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# Directed and Elliptic Flow in Pb+Pb collisions at 40 and 158 AGeV

## 1 Introduction

Directed and elliptic flow is sensitive to the equation of state of nuclear matter. As the energy density in the interaction zone varies with collision energy and impact parameter, the energy and centrality dependence can provide information about the equation of state and a possible phase transition from hadronic to partonic matter.

## 2 Data and Analysis

Directed and elliptic flow measurements at the full beam energy of 158 AGeV were published by NA49  based on the statistics of 120k events. All together NA49 recorded in 1996 360k events using a minimum bias centrality trigger. To increase statistics in the central bins we added 120k events taken with a trigger selecting only the 12.5% most central events. In 1999 additional data were taken for the reduced beam energy of 40 AGeV. At this energy we have a total of 730k minimum bias events. In the figures we are using three different centrality selections. The 12.5% most central collisions are labeled as central, the centrality 12.5%-33.5% as mid-central and 33.5%-100% as peripheral.

An event plane method was applied to reconstruct the flow . For the $`v_2`$ event plane determination a $`p_t`$-weight was used to reduce the influence of non-flow two-particle correlations for particles with low transverse momentum. For the $`v_1`$ event plane determination the rapidity in the center of mass system was used as a weight. We also added a correction for correlations caused by transverse momentum conservation . We also applied a multi-particle correlation cumulant method to the data. Some results are shown in .

## 3 Results

The dependence of directed flow, $`v_1`$, on rapidity is shown in Fig. 1 for 40 and 158 AGeV data and for pions and protons. At 40 AGeV the sign of the proton directed flow is taken to be positive approaching projectile rapidity. This determines the pion flow to be negative in this region. At 158 AGeV the proton data do not approach close enough to projectile rapidity to get a clear signal, so we take the pion flow to be negative in this region as at the lower energy. As required by symmetry directed flow of pions at 40 AGeV vanishes at midrapidity. Its magnitude increases towards projectile and target and it increases from central to peripheral collisions. Directed flow of pions at 158 AGeV shows qualitatively the same behaviour as for 40 AGeV. At 40 AGeV for protons there is a quite flat plateau around midrapidity. About one unit of rapidity away from midrapidity it increases rapidly. At 158 AGeV it seems to be positive for central collisions and changes to negative sign for peripheral collisions. Comparing it to 40 AGeV one has to take into account the different acceptance for 40 and 158 AGeV: At 40 AGeV the rapidity coverage relative to the rapidity gap is larger than at 158 AGeV. So the shape might be similar for both energies, but the strong rise at the lower energy cannot be observed at the full energy. Assuming the same shape for both energies, results in a shape for peripheral collisions, which crosses the zero line three times . This wiggle shape is also visible at 40 AGeV, but not as pronounced. However non flow correlations due to resonance decays, which can be of same order of magnitude, might be the reason for this changing sign .

In Figure 2 the rapidity dependence of the elliptic flow, $`v_2`$, of pions and protons is presented for three different centrality selections. For pions it is quite constant in rapidity for mid-central collisions and peaks near midrapidity for peripheral collisions. For most central collisions $`v_2`$ was not measured, because the flow is presumably very small, which results in very large statistical errors because of the poor event plane resolution. Elliptic flow of protons seems to be minimal near midrapidity and increase near projectile and target rapidity. In contrast at 158 AGeV the rapidity dependence of pion elliptic flow doesn’t change shape very much with centrality but its average value increases for more peripheral collisions. The same is observed for proton elliptic flow.

Due to the different coverages of phase space at the two energies, we prefer for the comparison differential to integrated values. As the shape of proton flow changes between the two energies and directed flow signal is small near midrapidity, we restrict the comparison to pion elliptic flow. Comparing the rapidity dependence of elliptic flow for mid-central collisions scaled to beam rapidity in the center of mass frame (Figure 3 left side), one can see a remarkable similarity of the distributions obtained from 40 AGeV and 158 AGeV data, except for two points. To avoid problems with the different rapidity coverage of different experiments, only midrapidity values are now compared to measurements by other experiments (Figure 3 right side). Here one sees a rise from AGS to RHIC, but at SPS between 40 and 158 AGeV it is smaller than anticipated from the overall energy dependence. However the size of the error bars still leaves the possibility of a constant rise. The NA49 measurements also are in good agreement with the CERES results.

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Director, Office of Energy Research, Division of Nuclear Physics of the Office of High Energy and Nuclear Physics of the US Department of Energy (DE-ACO3-76SFOOO98 and DE-FG02-91ER40609), the US National Science Foundation, the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Germany, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Polish State Committee for Scientific Research (5 P03B 13820 and 2 P03B 02418), the Hungarian Scientific Research Foundation (T14920 and T23790), Hungarian National Science Foundation, OTKA, (F034707), the EC Marie Curie Foundation, and the Polish-German Foundation.


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# Level splittings in exchange-biased spin tunneling

## Abstract

The level splittings in a dimer with the antiferromagnetic coupling between two single-molecule magnets are calculated perturbatively for arbitrary spin. It is found that the exchange interaction between two single-molecule magnets plays an important role in the level splitting. The results are discussed in comparison with the recent experiment.

The quantum properties of single-molecule magnets have generated considerable interest over the past decade in connection with macroscopic quantum phenomena. High-spin molecules with spin-10, $`\mathrm{Mn}_{12}`$ and $`\mathrm{Fe}_8`$ have been such good candidates because all the clusters are identical with no dispersion on the size of the clusters and the number of interaction spins, and the spin ground state and the magnetic anisotropy are known with great accuracy. These molecules display particularly interesting phenomena such as quantum resonant tunneling and quantum phase interference. Such phenomena have received much attention, both theoretically and experimentally in view of macroscopic realization of quantum tunneling, and also because of some potential application to quantum computing. Many efforts have been made to understand their mechanisms by considering a giant spin Hamiltonian with a single-molecule magnet. Most of the study have neglected exchange interactions that depend on the distance and the non-magnetic atoms in the exchange pathway. Recently, however, it has been reported that a supramolecular single-molecule magnet dimer with antiferromagnetic coupling exhibits quantum behavior different from that of the individual single-molecule magnets. This result implies that exchange interaction between two single-molecule magnets can have a large influence on the quantum properties of single-molecule magnets. It is therefore important to understand the effect of the exchange interaction on magnetization tunneling.

The issue of spin tunneling with the exchange interaction has been raised by several groups. In their studies exchange interaction is enhanced to magnetic anisotropy for studying tunneling of the Néel vector in antiferromagnetic particles. Using the instanton technique based on spin coherent state path integral, they calculated the tunneling rate of the Néel vector in uniaxial or biaxial antiferromagnetic particles. However, the previous works applicable in the limit $`S1`$ have been confined to the spin tunneling of the ground state in an antiferromagnetic particle having two collinear ferromagnetic sublattices. In this paper, we will study magnetic tunneling in a system of identical, antiferromagnetically coupled dimer. By employing a perturbative approach, we obtain the level splitting of the states degenerate pairwise for arbitrary spin in some typical cases and show that even weak exchange interaction plays a crucial role in inducing spin tunneling.

The spin Hamiltonian of the dimer system can be written in the form

$`=_1+_2+J\widehat{S}_1\widehat{S}_2,`$ (1)
where $`_i`$ ($`i=1,2`$) is the Hamiltonian of each single-molecule magnet which can be modeled as a giant spin of $`S_i`$. The corresponding Hamiltonian is given by

$`_i=D\widehat{S}_{zi}^2+_i^{\mathrm{trans}}H_z\widehat{S}_{zi},`$ (2)
where $`D`$ is the anisotropy constant and $`_i^{\mathrm{trans}}`$ includes the transverse anisotropy or field. Also, $`𝐇`$ stands for $`g\mu _B𝐇`$ where $`g`$ is the electronic $`g`$-factor and $`\mu _B`$ is the Bohr magneton. Henceforth, we will usually drop the combination $`g\mu _B`$ for better readability of the formula. Since the dimer consists of two single-molecule magnets with antiferromagnetic coupling, we take $`J>0`$ much less than the anisotropy constant $`D`$. The system has $`(2S_1+1)(2S_2+1)`$ degenerate energy levels which in the absence of the transverse terms of Eq. (1) are labeled by the spin projection $`M_1`$ and $`M_2`$ on the $`z`$-axis and given by $`E_{M_1,M_2}=D(M_1^2+M_2^2)+JM_1M_2`$. It can be easily checked that for the longitudinal field $`H_z`$ satisfying

$`H_z={\displaystyle \frac{D(M_1^2+M_2^2M_{1}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}M_{2}^{}{}_{}{}^{2})+J(M_1^{}M_2^{}M_1M_2)}{M_1^{}+M_2^{}M_1M_2}},`$ (3)
the energy levels are degenerate:

$`E_{M_1^{},M_2^{}}=E_{M_1,M_2}.`$ (4)
Tunneling among the $`(2S_1+1)(2S_2+1)`$ energy states is allowed by the transverse terms containing $`\widehat{S}_{xi}`$ and $`\widehat{S}_{yi}`$. In the case of small transverse terms which is relevant for the dimer, the level splittings can be calculated in a more direct and simple way using the high-order perturbation theory. In such cases, the level splitting of the degenerate level pair $`(M_1^{},M_2^{})`$ and $`(M_1,M_2)`$ is represented as the shortest chain of matrix elements and energy denomenators connecting the states $`|M_1^{},M_2^{}`$ and $`|M_1,M_2`$ for the typical situations which will be considered.

