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# Theory of the quasiparticle interference patterns in the pseudogap phase of the cuprate superconductors

## Abstract

A method is proposed to test for the nature of the pseudogap phase in cuprates using the recently developed technique of Fourier transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We show that the observed quasiparticle interference patterns depend critically on the quasiparticle coherence factors, making it possible to distinguish between the pseudogap dominated by superconducting fluctuations and by various particle-hole condensates.

Existence of the pseudogap phase, a non-superconducting phase with suppressed single particle density of states (DOS) timusk1 , represents perhaps the most dramatic departure of cuprates from the Landau Fermi liquid BCS-Eliashberg paradigm believed to describe conventional low-$`T_c`$ superconductors. Theoretical approaches to the pseudogap phenomenon in cuprates fall broadly into two classes. One school of though attributes it to the incipient superconducting order whose amplitude forms at $`T^{}>T_c`$ but remains phase incoherent down to $`T_c`$ emery1 ; randeria1 ; fm1 ; balents1 ; levin1 ; ft1 ; ftv1 ; laughlin1 . The other school ascribes the pseudogap to the formation of some other (static or fluctuating) order, usually in the particle-hole (p-h) channel so5 ; varma1 ; ddw1 ; vojta1 . Progress in understanding the physics of cuprates, and perhaps other strongly correlated superconductors, depends on the successful determination of the origin of the pseudogap phenomenon.

In this Communication we propose a test for the nature of the pseudogap phase based on the study of the quasiparticle interference patterns that can be observed by means of Fourier transform scanning tunneling spectroscopy (FT-STS) Hoffman ; McElroy ; Howald . The existing data, taken deep in the superconducting phase of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ (Bi-2212), exhibit distinctive patterns of peaks in the reciprocal space. These peaks disperse through the Brillouin zone in a manner consistent with the band structure deduced from the angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). In what follows we demonstrate that, contrary to the existing consensus, the patterns observed in FT-STS depend in a crucial way on the quasiparticle coherence factors. We show that the appearance of peaks at the particular positions is unique to the superconducting order, and reflects the pairing (p-p) character of the coherence factors. By contrast the interference patterns in a state with p-h ordering will be qualitatively different in that peaks appear at different $`𝐤`$-vectors or not at all. Our proposal consists of extending the FT-STS measurements into the pseudogap phase above $`T_c`$. Observation of patterns similar to those seen well below $`T_c`$ would then imply that pseudogap is predominantly of superconducting origin. Observation of qualitatively different patterns discussed below would imply order of another type. Preliminary data Yazdani  appear to support the former scenario.

The existing FT-STS results Hoffman ; McElroy  have been interpreted via the ‘octet model’ Wang , illustrated in Fig. 1. This model asserts that the interference patterns arise due to the elastic quasiparticle scattering from random disorder between the regions in the Brillouin zone with high DOS. In a $`d`$-wave superconductor ($`d`$SC) these are situated at the ends of the banana-shaped contours of constant energy and lead to seven characteristic vectors $`𝐪_i`$. This octet model works remarkably well in describing the data and furthermore agrees with detailed numerical studies of the interference patterns Wang ; Polkov ; Capriotti .

Our first step will therefore be to understand how the interference pattern is formed in the superconducting phase.

The local density of states (LDOS) in a superconductor $`n(𝐫,\omega )`$ is given by the particle-hole part of the Nambu Green’s function. Within the usual $`T`$matrix formulation Wang ; Polkov  the Fourier transformed LDOS modulation $`\delta n(𝐪,\omega )`$ can be expressed as

$$\delta n=\mathrm{Im}\frac{1}{L^2}\underset{𝐤}{}[G_0(𝐤,\omega )\widehat{T}(𝐤,𝐤𝐪,\omega )G_0(𝐤𝐪,\omega )]_{11},$$
(1)
where $`L`$ is the linear size of the system and $`G_0(𝐤,i\omega )=[i\omega ϵ_𝐤\tau _3\mathrm{\Delta }_𝐤\tau _1]^1`$ is the superconducting Green’s function in the Nambu space. In what follows we consider a model with dispersion $`ϵ_𝐤=2t(\mathrm{cos}k_x+\mathrm{cos}k_y)4t^{}\mathrm{cos}k_x\mathrm{cos}k_y\mu `$ and a $`d`$-wave gap $`\mathrm{\Delta }_𝐤=\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }_0}{2}(\mathrm{cos}k_x\mathrm{cos}k_y)`$. As shown by Capriotti et al.  Capriotti  the interference pattern measured in FT-STS for weak non-magnetic impurities is encoded in the quantity

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }(𝐪,\omega )=\frac{1}{L^2}\underset{𝐤}{}[G_0(𝐤,\omega )\tau _3G_0(𝐤𝐪,\omega )]_{11}.$$
(2)
For simplicity we start by analyzing this case and we return to Eq. (1) with the full $`T`$-matrix shortly.

It is instructive to evaluate $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(𝐪,\omega )`$ in the low energy limit $`\omega \mathrm{\Delta }_0`$, where analytic results can be obtained. Inserting $`G_0`$ into Eq. (2) we find

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }(𝐪,i\omega )=\frac{1}{L^2}\underset{𝐤}{}\frac{(i\omega +ϵ_+)(i\omega +ϵ_{})\mathrm{\Delta }_+\mathrm{\Delta }_{}}{(\omega ^2+E_+^2)(\omega ^2+E_{}^2)},$$
(3)
with $`ϵ_\pm =ϵ_{𝐤\pm 𝐪/2}`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }_\pm =\mathrm{\Delta }_{𝐤\pm 𝐪/2}`$ and $`E_\pm =\sqrt{ϵ_\pm ^2+\mathrm{\Delta }_\pm ^2}`$. We now focus on the situation when both $`𝐤\pm \frac{1}{2}𝐪`$ are close to one nodal point; this should contribute to the peak in $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(𝐪,\omega )`$ at the vector labeled as $`𝐪_7`$ in the Fig. 1. Near this node we define a local coordinate system $`(k_1,k_2)`$ and linearize the dispersion in the usual manner; $`ϵ_𝐤v_Fk_1`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }_𝐤v_\mathrm{\Delta }k_2`$, where $`v_F`$ and $`v_\mathrm{\Delta }`$ are quasiparticle velocities perpendicular and parallel to the Fermi surface, respectively. We find

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }_{\mathrm{lin}}=\frac{1}{v_Fv_\mathrm{\Delta }}\frac{d^2k}{(2\pi )^2}\frac{\omega ^2+(k_1^2k_2^2)(\stackrel{~}{q}_1^2\stackrel{~}{q}_2^2)}{[\omega ^2+(𝐤\stackrel{~}{𝐪})^2][\omega ^2+(𝐤+\stackrel{~}{𝐪})^2]},$$
(4)
where we have scaled the integration variables $`k_1k_1/v_F`$, $`k_2k_2/v_\mathrm{\Delta }`$ and defined a new vector $`\stackrel{~}{𝐪}=\frac{1}{2}(v_Fq_1,v_\mathrm{\Delta }q_2)`$.

The above rescaling leads to our first useful insight: in the scaled frame of reference the contours of constant energy are concentric circles implying that vector $`𝐪_7`$ cannot have any special significance as far as the DOS is concerned. As we shall see below the peaks at $`\pm 𝐪_7`$ arise solely due to the coherence factors, i.e. factors appearing in the numerator of Eqs. (3,4).

Integrals of the type appearing in Eq. (4) are familiar from the theory of massless relativistic Dirac fermions peskin  and can be evaluated most conveniently by exploiting the Feynman parameterization note1 . The exact result is

$`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{\mathrm{lin}}(𝐪,\omega )`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi v_Fv_\mathrm{\Delta }}}\left[\left({\displaystyle \frac{\stackrel{~}{q}_2}{\stackrel{~}{q}}}\right)^2\left({\displaystyle \frac{\omega }{\stackrel{~}{q}}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\right],`$
$`(z)`$ $`=`$ $`1{\displaystyle \frac{z^2}{\sqrt{z^21}}}\mathrm{arctan}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{z^21}}}.`$ (5)
For a given fixed energy $`\omega `$ function $`(z)`$ implies an inverse square root singularity in both the real and imaginary parts of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{\mathrm{lin}}(𝐪,\omega )`$ along an elliptic contour of constant energy given by $`E_𝐪=2\omega `$ (here $`E_𝐪=2\stackrel{~}{q}\sqrt{v_F^2q_1^2+v_\mathrm{\Delta }^2q_2^2}`$). More importantly this singularity is weighted by an angular factor $`(\stackrel{~}{q}_2/\stackrel{~}{q})^2=(v_\mathrm{\Delta }q_2/E_𝐪)^2`$ producing the largest amplitude at the two ends of the ellipse, as illustrated in Fig. 2. These points of largest intensity coincide with $`\pm 𝐪_7`$. We conclude that in this case the octet model works because of the special BCS coherence factors and not because of the DOS arguments. One can perform similar analyses for the internodal scattering and find a large response near some of the vectors $`𝐪_i`$ indicated in Fig. 1. Interestingly we find that the peak expected from the octet model near $`𝐪_4`$, which is absent in the experimental data McElroy , corresponds to an endpoint of a line of higher intensity.

