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# IMPROVING THE ANGULAR RESOLUTION OF EGRET AND NEW LIMITS ON SUPERSYMMETRIC DARK MATTER NEAR THE GALACTIC CENTER

## INTRODUCTION

Observations by a variety of experiments have revealed that a great deal of the mass of our universe is dark and cold. Despite this growing body of evidence, we are still ignorant of the nature of dark matter.

One of the most promising dark matter candidates is the lightest neutralino in supersymmetric models (Ellis et al., 1984; Goldberg, 1983). In most models, the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is stable by the virtue of R-parity (Weinberg, 1982; Hall and Suzuki, 1984; Allanach et al., 1999). Often, this particle is a neutralino, $`\chi ^0`$, the partner of the photon, Z-boson and neutral higgs bosons. This candidate is attractive due to the fact that it is electrically neutral, not colored and naturally has the approprite annihilation cross section and mass to provide a cosmologically interesting relic density.

Many methods have been proposed to search for evidence of supersymmetric dark matter. These include experiments which hope to measure the recoil of dark matter particles elastically scattering off of a detector (direct searches), experiments which hope to observe the products of dark matter annihilation (indirect searches) and, of course, collider experiments. Indirect searches include searches for neutrinos from the Sun, Earth or galactic center, positrons or anti-protons from the galactic halo and gamma rays from the galactic center and halo (Bergstrom et al., 2001; Bergstrom et al., 1998).

Methods of indirect detection which involve the galactic center depend strongly on the distribution of dark matter in the galaxy. At this time, there is a great deal of debate and speculation over the merits of various galactic dark matter halo models. Numerical simulations favor models with strong cusps in the central region, such as the Navarro, Frenk, White (NFW) and Moore, et al. models (Navarro et al., 1996; Navarro et al., 1997; Moore et al., 1999). These models predict an increasing dark matter density as one approaches the galactic center, $`\rho 1/r^\gamma `$, where $`\gamma `$ is 1.0 for the NFW case and 1.5 for the Moore case.

There have been arguments made, based on observations, in the favor of flat density core models. These distributions, although possible, are probably not capable of producing observable signals from dark matter annihilation, and are not discussed in this talk for this reason.

Models with strong density spikes at the center of the halo have recently receive some attention (Bertone et al., 2002; Ullio et al., 2001; Gondolo and Silk, 1999; Merritt et al., 2002). In these models, cuspy halos generate spikes as a result of adiabatic acretion of matter into the central galactic black hole.

Finally, if halo distributions are clumpy, rather than smooth, it would be possible that less dark matter would be present in the central region, and the dark matter signal diminished.

In this talk, we will show results for smooth, cuspy, halo distributions of the NFW and the Moore profiles. These distributions (as well as spikey models) are especially interesting to gamma ray experiments, as they provide signals from dark matter annihilation which appear as point sources. The angular distribution of events is proportional to the dark matter density squared integrated over the line of sight. A strongly cusped distribution produces the vast majority of the annihilation signal in an angular region much smaller than the point spread function of EGRET, and hence are indistinguishable from a point source.

## EGRET POINT SOURCE LOCATION ANALYSIS

EGRET, the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope, launched on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory in 1991, is sensitive to gamma rays in the range of approximately 30 MeV to 30 GeV. During its operation, EGRET’s observations included an exposure of approximately $`2\times 10^9\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{sec}`$ in the direction of the galactic center. This paper presents an analysis of only the gamma rays $`>`$ 1 GeV because the continuum spectrum of gamma rays from neutralino annihilation peaks at higher energies and because the point spread function of EGRET improves with energy.

Previous searches for point sources in EGRET data, such as the 3EG catalog (Hartman et al., 1999), used a single mean point spread function for each observed gamma-ray above 1 GeV and spatially binned the data in square bins of sides 0.5 degrees. However, the EGRET point spread function significantly improves with increasing gamma-ray energy with 68% of 1 GeV gamma-rays reconstructed within 1.3 degrees of the true direction as compared to 68% of the 10 GeV gamma rays within 0.4 degrees. Our analysis uses the point spread function as determined by the preflight calibration (Thompson et al., 1997) for 6 energy bins above 1 GeV, and does not degrade the reconstructed gamma-ray direction to the nearest 0.5 degree bin. We use a spatially unbinned maximum likelihood analysis to determine the best localization of a point source. The diffuse galactic background is from the same model (Hunter et al., 1997) used for the production of the 3EG catalog. Before addressing the galactic center region, we tested our method on well known sources such as the Vela pulsar and the Crab pulsar (see figure 1).

We found the position with maximum likelihood for the EGRET source near the Crab pulsar to be l=184.52,b=-5.79. The known location of the Crab is l=184.56, b=-5.78 which is within the 95% confidence region as determined by of our analysis. The 3EG catalog lists the location of this source as l=184.53, b=-5.84, with the known location well outside of the 95% confidence contour.

The results for the Vela pulsar are similar. We found the maximum likelihood at l=263.53, b=-2.82 with a known location of l=263.55, b=-2.79 again within the 95% contour. The 3rd EGRET catalog lists Vela at l=263.52, b=-2.86 and the known location is well outside of the 99% confidence contour.

When our technique is applied to the galactic center region, we find a point source located at l=0.19, b=-0.08. The galactic center is excluded as the source beyond the 99.9% confidence level, see figure 2. The 3EG 95% confidence region includes the galactic center as shown by the circle in figure 2. We find that if this source, modeled with a differential power law spectrum with slope determined by the maximum likelihood technique to be -2.2, is included in the background of the region, the 95% confidence upper limit on the number of gamma rays from a point source at the galactic center is 10 to 100 (depending on the spectrum of the source). By contrast, the source at l=0.19, b=-0.08 is a bright EGRET source of 370 gamma-rays. The identification of this source is unknown (Mayer-Hasselwander et al., 1998), but this new localization agrees well with a postulated source of inverse Compton gamma rays from the electrons which create the galactic center radio arc (Pohl, 1997).

## CALCULATING THE GAMMA-RAY FLUX FROM THE GALACTIC CENTER

We calculated, for a variety of supersymmetric models, the number of events EGRET would have been expected to have observed, as a function of the halo model. We only consider those models which do not violate accelerator limits, including limits on the braching ratio of b to s$`\gamma `$ and invisible Z decay width measurements. Furthermore, we require that the relic density of the LSP be $`0.05<\mathrm{\Omega }_\chi h^2<0.2`$. We calculate the neutralino relic density using the full cross section, including all resonances and thresholds, and solving the Boltzmann equation numerically (Gondolo et al., 2000; Gondolo and Gelmini, 1991; Edsjo and Gondolo, 1997). Coannihilations with Charginos and Neutralinos are included. We then calculate the LSP annihilation cross section, mass and resulting gamma ray spectrum, for a given halo model. The results are shown in figure 3.

The general supersymmetric parameter space, even for the minimal supersymmetric standard model, consists of more than 100 free parameter and, therefore, must be simplifed to do any practical calculations. We considered a 7-dimensional parameter space consisting of the gaugino mass parameter, $`M_2`$, the non physical mass $`\mu `$, the ratio of higgs vacuum expectation values, $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$, a universal SUSY mass scale, $`M_{\mathrm{SUSY}}`$, the pseudoscalar higgs mass $`m_A`$, and the couplings $`A_t`$ and $`A_b`$. The gamma ray flux predicted, using a Moore et. al. halo profile, are shown as a function of supersymmetric parameter space in figure 4. The seven dimensional parameter space cannot be shown completely in such a figure, so regions shown assume $`m_A=A_t=A_b=M_{\mathrm{susy}}=500`$ GeV, where $`m_A`$ is the pseudoscale higgs mass, $`A_t`$ and $`A_b`$ are couplings and $`M_{\mathrm{susy}}`$ is the scale of the slepton and squark masses. Of course, other values of these parameters will yield a wider range of fluxes, as shown in figure 3.

We parametrized the continuum gamma-ray spectrum as a function of the LSP mass and calculated the 95% exclusion confidence levels which could be placed by the EGRET data. The parametrization depends on the neutralino annihilation branching fractions, but varies little in the majority of models. This exclusion contour is shown in figure 3 as a solid line. We did not consider the $`\gamma \gamma `$ or $`\gamma Z`$ line emission as these are generally above the energy range sensitive to EGRET.

We also considered the ability of the future experiment, GLAST, to probe the galactic center for dark matter annihilations. With larger area and better angular resolution, GLAST, will be capable of testing many more models than EGRET. Furthermore, GLAST, with sensitivity to energies as high as $``$ 1 TeV, can test models with heavier LSP neutralinos somewhat more easily than EGRET. In figure3, the expected sensitivity of GLAST, after 3 years of observation, is shown as a dashed line.

## CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis of the EGRET data in the galactic center region indicates an off-center point source, excluded beyond 99.9% as the galactic center. Considering this source as background, we found no evidence of a point source at the galactic center and determined the 95% confidence upper limits on the flux of gamma rays as a function of the WIMP mass.

We compared these limits to the flux predicted for a variety of supersymmetric models and galactic halo models. We find that for very cuspy (or spikey) halo models, such as the Moore et. al. profile, the majority of viable supersymmetric models are excluded by our limit. We show that the GLAST experiment will have the sensitivity to further constrain the galactic halo profile of neutralino dark matter.

## ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This work was based on previous work (Hooper and Dingus, 2002) supported in part by a DOE grant No. DE-FG02-95ER40896 and NASA grant No. NAG5-9712 and in part by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.


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# Transition from molecular complex to quantum solvation in 4HeNOCS

## Abstract

We present quantum calculations of the rotational energy levels and spectroscopic rotational constants of the linear OCS molecule in variable size clusters of 4He, using spectral evolution quantum Monte Carlo methods that allow excited states to be accessed without nodal constraints. The rotational constants of OCS are found to decrease monotonically from the gas phase value as the number of helium atoms increases to $`N=6`$, after which the average constant increases to saturation at a value in excellent agreement with experimental measurements made on significantly larger clusters ($`N1000`$). The minimum is shown to indicate a transition from a molecular complex to a quantum solvated molecule, with the former characterized by floppy but near rigid behavior, while the latter is characterized by non-zero permutation exchanges and a smaller extent of rigid coupling.

Helium droplets offer a unique opportunity to immerse molecules into a superfluid. Spectroscopic experiments on molecules embedded in these droplets have yielded an array of measurements that provide on the one hand access to elementary excitations of the finite quantum liquid, and on the other hand information about the novel solvation dynamics encountered in a superfluid . The rotational dynamics of the linear OCS molecule has played a key role in these spectroscopic studies. When solvated by the bosonic 4He isotope at temperatures $`T0.5`$ K, infra-red spectra of OCS show rotational fine structure that is consistent with a free rotation accompanied by an increased molecular moment of inertia, while no fine structure is observed when OCS is solvated by fermionic 3He clusters . Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) calculations have confirmed that a spectrum of free rotational states with modified moment of inertia will result from bosonic solvation . Such free rotation is not just the result of solvation by a fluid interacting with weak van der Waals forces. It has been shown to be consistent with a negligible transfer of angular momentum from the molecule to relative motion of the solvating helium when the latter possesses Bose permutation symmetry . In contrast, efficient coupling to single-particle excitations in the fermionic 3He droplets has been shown to considerably reduce the lifetime of the rotational excitations , accounting for the absence of rotational spectral transitions.