Let us consider as model I the level splitting induced by the transverse terms in the exchange interaction:

$`=D\widehat{S}_{z1}^2D\widehat{S}_{z2}^2+J\widehat{S}_1\widehat{S}_2.`$ (5)
Noting that $`\widehat{S}_1\widehat{S}_2=\widehat{S}_{1z}\widehat{S}_{2z}+\frac{1}{2}(\widehat{S}_{1+}\widehat{S}_2+\widehat{S}_1\widehat{S}_{2+})`$ and considering $`\widehat{S}_1\widehat{S}_{2+}`$, the level splitting of the degenerate pair $`(M_1^{},M_2^{})`$, $`(M_1,M_2)`$ appears only in the chain of matrix elements with connecting the states $`|M_1^{}+k,M_2^{}k`$ and $`|M_1^{}+k+1,M_2^{}k1`$ where $`M_1^{}=M_1`$, $`M_2^{}=M_1>0`$, $`M_2=M_1`$, and $`k`$ is an integer with $`0kM_11M_1^{}`$. It corresponds to the level splitting of the degenerate pair $`(M_1,M_1)(M_1,M_1)`$. In this case the magnetic field does not contribute to the level splitting and thereby the longitudianl field (3) is not taken into consideration. Then, the level splitting of the degenerate pair becomes

$`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1M_2}`$ $`=`$ $`2V_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1^{}+1,M_2^{}1}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{E_{M_1^{}+1,M_2^{}1}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}}}V_{M_1^{}+1,M_2^{}1,M_1^{}+2,M_2^{}2}`$ (7)
$`\times {\displaystyle \frac{1}{E_{M_1^{}+2,M_2^{}2}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}}}\mathrm{}V_{M_11,M_2+1,M_1M_2},`$
where

$`V_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1^{}+1,M_2^{}1}`$ $`=`$ $`M_1^{}M_2^{}|{\displaystyle \frac{J}{2}}(\widehat{S}_{1+}\widehat{S}_2+\widehat{S}_1\widehat{S}_{2+})|M_1^{}+1,M_2^{}1`$ (8)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{J}{2}}l_{M_1^{}+1,M_2^{}1},`$ (9)
$`l_{M_1^{}+1,M_2^{}1}=\sqrt{(S_1+M_1^{}+1)(S_1M_1^{})(S_2M_2^{}+1)(S_2+M_2^{})}`$ are the matrix elements of the operator $`\widehat{S}_1\widehat{S}_{2+}`$, and $`E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}=D(M_{1}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}+M_{2}^{}{}_{}{}^{2})+JM_1^{}M_2^{}`$ are the unperturbed energy levels. Taking $`S_1=S_2`$ in the ensuing discussion, we calculate the product (7) and obtain the level splitting

$`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{M_1,M_1,M_1,M_1}=(4D+2J)\left({\displaystyle \frac{J}{4D+2J}}\right)^{2M_1}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{(S_1+M_1)!}{(S_1M_1)!(2M_11)!}}\right]^2.`$ (10)
In the ground state ($`M_1=S_1`$) the result (10) simplifies to

$`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{S_1,S_1,S_1,S_1}=(2S_1)^2(4D+2J)\left({\displaystyle \frac{J}{4D+2J}}\right)^{2S_1}.`$ (11)
For large value of $`M_1`$ ($`S_1M_1`$, $`M_11`$) Eq. (10) with the help of the Stirling formula reduces to

$`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{M_1,M_1,M_1,M_1}=\left({\displaystyle \frac{2D+J}{\pi }}\right)\left({\displaystyle \frac{J}{4D+2J}}\right)^{2M_1}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{(S_1+M_1)^{2S_1+1+M_1}}{(S_1M_1)^{2S_1+1M_1}(2M_1)^{4M_11}}}\right].`$ (12)
Our next example, model II corresponds to the case of transverse anisotropy in the $`xy`$-plane:

$`_i^{\mathrm{trans}}=B(\widehat{S}_{xi}^2\widehat{S}_{yi}^2).`$ (13)
Writing $`_i^{\mathrm{trans}}=\frac{1}{2}B(\widehat{S}_{+i}^2+\widehat{S}_i^2)`$ and choosing $`i=2`$, the level splitting of the degenerate pair exists in the matrix elements with connecting the states $`|M_1^{},M_2^{}+2k`$ and $`|M_1,M_2^{}+2k+2`$ where $`k`$ is an integer with $`0k(M_2M_2^{})/21`$ and $`M_1^{}=M_1`$. It corresponds to the level splitting of the degenerate pair $`(M_1,M_2^{})(M_1,M_2)`$ where $`M_2>M_2^{}`$, $`M_2^{}<0`$, and $`M_2M_2^{}`$ is even number. In the limit $`BD`$ the level splitting of the degenerate states appears, minimally, in the $`(M_2M_2^{})/2`$-th order in $`B/D`$:

$`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1M_2}`$ $`=`$ $`2V_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1,M_2^{}+2}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{E_{M_1,M_2^{}+2}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}}}V_{M_1,M_2^{}+2,M_1,M_2^{}+4}`$ (15)
$`\times {\displaystyle \frac{1}{E_{M_1,M_2^{}+4}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}}}\mathrm{}V_{M_1,M_22,M_1M_2},`$
where

$`V_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1,M_2^{}+2}`$ $`=`$ $`M_1^{}M_2^{}|{\displaystyle \frac{B}{2}}\widehat{S}_2^2|M_1,M_2^{}+2`$ (16)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{B}{2}}\stackrel{~}{l}_{M_2^{}+1}\stackrel{~}{l}_{M_2^{}+2},`$ (17)
$`\stackrel{~}{l}_{M_2^{}}=\sqrt{(S_2+M_2^{})(S_2M_2^{}+1)}`$ are the matrix elements of the operator $`\widehat{S}_2`$, and $`E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}=D(M_{1}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}+M_{2}^{}{}_{}{}^{2})+JM_1^{}M_2^{}H_z(M_1^{}+M_2^{})`$ are the unperturbed energy levels. Since the pair states are degenerate for the values of the longitudinal field $`H_z=D(M_2+M_2^{})+JM_1`$ from Eq. (3), the elements $`E_{M_1,q}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}`$ in the denomenators of Eq. (15) where $`q=M_2^{}+2,M_2^{}+4\mathrm{}M_22`$ becomes independent upon $`M_1^{}`$ and $`M_1`$. Also, noting that Eq. (17) is only dependent upon $`M_2^{}`$, the formula for the level splittings is expected to be indenpendent of $`M_1^{}`$ and $`M_1`$ and reads

$`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{M_1^{},M_2^{},M_1,M_2}`$ $`=`$ $`2D\left({\displaystyle \frac{B}{2D}}\right)^{(M_2M_2^{})/2}\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{(S_2+M_2)!(S_2M_2^{})!}{(S_2M_2)!(S_2+M_2^{})!}}}`$ (19)
$`\times {\displaystyle \frac{\delta _{M_1^{},M_1}}{\left[(M_2M_2^{}2)!!\right]^2}},`$
which seems to be the same expression as that in single-molecule magnet. However, the exchange interaction between two single-molecule magnets contributes to the level splittings via the longitudinal field (3) and $`\delta _{M_1^{},M_1}`$ in Eq. (19).

Our final example, model III is described by

$`^{\mathrm{trans}}=H_x(\widehat{S}_{x1}+\widehat{S}_{x2}),`$ (20)
where $`H_x`$ can be internal or external magnetic field. Using $`\widehat{S}_{xi}=(\widehat{S}_{+i}+\widehat{S}_i)/2`$ and considering the case at $`i=2`$, the level splitting of the degenerate pair appears in the matrix elements with connecting the states $`|M_1^{},M_2^{}+k`$ and $`|M_1,M_2^{}+k+1`$ where $`k`$ is an integer with $`0kM_2M_2^{}1`$ and $`M_1^{}=M_1`$. It corresponds to the level splitting of the degenerate pair $`(M_1,M_2^{})(M_1,M_2)`$ where $`M_2>M_2^{}`$, $`M_2^{}<0`$ and $`M_2^{}M_2`$ can be any integer. Thus, the level splitting is represented as

$`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1M_2}`$ $`=`$ $`2V_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1,M_2^{}+1}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{E_{M_1,M_2^{}+1}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}}}V_{M_1,M_2^{}+1,M_1,M_2^{}+2}`$ (22)
$`\times {\displaystyle \frac{1}{E_{M_1,M_2^{}+2}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}}}\mathrm{}V_{M_1,M_21,M_1M_2},`$
where

$`V_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1,M_2^{}+1}`$ $`=`$ $`M_1^{}M_2^{}|{\displaystyle \frac{H_x}{2}}\widehat{S}_2|M_1,M_2^{}+1`$ (23)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{H_x}{2}}\stackrel{~}{l}_{M_2^{}+1}.`$ (24)
Since the unperturbed energy levels $`E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}`$ and the resonant field $`H_z`$ are the same as the ones in model II, it is also expected that the level splitting becomes independent of $`M_1^{}`$ and $`M_1`$. Therefore, in the limit of small transverse field the level splitting is given by

$`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{M_1^{},M_2^{},M_1,M_2}`$ $`=`$ $`2D\left({\displaystyle \frac{H_x}{2D}}\right)^{M_2M_2^{}}\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{(S_2+M_2)!(S_2M_2^{})!}{(S_2M_2)!(S_2+M_2^{})!}}}`$ (26)
$`\times {\displaystyle \frac{\delta _{M_1^{},M_1}}{\left[(M_2M_2^{}1)!\right]^2}},`$
which is similar to that in single-molecule magnet. This result shows that exchange interaction between two single magnets makes a contribution to the level splitting through the resonant field, $`H_z=D(M_2+M_2^{})+JM_1`$ and $`\delta _{M_1^{},M_1}`$ in Eq. (26).

