1`$ Type II SN explosions in the Galaxy.

The acceleration and the propagation of cosmic rays during the SN explosion consists of two phases: the expansion and the diffusion. Details of the original model are given in . In the present model the expansion phase of the explosion has not been changed and at the end of it the accelerated protons have a nearly power law energy spectrum with an exponent of about 2.2.

The diffusion phase of the propagation has been generalized to study the consequences of the different turbulence spectra. We have made calculations for 4 values of $`\alpha `$: 2, 1.5, 1 and 0.5. The important generalizations were related to the constraint:

$$(D(E,\alpha )\tau )^{\frac{1}{\alpha }}=H_G$$
(8)
and to the expression for the mean radius of the diffusive front:

$$R_d=(D(E,\alpha )t)^{\frac{1}{\alpha }}=H_G(\frac{t}{\tau })^{\frac{1}{\alpha }}$$
(9)
Here $`\tau `$ is the mean lifetime of particles in the Galaxy which is determined by escape and $`H_G`$ is the vertical scale parameter of the Galaxy, which we adopt as 1 kpc . It is seen from (7) that the normal Gaussian case arises if $`\alpha =2`$ and that the temporal spread of the particles in the important cases of $`\alpha <2`$ is faster then for ’normal’ diffusion.

On the basis of a correspondence of Richardson’s relative-diffusion law : $`R_dt^{\frac{3}{2}}`$ to the diffusion in the medium with Kolmogorov-type turbulence spectrum  we assume that

$$\alpha =2(2\chi )=2\delta $$
(10)
and by this way connect the properties of the turbulent ISM with the characteristics of the cosmic ray propagation through it. The shape of the diffusion front is different for different $`\alpha `$ and is shown in Figure 1. It is seen that for $`\alpha <2`$ there is a tail at large distances due to particles which propagate with small scattering ( the ’Levy flights’ referred to earlier ).

As for ’normal’ diffusion the normalization of the particle density profile at any instant of time and in the absence of escape losses has been made to preserve the total energy contained in the cosmic rays equal to $`10^{50}`$ erg. The escape time has been determined by the constraint (8) and has a power law energy dependence with the same but negative exponent as $`D(E,\alpha )`$, i.e.

$$\tau =\tau _0E^{(2\chi )}$$
(11)
with $`\tau _0=\frac{H_G^\alpha }{D_0}`$.

4. Energy spectra of cosmic rays

The results for the energy spectra of cosmic rays calculated by us for different values of $`\alpha `$ are shown in Figure 2. 50 identical samples of 50000 SNR were simulated for 4 values of $`\alpha :2,1.5,1`$ and $`0.5`$. Better agreement between the observed and simulated spectra can be achieved by correcting the observed spectrum for the solar modulation effect at energies below 10 GeV. A higher absolute intensity in the simulations could be easily obtained using the higher SNR rate in the nearby Gould Belt and a higher efficiency for the energy transfer from kinetic energy of the explosion into accelerated cosmic rays . It is seen that the mean spectra have different slopes, a result that arises because we connected the energy dependence of the escape time $`\tau `$ and the diffusion coefficient $`D`$ with the turbulence structure of the magnetic field in the ISM. The more uniform is the size distribution of magnetic irregularities the weaker is that dependence and the closer is the spectrum to that emerging after the acceleration at the end of the SNR expansion phase.

We remark that the closest to the observed spectrum of cosmic rays at earth is that with $`\alpha =1.0`$ which corresponds to the turbulence spectrum derived by Kraichnan , a fact already referred to ( see §2.1 ). Also, among 50 different samples there is a good fraction which have a shape close to that observed below the knee, with its smoothly steepening background at TeV energies followed by a concave structure at higher energies. Such a structure of the spectrum has been explained by us in the Single Source Model , where the ’knee’ has structure due to a significant contribution from a local SNR. This situation is still true in the case of anomalous diffusion.

5. Spatial distribution of cosmic rays

5.1. General remarks

For the cosmic ray intensity at large distances above and below the Galactic Plane the stochastic character of the spatial distribution of SNR plays an insignificant role, because all SNR are concentrated in the disk itself. Thus, in our calculations of the intensity we have simply made a numerical integration over the smooth SNR distribution. The propagation of cosmic rays was calculated assuming that the turbulent properties of the ISM do not depend on the vertical ( $`Z`$ ) or radial ( $`R`$ ) distance and can be described by the same power law as within the Galaxy. In general this can be justified if, for instance, the regular and the mean irregular magnetic fields decrease with distance in such a way that the scattering mean free path (1) does not change.

5.2. The radial distribution

5.2.1. General remarks

In Figure 3a we show the distribution of cosmic rays out to large radial distances in the Galactic disk for two energies: 1 GeV and 1 TeV. For comparison we show also the adopted distributions of SNR density normalized to 1 at its maximum. It is seen that the radial distribution of cosmic rays follows the radial distribution of SNR at almost all distances and for all values of $`\alpha `$, a fact due to the high sensitivity of cosmic ray intensity to nearby sources. The only exception is the region near the center of the Galaxy ( $`R2`$ kpc ), where there is a lack of sources and cosmic rays fill in the gap. The significance of the result will be considered later.

5.2.2. The proton radial gradient

The gradient can be defined as $`S=\frac{d(lnI)}{dR}`$, where I is the intensity of cosmic rays ( or the density of sources ). In Figure 3a we see that the radial gradient of cosmic rays is equal to the gradient of the sources, whatever the value of $`\alpha `$. At the site of the solar system, i.e. at R = 8.5 kpc it is $`0.17\pm 0.05`$ kpc-1. Experimental values for the Outer Galaxy derived by us from the gamma-ray emissivity profile are (-0.10$`\pm `$0.02) kpc-1 in Quadrant 2 and (0.0$`\pm `$0.03) kpc-1 in Quadrant 3 , ie the observed radial gradient is smaller than that predicted, a well-known fact . However as remarked in  the overall emissivity gradient does not necessarily hold locally. In particular, measurements of the emissivity in the Perseus arm at 3 kpc from the Sun in the Outer Galaxy and at the distance of Cepheus and Polaris flare at 0.25 kpc give a higher gradient: $`0.15\pm 0.03`$ kpc-1, which does not contradict the gradient of the SNR distribution . It is at greater galactocentric distances ( $`R15`$ kpc ) that the observed gradient is inconsistent with that predicted.

The maximum of the gamma-ray emissivity is at about the same distance, $`R4`$ kpc, from the Galactic center as the maximum of the SNR distribution which favors an SNR-origin of the bulk of the cosmic rays, or at least sources which have the same spatial distribution.

Since the amplitude of the anisotropy is $`A=\lambda _{sc}S`$ and we estimate from our model that for 1 TeV $`\lambda _{sc}7.510^3`$ kpc, then we expect that the anisotropy amplitude at this energy will be about $`(1.3\pm 0.4)10^3`$, the experimental value being close to it: $`(0.8\pm 0.2)10^3`$

To this extent, we can conclude that the anomalous ( superdiffusive ) diffusion mechanism does not help in elucidating the problem of the low overall radial gradient of protons and nuclei ( at least in the far Outer Galaxy ) and their association with SNR without additional assumptions ( we prefer re-entrant particles from the Halo - see

5.2.2. The electron radial gradient

In contrast to the case for protons and nuclei there is no problem with th origin of cosmic ray electrons in SNR at least at energies below about some 10’s of GeV. The radial gradient at the site of the solar system ( derived from low energy gamma-rays ) is $`0.25\pm 0.02`$ kpc-1, which overlaps with the SNR gradient within the error bars  and with that predicted for ’cosmic rays’ in general. The direct radio, X-ray and gamma-ray observations of SNR confirm the presence of accelerated electrons in the SNR shells. The estimated efficiency of the acceleration is about 1% which is much less stringent than the $``$10% required for protons. The reason for the difference between electrons and protons is not clear but it is perhaps due to a different radial dependence of the injection efficiency for the two particles.

5.3. The vertical distribution

Another situation is for the vertical direction. The Galactic disk is rather thin and the SNR distribution in this direction is narrow. The shape of the diffusion front is much more important in this case and Figure 3b shows that the longer tails of anomalous diffusion fronts create a much wider distribution, forming a cosmic ray halo, which spreads up to some tens of kpc outside the Galactic disk.

Interestingly, there is some evidence that there is significant ionized gas at large values of $`Z`$, specifically the mean gas density $`\rho 10^3`$cm-3 at $`Z50`$ kpc  and it has been suggested that there is a corresponding significant cosmic ray intensity . Its value is not inconsistent with the value ( $`210^5`$ of the Galactic Plane intensity ) found for $`\alpha =1`$ at $`Z50`$ kpc. In fact such estimates are very approximate insofar as the diffusion coefficient $`D_{}`$ is presumably greater in the outer halo than in the disk.

Further relevance of the $`Z`$-distribution is considered later.

6.Galactic Plane Enhancement

There is another effect connected with cosmic ray propagation - the possibility of observing the Galactic Plane Enhancement ( GPE ) in the Outer Galaxy. This quantity, $`f_e`$, was introduced by Wdowczyk and Wolfendale  to evaluate the deviation from cosmic ray isotropy in terms of its Galactic latitude distribution. We define this quantity in a somewhat different way from that in , by

$$\frac{F(b)}{F_0}=\frac{DgradI(b)}{cF_0}=\frac{2H_G^\alpha (I(b)I_0)}{c\tau \mathrm{\Delta }^{\alpha 1}I_0}=a+f_ecos^2b$$
(12)
Here $`a`$ is the fitting coefficient which should be equal to 1 for complete isotropy. $`F(b)`$ is the flux of cosmic rays from Galactic latitude $`b`$ and $`F_0`$ is the flux expected for an isotropic distribution. We have calculated these fluxes from the intensities $`I_0`$ at the solar system and $`I(b)`$ \- at a distance of $`\mathrm{\Delta }=0.1`$ kpc from the Sun in the direction of latitude $`b`$ and longitude $`l=0^{}`$. In Figure 4 the ratio of these intensities is shown for an energy of 105 GeV. It is seen that for ordinary diffusion ( $`\alpha =2`$ ) the GPE is observed only in the Inner Galaxy ( $`b=0^{}`$ ) and there is no sign of an enhancement in the Outer Galaxy ( $`b=180^{}`$ ).