Calculations of excited states afforded by QMC yield not only a direct route to calculation of spectroscopic constants for molecules solvated in helium, but they also provide critical insight into the nature of these rotational excitations. They thereby allow detailed microscopic analysis of the quantum coupling between a molecule and its helium environment. Direct calculations of rotational energy levels have been made within dynamical approximations such as the quasi-adiabatic rigid coupling approximation  and fixed node approximations . However, in order to provide a complete understanding of the underlying quantum dynamics, it is necessary to use a theoretical approach that allows exact calculation of excited states, devoid of any dynamical or nodal approximations. This is possible with the projection operator imaginary time spectral evolution (POITSE) approach, a diffusion-Monte-Carlo-based methodology that has recently been applied to calculation of rotational excitations of the linear HCN molecule in helium clusters . For HCN, a considerably lighter molecule than OCS, these results showed a complex coupling between molecular and helium degrees of freedom that was attributed to the high zero point energy of the He-HCN system. In contrast, for the heavier octahedral molecule SF6, rotational constants derived from fixed node calculations employing the free molecule nodal surfaces showed excellent agreement with experimental measurements .

In this letter we investigate the rotational motion of the OCS molecule inside 4He clusters, with direct calculations of rotational energy levels by POITSE. Analysis of the results in terms of rigid coupling approximations and of permutation exchanges visible in related finite temperature calculations allow for the first time a clear transition from a molecular complex to a molecule solvated by a quantum liquid to be identified as a function of cluster size $`N`$. OCS is intermediate in mass between HCN and SF6. Comparison of the rotational behavior of OCS with that of HCN and of SF6 provides key insights into the quantum coupling of the molecular rotational motion with the solvating helium degrees of freedom, as a function of both molecular mass and symmetry.

Our calculations employ the Projector Operator Imaginary Time Spectral Evolution (POITSE) method for calculation of excited states. In this scheme, excited state energies are extracted from the two-sided inverse Laplace transform of an imaginary time correlation function $`\stackrel{~}{\kappa }(\tau )`$ that is computed by combining a multi-dimensional Monte Carlo integration with Diffusion Monte Carlo sidewalks. The decay of the correlation $`\stackrel{~}{\kappa }(\tau )`$ contains information about energy differences $`E_fE_0`$, where $`E_0`$ is the ground state energy and $`E_f`$ an excited state energy level. The POITSE approach is ideal for calculation of excitations in many-particle systems when estimates of excitation functions that take the ground state to the desired excited states are available. A suitable correlation function is then

$$\stackrel{~}{\kappa }(\tau )=\frac{\mathrm{\Psi }_T\widehat{A}\mathrm{exp}[(\widehat{H}E_0)\tau ]\widehat{A}^{}\mathrm{\Psi }_T}{\mathrm{\Psi }_T\mathrm{exp}[(\widehat{H}E_0)\tau ]\mathrm{\Psi }_T},$$
(1)
where $`\widehat{A}`$ is a local operator that projects from a trial function $`\mathrm{\Psi }_T`$ approximating the ground state $`\mathrm{\Psi }_0`$. The resulting initial state $`\widehat{A}^{}\mathrm{\Psi }_T`$ is usually not an eigenfunction of $`\widehat{H}`$, but time evolution under the action of the full Hamiltonian will ensure that all eigen components $`\mathrm{\Psi }_f`$ that overlap with this state will contribute to the correlation function. Inverse Laplace transform of $`\stackrel{~}{\kappa }(\tau )`$, performed by the maximum entropy method as described in Ref. , results in the spectral function

$$\kappa (\omega )=\underset{f}{}\mathrm{\Psi }_T\widehat{A}\mathrm{\Psi }_f^2\delta (E_0E_f+\omega ),$$
(2)
from which all excitation energies accessed by $`\widehat{A}`$ may be extracted as the peak locations. When $`\mathrm{\Psi }_T\mathrm{\Psi }_0`$, exact energies are obtained, while otherwise some trial function bias may exist .

Our approach to extract the rotational excitations of interest is to take a free molecular projector acting on the molecule-helium cluster ground state. Since the molecule-helium coupling is weak, this provides a good starting point for calculation of the imaginary time correlation function and subsequent spectral transformation. For the trial function $`\mathrm{\Psi }_T`$ we employ variationally optimized ground state functions of the usual generalized product form, namely containing pairwise correlations between all components of the cluster, i.e., isotropic He-He and anisotropic He-OCS terms. The He-He correlations are those used in Ref. , while the He-OCS correlations take the form $`\chi (R,\theta ;\{p_i\})=\mathrm{exp}\{p_0R^{p_1}+p_2[1+p_3\mathrm{cos}(\theta p_4)\mathrm{ln}R]+p_5R^2\mathrm{cos}^2(\theta p_4)e^{(p_6p_7R)}\}`$ where $`R,\theta `$ are the Jacobi coordinates describing the location of the He atom relative to the linear OCS molecule . We consider here projectors $`\widehat{A}`$ proportional to the molecular Wigner functions $`D_{mk}^j`$ in a space-fixed frame. Zeros of $`D_{mk}^j`$ constitute free molecule nodal surfaces for a symmetric top . We focus here in particular on $`j=1`$, $`m=k=0`$, a linear rotor eigenfunction for which $`\widehat{A}`$=$`\mathrm{cos}\beta `$ is a function only of the second Euler angle of the molecule specifying the orientation of the molecular frame in the (arbitrary) space-fixed frame. $`\widehat{A}`$ accesses states in which the total angular momentum $`J`$ is carried primarily by the OCS, i.e., the molecular angular momentum $`j`$ is a quasi-good quantum number and there is negligible angular momentum $`l`$ in the relative helium motion ($`𝐉=𝐣+𝐥`$). Our choice of $`D_{00}^1`$ is motivated by analysis of the calculated rotational spectrum for the He-OCS complex ($`N=1`$)  which shows that this is the primary molecular function contributing to the $`J_{K_pK_o}`$=101 rotational state of the complex. (We employ here the notation $`J,K_p,K_o`$ for rotational states of an asymmetric rotor ).

We emphasize that the projector $`\widehat{A}`$ provides only an initial guess for the nodal structure of the excitations, and that these automatically adjust to their true values during the calculation. That these are indeed subtly different from the free nodal surfaces for OCS is evident from the fact that for $`N=1`$, a 5-dimensional system where exact calculations are possible using e.g., the BOUND program , fixed node calculations carried out with nodal constraints imposed by the Wigner function do not show good agreement with the exact calculations, overestimating the exact rotational excitation energy for OCS-He (0.307 cm-1) by 0.07$`\pm `$0.01 cm-1, i.e., 22(3)%. In contrast, POITSE gives the exact energy to within a statistical error of 0.7%, i.e., 0.309$`\pm `$0.002 cm-1. This behavior contrasts with the high accuracy of the free molecule fixed node approximation found for the heavier SF6-He complex.

The total molecule-cluster interaction potential is the sum of all pairwise contributions (He-He and OCS-He). We have employed two recent He-OCS potentials  and find equivalent results with these. Unless otherwise stated, all calculations reported here are made with the ab initio HHDSD He-OCS potential energy surface  and the HFD-B He-He potential of Ref. . The imaginary time evolution is performed with the rotational importance-sampled rigid body Diffusion Monte Carlo algorithm of Ref. . Initial ensembles of 1000 walkers distributed according to $`|\mathrm{\Psi }_T|^2`$ were propagated for 30,000 steps of $`\mathrm{\Delta }\tau `$=50 a.u. using the mixed branching/weight algorithm of Ref. . Typically 1000-2000 independent decays were required to produce a converged spectrum $`\kappa (\omega )`$, with the largest size ($`N=20`$) requiring the most decays. Statistical error bars in the excitation energies were estimated using a Gaussian approximation, according to the procedure described in Ref. .

POITSE calculations with the Wigner projector $`\widehat{A}`$ consistently produced only one peak in the $`\kappa (\omega )`$ spectrum, for all sizes $`N20`$. This clean single-valued behavior of the free molecule projector for OCS contrasts with the behavior seen earlier for the lighter HCN molecule, where the same projector leads to multiple excited states . Single-valued free molecule projectors suggest that $`\widehat{A}|\mathrm{\Psi }_T`$ is very similar to the true eigenstate. However, free or quasi-free rotations do not prohibit effective rigid coupling of some solvating helium density to the molecular rotation, leading to a renormalization of the molecular moment of inertia similar to that found in the microscopic two-fluid theory  and in perturbative analysis .

When interpreted with an asymmetric top Hamiltonian , the cluster rotational excited state energy derived from $`\widehat{A}`$, $`E(J_{K_p,K_o}=1_{01})`$, yields an effective rotational constant $`B_{avg}`$. When close to the limit of a symmetric top, $`B_{avg}`$ is equal to either $`(B+C)/2`$ (prolate top) or $`(A+B)/2`$ (oblate top). Fig. 1 shows the main result of this paper, namely the behavior of $`B_{avg}`$ obtained from the POITSE calculations, as a function of cluster size $`N`$. Corresponding experimental values of $`B`$ for the free (gas phase) OCS molecule and for OCS in large helium droplets ($`N1000`$) where the spectrum was fit to a linear rotor ($`B_{avg}B`$) are shown from Ref. . For the smallest clusters $`N=1`$  and $`N=2`$  we show the experimentally measured values of $`B_{avg}`$.

The POITSE results show a monotonic decrease of the excited state energy up to $`N=6`$, followed by a small continuous increase to saturation at a value $`B_{avg}=0.07(2)`$ cm-1 that is in excellent agreement with the experimentally measured value $`B=0.0732(3)`$ cm-1 in large droplets. Excellent agreement of $`B_{avg}`$ with the corresponding experimental values $`B_{avg}`$ for small clusters is also achieved for the two sizes $`N`$=1, 2 for which this experimental data is available . Thus the POITSE calculations are able to bridge the gap between small van der Waals clusters and large droplets, achieving high accuracy in both regimes. The overall behavior of $`B_{avg}`$ for OCS shows some similarities with SF6 and with HCN, but also exhibits critical differences from these molecules. For the more symmetrical and heavier SF6 molecule the saturation value is also reached before the first solvation shell is completed ($`N8`$) but negligible overshoot is seen . For the lighter HCN, also linear, a large overshoot is seen but the rotational constant does not reach saturation before completion of the first solvation shell .