Even though we have separately considered the problems in models II and III, both the transverse field and the transverse anisotropy are present in some cases. In the presence of $`B`$ and $`H_x`$ being of the same order of magnitude, the effect of the transverse field on level splitting is weaker than that of the transverse anisotropy, as is evident in Eqs. (19) and (26). Thus, we can neglect the transverse field contribution to the splittings. However, as $`M_2M_2^{}`$ is odd, the transverse field should be included in the level splitting through the single perturbation step along the chain connecting the degenerate states $`(M_1^{},M_2^{})`$ and $`(M_1,M_2)`$ where $`M_1^{}=M_1`$ and $`M_2^{}<0`$. Hence, the corresponding level splitting becomes

$`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1,M_2}`$ $`=`$ $`2V_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1,M_2^{}+1}^{(H)}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{E_{M_1,M_2^{}+1}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}}}V_{M_1,M_2^{}+1,M_1,M_2^{}+3}^{(B)}\mathrm{}V_{M_1,M_22,M_1M_2}^{(B)}`$ (27)
$`+`$ $`2V_{M_1^{}M_2^{},M_1,M_2^{}+2}^{(B)}\mathrm{}V_{M_1,M_23,M_1M_21}^{(B)}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{E_{M_1,M_21}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}}}V_{M_1,M_21,M_1M_2}^{(H)}`$ (28)
$`+`$ $`2{\displaystyle \underset{k=M_2^{}+2}{\overset{M_23}{}}}\left({\displaystyle \underset{p_1=M_2^{}+2}{\overset{k}{}}}V_{M_1,p_12,M_1,p_1}^{(B)}\right)V_{M_1,k,M_1,k+1}^{(H)}\left({\displaystyle \underset{p_2=k+1}{\overset{M_22}{}}}V_{M_1,p_2,M_1,p_2+2}^{(B)}\right)`$ (30)
$`\times \left({\displaystyle \underset{q_1=M_2^{}+2}{\overset{k}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{E_{M_1,q_1}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}}}\right)\left({\displaystyle \underset{q_2=k+1}{\overset{M_22}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{E_{M_1,q_2}E_{M_1^{}M_2^{}}}}\right),`$
where the matrix elements $`V^{(B)}`$ and $`V^{(H)}`$ are expressed as Eqs. (17) and (24), respectively. The sum in Eq. (30) can be calculated by using the formula

$`{\displaystyle \underset{p=0}{\overset{r}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{(2p1)!!(2r2p1)!!}{(2p)!!(2r2p)!!}}=1,`$ (31)
and the resulting splitting for the odd resonance becomes

$`\mathrm{\Delta }E_{M_1^{},M_2^{},M_1,M_2}`$ $`=`$ $`H_x\left({\displaystyle \frac{B}{2D}}\right)^{(M_2M_2^{})/2}\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{(S_2+M_2)!(S_2M_2^{})!}{(S_2M_2)!(S_2+M_2^{})!}}}`$ (33)
$`\times {\displaystyle \frac{\delta _{M_1^{},M_1}}{\left[(M_2M_2^{}2)!!\right]^2}}.`$
To illustrate the results with concrete example, let us consider a supramolecular dimer $`\mathrm{Mn}_4\mathrm{O}_3\mathrm{Cl}_4(\mathrm{O}_2\mathrm{CEt})_3(\mathrm{py})_3`$ (hereafter $`\mathrm{Mn}_4`$). This compound contains three $`\mathrm{Mn}^{3+}`$ ions and one $`\mathrm{Mn}^{4+}`$ ion with the axial anisotropy constant ($`D0.72`$ K), and exchange coupling ($`J0.1`$ K) between them leads to the $`[\mathrm{Mn}_4]_2`$ dimer having a ground state spin of $`S_1=S_2=9/2`$. At very low temperature, most of the excited states can be neglected. Thus, as is listed in Table I, the low-lying states are involved in the magnetization reversal at very low temperature in the presence of the longitudinal field. At high negative field, the initial state becomes $`(9/2,9/2)`$. As the magnetic field increases, the first level crossing occurs in the degenerate pair $`(9/2,9/2)`$, $`(9/2,9/2)`$ at $`H_z=0.336`$ T which corresponds to the odd resonance, i.e., $`M_2M_2^{}=`$ odd. In this case the main sources of the level splitting can be either the transverse anisotropy or the transverse field. Meanwhile, since the hystersis loops in experiment display step-like features at even resonance, $`H_z=0.202`$ T and 0.873 T, at least the transverse anisotropy should contribute to the level splittings. In this respect, both the transverse anisotropy and the transverse field induce the level splittings in the odd resonance and thereby the transition between $`(9/2,9/2)`$ and $`(9/2,9/2)`$. At the next level crossing at $`H_z=0`$ T, the degenerate pair is $`(9/2,9/2)`$ and $`(9/2,9/2)`$. The possibility of tunneling from $`(9/2,9/2)`$ to $`(9/2,9/2)`$ requires the terms like either $`\widehat{S}_{1+}\widehat{S}_{2+}`$ or $`\widehat{S}_1\widehat{S}_2`$ in the spin Hamiltonian. However, there is no such transverse terms in the Hamiltonian (1) which induces the level splitting between them. For this reason step-like feature is absent in the hystersis loop at 0 T while a strong quantum step at $`H_z=0`$ is present in other single-molecule magnets. The situation is analogous to that in the case $`(9/2,9/2)(9/2,7/2)`$. The next level crossing occurs in the degenerate pair $`(9/2,9/2)`$ and $`(9/2,7/2)`$ which corresponds to the number 2 in Table I. In this situation the level splitting is induced only by the transverse anisotropy due to the even resonance. The avoided level crossing at $`H_z=0.261`$ T not claimed in the experiment occurs from $`(9/2,7/2)`$ to $`(9/2,7/2)`$. Actually, the corresponding peak position is shown in the experiment results (Fig. 4 in Ref. ). The level crossings at $`H_z=0.336`$ T and 0.739 T allow tunneling from $`(9/2,9/2)`$ to $`(9/2,9/2)`$ and from $`(9/2,9/2)`$ to $`(9/2,5/2)`$, respectively, which correspond to the odd resonance. At $`H_z=0.873`$ T the avoided level crossing can occur from $`(9/2,9/2)`$ to $`(7/2,9/2)`$ with finite level splitting which is originated from the transverse anisotropy. Finally, it is interesting to estimate the level splitting induced by the transverse exchange interaction. Inserting the value of $`D`$ and $`J`$ into Eq. (11), the level spitting is of the order of $`10^{11}`$ K which is much smaller than that induced by the transverse anisotropy or the transverse field. As a result, the main sources of the step-like features in the hystersis loops of the $`[\mathrm{Mn}_4]_2`$ dimer are the transverse anisotropy and the transverse field, and each half of the dimer acts as a field bias on its neighbor via the exchange interaction within $`[\mathrm{Mn}_4]_2`$.

In conclusion, we have considered the level splitting in a dimer with the antiferromagnetic coupling between two single-molecule magnets. Perturbation approach allows us to obtain the level splitting of the states degenerate pairwise for arbitrary spin in the presence of the exchange interaction. It is found that the level splittings are strongly affected by the exchange interaction as well as the transverse anisotropy and the transverse field. In comparison with recent experimental results, the level splitting of the low-lying degenerate pair has been estimated for several cases and the main sources of each resonance have been clarified.

This work was supported by grant No. R01-1999-000-00026-0 from the Basic Research Program of the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation.

| No. | $`(M_1^{},M_2^{})(M_1,M_2)`$ | $`H_z`$(T) | $`\mathrm{\Delta }E`$(K) | main sources of splittings |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | $`(9/2,9/2)(9/2,9/2)`$ | $`0.336`$ | $`2.02\times 10^4`$ | $`B`$, $`H_x`$ |
|  | $`(9/2,9/2)(9/2,9/2)`$ | 0 | 0 | - |
| 2 | $`(9/2,9/2)(9/2,7/2)`$ | 0.202 | $`1.76\times 10^3`$ | $`B`$ |
|  | $`(9/2,9/2)(9/2,7/2)`$ | 0.233 | 0 | - |
|  | $`(9/2,7/2)(9/2,7/2)`$ | 0.261 | $`2.02\times 10^4`$ | $`B`$, $`H_x`$ |
| 3 | $`(9/2,9/2)(9/2,9/2)`$ | 0.336 | $`2.02\times 10^4`$ | $`B`$, $`H_x`$ |
| 4 | $`(9/2,9/2)(9/2,5/2)`$ | 0.739 | $`1.19\times 10^3`$ | $`B`$, $`H_x`$ |
| 5 | $`(9/2,9/2)(7/2,9/2)`$ | 0.873 | $`1.76\times 10^3`$ | $`B`$ |


text:
# The specific heat of the two-dimensional ±𝐽 Ising model

## 1 Introduction

To elucidate the nature of critical phenomena of two-dimensional disordered Ising models has been a subject of a long-standing interest. Harris concluded from a heuristic argument that the nature of critical phenomena of a disordered system becomes different from that of the corresponding pure system when the critical exponent of the specific heat, $`\alpha `$, of the pure system is positive, while it remains the same when $`\alpha <0`$. Since the two-dimensional pure ferromagnetic Ising model is the marginal case, namely $`\alpha =0`$, many authors have investigated the properties of critical phenomena of the two-dimensional disordered Ising models\[2-14\].

For the two-dimensional unfrustrated random Ising models, many authors concluded that the specific heat diverges double logarithmically at the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary\[2-9\], though there are several results which insist that the specific heat remains finite\[1,10-12\].

