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# The Clausius-Mossotti Phase Transition in Polar Liquids

## I Introduction

The Clausius-Mossotti polarization equation of state is quite often discussed in text books on electromagnetic theory. The discussion is thought to give students a good physical idea about how microscopic models of dipole moments yield non-trivial macroscopic material dielectric constants $`\epsilon `$. It is only sometimes mentioned that the Clausius-Mossotti model exhibits an instability hinting at a phase transition into an ordered polarized state. The unstable precursor to the phase transition is in fact self evident. The instability is particularly strong in polar liquids such as water. In fact, the Clausius-Mossotti model in its classic text book form indicates that water at room temperature and pressure is in an ordered polarization state.

The ordered state of polar liquids is described in the literature as exhibiting superradiance. In the superradiant state, the polarization $`𝐏`$ has a mean value roughly constant in magnitude within an ordered domain. However, $`𝐏`$ may vary in direction as one goes from one ordered fluid domain to another ordered fluid domain. The theoretical derivation of superradiant domains normally starts from condensed matter quantum electrodynamics. Yet many insights into the nature of superradiant thermal equilibrium can be obtained from a classical electrodynamic viewpoint. Our purpose is to derive the polar liquid phase transition implicit in the Clausius-Mossotti model. Our arguments employ (apart from classical electrodynamics) the elementary statistical thermodynamics previously worked out by Debye and Langevin.

In Sec. II, we briefly discuss the derivation of the Clausius-Mossotti local electric field (in Gaussian units)

$$𝐅=𝐄+(4\pi /3)𝐏.$$
(1)
In Eq.(1), $`𝐄`$ is the total electric field and $`𝐏`$ is the dipole moment per unit volume. In terms of the molecular polarizability $`\alpha `$ of a single molecule and the liquid volume $`v`$ per molecule, we shall derive the mean field Clausius-Mossotti dielectric constant $`\epsilon `$. In Sec. III, we discuss the region of thermodynamic stability of the Clausius-Mossotti model. The known instability is often thought to be an embarrassment for the mean field theory. However, we argue that the Clausius-Mossotti instability is a signature of a physical phase transition into an ordered phase. The ordered phase has been previously discovered from the viewpoint of superradiance. The thermodynamic theories of both the ordered and disordered phases are discussed from the Clausius-Mossotti viewpoint in Sec. IV. The nature of a more complete quantum theory is explored in the concluding Sec. V.

## II Clausius-Mossotti Local Fields

Consider the Coulomb energy contained in a charge density $`\rho `$, i.e.

$$U=\frac{1}{2}\frac{\rho (𝐫)\rho (𝐫^{})}{|𝐫𝐫^{}|}d^3𝐫d^3𝐫^{}.$$
(2)
If the charge density is derived from a macroscopic polarization

$$\rho (𝐫)=div𝐏(𝐫),$$
(3)
then integrating Eq.(2) twice by parts yields

$$U=\frac{1}{2}𝐏(𝐫)𝖦(𝐫𝐫^{})𝐏(𝐫^{})d^3𝐫d^3𝐫^{}.$$
(4)
The dyadic

$$𝖦(𝐫𝐫^{})=\mathrm{𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝}\mathrm{𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝}^{}\frac{1}{|𝐫𝐫^{}|}$$
(5)
obeys the trace condition

$$Tr𝖦(𝐫𝐫^{})=^2\frac{1}{|𝐫𝐫^{}|}=4\pi \delta (𝐫𝐫^{}).$$
(6)
Eqs.(5) and (6) imply that

$`𝖦(𝐑)`$ $`=`$ $`\mathsf{\Delta }(𝐑)+{\displaystyle \frac{4\pi }{3}}\mathrm{𝟣}\delta (𝐑),`$
$`\mathsf{\Delta }(𝐑)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{3\mathrm{𝐑𝐑}R^2\mathrm{𝟣}}{R^5}},`$ (7)
where the $`(4\pi \mathrm{𝟣}/3)\delta (𝐑)`$ term in Eq.(7) is present to enforce the trace condition in Eq.(6). From Eqs.(4) and (7), it follows that the Coulomb energy

$$U=U_{dipole}+U_{local},$$
(8)
where

$$U_{dipole}=\frac{1}{2}𝐏(𝐫)\mathsf{\Delta }(𝐫𝐫^{})𝐏(𝐫^{})d^3𝐫d^3𝐫^{}$$
(9)
and

$$U_{local}=\frac{2\pi }{3}|𝐏(𝐫)|^2d^3𝐫.$$
(10)
Consider the work done by bringing in from infinity a small change in the charge density $`\delta \rho =div\delta 𝐏`$. The change in Coulomb energy will be given in terms of the potential $`\mathrm{\Phi }(𝐫)`$ according to

$`\delta U`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\rho (𝐫^{})\delta \rho (𝐫)}{|𝐫𝐫^{}|}d^3𝐫^{}d^3𝐫}`$ (11)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \mathrm{\Phi }(𝐫)\delta \rho (𝐫)d^3𝐫}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \mathrm{\Phi }(𝐫)𝑑iv\delta 𝐏(𝐫)d^3𝐫}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \mathrm{𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝}\mathrm{\Phi }(𝐫)\delta 𝐏(𝐫)d^3𝐫}.`$
The electric field $`𝐄=\mathrm{𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝}\mathrm{\Phi }`$ may then be computed from the functional variation

$`\delta U`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle 𝐄(𝐫)\delta 𝐏(𝐫)d^3𝐫},`$
$`𝐄(𝐫)`$ $`=`$ $`𝐅(𝐫){\displaystyle \frac{4\pi }{3}}𝐏(𝐫).`$ (12)
The local electric field $`𝐅(𝐫)`$ is due directly to the dipole-dipole interaction function $`\mathsf{\Delta }(𝐑)`$ in Eq.(7) via the variation

$`\delta U_{dipole}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle 𝐅(𝐫)\delta 𝐏(𝐫)d^3𝐫},`$
$`𝐅(𝐫)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \mathsf{\Delta }(𝐫𝐫^{})𝐏(𝐫^{})d^3𝐫^{}}.`$ (13)
The remaining $`(4\pi /3)𝐏(𝐫)`$ term on the right hand side of Eq.(12) is due to the local polarization energy in Eq.(10), i.e.

$`\delta U_{local}`$ $`=`$ $`\delta U\delta U_{dipole}`$ (14)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \{𝐄(𝐫)𝐅(𝐫)\}\delta 𝐏(𝐫)d^3𝐫}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{4\pi }{3}}{\displaystyle 𝐏(𝐫)\delta 𝐏(𝐫)d^3𝐫}.`$
Eq.(14) implies the Clausius-Mossotti local field Eq.(1).

Now suppose that the individual fluid molecules exhibit a mean electric dipole moment response to a local field as described by the polarizability $`\alpha `$ via

$$\overline{𝐩}=\alpha 𝐅.$$
(15)
The dipole moment per unit volume (corresponding to a volume $`v`$ per molecule of fluid) then reads

$$𝐏=\frac{\overline{𝐩}}{v}=\frac{\alpha 𝐅}{v}=\frac{\alpha }{v}\left(𝐄+\frac{4\pi }{3}𝐏\right).$$
(16)
Thus

$$𝐏=\chi 𝐄,$$
(17)
with a polarization susceptibility

$$\chi =\left(\frac{\alpha }{v(4\pi /3)\alpha }\right).$$
(18)
In terms of the dielectric constant $`\epsilon `$,

$$𝐃=𝐄+4\pi 𝐏=\epsilon 𝐄,$$
(19)
one finds the Clausius-Mossotti prediction

$$\epsilon =1+4\pi \chi =\left(\frac{v+(8\pi /3)\alpha }{v(4\pi /3)\alpha }\right).$$
(20)
All that is needed to calculate $`\epsilon `$ (in this model) is the polarizability $`\alpha `$ for an isolated molecule and the volume per molecule $`v`$ in the fluid.

## III Thermodynamic Stability

Landau and Lifshitz prove a non-trivial theorem in their treatise on the electrodynamics of continuous media. The theorem asserts that the dielectric constant of a material obeys the inequality

$$1<\epsilon <\mathrm{}(\mathrm{thermodynamic}\mathrm{stability}).$$
(21)
We note (in passing) that the magnetic analogue of the theorem (with $`𝐁=\stackrel{~}{\mu }𝐇`$) asserts only the weaker magnetic permeability inequality $`0<\stackrel{~}{\mu }<\mathrm{}`$. Thus, diamagnetism ($`0<\stackrel{~}{\mu }<1`$) can exist but diaelectricity ($`0<\epsilon <1`$) cannot exist. If one applies the thermodynamic stability criteria of the Landau-Lifshitz Eq.(21) to the Clausius-Mossotti Eq.(20), then it becomes apparent that the region of stability for the model may be described by the parameter

$`\eta `$ $`=`$ $`\left({\displaystyle \frac{4\pi \alpha }{3v}}\right),`$
$`\eta `$ $`<`$ $`1(\mathrm{thermodynamic}\mathrm{stability}).`$ (22)
Debye defines a polar molecule as one whose polarizability has a temperature dependence (in the dilute gas phase) of the form

$$\alpha =\alpha _0+\left(\frac{\mu ^2}{3k_BT}\right).$$
(23)
By plotting $`\alpha `$ as a function of inverse temperature one finds a linear slope yielding the magnitude of a “permanent” dipole moment

$$\mu =|𝐩|.$$
(24)
If the polarizability of a single molecule (say in the gas phase) exhibits an appreciable permanent dipole moment $`\mu `$, then the molecule is called polar. The water molecule $`H_2O`$ is an important example of a polar molecule. In the dilute gas phase, a water molecule exhibits a temperature dependent polarizability of the form in Eq.(23) with

$`\alpha _0(H_2O)`$ $``$ $`1.494\times 10^{24}cm^3,`$
$`\mu (H_2O)`$ $``$ $`1.855\times 10^{18}Gausscm^3.`$ (25)
For room temperature and atmospheric pressure, well known properties of water include

$`\alpha _{water}`$ $``$ $`28.696\AA ^3(\mathrm{Gas}\mathrm{Phase}),`$
$`v_{water}`$ $``$ $`30.014\AA ^3(\mathrm{Liquid}\mathrm{Phase}),`$ (26)
and

$$\eta _{water}=\left(\frac{4\pi \alpha _{water}}{3v_{water}}\right)4.0054>1(\mathrm{unstable}).$$
(27)
In TABLE 1 we have listed some liquids along with a computation of whether or not the conventional Clausius-Mossotti model yields a stable polarization disordered state.

Room temperature (and pressure) water is an important example of a substance which is in an unstable regime of the Clausius-Mossotti model. Many other polar liquids also tend to be in unstable regimes. In their studies of polar liquids, the well known physical chemists Onsager and (later) Kirkwood tried to improve on the Clausius-Mossotti theory in such a manner that the instability would be avoided. The attempts were not entirely successful.

