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# Congruences for the number of rational points, Hodge type and motivic conjectures for Fano varieties

## 1. Congruence for the number of rational points for a variety over a finite field

Let $`X`$ be a smooth projective variety over a field $`k`$. If $`k=𝔽_q`$ is finite, it will be rarely the case that $`X`$ has a rational point. Yet, if the variety is very negative in the sense of differential geometry, then $`X`$ will have some, or even many rational points. The simplest example is the projective space $`^n`$. Since one description of the $`k`$-rational points $`|^n(k)|`$ is the quotient of the punctured vector space $`k^{n+1}\{0\}`$ by the diagonal action of the homotheties $`k^\times `$, one sees that

(1.1)
$$|^n(𝔽_q)|=\frac{q^{n+1}1}{q1}=1+q+\mathrm{}+q^n.$$

One way to measure $`|X(𝔽_q)|`$ for a smooth projective variety $`X^n`$ is to consider the congruence

(1.2)
$$|X(𝔽_q)||^n(𝔽_q)|\text{mod}q^\kappa ,$$

or equivalently

(1.3)
$$|U(𝔽_q)|0\text{mod}q^\kappa ,$$

where $`U=^nX`$, for some natural number $`\kappa `$. Of course if $`\kappa =0`$, then (1.2) says nothing, but if there is a $`\kappa 1`$ which satisfies (1.2), then first of all, $`X`$ has a rational point, and secondly the larger $`\kappa `$, the more rational points. One codes $`|U(𝔽_{q^s})|`$ for all finite extensions $`𝔽_q𝔽_{q^s}`$ in the zeta function defined by its logarithmic derivative

(1.4)
$$\frac{\zeta ^{}(U,t)}{\zeta (U,t)}=\underset{s1}{}|U(𝔽_{q^s})|t^{s1}.$$

Thus the existence of a $`\kappa \{0\}`$ as in (1.3) for all finite extensions of $`𝔽_q`$ is equivalent to $`\zeta (U,t)`$, as a power expansion in $`t`$, be in $`[[q^\kappa t]]`$. On the other hand, the fundamental theorem of Dwork  asserts that $`\zeta (U,t)`$ is a rational function over the rational numbers

(1.5)
$$\zeta (U,t)(t).$$

One concludes that writing

(1.6)
$$\zeta (U,t)=\frac{_{i=1}^a(1\alpha _it)}{_{j=1}^b(1\beta _jt)},$$

the reciprocal roots $`\alpha _i`$ and poles $`\beta _j`$ of the $`\zeta (U,t)`$ are divisible by $`q^\kappa `$ as algebraic integers, i.e. in $`\overline{}\overline{}`$. On the other hand, the Grothendieck-Lefschetz fixed point trace formula  asserts

(1.7)
$$\zeta (U,t)=\underset{i=0}{\overset{2\mathrm{dim}(\mathrm{U})}{}}\mathrm{det}(1F_it)^{(1)^{i+1}}$$

where $`F_i`$ is the arithmetic Frobenius acting on the compactly supported $`\mathrm{}`$-adic cohomology $`H_c^i(\overline{U},_{\mathrm{}})`$, which is isomorphic to the primitive cohomology $`H_{\mathrm{prim}}^{i1}(\overline{X},_{\mathrm{}})=H^{i1}(\overline{X},_{\mathrm{}})/H^{i1}(\overline{^n},_{\mathrm{}})`$ of $`X`$ for $`(i1)2\mathrm{dim}(X)`$, and $`=H^i(\overline{^n},_{\mathrm{}})`$ for $`i2\mathrm{d}\mathrm{i}\mathrm{m}(X)`$. By the Weil conjectures proven by Deligne , the eigenvalues of $`F_i`$ in any complex embedding $`_{\mathrm{}}`$ have absolute values $`q^{\frac{(i1)}{2}}`$. Thus in (1.7) there can’t be any cancellation between odd and even $`i`$’s. Our condition (1.3) translates then exactly into the condition that the eigenvalues of $`F_i`$ be all divisible by $`q^\kappa `$ as algebraic integers.

On the other hand, the cohomology $`H^m(\overline{X},_{\mathrm{}})`$ carries a coniveau filtration $`\mathrm{}N^aH^m(\overline{X},_{\mathrm{}})N^{a1}H^m(\overline{X},_{\mathrm{}})\mathrm{}`$, where $`N^a`$ is the subgroup of classes which die after restriction outside of a codimension $`a`$ subscheme. One checks by a dévissage as in , Lemma 2.1, that the eigenvalues of the Frobenius acting on $`N^aH^m(\overline{X},_{\mathrm{}})`$ are divisible by $`q^a`$ as algebraic integers. Thus if $`N^\kappa H_{\mathrm{prim}}^m(\overline{X},_{\mathrm{}})=H_{\mathrm{prim}}^m(\overline{X},_{\mathrm{}})`$, the congruence (1.3) holds. The Tate conjecture predicts the converse: if the eigenvalues of Frobenius acting on $`H_{\mathrm{prim}}^m(\overline{X},_{\mathrm{}})`$ are all divisible as algebraic integers by $`q^\kappa `$, then the primitive cohomology should be supported in codimension $`\kappa `$, that is in concrete terms, there should exist a codimension $`\kappa `$ subscheme $`ZX`$ such that the restriction map

(1.8)
$$H_{\mathrm{prim}}^m(\overline{X},_{\mathrm{}})H^m(\overline{XZ},_{\mathrm{}})/H^m(\overline{^n},_{\mathrm{}})$$

dies.

## 2. Hodge type

The Hodge type of a projective variety $`X^n`$ over a field $`k`$ of characteristic 0 is defined to be the largest natural number $`\kappa `$ such that the Hodge filtration $`\mathrm{}F^aH_{DR,\mathrm{prim}}^m(X)F^{a1}H_{DR,\mathrm{prim}}^m(X)\mathrm{}`$ fulfills

(2.1)
$$F^\kappa H_{DR,\mathrm{prim}}^m(X)=H_{DR,\mathrm{prim}}^m(X)$$

for all $`m`$. (One would define similarly the Hodge type of $`H_{DR,\mathrm{prim}}^m(X)`$ for a given degree $`m`$). If $`X`$ is projective smooth, then Hodge type $`=\kappa `$ means

$$H^q(X,\mathrm{\Omega }_X^p)=\{\begin{array}{cc}0\text{for}qp<\kappa \hfill & \\ k\text{for}q=p<\kappa .\hfill & \end{array}$$

If

(2.2)
$$N^\kappa H_{DR,\mathrm{prim}}^m(X)=H_{DR,\mathrm{prim}}^m(X),$$

with the same definition of the coniveau filtration for de Rham cohomology as for $`\mathrm{}`$-adic cohomology, then one easily computes via the Gysin sequence that the Hodge type of the primitive cohomology is $`\kappa `$. The Hodge conjecture predicts the converse: if the Hodge type is $`\kappa `$, then the primitive cohomology is supported in codimension $`\kappa `$.

## 3. Hodge cohomology and slopes

In this section, $`X`$ is still assumed to be a smooth projective variety over a finite field $`𝔽_q`$, where $`q=p^d`$ for a prime number $`p`$. We are interested in conditions which force the reciprocal zeros $`\alpha _i`$ and poles $`\beta _j`$ of the zeta function (1.6) to be divisible by $`q^\kappa `$ as algebraic integers.

Write $`W(𝔽_q)`$ for the ring of Witt vectors over $`𝔽_q`$. It is a complete discrete valuation ring with residue field $`𝔽_q`$. For example, $`W(𝔽_p)=_p`$, the $`p`$-adic integers. Let $`K`$ be the quotient field of $`W(𝔽_q)`$. Frobenius on $`𝔽_q`$ induces automorphisms $`\sigma `$ of $`W(𝔽_q)`$ and $`K`$ satisfying $`\sigma ^d=\text{identity}`$. The crystalline cohomology  $`H_{\mathrm{crys}}^{}(X/W(𝔽_q))K`$ is a finite dimensional $`K`$-vector space with an endomorphism $`f`$ (Frobenius) satisfying

(3.1)
$$f(wx)=\sigma (w)f(x);wK,xH^{}.$$

In particular, $`f^d`$ is $`K`$-linear, and the basic theorem  is that

(3.2)
$$\zeta (X/𝔽_q,T)=det(1f^dT|H^{})^1,$$

where of course the determinant of the right is taken in the graded sense, i.e. characteristic polynomials coming from $`H^{\mathrm{odd}}`$ appear in the numerator of $`\zeta `$.

In order to estimate divisibility for the eigenvalues, we can calculate crystalline cohomology using the de Rham-Witt complex . This is a complex of pro-sheaves for the Zariski topology on $`X`$

(3.3)
$$W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{}:=\{W_{}𝒪\stackrel{𝑑}{}W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^1\stackrel{𝑑}{}W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^1\mathrm{}\stackrel{𝑑}{}W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{dimX}\}.$$

In other words, each $`W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^i`$ is a projective system of Zariski sheaves on $`X`$

(3.4)
$$\mathrm{}W_n\mathrm{\Omega }^iW_{n1}\mathrm{\Omega }^i\mathrm{}W_1\mathrm{\Omega }^i:=\mathrm{\Omega }_X^i$$

where $`\mathrm{\Omega }_X^i`$ is the sheaf of Kähler $`i`$-forms on $`X`$. Each $`W_n\mathrm{\Omega }^i`$ has a finite filtration with graded pieces coherent, so the cohomology groups $`H^j(X,W_n\mathrm{\Omega }^i)`$ have finite length. For $`i=0`$, $`W_n𝒪`$ is the sheaf of Witt vectors of length $`n`$ over the structure sheaf $`𝒪_X`$.

It is not true in general that the $`H^j(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^i):=\underset{}{\mathrm{lim}}_nH^j(X,W_n\mathrm{\Omega }^i)`$ are finitely generated $`W(𝔽_q)`$-modules (even for $`i=0`$, ). However, the groups $`H^j(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^i)/(\text{torsion})`$ are finitely generated. In particular, the $`H^j(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^i)K`$ are finite $`K`$-vector spaces. The differentials in (3.3) come from differentials $`W_n\mathrm{\Omega }^i\stackrel{𝑑}{}W_n\mathrm{\Omega }^{i+1}`$, and we define

(3.5)
$$^{}(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{}):=\underset{}{\mathrm{lim}}_n^{}(X,W_n\mathrm{\Omega }^{}).$$

The de Rham-Witt complex plays the role of a sort of de Rham complex calculating crystalline cohomology. Namely, there is a canonical, functorial isomorphism

(3.6)
$$H_{\mathrm{crys}}^{}(X/W(𝔽_q))^{}(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{}).$$

Crucial for our purposes is that the frobenius $`f`$ has a nice description on the de Rham-Witt cohomology. Namely, one has endomorphisms

(3.7)
$$f^{(i)},v^{(i)}:W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^iW_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^i$$

which satisfy $`f^{(i)}v^{(i)}=v^{(i)}f^{(i)}=p`$. The endomorphism $`v^{(i)}`$ is topologically nilpotent in the sense of the inverse system (3.4). One has $`df^{(i)}=pf^{(i+1)}d`$, so in particular the $`p^if^{(i)}`$ on $`W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^i`$ induce a map of complexes on $`W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{}`$. The resulting map on $`^{}(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{})`$ coincides with the Frobenius $`f`$ on crystalline cohomology under the isomorphism (3.6).