One may now inquire what is the physics leading to the angular modulation of the singularity displayed in Eq. (Theory of the quasiparticle interference patterns in the pseudogap phase of the cuprate superconductors) and the consequent formation of the interference peaks in $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(𝐪,\omega )`$. A little thought reveals that the principal cause of this behavior is the particle-hole mixing. Charge is not a good quantum number in a superconductor; non-magnetic impurities couple to charge and this leads to strong angular modulation of the quasiparticle response as one travels along the contour of constant energy around the nodal point. To see this more clearly consider scattering by magnetic impurities. Magnetic impurities couple to quasiparticle spin and the latter remains a good quantum number in a superconductor. To describe this situation we replace $`\tau _3`$ in Eq. (2) by $`\tau _0𝟙`$. This reverses the sign in front of the $`\mathrm{\Delta }_+\mathrm{\Delta }_{}`$ term in Eq. (3). Such a sign reversal has profound consequences for the response function $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(𝐪,\omega )`$ which can be again evaluated in the low energy limit near a single node. In this case the result is

$`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{\mathrm{lin}}^{\mathrm{mag}}(𝐪,\omega )`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi v_Fv_\mathrm{\Delta }}}\left[i\pi +2^{}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\omega }{\stackrel{~}{q}}}\right)+\mathrm{ln}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\omega ^2}{\lambda ^2}}\right)\right],`$
$`^{}(z)`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{z^21}\mathrm{arctan}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{z^21}}},`$ (6)
with $`\lambda \mathrm{\Delta }_0`$ a high energy cutoff. The inverse square root singularity of Eq. (Theory of the quasiparticle interference patterns in the pseudogap phase of the cuprate superconductors) is replaced by a cusp along $`E_𝐪=2\omega `$ and, crucially, there is now no angular modulation. The interference patterns for magnetic disorder will exhibit continuous lines near the center of the BZ (Fig. 2b) and will be qualitatively different from those with scalar disorder, as already noted in Ref. Wang .

The analysis of the low-energy limit of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(𝐪,\omega )`$ thus shows that while the quasiparticle dispersion $`E_𝐪`$ determines the possible loci of strong interference, it is the coherence factors that determine the strength and select the actual location of the peaks on these loci.

To conclude our discussion of the superconducting state we evaluate $`\delta n(𝐪,\omega )`$ given by Eq. (1) numerically with the full dispersion $`ϵ_𝐤`$ and parameters relevant to Bi-2212. In Fig. 1 we use the full single-impurity, intermediate phase shift $`T`$-matrix, $`\widehat{T}(\omega )=T_0(\omega )\tau _0+T_3(\omega )\tau _3`$, as described in Ref. balatsky1 . We find that experimental patterns are best reproduced by a particular value of the phase shift that yields $`T_3(\omega )T_0(\omega )^{}`$. This choice effectively kills the analog of the $`\mathrm{\Delta }_+\mathrm{\Delta }_{}`$ term in Eq. (3) and we are led to believe that in real systems this cancellation has a more fundamental cause, perhaps related to spatial fluctuations of the phase of $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ in a material with nanoscale electronic inhomogeneity Hoffman ; McElroy .

We now turn to the pseudogap state. If the pseudogap is due to an ordering in the p-h channel then the coherence factors will generally differ from those describing the superconductor. It is clear from the previous discussion that such coherence factors will produce qualitatively different interference patterns even if the DOS remains similar to that of a $`d`$SC. We now illustrate this general statement on the example of a $`d`$-density wave (DDW) state ddw1  that has been proposed to describe the pseudogap phase in cuprates. This is perhaps the most relevant example since for specially chosen parameters $`(\mu =t^{}=0)`$ the DOS in DDW state is identical to that in $`d`$SC. We show below that even in this case FT-STS patterns are qualitatively different.

Under the assumptions leading to Eq. (2) one can show that for DDW state the interference pattern is given by

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }(𝐪,\omega )=\frac{1}{L^2}\underset{𝐤}{}^{}\mathrm{Tr}[G_0(𝐤,\omega )(1+\tau _1)G_0(𝐤𝐪,\omega )],$$
(7)
where the prime denotes summation over the reduced Brillouin zone. The DDW propagator reads $`G_0(𝐤,i\omega )=[(i\omega ϵ_𝐤^{})ϵ_𝐤^{\prime \prime }\tau _3D_𝐤\tau _2]^1`$, with $`ϵ_𝐤^{}=\frac{1}{2}(ϵ_𝐤+ϵ_{𝐤+𝐐})`$, $`ϵ_𝐤^{\prime \prime }=\frac{1}{2}(ϵ_𝐤ϵ_{𝐤+𝐐})`$, $`𝐐=(\pi ,\pi )`$ and DDW gap $`D_𝐤=\frac{D_0}{2}(\mathrm{cos}k_x\mathrm{cos}k_y)`$. One obtains

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }(𝐪,i\omega )=\frac{2}{L^2}\underset{𝐤}{}^{}\frac{\mathrm{\Omega }_+\mathrm{\Omega }_{}+ϵ_+^{\prime \prime }ϵ_{}^{\prime \prime }+D_+D_{}}{(\mathrm{\Omega }_+^2+E_+^2)(\mathrm{\Omega }_{}^2+E_{}^2)},$$
(8)
with $`i\mathrm{\Omega }_\pm =i\omega ϵ_\pm ^{}`$, $`E_\pm =\sqrt{(ϵ_\pm ^{\prime \prime })^2+D_\pm ^2}`$ and ‘$`\pm `$’ denoting $`𝐤\pm 𝐪/2`$ as before. At low energies the spectrum of a DDW quasiparticle is Dirac-like with the node fixed at $`(\pi /2,\pi /2)`$. In this limit (8) can be again evaluated analytically by performing the nodal approximation. We find that

the result is given by Eq. (Theory of the quasiparticle interference patterns in the pseudogap phase of the cuprate superconductors) with $`\omega `$ replaced by $`\omega +\mu `$ and $`v_\mathrm{\Delta }`$ by $`v_D`$, the slope of the DDW gap. Thus, we find that at low energies DDW state will produce FT-STS patterns similar to those expected for $`d`$SC with magnetic scattering, characterized by continuous lines in the Brillouin zone as opposed to the sharp peaks. This is confirmed by a full numerical evaluation of Eq. (8) displayed in Fig. 3. The DDW patterns are markedly different from $`d`$SC even at half filling.

We now consider the class of theories which describe the pseudogap as an incipient superconducting gap. In these theories the long range superconducting order is destroyed above $`T_c`$ but short range pairing correlations persist for $`T_c<T<T^{}`$. Based on the above discussion we expect that such a pseudogap phase would inherit the FT-STS patterns characteristic of the superconducting phase since the coherence factors will locally retain their p-h character. As an example we consider the QED3 theory of the pseudogap phase which has been proposed to describe a phase disordered $`d`$SC ft1 . In this theory fluctuating phase of the SC order parameter produces an emergent massless U(1) gauge field which mediates long range interactions between the fermions. As a result the fermion propagator becomes incoherent ftv1 :

$$G_0(𝐤,i\omega )=\frac{i\omega +ϵ_𝐤\tau _3}{[\omega ^2+ϵ_𝐤^2+\mathrm{\Delta }_𝐤^2]^{1\eta /2}},$$
(9)
and exhibits a Luttinger liquid like dynamics at long distances with the sharp quasiparticle poles replaced by branch cut singularities characterized by the anomalous dimension exponent $`\eta `$. The latter is believed to be a small positive number but its exact value is a matter of debate ftv1 . Here we treat $`\eta `$ as a parameter and show that the structure of FT-STS patterns is insensitive to its exact value. The QED3 propagator lacks the off-diagonal part, reflecting the absence of true SC long range order.

One can again evaluate Eq. (2) with the QED3 propagator (9) analytically within the single node approximation. For scalar disorder one finds a result similar to Eq. (Theory of the quasiparticle interference patterns in the pseudogap phase of the cuprate superconductors) with the square root singularity at $`E_𝐪=2\omega `$ replaced by a weaker $`1/(z^21)^{\frac{1}{2}\eta }`$ singularity. Thus, for $`\eta <\frac{1}{2}`$ we expect patterns similar to those in $`d`$SC. The numerical results, presented in Fig. 4, indeed show that the QED3 interference patterns retain peaks at the same positions as in the SC phase but the peaks become smeared for larger $`\eta `$ reflecting the incoherent nature of the fermionic excitations described by Eq. (9).

Finally, Fig. 4 displays the FT-STS patterns for the normal metallic state $`(\mathrm{\Delta }_0=D_0=0)`$, which are expected to describe strongly overdoped cuprates.

In conclusion, we have shown here that the quasiparticle interference patterns seen in the FT-STS reveal the signatures of both the quasiparticle dispersion and, through their sensitivity to the quasiparticle coherence factors, the nature of the underlying electronic order present in the system. In particular, the latter determines the basic characteristic features of the interference patterns. We have demonstrated, by general arguments and detailed calculations within several relevant models, that the superconducting order is very special in that it alone produces patterns consistent with the experimental data. Based on this insight we have proposed a test for the nature of the pseudogap phase in cuprates using FT-STS. If the pseudogap is due to fluctuating SC order, then the FT-STS patterns above $`T_c`$ should remain qualitatively the same as those below $`T_c`$. If, on the other hand, the pseudogap is due to static or fluctuating order in the p-h channel, such as SDW, CDW or DDW, the patterns above $`T_c`$ should be qualitatively different, generally exhibiting continuous lines or peaks at different positions.