Decreasing $`\alpha `$, however, results in an increase of the GPE in terms of intensities both in the Inner and in the Outer Galaxy. The origin of this effect is in the much flatter radial distribution of sources compared with the vertical one. Due to the high sensitivity of the cosmic rays to the location of nearby sources, intensities at $`b=0^{}`$ and $`180^{}`$ are determined only by the radial gradient of SNR $`S_r0.19`$ kpc-1 for all values of $`\alpha `$ ( see Fig.3a ). The vertical gradient of SNR is much larger $`S_v5`$ kpc-1, however, and the intensity at $`b=90^{}`$ is sensitive to the gradient of cosmic ray intensity $`S_v^\alpha `$ nearby the disk which is different for different $`\alpha `$. For instance, $`S_v^2=0.59`$ kpc-1, $`S_v^{1.5}=0.81`$ kpc-1, $`S_v^1=1.15`$ kpc-1 and $`S_v^{0.5}=0.91`$ kpc-1. Because the gradient is larger for smaller $`\alpha `$, the drop of intensity at 0.1 kpc off the disk is higher and this overcomes the drop of intensity at the same 0.1 kpc towards the Outer Galaxy at $`b=180^{}`$. When one approaches the direction of $`b=180^{}`$ from $`90^{}`$ the intensity starts to rise again and the GPE becomes visible.

The experimental data on the anisotropy of EAS of the energy above 105GeV observed at Chacaltaya shows clear evidence for the GPE in the Outer Galaxy . Experimental points fitted by expression (12) give $`f_e=(1.18\pm 0.48)10^3`$. The same fitting of the curves shown in Figure 4 ( for the Outer Galaxy the latitude $`b`$ in the expression (12) is replaced by $`b\pi `$ in radians ) give $`f_e=(2.45\pm 0.01)10^5`$ for $`\alpha =0.5`$, $`(1.02\pm 0.01)10^3`$ for $`\alpha =1`$ and $`(1.28\pm 0.03)10^2`$ for $`\alpha =1.5`$. As seen in Figure 4 there is no GPE for $`\alpha =2`$ and the formally determined $`f_e`$ has a negative value.

When comparing the experimental and theoreticasl values of GPE one has to keep in mind the fact that the experimental value has been derived from the fluxes averaged over wide intervals of Galactic longitude. However, it should not have a considerable effect: in the experiment  the averaging has been made over a $`90^{}`$ longitude band centered on $`l=180^{}`$. Our calculations show that the value $`I(l,b)I_0cos(l180^{})`$ so that the averaging over the interval of $`l=135^{}225^{}`$ can diminish our $`f_e`$ by no more than 10%.

The comparison shows that the closest approach to the experimental value of $`f_e`$ is again achieved for $`\alpha =1.0`$. However, stochastic variations of the cosmic ray intensity due to the proximity of nearby sources can spoil this agreement.

The most important conclusion from this consideration and Figure 4 is that the propagation in the non-homogeneous medium gives an explanation of the observed positive value of Galactic Plane Enhancement in the Outer Galaxy, whereas the ’normal’ diffusion mechanism fails here.

A general point that can be made here concerns the shape of $`I(b)`$. Our model gives a good fit to the experimental data and the empirical function ( equation (12) ). Detailed calculations have not yet been made but it seems likely that such agreement can be used to give an upper limit to the $`Z`$-distribution of the sources. Such arguments will be useful as a diagnostic for possible source types. At present we can rule out source distributions with $`Z>`$ several kpc and thus ’objects’ which have been projected out into the Halo and large scale acceleration in the Halo itself.

7. Local deviations of the cosmic ray intensity

In our previous work  we emphasized the point that there is a high sensitivity of the observed cosmic ray intensity and its spectral shape to the local spatial and age distribution of SNR and here we have shown that this sensitivity rises with decreasing $`\alpha `$. In Figure 5 we show examples of the Galactic latitude distributions for random distributions of SNR simulated within a radius of 0.5 kpc from the solar system added to the regular distribution from the more distant SNR taken within 10 kpc radius. There are 12 independent samples of 1000 random supernovae in each sample and they were simulated using 4 types of ISM with $`\alpha =2,1.5,1`$ and $`0.5`$.

It is seen again that the fluctuations increase for lower values of $`\alpha `$ and there are samples which exhibit a completely different latitude dependence with a ’negative enhancement’ or a displaced phase of an enhancement. Among the latter there are some samples which demonstrate maxima at $`l>180^{}`$. There is a south-north asymmetry observed in the experiment  and a small displacement of the peak intensity ( to $`b200^{}`$ ) and our simulations indicate that these features could have a local origin.

8. Conclusions

We have shown that the structure of the ISM can determine some of the important characteristics of the cosmic rays in our Galaxy: the slope of the energy spectrum and its fluctuations, the formation of the halo at large distances from the Galactic disk, the presence of a Galactic Plane Enhancement and a south-north asymmetry in the Outer Galaxy. All our simulations have been made within the framework of the conception that SNR are the sources of cosmic rays in our Galaxy and diffusive shock acceleration is the mechanism of particle acceleration at energies below the knee. We emphasize the importance of the local structure of the ISM for the formation of most cosmic ray characteristics. A comparison of the simulated characteristics with experiment indicates that the fractal structure of ISM with the parameter $`\alpha =1`$ ( Kraichnan spectrum of magnetic irregularities ) gives local cosmic ray characteristics which are closest to the experiment.

Returning to the specific questions referred to in §1, the answers are as follows:
The radial gradient: the sole ’new model’ does not help, the explanation needs additional assumptions.
Energetics: there is no improvement.
GPE in the Outer Galaxy: here there is an improvement. The observations are consistent with the anomalous diffusion model but not with ’normal diffusion’.

As a bonus we have the Halo and the greater ease of explaining the spectral shape.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the UK’s Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, to The Royal Society and to The Russian Foundation for Basic Research for financial support and an unknown referee for the useful remarks.

Captions to figures

Figure 1. Shape of the particle density distribution for different values of the $`\alpha `$-parameter. The curves are normalized at $`x=0`$, $`x`$ is the ratio of distance from the source to the mean distance. The long ’tail’ for anomalous diffusion will be noted.

Figure 2. Energy spectra of cosmic rays for different values of the $`\alpha `$-parameter. 50 samples of 50000 SNR are simulated in each case. The region between the two thick full lines, denoted as ’obs’, is the observed cosmic ray spectrum .

Figure 3. The radial (a) and vertical (b) lateral distribution of the cosmic ray intensity for energies 1 GeV ( thick lines ) and 1 TeV ( thin lines ) for different values of the $`\alpha `$-parameter. Full line: $`\alpha =2`$, dashed line: $`\alpha =1.5`$, dash-dotted line: $`\alpha =1`$ and dash-3dotted line: $`\alpha =0.5`$. Dotted line - SNR distribution.

Figure 4. The Galactic latitude distribution of the cosmic ray intensity for the energy 105 GeV and different values of the $`\alpha `$-parameter. Full line: $`\alpha =2`$, dashed line: $`\alpha =1.5`$, dash-dotted line: $`\alpha =1`$ and dash-3dotted line: $`\alpha `$ = 0.5. The longitude $`l`$ has been taken as $`0^{}`$ for the Inner Galaxy and $`180^{}`$ for the Outer Galaxy. The GPE is an excess at $`b=0^{}`$ and/or $`180^{}`$.

Figure 5. The galactic latitude distribution of the relative cosmic ray intensity for energy 1 TeV and different values of the $`\alpha `$-parameter: 2 (a), 1.5 (b), 1 (c) and 0.5 (d). Intensities include contributions from SNR randomly distributed in space and time within 0.5 kpc from the Sun.


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# Hot dust in normal star-forming galaxies: 𝐽𝐻𝐾𝐿' photometry of the ISO Key Project sample Based on data obtained at TIRGO, Gornergrat, Switzerland

## 1 Introduction

The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) mission has provided an unprecedented view of the interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies from the near-infrared (NIR) continuum between 3 and 5 $`\mu `$m to the C+ fine-structure transition at 158 $`\mu `$m and beyond. Infrared spectra (3 to 12 $`\mu `$m) obtained by ISO-PHOT reveal the mid-infrared (MIR) emission from normal galaxies to be characterized by the Aromatic Features in Emission (AFEs) at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, and 11.3 $`\mu `$m, and an underlying continuum which contributes about half the luminosity in the 3 to 12 $`\mu `$m range (Helou et al. h2000 (2000)).

However, the ISO data have also raised many questions about the ISM constituents. In particular, the nature of the dust responsible for the AFEs is not yet clear, and the debate over three-dimensional Very Small Grains (VSGs), two-dimensional Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon molecules (PAHs), or Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon particles (HACs), and their relative contribution in different environments is still underway (Jenniskens & Désert jenniskens (1993); Lu lu (1998); Cesarsky et al. cesarsky98 (1998)). Moreover, the relationship between the carriers of the AFEs and the underlying continuum remains obscure (Boulanger et al. boulanger (1996), Helou et al. h2000 (2000)).