As a consequence of these facts, one deduces that the spectral sequence

(3.8)
$$E_1^{ab}=H^b(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^a)KH^{a+b}(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{})K$$

degenerates at $`E_1`$ (), and that the eigenvalues of the $`K`$-linear endomorphism $`q^af^{(a)d}:H^{}(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^a)H^{}(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^a)`$ coincide with the eigenvalues $`\alpha _i`$ and $`\beta _j`$ appearing in $`\zeta (X/𝔽_q,T)`$ which are divisible by $`q^a`$ but not by $`q^{a+1}`$. (This is because $`q^av^{(a)d}f^{(a)d}=q^ap^d=q^{a+1}`$, and $`v^{(a)}`$ is topologically nilpotent.)

Of course, there is a lot of mathematics here, and it is not possible to give the details in a survey such as this. Note, however, that there are two deep global results, (3.2) and (3.6). The rest involves the definition and local structure of $`W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{}`$.

As a corollary of the above, we deduce

###### Corollary 3.1.

Let $`\kappa 1`$ be a given integer. Then all the reciprocal zeroes and poles $`\alpha _i`$ and $`\beta _j`$ of $`\zeta (X/𝔽_q,T)`$ are divisible by $`q^\kappa `$ if and only if $`H^{}(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^a)K=(0)`$ for $`a<\kappa `$.

We would like a criterion in terms of the Hodge groups $`H^b(X,\mathrm{\Omega }_X^a)`$ which will insure the de Rham-Witt groups vanish as in corollary 3.1. The following is deduced from a purely local calculation using the structure of the sheaves $`W_n\mathrm{\Omega }^i`$. We use the notation “Hodge type” as in section 2, even though the ground field is finite.

###### Proposition 3.2.

With notation as above, if $`X`$ has Hodge type $`\kappa 1`$, then $`H^{}(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^a)=(0)`$ for $`a<\kappa `$. In particular, all the reciprocal zeroes and poles of $`\zeta (X/𝔽_q,T)`$ are divisible by $`q^\kappa `$.

###### Proof.

We will use some results about the structure of $`W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{}`$ from . The first point is that $`f^{(i)},v^{(i)},p`$ are injective on pro-objects. Topological nilpotence for $`v^{(i)}`$ means

(3.9)
$$v^{(i)n}W\mathrm{\Omega }^i\mathrm{ker}(W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^iW_n\mathrm{\Omega }^i)$$

, (2.2.1). Further, by op. cit. (2.5.2), there is an exact sequence

(3.10)
$$0W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{i1}/f^{(i1)}\stackrel{dv^{(i1)}}{}W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^i/v^{(i)}\mathrm{\Omega }_X^i0.$$

(For $`i=0`$ this says $`W/v^{(0)}𝒪_X`$.) By induction on $`i`$ we see that $`H^{}(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^i/v^{(i)})=(0)`$ for $`i<k`$, so

(3.11)
$$\begin{array}{c}v^{(i)n}:H^{}(X,W\mathrm{\Omega }^i)H^{}(X,W\mathrm{\Omega }^i)=\hfill \\ \hfill \underset{}{\mathrm{lim}}H^{}(X,W_n\mathrm{\Omega }^i)\underset{n}{}H^{}(X,W_n\mathrm{\Omega }^i).\end{array}$$

By (3.9), we deduce that $`H^{}(X,W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^i)=(0)`$ for $`i<k`$. ∎

###### Remarks 3.3.

* Proposition 3.2 is a special case of a more general theorem asserting that the Newton polygon of the $`F`$-crystal $`H^m(X/W)/(\mathrm{torsion})`$ lies above the Hodge polygon defined by slope $`i`$ with multiplicity $`dimH^{mi}(X,\mathrm{\Omega }_X^i)`$ (see , ). We have seen that only the local properties of $`W_{}\mathrm{\Omega }^{}`$ are relevant for Proposition 3.2.
* It is of course very easy to compute the Hodge cohomology $`H^j(X,\mathrm{\Omega }^i)`$ for smooth complete intersections $`X^n`$ defined by $`r`$ equations of degrees $`d_1d_2\mathrm{}d_r`$. It is $`\kappa =[\frac{nd_2\mathrm{}d_r}{d_1}].`$ Here $`[z]`$ is the integral part of the rational number $`z`$. In other words, Proposition 3.2 is an easy proof of the theorem of Ax and Katz () asserting (1.2) or equivalently (1.3) in this case.

## 4. From $`𝔽_q`$ to $``$ and vice-versa.

Let us think now that our smooth variety over a finite field is coming via reduction modulo $`p`$ from a variety defined in characteritic 0, over a ring of finite type over the integers. Then, via the comparison between $`\mathrm{}`$-adic and de Rham cohomologies, the coniveau in which (primitive) de Rham cohomology is carried is the same as the coniveau in which (primitive) $`\mathrm{}`$-adic is carried. In conclusion, one sees that the coincidence of the $`\kappa `$ stemming from the $`\zeta `$ function with the $`\kappa `$ from the Hodge type is a test both for the Tate and the Hodge conjectures.

We have two tests at disposal. First smooth complete intersections. Let $`X^n`$ be a smooth complete intersection defined by $`r`$ equations of degree $`d_1d_2\mathrm{}d_r`$. We define $`\kappa =[\frac{nd_2\mathrm{}d_r}{d_1}]`$ as in Remark 3.3. Then, as already mentioned, the theorem of Ax and Katz  asserts (1.3) while Deligne’s theorem  asserts (3.8). Moreover, this bound is sharp both on the $`\zeta `$ and on the Hodge sides.

The smooth complete intersections just discussed with $`\kappa 1`$ are special Fano varieties. We consider now our second example: Fano varieties which are abstractly defined. In characteristic 0, Kodaira vanishing applied to the ample invertible sheaf $`\omega ^1`$ yields $`H^q(X,𝒪_X)=0`$ for all $`q>0`$. Thus the Hodge theoritic $`\kappa `$ is at least 1. Over a finite field, , Corollary 1.3 asserts that $`|X(𝔽_q)|1\text{mod}q`$. Thus the $`\kappa `$ of the $`\zeta `$ function is at least 1 as well. This is our second test. However, we observe that the test is not complete. It might well be that the Hodge type of $`X`$ is $`2`$. Yet the proof given in  does not give a better the congruence for the number of rational points over a finite field, unless we know the Chow groups of $`X`$. This is the subject of the next section.

## 5. Motivic conjectures

The Beilinson-Bloch conjectures (, , ) predict that the Chow groups of a smooth projective variety defined over the complex numbers should be controlled by its Hodge theory. More precisely, it predicts that if the Hodge type of the primitive cohomology of a smooth complex projective variety $`X`$ of dimension $`d`$ is $`\kappa `$, that is (3.8) holds true, then one has

(5.1)
$$CH_i(X)=H^{2(di)}(X_{\mathrm{an}},)\text{for}0i(\kappa 1).$$

Applying the splitting of the diagonal as initiated in , Appendix to Lecture 1, and then refined as in , , , one sees that (5.1) is equivalent to saying that there is a nontrivial natural number $`N`$, there are dimension $`i`$ and codimension $`i`$ cycles $`\alpha _i`$ and $`\beta ^iX`$, a codimension $`\kappa `$ cycle $`ZX`$, a codimension $`d`$ cycle $`\mathrm{\Gamma }X\times Z`$ with

(5.2)
$$N\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha _0\times X+\alpha _1\times \beta ^1+\mathrm{}+\alpha _{\kappa 1}\times \beta ^{\kappa 1}+\mathrm{\Gamma }$$

where $``$ means the equivalence in $`CH^d(X\times X)`$, and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is the diagonal. It is easily seen that such a decomposition (5.2) of the diagonal, up to torsion, implies (2.2). Over the complex numbers, it implies a fortiori (3.8) while over a finite field, it implies (1.3), by showing again that the eigenvalues of the Frobenius are divisible by $`q^\kappa `$ as algebraic numbers.

In other words, the Beilinson-Bloch conjectures on the Chow groups imply here the Hodge conjecture. Thus we expect that our Fano varieties with Hodge type $`\kappa `$ will fulfill (5.1) and (1.3) as well.

Let us look at our two classes of examples. The smooth complete intersections as in section 3 with $`\kappa 1`$ fulfill $`CH_0(X)=`$ by a theorem of Roitman . However, we do not know in general whether $`CH_i(X)=`$ for $`i<\kappa `$. We have very few simple examples where the bound is achieved (, ), and the general results we have yield bad bounds ( ). We observe nevertheless that Roitman’s theorem (loc. cit.) yields a whole class of examples for which the Beilinson-Bloch conjecture is true and sharp. Let $`Y^{\kappa 1}\times ^n`$ be a smooth complete intersection of bidegree $`(1,d)`$. Then one easily computes that

(5.3)
$$H^q(Y,\mathrm{\Omega }^p)=0\text{for}qp,p(\kappa 1)$$

$$\text{and}H^q(Y,\mathrm{\Omega }^p)0\text{for  some }p\kappa ,pq$$

$$\text{if  and  only  if }\kappa dn.$$

Let us write $`y_1f_1+\mathrm{}+y_\kappa f_\kappa `$ for the equation of $`Y`$, where $`y_i`$ are the homogeneous coordinates in $`^{\kappa 1}`$ and $`f_i`$ are homogeneous polynomials of degree $`d`$. Then $`Y`$ is smooth if and only if the codimension $`\kappa `$ subvariety $`X^n`$ defined by $`f_1=\mathrm{}=f_\kappa =0`$ is smooth. Moreover, $`Y`$ is the blow-up of $`X`$ in $`^n`$. Consequently, one has $`CH_i(Y)=CH_{i\kappa +1}(X)CH^{n+\kappa 2i}(^n)`$. Thus $`CH_i(Y)=`$ for $`i(\kappa 2)`$ and $`CH_0(X)=`$ implies $`CH_{\kappa 1}(Y)=`$.