As mentioned above preliminary experimental data on Bi-2212 Yazdani  show FT-STS patterns above $`T_c`$ that are very similar to those found deep in the SC phase Hoffman ; McElroy ; Howald , suggesting that the pseudogap state is of predominantly superconducting origin. One may ask how robust is this identification of the pseudogap state, provided that the experimental data Yazdani  can be reproduced. Our analysis indicates that the p-p nature of superconducting correlations plays critical role in formation of the patterns observed experimentally. Furthermore, despite significant effort, we were unable to construct a model with instability in p-h channel that would mimic these patterns. Therefore, we must conclude that data of Yazdani and co-workers Yazdani , if correct, place very strong constraints on the nature of the pseudogap state in cuprates.

The authors are indebted to J.C. Davis, T. Davis, J. Hoffman, D.-H. Lee, S. Sachdev, D.E. Sheehy, O. Vafek, Z. Tešanović and A. Yazdani for discussions and correspondence. This work was supported by NSERC, CIAR and the A.P. Sloan Foundation.


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# Sliding Mechanism for Actin Myosin System

## 1 Introduction

Biological systems are among the most challenging subjects for theoretical physicists as well as experimentalists or simulationists. More and more biologists and theoretical biophysicists have focused on studying the mechanism of living systems and mincing the biological structure to invent subtle artificial instruments. Nowadays it is exciting to study a problem how motor protein gets a energy of movement and what makes myosin slide in one direction along the filaments. Based on different system, three different families of motor proteins have been identified : Kinesis and dyneins move along tubulin filaments , myosin moves along actin filaments . The motion mechanism of these motors can be described in general as follows : firstly the motor protein binds Adenosinetriphoshpate (ATP), then hydrolyzes the bound ATP and absorbs the energy, subsequently, it releases the products Adenosinediphosphate (ADP) and Phosphate (P). So the motors move constantly within chemical cycle. The molecular motors play a key role in transducing chemical energy into mechanical work at a molecular scale.
In 1954 H. F. Huxley, H. E. Huxley and R. M. Simmons  proposed the rotation cross bridge model to study muscular mobility. In these earliest theoretical descriptions, the asymmetry of the system was introduced via asymmetric transition rates and specific conformational changes were also discussed. This model has been widely spread in past two decades and has become a standard model even in college textbooks, but extensive experimentations have failed to find evidence for a large conformational change in myosin head during the force generation process . So it is worth while to reconsider an old idea, proposed by A. F. Huxley in 1957, the motor protein uses thermal energy that exists at physiological temperature to perform work , such as the thermal ratchet model  , the isothermal ratchet model .
Recently, there have been many reports that discuss the relation between the muscle’s movement and Stochastic Resonance (SR) or thermal noise  . These explanations, however, somewhat abstract from the viewpoint of biology, and these models are lacking in dynamic descriptions of actin myosin interaction.
The newly resonance models for muscle’s motion was named the Stochastic Inclined Rods Model (SIRM) proposed by H. Matsuura and M. Nakano . The energy of the motion was supplied from the random noise and the system always moves to one direction by using of stochastic resonance. The movement of the system does not break the second law of the thermodynamics, because the actin myosin system is open to the surroundings and the energy flows in from their surroundings. The SIRM presents a perfectly sliding mechanism for the actin myosin system.
The main aim of our paper is to study the motion of actin myosin system including the G-actin’s motion. We discuss the stochastic resonance of the myosin head and give the numerical results for the motion of the system. We find that there is a relative sliding motion between the G-actin and the myosin owing to the intermolecular potential and the structure of the inclined rod.

## 2 Model and Formalism

The structure of the actin myosin system is shown in Fig. 1 together with structure of the muscle. It consists of the chain structure of the actin of length around 100 $`nm`$ and a bundle of hundreds of myosin which has an inclined rod and a head of 0.45 million Dalton. The whole system exists in a water solution and the interaction with water molecules cannot be neglected.

In order to explain the contraction of the muscle, namely solve the motion of actin myosin system, we simulate it by a mechanical model as shown in Fig. 2. We call this model as stochastic inclined rod model (SIRM). The motion mechanism of the SIRM is as follows: firstly, ATP is hydrolyzed and releases the energy which makes the random noise interacts with the myosin head and myosin head obtains the energy from random noise then the head vibrates, it collides with a G-actin and obliquely kicks the G-actin sphere, because the direction of vibration is inclined against the line of the actin fibers and myosin molecules obtain the propellant force along the direction of the fibers. In this way, the filament can move to one direction while the G-actin moves to opposite direction. The actin myosin system can move to one direction owing to the structure of inclined rods of myosin and the intermolecular potential between the myosin head and the G-acin.

According to Fig. 2 we can construct the equations of the motion for the head of myosin.

$$m\frac{^2x}{t^2}=\frac{(U_a+U_s)}{x}+F_x(t)\alpha \frac{x}{t}.$$
(1)
$$m\frac{^2y}{t^2}=\frac{(U_a+U_s)}{y}+F_y(t)\beta \frac{y}{t}.$$
(2)
With regard to the center of gravity $`(x_2,y_2)`$ of the filament, we set a similar equation:

$$M\frac{^2x_2}{t^2}=\frac{U_s}{x_2}+F_{x_2}(t)\eta \frac{x_2}{t}.$$
(3)
The variable $`y_2`$ is fixed since the myosin filament does not significantly move along the $`y`$-direction compared to the $`x`$-direction.
The equation of the G-actin is shown as follow:

$$M_g\frac{^2x_g}{t^2}=\frac{U_a}{x_g}+F_{x_g}(t)\gamma \frac{x_g}{t}.$$
(4)
Where $`F_x(t),F_y(t),F_{x_2}(t),F_{x_g}(t)`$ are fluctuation of the thermal noise, $`m,M,M_g`$ are the masses of myosin head, myosin filament and the G-actin, respectively, $`\alpha ,\beta ,\eta ,\gamma `$ are viscous constants, and the fluctuation forces follow fluctuation-dissipative relation :

$$<F_a(t)>=0.$$
(5)
$$<F_a(t)F_b(s)>=2k_BT\zeta \delta _{a,b}\delta (ts).$$
(6)
where $`a,b=x,y,x_2,x_g`$; $`\zeta =\alpha ,\beta ,\eta ,\gamma `$; $`k_B`$ is Boltzmann constant. $`T`$ is absolute temperature. $`t,s`$ are time.
As for the intermolecular potential between the myosin head and G-acitn we adopt Jennard-Jone potential:

$$U_a=\underset{i=0}{\overset{i=n}{}}(pr_i^{12}qr_i^6)U.$$
(7)
Where $`r_i=\sqrt{(xx_i)^2+(yy_i)^2}R`$; $`x_i=x_g+iR`$; $`y_i=y_g`$; $`(x_g,y_g)`$ stands the coordinates of the center of the G-actin and R is its radius. $`p,q,U`$ are the parameters of the potential.
The potential of the myosin rod is approximately expressed as follows:

$`U_s=K_l\mathrm{exp}(\sqrt{(xx_2)^2+(yy_2)^2}+L)`$
$`+K_l\mathrm{exp}(\sqrt{(xx_2)^2+(yy_2)^2}L)`$
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}K_\theta (\theta \theta _0)^2.`$ (8)
Where $`K_\theta ,K_l`$ are parameters of potential of the spring and $`L`$ is nature length of the spring, $`\mathrm{tan}(\theta )=\frac{x_2x}{y_2y},\theta ,\theta _0`$ are current angle and initial angle between the rod and level axis. $`(x_2,y_2)`$ is the center of gravity of myosin bundle.

## 3 stochastic resonance

We discuss the stochastic resonance between the myosin head and the thermal noise to show that SIRM moves to one direction with accepting energy from thermal noise. Because the above equations are so complex and highly nonlinear that we cannot obtain a strict analytical solution, we only discuss the motion of the myosin head and set up the following simple equation for the head, where the $`j`$-th G-actin is the nearest one to the head:

$$m\frac{^2x}{t^2}=12pU(xx_j)^{13}6qU(xx_j)^72(xx_2+L)K+F_x(t)\alpha \frac{x}{t}.$$
(9)
Because the fluctuation $`F(t)`$ can be given in the following form :

$$F_a(t)=\sqrt{\frac{k_BT\zeta }{\pi }}\underset{j}{}\rho _a^j\mathrm{exp}(i\mathrm{\Omega }_jt).$$
(10)
$$<F_a(t)F_b(s)>=\frac{k_BT\zeta }{\pi }\underset{j,l}{}\delta _{a,b}\delta ^{j,l}\mathrm{exp}i(\mathrm{\Omega }^ls\mathrm{\Omega }^jt).$$
(11)
$$<\rho _{a}^{j}{}_{}{}^{}\rho _b^l>=\delta _{a,b},<\rho _{a}^{j}{}_{}{}^{}>=<\rho _b^l>=0.$$
(12)
If we assume that the thermal noise contains all of frequency, one of the noise frequency is expressed as follows:

$$\frac{F_x(t)}{m}\frac{f}{m}\mathrm{exp}(i\mathrm{\Omega }t).$$
(13)
Thus Eq.(9) can be given:

$$\frac{^2\xi }{t^2}+2\mu \frac{\xi }{t}+\omega ^2\xi =\frac{f}{m}\mathrm{exp}(i\mathrm{\Omega }t)\epsilon \alpha \xi ^2\epsilon \beta \xi ^3.$$
(14)
Where $`\xi =xx_2+L`$, $`\xi _j=x_jx_2+L`$, $`2\mu =\frac{\alpha }{m}`$.