A deeper understanding of the size dependent quantum coupling within these rotational excitations in the bosonic 4He cluster is provided by analysis in terms of both rigid coupling models and permutation exchange distributions. The triangle symbols in Fig. 1 show the values of $`B_{avg}`$ obtained using the quasi-adiabatic rigid coupling approach  implemented with correlated sampling . The POITSE results are very close to the rigid coupling estimates for $`N6`$, with the latter lying consistently slightly lower than the corresponding POITSE values. Within a rigid coupling approximation, the complete 4He density is assumed to adiabatically follow the rotational motion of OCS. Therefore the systematically higher values of the POITSE results is a direct manifestation of only partial adiabatic following of the solvating helium density with OCS rotation. The quasi-adiabatic rigid coupling approach does incorporate all zero point motions. This results in the intersection at $`N=4`$ of the rigid coupling estimate of $`B_{avg}`$ with the experimental $`B`$ value in large droplets, in contrast to the crossing at $`N`$=6 estimated in Ref.  from a classical binding model that neglects zero point energy. The actual crossing point is in remarkable agreement with the integral of the molecule-induced local non-superfluid density calculated by path integral methods in Ref.  ($`n_{ns}3.2`$), and is thus consistent with the analysis made there of a reduced $`B`$ deriving from rigid coupling to the local non-superfluid density in the first solvation shell. The quasi-adiabatic rigid coupling estimates fail at larger sizes, where they necessarily continue to decrease monotonically, reaching negligible values by $`N50`$. Table I shows the quasi-adiabatic rigid coupling results for all three rotational constants $`A,B`$ and $`C`$, for selected cluster sizes. This indicates that the asymmetric top spectrum ($`A>B>C`$) evolves into a prolate symmetric top spectrum ($`A>B=C`$) by $`N=10`$, the same size at which the POITSE $`B_{avg}`$ reaches the asymptotic droplet value of $`B`$ (Fig. 1). However, we expect that the transition between asymmetric and symmetric top may occur at a different cluster size for the exact calculations.

One of the most interesting features of the POITSE results seen in Fig. 1 is the turn-around of $`B_{avg}`$ at relatively small $`N`$, and subsequent rise to saturation at the experimental large droplet value by $`N=10`$. This behavior is related to the onset and nature of permutation exchanges between the 4He atoms. It can be quantitatively interpreted in terms of these exchanges  and of the structures previously analyzed in terms of the axial solvation locations in Ref. . As shown there, while for $`N5`$ the helium density is essentially localized in the global minimum of the He-OCS potential energy surface, as $`N`$ increases beyond 5 the additional helium atoms solvate other regions along the molecule, covering the entire axial extent of the OCS molecule by $`N=10`$. Path integral calculations show no permutation exchanges for $`N5`$, but as $`N`$ increases above 5 and the helium density grows along the molecular axis, exchange permutations are seen, with components both along and around the molecular axis . The lack of exchanges for $`N5`$ is attributed to the difficulty of exchanging within a single tightly packed axial ring, and accounts for the near rigid behavior at these sizes. The permutation exchange path components along the molecular axis seen for $`N6`$ result in a lowering of the corresponding rigid body response for rotation about axes perpendicular to the molecule (i.e., to a non-zero perpendicular superfluid response), causing in a rise in rotational constants $`B`$ and $`C`$ . This effect continues as the solvation layer grows along the molecular axis and the lateral permutation exchange contributions increase, thereby accounting for the observed increase in the POITSE values over the range $`N=610`$ in Fig. 1. Note that $`N=10`$ is the first size at which the 4He density extends along the entire molecular axis , thereby allowing permutation exchanges of maximal extent within the first solvation shell, i.e., from one end of the molecule to the other. We conclude that for OCS the range $`N=610`$ with its increase of $`B_{avg}`$ to saturation from an overshoot at $`N=6`$ denotes a transition between a van der Waals (molecular) complex and a true quantum solvated molecule. The complex is ’near rigid’, or ’floppy’, in spectroscopic language, while the quantum solvated molecule is characterized by permutation exchanges between the helium atoms . For large enough clusters, the latter leads to a microscopic local two-fluid description of co-existing superfluid and non-superfluid densities within the first solvation shell .

In conclusion, we have provided calculation of rotational constants for OCS-doped 4He clusters containing up to one complete solvation shell ($`N=120`$), by a direct method without imposing dynamical or nodal approximations. We find accurate agreement with experimental results at both extremes of small size $`N=1,2`$, and large droplets. These POITSE calculations allow for the first time the transition from a molecular complex to a quantum solvated molecule in superfluid 4He to be precisely identified, and interpreted in terms of the quantum structure and permutation exchange propensity of the local helium environment.

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the NSF (CHE-9616615, CHE-0107541) and by the Italian Ministry for University and Research (MUIR). We thank NPACI and CASPUR for computation time at the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the University of Rome Computing Center, respectively.


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# Circumnuclear Dust in Nearby Active and Inactive Galaxies. II. Bars, Nuclear Spirals, and the Fueling of Active Galactic NucleiBased on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-26555.

## 1 Introduction

Many observational programs over the past few years have led to the proposition that all galaxies with a substantial spheroid component contain supermassive black holes, irrespective of the presence or absence of nuclear activity (e.g. Richstone et al., 1998; Ferrarese & Merritt, 2000; Gebhardt et al., 2000). Since black holes grow via the accretion of matter and this accretion leads to detectable nuclear activity, these results imply that all galaxies must go through an accretion phase, yet the mechanism which triggers nuclear activity in “currently” active galaxies remains unknown. In order to fuel active galactic nuclei (AGN), essentially all of the angular momentum must be removed from some fraction of the host galaxy’s interstellar medium (ISM). Low-luminosity AGN, which dominate the local population, require accretion rates of $`0.010.1M_{}`$ yr<sup>-1</sup>, assuming typical radiative efficiencies.

Studies of AGN and inactive control samples have investigated the frequency of several mechanisms for angular momentum transport to determine their viability. Interactions between galaxies is one good candidate (Toomre & Toomre, 1972) as theoretical simulations of mergers show significant accretion into the central regions of the merger remnant (e.g. Hernquist, 1989; Barnes & Hernquist, 1991; Mihos & Hernquist, 1996). Interactions may be responsible for triggering AGN activity in the more luminous quasars (Hutchings & Neff, 1997; Bahcall et al., 1997), yet detailed studies of interacting pairs have not found a statistically significant excess of the lower-luminosity Seyfert galaxies in interacting systems (Fuentes-Williams & Stocke, 1988). Large-scale bars have also been proposed as a mechanism to fuel nuclear activity (Simkin, Su, & Schwarz, 1980; Schwarz, 1981). The nonaxisymmetric potential due to a large-scale bar leads to the formation of a shock front along the bar’s leading edges (Prendergast, 1983; Athanassoula, 1992) and material has been observed flowing into the central regions of several barred galaxies (Quillen et al., 1995; Regan, Vogel, & Teuben, 1997; Jogee, Kenney, & Smith, 1999). However, detailed near-infrared (NIR) studies of large samples of active and inactive galaxies have shown either no, or at most a marginal ($`2.5\sigma `$), excess of large-scale bars in active samples (Mulchaey & Regan, 1997; Knapen, Shlosman, & Peletier, 2000). These studies of interacting and barred galaxies pushed the effective spatial resolution limit of ground-based observations for large samples of AGN, yet the typical spatial resolution of these investigations remain many hundreds of parsecs.

Several HST programs over the past few years have targeted the circumnuclear morphology of large active galaxy samples to search for signatures of AGN fueling (e.g. Malkan, Gorjian, & Tam, 1998; Regan & Mulchaey, 1999; Martini & Pogge, 1999). One of the main goals of these programs was to investigate the fraction of Seyferts with nuclear bars (bars with semimajor axis lengths typically less than a kiloparsec), which could be comprised of gas or stars (Shlosman, Frank, & Begelman, 1989; Pfenniger & Norman, 1990) and cause the transport of matter from approximately a kiloparsec to tens of parsecs. However, these studies have found nuclear bars in only $`25`$% of all Seyferts (Regan & Mulchaey, 1999; Martini et al., 2001) and studies of Seyfert and control samples have found similar fractions of double bars in samples of active and inactive galaxies with large-scale bars (Márquez et al., 2000; Laine et al., 2002; Erwin & Sparke, 2002). The comparable fractions of nuclear bars in active and inactive galaxies, combined with the apparent absence of them in the majority of all active galaxies, suggests that some other mechanism is needed to fuel nuclear activity in many active galaxies.

One new candidate that arose from the HST studies is nuclear dust spirals (Regan & Mulchaey, 1999; Quillen et al., 1999; Martini & Pogge, 1999; Pogge & Martini, 2002). Visible–NIR color maps of the majority of the active galaxies in these surveys showed nuclear spirals, with a wide range of coherence, that extend from approximately a kiloparsec down to tens of parsecs (the limiting spatial resolution of the nearest subsample). These nuclear spirals are distinct from the spiral arms in the main disks of these galaxies as they appear to have density contrasts of only a factor of a few above the ambient ISM and no associated star formation. Nuclear spirals are a promising fueling mechanism not only by virtue of their frequency, but also because they may mark the location of shock fronts or turbulence in the central, circumnuclear gaseous disks and therefore trace the sites of angular momentum dissipation. The possibility of shock-driven inflow, as traced by nuclear spiral structure, has been the subject of a number of recent theoretical studies (Fukuda et al., 1998; Montenegro, Yuan, & Elmegreen, 1999; Wada & Norman, 2001; Maciejewski et al., 2002; Wada, Meurer, & Norman, 2002).

While most of the observational programs to date have targeted the circumnuclear region of active galaxies, nuclear dust spirals have also been observed in a small number of inactive galaxies with single-bandpass observations (Phillips et al., 1996; Carollo, Stiavelli, & Mack, 1998). In HST Cycle 9 we began a program (SN8597, PI Regan) to obtain WFPC2 images of galaxies with prior NICMOS observations (from SN7330, PI Mulchaey and GO7867, PI Pogge) in order to quantify the frequency of nuclear spiral structure in inactive galaxies. We present the observations of our final sample of 123 galaxies, along with a description of the sample, survey design, and classification system for circumnuclear dust structure, in Martini et al. (2002, hereafter Paper I). Our nuclear dust classification has six types, including four for nuclear dust spirals: grand design, tightly wound, loosely wound, and chaotic spirals. We placed galaxies with dust structures but without evidence for nuclear spirals in a fifth, “chaotic” class, and galaxies with no detected circumnuclear dust structure into a sixth, “no structure” class. The final dataset presented in Paper I, in spite of the initial effort to create a well-match active and control sample, is relatively heterogeneous due to both the vagarious HST snapshot scheduling and our attempt to augment the sample with additional nearby galaxies of interest.

In the present paper we create well-matched subsamples of the full dataset presented in Paper I in order to measure the relative frequency of nuclear dust spirals in active and inactive galaxies. This sample creation, described in the next section, draws unique pairs of active/inactive or barred/unbarred galaxies that otherwise have all of the same host galaxy properties and are at the same distance, while also maximizing the total size of the subsample drawn from the full dataset. In §§3 and 4 we describe the trends for circumnuclear dust morphology for the active/inactive and barred/unbarred samples, respectively. The implications of these results for the fueling of nuclear activity are described in §5 and our results are summarized in §6.