For the two-dimensional $`\pm J`$ Ising model which corresponds to the two-dimensional frustrated random Ising model, a few results exist. Inoue investigated the system-size dependence of the height of the peak of the specific heat at $`p0.94`$, and concluded that the logarithmic divergence of the specific heat at the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary is most probable in the same way as the pure case. Reis et al investigated the system-size dependence of the correlation length at $`p0.92`$, and concluded that logarithmic corrections do not play a role in contrast with the unfrustrated disordered systems. They concluded, however, that the specific heat diverges at most logarithmically. Namely, they could not completely exclude the possibility of the double logarithmic divergence of the specific heat.

On the other hand, there exisits the Nishimori line, which is defined by the equation, $`\mathrm{exp}(2J/k_\mathrm{B}T)=p/(1p)`$. ($`k_\mathrm{B}`$ is the Boltzmann constant, which we put that $`k_\mathrm{B}=1`$ from now on.) On the Nishimori line, several rigorous results have been derived. Particularly, it has been proved that the specific heat remains finite.

From the renormalization group approach, it is generally believed that, for the two-dimensional $`\pm J`$ Ising model, there exist two fixed points on the paramagnetic-ferromagnetid phase boundary above the multicritical point, namely the pure ferromagnetic fixed point and the multicritical fixed point\[16-17\], and there seems to be no random fixed point in contrast with the three-dimensional case. (In this paper, we use the word ”multicritical point” as the crossing point of the ferromagnetic-nonferromagnetic phase boundary and the Nishimori line, though there seems to be no spin glass phase in the two-dimensional case.) The pure ferromagnetic fixed point is stable, and the multicritical fixed point is unstable. Thus, the critical phenomena on the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary above the multicritical point is governed by the pure ferromagnetic fixed point. Therefore, the critical exponent, $`\alpha `$, should be zero on the whole paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary above the multicritical point. The fact mentioned above, however, does not make a help to determine the critical behaviour of the specific heat, since each of a logarithmic divergence, a double logarithmic divergence and a cusp like behaviour belongs to the case, $`\alpha =0`$.

In this paper, we investigate the specific heat from a new point of view. We devide the specific heat of a system into two parts, $`C_1`$ and $`C_2`$. (For the detail definitions of $`C_1`$ and $`C_2`$, see section 2.) The value of $`C_1`$ is easily found to be non-negative and remain finite at finite temperature. On the other hand, the value of $`C_2`$ becomes negative at $`T=0`$ when the system is frustrated and the ground state has non-trivial degeneracy. Since we can consider that the negative value of $`C_2`$ reflects the non-trivial ground state degeneracy, it is an interesting problem to make it clear up to what temperature the property persists. It is noted that in order that the specific heat may diverge, $`C_2`$ should become infinite.

Thus, we investigate the region in the $`pT`$ plane where $`C_2`$ takes the negative value for the two-dimensional $`\pm J`$ Ising model. Our result shows that the region mentioned above is fairly large in the $`pT`$ plane. Moreover, it includes the Nishimori line. Namely, the region includes a part of the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary above the multicritical point. In that region, the specific heat cannot diverge.

The present result indicates that the specific heat does not diverge at least on a part of the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary near and above the multicritical point. The result is not directly in conflict with previous results which insist that the specific heat diverges at most logarithmically at the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary near the pure ferromagnetic case($`p0.92`$), since the range of the concentration of the calcultions does not overlap. It is natural, however, to think that the nature of the phase transition does not change on the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary above the multicritical point. Thus, we insist that the specific heat of the two-dimensional $`\pm J`$ Ising model does not diverge on the whole paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary above the multicritical point, though we cannot exclude the possibility that there exists a singular point on the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary which separates the nature of the specific heat.

## 2 The model and the method

We consider the two-dimensional $`\pm J`$ Ising model on a square lattice with only nearest neighbor interactions. The Hamiltonian is written as follows:

$$=\underset{(ij)}{}J_{ij}S_iS_j,$$
(1)
where $`S_i=\pm 1`$, and the summation of $`(ij)`$ runs over all the nearest neighbors. Each $`J_{ij}`$ is determined according to the following probability distribution:

$$P(J_{ij})=p\delta (J_{ij}J)+(1p)\delta (J_{ij}+J).$$
(2)
In this paper, we put that $`J=1`$.

The specific heat per bond, $`C(p,T)`$, is written as follows;

$$C(p,T)=\frac{1}{N_\mathrm{B}}\frac{}{T}[<E>_T]_p=\frac{1}{N_\mathrm{B}}\frac{}{T}\underset{(ij)}{}[<J_{ij}S_iS_j>_T]_p,$$
(3)
where $`<\mathrm{}>_T`$ denotes the thermal average in a given bond configuration, $`\{J_{ij}\}`$, at temperature, $`T`$. $`[\mathrm{}]_p`$ denotes the configurational average at the ferromagnetic bond concentration, $`p`$, and $`N_\mathrm{B}`$ is the number of bonds.

Now, we divide the specific heat of the system, $`C(p,T)`$ into two parts, $`C_1(p,T)`$ and $`C_2(p,T)`$:

$$C(p,T)=C_1(p,T)+C_2(p,T),$$
(4)
where

$$C_1(p,T)=\frac{1}{N_\mathrm{B}}\underset{(ij)}{}\frac{}{T_{ij}}[<J_{ij}\sigma _i\sigma _j>_{\{T\}}]_p_{\{T\}=T},$$
(5)
and

$$C_2(p,T)=\frac{1}{N_\mathrm{B}}\underset{(ij)}{}\underset{lmij}{}\frac{}{T_{lm}}[<J_{ij}\sigma _i\sigma _j>_{\{T\}}]_p_{\{T\}=T}.$$
(6)
Here, we introduce technically, $`T_{ij}`$, the local temperature of the bond, $`J_{ij}`$. Namely, $`C_1(p,T)`$ is considered to be the configurational average of the change of the local energy, $`<J_{ij}\sigma _i\sigma _j>_{\{T\}}`$, when we infinitesimally increase the correspondeing local temperature, $`T_{ij}`$. On the other hand, $`C_2(p,T)`$ is considered to be the configuratinal average of the the change of the local energy, $`<J_{ij}\sigma _i\sigma _j>_{\{T\}}`$, when we infinitesimally increase the temperarture, $`T_{lm}`$, which surrounds the local bond, $`J_{ij}`$.

It is easily calculated that

$$C_1(p,T)=\frac{1}{N_\mathrm{B}T^2}\underset{(ij)}{}(1[<\sigma _i\sigma _j>_T^2]_p).$$
(7)
Namely, $`C_1(p,T)`$ has an upper bound;

$$C_1(p,T)\frac{1}{T^2}.$$
(8)
Therefore, at finite temperature, in order that the specific heat may diverge, $`C_2(p,T)`$ should become infinite.

Now, we consider the case at zero temperature. At zero temperature, the specific heat, $`C(p,0)`$ becomes zero. When, there is no non-trivial degeneracy in the ground state of the system, each $`[<\sigma _i\sigma _j>_T^2]_p=1`$. Namely, $`C_1(p,0)`$ becomes zero. Thus, $`C_2(p,0)`$ also becomes zero. On the other hand, when the ground state has non-trivial degeneracy, some of $`[<\sigma _i\sigma _j>_T^2]_p`$ become less than one. Namely, $`C_1(p,0)`$ becomes positive infinite. Thus, $`C_2(p,0)`$ becomes negative infinite in this case. The negative value of $`C_2(p,T)`$ at finite temperature may be considered to be one of the influence of the non-trivial ground state degeneracy of the frustrated system. Thus, it is an intersting problem to make it clear up to what temperature the property persists. Therefore, in the following sections, we investigate the region in the $`pT`$ plane where $`C_2(p,T)`$ takes the negative value for the two-dimensional $`\pm J`$ Ising model.

## 3 Results by the numerical transfer matrix method

In this section, we investigate the region in the $`pT`$ plane where $`C_2(p,T)`$ takes the negative value by the numerical transfer matrix method. We have calculated for the lattice size, $`L=416`$, at the bond concentration, $`p=0.650.95`$. In the calculations, we take the free boundary condition, and take the configurational average for $`10^410^5`$ bond configurations.

Figure 1 shows the temperature dependence of $`C(p,T)`$, $`C_1(p,T)`$ and $`C_2(p,T)`$ for $`L=4`$ at $`p=0.8`$. We can see that $`C_2(p,T)`$ takes the negative value in the low temperature region. We have estimated the temperature, $`T_0(L,p)`$, where $`C_2(p,T)`$ takes the value zero for $`L=416`$ at $`p=0.650.95`$. Figure 2 shows the temperature dependence of $`C_2(p,T)`$ near the zero point for $`L=14`$ at $`p=0.9`$. From the figure, we have estimated the temperture of the zero point, $`T_0(L=14,p=0.9)=1.2764(14)`$. The estimated values of $`T_0(L,p)`$ for various $`L`$ and $`p`$ are shown in table 1. The accuracy of the values of $`T_0(L,p)`$ becomes worse as the concentration, $`p`$, becomes small, since the gradient of $`C_2(p,T)`$ near the zero point becomes small.

We can see that, at each concentration, $`p`$, the size dependence of the values of $`T_0(L,p)`$ is very small, and the values are fairly large compared to the value of $`T_\mathrm{N}(p)`$, the tempearature of the Nishimori line at $`p`$.