A related question is the relative contributions of dust in the ISM, stellar photospheres, and circumstellar dust to the MIR radiation in spirals and ellipticals. IRAS data already convincingly showed that the MIR emission in spirals is mainly due to a continuum from small grains transiently heated to high temperatures and AFEs. On the other hand, in elliptical galaxies the ISM-to-stellar ratio is generally low, so that photospheric and circumstellar emission from evolved red giants may contribute significantly to the MIR (Knapp et al. knapp (1992), Mazzei & de Zotti mazzei (1994)). It has been argued, though, that the same IRAS color-color relation (e.g., Helou h86 (1986)) holds for ellipticals and spirals, which implies a similar ISM origin (Sauvage & Thuan st (1994)).

The continuum component between 3 and 5 $`\mu `$m can be extrapolated fairly well to the continuum level at 9–10 $`\mu `$m (Helou et al. h2000 (2000)), which suggests that some of the 3–5 $`\mu `$m continuum must be produced by the ISM. Nevertheless, a portion of the 3–5 $`\mu `$m continuum must arise from stellar photospheres since they dominate the emission at 1–2 $`\mu `$m. Although the signal-to-noise in the 3–5 $`\mu `$m ISO spectra is relatively low, that is the spectral region where the MIR spectra of the 43 galaxies observed by Helou et al. (h2000 (2000)) show the most significant galaxy-to-galaxy variation. To understand the physical origin of this, and assess the relationship of the MIR continuum to the ubiquitous AFEs, it is necessary to separate the ISM contribution from that of stellar photospheres and circumstellar dust. To this end, we have acquired $`JHK`$$`L^{}`$ photometry of the galaxies studied in Helou et al. (h2000 (2000)), which constitutes one of the ISO Normal Galaxy Key Projects. A variety of ISO observations have been secured for this sample, including mid-infrared spectra (Helou et al. h2000 (2000)), ionic and atomic fine-structure line fluxes (Malhotra et al. m1997 (1997), Malhotra et al. m2001 (2001)), mid-infrared maps at 7 and 15 $`\mu `$m, and a small number of 4.5 $`\mu `$m images (Dale et al. d2000 (2000)).

The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Sect. 2 describes the observations, reduction, and photometric calibration. We compare the $`JHKL`$ colors of the sample galaxies with their ISO properties in Sect. 3, and with photodissociation-region models in Sect. 4. Section 5 discusses the nature of the 4 $`\mu `$m continuum, and our interpretation of these results in terms of “active” and “passive” star formation.

## 2 The sample, the observations, and the colors

The ISO Key Project for Normal Galaxies (PI: G. Helou, KP) was proposed to study the ISM of a broad range of normal galaxies using several instruments aboard ISO. The sample, described in Malhotra et al. (m2001 (2001)), is designed to capture the great diversity among galaxies, in terms of morphology, luminosity, far-infrared-to-blue luminosity ratio $`FIR/B`$, and IRAS colors. The project obtained ISO observations of 69 galaxies, including nine relatively nearby and extended objects. The remaining 60 galaxies cover the full range of observed morphologies, luminosities, and star-formation rates seen in normal galaxies, and includes five dwarf irregulars discussed in Hunter et al. (hunter (2001)). Two of these, NGC 1156 and NGC 1569, are part of our observed sample, and are also the two nearest objects (6.4 and 0.9 Mpc, respectively). The median distance of the KP sample (including these nearby objects, and with $`H_0`$ = 75 km/s/Mpc) is 34 Mpc (Dale et al. d2000 (2000)). This means that with the 14″ observing aperture we are sampling a central region roughly 1 kpc in radius. We observed 26 KP galaxies.

We also selected seven quiescent ellipticals from the sample of early-type galaxies observed with ISO by Malhotra et al. (m2000 (2000)), or with published $`JHK`$ photometry (Frogel et al. frogel (1978)). Several of the latter do not have the rich array of ISO observations obtained for the KP galaxies.

### 2.1 Observations

The observations were acquired at the 1.5 m f/20 Infrared Telescope at Gornergrat (TIRGO111The Infrared Telescope at Gornergrat (Switzerland) is operated by CAISMI-CNR, Arcetri, Firenze.), with a single-element InSb detector. The photometer is equipped with standard broadband filters ($`J`$ 1.2 $`\mu `$m, $`H`$ 1.6 $`\mu `$m, $`K`$ 2.2 $`\mu `$m, and $`L^{}`$ 3.8 $`\mu `$m) with diaphragms in the focal plane defining the aperture dimensions. The galaxy coordinates were taken from NED222The NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. and checked with the DSS333The DSS was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute under U.S. Government grant NAG W-2166.; all observations were acquired with a 14″ aperture, after maximizing the infrared signal. Sky subtraction was performed with a wobbling secondary at frequencies that ranged from 2.1 to 12.5 Hz, according to the integration time for the individual measurement. The modulation direction was in a EW direction, with an amplitude of roughly 3′. Beam switching was used to eliminate linear variations in sky emission.

Photometric calibration was achieved by similarly observing several standard stars nightly from the CIT (Elias et al. elias (1982)) and the ARNICA (Hunt et al. hunt98 (1998)) standard lists. Nightly scatter of the photometric zero point was typically 5% or better in $`JHK`$ and 8% or better in $`L^{}`$.

The final photometry for the 33 galaxies observed is reported, together with their basic data, in Table 1. In what follows, we have transformed $`K`$$`L^{}`$ to $`KL`$ (this last is centered at 3.5 $`\mu `$m) using the transformation by Bessell & Brett (bessell (1988)), and we will use $`KL`$ to denote such colors. In the various plots and when testing for correlations, the NIR data have also been corrected for i) Galactic extinction according to Schlegel et al. (schlegel (1998)) and Cardelli et al. (cardelli (1989)), and ii) K dimming using the precepts mentioned in Hunt & Giovanardi (hg92 (1992)).

### 2.2 $`JHKL`$ colors

The NIR colors of the observed galaxies are shown in Fig. 1. The filled symbols represent those (10) galaxies with $`KL`$$`\stackrel{>}{}`$ 1.0, that is a rising continuum (see below). Also shown in the diagram are H ii galaxies taken from Glass & Moorwood (glass (1985)) and starbursts from Hunt & Giovanardi (hg92 (1992)). Three low-metallicity blue compact dwarfs (BCDs) are also shown as asterisks: NGC 5253 (Glass & Moorwood glass (1985)), II Zw 40 (Thuan thuan83 (1983)), but no $`J`$), and SBS 0335-052 (Hunt et al. hunt2001 (2001)). The BCDs have the most extreme colors since they tend to be quite blue in $`JH`$ (because of low metallicity and youth), and red in $`KL`$ (because of ionized gas and hot dust).

Mixing curves show how the colors change when various physical processes increasingly contribute to the emission observed (see Hunt & Giovanardi hg92 (1992)); they illustrate that, on the basis of NIR color, it is possible to distinguish among stellar photospheric emission, “passive” dust in extinction, and “active” dust in emission. $`HK`$ tends to be red ($`>0.35`$) for both dust extinction and dust emission, while $`KL`$ is red only because of emission by dust or ionized gas (see the free-free line). Thus red $`KL`$ can be used to signal a substantial contribution from hot dust emission in the observing aperture. The 600 and 1000 K mixing curves span the observed colors quite well, and although the VSG emission is not thermalized, the curves show that the NIR colors are consistent with dust at these temperatures.

The $`KL`$ color can also provide an estimate of the slope of the spectral energy distribution (SED) between 2 and 4 $`\mu `$m. Using the zero-magnitude fluxes given in Koornneef (koornneef (1983)), and assuming a power-law dependence $`f_\nu \nu ^\alpha `$, we find that $`KL=0.50\alpha +0.95`$. Therefore444The intercept climbs from 0.95 to 1.10 if we adopt instead the scale of Wilson et al. (wilson (1972))., $`KL\stackrel{>}{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1.0}`$ is where the slope $`\alpha `$ changes sign and becomes negative, signifying a continuum $`f_\nu `$ rising with increasing wavelength; when $`KL<\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1.0}`$, $`\alpha `$ is positive. The mean $`\alpha `$ averaged over the entire KP sample is $`>`$ 0, with $`f_\nu \nu ^{+0.65}`$ (Helou et al. h2000 (2000)). If we include the ellipticals, the median $`KL`$ of our 33 galaxies is 0.50, which gives $`\alpha =\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.90}`$, steeper than, but consistent with, Helou et al. (h2000 (2000)). If only the ISO Key Project galaxies are considered, median $`KL=\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.68}`$, corresponding to $`\alpha =\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.54}`$, remarkably close to that reported in Helou et al. The median $`KL`$ for the ellipticals only is 0.21, which corresponds to a very steep falling continuum with $`\alpha =\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1.5}`$.

The mixing curves shown in Fig. 1 illustrate what fraction of the observed flux is due to hot dust; they assume a mix of stellar photospheres with intrinsic stellar color $`(KL)_{}=\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.3}`$, or $`(KL^{})_{}=\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.5}`$, plus dust emission. When the SED is flat at 4 $`\mu `$m ($`KL\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1.0}`$, slope $`\alpha =\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0}`$), 600 K hot dust comprises roughly 5% of the total $`K`$-band flux; hotter dust (e.g., 1000 K) would constitute 30%. It is unlikely that flat or rising continua are due to free-free emission from ionized gas, since even with a 50% emission fraction from gas, the continuum is still falling \[$`(KL)=\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.7}`$\]. This means that $`KL`$, or alternatively the slope of the 4 $`\mu `$m continuum, is a remarkably sensitive diagnostic of hot dust: small fractions (5–30%) of dust emission cause large variations (0.6 mag) in the $`KL`$ color. A 50/50 $`K`$-band mix of hot dust and stars would produce a $`KL`$ color between 1.2 and 2.7, depending on the dust temperature; NGC 4519, the galaxy with the reddest $`HK`$ (= 0.82), may contain such a mix.