Roitman’s theorem is a special case of a deeper theorem for abstractly defined Fano varieties, due to Campana, and Kollár-Miyaoka-Mori (). It is stemming from geometry. If $`X`$ is a Fano variety, then it is rationally connected, that is any two closed points are linked by a chain of rational curves. This implies $`CH_0(X)=`$, but is stronger than this. For example, in characteristic 0, surfaces with $`H^m(X,𝒪_X)=0,m=1,2,`$ but with nonnegative Kodaira dimension $`1`$ have $`CH_0(X)=`$ (), and certainly they are not rationally connected. As recalled in the abstract, Fano means that $`\omega _X^{}`$ is ample. Thus this strong negativity condition on the top differential forms implies rational connectivity. On the other hand, strong negativity on the 1-forms implies rationality: by the fundamental theorem of Mori (), $`(\mathrm{\Omega }_X^1)^{}`$ ample is equivalent to $`X`$ being isomorphic to the projective space. Thus in this case $`CH_0(X)=\mathrm{}=CH_d(X)=`$ and $`\kappa =(d+1)`$.

In consequence, it is tempting to think that the condition (5.1) might result from a strong negativity condition on $`d,(d1),\mathrm{},(d\kappa +1)`$ differential forms. We have at disposal Demailly’s positivity notion . A vector bundle $`E`$ on a smooth projective complex variety is $`s`$-positive if its hermitian curvature form, seen on $`T_XE`$, is positive on all tensors of length $`s`$. Demailly’s vanishing theorem says that if $`E`$ is $`s`$ positive, then $`H^q(X,\omega _XE)=0`$ for $`qds+1`$. In particular, let us assume that

(5.4)
$$(\mathrm{\Omega }^{np})^{}\text{is }(np)\mathrm{positive}\mathrm{for}0\mathrm{p}(\kappa 1).$$

Then $`H^q(X,\mathrm{\Omega }_X^p)=0`$ for $`q>p,0p(\kappa 1)`$. But by Hodge duality, this implies $`H^q(X,\mathrm{\Omega }_X^p)=0`$ for $`q<p,0p(\kappa 1)`$ as well. Thus under the assumption (5.4), the Beilinson-Bloch conjectures predict (5.1). One may hope that this geometric formulation yields more information, as we discussed for $`p=0`$ and $`p=(d1)`$ above. It is further to be remarked that, while applied to smooth complete intersections, Demailly’s positivity is stronger than what would be needed to prove exactly (5.1), which is coming from the Hodge type. It is then likely that a positivity notion, a bit weaker than Demailly’s one, will force Demailly’s vanishing, and would be such that while applied to smooth complete intersections, it would yield, via the Beilinson-Bloch conjectures, exactly the right predicted statement on Chow groups.

## 6. Singular projective varieties

In this section, $`X^n`$ is still projective, but no longer necessarily smooth.

Let us assume first that $`X`$ is defined over a finite field $`𝔽_q`$. We still have that the divisibility of the eigenvalues of Frobenius acting on $`H_c^i(\overline{U},_{\mathrm{}})`$ implies the divisibility of the reciprocal roots and poles of the $`\zeta `$ function via (1.6) and (1.7). But the converse is not a priori clear. The problem is that the absolute values of the eigenvalues of $`F_i`$ are no longer determined by $`i`$, there might be some cancellation in (1.7).

Next we think of $`H_c^i(\overline{U},_{\mathrm{}})`$ as being no longer a semisimple Galois representation, and we consider its associated graded semisimple Galois representation. We apply the mechanism explained in the smooth case to predict that the Hodge type of $`X`$ in characteric 0 should be the same as the $`\kappa `$ such that $`q^\kappa `$ divides the eigenvalues of the Frobenius acting on $`H_c^i(\overline{U},_{\mathrm{}})`$. Now we have only one class of examples: projective varieties $`X`$ defined by $`r`$ equations of degrees $`d_1d_2\mathrm{}d_r`$. We don’t require smoothness, not even that the dimension of $`X`$ be $`(nr)`$. If $`\frac{nd_2\mathrm{}d_r}{d_1}0`$ we define $`\kappa `$ as in (2). Then the theorem of Ax and Katz () asserts that (1.3) is true, while , ,  show that the Hodge type of $`X`$ is $`\kappa `$. Those bounds are sharp. In particular, we see that the coincidence of the $`\kappa `$ coming from the $`\zeta `$ function and the one coming from Hodge theory in this mixed case predicts that the eigenvalues of Frobenius will be divisible by $`q^\kappa `$, which we don’t know so far.

In the same range of ideas, if we require now that $`X`$ be a (nonsmooth) complete intersection, by  one has higher divisibility of the reciprocal poles of $`\zeta `$ (suitably normalized), while by  one has a better Hodge type for all the primitive cohomology beyond the middle dimension. Here one would also expect that the better divisibility is not only for the reciprocal poles of the $`\zeta `$ function, but also for the eigenvalues of Frobenius acting on the corresponding cohomology $`H_c^i(\overline{U},_{\mathrm{}})`$ for all $`i`$ modulo 2 corresponding to the poles. But in addition, in light of the Hodge type computation, one would expect the better divisibility beyond the middle dimension.

The Beilinson-Bloch conjectures are not formulated for projective nonsmooth varieties. It is tempting to think that motivic cohomology in some good sense will control both the Hodge type and the congruence (in particular the existence) of rational points over a finite field. However, in absence of a clear view of what would correspond to the easy implication in the smooth case (trivial Chow groups implies congruence for points and nontrivial Hodge type), it is hard to forsee a good formulation of what would be the Beilinson-Bloch conjectures in the projective singular case.

Acknowledgements. We heartily thank Jean-Pierre Demailly for showing us his concept of positivity. We thank the participants of the seminar at the École Normale Supérieure, in particular Jean-Louis Colliot-Thélène and Ofer Gabber, for their helpful questions and comments. We also thank Marc Levine, V. Srinivas and Daqing Wan for interesting discussions.


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# Variable-range hopping conductivity in the copper-oxygen chains of La3Sr3Ca8Cu24O41

## Abstract

We show that the spin chain/ladder compound La3Sr3Ca8Cu24O41 is an insulator with hopping transport along the chains. In the temperature range 35 - 280 K, DC conductivity $`\sigma _{DC}(T)`$ follows Mott’s law of variable-range hopping conduction; the frequency dependence has the form $`\sigma (\nu ,T)=\sigma _{DC}(T)+A(T)\nu ^s`$, where $`s1`$. The conduction mechanism changes from variable-range hopping to nearest-neighbor hopping around $`T_c=`$ 300 K. The chain array thus behaves like a one-dimensional disordered system. Disorder is due to random structural distortions of chains induced by irregular coordination of the La/Sr/Ca ions.

One of the most outstanding properties of (La, Sr, Ca)14Cu24O41 family of quantum spin chain/ladder compounds is the superconductivity (SC) established in Sr0.4Ca13.6Cu24O41 at 12 K under pressure Uehara96 . The parent material of this cuprate superconductor, Sr14Cu24O41, is a charge density wave (CDW) insulator with a spin gap Gorshunov02 ; Blumberg02 ; Kumagai97 . Substituting isovalent Ca for Sr suppresses the CDW insulating phase Vuletic03 , while the spin gap remains finite Kumagai97 . The latter indicates that SC is driven by the spin-liquid state, in accord with theoretical expectations Dagotto92 .

In addition to the two-leg ladders, responsible for the conductivity and superconductivity, the system comprises one-dimensional (1D) CuO2 chains (c-direction) and the (La, Sr, Ca) layers. The chains are charge-reservoir from which holes are transferred into the ladders keeping the average copper valence unchanged. For the fully doped compound Sr14Cu24O41, which contains six holes per formula unit, approximately five holes are observed in the chain subsystem. In this case, the antiferromagnetic dimer pattern is created in chains together with the charge order, both inducing gaps in the spin and charge sector, respectively Regnault99 ; Kataev01 . Spin dimers are formed between those Cu2+ spins that are separated by a localized Zhang-Rice singlet (Cu3+), that is, by a site occupied by a localized hole.

No definite understanding has been reached yet on the nature of the spin/charge state and in particular on the charge dynamics in the chain subsystem for various doping levels. The La6-ySryCa8Cu24O41 compound provides a good opportunity for such studies since here for intermediate doping levels all holes reside on the chain sites Nucker00  and no spin gap is observed Carter96 . Both susceptibility and DC resistivity, measured on polycrystalline samples, increase with lowering temperature, while their absolute values show a strong decrease on strontium-doping Carter96 . In particular, the absolute value of the susceptibility is directly correlated with the number of Cu2+ in chains, indicating that doped holes reside entirely on chains.

In order to understand the nature of the spin/charge state in the spin chains with intermediate hole doping, there is a need to clarify the mechanism of the charge transport. In this communication we present conductivity measurements on single crystalline La3Sr3 Ca8Cu24O41 in a wide frequency and temperature range. We show that the conductivity measured between 280 K and 35 K obeys a true variable-range hopping law as in disordered non-crystalline insulators; in this way we exclude the existence of the charge order pattern found in the fully doped spin chains. In addition, we find no signature of the CDW-related dielectric response; this fact represents definite evidence that the CDW insulating phase observed in Sr14-xCaxCu24O41 is established in the ladder sub-unit Gorshunov02 ; Vuletic03 .

DC resistivity was measured between 35 K and 700 K. In the frequency range $`\nu =0.1`$ Hz – 1 MHz the complex conductance was measured; for $`\nu <100`$ Hz we used a set-up for high-impedance samples while for 20 Hz $`<\nu <`$ 1 MHz a Hewlett Packard HP4284A impedance analyzer was utilized Pinteric01 . The data at the lowest frequency match our four-probe DC measurements. At frequencies $`\nu =6`$ – 10000 cm-1 the complex dielectric function was obtained by a Kramers-Kronig analysis of the reflectivity and by complex transmission measurements Kozlov98  at the lowest frequencies 6 – 20 cm-1. All measurements were done along the crystallographic c-axis of high-quality single crystal.