## 2 Paired Sample Selection

To construct the best-matched sample given the available observations, we have developed an algorithm to identify a unique inactive, control galaxy for each active galaxy and maximize the number of pairs of active and inactive galaxies. The host galaxy properties used to identify possible control galaxies for each active galaxy were the four properties used to define the original RSA control sample: Hubble type ($`T`$), blue luminosity ($`M_B`$), heliocentric velocity ($`v`$), and inclination ($`R_{25}`$), along with a fifth property: the angular size of the host. This fifth property is expressed as the fraction ($`frac_{20}`$) of the angular extent ($`D_{25}`$) of the host galaxy within the $`20^{\prime \prime }`$ field of view of the color maps shown in Figure 1 of Paper I. The constraints on these parameters are: $`\mathrm{\Delta }T<1`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }M_B<0.5`$ mag, $`\mathrm{\Delta }v<1000\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }R_{25}<0.1`$, and $`\mathrm{\Delta }frac_{20}<0.1`$. These constraints were applied to the subsample of 86 (out of 123) galaxies with $`v<5000\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ and $`R_{25}<0.30`$. These two cuts were chosen to avoid distant galaxies, where the HST spatial resolution is comparable to ground-based observations of nearby galaxies, and highly inclined systems, where we found our morphological classifications were less reliable (see Paper I).

The algorithm first identifies all possible control galaxies for each active galaxy through measurement of the absolute difference between each of the host galaxy parameters. As there are more active than inactive galaxies in the final dataset, the number of inactive galaxies is the main constraint on the final number of matched pairs. The first step in the algorithm is therefore to identify each inactive galaxy that has only one active galaxy match. These unique galaxy pairs are placed into the output catalog and the active galaxies in these pairs are then removed from the list of possible matches for the remaining inactive galaxies. This procedure is then repeated until no potential matched pairs remain. For the case where there are no inactive galaxies with a unique active galaxy match, the control galaxy with the fewest number of active galaxy matches was picked and matched with the active galaxy with the smallest number of other control galaxy matches.

This method successfully found a unique active galaxy match for each inactive galaxy with $`v<5000\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, $`R_{25}<0.30`$, and at least one possible pair: the best possible outcome. For other parameter constraints described below it was either equally successful or at worst would fail to match only one or two control galaxies. This process yielded a final, matched sample of 28 active galaxies and 28 inactive galaxies. The distribution of nuclear classifications and host galaxy properties for this sample is shown in Figure 1. The galaxies in this active and inactive sample are listed in Table 1 and their host galaxy properties are provided in Paper I. The mean (and rms) differences between the pairs for each of these properties are: $`\mathrm{\Delta }M_B=0.03(0.29)`$ mag, $`\mathrm{\Delta }T=0.11(0.72)`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }v_h=218(553)\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, $`R_{25}=0.01(0.04)`$, and $`frac_{20}=0.01(0.04)`$. If we increased the size of the constraints, such as from 0.5 to 1 mag in $`M_B`$, the sample size would only increase by three pairs, which we decided did not justify the chance this would increase systematic biases. The top left panel of the figure shows the relative distribution of active and inactive galaxies in each of the six nuclear classes. The remaining panels show the distribution of host galaxy properties.

We did not include the presence or absence of a large-scale bar in this sample selection, as this additional constraint would have further reduced the sample size. The sample listed in Table 1 has more unbarred inactive galaxies (ten) than unbarred active galaxies (four). As we show next, nuclear spiral structure appears to be present in barred and unbarred galaxies with equal frequency, so this should not affect our results, although the distribution of barred and unbarred galaxies into the nuclear spiral classes is different.

We created matched samples of barred and unbarred galaxies in the same manner as for the active and inactive galaxies. The goal of this investigation was to measure the frequency of nuclear spiral structure in barred and unbarred galaxies, as well as to verify the two results noted in Paper I: the existence of grand design nuclear spirals only in barred galaxies and the strong tendency for tightly wound nuclear spirals to avoid barred galaxies. Due to the small number of unbarred galaxies (25 or 86) in this sample, only 19 pairs of barred and unbarred galaxies were identified. These galaxies are listed in Table 2. Figure 2 shows the distribution of these galaxies in each of the morphological classes for circumnuclear dust, along with the distributions of their host galaxy properties. The mean differences between the pairs of barred and unbarred galaxies in each of the parameters are: $`\mathrm{\Delta }M_B=0.01(0.27)`$ mag, $`\mathrm{\Delta }T=0.19(0.59)`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }v_h=68(528)\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, $`R_{25}=0.01(0.05)`$, and $`frac_{20}=0.00(0.04)`$. The barred and unbarred pairs were not required to have the same nuclear activity, although as eleven of 19 barred galaxies and eight of 19 unbarred galaxies were active, the comparison below should not be biased by any differences between active and inactive galaxies.

## 3 Results for Active Galaxies

### 3.1 Frequency of nuclear spiral structure in active galaxies

The main result of Figure 1 is that nuclear spiral structure is found with comparable frequency in active and inactive galaxies for a sample well-matched by host galaxy properties. When all four nuclear spiral classes are summed together, 21 of the 28 active galaxies (75%) have nuclear dust spirals compared to 17 of the 28 (61%) inactive galaxies. The significance of this result can be estimated with a binomial distribution as each galaxiy either has a nuclear spiral or does not, these outcomes are statistically independent, and each galaxy has the same probability of having a nuclear spiral. The variances of the active and inactive samples are $`\sigma _a^2=28\times 0.75\times 0.25=5.25`$ and $`\sigma _i^2=28\times 0.61\times 0.39=6.66`$, respectively, and the variance of the difference is $`\sigma ^2=\sigma _a^2+\sigma _i^2=11.91`$. Thus, the observed spiral frequencies formally differ by only $`1.2\sigma `$, which is not statistically significant.

Of the four types of nuclear spirals, there are approximately equal numbers of active and inactive galaxies in the grand design, tightly wound, and chaotic spiral classes. The active galaxies with loosely wound nuclear spirals outnumber inactive galaxies with similar circumnuclear morphologies by a factor of three to one, although this excess has less than $`2\sigma `$ significance. The main result from this figure is that nuclear spirals are found with comparable frequency in active and inactive galaxies.

### 3.2 Frequency of circumnuclear dust structures in active galaxies

Another interesting result from Figure 1 is that 25% (seven) of the inactive galaxies have no obvious circumnuclear dust structure at all, whereas all of the active galaxies have some structure in their circumnuclear dust distribution. These galaxies must either have no circumnuclear dust, or this dust must be smoothly distributed. Employment of the binomial distribution estimate shows that this difference has a formal significance of $`3\sigma `$. These galaxies include four S0s, an Sa, an Sab, and an Sbc, and therefore it is not Hubble type alone which drives the absence of circumnuclear dust structure. Spatial resolution is important to identify dust structures in the centers of galaxies, as color maps are most sensitive to dust structure with an angular size comparable to the PSF. We are therefore progressively less sensitive to small-scale dust structure in the more distant galaxies. However, as we have an equal number of active and inactive galaxies at each distance, there is no bias against the detection of dust structures in one sample relative to the other. Therefore spatial resolution will not effect the relative frequency of dust structure in active and inactive galaxies, although it may effect the number of galaxies with detected dust structure,

The full sample from Paper I includes these same seven inactive galaxies with no circumnuclear dust structure: NGC 357, NGC 628, NGC 1398, NGC 1638, NGC 3300, NGC 3458, and NGC 7096, along with one active galaxy: NGC 3362. This AGN was excluded from the discussion in the present paper because it has a heliocentric velocity greater than $`5000\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ ($`v8300`$). The lack of circumnuclear dust structure in this AGN may be due to poor spatial resolution, or contamination by light from the central point source. The presence of some emission line gas in the central region of NGC 3362 indicates that it does have some circumnuclear gas, even though no dust structure is apparent in the colormap. The fact that the only AGN in this class in the full sample is at a large distance, and in any case shows emission line structure in the circumnuclear region, further supports our result that inactive galaxies have a strong tendency to lack circumnuclear dust structure relative to active galaxies.

## 4 Results for all Galaxies

### 4.1 Grand-design nuclear spirals in barred galaxies

The upper left panel of Figure 2 shows the distribution of the barred and unbarred galaxies into each nuclear class. While the sample is smaller than shown in Figure 1, the differences appear more striking. The first column confirms the result from Paper I that grand design nuclear spiral structure is only found in galaxies with large-scale bars. Seven grand design nuclear spirals are found in barred galaxies, whereas none are found in unbarred galaxies. This result has $`3\sigma `$ formal significance. In Paper I we found 19 barred galaxies with grand design structure and no unbarred galaxies in this class. Grand design nuclear spiral structure is therefore only found in galaxies with large-scale bars. Furthermore, these grand design nuclear dust spirals always appear to connect with dust lanes along the leading edges of the large-scale bar. If the barred galaxies in this sample and in the full sample discussed in Paper I are representative of the population of barred galaxies, grand design nuclear spirals are present in approximately a third of all barred galaxies (27% of the full sample from Paper I, 37% of the present, smaller sample). These grand design nuclear spirals are therefore more common than inner rings, which were only found in a small minority of barred galaxies in Paper I. Only three of the 19 barred galaxies listed in Table 2 show evidence for inner rings in the HST observations presented in Paper I.

The morphology of these dust lanes is in good agreement with the predictions of hydrodynamic simulations of gas morphology in the circumnuclear regions of barred galaxies (Englmaier & Shlosman, 2000; Maciejewski et al., 2002; Wada, Meurer, & Norman, 2002). The observations clearly show the shock fronts in large-scale bars continues into the circumnuclear region to the limit of our angular resolution, which corresponds to tens of parsecs from the nucleus. The inflow of matter due to large-scale bars can lead to the secular evolution of galaxies, fuel circumnuclear star formation, accretion, and may eventually lead to the dissolution of the large-scale bar (Kormendy, 1993; Friedli & Benz, 1993). The fact that inner rings are only found in a small minority of barred galaxies, and are less common than grand design spirals, shows that the “pile up” of bar-driven inflow into a ring is a rare occurence.

### 4.2 Tightly wound nuclear spirals in unbarred galaxies

In the full sample described in Paper I there were three barred galaxies (out of 70) with tightly wound nuclear dust spirals compared with eight (of 31) unbarred galaxies. Two of those barred galaxies with tightly wound nuclear dust spirals were excluded from this analysis because of distance or because there was not an unbarred galaxy with comparable host galaxy properties. The matched sample shown in Figure 2 has seven unbarred galaxies with tightly wound nuclear spirals and only one barred galaxy with a tightly wound nuclear spiral. This difference has a formal significance of $`2.5\sigma `$ and therefore may represent a second real difference in the circumnuclear structure of barred galaxies. As there are a small number of barred galaxies with tightly wound nuclear dust spirals, the connection between tightly wound nuclear spirals and the absence of a large-scale bar is not as strong as the connection between grand design nuclear spirals and large-scale bars. Nevertheless, given the fact that barred galaxies far outnumber unbarred galaxies in the full sample, and there is an even stronger trend in the full sample, there may be a physical connection between the absence of a large-scale bar and the presence of a tightly wound nuclear dust spiral. The tendency for tightly wound nuclear spirals to be present in unbarred galaxies could be confirmed (improved to $`3\sigma `$ significance) with an additional sample of on order ten unbarred galaxies that are well-matched to our existing barred galaxy sample.