## 3 Comparison with ISO photometry and spectra

If the non-stellar 3.8 $`\mu `$m flux is truly associated with hot dust, we would expect to find correlations between ISO MIR observations and $`L^{}`$, if both arise from a similar small-grain population. Also, observations of the two most important photo-dissociation region (PDR) cooling lines, \[C ii\] and \[O i\], suggest that gas and dust temperatures increase together (Malhotra et al. m2001 (2001)); we might therefore expect trends with these line fluxes and ratios and $`KL`$.

### 3.1 Broadband fluxes

We first checked that our ground-based (small-aperture) $`L^{}`$ fluxes were broadly consistent with the ISO fluxes at $`F_{6.75}`$ and $`F_{15}`$ (Dale et al. d2000 (2000)). All three are mutually correlated (not shown), except for two cases (NGC 278 and NGC 5713) where the ISO flux is substantially larger than expected from the general trend. This discrepancy is almost certainly due to aperture effects, since the ground-based data are acquired in a 14″ aperture, while the ISO values published in Dale et al. (d2000 (2000)) are total fluxes as extrapolated from curves of growth. NGC 1569 is generally an outlier; however, its properties are similar to those of other low-metallicity dwarf irregulars (see Hunter et al. hunter (2001)). The other dwarf irregular in our observed sample is NGC 1156, again a clear outlier in most of the subsequent plots and correlations. As noted in Sec. 2, these galaxies are also the two closest galaxies, which considerably complicates the comparison of the ISO and our ground-based 14″ aperture data.

We next compare ISO colors with $`KL`$ in Fig. 2 where $`F_{6.75}/F_{15}`$ and the “hybrid” color $`F_{3.8}/F_{15}`$ are plotted against $`KL`$. Ground-based $`KL`$ turns out to be correlated (2.5 $`\sigma `$) with $`F_{6.75}/F_{15}`$555If the nearest objects, NGC 1569 and NGC 1156, are eliminated from the regression the significance becomes 4.0 $`\sigma `$. If, in addition, the reddest $`KL`$ value (IRAS 23365$`+`$3604) is eliminated, the significance becomes 2.1 $`\sigma `$., but is uncorrelated with the hybrid color. The sense of the $`F_{6.75}/F_{15}`$ vs. $`KL`$ correlation is such that redder $`KL`$ implies lower $`F_{6.75}/F_{15}`$. NGC 1569 stands out since it has a very low $`F_{6.75}/F_{15}`$ ratio for its $`KL`$ color. As an extreme case, in Fig. 2, we have also plotted SBS 0335-052 (not considered in the correlation), using the ISO data from Thuan et al. (thuan99 (1999)) and $`KL`$ from Hunt et al. (hunt2001 (2001)). SBS 0335-052 is an unusual BCD with 1/40 solar metallicity, and the ISO spectrum shows no AFEs; not surprisingly Fig. 2 shows that this galaxy has a lower $`F_{6.75}/F_{15}`$ ratio than any of the galaxies in the ISO sample.

Since dust temperatures in large “classical” grains are connected with the IRAS flux ratio $`F_{60}/F_{100}`$, and since this ratio and $`F_{6.75}/F_{15}`$ are anticorrelated (Dale et al. d2000 (2000)), we might expect $`KL`$ to also be anticorrelated with $`F_{60}/F_{100}`$. We found no such correlation but note, instead, that IRAS $`F_{12}/F_{25}`$ is anticorrelated (2.6 $`\sigma `$) with $`KL`$666If the object with the reddest $`KL`$ (IRAS 23365$`+`$3604) is eliminated from the regression, the significance becomes 2.4 $`\sigma `$., as shown in Fig. 3777Although these galaxies were selected to be sufficiently distant, given the size of the IRAS beams compared to our ground-based photometry, aperture effects almost certainly contribute significantly to the scatter.. Together with the trend with $`KL`$ and $`F_{6.75}/F_{15}`$, this means that the presence of hot dust is: a) usually linked to the suppression of AFEs which dominate the $`12\mu `$m band (Helou et al. h91 (1991)), and b) largely independent of the temperature and characteristics of the large grains.

### 3.2 Line measurements

In PDRs and H ii regions, gas and dust are intimately related. In ionized regions, gas and dust compete for far-ultraviolet (FUV) photons, but the neutral gas in PDRs is heated predominantly by photoelectrons from small dust grains (Watson watson (1972); Hollenbach & Tielens hb97 (1997)). Neutral gas is cooled primarily by atomic and ionic fine-structure lines, \[C ii\] (158 $`\mu `$m) and \[O i\] (63 $`\mu `$m), and these lines can be used as diagnostics for the physical conditions in the PDR gas (Tielens & Hollenbach th85 (1985)):

the \[O i\] line is expected to become more important relative to \[C ii\] in warmer and denser gas. \[C ii\] and \[O i\] line fluxes for the galaxies in our sample have been measured by ISO (Malhotra et al. m2001 (2001)), and in this section we analyze those measurements in the context of our new photometry.

An important diagnostic is the ratio of \[C ii\] and the far-infrared flux (FIR), since it measures essentially the efficiency of the photoelectric heating of the gas by dust grain ejection. This ratio \[C ii\]/FIR tends to decrease with warmer FIR colors $`F_{60}/F_{100}`$ and increasing star-formation activity as indicated by $`FIR/B`$ (Malhotra et al. m2001 (2001)). Moreover, warmer gas, as signified by smaller \[C ii\]/\[O i\], correlates with warm dust or larger $`F_{60}/F_{100}`$; this last is the most significant correlation in the study by Malhotra et al. (m2001 (2001)). Since red $`KL`$ should be related to hot dust and its temperature, we might expect to find similar correlations with normalized FIR line fluxes and ratios. However, this supposition is not borne out by the data (see Fig. 4): we find no correlation between $`KL`$ and \[C ii\]/FIR, and only a weak anticorrelation between $`KL`$ and \[C ii\]/\[O i\]. Again, $`KL`$ appears to be measuring a hot-dust phase, not closely connected to the properties of the cooler dust.

## 4 PDR models

Photodissociation models for all the galaxies in our sample have been reported in Malhotra et al. (m2001 (2001)), calculated from the model grids of Kaufman et al. (kaufman (1999)). These models calculate the line emission in \[C ii\] and in \[O i\] (including the line at 145 $`\mu `$m) and the dust continuum emission for a plane slab of gas illuminated on one side by FUV radiation. Gas heating in the models is dominated by photoelectrons ejected from classical (large) grains and from VSGs according to the recipe of Bakes & Tielens (bakes (1994)). From these models, it is possible to infer values for the neutral gas density $`n`$ and the FUV radiation field $`G_0`$, as well as for the pressure $`P`$ and temperature $`T`$ of the gas.

Figure 5 shows gas density $`n`$ and FUV flux $`G_0`$, as derived from PDR models, plotted against $`KL`$. Without NGC 1156 (one of the two nearest galaxies), $`KL`$ is well correlated with $`G_0`$, at the 3.5 $`\sigma `$ level. This is a clear indication that red $`KL`$ is connected to strong FUV radiation fields. Also shown in Fig. 5 is SBS 0335-052, with a $`G_0`$ $``$10000 times stronger than the local value (Dale et al. dsbs (2001)); this galaxy follows the same correlation.

We then examine whether the primary dependency of red $`KL`$ color is on neutral gas temperature $`T`$ or on its pressure $`P`$, given that the $`KL`$ color is independent, or roughly so, of neutral gas density $`n`$. The relevant PDR parameters are plotted in Fig. 6 where $`T`$ and $`P`$ as inferred from the PDR models are plotted versus $`KL`$. The thermal pressure $`P`$ of the PDR is expected to be approximately equal to the thermal pressure of the adjacent H ii region (Malhotra et al. m2001 (2001)). The correlation between $`P`$ and $`KL`$ is weak but becomes significant (2.8$`\sigma `$) once we exclude NGC 1156. There is no apparent correlation between $`T`$ and $`KL`$. Taken together, these results suggest that the PDR pressure (roughly equal to the H ii pressure) and the FUV radiation field $`G_0`$ are the main factors which govern the existence of hot dust in star-forming galaxies; neutral gas density and temperature by themselves are less important influences.

## 5 The nature of the 4 $`\mu `$m continuum

We first discuss the nature of the 4 $`\mu `$m continuum, as inferred from our observations. Because of the filter cutoff, $`L^{}`$ misses the 3.3 $`\mu `$m aromatic emission feature (e.g., Moorwood & Salinari ms83 (1983); Moorwood m86 (1986)), and thus should be a measure of the AFE-free continuum. As mentioned in Sec. 2.2, the $`KL`$ color is a sensitive diagnostic of the fraction of hot dust contained in the observing aperture. The 4 $`\mu `$m continuum of most of the galaxies we observed is consistent with stellar photospheres together with moderate dust extinction. As expected, the best cases for pure stellar $`KL`$ colors are the ellipticals which have median $`KL=\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.21}`$. Within the 14″ observing aperture, we find no evidence for circumstellar dust in the ellipticals, since their NIR colors are inconsistent with dust emission at any temperature.

In roughly a third of our sample, the $`KL`$ color ($`\stackrel{>}{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1}`$) signifies a flat or rising 4 $`\mu `$m continuum. Even a small fraction (5%) of hot (600 K) dust can cause this inflection, and is very likely the cause of the large variance in the 3–5 $`\mu `$m continua, as noted by Helou et al. (h2000 (2000)). Because of the characteristics of the $`L^{}`$ filter, we conclude that the red $`KL`$ color must represent a continuum property, rather than short-wavelength AFEs. Such a continuum is typically accompanied by a lower $`F_{6.75}/F_{15}`$ ratio (see Fig. 2), due either to AFE suppression or to an $`F_{15}`$ excess (or both). Either way, we are observing a significant fraction of hot dust in the central regions of these galaxies, with physical conditions that favor red $`KL`$, namely strong $`G_0`$ and high pressure.