Fig. 1 shows the behavior of DC conductivity in the wide temperature range from 35 K (the lowest temperature obtained in our experiment) up to 700 K. Above $`T_c=300`$ K, the DC conductivity follows a simple activation behavior $`\sigma _{DC}(T)\mathrm{exp}(2\mathrm{\Delta }/T)`$ with $`2\mathrm{\Delta }=3200`$ K (see inset). As directly seen from the $`\mathrm{log}\sigma _{DC}(T)`$ vs. $`T^{1/2}`$ plot, presented in the main panel, below $`T_c`$ down to 35 K the conductivity perfectly follows the variable-range hopping (VRH) behavior

$$\sigma _{DC}(T)=\sigma _0\mathrm{exp}\left[\left(T_0/T\right)^{\frac{1}{1+d}}\right]$$
(1)
with the dimensionality of the system $`d=1`$. These results clearly demonstrate the hopping mechanism of charge transport in one dimension; at $`T_c=300`$ K it crosses over from nearest-neighbor hopping to variable-range hopping. The cross-over temperature $`T_c`$ is given by $`T_c=\mathrm{\Delta }/(2\alpha c)`$ MottDavis ; Yu01 . Here the energy of sites near the Fermi energy available for hops, has an uniform distribution in the range $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ to $`+\mathrm{\Delta }`$, $`c`$ is the distance between the nearest Cu chain sites and $`\alpha ^1`$ is the localization length. By using $`\mathrm{\Delta }=1600`$ K and $`c=2.77\AA `$, we find $`\alpha ^11\AA `$. Finally, the value of the VRH activation energy $`T_0^{exp}=2.910^4`$ K, obtained from the fit of our data to Eq. 1, is very close to the one expected theoretically: $`T_0^{th}=8\mathrm{\Delta }c\alpha 3.510^4`$ K.

Fig. 2 demonstrates the conductivity $`\sigma (\nu ,T)`$ and the dielectric function $`\epsilon ^{}(\nu ,T)`$ spectra of La3Sr3Ca8Cu24O41 over the entire frequency range for different temperatures. We present here only the spectra up to 350 cm-1 including a couple of phonon lines. As confirmed by our fit (see below), the kinks in $`\sigma (\nu ,T)`$ and $`\epsilon ^{}(\nu ,T)`$ on the left side of the lowest-frequency phonon are of electronic (non-phonon) origin and we assign this contribution to the hopping of holes in the chains. Excluding the phonon component, the electronic conductivity can be expressed as the sum of two terms

$$\sigma (\nu ,T)=\sigma _{DC}(T)+A(T)\nu ^ss1$$
(2)
where $`\sigma _{DC}(T)`$ is given by Eq. 1. We note that the frequency independent behavior is found in the radio-frequency range for all temperatures (open symbols in Fig. 2). Similar dependences have been observed in a variety of disordered systems Dyre00 . The frequency-dependent component $`\sigma _{AC}(\nu ,T)=A(T)\nu ^s`$ is found to contain a temperature dependent prefactor $`A(T)`$. The cross-over frequency $`\nu _{co}`$ from the frequency independent to the frequency dependent conductivity can be estimated from the condition that the AC hopping length has to be smaller than the DC hopping length in order that $`\sigma _{AC}(\nu ,T)`$ overcomes $`\sigma _{DC}(T)`$ MottDavis . For one-dimensional VRH, the DC hopping length is given by $`R_0=(\mathrm{\Delta }c/2\alpha T)^{1/2}`$, and the AC hopping length is $`R_\nu =\frac{1}{2}\alpha \mathrm{ln}(\nu _{ph}/\nu _{co})`$, where the attempt frequency $`\nu _{ph}`$ depends on the electron-phonon interaction. Assuming $`\nu _{ph}10^{12}`$ s-1, we find for the cross-over frequency $`\nu _{co}`$ the values 0.15 cm-1, 0.015 cm-1 and 0.0006 cm-1 for $`T=`$ 300 K, 150 K and 75 K, respectively. These values coincide nicely with those obtained when the $`\nu ^s`$ fits in 6 – 20 cm-1 range are extrapolated to lower frequencies (Fig. 2). In particular, the choice of the exponent $`s=1`$ appears to be the most appropriate. For example, at $`T=150`$ K we find $`\nu _{co}0.0027`$ cm-1 and 0.013 cm-1, for $`s=0.8`$ and 1, respectively. Experimentally we are not able to distinguish between the $`\nu ^{0.8}`$ and $`\nu ^1`$ dependences due to relatively narrow frequency range in which $`\sigma \nu ^s`$ behavior is detected. At $`T50`$ K the hopping vanishes because the charge carriers are frozen out, and we observe only the $`\nu ^2`$ contribution to the conductivity associated with the low-energy phonon (Lorentzian) tail.

Next, we estimate the dielectric constant $`\epsilon `$’ associated with the hopping conduction. In order to do so we fit the conductivity spectra using the Drude term for the frequency independent plateaus below 106 Hz and a set of Lorenztians to smoothly describe the increase of $`\sigma _{AC}(\nu )`$ at higher frequencies. The results are shown by solid lines in Fig. 2; the low-frequency dielectric constant is about 170 at 300 K and decreases with lowering the temperature. We were not able to extract the $`\epsilon `$’ values from our radio-frequency measurements since the accuracy in determination of $`\epsilon `$’ is $`\pm 300`$ for the geometry of the samples used.

Finally, we want to point out that no signature of the CDW-related features of dielectric response in the radio-frequency range is found. Since in this system all holes reside on chains, this result yields definite evidence that the CDW insulating phase observed in Sr14-xCaxCu24O41 is established in the ladder sub-unit Blumberg02 .

Fig. 3 shows a blow-up of the optical conductivity and dielectric function at frequencies 6 – 60 cm-1 where a crossover from hopping to phonon-related response is observed. A contribution due to hopping (shaded) is clearly identified in addition to the phonon part (dashed line). The insets show the difference between the total and the phonon-associated components to the spectra of $`\sigma `$ and $`\epsilon `$’, which basically is the pure hopping contribution. The expected dieing out of the hopping contribution becomes more pronounced with lowering the temperature and with increasing the frequency. The latter is - to the best of our knowledge - observed for the first time.

We now comment on the hopping transport found in the chains of La3Sr3Ca8Cu24O41 in comparison with disordered non-crystalline insulators. First, for the latter compounds the value of the exponent in Eq. 1 is commonly found to be 1/4, corresponding to hopping in 3 dimensions; it becomes 1/2 if electron-electron interaction plays a role Ladieu96 . However, electron-electron interactions are expected to have a significant impact on the correlated many-electron hopping only when the temperature T is larger than $`T_0`$, which is far from experimental range since $`T_0=2.910^4`$ K, MottDavis ; Knotek74 . The situation is different for systems consisting of parallel chains of finite length where small disorder leads to weakly localized states Shante73 . This model gives the temperature exponent 1/2 as found in our experiment. We conclude that the exponent 1/2 confirms the one-dimensional nature of the electronic structure of chains in La3Sr3Ca8Cu24O41, which is in accord with the crystallographic structure Siegrist88 . Second, the obtained value for $`T_0`$ indicates the standard regime of the VRH where the hopping distance $`R_0`$ is larger than the localization length $`\alpha ^1`$; the extremely small $`\alpha ^11\AA `$ shows that the system is far from the metal-insulator transition. Following the usual interpretation of the VRH law, from $`T_0=16\alpha ^3/n(E_F)`$ we find the electronic density of states at the Fermi level $`n(E_F)5.510^{24}`$ eV-1cm-3. Finally, a straightforward consequence of the observed VRH conduction is that its extrapolation indicates a zero conductivity at $`T=0`$, in accord with the theory developed for disordered non-crystalline insulators.

Generally, a frequency-dependent conductivity varying as $`A(T)\nu ^s`$, where $`s1`$, does not necessarily imply hopping conduction MottDavis . However, we suggest that DC VRH conduction as well as the power-law AC conduction are attributed to the same set of localized states near the Fermi level. The value of the exponent close to one indicates that the observed AC conductivity is due to phonon-assisted hops between spatially distinct sites similarly to the DC contribution, and not to the photon absorption for which $`s2`$ is usually found MottDavis . Note that we did not find the latter in the whole measured frequency range, despite the theoretical prediction that with increasing frequency there is a cross-over from the regime dominated by phonon-assisted $`\sigma _{hopping}\nu ^s`$, $`s1`$ to that dominated by photon-assisted conduction which varies as $`\nu ^s`$, $`s2`$. The conductivity observed at 50 K, which follows a $`\nu ^2`$ behavior, is in our case simply a phonon tail, and is not due to hopping. Further, the observation of a strongly T-dependent $`\sigma _{hopping}(10\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}^1)/\sigma _{DC}`$ ratio confirms the idea that the hopping transport involves localized states near the Fermi energy. In addition, we find that the prefactor $`A(T)`$ follows the linear $`T`$ dependence for $`T60`$ K. This indicates that the thermal energy $`k_BT`$ is small compared to the energy range over which $`n(E_F)`$ may be taken as the constant MottDavis , in agreement with the estimates for the bandwidth associated with chains Arai97 . However, in this case $`A(T)=0`$ for $`T<60`$ K which implies no phonon-assisted contribution to $`\sigma (\nu )`$ at low temperatures. This seems surprising since we observed the VRH law for the DC conductivity down to at least 35 K. The other possibility is that $`A(T)`$ follows a $`T^{1.8}`$ law at all temperatures. We note that the exponent $`s=1.8`$ is larger than $`0s1`$ expected MottDavis  for conventional disordered non-crystalline insulators. Finally, we want to comment on a decrease of the phonon-assisted hopping conductivity observed at high frequencies 6 – 20 cm-1 (insets of Fig. 3). In the theoretical two-site hopping model, at frequencies of the order of $`\nu _{ph}10^{12}`$ s-1, the frequency dependence of $`\sigma _{hopping}`$ saturates due to the fact that the exponent $`s`$ decreases logarithmically with increasing frequency Bottger85 . Our observation is in line with this theoretical prediction. Moreover, the final fading out of the phonon-assisted hopping at very high frequencies is intuitively expected and deserves more theoretical attention.

At microscopic scale, we propose that strong local distortions of the chains due to irregular coordination of La3+, Sr2+ and Ca2+ ions Siegrist88  induce a non-periodic potential in which holes reside. The finding of the VRH law in the measured conductivity can be then viewed as a result of distorted distribution of microscopic conductivities, as predicted in Anderson localization theories. Therefore, copper-oxygen chains in partially doped La3Sr3Ca8Cu24O41 can be considered as a system in which disorder, associated with random distribution of holes, causes the Anderson localization. This is in contrast to the observations for chain sub-unit in fully doped Sr14Cu24O41, where a charge gap opens due to the charge order developed in conjunction with the antiferromagnetic dimer pattern. We propose that the copper-oxygen chain sub-unit behaves like a one-dimensional disorder-driven insulator for the whole range of intermediate hole counts $`0<n_h<6`$ La52 , and crosses over into a charge-ordered gapped insulator at full doping $`n_h=6`$. Note that the latter phase is established in chains concomitantly with the CDW gapped state in ladders. Moreover, both phases are suppressed by calcium-doping at seemingly similar rates, indicating a profound interplay between chain and ladder sub-units Vuletic03 ; Kataev01 .