$$\omega _0^2=\frac{2K}{m}+\frac{156pU}{m\xi _j^{14}}\frac{42qU}{m\xi _j^8},\epsilon \alpha =\frac{2184pU}{2m\xi _j^{15}}\frac{336qU}{2m\xi _j^9},\epsilon \beta =\frac{32760pU}{3!m\xi _j^{16}}\frac{3024qU}{3!m\xi _j^{10}}.$$
(15)
Here we use Taylor expansion for the intermolecular force of the G-actin and ignore the higher order terms.
When $`\epsilon =0`$ and $`\mu ^2>\omega _0^2`$ we can get the solution of the Eq. (14) as follows:

$$\xi =a_0e^{\mu t}\mathrm{cos}(\omega t+\vartheta _0)+ae^{i(\mathrm{\Omega }t\delta )}.$$
(16)
Where $`\omega =\sqrt{\omega _0^2\mu ^2}`$, $`a=\frac{f}{m\sqrt{(\omega _0^2\mathrm{\Omega }^2)^2+4\mu ^2\mathrm{\Omega }^2}}`$, $`\mathrm{tan}\delta =\frac{2\mu \mathrm{\Omega }}{\omega _0^2\mathrm{\Omega }^2}`$, $`a_0,\vartheta _0`$ are determined by initial conditions.
If $`\epsilon 0`$, we can use a effective frequency for the Eq. (14):

$$\omega ^{}=\omega _0+\frac{3\epsilon a^2}{8\omega _0^2}.$$
(17)
So we can rewrite the Eq.(14) as follow:

$$\frac{^2\xi }{t^2}+2\mu \frac{\xi }{t}+\omega _{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}\xi =\frac{f}{m}\mathrm{exp}(i\mathrm{\Omega }t).$$
(18)
So the solution of the Eq. (18) should have the same form as that of Eq.(14), but the amplitude $`a`$ should be satisfied the following relation:

$$a^2=\frac{(\frac{f}{m})^2}{(\omega _{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}\mathrm{\Omega }^2)^2+4\mu \mathrm{\Omega }^2}$$
(19)
If we assume the frequency $`\mathrm{\Omega }=\omega _0+\mathrm{\Delta }`$, we can obtain:

$$(\omega _{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}\mathrm{\Omega }^2)^2=4\omega _0(\frac{3\epsilon a^2}{8\omega _0}\mathrm{\Delta })^2.$$
(20)
We can rewrite the Eq. (19) as follow:

$$\sigma [(\sigma \mathrm{\Delta })^2+(\frac{\mu }{\epsilon })]=F.$$
(21)
Where $`\sigma =\frac{3a^2}{8\omega _0}`$, $`F=\frac{3f^2}{32m^2\omega _0^3\epsilon ^2}`$. From the Eq. (21) we can get the relation between the resonance amplitude and the shift frequency from the resonance point.

The figure shows the relation between the square of resonance amplitude $`\sigma `$ and the shift frequency from the resonance point $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$, which is the solution of the Eq. (21). If the amplitude of noise $`F`$ is small, the peak occurs at $`\mathrm{\Delta }=0`$, as the amplitude of the noise increases, the shape of $`\sigma `$ changes gradually while it keeps the character that has the only one maximum, which truly shows the existence of the stochastic resonance between the myosin head and the thermal noise.
After a sufficient time, the damping terms of the Eq.(16) go to zero, and only oscillational term $`ae^{i(\mathrm{\Omega }t\delta )}`$ survives. It is clear that these equations (Eq. (1)-Eq. (4)) do not have an energy source except the thermal noise term $`F(t)`$. In the case, the energy of the myosin has the constant value which is determined by the amplitude $`a`$. And the average absorbed energy per unit time will be $`E(\mathrm{\Omega })=2\mathrm{\Omega }^2\mu ma^2`$.

## 4 Numerical results

We adopt a numerical method to solve the above equations. The parameters of the equations are shown in the Table.1.

The numerical results are shown in Fig. 4-Fig. 8.

The figure shows the horizontal position of myosin head, the trace has irregularity and randomness like Brownian particles, but movement is a translacational one as a whole.

The solid line shows the vertical motion of the myosin head and the stretching motion of the rod is described with the dash line. From the figure we can know that the stretching vibration of the spring has irregularity and the collision between the G-actin and the myosin head distorts their relative motion from a trigonometric function.

The dash line shows the motion of the filament and the solid line shows the position of the G-actin. From the figure we can know there is a relative sliding motion between the filament and the G-actin. The filament can move to one direction while the G-actin moves to opposite direction.

The figure gives the relative between the horizontal movement of myosin filament and the initial angle. From the figure we can know that the motor can move fastest when the initial angle is nearly equal to $`45^{}`$ . But if the initial angle is too small or too big, the motor moves slowly, even cannot move. So the initial angle of the inclined rod is important for SIRM to move to one direction.

From the figure we can know that the shape of the G-actin is important for the system to move. If the G-actin if flat ($`R=0`$) the SIRM can not move, on the other hand, if the radius of the G-actin is too big ($`R=40`$). The system can not move, either. The motor can move at the highest speed at $`R=20`$.

## 5 Summary and conclusion

Based on SIRM we present a sliding mechanism for the actin myosin system and set up the dynamic equations for the model. Because equations (Eq. (1) - Eq. (8) ) are so complex and highly nonlinear that we cannot obtain a strict analytical solution, we adopt a numerical method to solve these two dimensional Langevin equations. We discuss the motion of the myosin head and find there is a stochastic resonance between the head and the noise. Our model propose a microscopic mechanism for the actin myosin system: firstly, the thermal noise interacts with the myosin head, and the resonance occurs between the myosin head and the noise, then it collides with a G-actin and obliquely kicks the G-actin sphere, because the direction of vibration is inclined against the line of the actin fibers, myosin molecules obtain the propellant force along the direction of the fiber and the myosin can move to one direction.
From the numerical results we can know there is a relative sliding motion between the filament and the G-actin. The filament can move to one direction while the G-actin moves to opposite direction. When the system absorbs the energy from the thermal noise constantly through stochastic resonance, the intermolecular potential and the inclined rod make the filament move to one direction. The system can convert the random noise to one directional motion. SIRM is thermally open to the outer surroundings and it has a outer heat source of ATP. The heat consumed by SIRM is directly supplied from the surroundings and the energy provided to the surroundings comes from the outer source or reservior through a general energetic flow. From a macroscopic point of view, SIRM can move by getting heat from its surroundings.
Noise in dynamical systems is usually considered a nuisance. But in certain nonlinear systems including electronic circuits and biological sensory apparatus the presence of noise can in fact enhance the detection of the weak signals. From the above results, we point out the possibility that the actin myosin system can use thermal noise around for the movement in similar way. This viewpoint is completely new as the traditional viewpoint thinks the water disturbs the motion as viscosity.

## 6 Figure captions

Table. 1. The parameters of the equations. $`\alpha ,\beta ,\eta ,\gamma `$ are viscous constants, $`M,m,M_g`$ are the mass of myosin bundle and myosin head, respectively, $`L`$ is nature length of the spring, $`p,q,U`$ are the parameters of the potential, $`K_\theta ,K_l`$ are tangent constant and radial constant of the spring.
Fig. 1. Actin myosin system as an element of the muscle shown in the bottom of the figure. The structure of muscle is also shown from the upper level to lower level (see ref.).
Fig. 2. The model for actin myosin system. The coordinates of the head of myosin and the end of myosin connected to the filament are $`(x,y)`$ and $`(x_2,y_2)`$, respectively. The body of the myosin is assumed to be represented as a spring.
Fig. 3. The figure shows the solution of Eq. (21) and give the relation between the square of resonance amplitude $`\sigma =\frac{3a^2}{8\omega _0}`$ and the shift frequency $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ from resonance point. From the up to the bottom, different lines correspond to $`F=\frac{3f^2}{32m^2\omega _0^3\epsilon ^2}`$: 20, 15, 10, 5, 1, respectively.
Fig. 4. The figure shows the horizontal motion of the myosin head (see Eq. (1)).
Fig. 5. The solid line shows the vertical movement of the myosin head and the dash line presents the stretching displacement $`s`$ of the rod and $`s=\sqrt{(xx_2)^2+(yy_2)^2}L`$ (see Eq. (2)).
Fig. 6. The dash line gives the movement of the filament ($`x_2`$) and the solid line shows the position ($`x_g`$) of the G-actin (see Eq. (3) and Eq. (4)).
Fig. 7. The curve shows the horizontal displacement of the myosin filament at different initial angle $`\theta _0`$ ($`t=60unittime`$).
Fig. 8. The curves give the relation between the radius of G-actin and the displacement of filament in given time, different lines correspond to different radius $`R`$ shown in the figure.