More recently, there have been studies which assert that polar liquids (such as water) may be found in a “superradiant” state wherein ordered domains exist. We regard these more recent proposals as likely to be true. The superradiant ordered sub-domains of the liquid carry a net polarization $`𝐏_0`$. From the viewpoint of Clausius-Mossotti local fields, the polarized sub-domains should in reality be present. In deriving this result below, we shall neglect $`\alpha _0`$ in Eq.(23) compared with the thermal term, i.e. we employ the Langevin model form

$$\alpha _T=\left(\frac{\mu ^2}{3k_BT}\right)(\mathrm{Langevin}).$$
(28)
This is certainly a good approximation for water wherein $`\alpha _0(H_2O)<<\alpha _{water}\alpha _T`$. In what follows we shall also review how Eq.(28) is derived.

## IV Ordered Thermodynamic Phases

For a permanent dipole moment $`𝐩=\mu 𝐧`$ (where $`𝐧`$ is a unit vector), the partition function describing the interaction with the local field $`𝐅`$ is given by

$$Z=e^{𝐩𝐅/k_BT}\left(\frac{d^2𝐧}{4\pi }\right).$$
(29)
In Eq.(29), $`d^2𝐧`$ is a solid angle about the $`𝐧`$ direction. Explicitly,

$$Z=\frac{1}{2}_0^\pi e^{\mu F\mathrm{cos}\theta /k_BT}sin\theta 𝑑\theta ,$$
(30)
yielding a free energy per unit volume of

$$A=\frac{k_BT}{v}\mathrm{ln}Z=\frac{k_BT}{v}\mathrm{ln}\left[\frac{\mathrm{sinh}(\mu F/k_BT)}{(\mu F/k_BT)}\right].$$
(31)
The resulting polarization $`𝐏=(A/𝐅)_T`$ is parallel to $`𝐅`$ and has the magnitude originally derived by Langevin, i.e.

$$P=\frac{\mu }{v}\left[coth\left(\frac{\mu F}{k_BT}\right)\left(\frac{k_BT}{\mu F}\right)\right].$$
(32)
Note that

$$\frac{\alpha _T}{v}=\underset{F0}{lim}\left(\frac{P}{F}\right)_T=\left(\frac{\mu ^2}{3vk_BT}\right),$$
(33)
in agreement with Eq.(28).

From Eqs.(1) and (32) we may compute (in parametric form) the polarization equation of state as follows:

(i) Define the parameters

$`\eta `$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{4\pi \alpha _T}{3v}},x={\displaystyle \frac{\mu E}{k_BT}},`$
$`y`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\mu P}{\eta k_BT}},z={\displaystyle \frac{\mu F}{k_BT}}.`$ (34)
(ii) Eqs.(1) and (32) now read

$`x`$ $`=`$ $`z3\eta \left[\mathrm{coth}(z){\displaystyle \frac{1}{z}}\right],`$
$`y`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{9}{4\pi }}\left[\mathrm{coth}(z){\displaystyle \frac{1}{z}}\right].`$ (35)
(iii) By eliminating the parameter $`z`$ in Eqs.(35) one defines the function

$$y=(x,\eta )$$
(36)
and thereby the non-linear polarization equation of state

$$P=\frac{4\pi \mu }{9v}(\frac{\mu E}{k_BT},\frac{4\pi \mu ^2}{9vk_BT}).$$
(37)
The polarization is plotted in FIG. 1 for room temperature toluene (which is disordered) and water (which is ordered).

The polarization equation of state in the Langevin-Clausius-Mossotti model is of the typical “mean field” variety. There exists a critical temperature

$$T_c=\left(\frac{4\pi \mu ^2}{9k_Bv}\right).$$
(38)
Above the critical temperature, the susceptibility is positive,

$$\left(\frac{\epsilon _T1}{4\pi }\right)=\chi _T=\left(\frac{P}{E}\right)_T>0\mathrm{for}T>T_c,$$
(39)
in accordance with the Landau-Lifshitz Eq.(21). Below the critical temperature, there is an unphysical “$`\chi _T<0`$” portion of an equation of state loop which must be subject to an “equal area” construction to deduce the proper stable phase. There exists below the critical temperature a remnant polarization

$$P_0(T)=\underset{E0^+}{lim}P(E,T)>0\mathrm{for}T<T_c.$$
(40)
The parametric equations for the remnant polarization are given by

$`{\displaystyle \frac{T}{T_c}}={\displaystyle \frac{3}{z}}\left(coth(z){\displaystyle \frac{1}{z}}\right),`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{vP_0}{\mu }}=\left(coth(z){\displaystyle \frac{1}{z}}\right),`$ (41)
where the parameter range is $`0<z<\mathrm{}`$. The ordered phase of the Langevin-Clausius-Mossotti polar liquid is ferroelectric with a polarization pointing in a unit vector direction $`𝐧=(𝐏_0/P_0)`$. The magnitude of the remnant polarization is plotted in FIG. 2.

In this picture, water at room temperature contains ordered ferroelectric domains with a polarization pointing in the direction $`𝐧`$. From one domain to another, the direction $`𝐧`$ of the polarization is changing. The situation is shown schematically in FIG. 3. Inside of a domain, there is a residual local electric field $`𝐅_0`$ and polarization $`𝐏_0`$ related by

$$𝐅_0=\left(\frac{4\pi }{3}\right)𝐏_0.$$
(42)
The domain picture has many interesting features only one of which we shall discuss here. If one asks what will happen to a noble gas impurity (say Argon) when it is dissolved in water, then one concludes that the atom will be drawn inside the ordered domain. The effective potential on the atom is (roughly) a step function attracting the impurity into the ordered domain,

$$\mathrm{\Delta }U_{impurity}(𝐫)=\frac{1}{2}\alpha _{impurity}|𝐅_0(𝐫)|^2.$$
(43)
In FIG. 3 we show two of the domains with an impurity. The notion that an ordered domain is clustered around a dissolved noble gas atom (say argon) has consequences for the thermodynamic impurity equations of state. The impurity entropy has in fact been particularly well analyzed by Frank and Evans. Suppose that a dilute mixture of Argon in water is such that the vapor phase mixture is in thermal equilibrium with the dilute liquid mixture. An impurity atom in water vapor is in a disordered environment. The impurity atom in liquid water will be found in an ordered environment within a domain. Impurity entropy is then lost when the impurity atom moves from the vapor to the liquid. To use the words of Frank and Evans (describing this unexpected entropy loss) “the water builds a microscopic iceberg around the non-polar molecule”. There is no evidence that an ordered domain about a noble gas atom impurity is a piece of ice. The low entropy polarized domain predicted by the Langevin-Clausius-Mossotti model appears to explain the so called “iceberg effect”.

## V Conclusions

The Clausius-Mossotti model together with the elementary statistical thermodynamics of Debye and Langevin yields a ferroelectric phase transition for many polar liquids including water. The notion of ferroelectric domains within the a polar liquid with a net polarization $`𝐏_0`$ and internal electric field $`𝐅_0=(4\pi /3)𝐏_0`$ is clearly implicit in the model and can be derived above in a fairly simple and straight forward manner. The phase transition may be described using basic concepts from elementary physics.

Nevertheless, reasoning with classical electrodynamics and classical statistical thermodynamics yields only partial insights concerning the complete microscopic theory. A detailed theory involves quantum statistical mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. For example, why does a polar $`H_2O`$ molecule have a permanent electric dipole moment? If one starts by calculating the quantum ground state $`|0`$ of the molecule employing only the non-relativistic Coulomb Hamiltonian, then parity conservation requires the vanishing of the mean dipole moment $`\overline{𝐩}=0\left|𝐩\right|0=0`$. The notion of a permanent electric dipole moment requires a break in parity (space inversion) symmetry. Such a symmetry break can come about due to interactions with the quantum electrodynamic field. Similarly, the dipole-dipole interaction takes place (in the quantum electrodynamic theory) due to the exchange of virtual photons between two dipoles.

That the polarized domains have a net internal electric field $`𝐅_0`$, really means that the exchanged photons form a Bose condensate. The Bose condensate is also present in a model conventionally used to describe superradiance. In spite of the long time popularity of the Clausius-Mossotti model, it was only through a study of superradiance that the ordered domains were first theoretically discovered. It is hoped that the above simple Clausius-Mossotti model considerations serve to clarify the mechanism for ordering in some polar liquids.


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# Scintillation Caustics in Planetary Occultation Light Curves

## 1. Introduction

The occultation of background stellar sources by foreground solar system objects provides one of the well utilized probes of distant planetary atmospheres (for a review, see, Elliot & Olkin 1995). The light curve produced during such events allow one to extract detailed information related to the thermal structure of the atmosphere with spatial resolutions at the distance of the planet of order of a few kilometers. In recent years, increasingly sensitive instrumentation has allowed occultation observations with spatial accuracies not limited by instrumental effects, but rather by physical parameters associated with the occultation geometry—such as the distance, the relative velocity, and the projected size of the occulted star at the planet.

In Cooray et al. (1998), we presented results from an occultation by Saturn’s North-polar region of the star GSC5249-01240 on November 20, 1995, near the time of the solar-ring plane crossing of Saturn. This occultation was predicted by Bosh & McDonald (1992) to occur with the slowest relative velocity, 0.59 km sec-1, of their 203 predicted stellar occultations by Saturn between 1990 and 2000. The small projected diameter of the background star, $``$ 0.1 km, allowed sub-kilometer spatial resolution of the Saturn’s atmosphere.

The light curve of GSC5249-01240 obtained during the occultation at NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) in Mauna Kea, Hawaii showed an excessive number of high amplitude spikes in the light curve. In Cooray et al. (1998), we tentatively identified these large amplitude variations, of over 100% in some occasions, as due to diffractive scintillations. This suggestion was primarily based on the fact that the projected size of the star at the distance of Saturn, $``$ 0.1 km, was much smaller than the Fresnel scale associated with these observations, $``$ 0.7 km. As the light curve probes deeper in to the atmosphere, scintillation fluctuations observed in such cases are well described through a combination of weak and strong scintillation theories based on refraction alone (e.g., Narayan & Hubbard 1988). In the present occultation, due to the smaller size of the star when compared to the Fresnel scale, we entered a regime for the first time where potentially new and interesting signatures may be observed.

We recommend the reader to Cooray et al. (1998) for observational details. There, we also present an analysis based on the temperature structure of Saturn’s North polar region. Here, we study the light curve under the context of scintillation theories based on both diffraction and refraction and discuss the power spectrum of intensity fluctuations as well as individual high amplitude spikes. We show that the light curve contains scintillation caustics involving multiply imaged events; the presence of caustics in our light curve agrees with theoretical predictions made previously by Goodman et al. (1987) with regards to caustics in pulsar light curves due to interstellar scintillation. Similarly, while not recognized as such, the same caustics events have also been predicted by French & Lovelace (1983) due to ray crossing situations associated with density fluctuations generated by gravity waves. Our light curve probably provides the best evidence for caustics — whatever their cause.

## 2. Scintillation Caustics

The application of scintillations to stellar occultation light curves, either due to turbulence or coherent gravity waves, has been widely discussed in the literature (e.g., Young 1976; French & Lovelace 1983; Hubbard & Narayan 1998). In general, scintillation processes are expected from fluctuations in the underlying density field, or more appropriately the refractivity in the case of stellar occultation light curves, with a power-law spectrum of the form:

$`Q(\stackrel{}{k})`$ $`=`$ $`Q_0\left[k^2+k_{\mathrm{out}}^2\right]^{\beta /2}\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{k^2}{2k_c^2}}\right)`$ (1)
$``$ $`k^\beta k_{\mathrm{out}}<k<k_c,`$
where $`k`$ is the spatial wave-number and $`k_{\mathrm{out}}`$ and $`k_c`$ are outer and inner cut-off scales of the fluctuation power spectrum. In the case of an exponential atmosphere, the outer cut-off scale is related to the atmospheric scale height, $`H`$ (French & Lovelace 1983).