We have no definite principle to estimate the value of $`T_0(p)`$ which is the extrapolated value of $`T_0(L,p)`$ to $`L\mathrm{}`$. No clear size dependence, however, can be seen at $`p=0.650.8`$. Thus, we perform naive extrapolation to $`L\mathrm{}`$ in this region. It can be seen that the value of $`T_0(L,p)`$ slightly increases as $`L`$ increases at $`p=0.850.95`$. We have found that the extrapolation by the $`N^1`$-law works fairly well at $`p=0.85`$ and $`p=0.9`$, where $`N`$ is the total number of the spins of the system. Figure 3 shows a plot of $`T_0(L,p)`$ versus $`1/N`$ at $`p=0.9`$, where we have estimated that $`T_0(p=0.9)=1.278(3)`$. We have also found that the extrapolation by the $`L^{1/2}`$-law works fairly well at $`p=0.95`$. The estimated values of $`T_0(p)`$ for various $`p`$ are shown in table 2. Strictly speaking, we cannot justify the above extrapolaton at each $`p`$. We can say, however, that the extrapolated values, $`T_0(p)`$, might not change drastically even if we use other extrapolation laws, and there seems to be no possibility that the value of $`T_0(p)`$ becomes smaller than the temperature of the Nishimori line at each $`p`$.

Figure 4 shows the estimated values of $`T_0(p)`$ for various $`p`$ in the $`pT`$ plane, which are denoted by black squares. The dashed line denotes the Nishimori line, and the open circles denote the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary above the multicritical point. We can see that the region where $`C_2(p,T)`$ takes the negative value is fairly large. We can also see that the region mentioned above contains the Nishimori line. There are several numerical calculations about the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary of the two-dimensional $`\pm J`$ Ising model\[13,19-22,27\]. It is noted that all the calculations are almost consistent with each other and they show that, above the multicritical point, the concentration, $`p`$, of the phase boundary increases as the temperature increases. Thus, a part of the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary is included in the region where $`C_2(p,T)`$ takes the negative value. In that region, the specific heat cannot diverge. Namely, the specific heat does not diverge at least on a part of the paramgnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary above the multicritical point.

## 4 Monte Carlo simulations near the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary

In order to elucidate the region where $`C_2(p,T)`$ takes the negative value near the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary, we have performed the Monte Carlo simulations for more larger lattices, $`L=31121`$, at $`p=0.880.92`$. In the calculations, we take the skew boundary condition in one direction and the periodic boundary condition in the other direction.

The condition of the simulation is shown in table 3. M.C.S. denotes the Monte Carlo step of the simulation, which is chosen to be $`20\tau `$, where the relaxation time, $`\tau `$, is evaluated by the statistical time-independent method, and $`N_b`$ is the number of the bond configurations.

The temperature dependence of $`C_2(p,T)`$ near the zero point for $`L=91`$ at $`p=0.9`$ is shown in figure 5, where we have estimated that $`T_0(L=91,p=0.9)=1.2765(45)`$. The estimated values of $`T_0(L,p)`$ for various $`L`$ and $`p`$ are shown in table 4.

Though $`T_0(L,p)`$ takes similar value even if the lattice size, $`L`$, changes, we have extrapolated the values of $`T_0(p,L)`$ to $`L\mathrm{}`$ by the $`N^1`$-law. We show the estimated values of $`T_0(p)`$ for various $`p`$ in table 5 with the temperature of the Nishimori line, $`T_\mathrm{N}(p)`$.

The results are also shown in figure 6. The black circles and squares denote $`T_0(p)`$ evaluated by the Monte Carlo simulations and by the numerical transfer matrix method, respectively. The dashed line denotes the Nishimori line, and the open circles denote the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary above the multicritical point. It can be seen that both results by the numerical transfer matrix method and Monte Carlo simulations are consistent with each other.

The crossing point of the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary and the boundary of the region where $`C_2(p,T)`$ takes the negative value has been estimated to be 0.8985(15). Therefore, we conclude that the specific heat cannot diverge on the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary at least for $`p_\mathrm{c}p0.8985(15)`$, where $`p_\mathrm{c}`$ is the concentration of the multicritical point. There are many numerical estimates of $`p_\mathrm{c}`$: 0.8905(5),0.8872(8),0.886(3), 0.8906 and 0.8907(2). Recently, there is a conjecture about the exact value of $`p_\mathrm{c}`$, which insists that $`p_\mathrm{c}=0.889972`$.

## 5 Conclusions

We have investigated the property of the specific heat of the two-dimensional $`\pm J`$ Ising model by the numerical transfer matrix method and Monte Carlo simulations from a new point of view. We have estimated the region where $`C_2(p,T)`$ takes the negative value in the $`pT`$ plane, which is one of the characteritic of the frustrated system, and reflects the non-trivial degeneracy of the ground state. By the numerical transfer matrix method for $`L=416`$, and the Monte Carlo simulations for $`L=31121`$, the region have been found to be fairly large in the $`pT`$ plane, which includes the Nishimori-line.

Moreover, the region includes a part of the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary, on which the specific heat cannot diverge. Thus, our results indicate that the specific heat cannot diverge on the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary at least near and above the multicritical point. On the other hand, there are several literatures that, near the pure ferromagnetic point($`p0.92`$), the specific heat diverges at most logarithmically. Both results are not directly in conflict with each other, since the range of the concentration of the calculations does not overlap. It is natural, however, to think that the nature of the phase transition does not change on the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary above the multicriticsl point. In the literatures which insist the divergence of the specific heat, the change of the peak height of the specific heat of various lattice size was investigated. It is a very subtle problem whether the specific heat diverges or remains finite, when the divergence is so weak as the logarithmic divergence. Our extrapolation, however, is straightforward and the values of $`T_0(p)`$ might not change drastically even when there exist other system-size corrections, and there seems to be no possibility that the value of $`T_0(p)`$ becomes smaller than the temperature of the Nishimori line at each $`p`$. Thus, we insist that the specific heat of the two-dimensional $`\pm J`$ Ising model does not diverge on the whole range of the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary above the multicritical point, though we cannot exclude the possibility that a singular point exists on the paramagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary, which separates the nature of the specific heat.

The authors would thank Dr. Y. Ozeki and Dr. K. Hukushima for their useful discussions. The calculations were made on HITAC SR8000 at University of Tokyo. and at the Institue for Solid State Physics in University of Tokyo.

## References


text:
# Orbits of Certain Endomorphisms of Nilmanifolds and Hausdorff Dimension

## 1 Introduction

Let $`N`$ be a simply connected nilpotent Lie group. Assume that $`N`$ has a discrete subgroup $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ so that $`M=N/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is compact. (cf. Theorem 2.12 and Remark 2.14, .) Then $`\mathrm{\Lambda }N^1`$, where $`N^1=[N,N]`$, is a uniform lattice in $`N^1`$. Let $`\overline{𝕋}=\overline{N}/\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }}N/(N^1\mathrm{\Lambda })`$ where $`\overline{N}=N/N^1`$ is the abelianization of $`N`$ and $`\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$ is the image of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ under the natural projection $`N\overline{N}`$. One has a smooth bundle projection $`p:M\overline{𝕋}`$ with fibre $`N^1/\mathrm{\Lambda }N^1`$ which is again a nilmanifold. We put the Riemannian metric on $`M`$ induced by a right invariant metric on $`N`$.

Any automorphism $`R`$ of $`N`$ such that $`R(\mathrm{\Lambda })\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ induces an automorphism $`\overline{R}`$ of $`\overline{N}`$ such that $`\overline{R}(\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }})\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$. $`R`$ and $`\overline{R}`$ induce self-maps $`\rho :MM`$ and $`\overline{\rho }:\overline{𝕋}\overline{𝕋}`$. The map $`\rho :MM`$ is a bundle map covering the map $`\overline{\rho }:\overline{𝕋}\overline{𝕋}`$. We call $`\rho `$ an endomorphism of $`M`$. A theorem of W.Parry  says that $`\rho `$ is ergodic if and only if $`\overline{\rho }`$ is, that is, if and only if none of the eigenvalues of $`\overline{R}:\overline{N}\overline{N}`$ is a root of unity.

###### Definition 1

. Let $`𝒞`$ be a collection of self-maps of a topological space $`X`$. We say that a nonempty subset $`SX`$ is exceptional relative to $`𝒞`$ if the following condition holds: for any $`f𝒞`$ and any $`xS`$, the closure of the $`f`$-orbit $`\{f^k(x)|k0\}`$ does not contain any $`f`$-periodic point.

When a class $`𝒞`$ of self maps of a smooth Riemannian manifold $`M`$ contains an ergodic map, one expects any exceptional set to be ‘small’. Indeed such a set is necessarily of measure zero and is of first category, i.e, its complement contains a residual set. However, relative to the class of all semisimple surjective endomorphisms of the standard $`n`$-torus $`𝕋^n`$ such that the corresponding linear endomorphisms of $`^n`$ have no eigenvalue on the unit circle, Dani has proved the existence of an exceptional set $`S𝕋^n`$ which is ‘large’ in the sense that for any nonempty open subset $`U`$ of $`𝕋^n`$, the set $`SU`$ has Hausdorff dimension $`n`$. In fact, Dani shows that $`S`$ is an $`\alpha `$-winning set of the Schmidt game (cf. §2).

The purpose of this note is to extend Dani’s result to a certain class of endomorphisms of nilmanifolds and of infranil manifolds. Examples of nilmanifolds are $`U/\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ where $`U`$ is the group of unipotent upper triangular $`n`$-by-$`n`$ matrices over $``$ (resp. $``$) and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ is the subgroup of those having entries in $``$ (resp. in $`[i]`$). Nilmanifolds occur naturally in Riemannian geometry. For example, they arise in the study of the geometry near a cusp in a finite volume (non-compact) Riemannian manifold whose sectional curvatures are bounded above by a negative constant. See  for a detailed study of certain nilmanifolds arising this way.