Table. 1. The Parameters of the Equations.

| 1 unit time | $`10^{11}`$s | $`\alpha ,\beta ,\eta ,\gamma `$ | 1 | $`U`$ | 20000 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 unit length | $`10^9`$m | $`p,q`$ | 100 | $`m`$ | 1000 |
| 1 unit mass | $`2.5\times 10^{21}`$kg | $`L`$ | 100 | $`M`$ | 3000 |
| $`K_\theta `$ | 500000 | $`K_l`$ | 500 | $`M_g`$ | 10000 |


text:
# Theory of selective excitation in Stimulated Raman Scattering

## I Introduction

Studies of molecular dynamics accompanying excitation, ionization, or dissociation give rise to questions concerning the control of specific motion in molecules. Control using ultrafast lasers and adaptive learning algorithms, e.g., genetic-type algorithms We99 ; Pe01 , allows one to optimize feedback and achieve predetermined goals. Series of successful experiments implementing this technique offer proof that it is possible to exercise quantum coherent control over a range of processes. Two such experiments employ stimulated Raman scattering in liquid methanol Pe01  and gas phase carbon dioxide We01 . In the former case a liquid medium is excited with a 100 fs pulse, which is equivalent to non-impulsive Raman excitation and, therefore, makes propagation effects important. In the latter case the selective Raman excitation of vibrational modes is achieved with a pulse of duration within a typical molecular vibrational period. In this case the seed for the Stokes transitions is within the pump pulse. In the experiment with methanol the problem of intra-molecular couplings of vibrational modes is discussed using a comparative analysis with experiments on benzene and deuterated benzene molecules. The controlling optical field may be constructed using coherent quantum control theory, see, e.g. Sh88 ; Sh89 . An alternative approach involves a search for an analytical pulse function. In Du02 ; Or02  an antisymmetric phase function is proposed, which inverts the sign of the electric field at a given energy, inducing constructive interference of the off-resonant components of the spectrum and therefore maximizing the transition amplitude. Selectivity of the two Raman levels of pyridine, both of which lie within the bandwidth of the excitation pulses is achieved in CARS signals by positioning the phase step at each of the two peaks Or202 . In Sc02  the use of adaptive techniques in FAST CARS is explored for an identification of related biological objects such as bacterial spores.

The Raman excitation of a single vibrational mode having frequency $`\omega `$ normally requires a pulse with $`\omega \tau 1`$, where $`\tau `$ is the pulse duration. Optimal excitation may occur if the intensity is modulated at a frequency that corresponds to the transition frequency. For any two vibrational modes $`\omega _1`$, $`\omega _2`$ within the pulse bandwidth, $`(\omega _1\omega _2)\tau 1`$, the spectral width is too large to resolve the lines. In the present paper we propose a method for achieving selective excitation using broadband pulses. In the frequency domain we introduce an intensity envelope that vanishes for a modulation frequency of the pulse equal to the frequency of vibration that we would like to suppress. The Fourier transformed field, when applied to a molecular system, provides negligible excitation of that particular frequency together with significant excitation of another frequency. This picture is valid for weak fields. In strong fields the effect is not obvious and numerical analysis reveals that, for some intensities and the designed pulse shape, it is still possible to optimize one transition versus another.

The paper is organized as follows. In the second section the problem is formulated based on a model of two, two level systems. An analytical function for the intensity envelope is proposed and the equations of motion for the state amplitudes are obtained. The third section contains results of numerical calculations that determine the field parameters that lead to selective excitation. The paper is ended with a short summary.

## II BASIC FORMALISM

In our model a molecule is described by two, two-level quantum systems, each representing a normal Raman-active vibrational mode. The molecular medium is represented by an ensemble of such systems with no relaxation processes taken into account. Each two-level system interacts with an intense off-resonant femtosecond pulse that initiates stimulated Raman scattering via an off-resonant interaction with a virtual state. The duration of this pump pulse is shorter than a typical vibrational period of a molecule. In this case the frequencies of both two-level systems are within the bandwidth of the pulse and the Stokes component of the field is supplied by the same pulse. The coherently excited ensemble is analyzed by a weak probe pulse, not considered in this work, applied after a time delay shorter than the coherence time. The goal of the present work is to determine a pulse shape that provides selectivity for the excitation of one of the two-level systems.

A semiclassical model of laser-molecule interactions is used. The model is represented schematically in Fig.1 where $`\omega _{21}`$ is the frequency of the first two-level system and $`\omega _{43}`$ that of the second system. Initially only lower levels $`|1>`$ and $`|3>`$ of both two-level systems are populated, and the populations of these levels are equal. The time evolution of two, two-level systems is described in terms of probability amplitudes, which are written in the interaction representation

$$\dot{a}_j=i\frac{\mathrm{\Omega }_j}{4\mathrm{\Delta }}\underset{j^{}=1}{\overset{4}{}}\mathrm{\Omega }_j^{}^{}e^{(\alpha _j\alpha _j^{})\omega t}a_j^{},\mathrm{\Omega }_j=\frac{\mu _{jb}E_{p0}(t)}{\mathrm{}}.$$
(1)
Here $`\alpha _j\omega `$ is the frequency of a single level, such that, e.g., $`(\alpha _2\alpha _1)\omega =\omega _{21}`$, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_j`$ is a Rabi frequency, $`\mu _{jb}`$ is a dipole moment matrix element, $`E_{p0}(t)`$ is the pulse envelop, $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is the detuning of the frequency of the pulse from the frequency of the virtual state $`|b>`$. Note, that the pulse envelope $`E_{p0}(t)`$ is the same for all transitions. The Rabi frequencies may differ owing to different dipole moment matrix elements.

The system of coupled differential equations (1) is derived from the time-dependent Schrödinger equation with Hamiltonian:

$$H=\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}\left(\begin{array}{ccccc}\alpha _1\omega & 0& 0& 0& 2\mathrm{\Omega }_1cos(\omega _pt)\\ 0& \alpha _2\omega & 0& 0& 2\mathrm{\Omega }_2cos(\omega _pt)\\ 0& 0& \alpha _3\omega & 0& 2\mathrm{\Omega }_3cos(\omega _pt)\\ 0& 0& 0& \alpha _4\omega & 2\mathrm{\Omega }_4cos(\omega _pt)\\ 2\mathrm{\Omega }_1^{}cos(\omega _pt)& 2\mathrm{\Omega }_2^{}cos(\omega _pt)& 2\mathrm{\Omega }_3^{}cos(\omega _pt)& 2\mathrm{\Omega }_4^{}cos(\omega _pt)& E_b\end{array}\right),$$
(2)
where $`\omega _p`$ is the laser field carrier frequency. By adiabatically eliminating state $`|b>`$ within the rotating wave approximation, we arrive at Eqs (1). In this work we discuss the case of uncoupled two-level systems such that the probability for the population flow from one system to another via the external field is zero. Then Eqs.(1) are represented by two independent systems of coupled differential equations with two variables.

Coherent excitation of a molecular medium induces a vibrational coherence $`|\rho _{12}|`$ or $`|\rho _{34}|`$. When a probe field is applied on the 1-b transition, the coherence $`|\rho _{12}|`$ serves as a source for the generation of a field on the 2-b transition. Thus it is of prime interest to calculate $`|\rho _{12}|`$ and $`|\rho _{34}|`$. The goal of this paper is to choose a pump pulse such that $`|\rho _{12}|`$ is suppressed while $`|\rho _{34}|`$ is enhanced.

We propose an analytical function for the intensity envelope which is included in the dynamical equations (1) for the probability amplitudes. It is easiest to choose this function in the frequency domain. To suppress excitation at frequency $`\omega _{21}`$ and enhance excitation at frequency $`\omega _{43}`$, we choose

$$\stackrel{~}{I}(\omega )=I_0e^{(\omega \omega _{43})^2T^2}\left(1e^{(\omega \omega _{21})^2T_{1}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}}\right),$$
(3)
where $`T`$ and $`T_1`$ are free parameters. When the modulation frequency of the pulse $`\omega `$ is equal to $`\omega _{43}`$ the intensity approaches its maximum $`I_0`$ for a sufficiently large parameter $`T_1`$,

$$\stackrel{~}{I}(\omega _{43})=I_0(1e^{\mathrm{\Delta }\omega ^2T_{1}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}}),\mathrm{\Delta }\omega =\omega _{43}\omega _{21}.$$
(4)
For $`\omega `$ equal to $`\omega _{21}`$ the intensity is zero, $`\stackrel{~}{I}(\omega _{21})=0`$. The intensity envelope as a function of frequency is drawn in Fig.2. The frequencies of the two-level systems are $`\omega _{21}`$=1 and $`\omega _{43}`$=1.1 in frequency units of $`\omega _{21}`$. The intensity of the field at $`\omega _{43}`$ and frequency region near $`\omega _{21}`$ over which $`\stackrel{~}{I}(\omega )`$ is approximately zero depend on $`T_1`$. The larger $`T_1`$, the greater is the selectivity for suppressing the $`\omega _{21}`$ frequency.

The inverse Fourier transform of the spectral density (3) is a complex function. To arrive at a physically acceptable temporal pulse function, we take the real part of the inverse Fourier transform, given by

$$I(t)=I_0\left((\sqrt{2}T)^1e^{\frac{t^2}{4T^2}}cos(\omega _{43}t)(\sqrt{2}\tau )^1e^{\mathrm{\Delta }\omega ^2T^2(1\frac{T^2}{\tau ^2})\frac{t^2}{4\tau ^2}}cos((\omega _{21}\mathrm{\Delta }\omega \frac{T^2}{\tau ^2})t)\right),$$
(5)
where $`\tau ^2=T^2+T_1^2`$. The expression for the field (5) is inserted in Eqs.(1) for the calculation of the probability amplitudes.