Between the two cut-off scales, the usual assumption of a power law in density fluctuations leads to two separate and well known regimes of scintillations involving refraction and diffraction. If the power density spectrum has an inner scale cut off between the refractive and diffractive regimes, Goodman et al. (1987) showed that there is excess power at the same intermediate regime due to caustic events. In the case of stellar occultations, these caustics can be associated with ray-crossing situations, either due to turbulence or gravity waves (French & Lovelace 1983). The flux power spectrum in the presence of caustics can be broken to three regimes, refractive, intermediate, and diffractive with

$`k^2P(k)=`$
$`\{\begin{array}{cc}Q_0r_F^\alpha (kr_F)^{4\alpha }\mathrm{exp}\left[\frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{k}{k_{\mathrm{ref}}}\right)^2\right]k<k_{\mathrm{cref}}\hfill & \\ \frac{\pi }{\sqrt{2}\alpha (2\alpha )|A|}(r_c/r_F)^{4\alpha }k_{\mathrm{cref}}<k<k_{\mathrm{cdif}}\hfill & \\ \frac{\pi }{\alpha |A|}(r_c/r_F)^{2\alpha }(kr_F)^2\mathrm{exp}\left[\frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{k}{k_{\mathrm{dif}}}\right)^2\right]k>k_{\mathrm{cdif}},\hfill & \end{array}`$ (5)
respectively, where $`\alpha =\beta 2`$. Following Goodman & Narayan (1985), we write

$$A=\frac{\mathrm{\Gamma }[(4\alpha )/2]}{2^\alpha \pi \alpha (\alpha 2)\mathrm{\Gamma }[(\alpha +2)/2]}Q_0r_F^\alpha .$$
(6)
The various length scales involved in Eq. 2 are (1) the Fresnel scale, $`r_F=(\lambda d/2\pi )^{1/2}`$, when wavelength of observations is $`\lambda `$ and distance to the scattering screen is $`d`$, (2) the refractive scale, $`r_{\mathrm{ref}}=\theta d`$, when the scatter-broadened image size is $`\theta `$ (Eq. 2.10 of Narayan & Hubbard 1988), (3) the diffractive scale, $`r_{\mathrm{dif}}=r_F^2/r_{\mathrm{ref}}`$, that determines the fringe separation, (4) the inner cut off scale of density fluctuations, $`r_c=2\pi /k_c`$, (5) the cut off scale of refractive scintillations, $`r_{\mathrm{cref}}=r_{\mathrm{ref}}`$ if $`\beta <4`$ or $`r_{\mathrm{cref}}=r_{\mathrm{ref}}(r_c/r_{\mathrm{ref}})^{(\beta 4)/2}`$, if $`\beta >4`$, and, finally, (6) the cut off scale associated with diffractive scintillations, $`r_{\mathrm{cdif}}=r_F^2/r_c`$. These length scales are inter-related such that $`r_{\mathrm{ref}}r_{\mathrm{dif}}=r_cr_{\mathrm{cdif}}=r_F^2`$. Here, length scales, $`r`$, are related to wave numbers via $`k=2\pi /r`$. In the case of stellar occultations, note that the Fresnel scale decreases as one probes deep in to the atmosphere.

In the presence of an inner-scale cutoff, which lies between the refractive and diffractive scales, $`k_{\mathrm{cref}}<k_c<k_{\mathrm{cdif}}`$, one expects the power spectrum of intensity fluctuations, $`P(k)`$, to scale as $`k^2`$ in the same intermediate regime between diffractive and refractive scintillations. The presence of refractive scintillations requires that the outer cut off scale satisfy the condition $`r_{\mathrm{out}}r_{\mathrm{ref}}`$ (Goodman et al. 1987).

In Fig. 1, we show the light curve of GSC5249-01240 during the occultation by Saturn. The existence of high amplitude spikes are clearly visible. The relevant parameters for the GSC5249-01240 event are: relative velocity, $`v_{}=0.586`$ km sec-1, distance to Saturn, $`d=9.194`$ AU, wavelength, $`\lambda =2.28`$ $`\mu `$m, and integration time, $`t_{\mathrm{int}}=0.947`$ sec. The Fresnel scale is $``$ 0.71 km while the resolution of the light curve is $``$ 0.55 km. Based on the spectrum of the star, the projected radius of the star at the distance of Saturn was determined to be of order 0.1 km. For the rest of the discussion, we renormalize the light curve based on model fits presented in Cooray et al. (1998) and remove the variation in mean flux and only consider fluctuations with respect to this mean.

The power spectrum of intensity fluctuations, $`P(k)`$, is presented in Fig. 2 where we plot $`k^2P(k)`$, which represents equal weighing in logarithmic wavenumber intervals. In general, this power spectrum is expected to show two distinct peaks associated with refractive and diffractive scintillations (see, for e.g., Fig. 3 of Goodman et al. 1987). The data clearly show the existence of the first peak associated with refractive scintillations. In the presence of an inner-scale cut off to the underlying density field fluctuations, we expect excess power beyond the refractive peak and a flattening of power at large wave numbers. We see an evidence for such an increase in power and flattening as shown in the bottom plot of Fig. 2. Here, we have focused on only the large wave number regime that is of interest.

The two solid and dashed curves show fits to the power spectrum under the assumption of $`\beta =11/3`$, a Kolmogorov type spectrum, and $`\beta =4`$ in Eq. 2. With the slope fixed, the model fitting involves two unknown free parameters related to $`Q_0`$ and $`k_{\mathrm{ref}}`$. In order not to bias model fitting with respect to the excess, we make use of the power spectrum only out to wave numbers less than 3 km-1; While we can obtain a fit to the whole power spectrum, we, however, cannot explain the apparent flattening of power beyond the turnover at wave numbers greater than $``$ 4.5 km-1. Note that the flattening cannot be ascribed to simply noise in the power spectrum; white noise fluctuations will lead to scale independent power with $`P(k)`$ constant such that in a $`k^2P(k)`$ plot, one would see a sharp rise.

Using fits to the power spectrum based on theoretical expectations, following Eq. 2, we determined that for a $`\beta =11/3`$ power law, $`r_{\mathrm{ref}}=r_{\mathrm{cref}}=5.7\pm 1.2`$ km, and $`Q_0=380\pm 130`$, at the one-sigma confidence level. For a $`\beta =4`$ power law, these numbers are $`5.2\pm 1.1`$ km and $`370\pm 140`$ respectively. The errors in fitted parameters are estimated by allowing the normalized light curve to vary randomly up to $`\pm `$ 5%; this accounts, rather conservatively, relative photometric errors and any potential uncertainties associated with the light curve. Our discussion is not subject to absolute calibration uncertainties, as we are only interested in relative changes. The associated diffraction scale is $`r_{\mathrm{dif}}0.09`$ km or $`k_{\mathrm{dif}}70`$ km-1; we do not probe such small length scales, suggesting that we have not observed regular diffractive scintillations in the present data.

We can determine the inner cut-off scale by comparing the amplitude of flattening to that of the refractive peak in the power spectrum. For the $`\beta =11/3`$ and 4 power-laws, we determine this cut off to be at $`r_c4.0\pm 1.5`$ km and 4.4 $`\pm 1.6`$ km, respectively. The caustic regime extends from the cut off scale associated with refraction, $`r_{\mathrm{cref}}`$ 6 km, to the cut off scale associated with diffraction, $`r_{\mathrm{cdif}}0.12`$ km. Following Goodman et al. (1987), the expected flux variations associated with caustic events are given by $`(\mathrm{\Delta }F/F)^22(r_c/r_{\mathrm{ref}})^2\mathrm{ln}(r_cr_{\mathrm{ref}}/r_F^2)`$. Based on derived values, we find $`(\mathrm{\Delta }F/F)1.9`$ which is consistent, though some what higher than, the observed amplitudes of spikes in the light curve.

The presence of caustics can also be verified by inspecting the intensity profile of individual events. In general, individual caustics are expected to show the $`1/\sqrt{d}`$ behavior in the flux variation with distance, $`d`$, as the source moves away from the critical line. In the case of stellar occultation light curves, such a distance dependence is expected in the observer plane such that the intensity varies as $`I(d)=I_0+\mathrm{\Theta }(d)a_0d^{1/2}`$, where $`\mathrm{\Theta }(d)`$ is the step function, $`a_0`$ is the caustic strength, and $`I_00`$ is the background flux. This intensity dependence, at Saturn, can be written using the fact that the mapping between the source and observer plane involves $`d=r_{\mathrm{cref}}(x/r_c)^2`$ and $`a_0r_c^2/r_{\mathrm{cref}}^{3/2}`$ (Goodman et al. 1987), where $`x`$ is measured distance in the scatterer plane. This leads to an intensity decrease for high amplitude spikes as $`I(x)A_0/x`$, where $`A_0r_c^3/r_{\mathrm{cref}}^21.9`$. In addition to this one-sided drop in flux, caustics are also expected to show the presence of diffraction with an oscillatory pattern superimposed on the intensity variation.

In Fig. 3, we summarize our model descriptions of individual high amplitude spikes. While the expected width of the caustic is a priori known, $`(r_{\mathrm{ref}}r_F^4/r_c^2)^{1/3}`$ (Goodman et al. 1987), we have allowed for smoothing with a Gaussian profile, $`\mathrm{exp}(x^2/2\sigma ^2)`$, and treated the width as an unknown parameter. Individual caustic curve model fits to spikes are determined by three parameters: the caustic strength $`A_0`$, smoothing width, and the oscillation spacing due to diffraction. From fits to six spikes, we determine $`A_0=1.8\pm 0.4`$, consistent with the expectation value based on parameters derived from the power spectrum analysis. The smoothing width, $`\sigma `$, is determined to be of order $`0.5\pm 0.2`$ km and is consistent with the expected width of order 0.45 km. Note that the caustic width is higher than the size of the star, $`0.1`$ km, based on its spectrum; While Goodman et al. (1997) considered the case of a background point source, in our case with the finite size for the star, the final caustic width is likely to be smoothed by the projected star size at the distance of Saturn.

Note that caustic spikes appear in pairs in the light curve; such a pairing may lead one to conclude the possibility that the occultation, in fact, involves a binary instead of a single star, as was observed in the occultation of $`\beta `$-Scorpii by Jupiter (Elliot et al. 1976). There is one observation that rules out this possibility; in our spikes, we see the alternating right- and left-handed behavior associated with the one-sided decrease in flux. This is naturally associated with caustics.

Before discussing our main results, we note that previous studies on refractive scintillations in occultation light curves have shown evidence for anisotropy in underlying fluctuations such that in Eq. 1, $`k^2=\rho ^2k_x^2+k_y^2`$ with $`\rho >1`$ (Narayan & Hubbard 1988). While for the present discussion we ignored the presence of an anisotropic medium, we plan to address this issue as part of a detailed analysis of several light curves of the same occultation event obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope.