### 4.3 Correlations with host galaxy properties

To investigate any additional correlations between host galaxy properties and circumnuclear dust structure, we have examined the mean host galaxy properties of all of the galaxies in Paper I with $`R_{25}<0.30`$ and $`v<5000\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. The mean Hubble type of this sample is only slightly later than Sab. This is also the case for all of the individual nuclear classes except for the loosely wound spiral class, which has an earlier mean Hubble type between S0/a and Sa. The similar mean Hubble types for each nuclear class suggests that there is not a strong relationship between galaxy type and the morphology of the circumnuclear dust. The fact that the loosely wound spirals are more common in galaxies whose large-scale spiral arms are more tightly wound may be due to the relative importance of the bulge and disk in the circumnuclear and large-scale morphology. However, Rubin et al. (1985) showed that the rotation curves of galaxies are more dependent on luminosity than on Hubble type.

A difference in luminosity, parametrized here as $`M_B`$, could therefore explain the variations in circumnuclear dust structure if the amount of differential rotation is the primary factor in the pitch angle of the nuclear spirals. In general, there are no large differences in the average $`M_B`$ from class to class. The mean $`M_B`$ for the entire sample is -20.3 mag and the mean value for each class deviates at most by little over half a magnitude from this value. The deviation is largest between the tightly wound nuclear spirals, which have $`M_B=20.9`$ mag and the loosely wound nuclear spirals, which have $`M_B=20.1`$ mag. Therefore it appears that the tightly wound nuclear spirals are found in more luminous galaxies. As Rubin et al. (1985) found that more luminous galaxies have larger central velocity gradients, tightly wound nuclear spirals may therefore be found in more luminous galaxies if these galaxies also deviate more strongly from solid-body rotation. An alternate explanation is that the tightly wound spirals have been undisturbed for a longer period of time and have had more time to wind. Kinematic observations are necessary to determine if the circumnuclear rotation curve is the primary driver of nuclear spiral pitch angle.

Two additional parameters that describe the morphology of these galaxies, but are not included in our paired sample matching, are the presence of a ring or pseudo ring and whether or not a galaxy is classified as peculiar. We have used the RC3 classifications listed in Table 3 of Paper I to compute the relative frequency of ringlike and peculiar morphology as a function of nuclear classification and found that the relative frequencies of these classifications are consistent with each other across the six circumnuclear dust classes. This consistency is not very significant, however, as the quality of the RC3 classifications is difficult to quantify for the full sample. A larger number of well-matched galaxy pairs would provide an improved basis for investigation of correlations between circumnuclear morphology and host galaxy properties.

All of the mechanisms proposed to fuel nuclear activity in galaxies are also methods that can trigger circumnuclear star formation and may lead to secular evolution. Recent work on a direct connection between Seyferts and starbursts by Storchi-Bergmann et al. (2001) has investigated connections between the circumnuclear dust morphology and star formation. These authors studied the relationship between the Malkan, Gorjian, & Tam (1998) “inner Hubble type” classification and the presence of circumnuclear star formation and found that most Seyferts with circumnuclear star formation were classified as late-type inner spirals, or loosely wound spirals in our classification system. If there is more star formation in galaxies with high pitch angle nuclear spirals, this could help to explain the slightly brighter $`M_B`$ of the loosely wound nuclear spirals relative to the other three nuclear spiral classes. Inspection of the images and colormaps shown in Figure 1 of Paper I shows some observational support for the results of Storchi-Bergmann et al. (2001), namely the star formation in NGC 1672, NGC 4314, NGC 5427, and NGC 6951. We note, however, that our sample was not designed to carry out a well-defined study of star formation.

## 5 Discussion

Although our analysis based on matched pairs of either active/inactive or barred/unbarred galaxies minimizes sample biases, there are nevertheless several to consider. The first is that the bar and active galaxy classifications are nonuniform. As described in Paper I, several of the allegedly inactive galaxies designated as controls for the RSA Seyfert Sample were later reclassified as active galaxies by the Palomar Survey (Ho, Filippenko, & Sargent, 1997). While many of the inactive galaxies in this sample were part of the Palomar survey, the other galaxies were observed as part of less sensitive surveys that may be biased against the detection of very low-luminosity AGN. This reflects a problem inherent in the view of galaxies as either active or inactive, when in reality the intensity of nuclear activity varies along a continuum over many orders of magnitude. Proper inclusion of, for example, bins of $`L_{bol}/L_{Edd}`$ or accretion rate, would require considerably larger samples. For the current investigation it is very nevertheless unlikely that at least any bright Seyfert 1 galaxies were included in our inactive sample due to the fact that there are no bright, unresolved point sources at the centers of their visible or near-infrared HST images. Several quite faint active galaxies from the Palomar Survey do not have distinct nuclei, so the possibility remains that there are very low-luminosity active galaxies in the inactive sample. The vast majority of these misclassified active galaxies would have to be in the dust-free or chaotic classes to significantly change our results on active galaxies.

A second potential selection effect is that the brightness of the nuclear point source in the active galaxies may increase the $`M_B`$ used to match the active and inactive samples. While this is a concern for comparisons of luminous AGN, it is unlikely to affect this study because most of the bona fide AGN are still relatively low luminosity nuclei and only make a minor contribution to the total galaxy$`+`$AGN luminosity. To test this we have artificially decreased the $`M_B`$ value by half a magnitude and rematched the pairs of active and control samples. There was no significant difference in either the frequency of nuclear spiral structure or the result that the total absence of circumnuclear dust was only found in the inactive galaxies.

A related uncertainty to the first point above is that the sample matching process is only as reliable as the host galaxy properties that are used to create the samples. Fortunately, all of the host galaxy properties were obtained from the RC3 catalog (de Vaucouleurs et al., 1991) and therefore were extracted from a homogeneous dataset. While it is more difficult to obtain accurate galaxy classifications for more distant or less luminous galaxies, the fact that the galaxy samples were matched based on both of these properties simultaneously should account for distance- and brightness-dependent errors in the measurement of the host galaxy properties. A more serious problem is the bar classifications. While all of these galaxies have bar classifications in the RC3 catalog, it is now well known that NIR observations often identify bars in galaxies considered unbarred at visible wavelengths (e.g. Mulchaey, Regan, & Kundu, 1997) and several of the unbarred galaxies lack NIR data. If some of the unbarred galaxies were later found to be barred based on NIR observations, that would not change our result that grand design nuclear spirals are only found in galaxies with large-scale bars, although this could effect the result that small pitch angle nuclear spirals (the TW class) are preferentially found in unbarred galaxies.

A final uncertainty is the quality of our own nuclear classifications. As discussed in Paper I, the classifications for many galaxies were initially disputed. However, most of these disputes were between the different nuclear spiral classes and would not affect our result on the relative frequency of nuclear spirals in active and inactive galaxies. The main uncertainty that could affect this result is the misclassification between the chaotic spiral and chaotic dust classes. However, half (three) of the active galaxies classified as chaotic would have to have spiral structure and half (also three) of the inactive galaxies classified as chaotic spirals would have to lack spiral structure in order produce a $`3\sigma `$ difference between active and inactive galaxies. The probability of both circumstances is quite low.

### 5.1 Matter inflow in barred galaxies

Approximately a third of the barred galaxies in this sample show curved dust lanes which start at the leading edges of their large-scale bars, have a grand design morphology in the circumnuclear region and then extend into the unresolved nuclear region. The apparent extension of the shock fronts in these galaxies into the circumnuclear region presents a strong case for the bar-driven inflow of matter to the nucleus in at least some barred galaxies. While single color maps do not provide a direct measure of the matter surface density in these dust lanes due to uncertainties caused by the unknown dust geometry and optical depth effects, a lower limit of a few $`M_{}`$ pc<sup>-2</sup> is reasonable (Regan & Mulchaey, 1999; Martini & Pogge, 1999). In simulations of dust lanes in barred galaxies the maximal inflow rates are as high as $`100\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ (Athanassoula, 1992), similar to measurements of the maximum gas velocity parallel to the dust lanes for several galaxies (Regan, Vogel, & Teuben, 1997; Reynaud & Downes, 1998). The mean inflow in the simulations is a few $`\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$.

Sakamoto et al. (1999) derive a lower limit of $`0.11`$ M yr<sup>-1</sup> for the accretion rate into the central kiloparsec of barred galaxies from their CO data. This amount of matter inflow from bars is sufficient to explain the enhanced molecular gas content at the centers of barred galaxies (Sakamoto et al., 1999; Regan, Sheth, & Vogel, 1999) and trigger circumnuclear star formation. There may also be sufficient matter inflow to fuel low-luminosity nuclear activity. However, this material must still travel from tens of parsecs, the best spatial resolution of these observations, to scales of less than a parsec in order to come within range of the central black hole’s gravitational potential.

### 5.2 Do nuclear dust spirals fuel nuclear activity?

The presence of grand design spiral shocks demonstrates the presence of a mechanism for matter inflow to the centers of barred galaxies, yet this symmetric spiral structure is only found in a minority of active and inactive galaxies. The majority of nuclear dust spirals take less symmetric forms with a range in pitch angle, or even have a chaotic appearance that may just exhibit some shear due to differential rotation. These forms of nuclear spiral structure are probably not formed by large-scale forces in the host galaxy, such as a bar, and instead are probably created in situ. Turbulence, either due to pressure or gravitational forces, may create structures that are then sheared into a spiral form due to differential rotation (Elmegreen et al., 1998; Montenegro, Yuan, & Elmegreen, 1999; Wada, 2001). The characteristics of density contrasts formed by acoustic turbulence include low density enhancements over the ambient ISM, a lack of associated star formation due to their low density, an increase in contrast at smaller radii, and that they should completely fill the circumnuclear disks in which they propagate (Elmegreen, Elmegreen, & Eberwein, 2002).

As the turbulence which leads to these spirals produces shocks in the ISM, and shocks dissipate energy and angular momentum, these spirals trace the sites of angular momentum transfer that can lead to the fueling of nuclear activity. In a test of this scenario by Elmegreen, Elmegreen, & Eberwein (2002), analysis of nuclear dust spirals in the LINERs NGC 4450 and NGC 4736 show that the azimuthal Fourier power spectrum of these spirals has a slope of $`5/3`$, indicative of turbulence. The tightly wound, loosely wound, and chaotic nuclear spirals have similar morphologies to the nuclear spirals studied by Elmegreen et al. (1998) and Elmegreen, Elmegreen, & Eberwein (2002), which suggests that most nuclear spirals are caused by a turbulent process.

While morphological arguments suggests that nuclear spirals are formed by turbulence and shocks, the question remains: Does sufficient angular momentum transfer occur to fuel nuclear accretion? The presence of an insignificant excess of nuclear spirals in active galaxies over inactive galaxies does not support this scenario. This is not to say that matter inflow is ruled out, only that it stops short of the central black hole. Kinematic evidence for inflow associated with these spirals, as well as emission-line signatures of shocks, would provide more compelling evidence that nuclear spiral structure can produce the accretion rates required to fuel low-luminosity AGN.