### 5.1 Physical conditions in star forming regions with hot dust

Malhotra et al. (m2001 (2001)) describe a physical picture in which the infrared line emission arises in a PDR which surrounds an expanding H ii region. They suggest that the ISO diagnostics are probing the typical distance from an OB star or cluster to the PDR gas, rather than the global rate of star formation. Our new 4 $`\mu `$m data are consistent with this picture. Red $`KL`$ tends to be associated with an intense UV radiation field $`G_0`$. The trend shown in Fig. 5 suggests that rising 4 $`\mu `$m continua are observed when UV radiation field $`G_0`$ $`\stackrel{>}{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}10}^{3.5}`$. It is easy to show that such an intense $`G_0`$ must be found within a few tens of pc from the ionizing star cluster. Assuming the FUV luminosity of a single star to be $`10^{39}`$ erg s-1 (!), and with a star cluster consisting of 100 OB stars, the typical distance for $`G_0`$ = $`10^{3.5}`$ is 10 pc. In the same conditions, at a distance of 100 pc we would need 10000 massive stars, more than all but those in the most luminous Super Star Clusters (SSCs: e.g., Calzetti et al. calzetti2 (1997), Turner et al. turner (2000) ). With the lower FUV luminosity from lower-mass stars, the distance to maintain the intense $`G_0`$ would be even smaller. Hence, it is likely that red $`KL`$ is probing a region within a few tens of pcs from star clusters containing a few hundred OB stars. Such sizes are more than a hundred times smaller than the projected size of our observing aperture at the median distance of the sample (see Sect. 2).

Hot dust as measured by high-resolution 10–12 $`\mu `$m images of infrared-luminous starbursts also tends to be compact, and compact nuclear starbursts generally dominate their starburst activity (Soifer et al. soifer (2001)). Typical MIR sizes in the Soifer et al. sample range from $`<`$125 pc to $``$1 kpc; however these may be partly overestimated since the spatial resolution for the nearest galaxy in their study (NGC 3690) is 210 pc arcsec-1 which procured mostly upper limits ($`<`$125 pc) for the size of the emitting regions.

The hot dust that gives rise to red $`KL`$ must be heated by massive stars, and according to the PDR models, tends to be found in high-pressure environments and, from the above discussion, in close proximity of the H ii region. This intense environment suppresses AFE emission, probably because of the strong UV radiation field, as proposed by earlier work (e.g., Normand et al. normand (1995)). In the framework of an expanding H ii region surrounded by a PDR, such conditions are likely to obtain in young H ii regions, still embedded within their natal molecular cloud, which have not yet had time to break through the cloud surface. At first glance then, $`KL`$ appears to be a measure of age: hot dust is found preferentially in young H ii regions.

Nevertheless, the attribution of the rising 4 $`\mu `$m continuum to youth has some problems. Some very young systems have “normal” photospheric$`+`$extinction $`KL`$ colors: the two brightest star clusters in NGC 1569 contain Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars and their age has been estimated at $`<`$ 5 Myr (Origlia et al. origlia (2001)). We measure for NGC 1569 $`KL=\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.7}`$, consistent with stellar photospheres $`+`$ extinction, not with hot dust. Haro 2 (not in this sample) also contains W-R stars (Vacca & Conti vacca (1992)), and as such must be younger than 5 Myr, but $`KL=0.5`$ (Thuan thuan83 (1983)). Thus, young systems are not necessarily associated with red $`KL`$ and hot dust.

It also might be that $`KL`$ is a diluted version of the flux ratio $`FIR/B`$, since variations in $`FIR/B`$, or star-formation activity, might be translated into variations of the hot-dust versus stellar fraction in our observing aperture. We investigate this in the top panel of Fig. 7, where we have plotted Log($`FIR/B`$) vs. $`KL`$. There is no correlation between these two quantities, although the galaxy with the highest value of $`FIR/B`$ is associated with the reddest $`KL`$ (IRAS 23365+3604). It is thus difficult to interpret $`KL`$ as an indicator of generic star formation, since the hot dust traced by $`KL`$ appears to be independent of the cooler grains traced by FIR.

### 5.2 “Active” and “passive” star formation

We therefore propose an alternative explanation, namely two “extreme” distinct modes of star formation. Recent models have shown that dust heating and molecular hydrogen production are more efficient in dense ($`\stackrel{>}{}`$ 500 cm-3), compact ($`\stackrel{<}{}`$ 100 pc) environments (Hirashita et al. hirashita2002 (2002)). Moreover, in low-metallicity BCDs, the size of the brightest star-forming complex and its ionized gas density are very well correlated, with the densest regions being also the most compact (Hunt et al. hunt2002 (2002)). In this same BCDs sample, size and density are independent of age, since ages derived from recombination line equivalent widths are all $`\stackrel{<}{}`$ 5 Myr. The correlations in the KP sample studied here seem to suggest a similar “dichotomy” since a strong UV radiation field, compact size, and pressure are associated with hot dust. The most compact dense regions in the BCD study by Hunt et al. (hunt2002 (2002)) were interpreted by them as indicative of “active” star formation, characterized by an intense physical environment harboring several hundreds/thousands of massive stars, and capable of efficiently heating dust. At a comparable star-formation rate, the less dense, less compact H ii regions, termed “passive” by Hunt et al. (hunt2002 (2002)), are not able to heat dust efficiently because of the more diluted radiation field (Hirashita et al. hirashita2002 (2002)). We would argue that a rising 4 $`\mu `$m continuum is yet another signature of “active” star formation. A falling 4 $`\mu `$m continuum would be a sign of “passive” star formation, since the physical conditions are not able to produce a measurable fraction ($`\stackrel{>}{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}5}`$%) of hot dust; these more diffuse regions tend to have lower pressures, a less intense radiation field, and prominent AFEs in the MIR spectrum.

It might be argued that the two extremes are simply a measure of the star-formation rate (SFR). We have attempted to test this hypothesis by plotting the far-infrared luminosity per unit area $`L_{FIR}/\mathrm{area}`$ against $`KL`$, since $`L_{FIR}`$ is frequently used to measure SFRs (e.g., Thronson & Telesco thronson (1986)). The bottom panel of Fig. 7 shows that the two quantities are not significantly correlated, nor is $`KL`$ correlated with $`L_{FIR}`$, that is without normalizing by the area (not shown). We already said that, although aperture effects may be important because of the large IRAS apertures, the top panel of the same figure shows no correlation between $`KL`$ and the $`L_{FIR}`$ normalized to the $`B`$ band, nor with $`F_{60}/F_{100}`$ (Sect. 3.1), yet another star formation indicator of common use. It appears, therefore, that the difference between the two extremes is of qualitative rather than quantitative origin.

It should be emphasized that “active” and “passive” star formation as we are defining them are local concepts: in a single galaxy, different regions may be characterized by either mode. In our Galaxy AFEs are notably diminished in H ii regions (Cesarsky et al. cesarsky98 (1998)), and the MIR continuum tends to be stronger in denser structures (Abergel et al. abergel (2002)). M 82 is an another example, since where the infrared continuum peaks, there are few if any AFEs, but at the H ii region-molecular cloud interface, the AFEs dominate (Normand et al. normand (1995)). On galactic scales, there is also evidence that AFEs are diminished as the intensity of star formation increases (Förster Schreiber et al. natascha (2002)). With our ground-based data, we are investigating the properties of the dominant mode of star formation in the observing aperture, weighted by the brightness of the components. At longer wavelengths, higher spatial resolution is necessary to separate the two modes because in large apertures (e.g., IRAS, ISO), the cooler “standard” ISM virtually overwhelms any hot dust emission.

We further note that the bulk of star formation associated with starbursts is not necessarily of the “active” type. AFEs are always detected in galaxy nuclei with H ii-region spectra (Roche et al. roche (1991)); indeed these features dominate the integrated spectra of prototypical starbursts such as M 82 and NGC 253 (Sturm et al. sturm (2000)). They are also used to distinguish star formation from nuclear activity as the mechanism powering ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs, Genzel et al. genzel (1998)). This apparent “paradox” can be understood through the association of AFEs with the cool dust phase of the PDR (Haas et al. haas (2002)). The hot dust we measure with $`KL`$ is heated by the intense $`G_0`$ close to the H ii region, and without high-resolution ($`\stackrel{<}{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}100}`$ pc) measurements, the copious emission from the diffuse cooler dust and AFEs in the PDRs dominates the observed flux.

We have found evidence for hot dust in roughly 1/3 of the KP galaxies observed. It is not clear, however, whether the properties of these “active” star-forming galaxies are “extreme” compared to other examples of nuclear starbursts. An upper limit to the bolometric surface brightness of these objects can be deduced from the estimates given in Sec. 5.1: if we have a nuclear star cluster containing 100–1000 massive stars concentrated in a region of 10–100 pc in diameter, the bolometric surface brightness would be roughly $`\stackrel{<}{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}10}^{11}10^{12}L_{}`$ kpc-2. This coincides approximately with the maximum mean surface brightness in the sample of low- and high-redshift starbursts of (Meurer et al. meurer (1997)). However, our estimate refers to the nuclear star clusters, not to the mean surface brightness over the observing aperture as in Meurer et al. As star clusters go, those we have detected with $`KL`$ are not extraordinary, since they are several times less bright than the resolved UV clusters described by Meurer et al. (m95 (1995)).