## 3. Discussion

Among the two processes for strong scintillation, refractive scintillations have been considered in the past as a source of fluctuations in the stellar occultation light curves associated with giant planet atmospheres. The second, diffractive scintillations, was not expected to contribute to intensity fluctuations given the required high resolution to see its effects and the small stellar size required not to average out the diffractive pattern (e.g., Narayan & Hubbard 1988). In the case of the occultation of GSC5249-01240 by Saturn, the projected size of the star was smaller than the Fresnel scale and the relative velocity during the event was of order 0.5 km sec-1. This, in combination, allowed sub-km spatial resolution.

The light curve contains distinct signatures of sharp and high amplitude spikes; such a high number of them has not been observed previously. While we explored the regime below refractive scintillations, the presence of diffractive scintillations require spatial resolutions less than $`0.1`$ km, below what we have probed. The diffractive scintillations are expected to produce flux variations of order 100% at regular intervals. In our case, we see high amplitude spikes at irregular intervals with normalized fluxes well over unity suggesting that the observed phenomenon is not typical.

The spikes, however, can be described through caustics whose presence require an inner cut off to fluctuations in the underlying density power spectrum (Goodman et al. 1987). Such a cut off may also be responsible for ray crossing one needs for the formation of caustics (French & Lovelace 1983). Following the notation of French & Lovelace (1983), the present light curve has an intensity fluctuation strength, $`A`$, of 14 and a normalized star size of $`d_{}=0.05r_F`$. The strength of intensity fluctuations suggests fractional fluctuations in the refractivity, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\nu /\overline{\nu }`$, of order $`4\times 10^3`$. If underlying fluctuations are due to gravitational waves, under geometrical arguments, ray crossing is expected when vertical wavelengths are less than $`2\pi H/(\mathrm{\Delta }\nu /\overline{\nu })^{2/3}H/6`$ or 7 km since $`H40`$ km (Cooray et al. 1998) for this region of the atmosphere. This value is the constraint when only a single wave is present in the atmosphere. The case with a spectrum of waves is analogous to that described by Goodman et al. (1987) involving turbulence.

The presence of caustics is aided by several observations that involve the detection of excess power in the power spectrum of intensity fluctuations and the expected flattening of the same power spectrum in the intermediate regime between refractive and diffractive scintillations. The intensity variation in individual spikes is also well described through the caustic description with a modulation due to diffraction. The parameters from the power spectrum are consistent with model descriptions to the spikes aiding the suggestion for the presence of caustics. While we have not investigated in detail, we may have found occasional examples of caustic spikes in previous occultation light curves, such as the “camel” spike of Elliot & Veverka (1976). These, however, do not contain the signature of diffraction fringes as observed in the present occultation.

From our data, we determined the inner scale cut off of the underlying density fluctuation power spectrum to be around 4.5 km. The density fluctuations are generally considered to be caused by processes involving either turbulence or gravity waves (e.g. Elliot & Veverka 1976; Young 1976; French & Lovelace 1983; Narayan & Hubbard 1988). It is likely that the cut off may be associated with viscous dissipation of wave energy. In Cooray et al. (1998), we found an increase in temperature of $``$ 15 K between $``$ 10 and 1 $`\mu `$ bar of the region probed by this occultation. Using our cut off scale and parameters appropriate for this occultation, we extend the calculation by Roques et al. (1994) on heating by wave decay to estimate an energy transfer rate of $`10^7`$ ergs cm-3 s-1.

The detection of caustics and, for the first time, diffraction fringes in an occultation light curve suggest that we entered a regime which was previously unexplored and unexpected to be present in occultation light curves. We believe that it was a combination of the small velocity, high sampling rate, and the small projected size of the occulted star that allowed us to probe the intermediate regime between refractive and diffractive scintillations for the first time. We suggest events with such favorable conditions be given additional priority for observation.

Acknowledgments: We thank R. Blandford, P. Goldreich, D. Holz, L. Koopmans, and R. Sari for useful discussions and helpful suggestions. We acknowledge support from DOE DE-FG03-92-ER40701 and the Sherman Fairchild Foundation (at Caltech) and NASA Grant NAG5-10444 and NSF AST-0073447 (at MIT).


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# Generalized Schrodinger equation and constructions of quantum field theory

## 1. Derivation of the generalized Schrodinger equation

Consider the action functional of the form

(1)
$$J=_DF(x^0,\mathrm{},x^n,z^1,\mathrm{},z^m,z_{x^0}^1,\mathrm{},z_{x^n}^m)𝑑x^0\mathrm{}𝑑x^n.$$

Here $`x^0,\mathrm{},x^n`$ are the independent variables, $`z^1,\mathrm{},z^m`$ are the dependent variables, $`z_{x^j}^i=\frac{z^i}{x^j}`$, and integration goes over an $`(n+1)`$-dimensional surface $`D`$ in $`^{m+n+1}`$ (the graph of the functions $`z^i(x)`$) with the boundary $`D`$. Suppose that for each $`n`$-dimensional surface $`C`$ in $`^{m+n+1}`$ given by the equations

(2)
$$x^j=x^j(s^1,\mathrm{},s^n),z^i=z^i(s^1,\mathrm{},s^n)$$

and sufficiently close to a fixed $`n`$-dimensional surface, there exists a unique $`(n+1)`$-dimensional surface $`D`$ with the boundary $`D=C`$ which is an extremal of the variational problem, i.e., the graph of a solution $`z(x)`$ to the Euler–Lagrange equations. Denote by $`S(C)`$ the integral (1) over the surface $`D`$. Then one has the following well known formula for the variation of the functional $`S`$:

(3)
$$\delta S=_C\left(p^i\delta z^iH^j\delta x^j\right)𝑑s^1\mathrm{}𝑑s^n,$$

or

(4) $`{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S}{\delta z^i(s)}}`$ $`=p^i(s),`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S}{\delta x^j(s)}}`$ $`=H^j(s),`$
where

(5) $`p^i`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{l}{}}(1)^lF_{z_{x^l}^i}{\displaystyle \frac{(x^0,\mathrm{},\widehat{x^l},\mathrm{},x^n)}{(s^1,\mathrm{},s^n)}},`$
$`H^j`$ $`={\displaystyle \underset{lj}{}}(1)^lF_{z_{x^l}^i}z_{x^j}^i{\displaystyle \frac{(x^0,\mathrm{},\widehat{x^l},\mathrm{},x^n)}{(s^1,\mathrm{},s^n)}}`$
$`+(1)^j(F_{z_{x^j}^i}z_{x^j}^iF){\displaystyle \frac{(x^0,\mathrm{},\widehat{x^j},\mathrm{},x^n)}{(s^1,\mathrm{},s^n)}}.`$
Here $`\frac{(x^1,\mathrm{},x^n)}{(s^1,\mathrm{},s^n)}=\left|\frac{x^j}{s^i}\right|`$ is the Jacobian; the cap over a variable means that the variable is omitted; and the summation sign over the index $`i`$ repeated twice is omitted.

The quantities $`p^i`$ and $`H^j`$ satisfy the relations

(6)
$$p^iz_{s^k}^iH^jx_{s^k}^j=0,k=1,\mathrm{},n,$$

and one more relation which we denote by

(7)
$$(x^j(s),z^i(s),x_{s^k}^j,z_{s^k}^i,p^i(s),H^j(s))=0.$$

From these relations one can express (in general) the quantities $`H^j`$ as functions of $`p^i`$:

(8)
$$H^j=H^j(x^l,z^i,x_{s^k}^l,z_{s^k}^i,p^i),j=0,\mathrm{},n.$$

Substituting (4) into (6,7) or into (8), one obtains the generalized Hamilton–Jacobi equations:

(9) $`{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S}{\delta z^i(s)}}z_{s^k}^i+{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S}{\delta x^j(s)}}x_{s^k}^j=0,k=1,\mathrm{},n,`$
$``$ $`(x^j,z^i,x_{s^k}^j,z_{s^k}^i,{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S}{\delta z^i(s)}},{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S}{\delta x^j(s)}})=0,`$
or

(10)
$$\frac{\delta S}{\delta x^j(s)}+H^j(x^l,z^i,x_{s^k}^l,z_{s^k}^i,\frac{\delta S}{\delta z^i(s)})=0,j=0,\mathrm{},n.$$

The first $`n`$ equations in the system (9) correspond to the fact that the functional $`S(C)`$ is independent on the parameterization of the surface $`C`$. For a theory of the generalized Hamilton–Jacobi equations, see  or .

Assume that functions (8) are polynomials in the variables $`p^i`$. Let us make the following substitution in the generalized Hamilton–Jacobi equations:

(11) $`{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S}{\delta x^j(s)}}ih{\displaystyle \frac{\delta }{\delta x^j(s)}},`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S}{\delta z^i^{}(s)}}=p^i^{}ih{\displaystyle \frac{\delta }{\delta z^i^{}(s)}}.`$
Here $`i`$ is the imaginary unit, $`h`$ is a very small constant (the Plank constant). We obtain the system of linear variational differential equations which can be naturally called the generalized Schrodinger equations:

(12)
$$ih\frac{\delta \mathrm{\Psi }}{\delta x^j(s)}+H^j(x^l,z^i^{},x_{s^k}^l,z_{s^k}^i^{},ih\frac{\delta }{\delta z^i^{}(s)})\mathrm{\Psi }=0,j=0,\mathrm{},n,$$

or

(13) $`{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \mathrm{\Psi }}{\delta z^i^{}(s)}}z_{s^k}^i^{}+{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \mathrm{\Psi }}{\delta x^j(s)}}x_{s^k}^j=0,k=1,\mathrm{},n,`$
$``$ $`(x^j,z^i^{},x_{s^k}^j,z_{s^k}^i^{},ih{\displaystyle \frac{\delta }{\delta z^i^{}(s)}},ih{\displaystyle \frac{\delta }{\delta x^j(s)}})\mathrm{\Psi }=0`$
provided that the left-hand side of equation (7) is also a polynomial in $`p^i`$ and $`H^j`$. Here $`\mathrm{\Psi }=\mathrm{\Psi }(C)`$ is the unknown complex-valued functional of the surface $`C`$ (2). The first $`n`$ equations in the system (13) mean that the value $`\mathrm{\Psi }(C)`$ is independent on the parameterization of the surface $`C`$.