In conclusion, the investigations of the frequency and temperature dependent conductivity yield clear evidence for variable-range hopping transport in chains of a spin-chain/ladder system La3Sr3Ca8Cu24O41. The absence of holes in ladders for intermediate hole counts eliminates the CDW phase in ladders, and suppresses the charge-ordered gapped state in chains in favor of disorder-driven insulating phase. These results reveal an intriguing possibility for the existence of a phase transition close to $`n_h=6`$ in the phase diagram of (La,Sr,Ca)14Cu24O41 compounds. Further experiments on materials with very low La content, which corresponds to $`n_h6`$ should elucidate our proposal.

We thank G. Untereiner for the samples preparation. This work was supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science and Technology and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).


text:
# The Outer Edges of Dwarf Irregular Galaxies: Stars and Gas1footnote 11footnote 1Workshop held in Flagstaff, AZ, USA on October 10–11, 2002. Proceedings are available on-line at http://www.lowell.edu/Workshops/Lowell02/ .

## 1 Introduction

The outer edges of dwarf irregular galaxies have been an area of interest for about 40 years. Its origin can be traced back at least to Sandage’s (1962) discussion of the outer parts of IC 1613, which, on Baade’s deep red photographic plates, showed an envelope of faint red stars that extended outwards significantly beyond the main parts of the galaxy. Scattered reports of the properties of other dwarf galaxies followed at a low rate until the recent work of Hunter and her collaborators highlighted the importance of the edges of irregular galaxies, both because of their importance in illuminating the evolution of the galaxies and because of the sensitivity of their properties to the nature of the intergalactic medium. Recent research in this area has flourished, as the Workshop clearly demonstrated.

## 2 The Outer Gas

Distribution: Eric Wilcots pointed out that dwarf irregular galaxies can have three different types of HI envelopes, which were described as extended smooth, extended chaotic, and starless clumps. For example, the HI outer envelope of IC 10 has a very extended, clumpy counter-rotating structure, involving a possibly infalling gas cloud of 107 M$`_{\mathrm{}}`$.

David Strickland showed some results from detailed feedback models of SN-produced outflows, mostly for larger disk galaxies, but he included a discussion of the shell-like structures in the outer excited gas of NGC 1569. Sally Oey described her calculations showing how ionizing photons escape from irregular galaxy disks, demonstrating how the rate of escape depends on the porosity of the interstellar medium.

The outer gas in galaxies sometimes includes bridges between galaxy pairs and some interesting new results for the Magellanic bridge was presented by Erik Muller. The western part of the bridge has been mapped at high resolution and is found to have a chaotic and filamentary structure. There are 163 HI shells, similar to those in the SMC, but on average smaller and less energetic. Eon-Chang Sung et al. showed what may the largest HI bridge of all: a 130 kpc-long bridge between two Blue Compact Dwarf (BCD) irregulars.

Sylvie Beaulieu described the detection of HI in the outer parts of two dSph galaxies in nearby groups, and Daniela Calzetti described the ionized gas in starburst galaxies.

In a report on some remarkably deep searches for CO in the outer parts of irregular galaxies, Fabian Walter showed that the outer parts of some are rich in molecules. For example, IC 10 has several clouds in distant regions as well as in the center. Its H2 mass is $`10^6`$ M$`_{\mathrm{}}`$ and the conversion factor is like the Galactic value.

Stéphanie Côté reviewed recent results on the distribution of dark matter in dIm galaxies based on Fabry-Perot 2-d velocity fields, showing that they are dark matter dominated.

Abundances: Do dwarf irregular galaxies have abundance gradients such that the outer edges are even lower in metals abundance than the central areas? The answer to this question was touched on by a few talks and posters, but there was more new information regarding the abundances in irregulars in general, especially with relation to the question of their possible primordial nature. Starburst irregulars were featured in two such studies. Daniela Calzetti showed results of HST narrow-band imaging, which provided line ratios in four starbursters. Alessandra Aloisi revealed the results of FUSE spectra of IZw18, which allowed analysis of lines of Fe, Ar, Si, O, N, C, P, and H. She revealed the fact that the abundances of species are ten times lower in HI regions than in HII regions. The data best fit multi-burst models; the gas is not primordial and IZw18 is not in its first starburst.

## 3 The Outer Stars

Distribution: Deidre Hunter reported on the distribution of the outer stars in two irregular galaxies, detecting stellar light down to values as faint as 29 magnitudes per square second. “There is no edge yet.” Yutaka Komiyama showed some surprising results based on a widefield camera attached to the Suburu telescope. He found that the distribution of the outer stars in NGC 6822 goes far beyond the traditional borders of the optical image and is similar in distribution and extent to HI distribution. Ralf-Jürgen Dettmar used very deep images of disk galaxies to demonstrate that the apparent “edges” are actually not cut-offs, but demarcate a steeper exponential distribution of starlight. Studying many irregular galaxies, Igor Drozdovsky concluded that most are thick disks.

Star Formation Histories: An exhaustive review by Carme Gallart included the fact that the outer parts of irregular dwarfs are dominated by an older population, but also an intermediate population extends far from the center. She showed recent remarkable new LMC data that support this. Sebastian Hidalgo demonstrated the fact that the Phoenix dwarf has a smooth gradient of age outward. Ted Wyder, reporting on an HST study of NGC 6822, showed detailed star formation histories for five regions across the bar of the galaxy, including two outer areas. All showed star formation at all times since formation, though the outer areas had relatively lower recent activity levels. Arna Karick reported on a survey of the irregular dwarfs in the Fornax cluster, with the intriguing suggestion that star formation activity is preferentially located on the “leading edges” of some of the galaxies, which are presumably falling into the cluster.

Inside the outer edges: Patricia Knezek reported on a study of three extreme Cen A Group dwarfs. Vincent McIntyre showed some impressive HI maps of NGC 4214’s HI shells. Some of the outer ones have star formation at their edges. In Caroline Simpson and collaborators’ study of DDO 88, it was found that the galaxy has an inner HI ring, neither expanding or contracting, while the object is otherwise a normal irregular galaxy. Janice Lee did an analysis of a sample of H$`\alpha `$-selected dwarfs, which provided an HI mass function for galaxies, the first of its type. Jan Palouš developed expanding shell models and determined the mass spectrum of shell fragments. Javier Alonso-García showed HST results for two contrasting dwarfs in the M81 group, one with a mixture of old and young stars and one with only old or intermediate age stars. Violet Taylor measured color gradients in 100 irregular and peculiar galaxies, finding that most are redder in their outer regions, in agreement with results from CM diagrams of nearer Irr galaxies. Matthew Walker showed the results of measurements of over 200 stars in and in the direction of the Fornax dwarf galaxy (not an irregular at the present, but in the past). Membership is demonstrated for 160 stars according to their radial velocities; the velocity profile is nearly flat.

Formation and Evolution: In deriving a model for the formation of low mass irregular galaxies ($`<10^8`$ M$`_{\mathrm{}}`$), Massimo Ricotti calculated the effects of radiative feedback in the early universe; his simulations agree with many of the observed properties of dwarfs. In related theoretical analyses, Gerhard Hensler described extensive results from chemodynamical models, including such items as formation, star formation self- regulation, chemical peculiarities, mixing time scale, and infall of gas. Stephen Murray reported on numerical simulations of dwarfs forming near a massive galaxy. In related simulations carried out by Chris Fragile it was shown that the degree of enrichment by supernovae depends on the smoothness of the ISM; if the ISM is porous, most of the enriched gas is lost from the galaxy core. Arif Babul nicely demonstrated how increasingly-complete modeling is showing details of dwarf galaxy evolution, including how SN-driven outflows from dwarfs can pollute the IGM. Sergey Mashchenko demonstrated a model for dwarf galaxies in which the UV radiation from spirals ionizes the ISM of orbiting dwarfs cycling through plane of the spiral, causing periodic star formation episodes.

Blue Compact Dwarfs: BCD galaxies as a class were examined in detail by several attendees. Walter Koprolin reported that an old stellar population could be detected underlying the brighter, young component. The structure of this underlying population was described by Nicola Caon, who said that most can be fit to an exponential law, including Mrk 35, though two in his sample could not. Finally, Eon-Chang Sung and his collaborators searched BCD galaxies for new super-star clusters and found several of these highly-luminous young products of rampant star formation.

## 4 Related Issues

Spiral Galaxies: Very deep HI maps of 10 spiral galaxy edges were described by Thijs van der Hulst, who concluded that UV metagalactic radiation may ionize the outer gas, but current simple models need refinement. Annette Ferguson analyzed the outer disks of spirals, finding them to be surprisingly metal-rich and 5–10 Gyr old. She showed some faint M31 star counts that cover 30 square degrees and show structure at remarkably large distances. René Walterbos reported on a study of HII regions in M81’s outer disk, including some in the vast M81 HI envelope. The abundances correlate with distance from M81’s center. Stephen Odewahn reported on UV-optical colors of a large sample of galaxies, including analysis of the star formation history distributions. Martin Bureau modeled NGC 2915’s starless outer spiral structure.

Low Surface Brightness Galaxies: In a survey of Low Surface Brightness (LSB) galaxies, Gaspar Galaz and colleagues found that in general the star formation rate is low and there exist both color and age gradients; all have an old component and some show bulges in K-band images. Michael Pohlen and R.-J. Dettmar investigated the structure of LSB spirals, including UGC 7321, finding that they have the same structure as normal surface brightness galaxies, except for the depressed overall brightness levels.

In other related fields, Lyle Hoffman and Ed Salpeter reported on the discovery of 104 M$`_{\mathrm{}}`$ “mini-HVCs,” while Jay Lockman, also using the new GBT, described the discovery that the Galactic halo HI is resolved into clouds. J. O’Brien showed an unusual galaxy that has a bar in a non-nucleated pure disk. Andrew Odell demonstrated the effectiveness of a intemediate-band photometry of galaxies, mostly ellipticals in clusters, for determining ages and metallicities. Finally, Javier Alonso-García reported the excellent news that the first RR Lyrae variables have now been detected in the elliptical companion of M31, M32.