What we have called the “active” mode is characterized by the formation of compact star-forming complexes within a high-pressure environment in an intense $`G_0`$. High pressure is also implicated in the strong galactic winds common in starbursts (Heckman et al. heckman (1990)). Such conditions also favor the formation of dusty SSCs (Bekki & Couch bekki (2001)), which are frequently found in merging galaxies (e.g., the Antennae: Whitmore et al. whitmore (1995); NGC 1741: Johnson et al. johnson (1999)), ULIRGs (Scoville et al. scoville (2000), Shioya et al. shioya (2001)), and nuclear starbursts (e.g., M 82: Gallagher & Smith gallagher (1999); NGC 253: Keto et al. keto (1999); NGC 4214: Leitherer et al. leitherer (1996)). Although somewhat uncertain, the nuclear star clusters inferred from our data have properties similar to SSCs, which could be yet another signature of “active” star formation.

### 5.3 Speculations for high-redshift studies

The physical environment of the “active” mode, especially high pressure, results naturally from interactions or mergers (Bekki & Couch bekki (2001)). Interestingly, interactions and mergers also produce red $`KL`$ (Joseph et al. joseph (1984)). According to the Cold Dark Matter hierarchical clustering scenario of galaxy formation, the frequency and intensity of interactions are expected to increase with redshift, and semi-analytic recipes for galaxy formation based on “collisional starbursts” are successful at reproducing SFRs, colors, morphology, and mass trends with redshift (Somerville et al. somerville (2001)). Presently, the bulk of star formation in galaxies, including starburst galaxies and ULIRGs, takes place in the “passive” regime. But, due to the higher probability of strong tidal stresses and mergers, this situation may have been reversed in the past with the “active” regime being the preferred way to form stars at high redshift.

In this context, it is puzzling that we maintain that ULIRGs host passive star formation, although most if not all of them are mergers. The most plausible explanation of this paradox involves spatial resolution and the relative dominance of the “passive” ISM in ULIRGs (see Sect. 5.2). Given the large contribution from their cool ISM, the emission in ULIRGs integrated over large spatial scales appears passive. Even though “active” star formation must be occurring, it can be revealed only on small spatial scales, or by its hot dust. A case in point is the ULIRG in our sample, IRAS 23365$`+`$3604. This galaxy hosts several young ($``$ 10 Myr) star clusters (Surace et al. surace (2000)), but is classified optically as a LINER (Veilleux et al. veilleux (1995)). The LINER classification is probably not caused by an AGN, but rather by shocks generated in galactic superwinds (Lutz et al. lutz (1999)). We classify this object as “active” because of its extremely red $`KL`$888The red $`KL`$ cannot easily be attributed to nuclear activity, since LINERs tend to have NIR colors dominated by normal stellar populations (Lawrence et al. lawrence (1985))., but its ISO spectrum contains prominent AFEs (Tran et al. tran (2001)). The young star clusters probably heat the dust responsible for the red $`KL`$, while the ISO aperture encompasses the entire galactic disk (see Surace et al. surace (2000)). Hence, IRAS 23365$`+`$3604 appears both active and passive: active because of its red $`KL`$, and passive because of the overwhelming disk ISM.

Including the effects of active star formation in models of galaxy evolution (e.g., Granato et al. granato (2000)) would not be straightforward. Nevertheless, when star formation occurs on spatial scales $`\stackrel{<}{}`$ 100 pc (see Sect. 5.1), the intense radiation field, high pressure, and diminished AFEs should be taken into account. Indeed, suppressed AFEs coupled with the hot dust revealed by our photometry substantially alter the infrared spectrum of star-forming galaxies. This may be especially important in hierarchical merger models because of the supposed link between “active” star formation and interactions.

## 6 Conclusions

With our $`JHK`$$`L^{}`$ photometry, we have analyzed the 4 $`\mu `$m continuum and its relation with the MIR spectrum and FIR emission lines. We find the following:

1. The majority of the 26 KP galaxies have a falling 4 $`\mu `$m continuum, $`KL<\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1.0}`$, consistent with stellar photospheres and moderate dust extinction. 10 of them have a flat or rising 4 $`\mu `$m continuum, $`KL\stackrel{>}{}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1.0}`$, consistent with a measurable fraction of 600–1000 K hot dust.
2. $`KL`$ is anticorrelated with ISO ratios $`F_{6.75}/F_{15}`$ and IRAS ratio $`F_{12}/F_{25}`$, but only weakly with \[C ii\]/\[O i\], and not at all with \[C ii\]/FIR/ or IRAS ratio $`F_{60}/F_{100}`$.
3. PDR models for these galaxies show that the hot dust measured by red $`KL`$ is associated with high pressures and intense far-ultraviolet radiation fields in compact ($`\stackrel{<}{}`$ 100 pc) regions.
4. These results taken together suggest that star formation in these galaxies occurs in two “extreme forms”:

1. a relatively rare “active” mode characterized by hot dust, suppressed AFEs, high pressure, intense ultraviolet radiation field, and compact size;
    2. a more common “passive” mode characterized by photospheric $`KL`$ colors, with moderate extinction, and less extreme physical conditions.
5. The physical conditions we infer for the star-forming regions containing hot dust are similar to those created by interactions and mergers. We speculate that such intense episodes may have been more common in the past, so that the “active” regime could dominate star formation at high redshift.

###### Acknowledgements.

The TIRGO staff was instrumental in the success of these observations. We are grateful to Giovanni Moriondo who valiantly attempted to observe for this project, and to the TIRGO Time Allocation Committee for generous time allocations. We gladly acknowledge enlightening discussions with Marc Sauvage, and would like to thank an anonymous referee for several insightful comments.


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# 1 Overview and Context

## 1 Overview and Context

Cataclysmic variables (CV) are formed when the WD made during a common envelope event finally comes into contact with its companion as a result of gravitational radiation losses over a few Gyr (see ). The WD will have cooled during this time; a $`0.20M_{}`$ He WD would have $`T_c=3.3\times 10^6\mathrm{K}`$ at 4 Gyr , whereas a $`0.6M_{}`$ C/O WD would have $`T_c=2.5\times 10^6\mathrm{K}`$ in 4 Gyr . These give effective temperatures $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}45005000`$ K.

A subset of the CVs, called Dwarf Novae (DN), contain a WD accreting at low time-averaged rates $`\dot{M}<10^9M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$, where the accretion disk is subject to a thermal instability which causes it to rapidly transfer matter onto the WD (at $`\dot{M}\dot{M}`$) for a week once every month to year. The $`\dot{M}`$ onto the WD is often low enough between outbursts that the UV emission is dominated by the internal luminosity of the WD, allowing for a measurement of the WD luminosity, yielding $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}>10,000\mathrm{K}`$ .

The WD is clearly hotter than expected for its age, providing evidence of the thermal impact of prolonged accretion . The theoretical illumination of this phenomena will aid our understanding of CV evolution, ejection of material during CN events, and finally allow for theoretical seismology of the one known non-radial pulsator, GW Lib . We summarize here both our published work  and work in progress.

## 2 Compressional and Nuclear Heating in the White Dwarf

At low $`\dot{M}`$’s, the energy from accretion onto the WD surface is radiated away near the photosphere and does not penetrate the interior. We are thus concerned about energy released deep within the WD, far beneath the photosphere. Compressional heating is the energy released by fluid elements as they are buried by further accretion. Energy is released because the time it takes a fluid element to move inward is much longer than the time for heat transport. Hence, the fluid element loses entropy as it moved inward, adjusting its temperature to the profile needed to carry the exiting flux.

An estimate of the energy released this way is just the gravitational energy liberated as a fluid element moves down in the WD’s gravitational field, $`g=GM/R^2`$. In the outer atmosphere, a fluid element moves a scale height, $`h=kT/\mu m_pg`$, in the time it takes to replace it by accretion, giving $`L\dot{M}gh\dot{M}kT/\mu m_p`$. This has the correct scaling, notably the dependence on $`\mu `$ which is a contrasting parameter between the accreted H/He envelope and the C/O core. Our previous work  showed that the dominant energy release is in the accreted outer envelope, giving $`L3kT_c\dot{M}/\mu _em_p`$, where $`\mu _e0.6`$ is the mean molecular weight of the accreted material.

An additional energy source is slow nuclear “simmering” near the base of the accreted layer. This is significant when the layer becomes thick, eventually becoming thermally unstable to ignite the CN. The CN energy is assumed to be radiated away in the explosion. However, the nuclear simmering prior to the CN releases an amount of energy comparable to that from compression. Because of unstable nuclear burning and the resulting CN cycle, the H/He envelope mass changes with time. This allows the core to cool at low accumulated masses and be heated prior to unstable ignition . We use CN ignition to determine the maximum mass of the overlying freshly accreted shell, and find the steady-state (i.e. cooling equals heating throughout the CN cycle) core temperature, $`T_{\mathrm{c},\mathrm{eq}}`$, as a function of $`\dot{M}`$ and $`M`$. The left panel in Figure 1 shows the resulting $`T_{\mathrm{c},\mathrm{eq}}`$ and maximum accumulated mass as a function of $`\dot{M}`$. These masses should be compared to measured ejection masses in order to learn if the WD is losing or gaining mass during CN outburst.

## 3 Reheating the White Dwarf Core

Using the compressional heating estimate previously given, we now show why we think there is enough time for a C/O WD to reach $`T_{\mathrm{c},\mathrm{eq}}`$. The specific heat of the liquid WD core is $`3k/\mu _im_p`$, where $`\mu _i14`$ is the ion mean molecular weight for the C/O core. When the core is colder than $`T_{\mathrm{c},\mathrm{eq}}`$, it is heated by the envelope at the rate

$$\frac{3k\dot{M}}{2\mu _em_p}(T_{\mathrm{c},\mathrm{eq}}T_\mathrm{c})\frac{3kM}{\mu _im_p}\frac{dT_\mathrm{c}}{dt},$$
(1)
which we equate to the changing thermal content of a fixed mass core (presuming all accreted matter is ejected during the CN). This gives the time evolution $`T_c(x)=T_{\mathrm{in}}\mathrm{exp}(x)+T_{\mathrm{c},\mathrm{eq}}(1\mathrm{exp}(x))`$, where the time coordinate is $`x=(\mu _i/2\mu _e)\dot{M}𝑑t/M11.7\mathrm{\Delta }M/M`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }M`$ is the total mass transferred. The large prefactor (due to the contrast in the $`\mu `$’s) allows the core temperature to match $`T_{\mathrm{c},\mathrm{eq}}`$ to within 5 percent when $`\mathrm{\Delta }M0.25M0.15M_{}`$, which is easily satisfied by CV evolution. Disequilibrium can occur if the accreting WD is mostly helium, as then $`\mu _i=4`$ and the specific heat is large.