The solution of Eqs.(1) in the limit of a weak field using perturbation theory is

$`a_4=i{\displaystyle \frac{\mu _{4b}\mu _{3b}^{}}{4\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{}^2}}{\displaystyle _{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}}I(t)e^{i\omega _{43}t}𝑑t=i{\displaystyle \frac{\mu _{4b}\mu _{3b}^{}}{4\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{}^2}}\stackrel{~}{I}(\omega _{43})=i{\displaystyle \frac{\mu _{4b}\mu _{3b}^{}}{4\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{}^2}}I_0(1e^{\mathrm{\Delta }\omega ^2T_1^2}),`$
(6)
$`a_2=i{\displaystyle \frac{\mu _{2b}\mu _{1b}^{}}{4\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{}^2}}{\displaystyle _{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}}I(t)e^{i\omega _{21}t}𝑑te^{T^2(\omega _{43}+\omega _{21})^2}+e^{\mathrm{\Delta }\omega ^2T^2}e^{\tau ^2(2\omega _{21})^2}0.`$
The Fourier transform represented in Eq.(5) is not identical to Eq.(3), since we took the real part of the Fourier transform to arrive at (5). It now contains ”counter-rotating” terms, which are small for the chosen pulse shape. Thus, by construction, we have totally suppressed the 1-2 transition in the weak field limit. On the other hand, the excitation of the 3-4 transition is still weak owing to the perturbative nature of the solution.

Polyatomic molecules often possess several or many Raman active modes with frequencies close enough to be within the bandwidth of the pulse. In order to enhance a single vibration and suppress other vibrations the function for the pulse may be constructed as a product of several terms

$$\stackrel{~}{I}(\omega )=I_0e^{(\omega \omega _{43})^2T^2}\mathrm{\Pi }_j\left(1e^{(\omega \omega _j)^2T_{1}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}}\right).$$
(7)
## III Numerical results

In this section we discuss the results of numerical calculations based on the exact solution of Eqs.(1). The numerical studies reveal the influence of the field parameters on the efficiency of the excitation of the two-level systems. Parameters for the system are taken from the experimental data on impulsive excitation of vibrational modes in the molecular gas $`CO_2`$ Pe01 . In $`CO_2`$ the frequencies of two selectively excited Raman modes are 36.8 and 42 THz. The FWHM of the applied intense pulse is taken equal to 18 THz. In our calculations the frequency $`\omega _{21}`$ is set equal to unity; in these units the frequency $`\omega _{43}`$ is equal to 1.1. From experimental data, we estimate that the parameter T is about equal to 3, in frequency units of $`\omega _{21}^1`$. The intensity of the field is determined by the parameter $`I_0`$. The parameter $`T_1`$ is related to the width of the spectral dip in $`\stackrel{~}{I}(\omega )`$ centered at frequency $`\omega _{21}`$. Although a value of $`T_1T`$ would provide the best selectivity, the choice for the parameter $`T_1`$ is strongly restricted by the requirement that the duration of the applied pulse be within a typical molecular vibrational period. It turns out that even for such values of $`T_1`$, it is possible to selectively excite one transition.

We calculated the population distribution and the coherence of the excited and suppressed two-level systems as a function of $`T_1`$ as shown in Fig.3. Bold solid and dotted lines depict the absolute value of the coherence $`|\rho _{34}|`$ of the excited system and $`|\rho _{12}|`$ of the suppressed system. Populations of the upper levels of both systems are shown by bold dashed and dot-dashed lines. The intensity of the field $`I_0`$ is $`\pi /8`$ which corresponds to a weak field in our calculations (but not to the perturbative regime). For the value $`T_1=13`$ the population of levels of the 3-4 system is 0.25, and the coherence is optimal for the given intensity of the field and dipole moments, ($`\mu _i=1`$). The duration of the laser pulse corresponding to this value of the parameter $`T_1`$ is about 200 fs which does not satisfy the necessary requirements on pulse duration. According to Fig.3 for smaller values of the parameter $`T_1`$, corresponding to shorter pulses, the coherence of the 3-4 system is significantly reduced with a simultaneous increase of the coherence of the 1-2 system. Optimal values for the coherence of both the 1-2 and 3-4 systems were found for $`T_1T`$ through a search over different intensities of the field.

In Fig.4 the coherence is plotted as a function of the intensity of the field for parameters T=3 and $`T_1=3`$. Coherence $`|\rho _{34}|`$ of the 3-4 system is represented by a bold solid line and coherence $`|\rho _{12}|`$ of the 1-2 system by a bold dashed line; thin lines show populations of the upper levels of both two-level systems. For the intense fields, coherence of the excited and suppressed systems possess somewhat chaotic structure. Several values of the intensity, e.g. $`I_0=\pi `$ and $`I_0=1.75\pi `$ give rather low coherence of the 3-4 system but maximum coherence of the 1-2 system. A desired solution for maximum coherence of the excited 3-4 system is achieved for the intensity coefficient $`I_0=2.08\pi `$. This is the result of redistribution of population within that two-level system: half of population is transferred to the upper level providing maximum coherence. The corresponding coherence of the 1-2 system at this intensity is nearly zero, where most population remains in the lower level. For the intensity $`I_0=1.4\pi `$ the picture is similar, however the low coherence of the 1-2 system is due to nearly complete population transfer to the upper level.

The goal of control of the coherence of two uncoupled two-level systems is achieved with a pulse shape possessing a broad spectral dip at the suppressed frequency and a suitably chosen intensity of the field. This technique allows one to use pulses of duration $`T`$ to selectively excite transitions having frequency separations $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega <1/T`$. Our results should not be taken to imply that one can spectroscopically determine frequencies to better than the inverse temporal width of the pulse. On the other hand, if the frequencies are known from previous measurements, it is possible to suppress one transition and enhance the other by the method outlined above.

Had we taken a frequency profile centered at $`\omega _{43}`$ with $`T=3`$, the curves for the coherence and populations of the excited and suppressed systems would differ qualitatively from those show in Fig.4. The desired selectivity could not be achieved.

The time-dependence of the coherence, populations and the field is shown in Fig.5 for $`T=3,T_1=3`$, $`I_0=1.4\pi `$. The pulse duration is about 50 fs (thin solid line). It induces oscillations in the population distribution (thin lines) which lead to oscillations of the coherence of the two-level systems (bold lines). At long times the coherence and populations of levels achieve stationary values.

We have carried out some preliminary calculations, including the coupling between vibrational modes via an external field used as a control mechanism. If the direct excitation of a particular vibrational mode is weak owing to a weak oscillator strength, the excitation may be enhanced through the coupling to the other Raman active vibrational modes. Details will be published in Ma04 .

## IV Summary

We have presented a semi-classical description of stimulated Raman scattering involving the selective excitation of one of two closely spaced vibrational modes. The dynamics is described in terms of probability amplitudes and depends on the shape of a femto-second laser pulse where duration is shorter than a typical molecular vibrational period. We propose an analytical function for the shape of the intensity envelop of the pulse that allows for the selective excitation of a predetermined vibrational motion with simultaneous suppression of an unfavorable one. The pulse leads to maximum coherence of a desired vibrational transition and consequently to maximum gain into Raman side bands when a probe pulse is applied. This pulse function may be used as an initial guess for the control of bond excitation in chemistry as well as a fit function within an adaptive learning algorithm.

## ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Science Foundation (No. PHY-9987916) through the Center for Frontiers in Optical Coherent and Ultrafast Science (FOCUS).


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# Threshold behaviour of scattering poles

## 1 Introduction

In the sixties, early seventies, mesons and baryons were studied in terms of models for confinement of the newly invented quarks . The basic idea was that mesons and baryons could be described by permanently confined quarks and/or antiquarks. In Fig. (1a) we give an artist’s impression of the resulting mass spectrum for mesons.

Then, in the seventies, early eighties, short-range effects had to overcome the small disagreements between Nature and confinement models, as schematically depicted in Fig. (1b). Later, hadronic decay was implemented, with effects on the meson masses as shown in Fig. 2.

However, it was all the time overlooked how those mesons are actually produced in experiment. In particular, it was taken for granted that mesonic states below a particular meson-meson threshold do not feel the presence of that two-meson channel. Effects of coupling were assumed to abruptly vanish or show up, depending on whether the state was just above or just below threshold. For states far below threshold, the whole idea of implementing two-meson channels in the confinement models was considered inopportune. Furthermore, little attention was paid to the fact that most mesons appear as resonances, and that mesonic resonance widths are usually not small. For example, a $`\rho `$ meson has a lifetime compatible with its internal frequency, implying that it should certainly not be considered a more or less stable particle. Even nowadays this is not fully accepted or even understood.

The procedure that mimics the experimental situation is called unitarization at present. This name suggests that all is accounted for, which is of course an illusion. In practice, one is more than satisfied if the “most important” effects are included in the resulting meson model.

Also in the seventies one became aware of phenomena in $`S`$-wave meson-meson scattering which could not be easily handled by any of the models. Hence, still in the spirit of permanent confinement, quark configurations were invented for mesons and baryons other  than the usual $`q\overline{q}`$ and $`q^3`$.

However, things really fall in place when full scattering properties are determined for meson-meson, or meson-baryon, processes, since then resonances come out automatically without any need to worry about their composition.

We observe the following:

* The higher radial excitations in $`c\overline{c}`$ and $`b\overline{b}`$ vector states are almost equally spaced in mass. Why the ground states for those systems come out much lower is well explained .
* The level splittings for the $`S`$ and $`D`$ $`c\overline{c}`$ and $`b\overline{b}`$ vector states follow naturally .
* The phase shifts for $`K\pi `$ and $`\pi \pi `$ in $`P`$ wave , and in $`S`$ wave , as well as the scattering lengths  are reproduced.
* The $`J^P=0^+`$ $`c\overline{s}`$ experimental results are explained .
* The $`J^P=1^+`$ $`c\overline{n}`$ ($`n`$ for nonstrange, either up or down) and $`c\overline{s}`$ phenomena come out well .
* It fully explains the light scalar meson nonet .