### 5.3 Constraints on the duty cycle of nuclear activity

Bars and interactions are mechanisms that can remove angular momentum and fuel nuclear activity. Nuclear spirals could be another possibility, provided that they trace sufficiently strong shocks in the circumnuclear ISM. However, all three of these proposed fueling mechanisms are found with approximately equal frequency in both active and inactive galaxies. This naturally prompts the question: If these mechanisms are responsible for fueling AGN, why are AGN not found in the otherwise indistinguishable inactive galaxies? These observations of nuclear dust spirals, as well as previous work on other similarities in the host galaxies of low-luminosity AGN on larger scales, show that there are not clear differences between active and inactive galaxies on any scales greater than approximately a hundred parsecs, the smallest scales probed by the present work.

The absence of clear differences between active and inactive galaxies to within approximately 100 pc radius of their galactic nuclei, combined with the presumption that all of these galaxies possess supermassive black holes, suggests that the characteristic inflow timescale from this radius is an upper limit on the lifetime of nuclear activity. A plausible estimate of this inflow timescale is the dynamical timescale. At a hundred parsecs, the dynamical timescale is several million years in a typical galaxy. If the structures responsible for AGN fueling exist at hundreds of parsec scales, but they are equally common in inactive galaxies, this suggests that the lifetime for an individual episode of nuclear activity is less than several million years. In our proposed scenario, where the structures responsible for AGN fueling are present in essentially all galaxies, all galaxies periodically go through a short-lived AGN phase.

## 6 Conclusions

The cold ISM in the circumnuclear region of nearly all spiral galaxies exhibits a wealth of structure. This structure often takes the form of nuclear dust spirals, which demonstrates that some differential rotation is present in the circumnuclear region of most spiral galaxies.

A comparison of a well-matched sample of 19 barred and 19 unbarred galaxies has confirmed our previous result (Paper I) that grand design nuclear dust spirals are only found in galaxies with large-scale bars. Grand design spirals are present in approximately a third of all barred galaxies and these circumnuclear spirals connect to the relatively straight dust lanes associated with the large-scale bar. The dust lanes therefore form essentially contiguous structures from many kiloparsec scales to within tens of parsecs of galactic centers. These nuclear spirals are also more common than inner rings, which are found in only a minority of all barred galaxies. The fact that most barred galaxies do not have rings inside the bar suggests that bar-driven inflow does not commonly stall in a circumnuclear ring. Our comparison of barred and unbarred galaxies also shows that there is a marginally significant tendency for tightly wound nuclear dust spirals to be found in galaxies that lack large-scale bars. The low pitch angle of these spirals may be due to an increased time for winding or greater differential rotation.

To test for differences in the circumnuclear dust distribution in active and inactive galaxies, we have created a well-matched sample of 28 active and 28 inactive galaxies by identifying pairs with all of the same host galaxy properties. This analysis finds only a statistically insignificant excess of nuclear spirals in active galaxies over the inactive control sample and that nuclear spiral structure is present in the majority of both types. A perhaps more surprising result was that although all of the active galaxies have some discernible dust structure, seven of the 28 inactive galaxies have no circumnuclear dust structure. These galaxies either have an extremely smooth dust distribution or no cold component to their ISM in the circumnuclear region. The comparable frequency of nuclear dust spirals in a well-matched sample of active and inactive galaxies, when combined with similar results for the frequency of bars or interactions from previous work, suggests that there is no universal fueling mechanism for low-luminosity AGN at scales greater than 100 pc from galactic nuclei.

We have shown that the circumnuclear dust morphologies of most active and inactive galaxies are indistinguishable. All of these galaxies are assumed to contain supermassive black holes and therefore the main difference between them is whether or not that central black hole is currently fueled. If the structures responsible for fueling nuclear activity are not present on the hundreds of parsec scales probed by these observations, or are present with equal frequency in active and inactive galaxies, then the timescale for nuclear activity must be less than the timescale for matter inflow from these spatial scales. If the dynamical timescale on these spatial scales is an approximate measure of the characteristic inflow time, this suggests an upper limit to the lifetime of an individual episode of nuclear activity is several million years.

Support for this work was provided by NASA through grant numbers GO-7330, GO-7867, and GO-08597 from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. PM was supported by a Carnegie Starr Fellowship. We would like to thank Andy Gould, Witold Maciejewski, Keiichi Wada, and the referee for helpful suggestions and comments. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.


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# Iron is not Depleted in High-Ionization Nuclear Emission-Line Regions of Active Galactic Nuclei

## 1. INTRODUCTION

The narrow-line region (NLR) is one of the fundamental ingredients of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) such as Seyfert galaxies, and thus its physical and chemical properties have been studied intensively up to now (see Osterbrock & Mathews 1986 for a review). Since the presence of dust grains significantly affects emission-line spectra in several ways, it has been often discussed whether or not dust grains survive in the NLRs. The chemical composition of the gas phase is modified by the depletion of refractory elements into the grains. Electrons photoelectrically ejected from the grains heat the gas, while electron-grain collisions cool it. The dust opacity modifies the transfer of the ionizing continuum that irradiates gas clouds in NLRs. Therefore the knowledge of dust abundances is required to interpret observed emission-line spectra of NLRs (see, e.g., Ferguson et al. 1997a).

There are some pieces of evidence that suggest the presence of dust grains in NLRs. Asymmetric narrow emission-line profiles may suggest the presence of dust grains in the gas (e.g., Heckman et al. 1981; De Robertis & Osterbrock 1984; Whittle 1985a, 1985b). In partially-ionized regions in NLRs the depletion of some refractory elements is suggested by the weakness of the \[Ca ii\] emission (e.g., Kingdon, Ferland, & Feibelman 1995; Ferguson et al. 1997a) and by comparing the intensity of near-infrared \[Fe ii\] emission lines with that of \[O i\]$`\lambda `$6300 (e.g., Mouri et al. 1989; Simpson et al. 1996; Alonso-Herrero et al. 1997; Mouri, Kawara, & Taniguchi 2000) and with that of \[P ii\]1.188$`\mu `$m (e.g., Oliva et al. 2001; Rodríguez-Ardila et al. 2002). Some resonance lines have been observed to be very weak, which seems to be also due to line transfer effect within dusty gas (e.g., Kraemer et al. 2000). These naturally lead to the following question; is the NLR ubiquitously dusty?

The innermost region of NLRs, which is irradiated by high photoionizing flux, is thought to be rather high-velocity, highly-ionized, dense gas clouds (e.g., De Robertis & Osterbrock 1986; Murayama & Taniguchi 1998a, 1998b; Barth et al. 1999; Tran, Cohen, & Villar-Martin 2000; Nagao, Taniguchi, & Murayama 2000b; Nagao, Murayama, & Taniguchi 2001a, 2001b). Since the gas clouds in this region can radiate very high ionization emission lines such as \[Ne v\], \[Fe vii\], and \[Fe x\] (the so-called coronal lines), such regions are called “coronal line regions” or “high-ionization nuclear emission-line regions” (HINERs: Binette 1985; Murayama, Taniguchi, & Iwasawa 1998). Nussbaumer & Osterbrock (1970) reported that the gas-phase abundance of iron that is estimated by using the emission-line flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 is close to the solar value. This means that the iron is not depleted significantly because of the absence of grains in HINERs. However, Ferguson, Korista, & Ferland (1997b) mentioned that the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 depends on physical properties of gas clouds and thus it may be inappropriate to use this ratio as an indicator of the gas-phase iron abundance. They proposed alternative indicators of the gas-phase abundances of refractory elements by using some near-infrared high-ionization lines such as \[Ca viii\]2.32$`\mu `$m, and then suggested that the HINERs seem to be dust-free (see also Ferguson et al. 1997a). Although their method is a robust one, it can be applied only to very few objects since the near-infrared high-ionization lines are hard to be measured. Indeed they applied their method only on the two Seyfert galaxies, NGC 1068 and the Circinus galaxy, and they concluded that the HINERs in the two Seyfert galaxies are dust free.

In order to investigate whether the HINERs contain dust grains for a large sample of AGNs, we focus on \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087 and \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 again. These two forbidden emission lines are thought to arise at similar regions since their critical densities are similar ($`1.6\times 10^7`$ cm-3 and $`3.6\times 10^7`$ cm-3, respectively), and the ionization potentials of Fe6+ and Ne4+ are also nearly the same (97.1 eV and 99.1 eV, respectively). In addition to this advantage, it should be also an great advantage that these two emission lines are enough strong to be measured easily. Therefore, they are useful to examine the dust abundances in the HINERs if we know some possible dependences of their emissivities on physical properties, even though they might be inappropriate to determine exact gas-phase elemental abundances as noted by Ferguson et al. (1997b). In this paper, we investigate the dependences of the two high-ionization emission lines on physical properties based on photoionization model calculations. We then examine how these emission lines can give constraints on the issue whether or not the HINERs are dusty.

## 2. DATA OF EMISSION-LINE FLUX RATIOS

To study the properties of gas clouds in HINERs, we have compiled the data of emission-line flux ratios of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[O iii\]$`\lambda `$5007 and \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426/\[O iii\]$`\lambda `$5007 from the literature. The details of the data compilation are given by Nagao et al. (2001b). The number of compiled objects is 58; 34 type 1 AGNs and 24 type 2 AGNs. Here we refer to Véron-Cetty & Véron (2001) for the AGN type of each object. Note that, in this paper, the objects classified as type 1.0, 1.2, and 1.5 AGN (including narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies) by Véron-Cetty & Véron (2001) are included in “type 1 AGN”, and the objects classified as type 1.8, 1.9, and 2.0 AGN are included in “type 2 AGN”. Since we do not impose any selection criteria upon our sample, this sample is neither an uniform nor complete one in any sense. However, this does not affect the following discussion significantly because we are not interested in statistical properties of NLR gas clouds. Namely, we focus on whether distribution of emission-line flux ratios is consistent with that expected for dust-free cases or dusty cases. The compiled emission-line flux ratios are given in Table 1. We adopt an average value if an emission-line flux ratio for a certain object is given in more than one paper published previously. As for the data of the emission-line flux ratios, we do not make any reddening correction since it is often difficult to measure the fluxes of narrow components of Balmer lines for type 1 AGNs (see, e.g., Nagao et al. 2001b). Effects of the dust extinction are discussed when necessary.

## 3. RESULTS

In Figure 1, we show the frequency distributions of the two emission-line flux ratios, \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426/\[O iii\]$`\lambda `$5007 and \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[O iii\]$`\lambda `$5007, for both the type 1 AGNs and the type 2 AGNs in our sample. The average and the 1-$`\sigma `$ standard deviation of these two emission-line flux ratios are 0.191 $`\pm `$ 0.114 and 0.089 $`\pm `$ 0.079 for the type 1 AGNs and 0.066 $`\pm `$ 0.042 and 0.020 $`\pm `$ 0.015 for the type 2 AGNs, respectively. The comparison of these results between the type 1 and type 2 AGNs clearly suggests that the type 1 AGNs exhibit systematically larger ratios of both \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426/\[O iii\]$`\lambda `$5007 and \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[O iii\]$`\lambda `$5007 than the type 2 AGNs. We apply the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) statistical test on the data to estimate the significance of the differences in the two emission-line flux ratios between the type 1 AGNs and the type 2 AGNs. The resultant probabilities that the frequency distributions of the type 1 and type 2 AGNs come from the same underlying populations are $`2.0\times 10^6`$ and $`5.9\times 10^6`$ for \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426/\[O iii\]$`\lambda `$5007 and \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[O iii\]$`\lambda `$5007, respectively. It is thus confirmed that the two emission-line flux ratios are significantly larger in the type 1 AGNs than in the type 2 AGNs. This result is consistent with the previous reports by Murayama & Taniguchi (1998a), Nagao et al. (2000b), and Nagao et al. (2001b). They concluded that these differences in the emission-line flux ratios are due to the orientation effect; i.e., the HINER is located very close to the nucleus and thus can be hidden by dusty tori if it is observed from an edge-on view toward the tori.