## 2. Comparison with quantum field theory

Since the value $`\mathrm{\Psi }(C)`$ is independent of the parameterization of the surface $`C`$, we can choose a particular parameterization. Put $`s^1=x^1,\mathrm{},s^n=x^n`$. The generalized Schrodinger equation becomes a single equation, which we choose to be the first equation from the system (12) corresponding to $`j=0`$. This equation can be easily computed from (5):

(14)
$$ih\frac{\delta \mathrm{\Psi }}{\delta x^0(𝐱)}+H(x^0(𝐱),𝐱,z^i(𝐱),\frac{x^0}{𝐱},\frac{z^i}{𝐱},ih\frac{\delta }{\delta z^i(𝐱)})\mathrm{\Psi }=0,$$

where $`𝐱=(x^1,\mathrm{},x^n)`$, $`\frac{z^i}{𝐱}=(\frac{z^i}{x^1},\mathrm{},\frac{z^i}{x^n})`$, and

(15) $`H`$ $`=H(x^0,𝐱,z^i,{\displaystyle \frac{x^0}{𝐱}},{\displaystyle \frac{z^i}{𝐱}},p^i)={\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}p^iz_{x^0}^iF(x^0,𝐱,z^i,z_{x^0}^i,z_{x^j}^i),`$
$`z_{x^j}^i`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{z^i}{x^j}}z_{x^0}^i{\displaystyle \frac{x^0}{x^j}},j=1,\mathrm{},n,`$
$`p^i`$ $`=F_{z_{x^0}^i}{\displaystyle \underset{j=1}{\overset{n}{}}}F_{z_{x^j}^i}{\displaystyle \frac{x^0}{x^j}}={\displaystyle \frac{F}{z_{x^0}^i}}.`$
That is, $`H`$ is the Legendre transform of the Lagrangian $`F`$ with respect to the variables $`z_{x^0}^i`$. Equation (14) looks approximately like the Tomonaga–Schwinger equation , with three differences: a) it has a mathematical sense, unlike the Tomonaga–Schwinger equation ; b) instead of Hilbert space of states, we have the space of functionals of functions $`z^i(𝐱)`$ for any spacelike surface $`x^0=x^0(𝐱)`$; c) there are no normal orderings. Given any functional $`\mathrm{\Psi }_0(z^i(𝐱))`$ for a fixed spacelike surface $`x^0=x^0(𝐱)`$, equation (14) describes the evolution of the functional $`\mathrm{\Psi }_0`$ as the spacelike surface varies. We conjecture that equation (14) is integrable, i.e., the result of evolution exists (for conventional Lagrangians) and depends only on the initial and final spacelike surfaces and not on the concrete way of evolution of the surface.

The following definition is motivated in part by the geometric picture of excitations propagating along surfaces from .

Definition. Assume we are given: 1) two spacelike surfaces $`𝒞_0`$: $`x^0=x^0(𝐱)`$ and $`𝒞_1`$ bounding a domain $`𝒟`$ in $`^{n+1}`$; 2) a functional $`\mathrm{\Psi }_0(z^i(𝐱))`$ on the space of functions $`z^i(𝐱)`$ on the first surface $`𝒞_0`$; and 3) functions $`z^i=z_1^i(𝐱)`$ on the second surface $`𝒞_1`$. Then a mathematical version of the Feynman integral

(16)
$$e^{\frac{i_𝒟F𝑑x}{h}}\mathrm{\Psi }_0(z^i(x^0(𝐱),𝐱))Dz^i(x),$$

taken over all functions $`z^i(x)`$ on the closed domain $`𝒟`$ whose restriction to the second boundary surface $`𝒞_1`$ coincides with the given functions $`z_1^i`$ (and restriction to $`𝒞_0`$ is arbitrary), is defined as follows. Take the functional $`\mathrm{\Psi }_0`$ as the initial value corresponding to the first surface $`𝒞_0`$, and consider the evolution of this functional given by the generalized Schrodinger equation (14). We obtain a functional $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ of a spacelike surface and of functions $`z^i`$ on it. Take the value of this functional at the surface $`𝒞_1`$ and the functions $`z_1^i`$. This is the desired Feynman integral.

Considering evolution of flat spacelike surfaces $`x^0(𝐱)=const=t`$, we arrive at the evolution equation for a functional $`\mathrm{\Psi }(t,z^i(𝐱))`$:

(17)
$$ih\frac{\mathrm{\Psi }}{t}=H(t,𝐱,z^i(𝐱),\frac{z^i}{𝐱},ih\frac{\delta }{\delta z^i(𝐱)})\mathrm{\Psi }d^n𝐱.$$

This equation differs from the usual quantum field theory Schrodinger equation by absence of normal orderings; but it has a mathematical sense.

It is natural to ask whether the operator of evolution of the functional $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ from $`t=\mathrm{}`$ to $`t=\mathrm{}`$ described by equation (17) exists for conventional Lagrangians of quantum field theory.


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# A High Angular Resolution View of Hot Gas in Clusters, Groups, and Galaxies – Mergers, Mixing, and Bubbling

## 1. Cluster Evolution and Mergers

The most popular view of the formation of clusters, the largest gravitationally collapsed systems in the Universe, is that they form hierarchically from smaller mass systems at the nodes of large scale filaments. At the present epoch, matter continues to accrete onto clusters preferentially along the large scale filaments. X-ray observations of present epoch clusters, combined with optical studies, show both the large scale merging process as well as provide new insights into the detailed physics as merger remnants traverse cluster cores.

### 1.1. Filamentary Structures and Cluster Formation

A85 shows the effects of filamentary structure on the appearance of the cluster. In a remarkable ROSAT observation (Durret et al. 1998), a large scale X-ray filament was detected extending from a merging subcluster (South Blob) towards the southeast (see Fig. 1a) at a position angle of $`160^{}`$ (measured from north, counterclockwise). The major axis of the central cD galaxy, the distribution of bright cluster galaxies, the X-ray filament and nearby groups and clusters all show a common orientation at this same $`160^{}`$ angle over linear scales extending from 100 kpc (the outer isophotes of the central cD galaxy) to 25 Mpc, the alignment of nearby clusters (Durret et al. 1998). Such common alignments over a wide range of scales are expected if clusters form through accretion of matter from filaments and the accretion direction remains fixed over significantly long fractions of the age of the Universe (e.g., Van Haarlem & Van de Weygaert 1993). Recent XMM-Newton observations of A85 detect X-ray emission from the inner region of the filament extending from the southern clump ($`10^{}`$ south of the X-ray peak; see Fig. 1b) for about $`15^{}`$ to the southeast (Durret et al. 2003; see Kempner et al. 2002 for a discussion of the Chandra observation of the South Blob).

A second example of a cluster that clearly shows the importance of the surrounding filamentary structure is A1367. As shown by West & Blakeslee (2000), A1367 lies at the intersection of two filaments – the first extending roughly 100 Mpc from A1367 towards Virgo and the second extending between A1367 and Coma. The X-ray structure of A1367 as seen in the XMM-Newton observation in Fig. 2a and 2b shows effects from both these filaments with cool gas streaming into the cluster core from the direction of Coma to the northeast and a merger underway along the axis towards Virgo along the northwest–southeast axis (Forman et al. 2003a; see additional details on A1367 in the contribution by M. Sun in these proceedings).

A85 and A1367 contrast the effects of accretion. For A85, matter is accreting from a filament into a well-developed “cooling flow” cluster with a low entropy core centered on a cD galaxy. For A1367, we see accreting gas penetrating directly into the core of a less relaxed cluster.

### 1.2. Cold Fronts

The study of “cold fronts”, contact discontinuities between cooler and hotter gas, began with the launch of Chandra (Markevitch et al. 2000; Vikhlinin et al. 2001a, b). A particularly revealing example of a cold front is seen in the Chandra observation of the Fornax cluster (Dosaj et al. 2002). In Fig. 3a, we see gas bound to the infalling bright elliptical galaxy NGC1404 as it approaches the cluster center (to the northwest). The image clearly shows the sharp edge of the surface brightness discontinuity, shaped by the ram pressure of the Fornax cluster gas. The temperature map (Fig. 3b) confirms that the infalling cloud is cold compared to the surrounding Fornax ICM.

Cold fronts provide a unique opportunity to explore cluster physics. In a study of A3667, Vikhlinin et al. (2001a, b) derived the ram pressure of the ICM on the moving cold front from the gas density and gas temperature. In turn, the ram pressure yielded a measurement of the cold front velocity. The factor of two difference in pressures between the free streaming region and the region immediately inside the cold front implied a cloud velocity of $`1430\pm 290`$ km s-1 (Mach $`1\pm 0.2`$). In addition, Vikhlinin et al. (2001b) showed that the “edge” of the cold front in A3667 is very sharp – the width of the front was less than $`3.5^{\prime \prime }`$ (5 kpc). This sharp edge requires that transport processes across the edge be suppressed, presumably by magnetic fields. Without such suppression, the density discontinuity at the “edge” would be broader since the relevant Coulomb mean free path for electrons is several times the width of the cold front. Furthermore, Vikhlinin et al. observed that the cold front appears sharp only over a sector of about $`\pm 30^{}`$ centered on the direction of motion, while at larger angles, the sharp boundary disappears. The disappearance can be explained by the onset of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, as the ambient ICM gas flows past the moving cold front. To suppress the instability over the inner $`\pm 30^{}`$ requires a magnetic field parallel to the boundary with a strength of $`716\mu `$G (Vikhlinin et al. 2001b).

### 1.3. A Classic Supersonic Merger - 1E0657

1E0657 ($`z=0.296`$) was discovered by Tucker et al. (1995) as part of a search for “failed” clusters, clusters that were X-ray bright but had few, if any, optical galaxies. The cluster temperature, as measured from ASCA observations, was found to be remarkably high, about 17 keV, making it the hottest cluster known (Tucker et al. 1998).

The Chandra image of 1E0657 shows the classic properties of a supersonic merger (see Markevitch et al. 2002a for a detailed discussion). The image shows a dense (cold) core moving to the west after having traversed, and disrupted, the core of the main cluster. Leading the cold, dense core is a density discontinuity that appears as a shock front (Mach cone). The shock is confirmed by the spectral data since the gas to the east (trailing the shock) is hotter than that in front of the discontinuity, unlike the cold fronts discussed above (or the western boundary of the bullet which also is a cold front). The detailed gas density parameters confirm that the “bullet” is moving to the west with a velocity of 3000–4000 km sec-1, approximately 2-3 times the sound speed of the ambient gas. 1E0657 is the first, and so far the only, clear example of a relatively strong shock arising from cluster mergers.

## 2. Interaction between Hot Gas in Galaxies, Groups, and Clusters with Energy Produced by AGN Accretion

With the greatly increased observing capabilities provided by Chandra and XMM-Newton, the complexity of the phenomena exhibited by hot gas in early type galaxies, groups and clusters seen in X-rays has grown. Not only do we see the effects of merging, but also we see the detailed effects on the hot gaseous atmospheres of the liberation of accretion energy as relativistic plasmas are expelled from AGN.

One of the first, and clearest, examples of the effect of plasma bubbles on the hot intracluster medium was found in the Perseus cluster around the bright active, central galaxy NGC1275 (3C84). First studied in ROSAT images (Bohringer et al. 1993), the radio emitting cavities to the north and south of NGC1275 are clearly seen in the Chandra images with bright X-ray emitting rims surrounding the cavities that coincide with the inner radio lobes (Fabian et al. 2000). For NGC1275/Perseus, the radio lobes are in approximate pressure equilibrium with the ambient, denser and cooler gas and the bright X-ray rims surrounding the cavities are cooler than the ambient gas. The central galaxy in the Hydra A cluster also harbors X-ray cavities associated with radio lobes that also show no evidence for shock heating (McNamara et al. 2000). Both sets of radio bubbles, being of lower density than the ambient gas, must be buoyant.

The Chandra images of Perseus/NGC1275 also suggest the presence of older bubbles produced by earlier outbursts (Fabian et al. 2000). These older bubbles appear as X-ray surface brightness “holes”, but unlike the inner bubbles, these outer holes show no detectable radio emission, suggesting that the synchrotron emitting electrons may have decayed away leaving a heated, plasma bubble (see Fabian et al. 2002a who reported low frequency radio spurs extending towards the outer bubbles in NGC1275, consistent with this scenario). Such bubbles, with no attendant radio emission, are seen by Chandra in the galaxy groups HCG62 and MKW3s (Vrtilek et al. 2001; Mazzotta et al. 2002).