No extra forces and/or configurations are necessary to explain such an amount of very different data, with one set of parameters for all mesons.

We may thus conclude that unitarization works well. Nevertheless, our model is far from perfect for many reasons that are easy to understand. First, for the transition potential, which should have been derived from the theory of strong interactions, we make an as simple as possible choice, and then it is still further simplified . Furthermore, also harmonic-oscillator confinement does not have much more justification than the equal-level spacings for $`c\overline{c}`$ and $`b\overline{b}`$ (and possibly also $`n\overline{n}`$ and $`s\overline{s}`$) vector states. Hence, our choices for both, the confinement and unitarization ingredients, are taken as simple as possible. The fact that it works even under such extreme simplifications clearly indicates that, in a more elaborate approach, the unitarization scheme has a good chance to survive all tests.

## 2 Unitarization

In order to understand our approach to unitarization, one may imagine a huge scattering or transition matrix, describing all possible scattering of meson pairs. Elastic processes appear on its diagonal, whereas off-diagonal matrix elements describe inelastic processes. Conservation laws predict that the vast majority of off-diagonal matrix elements vanish. The remaining nonvanishing matrix elements can be regrouped into smaller submatrices of meson-meson channels which under the given conservation laws are allowed to communicate. Hence, if we for example study the $`J^P=0^+`$ $`c\overline{s}`$ system, then we consider the part of the $`T`$ matrix which describes the $`S`$-wave scattering of all meson pairs that through OZI-allowed processes couple to $`c\overline{s}`$. In practice, we limit ourselves to a few channels which we “believe” are relevant to the energy domain under study. In the following we shall concentrate on just one scattering channel. But the results are equally valid when more channels are taken into account.

Let us now consider an arbitrary diagonal element of the above-discussed transition matrix in a specific partial wave, which we denote by $`T_{\mathrm{}}`$. It describes the elastic scattering of two mesons, assumed not to couple to anything else but the confinement system having the corresponding quantum numbers. We assume here that confinement yields an infinite spectrum. The function $`T_{\mathrm{}}`$ must be analytic in the total invariant mass $`E=\sqrt{s}`$ of the two-meson system. Moreover, it depends on the meson masses $`M_1`$ and $`M_2`$, the intensity $`\lambda `$ of the coupling between the two-meson system and the confined quark-antiquark system, and finally on the confinement spectrum $`E_n`$ ($`n=0`$, 1, 2, $`\mathrm{}`$) and other details $`_{q\overline{q}}`$ of the $`q\overline{q}`$ system. In Ref. , the interested reader may find a rather general and complete expression for $`T_{\mathrm{}}`$. Summarizing, we conclude

$$T_{\mathrm{}}=T_{\mathrm{}}(\sqrt{s},\lambda ,M_1,M_2;\left\{E_n\right|n=0,\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1},\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2},\mathrm{}\},\mathrm{}).$$
(1)
In Fig. 3 we have depicted a possible spectrum for confinement. The spectrum corresponds to $`\lambda =0`$, i.e., having discrete energy eigenvalues of the confinement operator under the assumption that the $`q\overline{q}`$ system is decoupled from the meson-meson continuum.

When the confinement states are weakly coupled to the meson-meson continuum ($`\lambda `$ small), we observe narrow resonances in the two-meson scattering cross section $`\sigma `$, about at the energy eigenvalues of confinement. This is depicted in Fig. 4.

The cross section in Fig. 4 is calculated by the use of the transition matrix element $`T_{\mathrm{}}`$ of Eq. (1), an explicit expression of which can be found in Ref. . Now, since $`T_{\mathrm{}}`$ is an analytic function in the total invariant two-meson mass $`E=\sqrt{s}`$, one may study its singularity structure for complex $`E`$. This can be done numerically. In Fig. 5, we show the poles associated with the resonances in the cross section depicted in Fig. 4.

The real parts of the poles are close to the energy eigenvalues of the confinement spectrum, while the imaginary parts are relatively small as the resonances are narrow.

In the following we study how the scattering-matrix poles move through the complex-energy plane, when the coupling $`\lambda `$ between the meson-meson and confinement systems is increased, in particular near threshold.

But first, let us discuss how a pole of the scattering matrix behaves when the confinement spectrum ($`\lambda =0`$) has a state which is below threshold. In our model, these poles shift to even lower energies when $`\lambda `$ is increased , but remain on the real-energy axis. Such poles correspond to bound states of the coupled system. In this case, both the two-meson and the $`q\overline{q}`$ components of the wave function describe bound systems. The corresponding states are thus mixtures of bound two-meson and $`q\overline{q}`$ states.

## 3 Behavior at threshold

When the ground state of the confinement spectrum is near a non-$`S`$-wave threshold, then the associated $`T`$-matrix pole passes through threshold when $`\lambda `$ is increased . This phenomenon is depicted in Fig. 6.

We observe that, while the real part of the pole is continuously decreasing when $`\lambda `$ is increased, the imaginary part first increases (in modulus), then decreases, vanishes right at threshold, and remains zero when $`\lambda `$ is still further increased. For small values of $`\lambda `$, the displacements of the scattering-matrix poles in the complex-energy plane are almost perturbative, i.e., linear in $`\lambda ^2`$. However, when $`\lambda `$ grows it becomes clear that the model incorporates highly nonperturbative effects.

The pole displacement depicted in Fig 6 represents two-meson scattering in $`P`$ wave. For higher waves the behavior is similar. This can easily be understood by studying the effective-range expansion near threshold. For $`P`$ wave and higher waves, one finds that the imaginary part of the pole is quadratic in $`\lambda `$ when the real part of the linear momentum is small, which is near threshold. Consequently, at threshold it vanishes.

However, $`S`$-wave poles behave very differently . They approach the real-energy axis perpendicularly well below threshold for increasing $`\lambda `$. Then, for still larger values of $`\lambda `$, they first move in the positive direction towards threshold, as virtual bound states. At threshold they turn back, now moving towards smaller energies as genuine bound states. This can more easily be understood from their movement in the complex-linear-momentum plane . Experimentally, one can determine whether the pole represents a virtual or a real bound state from the sign of the scattering length.

## 4 Poles from the quark-pair-creation cavity

For small coupling, it is very clear how poles in the scattering amplitude are related to the energy eigenvalues of confinement, since their displacements are perturbative, hence small. However, for strong coupling pole displacements can be of the order of magnitude of the level splittings of the confinement spectrum. In thit case the situation is more complicated, and were it not for a model to trace the poles, the classification in terms of a confinement spectrum might turn impossible.

But there is more: even when all poles are traced, starting from the small-$`\lambda `$ positions near the confinement spectrum, and ending up at the physical positions fitting the scattering data, there exist still more poles in the complex-energy plane. This means that the scattering amplitude which agrees with experiment contains more poles than just those stemming from the confinement spectrum. But let us first discuss where such extra poles happen to originate in the model.

In our model, the two-meson system communicates with the confined $`q\overline{q}`$ system through OZI-allowed quark-pair creation. The shape of the corresponding potential has a maximum at relatively large distances (0.5–1.0 fm). This means that in the interior one has a small potential well which in principle could host bound states. For small coupling, the well is almost flat and thus of no consequence, giving rise to merely mathematical poles with very large negative imaginary parts, hence unobservable. However, for strong coupling these cavity poles will turn out to get mixed up with the poles originating in the confinement spectrum. It such a case, there are clearly observable effects in the scattering cross section. Under certain conditions, the poles even end up on the real-energy axis as bound states. In the past we referred to these poles as background poles, since for decreasing coupling they disappear into the background. Here, we shall stick to the term extra poles.

The extra poles were first reported in Ref. . Later, it was thought that they were the result of pole doubling , a term which we adopted for a while. But now it has become clear from which mechanism they originate.

For meson-meson scattering in $`S`$ wave, it is more likely that certain structures in the cross section stem from the extra poles than for $`P`$ and higher waves. The reason is that in $`S`$-wave scattering the centrifugal barrier is absent. Consequently, the transition-potential well is deeper in the latter case. This is exactly what is observed in experiment.

There are several parameters influencing the displacements of the extra poles, one of them being the relative position of threshold with respect to the confinement spectrum. When threshold is far below the confinement-spectrum ground state, which is usually the case when pions are involved, then the extra pole does not come close to the real-energy axis, causing a broad structure in the scattering cross section, which often is not even a clear resonance. When threshold is closer to the confinement-spectrum ground state, then the extra pole comes closer to the real-energy axis, but the real part of the pole position is below threshold, causing structure at threshold. When threshold is sufficiently close to the confinement-spectrum ground state, then the extra poles end up on the real-energy axis below threshold, where they give rise to bound states, or possibly virtual bound states close to threshold. In Fig. 7 we show the various possibilities.

In order to study the pole displacements as a function of the coupling, we normalize $`\lambda `$ such that $`\lambda =1`$ corresponds to the physical situation in Fig. 7. The confinement spectrum is chosen to have a ground state at 1.3 GeV and a level spacing of 0.4 GeV. We study meson-meson scattering in $`S`$ wave. One of the two mesons has a fixed mass of 0.5 GeV, the other is varied in order to obtain different values for threshold. A first observation from Fig. 7 is that the extra pole resides at minus infinity imaginary energy when the meson-meson system is uncoupled from the confinement states.