Contrary to the above results, the difference in the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 between the type 1 and type 2 AGNs is fairly small, as shown in Figure 2. The average and the 1-$`\sigma `$ standard deviation of this flux ratio are 0.523 $`\pm `$ 0.461 for the type 1 AGNs and 0.335 $`\pm `$ 0.315 for the type 2 ones. The average and the 1-$`\sigma `$ standard deviation for the all sample (i.e., 58 AGNs) are 0.445 $`\pm `$ 0.415, and the median value is 0.309. Although the flux ratios of the type 2 AGNs seem to be somewhat smaller than the type 2 AGNs, the difference is not significant. The K-S statistical test results in the K-S probability of 1.1 $`\times `$ 10-2, which means that the inferred difference is marginal.

## 4. PHOTOIONIZATION MODEL CALCULATIONS

In order to examine whether or not the HINERs are dusty, we investigate how the emission-line flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 depends on some physical properties by performing calculations of photoionization models with and without dust grains. Our method and results of the photoionization model calculations are presented below.

### 4.1. Method

We carry out several photoionization model calculations by using the publicly available code $`Cloudy`$ version 94.00 (Ferland 1997, 2000). Here we assume uniform density gas clouds with a plane-parallel geometry. The parameters for the calculations are: (1) the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the input continuum radiation; (2) the hydrogen density of a cloud ($`n_\mathrm{H}`$); (3) the ionization parameter ($`U`$), i.e., the ratio of the ionizing photon density to the hydrogen density at the irradiated surface of a cloud; (4) the column density of a cloud ($`N_\mathrm{H}`$); and (5) the elemental composition and the dust abundance of the gas.

We adopt the SED in the form of $`f_\nu \nu ^\alpha `$ with $`\alpha =2.5`$ for $`\lambda >10`$ $`\mu `$m, $`\alpha =1.5`$ between 10 $`\mu `$m and 50 keV, and $`\alpha =2.0`$ for $`h\nu >50`$ keV, taking account of the SEDs actually observed in AGNs (e.g., Koski 1978; Storchi-Bergmann & Pastoriza 1989, 1990; Kinney et al. 1991; see also Ho, Shields, & Filippenko 1993). Since forbidden lines arise at gas clouds with a density near their critical densities most effectively, the gas density of the \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087 and the \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 emitting regions are expected to be a few $`\times 10^7`$ cm-3. We thus perform model runs with $`n_\mathrm{H}=10^{6.5},10^{7.0}`$, and $`10^{7.5}`$ cm-3. As for the ionization parameter, we investigate models with $`U=10^{2.5}`$, $`10^{2.0}`$ and $`10^{1.5}`$, although the ionization parameter of HINERs is thought to be rather high, that is to say, $`U10^2`$ (e.g., Murayama & Taniguchi 1998b; Nagao et al. 2001b). Because the the column density of a cloud may be much different from object to object, we perform model runs in the range of $`10^{20.0}`$ cm-2 $``$ $`N_\mathrm{H}`$ $``$ $`10^{22.0}`$ cm-2.

For the dust-free models, we set the gas-phase elemental abundances to be the solar ones, which are taken from Grevesse & Anders (1989) with extensions by Grevesse & Noels (1993). The adopted gas-phase elemental abundances are: H: 1.00, He: 1.00$`\times `$10-1, Li: 2.04$`\times `$10-9, Be: 2.63$`\times `$10-11, B: 7.59$`\times `$10-10, C: 3.55$`\times `$10-4, N: 9.33$`\times `$10-5, O: 7.41$`\times `$10-4, F: 3.02$`\times `$10-8, Ne: 1.17$`\times `$10-4, Na: 2.06$`\times `$10-6, Mg: 3.80$`\times `$10-5, Al: 2.95$`\times `$10-6, Si: 3.55$`\times `$10-5, P: 3.73$`\times `$10-7, S: 1.62$`\times `$10-5, Cl: 1.88$`\times `$10-7, Ar: 3.98$`\times `$10-6, K: 1.35$`\times `$10-7, Ca: 2.29$`\times `$10-6, Sc: 1.58$`\times `$10-9, Ti: 1.10$`\times `$10-7, V: 1.05$`\times `$10-8, Cr: 4.84$`\times `$10-7, Mn: 3.42$`\times `$10-7, Fe: 3.24$`\times `$10-5, Co: 8.32$`\times `$10-8, Ni: 1.76$`\times `$10-6, Cu: 1.87$`\times `$10-8, and Zn: 4.52$`\times `$10-8. For the dusty models, Orion-type graphite and silicate grains (Baldwin et al. 1991; see also Ferland 1997) are contained in a gas cloud. As a result of the metal depletion onto dust grains, the gas-phase elemental abundances are altered to: H: 1.00, He: 9.50$`\times `$10-2, Li: 5.40$`\times `$10-11, B: 8.90$`\times `$10-11, C: 3.00$`\times `$10-4, N: 7.00$`\times `$10-5, O: 4.00$`\times `$10-4, Ne: 6.00$`\times `$10-5, Na: 3.00$`\times `$10-7, Mg: 3.00$`\times `$10-6, Al: 2.00$`\times `$10-7, Si: 4.00$`\times `$10-6, P: 1.60$`\times `$10-7, S: 1.00$`\times `$10-5, Cl: 1.00$`\times `$10-7, Ar: 3.00$`\times `$10-6, K: 1.10$`\times `$10-8, Ca: 2.00$`\times `$10-8, Ti: 5.80$`\times `$10-10, V: 1.00$`\times `$10-10, Cr: 1.00$`\times `$10-8, Mn: 2.30$`\times `$10-8, Fe: 3.00$`\times `$10-6, Ni: 1.00$`\times `$10-7, Cu: 1.50$`\times `$10-9, and Zn: 2.00$`\times `$10-8. These depleted elemental abundances are based on results of several studies of the Orion nebula (Baldwin et al. 1991; Rubin et al. 1991; Rubin, Dufour, & Walter 1992a; Rubin et al. 1992b; Osterbrock, Tran, & Veulleux 1992). Note that beryllium, fluorine, scandium and cobalt are not included in the calculations for the dusty models. See Ferland (1997) for details of the treatments of elemental abundances and dust grains.

### 4.2. Results of the Model Calculations

In Figure 3, we show the dependences of the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 on the hydrogen density, the column density and the ionization parameters of a cloud, and on the presence of dust grains, which are calculated by our photoionization models with and without dust grains. The most striking dependence is that on the presence of dust grains. The models without dust grains predict larger ratios of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 than the models with dust grains by a factor of $``$10. This factor corresponds to the depletion factor of iron. This implies that the difference in the flux ratio between the models with and without grains is mainly due to the depletion of iron onto dust grains; i.e., the effects of grains on the thermal equilibrium and on the radiation transfer are negligibly small. Indeed the models without dust grains but with gas-phase elemental abundances of the dusty model predict nearly the same flux ratios as those of the dusty models. This also suggests that the iron depletion is the main reason of the difference in the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 between the models with and without dust grains.

The remaining dependences of the flux ratio are not so large. As presented in Figure 3, the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 is almost independent of the hydrogen density in the range of $`10^{6.5}`$ cm-3 $``$ $`10^{7.5}`$ cm-3 while it depends on the hydrogen column density and the ionization parameter. Note that the models with $`U=10^{2.5}`$ are implausible for gas clouds in HINERs since those models predict significantly smaller ratios of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[O iii\]$`\lambda `$5007 and \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426/\[O iii\]$`\lambda `$5007 ($`<0.01`$ and $`<0.1`$, respectively) than the observed values (see, e.g., Murayama & Taniguchi 1998a; Nagao et al. 2000b, 2001b). Thus the dependence of the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 on the hydrogen column density and the ionization parameter in the ranges of $`10^{20.0}`$ cm-2 $``$ $`N_\mathrm{H}`$ $``$ $`10^{22.0}`$ cm-2 and $`10^{2.0}U10^{1.5}`$ is not so large, i.e., a factor of 2 - 5. This is consistent with the remark by Ferguson et al. (1997b) and thus the exact determination of the gas-phase iron abundance seems to be difficult by simply using the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426. This is more clearly shown in Figure 4, in which the volume emissivities of the \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087 and \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 emission are plotted as functions of the depth into the nebula for the models with $`n_\mathrm{H}=10^{7.0}`$ cm-3, with $`U=10^{2.5},10^{2.0},10^{1.5}`$, and with/without dust grains. The ratio of the emissivities for the two emission lines apparently depends on the ionization parameter.

Although the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 is inappropriate for the exact determination of the gas-phase iron abundance, it can be used to discuss the dust abundances in HINERs. This is because the ranges of the predicted ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 are well separated between the models with and without dust grains. The dust-free models predict $`0.05`$ $`F`$(\[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087)/$`F`$(\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426) $`0.3`$ while the dusty models predict $`0.007`$ $`F`$(\[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087)/$`F`$(\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426) $`0.04`$. Here we should recall that the models with $`U=10^{2.5}`$ are not taken into account since they are not plausible models for clouds in HINERs. Using this flux ratio, we discuss the dust abundances at HINERs in the next section.

## 5. DISCUSSION

Now we discuss our main problem; are HINERs dusty or not? The predicted range of the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 by both the dust-free and the dusty models is smaller than the observed range. This is because the collected data are not corrected for the extinction. Since a wavelength difference between the two emission lines, \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087 and \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426, is large, the effects of extinction correction are not negligible. Adopting the extinction curve described by Cardelli, Clayton, & Mathis (1989), and $`R_V=A_V/E(\mathrm{B}\mathrm{V})=3.1`$, the correction factor for the dust extinction is 1.94 in the case of $`A_V=1`$ mag. Therefore, the predicted ranges of the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 when the extinction correction of 0 mag $`A_V`$ 1 mag is taken into account are $`0.05`$ $`F`$(\[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087)/$`F`$(\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426) $`0.6`$ and $`0.007`$ $`F`$(\[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087)/$`F`$(\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426) $`0.08`$ for the dust-free models and the dusty models, respectively. Note that the observed Balmer decrements suggest the reddening amount of 0 mag $`A_V`$ 1 mag for type 1 AGNs (e.g., Cohen 1983; Murayama 1995; Rodríguez-Ardila, Pastoriza, & Donzelli 2000). The range of the flux ratio predicted by the dust-free models is roughly consistent with the observed data while that predicted by the dusty models is far smaller than the observed data.