Let $`𝒞_𝕋`$ denote the collection of all surjective endomorphisms of an $`n`$-torus $`𝕋`$ such that the corresponding linear automorphisms of $`^n`$ are semisimple and have no eigenvalue on the unit circle. We prove

###### Theorem 2

. Let $`M=N/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ be an $`n`$-dimensional nilmanifold. Let $`𝒞`$ be the set of all surjective endomorphisms $`\rho `$ of $`M`$ such that $`\overline{\rho }𝒞_{\overline{𝕋}}`$. Then there exists a positive number $`\mu 1/2`$ and an exceptional set $`SM`$ relative to $`𝒞`$ which is $`\alpha `$-winning for any $`\alpha (0,\mu ]`$. In particular, $`SU`$ has Hausdorff dimension $`n`$ for any nonempty open set $`UM`$.

Let $`N`$ be a simply connected nilpotent Lie group. Let $`Aff(N)`$ denote the group of all affine transformations of $`N`$ which acts on the right of $`N`$, that is, $`Aff(N)`$ is the group generated by the right translations by elements of $`N`$ and the automorphisms of $`N`$. Let $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ be a subgroup of $`Aff(N)`$ such that action of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ on $`N`$ is free and properly discontinuous with the quotient $`N/\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ being compact. The quotient $`\widehat{M}:=N/\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ is called an infranil manifold. It is known that the subgroup $`\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ consisting of all right translations of $`N`$ is a finite index normal subgroup. We shall identify an element of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ with the image of the identity element $`eN`$ under it. Then it is a result of Auslander  that $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is a uniform lattice in $`N`$.

Denote by $`M`$ the nilmanifold $`N/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. One has a finite normal covering $`\pi :M\widehat{M}`$ with deck transformation group $`G:=\mathrm{\Gamma }/\mathrm{\Lambda }.`$ Starting with the metric on $`M`$ induced by the right invariant metric on $`N`$, the averaging process leads to a $`G`$-invariant metric on $`M`$. We put this $`G`$-invariant metric on $`M`$ and the induced metric on $`\widehat{M}`$ so that $`\pi `$ is a local isometry.

Let $`R:NN`$ be an automorphism which preserves the $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ action, that is, for any $`xN`$ and $`\gamma \mathrm{\Gamma }`$, there exists a $`\gamma ^{}\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ such that $`R(x\gamma )=R(x)\gamma ^{}`$. Then $`R(\mathrm{\Lambda })\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. $`R`$ induces a self-map $`\widehat{\rho }:\widehat{M}\widehat{M}`$ which we call an endomorphism of $`\widehat{M}`$. Note that $`\widehat{\rho }`$ is covered by the endomorphism $`\rho `$ of $`M`$ defined by $`R`$. We are now ready state

###### Theorem 3

. Let $`\widehat{𝒞}`$ be the collection of all endomorphisms $`\widehat{\rho }`$ of $`\widehat{M}`$ induced by automorphisms $`R:NN`$ such that the corresponding toral endomorphism $`\overline{\rho }:\overline{𝕋}\overline{𝕋}`$ is in $`𝒞_{\overline{𝕋}}`$. Then there exist a positive number $`\nu 1/2`$ and an exceptional set $`\widehat{S}`$ relative to $`\widehat{𝒞}`$ which is $`\alpha `$-winning for any $`\alpha (0,\nu ]`$. In particular, for any nonempty open set $`U\widehat{M}`$, the set $`\widehat{S}U`$ has Hausdorff dimension $`n`$.

Remark: Theorem 3 includes an important class of manifolds, namely, compact connected flat Riemannian manifolds; these are the infranil manifolds when the simply connected nilpotent Lie group $`N`$ is abelian, i.e., $`N=^n`$. Then the compact flat manifolds are precisely those finitely covered by an $`n`$-torus $`𝕋^n`$.

Our proofs use Dani’s result and some basic observations about the nature of pre-image (resp. image) of $`\alpha `$-winning sets under a smooth bundle projection (resp. a covering projection).

Acknowledgements: We thank Professor S.G.Dani for his valuable comments on an earlier version of this paper. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

## 2 The Schmidt game

In this section we give a brief description of the Schmidt game  and recall here for the benefit of the reader some basic facts about winning sets.

Let $`X`$ be a complete metric space. Let $`0<\alpha ,\beta <1`$ and let $`S`$ be a subset of $`X`$. The Schmidt game on $`X`$ is played by two players $`𝒜`$ and $``$ as follows: $``$ first chooses any closed ball $`B_0`$ in $`X`$ of radius $`r`$ where $`r`$ is positive. Then $`𝒜`$ chooses a closed ball $`A_1B_0`$ of radius $`\alpha r`$. Then $``$ chooses a closed ball $`B_1A_1`$ of radius $`r_1=\beta \alpha r`$. Inductively, after $``$ has chosen closed a ball $`B_k`$ of radius $`r_k=(\alpha \beta )^kr`$, $`k1`$, $`𝒜`$ chooses a closed ball $`A_{k+1}B_k`$ of radius $`\alpha r_k`$ and $``$ chooses a closed ball $`B_{k+1}`$ of radius $`r_{k+1}=\beta \alpha r_k`$. Since $`\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}r_k=0`$, and since $`X`$ is a complete metric space, $`_{k1}A_k`$ is a singleton set $`\{x\}`$. We say that $`S`$ is an $`(\alpha ,\beta )`$-winning set (for $`𝒜`$) if for any choices of $``$, $`𝒜`$ can always make her choices so that $`xS`$. We say that $`S`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning if it is $`(\alpha ,\beta )`$-winning for any $`\beta (0,1)`$. Of course, the whole space $`X`$ is an $`\alpha `$-winning set for any $`\alpha (0,1)`$. Schmidt has shown that if $`\beta 2\alpha ^1`$, then the only $`(\alpha ,\beta )`$-winning set is $`X`$ itself. However, if $`\beta >2\alpha ^1`$, then there can be proper subsets of $`X`$ which are $`(\alpha ,\beta )`$-winning. Schmidt introduced these notions in his study of badly approximable numbers and related Diophantine problems. Schmidt games have proved to be very useful in showing that certain sets which naturally arise in dynamical systems and which are small in the conventional sense are indeed large in the sense of Hausdorff dimension.

We state without proofs some basic properties of $`\alpha `$-winning sets:

###### Proposition 4

. (i) Suppose $`S,S^{}`$ are $`\alpha `$-winning sets in $`X,X^{}`$ then $`S\times S^{}X\times X^{}`$ is also an $`\alpha `$-winning set.
(ii) Let $`X_i,1ik,`$ be closed subspaces of a compact metric space $`X`$ whose interiors cover $`X`$. If $`S_iX_i`$ is $`\alpha _i`$-winning in $`X_i`$ then $`S=_{1ik}S_i`$ is $`\alpha `$ winning where $`\alpha =\mathrm{min}\{\alpha _i1ik\}`$.
(iii) (Prop. 3.3, cf. §11,) Any $`\alpha `$-winning set $`S`$ in a complete Riemannian manifold $`M`$ is large, i.e., for any nonempty open set $`UM`$ the Hausdorff dimension of $`SU`$ is $`n`$ where $`n=dimM`$.
(iv) (, cf. Th. 1, ) Let $`f:XY`$ be a homeomorphism between complete metric spaces and $`\lambda `$ be a bi-Lipschitz constant for $`f`$, that is, $`\lambda 1`$ is a real number such that for any $`x,yX`$, one has $`\lambda ^1d_X(x,y)d_Y(f(x),f(y))\lambda d_X(x,y)`$. If $`SX`$ is $`(\alpha ,\beta )`$-winning set in $`X`$ with $`\beta \lambda ^2<1`$, then $`f(S)`$ is an $`(\alpha /\lambda ^2,\beta \lambda ^2)`$-winning set in $`Y`$. In particular, if $`S`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning, then $`f(S)`$ is $`\alpha /\lambda ^2`$-winning. $`\mathrm{}`$

###### Remark 5

.  If $`X,Y`$ are smooth compact Riemannian manifolds and $`f:XY`$ is a diffeomorphism, then a bi-Lipschitz constant for $`f`$ always exists (see Ch. 5 of , Prop. 3.3 of ). Thus, in view of Prop. 4$`(iv)`$, the ‘largeness’ of a subset of a compact Riemannian manifold does not depend on the specific choice of the metric.

###### Remark 6

.  Let $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ be any lattice in the Euclidean space $`^n`$ and let $`𝕋=^n/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. Consider the collection $`𝒞_𝕋`$. Then there exists a subset $`S𝕋`$ which is exceptional relative to $`𝒞_𝕋`$ such that $`S`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning for any $`\alpha (0,1/2]`$. In particular, $`SU`$ has Hausdorff dimension $`n`$ for any nonempty open set $`U𝕋`$. To see this, note that if $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=^n^n`$, then this is just a restatement of Dani’s result . In the general case, we observe that Dani’s proof still goes through when $`^n`$ is replaced by an arbitrary uniform lattice $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. We can also see this easily using Dani’s result for the torus $`^n/^n`$ and Remark 5.

We conclude this section with the following

###### Lemma 7

. Let $`p:MM^{}`$ be a smooth fibre bundle where $`M`$ and $`M^{}`$ are compact Riemannian manifolds. Assume that $`S^{}M^{}`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning for any $`\alpha (0,\nu ]`$ for some $`\nu (0,1/2]`$. Then there exists a $`\mu >0`$ such that $`S:=p^1(S^{})`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning for any $`\alpha (0,\mu ]`$.