## 4 Inferring $`\dot{M}`$ from $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$

The right panel of Figure 1 shows our predicted $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ range during the $`10^6`$ year CN cycle as a function of $`\dot{M}`$ for WD cores with $`T_{\mathrm{c},\mathrm{eq}}`$. Clearly our predictions are in the observed range noted earlier. We also show on this plot the typical $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ range of the non-radial ZZ Ceti pulsators, making it clear that the discovery of more such systems is expected. Comparing our calculations to DN systems below the period gap, $`\dot{M}10^{10}M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ imply that the WD masses are in the range $`0.6`$-$`1.0M_{}`$. This agrees with the expectation from , who find $`\dot{M}5\times 10^{11}M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ at an orbital period of 2 hours presuming angular momentum losses from gravitational radiation. Above the period gap, the observed $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ is higher, and we find $`\dot{M}10^9M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ . This $`\dot{M}`$ contrast above and below the period gap qualitatively confirms the “standard” model of CV evolution with disrupted magnetic braking (see  for an updated discussion).

## 5 Open Issues

There remain many unanswered questions that we hope to address. Our current modeling efforts are spherically symmetric and we are often asked if disk accretion can make a difference. We think not, since the depth of the matter when it ignites is so large that it should have covered the whole star by that time. Detailed comparisons to nearby DN with accurate $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$’s need to be undertaken by us in conjunction with the observers. In addition, the current $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ measurement of GW Lib  puts it outside the ZZ Ceti strip for $`M=0.6M_{}`$, reminding us that we have alot to learn about non-radial oscillations in these very perturbed WDs.

This work was supported by the NSF under Grants PHY99-07949, AST01-96422, and AST02-05956. Support for this work was provided by NASA through grant AR-09517.01-A from STScI, which is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. L. B. is a Cottrell Scholar of the Research Corporation and D. T. is an NSF graduate fellow.


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# Raman Scattering versus Infrared Conductivity: Evidence for 1D Conduction in La2-xSrxCuO4

## Abstract

Raman and Infrared (IR) spectra of an underdoped La1.90Sr0.10CuO4 single crystal have been measured as a function of temperature. Both techniques provide unconventional low-energy spectra. The IR conductivity exhibits features peaked at finite frequencies which do not have a counterpart in the Raman response. Below approximately 100 K a transfer of both Raman and IR spectral weight towards lower energies is found and a new component in the Raman response builds up being characterized by a very long lifetime of electrons propagating along the Cu-O bonds.

In conventional metals infrared (IR) and dc ($`\omega =0`$) conductivity as well as electronic Raman scattering are expected to reveal a consistent picture of the electronic properties even in lowest order approximation. In metals with strong electronic interactions the spectral response will be characteristically renormalized (vertex corrections) for the IR and the Raman response. In spite of the strong correlations in high-$`T_c`$ superconductors such as YBa2Cu3O6+y (Y123) or Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+y (Bi2212) the electron dynamics derived from IR and Raman spectroscopies agree quite reasonably as long as the selection rules are properly taken into account.opel2000  On the other hand, in low-$`T_c`$ cuprates such as La2-xSrxCuO4+y (LSCO) the far-infrared conductivity $`\sigma (\omega ,T)`$ exhibits strong additional contributionsLobo ; basov  peaked between 100 and 500 $`\mathrm{cm}^1`$ which do not have a counterpart in the Raman spectra.naeini  In Bi2Sr2CuO6 (Bi2201) a similar peak in $`\sigma (\omega ,T)`$ has been observed at low temperatures which is well separated from a conventional Drude termlupi00  having a width of only a few $`\mathrm{cm}^1`$. This indicates the existence of states with a very long lifetime well below the pseudogap temperature Timusk  $`T^{}`$ and above the superconducting transition at $`T_c`$. So far there is neither an explanation for this type of behavior, nor experimental information from a complementary spectroscopy.

In the present paper we compare IR and Raman spectra taken on the very same surface of a high-quality single crystal of underdoped LSCO. We observe strong absorption features in the far-infrared and, in the Raman response, a novel component for a given combination of photon polarizations. We show that these IR and Raman anomalies are related with each other and consistently point towards one-dimensional conductivity in the Cu-O planes.

The LSCO single crystal was grown by the traveling-solvent floating-zone technique. The Sr content was determined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to be $`0.10\pm 0.01`$. The resistively measured transition temperature is $`T_c=28`$ K with a width (10-90%) $`\mathrm{\Delta }T_c=1`$ K. After polishing the sample was reannealed in flowing oxygen for 50 hours at 920C, slowly (50 hours) cooled down to 500C where it was kept for another 50 hours. Finally it was cooled down to ambient temperature (50 hours). This procedure ensured that the crystal surface was strain free and of comparable quality as those used for photoemission experiments.

In the infrared experiment, the sample was mounted on the cold finger of a two stage closed-cycle cryostat, whose temperature was kept constant within $`\pm 2`$ K and could be varied from 20 to 295 K. The reflectance $`R(\omega ,T)`$ of the crystal was measured at quasi-normal incidence (8) with the radiation field polarized in the CuO2 ($`ab`$) planes. The reference was obtained by evaporating a gold layer onto the sample by using a hot filament placed in front of the surface. Homes  Spectra from 20 to 20,000 cm-1 were collected by a rapid scanning interferometer. In the far infrared, different combinations of mylar beamsplitters and bolometers were used to exclude that “ghost” spectral features might appear when connecting different spectral ranges. For the Raman experiment the sample was mounted on the cold finger of a He-flow cryostat. The spectra were measured with a resolution of $`10\mathrm{cm}^1`$. All polarizations were in the $`ab`$ plane. For different polarization combinations of the incoming and the outgoing photons different regions on the Fermi surface can be probed independently.

Spectra of the normal-state electronic Raman response $`\chi _\mu ^{\prime \prime }(\omega ,T)`$ of La1.9Sr0.1CuO4 are shown in Fig. 1 for the two symmetries $`\mu =B_{1g},B_{2g}`$ projecting out electrons with momenta approximately along the principal axes and the diagonals of the CuO2 plane, respectively. The structures from vibrational excitations are very weak in the $`ab`$ plane (typically 10% of the total intensity) and have been subtracted out. At high energies, $`\mathrm{}\omega 400\mathrm{cm}^1`$, the spectra are qualitatively similar to earlier results naeini  and to those measured in Y123 and Bi2212. opel2000 ; chen93 ; Sugai  Up to approximately $`1500\mathrm{cm}^1`$ the continuum is essentially constant in $`B_{2g}`$ symmetry (Fig. 1 (b)) and increases linearly in $`B_{1g}`$ symmetry (Fig. 1 (a)).

In the range below $`200\mathrm{cm}^1`$ we observe the usual increase of the spectral weight in $`B_{2g}`$ symmetry upon reducing the temperature (Fig. 1 b)) leading to an increasing slope of the response in the dc limit. Since $`\chi _\mu ^{\prime \prime }(\omega 0,T)/\omega \tau (T)`$ with $`\tau (T)`$ the static lifetime of the quasiparticles opel2000  this is compatible with the metallic decrease of the resistivity. In the superconducting state the characteristic redistribution of spectral weight and the formation of a pair-breaking peak is found.

In $`B_{1g}`$ symmetry a similar metallic increase towards low temperature is revealed between approximately 250 and 100 K. The spectra are more flat indicating a larger relaxation rate or a shorter lifetime as well as a weaker temperature dependence than in $`B_{2g}`$ symmetry. Similarly as in previous studies no pair-breaking feature can be observed below $`T_c`$ at this doping level. opel2000 ; naeini ; Sugai  Completely unexpectedly, however, the low-energy response increases strongly for $`T<100`$ K. Although the spectra are measured down to $`15\mathrm{cm}^1`$ the linear decrease (inevitably present for causality) towards zero energy cannot be resolved any more. Consequently, the lifetime must become very long and exceed the one observed at $`B_{2g}`$ symmetry by far. The reason why this has not been observed before in LSCO is most likely because the spectra were not measured at energies below $`80100\mathrm{cm}^1`$. For Y123 and Bi2212 such type of an increase can be excluded, hence we are facing a type of electron dynamics which has escaped observation so far. Are there corresponding features in the IR conductivity?

The raw reflectivity $`R(\omega ,T)`$ of the La1.90Sr0.10CuO4 crystal is shown in the inset of Fig. 2 at different temperatures. The real part of the optical conductivity $`\sigma (\omega ,T)`$ was extracted from $`R(\omega ,T)`$ by usual Kramers-Krönig transformations. A Drude-Lorentz fit was used to extrapolate the reflectivity to $`\omega =0`$. On the high-energy side, the data were extrapolated with the $`R(\omega )`$ reported in Ref. Tajima, . The resulting infrared conductivity $`\sigma (\omega ,T)`$ of La1.90Sr0.10CuO4 is shown in Fig. 2. At all temperatures one observes strong spectral features below 200 cm-1 that are not related to infrared-active lattice vibrations of LSCO in the $`ab`$ plane, as a comparison with the weak phonon line at 360 cm-1 demonstrates immediately. They cannot be wings of a Drude contribution either, because the dc conductivity at the respective temperatures is much lower than the conductivity in the peak at finite energies (see Fig. 2 and its caption). Below 100 K the spectral structures merge into a huge peak, and the conductivity reaches about 13,000 $`\mathrm{\Omega }^1`$ cm-1 at 40 cm-1 and 20 K. This softening goes along with a transfer of spectral weight which depletes the region between 100 and 200 cm-1.