## 5 Concluding Discussion Session

The Workshop ended with a lively interchange on several topics that had been raised during the course of the meeting. The first question put before the attendees was “To what extent have the stars in the far outer regions of dwarf irregular galaxies formed there and to what extent have they migrated there from inner regions of the galaxy?” Discussion concluded that, on the one hand, the rotation of the galaxy makes it difficult to move stars radially outward. On the other hand, such motions are easier if the gravitational potential has been disturbed. A change in the potential can occur if the galaxy is perturbed by galaxy interactions, or depending on the dark matter content, if an extreme starburst results in the gas being blown out of the center and into the outer parts.

But, could stars form out there? Observational evidence suggests that models for the formation of gas clouds due to gravitational instabilities in the disk fail in irregulars generally and especially so in the outer parts. It was suggested that the thermal phase of the gas might be more important, but such models also generally fail for dIm disks. It was suggested that gas disk instabilities suggested to explain the formation of holes seen in the outer HI disks of some irregulars could result in interstices with higher column densities that might be able to form stars. Another idea was that the outer gas could be, for whatever reason, in gas clouds too small to be detected in current interferometric observations, and stars might be forming without massive stars so that star-forming regions are not detectable in current H$`\alpha `$ surveys. Since some extended HI disks around irregulars are found to be highly structured and others are very smooth, it was suggested that there might be a difference in the star formation in the outer regions of these two sets of galaxies. Perhaps this difference could be seen in the surface brightness profile or the colors in the extreme outer parts of the galaxies.

The second question posed was “What are the parallels between the outer parts of spirals and irregulars, and between these regions and LSB galaxies?” The outer parts of spirals are still more metal-rich than most irregulars. While magnetic pressure may dominate the ISM pressure in the outer parts of spirals, less is known about the magnetic field in irregulars. Spirals also show a strong decrease in the fraction of cold neutral medium vs warm neutral medium outside the star-forming disk. We were reminded that spirals have more shear due to differential rotation in their outer parts than do irregulars. Azimuthally-averaged surface brightness profiles of both LSB and dIm galaxies show a break in the slope, with the outer parts declining in surface brightness more steeply than the inner parts; the cause of this break is not known. The outer parts of both spirals and irregulars show low-density gas with faint populations of old and intermediate-age stars.

A third question that was raised was “Is there any real evidence for significant accretion onto galactic disks?” Accretion is predicted by cosmological and chemical evolution models, and is proposed as the source of X-ray emission around galactic halos. IC 10, for example, is interacting with a gas cloud that is believed to be falling into it. High velocity clouds are seen around our Galaxy, but massive ones have not been found around other galaxies. The X-ray emission convincingly appears to result from massive star feedback. The participants were hard pressed to think of solid observational evidence for significant external accretion.

Paul Hodge222University of Washington, Deidre Hunter333Lowell Observatory, Sally Oey3


text:
# A TEST FOR VARYING 𝐺

## Abstract

In this note we consider a variable $`G`$ cosmology which is consistent with observation and which had successfully predicted an ever expanding accelerating universe. It is shown that the observed shortening of the orbital periods of binary pulsars is also in good agreement with this model.

Key Words: Gravitational constant, Variation, Binary Pulsar

PACS: 04.90.+e

In an earlier communication , it was shown that a varying $`G`$ cosmology

$$G\frac{G_0}{T},$$
(1)
$`T`$ being the age of the universe, about 15 billion years, correctly gives the precession of the perihelion of Mercury. In this model particles are created out of the Quantum Vacuum in an inflationary scenario type phase transition. This model has been discussed in detail in the references cited  and other references therein. In this cosmology at a given point of time, within an uncertainty time interval $`\tau `$ of the order of the Compton time of the typical elementary particle viz., the pion given $`N`$ particles, $`\sqrt{N}`$ particles are created from the Quantum Vacuum, whence

$$\sqrt{N}\tau =T$$
(2)
Apart from other routine effects like the bending of light, the cosmology correctly predicted an ever expanding accelerating universe besides explaining many hitherto inexplicable features like the so called large number coincidences, the mysterious pion mass Hubble constant Weinberg relation and several other features as discussed in the references.
We would now like to show that this model also explains the observed decrease in the orbital period of the binary pulsar PSR $`1913+16`$, otherwise attributed to as yet undetected gravitational waves .
In general in schemes in which $`G`$ the universal constant of gravitation decreases with time, it is to be expected that gradually the size of the orbit and the time period would increase, with an overall decrease in energy. It may be mentioned that cosmologies in which the constant of gravitation $`G`$ varies with time have been considered in slightly different contexts also . In any case all this becomes more relevant in the light of latest observations that the fine structure constant varies with time which also finds an explanation .
But in the present case as we will show, the gravitational energy of the binary system, $`\frac{GMm}{L}`$ remains constant, where $`M`$ is the mass of the central object and $`L`$ the mean distance between the objects. This is because the decrease in $`G`$ is compensated by an increase in the material content of the system, according to the above model.
In fact the energy lost is given by $`\frac{GM}{TL}`$ (per unit mass of the orbiting object - in any case the mass of the orbiting object does not feature in the dynamical equations), on using (1). Further as can be seen from (2) $`\frac{1}{\sqrt{N}\tau }=\frac{1}{T}`$ particles appear from the Quantum Vacuum per second, per particle in the universe. So the energy gained in this process is $`\frac{GM}{TL}`$ per second. This follows, if we write $`M=n\times m`$, where $`n`$ is the number of typical elementary particles in the central body and $`m`$ their mass.
As can be seen from the above the energy lost per second is compensated by the energy gained and thus the total gravitational energy of the binary system remains constant.
Let us now consider an object revolving about another object, as in the case of the binary pulsar . The gravitational energy of the system is now given by,

$$\frac{GMm}{L}=const.$$

Whence

$$\frac{\mu }{L}\frac{GM}{L}=const.$$
(3)
For variable $`G`$ we have

$$\mu =\mu _0tK$$
(4)
where

$$K\dot{\mu }$$
(5)
We take $`\dot{\mu }`$ to be a constant, in view of the fact that $`G`$ varies very slowly, as can be seen from (1).
To preserve (3), we should have

$$L=L_0(1\alpha K)$$

Whence on using (4)

$$\alpha =\frac{t}{\mu _0}$$
(6)
We shall consider $`t`$, to be the period of revolution. Using (6) it follows that

$$\delta L=\frac{LtK}{\mu _0}$$
(7)
We also know (Cf.ref.)

$$t=\frac{2\pi }{h}L^2=\frac{2\pi }{\sqrt{\mu }}$$
(8)
$$t^2=\frac{4\pi ^2L^3}{\mu }$$
(9)
Using (7), (8) and (9), a little manipulation gives

$$\delta t=\frac{2t^2K}{\mu _0}$$
(10)
(7) and (10) show that there is a decrease in the size of the orbit, as also in the orbital period. Before proceeding further we note that such a decrease in the orbital period has been observed in the case of binary pulsars .
Let us now apply the above considerations to the case of the binary pulsar PSR $`1913+16`$ observed by Taylor and co-workers (Cf.ref.). In this case it is known that, $`t`$ is 8 hours while $`v`$, the orbital speed is $`3\times 10^7cms`$ per second. It is easy to calculate from the above

$$\mu _0=10^4\times v^310^{26}$$

which gives $`M10^{33}gms`$, which of course agrees with observation. Further we get using (1) and (5)

$$\mathrm{\Delta }t=\eta \times 10^5sec/yr,\eta 8$$
(11)
Indeed (11) is in good agreement with the carefully observed value of $`\eta 7.5`$ (Cf.refs.).
Finally it may be remarked that this same effect has been interpreted as being due to gravitational radiation, even though there are some objections to the calculation in this case (Cf.ref.).


text:
# B2 0648+27: a radio galaxy in a major merger. Based on observations with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) and the Very Large Array (VLA).

## 1 Mergers and the origin of radio galaxies

Galaxy mergers and interactions are often invoked as trigger of the nuclear activity in radio galaxies. The large number of powerful radio galaxies showing peculiar optical morphology (tails, bridges, shells and dust-lanes; Smith & Heckman 1989; Heckman et al. 1986), together with the detection of large amounts of CO in a number of them (Mazzarella et al. 1993, Evans et al. 1999a,b), can be taken as evidence for this. The increasing evidence that super-massive black holes reside in the centres of many elliptical galaxies (e.g. Kormendy & Richstone 1995) and the detection of potential fuel for AGN (ionized gas and dust) in both radio loud and quiescent galaxies (see e.g. Verdoes Kleijn et al. 2002a and references therein), suggest that radio activity may occur (perhaps as a short phase) in the life of many (or even all) elliptical galaxies.

The nature of the triggering events remains, however, uncertain. It is not clear whether the activity is mainly triggered by major mergers between gas-rich galaxies or by minor accretion events. Perhaps either kind of merger plays an important role, as long as the initial conditions are such that the gas will be able to reach the very inner regions (on pc-like scales), see e.g. Hibbard 1995, Wilson 1996. Another uncertain aspect is at which stage of the merger the onset of the radio activity takes place.

Evolutionary sequences linking merger-related objects have been suggested by many authors. The case for a link between ultra-luminous far-IR galaxies (ULIRG) and radio galaxies (e.g. Sanders & Mirabel 1996, Evans et al. 1999a) is perhaps the strongest. ULIRGs are thought to be connected to gas rich mergers. A relation between ULIRGs and radio galaxies would explain, e.g., the large amount of molecular gas and dust detected in some radio galaxies and the starburst component that is visible in the optical spectra of a number of them (Wills et al. 2002). In this sequence, the radio activity is believed to appear late in the evolution of the merger, when the molecular gas finally agglomerates in the nuclear region of the galaxy (Evans et al. 1999a).

The details of the overall evolution are, however, still quite vague. In order to study these, a diagnostic of the conditions and kinematics of the gas on large scales is important. This is because large scales imply longer time scales for this gas to settle in a stable configuration. The signatures and characteristics of the merger can, therefore, be recognised over a longer period. This is an advantage over e.g. imaging studies of the centres of active and non-active galaxies performed with HST (e.g. Verdoes-Kleijn 2002b and ref. therein, Capetti et al. 2000). The dynamical time scales in these central regions are very short and differences between active and non-active galaxies can disappear quickly.

Observations of the neutral hydrogen can be a good tool to study the evolution of mergers. Through the amount of H I (on large scales), its morphology and kinematics, one can obtain a good idea about what kind of galaxies are/were involved as well as about the age of the merger. Large tails of neutral hydrogen signal that the merger is relatively young. On the other hand, the large, regular gas disks found in some elliptical galaxies indicate an older merger, where the gas has had time to settle in such a disk (see Barnes 2002, Oosterloo et al. 2002a, Morganti et al. 1997, van Gorkom & Schiminovich 1997).