Proof: Let $`F`$ be the fibre of the bundle, endowed with a Riemannian metric. Let $`VM^{}`$ be any trivializing open set which is diffeomorphic to the unit ball $`B`$ in $`^n`$. Let $`K`$ be the image in $`V`$ of the closed disk of radius $`1/2`$ under the diffeomorphism $`BV`$. Let $`h_V:p^1(V)V\times F`$ be a diffeomorphism which is a trivialization. Then $`S_K^{}:=S^{}K`$ is an $`\alpha `$\- winning set in $`K`$ for any $`\alpha (0,\nu ]`$ and so, by Prop. 4$`(i)`$, $`S_K^{}\times F`$ is an $`\alpha `$-winning set in $`K\times F`$ for any $`\alpha (0,\nu ]`$. Now, it follows from Prop. 4$`(iv)`$ that $`p^1(S_K^{})=h_V^1(S_K^{}\times F)`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning in $`p^1(K)`$ for any $`\alpha (0,\nu /\lambda ^2]`$ where $`\lambda `$ is a bi-Lipschitz constant for the diffeomorphism $`h_V`$. One can cover $`M^{}`$ by the interiors of (closed) disk neighbourhoods $`K_i,1ik`$, where $`K_iV_iM^{}`$, the $`V_i`$ being trivializing open sets for the bundle $`p:MM^{}`$. Choose bi-Lipschitz constants $`\lambda _i`$ for trivializations $`p^1(V_i)V_i\times F`$. Then $`p^1(S_{K_i}^{})`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning in $`p^1(K_i)`$ for any $`\alpha (0,\nu /\lambda _i^2]`$ and for each $`i`$ such that $`1ik`$. Hence, by Prop. 4$`(ii)`$, it follows that $`S=_{1ik}p^1(S_{K_i}^{})`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning for any $`\alpha (0,\mu ]`$ where $`\mu `$ is the smallest of the numbers $`\nu /\lambda _i^2,1ik`$. $`\mathrm{}`$

## 3 Proofs of Main Theorems

Let $`f:XX`$ be a self-map and let $`xX`$. Denote by $`C_f(x)`$ the closure of the set $`\{f^k(x)k0\}`$.

###### Lemma 8

. Let $`p:XX^{}`$ be any continuous map. Let $`𝒞`$ and $`𝒞^{}`$ be any collections of self-maps of $`X`$ and $`X^{}`$ respectively such that given $`f𝒞`$, there exists an $`f^{}𝒞^{}`$ such that $`pf=f^{}p`$. Suppose that $`S^{}X^{}`$ is exceptional relative to $`𝒞^{}`$, then $`S:=p^1(S^{})`$ is exceptional relative to $`𝒞`$.

Proof: Let $`xS,f𝒞`$. Suppose that $`yC_f(x)`$ is $`f`$-periodic, say, $`f^k(y)=y`$. Let $`x^{}=p(x)S^{}`$ and let $`y^{}=p(y)`$. Choose $`f^{}𝒞^{}`$ such that $`pf=f^{}p`$. Then, $`p(C_f(x))C_f^{}(x^{})`$. In particular $`y^{}C_f^{}(x^{})`$. Note that $`f^k(y^{})=f^kp(y)=pf^k(y)=p(y)=y^{}`$ which contradicts our hypothesis that $`S^{}`$ is exceptional. This shows that $`S`$ is exceptional relative to $`𝒞`$. $`\mathrm{}`$

###### Lemma 9

. Let $`p:X\widehat{X}`$ be a finite covering projection where $`X,\widehat{X}`$ are compact metric spaces. Let $`𝒞`$ and $`\widehat{𝒞}`$ be any collections of self-maps of $`X`$ and $`\widehat{X}`$ respectively such that for any $`\widehat{f}\widehat{𝒞}`$, there exists an $`f𝒞`$ such that $`pf=\widehat{f}p`$. Let $`S`$ be an exceptional set relative to $`𝒞`$. Then $`\widehat{S}:=p(S)\widehat{X}`$ is an exceptional set relative to $`\widehat{𝒞}`$.

Proof: Let $`\widehat{x}\widehat{S},\widehat{f}\widehat{𝒞}`$ and let $`\widehat{y}C_{\widehat{f}}(\widehat{x})`$. We shall assume that $`\widehat{y}`$ is an $`\widehat{f}`$-periodic point and arrive at a contradiction.

Since $`\widehat{y}C_{\widehat{f}}(\widehat{x})`$, there exists a sequence of positive integers $`n_k`$ such that $`\widehat{f}^{n_k}(\widehat{x})`$ converges to $`\widehat{y}`$. Choose $`xS,f𝒞`$ such that $`p(x)=\widehat{x}`$ and $`pf=\widehat{f}p`$. Consider the set $`\{f^{n_k}(x)|k1\}C_f(x)`$. Because $`xS`$, this set is infinite. Since $`X`$ is compact, it has a subsequence $`f^{n_{k_i}}(x)`$ converging to an element $`yX`$ and $`yC_f(x)`$ since $`C_f(x)`$ is closed. The element $`y`$ must be in the fibre over $`\widehat{y}\widehat{X}`$ by continuity of $`p`$. Since $`\widehat{y}`$ is $`\widehat{f}`$-periodic, and since $`f`$ covers $`\widehat{f}`$, it follows that $`y`$ must be $`f`$-periodic. That is, $`yC_f(x)`$ is an $`f`$-periodic point which is a contradiction since $`xS,f𝒞`$ and $`S`$ is an exceptional set relative to $`𝒞`$. $`\mathrm{}`$

We are now ready to prove the main theorems stated in the introduction. We keep the notations of §1.

Proof of Theorem 2: Consider the fibration $`p:MM^{}`$ where $`M^{}`$ is the torus $`\overline{N}/\overline{\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$ and let $`𝒞^{}=𝒞_{\overline{𝕋}}`$. By Remark 6, there exists an exceptional set $`S^{}M^{}`$ relative to $`𝒞^{}`$ which is $`\alpha `$-winning for any $`\alpha (0,1/2]`$. Note that for the collection $`𝒞`$ of the theorem, the hypotheses of Lemma 8 are satisfied. It follows that $`S=p^1(S^{})`$ is exceptional. By Lemma 7, we see that $`S`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning for any $`\alpha (0,\mu ]`$ for some $`\mu (0,1/2]`$. $`\mathrm{}`$

Proof of Theorem 3: Consider the finite covering projection $`\pi :M\widehat{M}`$. Recall that the deck transformation group $`G=\mathrm{\Gamma }/\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ acts on $`M`$ by isometries.

The hypotheses of Lemma 9 holds when we take $`𝒞`$ to be as in Theorem 2, that is, the set of all surjective endomorphisms $`\rho `$ of $`M`$ such that $`\overline{\rho }𝒞_{\overline{𝕋}}`$.

By Theorem 2 there exists a positive number $`\mu 1/2`$ and a set $`S`$ which is exceptional relative to $`𝒞`$ such that $`S`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning for any $`\alpha (0,\mu ]`$ when $`M`$ is given the right invariant metric. By Prop. 4$`(iv)`$ applied to the identity map of $`M`$, the same statement holds if we replace $`\mu `$ by a suitably smaller positive number $`\nu `$ when we put the $`G`$-invariant metric on $`M`$. By Lemma 9, $`\widehat{S}:=\pi (S)`$ is an exceptional set relative to $`\widehat{𝒞}`$.

Since $`G`$ acts on $`M`$ by isometries, the covering projection $`\pi `$ is a local isometry. Choose a finite collection $`\{K\}`$ of normal (closed) disk neighbourhoods whose interiors cover $`M`$ and such that $`\pi |K:K\pi (K)`$ is an isometry for each $`K`$. Then, $`SK`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning in $`K`$ and $`\pi (SK)`$ is $`\alpha `$-winning for each $`\alpha (0,\nu ]`$ by Theorem 1, . It follows from Prop. 4$`(ii)`$ that $`\widehat{S}=\pi (S)`$ is an $`\alpha `$-winning set for any $`\alpha (0,\nu ]`$. This completes the proof. $`\mathrm{}`$

Concluding Remarks: $`(i)`$ It would be interesting to know whether there are large exceptional sets for the class consisting of an arbitrary expanding endomorphism (cf. ) of a nilmanifold or an infranil manifold.

$`(ii)`$ Kleinbock  has obtained a generalization of Dani’s theorem showing existence of large sets in a very general setting. However, Kleinbock’s result still does not subsume our results because the exceptional set in his set up is not known to be an $`\alpha `$-winning set. This is a stronger conclusion in our case which enables us to deduce the maximality of Hausdorff dimension for exceptional sets of a family of endomorphisms and not just for exceptional sets of a single endomorphism.


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# Curie temperature and carrier concentration gradients in MBE grown Ga1-xMnxAs layers

## Abstract

We report on detailed investigations of the electronic and magnetic properties of ferromagnetic Ga1-xMnxAs layers, which have been fabricated by low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy. Superconducting quantum interference device measurements reveal a decrease of the Curie temperature from the surface to the Ga1-xMnxAs/GaAs interface. While high resolution x-ray diffraction clearly shows a homogeneous Mn distribution, a pronounced decrease of the carrier concentration from the surface towards the Ga1-xMnxAs/GaAs interface has been found by Raman spectroscopy as well as electrochemical capacitance-voltage profiling. The gradient in Curie temperature seems to be a general feature of Ga1-xMnxAs layers grown at low-temperature. Possible explanations are discussed.

Over the past years, the field of spin electronics, which aims at the use of the spin of carriers for electronic devices, is of growing interest. A combination of conventional semiconductors with magnetism, where both band gap engineering as well as magnetic engineering could be realized, would be very desirable. One material under investigation is the semimagnetic semiconductor Ga1-xMnxAs, which can be made ferromagnetic with Curie temperatures $`T_C`$ as high as 150K,Kuannealing  as reported so far. This ferromagnetism is attributed to be due to the exchange interaction between holes and the magnetic moment of Manganese , and hence $`T_C`$ strongly depends on both the Mn content $`x`$ and the concentration $`p`$ of holes:DietlScience287zenermodell

$`T_Cx\times p^{1/3}`$ (1)
.