The resulting peak is similar to those observed in systems with one-dimensional (1D) charge ordering such as organic conductors Schwartz  and laddersOsafune . In the latter compounds, an infrared pseudogap opens at low $`T`$ along the $`a`$ axis that is parallel to the rungs, while a gapless strong peak is observed along the $`c`$ axis, parallel to the legs.Osafune . The latter behavior is remarkably similar to that reported in Fig. 2. Strong infared peaks at finite frequencies are also reported for other superconducting cuprates with low $`T_c`$ such as La2SrCuO4.06,Lobo  Nd2-xCexCuO4-y,lupi99  Bi2Sr2CuO6, lupi00 , and assigned to isolated, interacting, and ordered polarons, respectively. In overdoped La2-xSrxCuO4 similar far-infrared features were observed. They were attributed to disorder and analyzed in terms of an “anomalous Drude” model.Startseva

In the present work, the comparison of IR and Raman data allows us to get deeper insight into the origin of the strong absorption peaks of LSCO shown in Fig. 2. The fully developed pair-breaking feature in the $`B_{2g}`$ Raman spectrum (Fig. 1 (b)) indicates that the sample is very clean. In the presence of disorder the spectral weight at approximately twice the maximal gap energy $`2\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$ would be reduced tpd92 ; tpd95 , and the pair-breaking peaks would be smeared out rapidly and disappear for $`\mathrm{}/\tau \mathrm{\Delta }_0`$. First of all, we can therefore exclude that the high conductivity at approximately $`40\mathrm{cm}^1`$ (Fig. 1 (a)) originates from the presence of a significant amount of impurities. Secondly, the low-energy low-temperature Raman response in $`B_{1g}`$ symmetry shows a pronounced increase of the lifetime of quasiparticles propagating along the principal axes (Fig. 1 (a)). This high “Raman conductivity” in the dc limit goes along with the occurrence of the conductivity peak in the IR at low but finite energies (Fig. 2).

The relationship between the two phenomena can be quantified by calculating the spectral weight. The quantity

$$<\omega >_{IR}=\frac{_{\omega _1}^{\omega _2}\omega \sigma (\omega )𝑑\omega }{_{\omega _1}^{\omega _2}\sigma (\omega )𝑑\omega }.$$
(1)
is the first moment of the infrared spectrum between $`\omega _1`$ and $`\omega _2`$. In lowest order one obtains $`\chi ^{\prime \prime }(\omega ,T)\omega \sigma (\omega ,T)`$ for the Raman response opel2000 ; viro92 . Hence, we determine

$$<\omega >_\mu =\frac{_{\omega _1}^{\omega _2}𝑑\omega \chi _\mu ^{\prime \prime }(\omega ,T)}{_{\omega _1}^{\omega _2}\frac{d\omega }{\omega }\chi _\mu ^{\prime \prime }(\omega ,T)}.$$
(2)
In Fig. 3, all moments are plotted vs. temperature using $`\omega _1`$ = 20 cm-1 and $`\omega _2`$ = 200 cm-1. The moment derived from the conductivity is temperature independent down to approximately 100 K and decreases by up 35% for $`T<100`$ K. The moments of the Raman response do not have a constant part since there is no sum rule. At $`B_{2g}`$ symmetry an essentially linear decrease is found while at $`B_{1g}`$ symmetry a crossover of two linear regimes with different slopes occurs. In the high-temperature range the slopes of $`B_{1g}`$ and $`B_{2g}`$ symmetry are similar. In order to better visualize the changes in $`B_{1g}`$ symmetry we also plot the difference $`\mathrm{\Delta }<\omega >=<\omega >_{B_{1g}}<\omega >_{B_{2g}}`$ in Fig. 3. Apparently, $`\mathrm{\Delta }<\omega >`$ closely follows the behavior of $`<\omega >_{IR}`$. Both quantities are nearly constant at high $`T`$ and exhibit a kink around 100 K. Of course, the relative changes cannot be expected to be equal since different quantities are being measured. However, the comparison demonstrates that the enhanced conductivity at finite energy observed in the IR spectra and the exceptionally long quasiparticle lifetime derived from the Raman response are apparently two aspects of a common underlying change in the electronic properties.

For the similarity of the IR response in LSCO and 1D ladder compoundsOsafune  we consider charge ordering as a possible scenario for an explanation of our results. The selection rules and the coherence factors help clarifying the different spectral shape of the response. In crystals or subunits such as the CuO2 planes with a center of inversion the mutual exclusion principle holds, and IR-active (odd or polar) excitations cannot be observed in the Raman spectrum (even excitations) and vice versa tinkham . In addition, due to the coherence factors collective phenomena such as superconductivity or density waves which are a possible way to look at charge ordering lead to different spectra in the Raman response and in the conductivity einzel ; dora2000 . For instance, in the superconducting state the Raman response is characterized by a pile up of spectral weight around $`2\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$ while the conductivity is partially or fully suppressed below twice the gap, and the weight is transferred towards $`\omega =0`$. In case of a density wave the roles of IR and Raman response are essentially reversed. For a pinned density wave there is an additional collective mode developing inside the gap indicating that a finite energy is required to trigger an in-phase motion of the charges dora2000 . Hence, the IR and Raman spectra observed in underdoped LSCO can, at least on a qualitative level, be understood in terms of density wave with incipient pinning. Recently, in a numerical study on the basis of the $`tJ`$ model using parameters realistic for LSCO the strong Drude weight for the conductivity parallel to the stripes and an incoherent contribution at finite energy were predicted.tohyama99

There is indeed a wealth of experimental evidence for fluctuating stripes in LSCO bianconi  and static ones in Nd-doped LSCOTranquada ; noda99 . In underdoped LSCO with $`x0.1`$ they are oriented parallel to the CuO bonds (principal axes).Fujita  This orientation of the stripes would be compatible with the observed symmetry dependence in Raman scattering, i.e. the long lifetime seen in the $`B_{1g}`$ spectra where, as opposed to the $`B_{2g}`$ symmetry, the polarizations of both the incoming and outgoing photons have a finite projection in the direction of the 1D structures. Hence, the combination of IR and Raman spectroscopies provides not only additional evidence for the formation of stripes in LSCO but also clarifies the low-energy electron dynamics. The onset temperature for the formation of stripes is identified by several authors Sharma ; Tsuei  with the temperature $`T^{}`$ where a pseudogap,Timusk  anisotropic in the momerntum space, Loeser ; Williams  opens in the charge excitation spectrum. $`T^{}`$ is of the order of 400 K for LSCO with $`x`$ 0.10, consistent with the present IR observations which already show a well-defined excitation peak at room temperature. The influence of charge-ordering phenomena on the electron dynamics increases with decreasing temperature. Significant changes of the physical properties can be expected when one-dimensional objects becomes longer than the distance between the stripes and comparable to the electron mean free path. Indications of an enhanced dc conductivity along the stripe direction have indeed been found recently by longitudinal transport ando2001  close to temperatures at which the moments start to decrease (Fig. 3). Similarly, the transverse (Hall) conductivity decreases below approximately 80 K when the stripes are being completely pinned in Nd-doped LSCO.noda99  Finally, recent results of inelastic neutron scattering on La1.93Sr0.07CuO4 showHiraka  a strong increase in the stripe fluctuations below 100 K for energies between 2 and 8 meV (16 and 64 cm-1, respectively).

In summary, we have studied a single crystal of underdoped LSCO by both IR an Raman spectroscopy. At high temperatures the Raman response is similar to that in other cuprates, while the IR spectrum shows an anomalous absorption peak around 150 cm-1. Below approximately 100 K a new type of electronic state is observed to develop in the Raman response, while the IR peak rapidly displaces to lower energies. The high IR conductivity in the range between 20 and $`200\mathrm{cm}^1`$ and the high dc conductivity found in the $`B_{1g}`$ Raman response are interpreted in terms of a collective mode and an enhanced 1D dc transport, respectively, in a charge-density-wave (CDW) scenario or, equivalently, by low-energy stripe fluctuations with a correlation length of several lattice constants. It appears that this state is preferably building up in compounds with low $`T_c`$ possibly due to structural peculiarities that favor the pinning of the CDW.

We would like to express our gratitude to C. Castellani, C. Di Castro, P. Giura, M. Grilli, A. Nucara, and A. Virosztek for important discussions and useful comments. Financial support by the DAAD and the CRUI via the Vigoni program 2000/2001 is gratefully acknowledged. Part of the project has been supported by the DFG under grant number HA2071/2-1. F.V. and Q.-M.Z. would like to thank the Gottlieb Daimler - Karl Benz Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, respectively.

Note added in proof: Along with or briefly after the submission of the manuscript two papers on the IR properties of LSCO samples in a similar doping range appeared. takenaka2002 ; dumm2002  There are certain discrepancies between the 3 papers which cannot be discussed in detail here. However, they concern mainly the temperature range where a far-infrared peak at finite frequency is observed. Indeed, in Ref. takenaka2002  a far-infrared peak is resolved from the Drude term at $`T300`$ K while in Ref. dumm2002  the peak is resolved at low temperature, both in Nd-doped (Fig. 1) and Nd-free (Fig. 3) LSCO. The discrepancies among the three papers are possibly related to a different spectral weight of the Drude term in different samples. In Ref. dumm2002  the interpretation of the peak is slightly different from ours, but also in terms of charge ordering.