In order to obtain more information on the AGN-phase in mergers and to investigate the connection with ULIRGs, gas-rich and normal elliptical galaxies, a thorough study of the H I properties of radio galaxies is essential for radio-loud galaxies. A good candidate for such a study is B2 0648+27, a radio galaxy that has a number of characteristics that indicates that it may be related to ULIRGs or ULIRG-like galaxies. Here we present the results of H I observations carried out with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT).

## 2 B2 0648+27 and the WSRT observations

B2 0648+27 is a compact radio source ($`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{P}=24.02`$ W/Hz at 1.4 GHz111For $`H_{}=50`$ km s-1Mpc-1 and $`q=0.0`$, 1 arcsec = 1.1 kpc) hosted by a luminous elliptical galaxy ($`M_B=22.94`$ and $`\mathrm{log}L_B=11.34`$ $`L_{}`$). This galaxy has a particularly interesting interstellar medium (ISM). It contains $`6\times 10^9`$ $`M_{}`$ of molecular hydrogen and it is also an IRAS source ($`L_{\mathrm{FIR}}2\times 10^{11}`$ $`L_{}`$, Mazzarella et al. 1993). It shows warm far-infrared colours and is classified as a 60-$`\mu `$ peaker (Vader et al. 1993, Heisler et al. 1998), likely resulting from the large amount of dust heated by the nuclear activity but also by the star formation (see below). The estimated mass of the dust is $`\mathrm{log}M_{\mathrm{dust}}/M_{}=6.48`$. The central regions have been observed with HST and the dust it is found to be distributed both in a regular disk and in patches (Capetti et al. 2000, de Ruiter et al. 2002). The presence of a young stellar population has been determined from optical spectra (Ebneter 1989). The clear deviation from the far-IR/radio correlation (Heisler et al. 1998) and the warm IR colours (i.e. the ratio 25/60 $`\mu `$) typical of AGN, confirm the classification as radio galaxy.

The redshift of B2 0648+27 derived from optical lines is $`12270\pm 120`$ km s-1 ($`z=0.0409\pm 0.0004`$, Falco et al. 2000) while 12420 km s-1 ($`z=0.041`$) was derived from the CO detection (Mazzarella et al. 1993).

B2 0648+27 was observed using the WSRT at the frequency of the redshifted H I line for 12 hours. The parameters of the observations are summarized in Table 1. The data were calibrated using the MIRIAD package (Sault et al. 1995). The final cube was made with robust–Briggs’ weighting equal to 1 (Briggs 1995). The restoring beam is $`64\times 27`$ arcsec (p.a. 0.6 degrees) and the rms noise is 0.22 mJy beam-1. The velocity resolution is, after the Hanning smoothing we applied, 36 km s-1. At the resolution of our observations, the radio continuum of this galaxy appears unresolved (but see Sec. 4 for the high resolution continuum image).

## 3 The neutral hydrogen in B2 0648+27

In B2 0648+27 we detect H I both in emission and in absorption. The emission comes from a large amount of H I in a structure around the galaxy, while the absorption is detected against the unresolved central radio continuum component.

### 3.1 H I emission

The striking property of the H I emission is the large amount that is detected. The total H I mass is estimated to be $`M_{\mathrm{HI}}=1.1\times 10^{10}`$ $`M_{}`$. This is an unusually large amount for an elliptical galaxy. The optical luminosity of the host galaxy is also high (the RC3 lists $`B_T^0=14.03`$ which implies $`L_B=2.2\times 10^{11}`$ $`L_{}`$ and therefore the relative H I content is only $`M_{\mathrm{HI}}/L_B`$ = 0.05 $`M_{\mathrm{}}/L_{B,\mathrm{}}`$.

Figure 1 shows the H I total intensity superimposed on an optical image taken from the Digital Sky Survey. The H I emission is very extended, the diameter is about 2.5 arcmin corresponding to $`160`$ kpc. The surface density of the H I is quite low, the peak of the emission is only 0.8 $`M_{}`$ pc-2. Therefore, in order to get detailed information on the morphology and kinematics of the H I deeper observations will be required. However, from the available data we can infer some important characteristics of the H I. Figure 1 shows that the brightness distribution is asymmetric and is much brighter on the E side. The neutral gas shows a smooth velocity gradient that brackets the systemic velocity and this could indicate that rotation is the main component of the observed kinematics. However, the range of velocities is asymmetric with respect to those of the CO which, if we assume that the CO is located in the central regions, indicates that most of the H I is not in an equilibrium configuration. The position-velocity plots (Figs. 2 and 3) suggest that the H I is perhaps not in a disk given that the H I appears almost as a linear feature in these plots. Such a shape is more characteristic of of an incomplete ring or annulus (or even a tail-like structure). The apparent lack of H I emission at the position of the optical galaxy (Fig. 1 and 2) could be partly due to the presence of H I absorption against the compact radio source (see below). Higher quality data are needed to be able to say more about the structure of the H I.

### 3.2 HI absorption

We also detected H I in absorption against the unresolved central continuum source of the radio galaxy. The H I absorption profile is shown in Fig. 1. The peak absorption is $`0.84`$ mJy beam-1. From the continuum image derived using the data from the line-free channels, we derive a continuum flux of $`147`$ mJy, comparable to the 156 mJy obtained from VLA data at 1.4 GHz by Fanti et al. 1987. This gives an optical depth of 0.6%.

The FWHM of the absorption profile is $`100`$ km s-1 and the central velocity ($`12370`$ km s-1). The FWHM of the CO appears to be broader (FWHM$`=220`$ km s-1, Mazzarella et al. 1993) than the H I. The column density is $`1.1\times 10^{20}`$ cm-2 for $`T_{\mathrm{spin}}=100`$ K. This is similar to what found in some other radio galaxies (see e.g. Morganti et al. 2001, Pihlström 2002) when sensitive observations are available. It is also very similar to the column densities of the H I seen in emission. The H I seen in absorption is likely to be part of the same system as the gas detected in emission but happens to be in front of the radio source, hence it is gas at large radius. Thus, the difference in width between the H I and the CO likely reflects the difference in location of these two gas components, with the CO closer to the nucleus compared to the neutral hydrogen. Unfortunately, no image of the distribution of the CO emission is available.

### 3.3 Other objects in the field

Three other objects are detected in H I emission in the field of B2 0648+27. Their total H I images are presented in Fig. 4. The three galaxies are separated from each other between 300 and 800 kpc and they form a small group, situated about 27 arcmin (or 1.8 Mpc) east of B2 0648+27. Moreover, the average redshift of the galaxies is about 1000 km s-1different from B2 0648+27. Ongoing or recent interactions between these galaxies and B2 0648+27 can therefore be excluded, because the group is quite distant from B2 0648+27 while it also appears to be at a somewhat lower redshift.

A summary of their characteristics is given in Table 1. The brightest one (J0652+2721) is identified with a 2MASS galaxy (2MASXi J0652557+272157) and the systemic velocity for this galaxy is $`V_{\mathrm{hel}}11320`$ km s-1. The H I profile has a FWHM of only $`50`$ km s-1, probably also due to the fact that the emission is situated at the very edge of our observing band and we could be missing some emission coming from this object. We also detect H I in coincidence of an anonymous low-surface brightness galaxy, J0652+2719, with a systemic velocity of $`V_{\mathrm{hel}}11620`$ km s-1 and the H I profile has a FWHM $`80`$ km s-1.

The third H I detection is coincident with an anonymous galaxy, J0652+271509, with a velocity of $`V_{\mathrm{hel}}11455`$ and a FWHM of $`60`$ km s-1.

Because of their large distance from the field center, the H I flux of these galaxies is very much affected by the attenuation of the primary beam. Therefore any estimate of the H I mass would be very uncertain.

## 4 VLA 8 GHz observations

VLA observations at 8 GHz using the A-array configuration where obtained on 03-May-2002 in order to understand the sub-arcsec structure of this galaxy. The final image is shown in Fig. 5. The restoring beam is $`0.2\times 0.19`$ arcsec (p.a. = –12) and the rms noise 26 $`\mu `$Jy beam-1. The peak of the continuum emission is 10.7 mJy.

At this sub-arcsec resolution, B2 0648+27 is resolved into a double-lobed structure. This is consistent with the fact that the overal radio spectrum of the source is steep ($`\alpha _{0.4}^5=0.6`$, $`S\nu ^\alpha `$), similar to that of large scale radio sources, and not typical of radio cores. The overall structure is about 1 kpc in size. The radio morphology of B2 0648+27 is therefore similar to the so-called Compact Steep Spectrum sources and Compact Symmetric Objects (see O’Dea 1998 for a review), objects that are believed to have a small size, not due to beaming effects, but because of the young age of their radio emission ($`\stackrel{<}{}`$ few thousand yrs old). B2 0648+27 could be, therefore, a low-power example of this group of sources. The possibility that the radio emission in B2 0648+27 started not so long ago is interesting in the light of the time scales of the merger that can be derived from the HI and the evolutionary sequence that will be discussed in Sec. 5.3.

## 5 A radio galaxy in a major merger

### 5.1 Origin of the H I

The main result of this study is that in the radio galaxy B2 0648+27, H I has been detected not only in absorption, as often is the case in radio galaxies, but also in emission. The amount of gas detected is large ($`10^{10}`$ $`M_{}`$) and distributed in a very extended structure ($`160`$ kpc in diameter) of which the kinematics suggest that it is not entirely in equilibrium. Large amounts of H I, distributed over a large region, have now been found in a number of nearby radio-quiet elliptical galaxies, sometimes, but not always, distributed in a relatively regular disk-like structure (see e.g. Morganti et al. 1997, van Gorkom & Schiminovich 1997, Oosterloo et al. 2002b and references therein). In these systems the neutral hydrogen is explained as originating from a major-merger event, involving at least one gas-rich, disk galaxy, that occurred, in some cases, more than $`10^9`$ yr ago. This appears also to explain the characteristics of the detected H I in B2 0648+27.

Extended H I in emission was also found by Lim & Ho (1999) associated with three quasars host galaxies. The H I detected there exhibit ongoing or remnant tidal H I disruptions possibly tracing galactic encounters or mergers. These objects are perhaps in a early stage of their evolution. Unlike B2 0648+27 they are radio-quiet objects. Also in these cases the amount of H I mass is quite high (between 0.5 and $`2.5\times 10^{10}`$ M).