To explain the observed range of the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 by the dusty models, dust extinction of 3 mag $`A_V`$ 10 mag is required. This required range of the dust extinction is far larger than that estimated from the observed Balmer decrements. This discrepancy may be more significant if the iron depletion factor is smaller than the value we adopt here (= 0.1). In cold ISM, the iron depletion factor reaches down to 0.01 (e.g., Jenkins, Savage, & Spitzer 1986; Cowie & Songaila 1986). Although this large discrepancy might be explained by introducing dust grains which are located in/around HINERs selectively, this idea has the following two serious problems. First, to assume the existence of additional dust grains in the inner part of NLRs may conflict with the idea that it is relatively difficult for the dust grains to survive under high photoionizing flux, although we cannot exclude the possibility that the grains could survive under the high flux for some situations. We should recall the histograms presented in Figure 1, which suggest that the HINERs are located at the innermost region in NLRs. Second, the inferred amount of extinction, 3 mag $`A_V`$ 10 mag, corresponds to $`N_{\mathrm{H}^0}(515)\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2. This is far larger than the column density toward the nuclei of type 1 AGNs, derived from X-ray spectral analysis ($`N_{\mathrm{H}^0}10^{21}`$ cm-2; e.g., Reynolds 1997; Leighly 1999). These considerations suggest that the observed data are hard to be explained by the dusty models even if very large amount of dust shielding only the HINERs selectively is introduced. Therefore, we conclude that the iron in the HINERs is not depleted onto dust grains significantly. This conclusion is consistent with the idea that HINERs are located at the innermost of NLRs and thus are hidden by dusty tori when seen from a edge-on view toward dusty tori, which is implied by the histograms presented in Figure 1 (see also Pier & Voit 1995; Murayama & Taniguchi 1998a, 1998b; Barth et al. 1999; Tran et al. 2000; Nagao et al. 2000b, 2001a, 2001b). Considering that the HINERs are located closer than the dust-sublimation radius (i.e., inner radius of dusty tori), we can understand the absence of internal dust grains in HINERs and the AGN-type dependence of the visibility of high-ionization emission lines as presented in Figure 1, simultaneously.

Finally, we mention the possible difference in the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 between type 1 and type 2 AGNs. Although the difference is not significant as presented in Figure 2, the difference in the extinction-corrected flux ratio may be larger than that in the observed flux ratio since the dust extinction is larger on average in type 2 AGNs than type 1 AGNs (e.g., Dahari & De Robertis 1988). This difference may suggest that iron in spatially extended HINERs is depleted onto dust grains. Such spatially extended HINERs have been predicted theoretically (e.g., Korista & Ferland 1989; Ferguson et al. 1997b), emissivities of high-ionization emission lines at the extended HINERs are expected to be low. Indeed such extended HINERs are observationally detected only in few Seyfert galaxies (e.g., Golev et al. 1995; Murayama et al. 1998; Nagao et al. 2000a; Nelson et al. 2000; Kraemer & Crenshaw 2000). Therefore, the effect of the presence of the spatially extended HINERs on the observed flux ratios of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 seems to be low. However, as suggested by the histograms presented in Figure 1, the innermost region in NLRs, where strong \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087 and \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 arise, is hidden as for type 2 AGNs. In this case, the effect of dusty and spatially extended HINERs may emerge in the observed flux ratios of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426. This idea is a highly speculative one since the observed difference in the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 between the type 1 and the type 2 AGNs is marginal. In order to examine this idea observationally, spatial distributions of the flux ratio of \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087/\[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426 should be investigated. Such studies can make it clear how the iron depletion onto dust grains depends on the location in NLRs.

## 6. CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this paper, we have compared the observed data on two high-ionization forbidden emission lines, \[Fe vii\]$`\lambda `$6087 and \[Ne v\]$`\lambda `$3426, with the results of photoionization model calculations, and found that the HINERs in NLRs of AGNs are not dusty. This finding was already noted by, e.g., Nussbaumer & Osterbrock (1970) and Ferguson et al. (1997b). However, our finding is important because we have shown the absence of dust grains in HINERs for a large sample of AGNs, for the first time.

In order to examine this conclusion more directly, we should carry out spatially resolved imaging observation of the thermal emission of dust in NLRs of AGNs. By using ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array), we can resolve structures in the 0.01 arcsec scale by submillimetric imaging observation. This corresponds to $``$0.02 pc for the Circinus galaxy (adopting the distance of 3.8 Mpc; Freeman et al. 1977). Thanks to this ability of high spatial resolution, we will be able to investigate the distribution of dust in NLRs directly.

We would like to thank Gary Ferland for providing his code $`Cloudy`$ to the public. We also thank the anonymous referee for useful comments. A part of this work was financially supported by Grants-in-Aid for the Scientific Research (10044052, 10304013, and 13740122) of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology.


text:
# Spiral symmetry and general Bloch’s theorem

## 1 Abstract

In this paper, spiral symmetry in cylindrical coordinate and general Bloch’s theorem induced from it are discussed. This general Bloch’s theorem is useful for considering the properties related to single-walled carbon nanotubes.

## 2 Translation symmetry in $`^3`$ and Bloch’s theorem

Above all, we go over traditional translation symmetry and Bloch’s theorem .
Lattice vectors:

$$𝐑_j=n_{j1}𝐚_1+n_{j2}𝐚_2+n_{j3}𝐚_3.$$
(1)
Hamiltonian:

$$H=\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2\mu }^2+V(𝐫);V(𝐫+𝐑_j)=V(𝐫).$$
(2)
Define translation operators $`𝒥(𝐑_j)(j)`$, which act on a function $`f(𝐫)`$ as:

$$𝒥(𝐑_j)f(𝐫)=f(𝐫+𝐑_j).$$
(3)
We can easily proof:

$$𝒥(𝐑_j)𝒥(𝐑_l)=𝒥(𝐑_l+𝐑_j)=𝒥(𝐑_j+𝐑_l)=𝒥(𝐑_l)𝒥(𝐑_j).$$
(4)
Otherwise,

$`𝒥(𝐑_j)Hf(𝐫)={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2\mu }}𝒥(𝐑_j)^2f(𝐫)+𝒥(𝐑_j)V(𝐫)f(𝐫)`$ (5)
$`={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2\mu }}^2𝒥(𝐑_j)f(𝐫)+V(𝐫+𝐑_j)f(𝐫+𝐑_j)`$
$`=[{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2\mu }}^2+V(𝐫)]f(𝐫+𝐑_j)=H𝒥(𝐑_j)f(𝐫).`$
Therefore $`\{𝒥(𝐑_j),H\}`$ is the set of conserved quantities. In this case, an eigenfunction of the Hamiltonian must be an eigenfunction of the translation operators.

$$H\psi (𝐫)=E\psi (𝐫)𝒥(𝐑_j)\psi (𝐫)=\psi (𝐫+𝐑_j)=\lambda (𝐑_j)\psi (𝐫).$$
(6)
On the one hand, from Eq.(4), we know

$$\lambda (𝐑_j)\lambda (𝐑_l)=\lambda (𝐑_j+𝐑_l).$$
(7)
On the other hand, the electron density must be periodic, i.e., $`|\psi (𝐫+𝐑_j)|^2=|\psi (𝐫)|^2`$, from which we know

$$|\lambda (𝐑_j)|^2=1.$$
(8)
Eqs(7) and (8) give

$$\lambda (𝐑_j)=e^{i𝜿𝐑_j}.$$
(9)
Thus we have Bloch’s theorem:

$$\psi (𝐫+𝐑_j)=e^{i𝜿𝐑_j}\psi (𝐫).$$
(10)
## 3 Spiral symmetry in cylindrical coordinate and Bloch’s theorem

Hamiltonian in cylindrical coordinate:

$$H=\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2\mu }(\frac{^2}{\rho ^2}+\frac{}{\rho \rho }+\frac{^2}{\rho ^2\theta ^2}+\frac{^2}{z^2})+V(\rho ,\theta ,z),$$
(11)
$$V(\rho ,\theta ,z)=V(\rho ,\theta +j_1\vartheta ,z+j_1\tau +j_2T),$$
(12)
where $`\vartheta =2\pi /N,N\tau =MT`$, $`N,M`$, $`j_1,j_2`$. Eq.(12) is called the spiral symmetry. Define vectors $`𝐫=(\theta ,z)`$ and $`𝐑_j=(j_1\vartheta ,j_1\tau +j_2T)`$ in the space $`[0,2\pi )\times `$. Define operators $`𝒥(𝐑_j)(j)`$, which act on a function $`f(\rho ;𝐫)`$ as:

$$𝒥(𝐑_j)f(\rho ;𝐫)=f(\rho ;𝐫+𝐑_j).$$
(13)
We can easily proof:

$$𝒥(𝐑_j)𝒥(𝐑_l)=𝒥(𝐑_l+𝐑_j)=𝒥(𝐑_j+𝐑_l)=𝒥(𝐑_l)𝒥(𝐑_j),$$
(14)
and

$$𝒥(𝐑_j)V(\rho ;𝐫)=V(\rho ;𝐫)𝒥(𝐑_j).$$
(15)
Otherwise,

$$𝒥(𝐑_j)(\frac{^2}{\rho ^2\theta ^2}+\frac{^2}{z^2})f(\rho ;𝐫)=(\frac{^2}{\rho ^2\theta ^2}+\frac{^2}{z^2})𝒥(𝐑_j)f(\rho ;𝐫).$$
(16)
Thus

$$𝒥(𝐑_j)H=H𝒥(𝐑_j).$$
(17)
We can obtain general Bloch’s theorem analogizing above section.

$$H\psi (\rho ;𝐫)=E\psi (\rho ;𝐫)𝒥(𝐑_j)\psi (\rho ;𝐫)=\psi (\rho ;𝐫+𝐑_j)=e^{i𝜿𝐑_j}\psi (\rho ;𝐫).$$
(18)
We set $`𝜶_1=(\vartheta ,\tau )`$, $`𝜶_2=(0,T)`$, $`𝜷_1=(N,0)`$, $`𝜷_2=(\tau N/T,2\pi /T)`$, $`𝐆_𝐣=j_1𝜷_1+j_2𝜷_2=(j_1Nj_2N\tau /T,2\pi j_2/T)`$, then we can obtain

$$\psi (\rho ;𝐫)=\underset{𝐣n}{}\varphi _{n𝐣}(\rho )e^{i(𝜿+𝐆_𝐣)𝐫}$$
(19)
## 4 Discussion and Potential application

Beginning with Eq.(19), we can continue to construct a method similar to plane wave expansions . We believe general Bloch’s theorem will be useful for consider the properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes for their spiral symmetry .

## 5 Reference

Email: tzc@itp.ac.cn

 J. Callaway, Quantum Theory of the Solid State (Academic Press, Inc., London, 1991).

Z. C. Tu, unpublished.

 R. Saito, M. S. Dresselhaus, and G. Dresselhaus, Physical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes (Imperial College Press, London, 1998).

Z. C. Tu and Z. C. Ou-Yang, cond-mat/0211658.