In addition to bubbles associated with central dominant cluster galaxies, bubbles and their effects also are seen in more typical early type galaxies. For example, in the E1 galaxy M84 (NGC4374), Chandra observed an unusual X-ray morphology which is explained by the effect of the radio lobes on the hot gas (Finoguenov & Jones 2001). The X-ray emission appears $``$-shaped, with a bar extending east-west with two nearly parallel filaments perpendicular to this bar. The complex X-ray surface brightness distribution arises from the presence of two radio lobes (approximately north and south of the galaxy) that produce two low density regions surrounded by higher density X-ray filaments. As with Perseus/NGC1275 and Hydra A, the filaments, defining the $``$-shaped emission, have gas temperatures comparable to the gas in the central and outer regions of the galaxy and hence argue against any strong shock heating of the galaxy atmosphere by the radio plasma.

Although the bubbles are not driving shocks into the surrounding gas, they still can provide significant energy input. One particularly well-studied system combining complex X-ray and radio emission is M87, at the center of the Virgo cluster. The 327 MHz high resolution, high dynamic range radio map of M87 (see Fig. 4a) shows a well-defined torus-like eastern bubble and a less well-defined western bubble, both of which are connected to the central emission by a column, and two very faint almost circular emission regions northeast and southwest of the center (Owen et al. (2000). The correlation between X–ray and radio emitting features has been remarked by Feigelson et al. (1987), Bohringer et al. (1995), and Harris et al. (1999).

Motivated by the similarity in appearance between M87 and hot bubbles rising in a gaseous atmosphere, Churazov et al. (2000) developed a simple model of the M87 bubbles which is generally applicable to the many bubble-like systems seen in the Chandra observations. An initial buoyant, spherical bubble transforms into a torus as it rises through the galaxy or cluster atmosphere. By entraining cool gas as it rises, it exhibits a characteristic “mushroom” appearance, similar to an atmospheric nuclear explosion. This may qualitatively explain the correlation of the radio and X–ray emitting plasmas and naturally accounts for the thermal nature of the X-ray emission associated with the rising torus (Bohringer et al. 1995). Ambient gas is uplifted in the cluster atmosphere producing the “stem” of the mushroom that is brighter than the surrounding regions (Churazov et al. 2000). Finally, in the last evolutionary phase, the bubble reaches a height at which the ambient gas density equals that of the bubble. The bubble then expands to form a thin layer (a “pancake”). The large low surface brightness features in the M87 radio map could be just such pancakes (see Fig. 4b for a schematic of the radio emitting components of M87).

The XMM-Newton observation (see Belsole et al. 2001) supports the buoyancy scenario with spectra showing that emission from the X-ray columns is thermal in nature with a gas temperature that is lower (1.5 keV) than the surrounding gas (2.3 keV).

### 2.1. ZW3146 - Multiple Edges

ZW3146 is a moderately distant ($`z=0.29`$; 5.74 kpc per arcsec) cluster with a remarkably high mass deposition rate that has been estimated to exceed 1000 M yr-1 (Edge et al. 1994). The Chandra image further demonstrates the remarkable nature of this cluster – on scales from $`3^{\prime \prime }`$ to $`30^{\prime \prime }`$ ($`20`$ kpc to 170 kpc), three separate “edges” are detected (see Fig. 5 and Forman et al. 2003b). At the smallest radii, two edges are seen to the northwest and north (see Fig. 5a). The first, at a radius of $`3^{\prime \prime }`$ (17 kpc) has a surface brightness drop of almost a factor of 2. This innermost “edge” defines a cavity, surrounded by a partial shell, centered on the bright, central cD galaxy. The cavity probably arises as relativistic plasma (seen as radio emission in the NVSS/FIRST survey) produced in the central AGN expands outward and evacuates the X-ray emitting plasma from the immediate environs of the the nucleus. The second edge, at a radius of $`8^{\prime \prime }`$ (45 kpc) has a surface brightness drop of almost a factor of 4. The third “edge” (Fig. 5b) lies to the southeast, about $`35^{\prime \prime }`$ (200 kpc) from the cluster center. One possibility for the origin of these multiple edges is that the $`8^{\prime \prime }`$ edge is produced by gas motions induced by the expanding plasma bubble in the central core. Alternatively, “sloshing” motions can arise either from mergers or bubbles (e.g., Markevitch et al. 2001; Churazov et al. 2003).

Studies of clusters like ZW3146, for which the standard cooling flow scenario predicts large mass deposition rates but which have complex cores, may help to resolve the source of the energy needed to moderate the effects of radiative cooling as required by recent XMM and Chandra observations (e.g., Peterson et al. 2001 and Tamura et al. 2001). A variety of proposals have been made to explain the much smaller amounts of cool gas than expected (e.g., Churazov et al. 2001, Bruggen & Kaiser 2001, Quilis et al. 2001, Bohringer et al. 2002, Nulsen et al. 2002, Fabian et al. 2002b, 2002c, Ruszkowski & Begelman 2002, Zakamska & Narayan 2002, Churazov et al. 2002). Only more observational studies can determine which processes are most effective.

### 2.2. Origin of Density Edges

The variety of morphologies and scales exhibited by sharp edges or cold fronts seen in Chandra images is quite remarkable. Possibly the edges may arise from moving cold gas clouds that are the remnants of merger activity. They may arise either from massive mergers as in A2142, multiple collapses as suggested for RXJ1720.1+2638 (Mazzotta et al. 2001), or gas oscillations (sloshing) in “cooling flow” clusters (Markevitch et al. 2001, 2002b). For A3667, the data were of sufficiently high quality that the parameters of the dark matter halo associated with the observed gas cloud could be derived (Vikhlinin & Markevitch 2002). Alternatively, some edges could arise from the interaction of surviving cold, dark matter halos as they move within the cluster potential. High resolution, large scale structure simulations show that dense dark matter halos, formed at very early epochs, would not be disrupted as clusters collapse (Ghigna et al. 1998 and Ghigna et al. 2000). While most of the dark matter halos, having galaxy size masses, are associated with the sites of galaxy formation, larger mass halos also may survive or may have fallen into the cluster only recently. Hence, we might expect to find a range of halo mass distributions moving within the cluster potential. As these halos move, they could give rise to the multiple surface brightness edges observed in some clusters. Churazov et al. (2003) showed that edges/cold fronts in cluster cores could be produced by weak shocks or sound waves as they traverse cluster cores. Such waves can be generated by infalling gas that provides an impetus to the core gas. The infalling gas itself does not penetrate the core. A crude simulation of such a scenario was used by Churazov et al. (2003) to explain the appearance of the core of the Perseus cluster. Still another possible mechanism to generate edges in cluster (or group or galaxy) atmospheres is from motions induced by buoyant bubbles of relativistic particles produced in central AGN (Quilis et al. 2001, Churazov et al. 2001). Buoyant bubbles can entrain, uplift and possibly drive gas motions. Thus, a variety of physical mechanisms have been suggested to produce the observed cold fronts/edges. Probably, at least several of these mechanisms are operative in different clusters and perhaps even in the same cluster where mergers are underway and AGN in the central galaxies are producing relativistic plasma bubbles.

### 2.3. Explosive Cavities

NGC4636 is one of the nearest and most X-ray luminous “normal” elliptical galaxies ($`L_X`$2$`\times 10^{41}`$ ergs s-1). The first X-ray imaging observations of NGC4636 from Einstein showed that, like other luminous elliptical galaxies, NGC4636 was surrounded by an extensive hot gas corona (Forman, Jones & Tucker 1986).

The Chandra observation of NGC4636 shows a new phenomenon – shocks produced by nuclear outbursts (see Jones et al. 2002 for details of the Chandra observation of NGC4636). The high angular resolution Chandra image (see Fig. 6) shows symmetric, $`8`$ kpc long, arm-like features in the X-ray halo surrounding NGC4636. The leading edges of these features are sharp and are accompanied by temperature increases of $`30`$%, as expected from shocks propagating in a galaxy atmosphere.

Although the sharpness of the edges of the NE and SW arms appears similar to the sharp edges found along “fronts” in clusters (see discussion and references above), the cluster “fronts” are cold, while those in NGC4636 are hot. Also, while the presence of sharp fronts suggests the possibility of an ongoing merger, the east-west symmetry of the halo structures, the similarity of this structure to that seen around radio lobes, as well as the lack of a disturbed morphology in the stellar core or in the stellar velocities suggest an outburst from the nucleus as the underlying cause. In particular, the bright SW arm, the fainter NW arm and the bright NE arm can be produced by the projected edges of two paraboloidal shock fronts expanding about an east – west axis through the nucleus. A shock model is also consistent with the evacuated cavities to the east and west of the central region.

The size, symmetry, and gas density and temperature profiles of the shocks are consistent with a nuclear outburst of energy $`6\times 10^{56}`$ ergs having occurred about $`3\times 10^6`$ years ago. It is tempting to suggest that these outbursts are part of a cycle in which cooling gas fuels nuclear outbursts that periodically reheat the cooling gas. Such outbursts if sufficiently frequent could prevent the accumulation of significant amounts of cooled gas in the galaxy center.

## 3. Conclusions

We have described several of the new phenomena observed with Chandra and XMM-Newton. Of particular note are the density “edges” (some of which are shock fronts but most of which are cold fronts) and bubbles. Some cold fronts are certainly produced through mergers. However, others may arise from residual gas “sloshing” in cluster cores (Markevitch et al. 2002). The gas motions may be initiated by rising buoyant bubbles, weak sound waves traversing the cluster core, or motions of dark matter halos that have survived mergers. Buoyant bubbles of relativistic plasma can induce complex morphologies in cluster (and group and galaxy) atmospheres as well as moderate the effects of radiative cooling. We have observed at least one example of an outburst (NGC4636) with direct heating of the surrounding gaseous atmosphere. Clearly, cluster cores are more complex than previous lower angular resolution observations had shown. Studies of this “complexity” provide a unique opportunity to better understand the details of cluster mergers and to investigate the interaction of relativistic plasma produced by AGN with the gas in the cluster cores.

We acknowledge support from NASA grant NAG5-9217 and NASA contract NAS8-39073.

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text:
# The rotational velocity of the sdOB primary of the eclipsing binary system LB 3459 (AA Dor)Based on observations made with ESO Telescopes at the Paranal Observatories under programme ID 66.D-1800.

## 1 Introduction

LB 3459 is a close binary ($`P=0.26\mathrm{d}`$) consisting of a sdOB primary star and an unseen secondary with an extraordinary small mass. Based on the assumption that the primary component has a mass of $`M_1=0.5\mathrm{M}_{}`$, Hilditch et al. (1996, hereafter HHH) found that the cool secondary with $`M_2=0.086\mathrm{M}_{}`$ is in excellent agreement with lowest mass ZAMS models of Dorman et al. (1989).

In a recent spectral analysis (Rauch 2000) of the primary, based on high-resolution CASPEC and IUE spectra, $`M_1=0.330\mathrm{M}_{}`$ has been derived from comparison of $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ and $`\mathrm{log}g`$ to evolutionary tracks of post-RGB stars (Driebe et al. 1998). $`M_2=0.066\mathrm{M}_{}`$ has subsequently been calculated from the system’s mass function. Thus, the secondary is formally a brown dwarf ($`0.0130.08\mathrm{M}_{}`$).