From Fig. 7a, where the second meson mass is equal to 0.2 GeV, so threshold is at 0.7 GeV, we observe that the extra pole comes out at $`(0.711i0.20)`$ GeV for $`\lambda =1`$. In the cross section this gives rise to a very broad resonance-like structure.

In Fig. 7b we choose 0.31 GeV for the second meson mass, so threshold lies at 0.81 GeV. In this case we find the physical pole on the real-energy axis, some 73 MeV below threshold, but still before having reached threshold. Such a pole represents a virtual bound state, which reflects itself in some structure at threshold in the scattering cross section. Only for $`\lambda =1.2`$ the pole arrives at threshold. Notice also that the pole reaches the real-energy axis at 0.70 GeV, which is 110 MeV below threshold. Such a phenomenon only occurs for $`S`$-wave scattering.

In Fig. 7c the second meson mass equals 0.48 GeV, which brings threshold to 0.98 GeV. The situation near threshold is now more confusing, but we have enlarged that part of the figure in the inset. From the inset of Fig. 7c we learn that the physical pole comes out some 10 MeV below threshold, but this time as a real bound state. Note that in this case the pole arrives at the real axis 230 MeV below threshold.

In the next section we discuss well-known experimental facts supporting the existence of extra poles in the scattering amplitude for strong interactions.

## 5 The scalar mesons

As extra poles show u mainly in $`S`$-wave scattering, it has to be expected that scalar mesonic resonances must be the domain to search for them .

For $`K\pi `$ and $`\pi \pi `$ scattering, threshold is far below the ground states of the respective confinement spectra $`u\overline{s}`$ and $`\left(u\overline{u}+d\overline{d}\right)/\sqrt{2}`$, which are at 1.389 GeV resp. 1.287 GeV in our model with the parameters of . This is the situation comparable to Fig. 7a. Consequently, the poles associated with the $`K_0^{}(791)`$ and the $`f_0`$(400–600) resonances are still deep in the second Riemann sheet, causing broad structures in the scattering cross sections. In Ref. , the respective poles were found at $`(727i\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}263})`$ MeV and $`(470i\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}208})`$ MeV, well explaining the scattering data.

The $`K\overline{K}`$ threshold at some 0.99 GeV is much closer to the $`s\overline{s}`$ and $`\left(u\overline{u}d\overline{d}\right)/\sqrt{2}`$ ground states at 1.491 GeV and 1.287 GeV. The poles end up just below threshold, as bound states of the coupled systems . But $`s\overline{s}`$ also couples to $`\pi \pi `$ in our many-channel model , through the chain

$$s\overline{s}K\overline{K}\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left(u\overline{u}+d\overline{d}\right)\pi \pi ,$$
(2)
whereas $`\left(u\overline{u}d\overline{d}\right)/\sqrt{2}`$ also couples to $`\pi \eta `$.

The $`s\overline{s}`$ channel couples to $`\pi \pi `$ through the chain (2), implying that the effective coupling is small . Hence, the resulting pole displacement relative to the mentioned bound state below threshold, is small. In  one finds $`(994i\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}20})`$ MeV for this pole, associated to the $`f_0(980)`$ resonance.

In the case of the $`a_0(980)`$ resonance, both $`K\overline{K}`$ and $`\pi \eta `$ couple directly, through OZI-allowed pair creation/annihilation, to $`\left(u\overline{u}d\overline{d}\right)/\sqrt{2}`$. However, the coupling intensity for $`\pi \eta `$ is three times smaller than for $`K\overline{K}`$. Consequently, we may deal with $`\pi \eta `$ as a perturbative correction to $`K\overline{K}`$ here, resulting in an additional shift of the pole in the negative-imaginary direction in the complex-energy plane. In the full multi-channel calculation of Ref. , the pole corresponding to the $`a_0(980)`$ was obtained at $`(968i\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}28})`$ MeV.

## 6 The model’s K matrix

In its one but simplest form, the model’s $`K`$ matrix for low-energy elastic meson-meson scattering in $`\mathrm{}`$ wave is given by the expression

$$K_{\mathrm{}}(p)=\frac{2a^4\lambda ^2\mu pj_{\mathrm{}}^2(pa){\displaystyle \underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{\left|_{n\mathrm{}_c}(a)\right|^2}{E(p)E_{n\mathrm{}_c}}}}{2a^4\lambda ^2\mu pj_{\mathrm{}}(pa)n_{\mathrm{}}(pa){\displaystyle \underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{\left|_{n\mathrm{}_c}(a)\right|^2}{E(p)E_{n\mathrm{}_c}}}\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}1}}.$$
(3)
In formula (3), $`p`$, $`\mu `$, and $`E(p)`$ respectively represent the linear momentum, reduced mass, and total invariant mass of the two-meson system. Furthermore, $`a`$ stands for the average distance where quark-pair creation/annihilation takes place, $`_{n\mathrm{}_c}`$ is the radial part of the eigensolution of the confinement system with radial excitation $`n`$ in $`\mathrm{}_c`$ wave and for eigenvalue $`E_{n\mathrm{}_c}`$, $`j_{\mathrm{}}`$ and $`n_{\mathrm{}}`$ are the spherical Bessel resp. Neumann funtions, and $`\lambda `$ represents the coupling between the two-meson and the confinement systems. In Ref.  we give a derivation of formula (3).

One easily deduces for small $`\lambda `$, assuming there exists a pole close to one of the confinement energy eigenvalues, say $`E_{\nu \mathrm{}_c}`$, that the pole displacement, defined by

$$\mathrm{\Delta }_{\nu \mathrm{}_c}=EE_{\nu \mathrm{}_c},$$

is given by the relation

$$\mathrm{\Delta }_{\nu \mathrm{}_c}\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}2}a^4\lambda ^2\mu p^{(\nu )}j_{\mathrm{}}\left(p^{(\nu )}a\right)\left[n_{\mathrm{}}\left(p^{(\nu )}a\right)ij_{\mathrm{}}\left(p^{(\nu )}a\right)\right]\left|_{\nu \mathrm{}_c}(a)\right|^2,$$
(4)
where $`p^{(\nu )}`$ is the linear momentum corresponding to the energy $`E_{\nu \mathrm{}_c}`$.

Notice from relation (4) that the imaginary part of the pole displacement is negative, as it should be when $`E_{\nu \mathrm{}_c}`$ is above threshold.

It should also be clear at this stage that, by letting $`\lambda `$ increase, one may follow the pole’s trajectory, but when next $`\lambda `$ is decreased, the pole nicely returns to $`E_{\nu \mathrm{}_c}`$. Hence, the extra poles do not show up this way.

In the other limit of very large $`\lambda `$, one ends up with a very simple relation for the pole positions, namely

$$j_{\mathrm{}}\left(pa\right)+in_{\mathrm{}}\left(pa\right)=\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}0},$$
(5)
which is the relation for infinite-hard-sphere scattering in $`\mathrm{}`$ wave.

For data analysis of meson-meson scattering data, the form of the $`K`$ matrix in Eq. (3) is as good as any Breit-Wigner expansion. But it has two advantages:

* It automatically incorporates the extra poles, without any additional parameter.
* In the limit $`\lambda 0`$, one obtains the confinement spectrum, equivalent to quenched-lattice spectra.

In real data analysis, one may just take a few terms of the summation over the radial quantum number $`n`$, and approximate the rest of the summation by a constant. Since, furthermore, confinement is not understood, the moduli squared of the eigenstates $`\left|_{n\mathrm{}_c}(a)\right|^2`$ and the eigenvalues $`E_{n\mathrm{}_c}`$ turn into fit parameters for data analysis, to be adjusted to experiment. The resulting experimentally determined confinement spectrum must coincide with the quenched-lattice spectra. This moreover implies that the light scalars are no issue for quenched-lattice calculations. Thus, a perfect mediator between experiment and low-energy QCD is created through expression (3).

Finally, note that the expression (3) could as well serve for baryon-meson  or baryon-antibaryon scattering.

## 7 Conclusions

Through unitarization, transition matrices can be constructed describing meson-meson scattering. Here we discussed a method which reproduces low-energy data for those two-meson systems that couple through OZI-allowed processes to nonexotic confined states. By studying its pole structure, we discovered that there exist two types of singularities in the scattering amplitude when analytically continued to complex energies. One type of poles can be directly related to the confinement spectrum, even for cases where pole displacements are large. In the limit of large coupling, these poles are equivalent to scattering from a hard sphere. Poles of the other type stem from the background, and are mainly important for scattering in $`S`$ wave, the light scalar mesons being their most important manifestation, as well as the recently observed BABAR  resonance .

When applied in data analysis, the model’s $`K`$ matrix might build the bridge between experiment and QCD lattice calculations.

Acknowledgments: One of us (EvB) wishes to thank the organizers of the Scalar Mesons Workshop for kindly inviting him and for their warm hospitality. It was a pleasure to be hosted at the beautiful surroundings and facilities of SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica, New York. He, moreover, thanks Carla Göbel, Sandra Malvezzi, Luigi Moroni, Brian Meadows, Ignácio Bediaga, and Robert Jaffe for useful suggestions for future work. This work was partly supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia of the Ministério da Ciência e da Tecnologia of Portugal, under contract number POCTI/FNU/49555/2002.