The high density of holes in Ga1-xMnxAs originates from the incorporation of Mn itself, which acts as an acceptor on Ga lattice sites and in addition provides the magnetic moments.

In this work, we have investigated the magnetic and electronic properties of ferromagnetic Ga1-xMnxAs layers by superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) measurements, electrochemical capacitance-voltage (ECV) profiling as well as Raman measurements. A pronounced vertical gradient of the carrier concentration was found, which consequently leads to a gradient of the ferromagnetic coupling and therefore to a variation in $`T_C`$ from the surface towards the Ga1-xMnxAs/GaAs interface. Our results indicate that this obviously is a general aspect of low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) grown Ga1-xMnxAs layers and has to be taken into account in the analysis of their physical properties.

Ga1-xMnxAs thin films were grown by low-temperature MBE at a substrate temperature of TS = 250 C. For providing As4 a valved As cracker cell was used in the noncracking mode with a As/Ga beam equivalent pressure ratio of 30, whereas for Ga and Mn conventional Knudsen cells were used. The growth procedure was as follows: A 100-nm-thick GaAs buffer layer was grown at high temperature (585 C) on a semi-insulating GaAs(001) substrate, then the sample was cooled down during a growth break of 45 min to TS = 250 C, and finally the Ga1-xMnxAs layer was grown. Below we will discuss our findings on the basis of the Ga1-xMnxAs layer with $`x=5.1\%`$, measured by HRXRD, where the effects observed in all samples under investigation are most pronounced. After the growth the sample was etched by wet chemical etching to 100 nm and 140 nm etch depth, respectively.The unetched and etched pieces of the same sample were analyzed by SQUID magnetization measurements, Raman spectroscopy as well as ECV profiling.

SQUID magnetization measurements show a decrease in $`T_C`$ from 90 K in the as-grown sample to 55 K in the sample with 140 nm etch depth (Fig. 1).This corroborates results obtained from ferromagnetic resonance measurements,Goennenwein  which have already pointed to the fact that there is a gradient in the magnetic properties. The inset of Fig. 1 shows the decrease in measured TC versus etch depth.

According to Eq. (1), a change in Curie temperature can be caused either by a gradient in Mn content $`x`$ or by a gradient in the carrier concentration $`p`$.

To check for a gradient in Mn distribution, we performed HRXRD measurements. A Mn gradient should affect the shape of the HRXRD curve. In Fig. 2, the measured HRXRD spectrum of the as-grown sample is shown as well as a simulation, assuming a homogeneous Mn content $`x=5.1\%`$. The position of the Ga1-xMnxAs peak as well as the full width half maximum (FWHM) of the measurement agrees nearly perfectly with the simulation. Therefore, a gradient in Mn content as the origin of the observed decrease in $`T_C`$ can be ruled out. The Ga1-xMnxAs layers are homogeneous in terms of lattice constant, and are of high quality, as can also be seen by the pronounced thickness fringes, indicating a sharp Ga1-xMnxAs/GaAs interface.

To check for a vertical gradient in hole concentration $`p`$ across the Ga1-xMnxAs layer, ECV profiling is a suitable methodYuECV  overcoming the complications that arise from the anomalous Hall effect which affects standard transport studies of carrier concentration in conducting ferromagnetic materials.Matsukuratransport  ECV profiling measurements using a BioRad PN4400 with a 0.2M NaOH:EDTA solution as the electrolyte were performed on an as-grown piece of the sample, which was used for Raman and SQUID measurements. Indeed, the ECV profile also shows a decrease in hole concentration by a factor of 2 from $`8\times 10^{20}`$cm-3 to $`4\times 10^{20}`$cm-3 from the surface to the Ga1-xMnxAs/GaAs interface (Fig. 3).

To confirm the result of ECV profiling we have performed Raman spectroscopy measurements. The Raman signals of the unetched and the 140-nm-etched sample are compared in Fig. 4. As discussed in detail in Ref. 4 the high hole concentration in Ga1-xMnxAs leads to the formation of a coupled mode of the longitudinal optical (LO) phonon and the hole plasmon. With increasing hole concentration the frequency of this coupled mode shifts from the frequency of the LO phonon to that of the transverse optical (TO) phonon. Figure 4 clearly reveals that the coupled mode in the etched sample is shifted towards the LO-phonon frequency if compared to the unetched sample, indicating a reduced hole concentration.

As a result, we have detected a vertical gradient in the hole concentration, leading to a vertical gradient in the Curie temperature. We suggest that this gradient is generally occurring in Ga1-xMnxAs layers grown by LT-MBE, as will become clear from the discussion below, and has to be taken into account when measuring the properties of such samples.

Meanwhile it is well known that post-growth annealing of Ga1-xMnxAs at temperatures near the growth temperature can change the magnetic behaviour of these layers .Kuannealing ,Yuinterstitials -Foxon  The origin of this annealing effect is obviously due to changes in the point defect structure of the low temperature grown Ga1-xMnxAs. E.g., diffusion of As antisitesPotashnik  and the rearrangement of Mn at interstitial sitesYuinterstitials  or a combination of both are under discussion. The main point is that these effects are observed during annealing at temperatures near or even below the Ga1-xMnxAs growth temperature.

If annealing near or even at the growth temperature changes the defect structure, then this should also happen during growth. Whether this annealing leads to a higher or lower Curie temperature depends, however, on the particular nature of point defects in the structure. The exact microscopic processes are very complex and still unclear.

In addition to this annealing effect, a change of surface temperature during growth can be also a source of vertical gradients. When Mn is incorporated into GaAs, the effective bandgap Eg shrinks VanEsch , and the free carrier concentration goes up ($`10^{20}`$cm-3 or higher). As a consequence, the absorption of infrared light coming from the hot effusion cells in the MBE system increases and thus the surface temperature gradually rises. An increased growth temperature again can change the point defect structure of the Ga1-xMnxAs substantially, which in turn affects the magnetic and electrical properties.

The observed vertical gradient in TC can also explain the unusual magnetization curves M(T) of as-grown samples measured by our group (Fig. 1), but also by others.Kuannealing ,Potashnik ,VanEsch ,Ohno2001SSC  The M(T) curves of Ga1-xMnxAs layers usually do not show a simple Curie-Weiss behaviour. This can be explained by the superposition of various M(T) curves from parts of the layer with different Curie temperature. A detailed investigation of magnetization curves will be published elsewhere.

In conclusion we have shown that as-grown Ga1-xMnxAs layers potentially show a vertical gradient in carrier concentration and therefore in their magnetic properties. We suggest that this is due to the intrinsic high point defect density, which leads to high diffusion constants of point defects already at growth temperatures. Even though the vertical gradient in Curie temperature depends on the particular growth process used, it is suggested to be a general and intrinsic property of low-temperature Ga1-xMnxAs layers, which can lead to a severe misinterpretation of the data if not taken into account properly.

The authors acknowledge financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG Wa 860/4-1.


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# Comment on “Dynamical Foundations of Nonextensive Statistical Mechanics”

In a recent letter beck , Christian Beck described a theoretical link between a family of stochastic differential equations and the probability density functions (PDF) derived from the formalism of nonextensive statistical mechanics. He applied the theory to explain experimentally measured PDFs from fully developed fluid turbulence, in particular the PDF of one acceleration component $`a`$ of fluid particles. He found that the PDF

$$p(a)=C/(1+\frac{1}{2}\beta (q1)a^2)^{\frac{1}{q1}}$$
(1)
with $`q=\frac{3}{2}`$, $`\beta =4`$ and $`C=2/\pi `$ (for normalization to variance 1) captured the experimental data nature ; jfm  reasonably well.

Here we show that equation (1) is in disagreement with experimental observations and conclude that Beck’s application of Tsallis statistics to Lagrangian turbulence is not justified.

Figure 1 shows a comparison of the experimental data with the prediction of Eq. 1 from the letter (dashed line). Clearly, the theoretical prediction does not correctly capture the functional form of the PDF. This is most clearly seen when the contributions $`a^4P(a)`$ to the fourth order moment are considered. More generally, the log-log plot shows that the experimental data does not support the power law decay predicted by Beck.

As in the earlier experiment nature ; jfm  (the data used by Beck in beck ), we used silicon strip detectors to follow the motion of 45 $`\mu m`$ diameter tracer particles at 70,000 measurements per second at a Taylor based Reynolds number $`R_\lambda =690`$. The flow and the other experimental conditions were the same as earlier nature ; jfm . To remove measurement noise, the trajectories were lowpass-filtered with a gaussian kernel of width $`0.17\tau _\eta `$ PhysicaD . The total number of data points gathered was $`1.7\times 10^8`$.

Recent theoretical developments by Reynolds rey  and Beck beck1 ; becklog  also suggest that the Tsallis statistics is not adequate to decribe the Lagrangian acceleration and that generalizations are needed to fit the data. These new approaches fit our new data reasonably well PhysicaD , however, it needs to be stressed that the Beck’s lognormal model becklog  requires a fit to our data to determine free parameters. The only theory that uses parameters from independent experimental and numerical results is that by Reynolds rey . His theory uses log-normal statistics and is designed to describe the full Lagrangian time dynamics and is not restricted to the dissipation time scale as, for example, in the letter by Beck. Reynolds’ model gives excellent agreement with the experimental observations, as shown in Fig. 1 by the solid line.

###### Acknowledgements.

This work is supported by NSF-PHY9988755.