HHH found that LB 3459 lies in that region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram appropriate for binaries undergoing late case B (Roche lobe filled just before central helium ignition) mass transfer (Iben & Livio 1993) followed by a common-envelope (CE) phase.

An alternative CE scenario has been studied by Livio & Soker (1984). They found that in star–planet systems, when the star evolves into a red giant, the planet may survive the CE phase when its intial mass is above $`M_{\mathrm{crit}}0.02\mathrm{M}_{}`$. Then the planet can accrete from either the stellar wind or directly from the giant’s envelope. Thus, it appears possible that the secondary of LB 3459 had formerly been a planet which has transformed into a low-mass stellar component.

However, the mass-radius relation of LB 3459 derived from the mass function and the light-curve analysis (Kilkenny et al. 1981) does not intersect with the empirical result of Rauch (2000). The reason for this is unclear. Two possible reasons are that the theoretical models by Driebe et al. (1998) are not applicable to the case of LB 3459 and the uncertainty for the photospheric parameters in Rauch (2000).

Since the analysis of Rauch (2000) was hampered by the relatively long exposure times (1 h and 2 – 3 h, respectively) and hence, a relatively large orbital velocity coverage (the observed line profiles were broadened by the star’s rotation as well as by a smearing due to orbital motion within the observations), it has been speculated that $`\mathrm{log}g`$ from Rauch (2000) is somewhat too low. In order to make progress and to minimize the effects of orbital motion, spectra with short exposure times (180 sec) have been taken with UVES attached to the ESO VLT (Kueyen) which cover a complete orbital period (Sect. 2). From these spectra, the radial-velocity curve of LB 3459 is determined (Sect. 3). In Sect. 4 we will have a close look onto the spectral changes during the transit of the cool component. From those spectra with a minimum effect of orbital smearing ($`v_{\mathrm{rad}}`$ at maximum, Fig. 1), we can then derive $`v_{\mathrm{rot}}`$ (Sect. 5).

## 2 Observations

Two UVES spectra have been taken on Jan 6, 2001, with an exposure time of 180 sec each. Then the run was stopped although the night had been photometric. It was restarted on Jan 8, 2001, and 105 UVES spectra were taken in a partly cloudy night. The improvement by the short exposure time is shown in Fig. 1. We used a slit width of $`1\stackrel{}{.}0`$ projected at the sky and arrive at a resolving power $`R\mathrm{48\hspace{0.17em}000}`$. The spectra of Jan 8 cover a complete orbital period of LB 3459.

The spectra were subject to the standard reduction provided by ESO. The S/N ratio of the single spectra is about $`2030`$ while from the results of the UVES exposure-time calculator we had expected $`\mathrm{S}/\mathrm{N}=80110`$ at a resolution of 35 000. In Fig. 2 we show our co-added spectrum: All 105 spectra (Jan 8) were shifted to the rest wavelength, then co-added and subsequently binned to $`0.045\mathrm{\AA }`$ (3 wavelength points). Although the S/N of the co-added UVES spectrum is about 200, no chemical element could be identified which had not been detected in other spectra before (Rauch 2000).

## 3 Radial velocity

In the first step, the phase-dependent radial velocity is determined by fitting Lorentzians to H $`\beta `$ – H $`10`$, He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å, Mg II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4482}`$Å, and Si IV $`\lambda \lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}3760},4089`$Å in all 107 spectra. Other lines have been checked but turned out to be useless: II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}3921}`$Å (too weak), Si IV $`\lambda \lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}3921},4116`$Å (blends with H $`ϵ`$ and IV, respectively), and III $`\lambda \lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}3755},3758,3740`$Å (too weak). During this procedure the smearing due to orbital motion during the exposure was neglected because the exposure time (Sect. 1) is very short compared to the orbital period. Then, the derived velocity curves were fitted by sine curves in order to determine their periods, amplitudes, and $`T_0`$.

The orbital period has been determined from the complete data set because the 107 spectra provide a time line of 9 periods which increases the accuracy. For the amplitude and $`T_0`$ determinations, we use only the 105 spectra of Jan 8 because the scatter in the two spectra of Jan 6 increase the scatter in the results artificially. The times (including heliocentric correction) are the middles of the exposures. The results are summarized in Fig. 3.

Since the observed He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å line is the sharpest line in the optical spectrum (Rauch 2000), we achieve obviously (Fig. 3) the best fit to a theoretical sine curve with the velocity curve measured from this line (the same line had been used by hhh). Mg II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4482}`$Å is also sharp but much weaker and the Balmer lines are much broader and the S/N is lower. The measured amplitude of the velocity curve appears to be larger for the higher Balmer lines. This is clearly an effect of the lower S/N. Thus, we decided to use only He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å for the period determination. Moreover, hhh provide 24 additional measurements of the radial-velocity curve of LB 3459 based on He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å which extends the time base up to 9692 periods. In Table 1, we summarize the results based on different datasets.

From the result of the dataset of He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å which includes additionally the hhh data (Table 1), we adopt $`P=\mathrm{22\hspace{0.17em}600.702}\text{ }\pm \text{ }0.005\mathrm{sec}`$ and $`A_1=39.19\text{ }\pm \text{ }0.05\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$ (Fig. 4). The period is only 0.02% longer than given by Kilkenny et al. (1991, 22 597.0 sec from photometric data of 27 eclipses). A higher radial-velocity amplitude of $`A_1=40.8\text{ }\pm \text{ }0.7\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$ has been measured by hhh from their observations of He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å.

## 4 The transit of the cool companion

The transit of the cool companion is clearly visible in the radial-velocity curves (Fig. 3). An inspection of the observed He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å line profiles during this transit shows a decrease of the central depression close to $`T_0`$ (Fig. 5).

In order to simulate the phase-dependent variation of the line profile of He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å, we have set up a surface grid (with 25 azimuth and 25 altitude points) on the primary, and added up the spectra from these grid points with correct projected $`v_{\mathrm{rad}}`$ and consideration of limb darkening, calculated from the final model atmosphere for LB 3459 (Fig. 6).

During the transit of the cool companion, the hidden parts of the primary’s surface do not contribute to the resulting spectrum (Fig. 8). It can be seen that the line profile during the transit is first redshifted, then blueshifted, as can be expected. This can be seen as well in the radial-velocity curves (Fig. 3). At the begin and the end of the eclipse, the line profile appears deeper (Rossiter effect, Rossiter 1924). In addition, at the central eclipse, the line profile is shallower compared to phases shortly before and after. This is an effect of limb darkening, and it is qualitatively reproduced by our model atmosphere. From the comparison of the He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å line profile at selected orbital phases ($`\phi =355.7\mathrm{°},359.3\mathrm{°},6.5\mathrm{°}`$), $`r_1/r_2`$ appears to be at its upper limit (Fig. 3). It is worthwhile to note, that a phase-resolved spectroscopic study of line-profile variation gives the radius ratio $`r_1/r_2`$ independently from light-curve analysis — if the quality of the spectra and the phase resolution are sufficient.

We have produced a short animation (available at the CDS) which shows all our observed spectra compared to the simulation as well as a view onto the orbital movement of the binary. In Fig. 7 we show a snapshot of this animation.

## 5 Rotational velocity of the sdOB primary

The maximum change of $`v_{\mathrm{rad}}`$ during a 180 sec-exposure of LB 3459 is $`\mathrm{\Delta }v_{\mathrm{rad}}=1.958\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$ (Fig. 1) and thus, the “line-broadening” effects of smearing due to orbital motion are small. Since the S/N of a single of our UVES spectra is about 20 (in average), we decided to co-add all spectra (Fig. 2) in order to achieve the maximum S/N ratio. The alternative, to select only those spectra where $`\mathrm{\Delta }v_{\mathrm{rad}}`$ is below a certain limit, e.g. smaller than $`0.5\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$, and to reduce the orbital smearing would reduce the percentage of spectra to co-add to 15 % — resulting in a much lower S/N.

Since the resolution of the spectra is better than 0.1 Å (at the position of He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å), we checked whether it is necessary to consider the fine-structure splitting of He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å. In Fig. 9 we show that this results in a wider line profile and cannot be neglected, otherwise the helium abundance is strongly overestimated.

We calculated a grid of H+He composed NLTE model atmospheres in the relevant parameter range, i.e. $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=4045\mathrm{k}\mathrm{K}`$ (in steps of 1 kK), $`\mathrm{log}g=4.955.55`$ (0.05, cgs), $`n_{\mathrm{He}}/n_\mathrm{H}=0.00010.0020`$ ($`0.0001`$, number ratios), and calculated theoretical line profiles of He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å. We performed a $`\chi ^2`$ test (wavelength, flux level, $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$, $`\mathrm{log}g`$, HeH, and $`v_{\mathrm{rot}}`$) in order to determine the rotational velocity. The lowest reduced $`\chi ^2`$ value (0.44) is found at $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=44\mathrm{k}\mathrm{K}`$, $`\mathrm{log}g=5.4`$, $`n_{\mathrm{He}}/n_\mathrm{H}=0.0007`$, and $`v_{\mathrm{rot}}=43\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$. However, Rauch (2000) has determined $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=42\text{ }\pm \text{ }1\mathrm{k}\mathrm{K}`$ from ionization equilibria (He I / He II, III / IV, III / IV/ V, IV / V) which are very sensitive indicators for $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$, and $`\mathrm{log}g=5.21\text{ }\pm \text{ }0.1`$ from the broad hydrogen Balmer lines. Since the error ranges are small, we have to keep these values fixed. Then, $`v_{\mathrm{rot}}=47\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$ and $`n_{\mathrm{He}}/n_\mathrm{H}=0.0008`$ yield the best fit. In Fig. 10 the co-added spectrum is compared with theoretical line profiles of He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å which are convolved with rotational profiles with different rotational velocities and subsequently with a Gaussian of 0.1 Å (FWHM) in order to account for the instrumental profile. From this comparison we have estimated an error range of $`\text{ }\pm \text{ }5\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$ for $`v_{\mathrm{rot}}`$ in this analysis.

The HeH ratio is the same as found by Rauch (2000) who used CES spectra with a resolution of 0.1 Å. Since the exposure time of the CES spectra had been 3600 sec, the orbital smearing (Fig. 1) and the lower S/N of about 20 made the fine-structure splitting (Fig. 9) unimportant.

## 6 Dimensions of LB 3459

With the orbital period $`P`$ and the radial velocity amplitude $`A_1`$ we can calculate the circumference $`U_1`$ and radius $`a_1`$ of the primary’s orbit. From the relation $`a_1M_1=a_2M_2`$ we can derive parameters for the secondary. The components’ separation is $`a=a_1+a_2`$. Kilkenny et al. (1979) have given formulae for the radii of the components: $`r_1=0.138a`$ and $`r_2=0.079a`$ derived from the light curve. The calculated values are summarized in Table 2. In Fig. 11 the dimensions of LB 3459 are illustrated.