The structure of the H I and the assymetric density distribution suggest that in B2 0648+27 the H I is unlikely to be in a settled configuration. A rough indication of the age of the merger is $`R/V`$ where $`R`$ is the size of the system and $`V`$ a characteristic velocity. For B2 0648+27 we find $`R/V310^8`$ yr.

It is interesting to note that in B2 0648+27 the column density of the H I detected in emission is relatively low as in the other gas-rich elliptical galaxies mentioned above (see e.g. Oosterloo et al. 2002a). The peak of the H I surface density is only $`0.8`$ $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$pc-2, well below that found in the inner regions of most spiral disks. Because of this low surface density, no significant star formation is, at present, occurring in the regions coincident with the H I. The galaxy can, therefore, remain gas rich for a very long period.

### 5.2 Gas disks and radio activity

The interesting element, compared to many other gas rich elliptical galaxies, is that B2 0648+27 is also a relatively strong radio source. With the sensitivity of present day radio telescopes it is very difficult to detect neutral hydrogen in emission at the typical distance of radio galaxies. H I in emission is detected only in an handful of very nearby radio galaxies, for example IC 1459 (Oosterloo et al. 1999, NGC 4278 (Raimond et al. 1981, Lees 1994), NGC 1052 (van Gorkom et al. 1986), PKS B1718-649 (Véron-Cetty et al. 1995) and Centaurus A (van Gorkom et al. 1990, Schiminovich et al. 1994). With the exception of the last two objects, these radio sources are at the lower end of the distribution of radio power for radio galaxies and they are more than an order of magnitude less powerful than B2 0648+27. Among the objects listed above, the one that shows characteristics very similar to B2 0648+27 is the southern radio galaxy PKS B1718-649. This is a compact steep spectrum source (Tingay et al. 1997) around which a large ($`180`$ kpc diameter) H I disk of $`3.1\times 10^{10}M_{}`$ has been found (Véron-Cetty et al. 1995).

In addition to this, by using H I absorption against the radio lobes (i.e. tens of kpc in size), extended neutral hydrogen has been detected in the radio galaxy Coma A (Morganti et al. 2002a). In this object at least $`10^9`$ $`M_{\mathrm{}}`$ of H I have been detected in a disk-like structure of at least 60 kpc in diameter. Other examples have also been recently found where the H I absorption is not limited to the nuclear region but extend tens of kpc, e.g, 3C 433 (Morganti et al. 2002b) and 3C 234 (Pihlström 2001) although they have not yet been studied in detail. Thus, the case of B2 0648+27, together with these other recent results, indicates that extended structures of neutral hydrogen in radio galaxies may actually be more common than thought so far. A systematic study of these systems is now essential.

Although these objects may represent only a relatively small subset in the group of radio galaxies, they may have an extra relevance as link to high-z objects. Extended H I absorption (observed against the Ly$`\alpha `$ emission) has been found in a high fraction of high-$`z`$ radio galaxies (van Ojik et al. 1997). This is considered an indication that high-$`z`$ radio galaxies are located in dense environments and is a diagnostic for the effects of radio jet propagation in this dense medium. Moreover, a low surface brightness Ly$`\alpha `$ halo with quiescent kinematics has also been found in the case of the distant radio galaxy USS 0828+193 (Villar-Martín et al. 2002).

Although these phenomena may be occurring more frequently and more efficiently at high redshifts, in the H I-rich, low redshift radio galaxies we may witnessing a similar situation. Indeed, Villar-Martín et al. 2002 indicate the possibility that the low surface brightness Ly$`\alpha `$ halo in USS 0828+193 is the progenitor of the H I discs found in low redshift galaxies.

Finally, as mentioned above (Sec. 4), B2 0648+27 could be a young radio source. For this and other characteristics (high far-IR luminosity, H I absorption, young stellar population component), B2 0648+27 bears a strong similarity with two other radio galaxies, namely PKS 1547–79 and 4C 12.50 (see also Sec. 5.3). The properties of these sources have been explained by that they are young sources still enshrouded in a cocoon of material left over from the event which triggered the nuclear activity. The radio source, during its evolution, is sweeping away large amounts of obscuring material present along the radio axis. In PKS 1547–79 and 4C 12.50 the interaction between the radio plasma and the ISM is evidenced by the presence of two redshift systems (see Tadhunter et al. 2001 and Morganti et al. 2003) for a detailed discussion). Good quality optical spectra are necessary to investigate whether B2 0648+27 also shares these characteristics. Unfortunately, given their higher redshift, the search for extended neutral hydrogen is particularly difficult for PKS 1547–79 and 4C 12.50. The finding of H I in B2 0648+27 confirms, nevertheless, the trend of an higher probability of detecting neutral hydrogen in starburst/far-IR bright radio galaxies as found by Morganti et al. (2001). Although B2 0648+27 is actually the first case where H I is detected also in emission, this result can be taken as a further indication that the interstellar medium is indeed, on average, richer in these objects than in other radio galaxies.

### 5.3 The merger and the order-of-events

The relevance of major vs minor mergers as trigger for the radio activity and the time of the onset of this activity in the life of a galaxy, are not yet well understood. Major mergers have been proposed to explain, e.g., the large amount of CO observed in some radio galaxies. The spread in the CO properties observed in radio galaxies (Mazzarella et al. 1993, Evans et al. 1999a,b) is used to argue that the radio activity appears late in the life of the merger and a long time after the start of the starburst phase (as late as it takes for the molecular gas to agglomerate in the very nuclear regions). Depending on such a delay, the consumption of the left-over gas (both molecular and neutral) by extended star formation could be well underway even before the radio activity starts and this will explain the large range in CO values (see the case of 4C 12.50, Evans et al. 1999a). Lim et al. (2000), however, have argued that the fact that most of the radio galaxies lie very close to the fundamental plane (unlike merging systems), is better explained by cannibalizing of smaller gas-rich galaxies by the pre-existing galaxy that therefore retains its gross morphological and dynamical properties.

The study of the stellar population is also giving a complex view of what may be the trigger mechanism of radio activity and that we are probably dealing with not a single type of merger as trigger of the activity (Wills et al. 2002). A young stellar population component has now been detected in about 30% of the observed radio galaxies (Wills et al. 2002, Tadhunter et al. 2002) and in some of them the mass of this component is large, suggesting its origin to be related to a major merger event. If this is the case, the merger is estimated to be relatively old ($`>0.1`$ Gyr, see e.g. Tadhunter et al. 2002, Wills et al. 2002), supporting the idea that al least in those objects the radio activity starts in these galaxies quite late after the merger.

The case of B2 0648+27 has shown as the neutral hydrogen can be a good tool to answer some of the above open questions and derive key information, not only about the origin, but also about the evolution of the system and the time-scales involved. In the case of B2 0648+27, the likely origin of the system is a major merger. This supports the idea of a link between, at least some, radio galaxies and ULIRGs, as already suggested by the characteristics of the ISM in this galaxy. The prototype of this class of objects is the radio galaxy 4C 12.50 (Evans et al. 1999a) and the similarities between the two objects have been already mentioned above (Sec. 5.2).

Although this could be the case for only a limited group of radio galaxies, nevertheless we can attempt, using the information obtained by the H I, to include B2 0648+27 in the evolutionary sequence already proposed for other gas-rich systems (see e.g. Hibbard & van Gorkom 1996, Wilson 1996, Mihos & Hernquist 1994, Morganti et al. 1997) This is presented in Fig. 6.

The Antennae (left) illustrates an ongoing merger where two galaxies are still identifiable and where a starburst is occurring (Hibbard et al. 2001). Part of the H I is found in two long tidal tails. NGC 7252 (2nd from left) represents a somewhat later stage where the central remnant has already more or less taken the shape of an elliptical galaxy (Hibbard et al. 1996). The H I is mainly in large tails at large radii, while the gas in the centre, where much star formation is still occurring, is mainly molecular. NGC 7252 is a strong emitter in the far infrared. After an intermediate stage with AGN activity (B2 0648+27, see below), the final stage (NGC 5266; 4th panel), shows a galaxy that has become a genuine early-type galaxy (Morganti et al. 1997). The H I is falling back from the tails to the galaxy and is in the process of forming a large disk or ring-like structure of low surface density. In NGC 5266, in fact, two such systems, that are orthogonal to each other, are observed (Morganti et al. 1997). In the outer regions H I filaments are still visible. Star formation is occurring at a much reduced rate and no AGN is detected.

The new H I data allow to place B2 0648+27 on the evolutionary sequence illustrated in Fig. 6. The, admittedly very rough, estimate of the age of the merger, based on the size and the kinematics of the H I, is several times $`10^8`$ yr. This suggests that this galaxy can be placed between NGC 7252 and NGC 5266. Considering that the timescale over which AGN activity occurs is at least an order of magnitude smaller, in this object the AGN activity occurred at a late stage of the merging process. This is particularly interesting when considering that the radio emission, indeed, appears to be relatively recent in B2 0648+27. This is therefore consistent with the fact that the H I has not yet completely settled and therefore that the merger is not too old.

A final word of caution is that the first-order kind of scenario proposed above will have to be further investigated using different kind of observations. In particular, it will be important to derive the age of the young stellar population from optical spectroscopy, while deep optical images will have to show whether indeed a stellar conterpart of the H I structure is present (as found in NGC 5266 and NGC 2865 (Morganti et al. 1997 and Schiminovich et al. 1995 respectively).

## 6 Summary

We have presented H I observations of the radio galaxy B2 0648+27 where H I both in absorption and in emission has been detected. The neutral hydrogen is distributed in a large, disk or ring-like structure of $`M_{\mathrm{HI}}=1.110^{10}`$ $`M_{}`$ in mass and about 160 kpc in diameter. This result, together with what recently found in other objects, indicates that extended structures of neutral hydrogen in radio galaxies may actually be more common than thought so far. The H I can be used to study the likely origin of these systems and the time scales involved. In the case of B2 0648+27, the large amount of neutral gas suggests a major-merger event. From the kinematics and the size of the H I we estimated the age of the merger to be several times $`10^8`$ yrs. Gas-rich, low redshift systems like B2 0648+27 could be the nearby examples of phenomena that are more common in high redshift radio galaxies, therefore they may help us in better understanding these far-away systems.

###### Acknowledgements.

We would like to thank the referee, Jacqueline van Gorkom, for her valuable (and prompt) comments. The WSRT is operated by the ASTRON (Netherlands Foundation for Research in Astronomy) with support from the Netherlands Foundation for Scientific Research (NWO). The VLA is a facility of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by Associated Universities Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.