We calculate $`r_1=0.1678\text{ }\pm \text{ }0.03\mathrm{R}_{}`$ for the primary. This is about $`1/\sqrt{2}`$ smaller than $`r_1=0.236\mathrm{R}_{}`$ derived by Rauch (2000) from $`r_1=\sqrt{GM_1/g}`$. Although $`M_1`$ is determined by comparison of $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ and $`\mathrm{log}g`$ to theoretical models (Sect. 1), $`g`$ itself is the main error source in this formula — a change of 0.3 in $`\mathrm{log}g`$ (factor 2 in $`g`$) would change $`M_1`$ only by a few percent. Since all values of Table 2 have been calculated straightforward, the errors are mainly propagation errors. This may be a hint for a higher $`g`$ than determined by Rauch (2000).

However, the velocity value of $`v_{\mathrm{rot}}=45.7\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$ for bound rotation following Rauch (2000), i.e. calculated with $`r_1=0.236\mathrm{R}_{}`$ and $`P=\mathrm{22\hspace{0.17em}600.702}\mathrm{sec}`$ would be smaller by $`1/\sqrt{2}`$ as well. Then, the present rotational velocity is much higher than this value. For this paper, we decided to adopt $`r_1=0.168\mathrm{R}_{}`$ and $`r_2=0.096\mathrm{R}_{}`$. However, the origin of this discrepancy needs further investigation.

## 7 Results and discussion

We have determined the orbital period of LB 3459 from the newly measured radial velocity curve in good agreement with previous values of Kilkenny et al. (1991). Together with data from hhh we could strongly reduce the error limits (Table 2).

We derived a rotational velocity of the primary of LB 3459 of $`v_{\mathrm{rot}}=47\text{ }\pm \text{ }5\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$ which is in its error limits in agreement with $`v_{\mathrm{rot}}=34\text{ }\pm \text{ }10\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$ found by Rauch (2000). For $`r_1=0.236\mathrm{R}_{}`$, this is equivalent to a bound rotation. If the radius is $`r_1=0.168\mathrm{R}_{}`$ (Sect. 6), then the primary rotates about 40% faster than bound.

The radius of the cool component is $`r_2=6.68210^9\mathrm{cm}`$ which is almost the same size like Jupiter ($`r=7.14310^9\mathrm{cm}`$) but its mass is about 1/15 M which is much higher than Jupiter’s mass (1/1047 M). Thus, from its present mass, the secondary of LB 3459 lies formally within the brown-dwarf mass range ($`0.0130.08\mathrm{M}_{}`$). The numerical simulations of star–planet systems presented by Livio & Soker (1984) show that a critical mass exists above which it is possible that a planet with $`M_2>M_{\mathrm{crit}}`$ gains mass during a CE phase. Due to a simplified treatment of accretion and evaporation (Iben & Livio 1993) in the work of Livio & Soker (1984), improved calculations of star–planet systems are highly desirable to verify the idea of Rauch (2000), that the secondary of LB 3459 is a former planet.

From the comparison of He II $`\lambda \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4686}`$Å to the co-added UVES spectrum (Fig. 10), the helium abundance of $`n_{\mathrm{He}}/n_\mathrm{H}=0.0008\text{ }\pm \text{ }0.0002`$ found by Rauch (2000) has been confirmed by the use of spectra with higher S/N and higher resolution. Moreover, the rotational velocity found here is very close to the value of $`v_{\mathrm{rot}}=45\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{sec}`$ which had been adopted by Rauch (2000) in his analysis.

Although the quality of the co-added UVES spectrum is much higher than previously available spectra, no elements have newly been detected in it.

The reason for the discrepancy between primary and secondary masses derived from spectral analysis and those from the radial-velocity and the eclipse curves (Sect. 1) is still unclear — although some problems in the spectral analysis due to uncertain rotational broadening and smearing due to orbital motion could be ruled out. There is a hint, that the surface gravity $`g`$ may be slightly higher than determined by Rauch (2000). If true, this would solve the problem with the discrepancy. Unfortunately, significant effects of changes in $`g`$ are detectable only in the outer line wings where the data reduction of the broad Balmer lines in the echelle spectra is not very accurate.

To summarize, there is no reason to perform a new spectral analysis of LB 3459 based on the new optical UVES spectra. However, it is highly desirable to obtain high-resolution and high-S/N spectra in the UV/FUV in order to improve the determination of $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ based on ionization equilibrium of metals, to improve the determination of $`\mathrm{log}g`$ by the evaluation of the higher members of the Lyman series, and to identify other elements beside C, N, O, Si, Mg, Fe, and Ni in order to prove likely diffusion effects found by Rauch (2000).

###### Acknowledgements.

The UVES spectra used in this analysis were obtained as part of an ESO Service Mode run, proposal 66.D-1800. We like to thank Stefan Dreizler and Jörn Wilms for their assistance in IDL programming, and Christian Karl for help in the data reduction. Computations were carried out on CRAY computers of the Rechenzentrum der Universität Kiel. This research has made use of the SIMBAD Astronomical Database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. This research was supported by the DLR under grants 50 OR 9705 5 and 50 OR 0201.


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# Modeling the X-ray contribution of XRB jets

## 1 Introduction

While the jets in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are known to radiate from the radio through the X-rays, the jets associated with low/hard state (LHS) X-ray binaries (XRBs) have only been conclusively identified as the source of the radio emission for a few sources (Fender, 2001). However, these smaller jets do share the “signature” flat-to-inverted radio synchrotron spectrum seen from the compact inner jets in AGN, so it is likely that the same emission mechanism is at work even when the jets are as yet unresolved. Unlike in AGN, however, this optically thick synchrotron can extend well into the infrared (IR) and beyond (e.g., Corbel & Fender, 2002).

At higher frequencies, the picture is not so clear. Although AGN jets contribute to the X-rays via both synchrotron and inverse Compton (IC) emission, these processes have not been considered in the standard picture for the high-frequency emission of XRBs. Beyond the IR, a typical LHS spectrum shows a weak thermal contribution plus a hard power-law extending to typically $`100`$ keV. These have generally been interpreted in terms of a Standard Thin Disk (SD; Shakura & Sunyaev, 1973) in combination with an optically thin flow at smaller radii, or an overlying corona (for reviews see Poutanen, 1998; Nowak, Wilms & Dove, 2002). In this scenario, the hard power-law originates in IC upscattering of the thermal SD photons by the hotter plasma.

Although variations of this picture can successfully explain the X-ray features, they cannot address the very tight correlation between the X-ray and radio in the LHS extending down to the Quiescent State (QS), which has now been seen in several sources (e.g. Corbel et al.,, 2002; Gallo, Fender & Pooley, 2002). Similarly, in all XRBs with quasi-simultaneous or better broadband data, there seems to be a “turnover coincidence” in which the X-rays always trace back to the same decade of frequency between $`10^{14}10^{15}`$ Hz in the IR. This suggests some connection between the low and high frequencies which is present for all LHS sources.

An alternative model for the LHS emission, involving a combination of jet and thermal SD emission, has been applied to several sources (e.g., Markoff, Falcke & Fender, 2001; Markoff et al., 2003). It is currently the only model which can simultaneously fit the broadband spectrum, account for the radio/X-ray correlations (as well as analytically explain the slope of the correlations) and explain the turnover coincidence between the IR and X-rays. The X-rays can stem from synchrotron, IC, or both, processes depending on maximum energy to which the particles can be accelerated in the jet, which itself depends on cooling processes.

The details of the jet model have been discussed elsewhere, so we would like to briefly touch on the main points as well as a few common misconceptions about the workings of the model.

## 2 General results & discussion

We present the important model parameters for several sources in Tab. 1. While these results are preliminary in that they do not yet address the fine features in the X-rays (e.g., line emission and reflection components), some basic trends are revealing themselves. The jets can account for the entire broadband spectrum with 1-10% of the total Eddington luminosity of the source, assuming relativistic thermal electrons in the accreting plasma, and that a fraction of this plasma is accelerated. The location where the acceleration starts falls between $`10^210^3`$ $`r_g`$ with the exception of two sources. The first is Cyg X-1, where the data are not simultaneous, and for which we are currently working with a newer data set (R. Fender, priv.comm.) which will give better restraints. The binary parameters of the other outlier, XTE J1650-500, are still unconstrained so we assumed reasonable values, which however could be contributing to this difference.

The location of $`z_{\mathrm{sh}}`$ is determined by fitting the turnover from the optically thick IR to the optically thin X-ray regime in the jet. The range of fit values is very small, considering that the jet must extend at least out to $`10^{10}`$ $`r_g`$ to fit the radio. This reflects the “turnover coincidence” seen in all LHS sources with flat-to-inverted radio and quasi-simultaneous X-rays, and suggests that all sources share a common structure where acceleration occurs. Synchrotron from the jet is a natural explanation for this coincidence, and can similarly explain the radio/soft X-ray correlations. If the synchrotron only extends into the soft X-rays and IC from the base of the jet dominates at hard X-rays, the model could also address the turnover coincidence and correlations. Interestingly, this turnover was explicitly resolved in GX 339$``$4 (Corbel & Fender, 2002). Furthermore, fits to spectral data from massive jets in blazars also show a similar scale for the dominant emission region (Beckmann et al., 2002), strengthening the argument that the basic physics of jets scale to some extent.

What is becoming clear is that the processes behind the radio/IR and X-ray emission can no longer be considered independent. This is not, however, incompatible with the standard picture if one considers that the idea of a hot, magnetized corona above the SD could be synonymous or the source of the jet base (see, e.g., Merloni & Fabian, 2002) . Unifying these two types of models provides a challenge, however. In the case of GX 339$``$4, for example, a sphere-disk model can well explain the X-ray spectrum in many details (Nowak, Wilms & Dove, 2002), but not the radio/IR and the correlations. If the jet can explain the entire broadband spectrum, and if its base is somehow equivalent to, or contiguous with, the corona, there must be a self-consistent parameter range for combining these two pictures. This is problematic at first consideration, however, since the temperatures required at the jet model base are much higher than “typical” coronal values, while the scale of the jet base is a factor of $`10`$ smaller. It is possible that by combining these two scenarios, both models will be required to explore new parameter ranges to find a compatible solution. This is work we are currently exploring.

## 3 Addressing some common misconceptions

As a final note, we have noticed several misconceptions about the nature of the jet model in the literature and in the remaining space would like to touch on a few of these.

First, spectral pivoting in the X-ray would not result in orders of magnitude variability in the radio, which is of course not observed. If one takes self-absorption into account, as is integral to our model, the X-ray pivoting requires mainly a change in the location of the optically thick-to-thin turnover. Another point raised is that the jet model is incompatible with reflection features. As seen in Tab. 1, the X-ray emission originates close enough to the disk that beaming away from the disk is weak because near the base of the jet the plasma is near the local speed of sound. It is also important to note the increasing evidence for misaligned jets in XRBs, where the jet is in fact inclined towards the disk. This, along with disk warping, means that jets may be able to reproduce most reflection features. Along these lines, the location of the X-ray emitting region is also compatible with estimates based on the amplitude of reflection and the iron line. Finally, it has been argued that the shape of the cutoff itself argues against a non-thermal interpretation. The jet model can naturally explain the cutoff via synchrotron emission or IC from the jet—which process dominates is dependent on the photon field available for upscattering. Arguments based strictly on the shape of the cutoff are not necessarily valid, because the cutoff data is likely averaged over many variations (e.g., Poutanen & Fabian, 1999), and the statistics are not as good.