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# The relationship between the X-ray and radio components in the Compact Steep Spectrum Quasar 3C 48

## 1 Introduction

Most radio-loud quasars contain a compact, parsec-scale, flat-spectrum radio core, and lower-surface-brightness extended kiloparsec lobes. The wide range in the ratio of core to total lobe emission is usually attributed to Doppler boosting of the core in those sources that contain a jet aligned close to the observer’s line of sight. But a substantial fraction of radio-loud quasars do not fit into this ‘unified model’. These are the compact steep-spectrum quasars (CSS quasars), which are characterized by a steep power-law radio spectrum, usually with a low-frequency turnover below 1 GHz due to synchrotron self absorption, and sometimes with spectral flattening at high frequencies. The radio structures extend no more than about 15 kpc. About 30 per cent of radio sources found in high-frequency surveys have spectra of this type (Peacock & Wall 1982). A review is found in O’Dea (1998).

The essential difference between CSS quasars and those with flat core spectra has not yet been identified. The CSS sources, as a class, cannot be normal extended double sources seen end-on, because in most cases the overall size is smaller than the lobe-widths of normal double sources, and the low-frequency spectral turnover occurs at higher frequencies. There are also too many CSS sources for them all to be attributed to projection effects (Fanti et al. 1990).

The role of relativistic boosting in the VLBI structures may not be as significant in CSS quasars as in their flat-spectrum counterparts (O’Dea 1998). However, in 3C 147 and 3C 309.1, for example, the X-ray flux densities from Einstein are smaller than the inverse-Compton emission predicted from the radio flux densities, thus providing evidence for bulk relativistic motion (Simon et al. 1983; Kus et al. 1990). Superluminal motion is detected in 3C 216, 3C 309.1, 3C 380 and 3C 138 (Barthel et al. 1988; Kus et al. 1993; Cotton et al. 1997), although it is now thought that 3C 216 and 3C 380 may be large doubles in projection rather than true members of the CSS class (O’Dea 1998). Less controversially, in contrast to flat-spectrum quasars it appears that the jets of CSS quasars have more complex and distorted morphology and have not escaped from the host galaxy. While the underlying cause (whether they are young or are smothered by dense interstellar gas) remains an issue of debate, some level of interaction between the radio jets and the local galactic environment would seem inevitable.

X-ray measurements of CSS quasars are important for the following reasons: (a) in conjunction with radio VLBI observations, they place lower limits on the bulk flow velocity in the emitting regions by the inverse-Compton argument; (b) they may show evidence for higher neutral gas density in these objects than in other quasars; (c) they may be able to show whether an additional emission mechanism (e.g., thermal) is operating, or whether all the radiation is consistent with a nuclear and jet origin; (d) large spectral differences between objects may indicate that they do not form a homogeneous class. Our best composite X-ray knowledge to date comes from objects drawn from the 3CRR sample (Laing, Riley & Longair 1983). Einstein observed several such CSS quasars, but the derived overall knowledge of their soft X-ray spectra is poor compared with other classes of radio-loud quasars (Figure 1). Radio-loud, flat-spectrum core-dominated quasars have spectra consistent with a power law with a typical energy spectral index111Throughout this paper we define spectral index $`\alpha `$ in the sense $`f_\nu \nu ^\alpha `$ $`\alpha 0.5`$ (Worrall & Wilkes 1990), and there is a tendency for the slope to steepen with decreasing core dominance (Shastri et al. 1993). It is not known whether the large contour for CSS sources in Figure 1 is because of poor statistics or because they show a much larger spread in their X-ray spectral indices.

In this paper we report ROSAT and Chandra X-ray results for 3C 48, one of the strongest and most peculiar CSS quasars. We present previously unreported variability between the two observations with the ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) and within the observation with the High Resolution Imager (HRI). In comparison with an earlier Einstein Observatory observation we infer the presence of a two-component spectrum which is supported by the new Chandra data. We also present new multifrequency VLBA observations which we use to predict the non-thermal X-ray emission for comparison with the X-ray results.

To ease comparison with earlier work we use a cosmology in which $`H_0=50`$ km s-1 Mpc-1, $`q_0=0`$. At 3C 48’s redshift of 0.367, 1 arcsec corresponds to 6.8 kpc in the source frame.

### 1.1 Properties of 3C 48

3C 48 was the second quasar to be recognized (Matthews & Sandage 1963; Greenstein & Matthews 1963). It is classified as a CSS source on the basis of its steep radio spectrum and its small angular size. The integrated radio spectrum shows a low-frequency peak at about 100 MHz and is reasonably straight (a slight concave curvature) from $`500`$ MHz to $`>20`$ GHz with $`\alpha 0.75`$ at 1 GHz (Ott et al. 1994). Most of the radio emission occurs on a scale less than about 0.6 arcsec ($`<4`$ kpc), although at low frequencies there is emission on scales up to 3.5 arcsec (Hartas et al. 1983; Woan 1992). VLBI images \[Wilkinson et al. 1990, 1991 (1.6 GHz); Simon et al. 1990 (329 MHz); Nan et al. 1991 (608 MHz)\] show a compact, inverted-spectrum ‘core’, A, at the southern end of the source, with a ‘hotspot’, B, 50 mas to the north of A, from which a one-sided, broad disrupted jet or plume extends $`1`$ arcsec to the north and northeast. This is unlike most other CSS sources which generally show more-or-less symmetrical double or triple structures. The VLBI images show no sign of a counterjet, but a high dynamic-range VLA image at 8 GHz (Briggs 1995) finds a component on the counterjet side, with an inferred jet-counterjet ratio around 100:1. There have been no VLBI images published at frequencies higher than 1.6 GHz. The flux density appears to be variable by a few per cent over decades at frequencies above a GHz (Ott et al. 1994).

3C 48 has associated optical nebulosity. Broad and narrow \[OIII\] and \[OII\] emission-line regions form a chain of compact knots which extends to 6 arcsec north of the core, beyond the radio structures; photoionization by the quasar nucleus is believed to play the dominant role in this gas excitation (Axon et al. 2000). Excess continuum and emission-line nebulosity closer to the quasar core, and in particular at about 1 arcsec northeast of the nucleus, is variously interpreted as the nucleus of a galaxy merging with the host galaxy of 3C 48 (Stockton & Ridgway 1991) or a radio-jet-related star-forming region (Chatzichristou, Vanderriest & Jaffe 1999). 3C 48 has unusually strong infrared emission (Neugebauer, Soifer, & Miley 1985), comparable with the most luminous infrared galaxies, and the detection of CO emission (Scoville et al. 1993) implies the presence of about twice as much molecular gas as in ultraluminous IRAS galaxies. This evidence, together with the irregular appearance of the galaxy in optical continuum (Stockton & Ridgway 1991), supports the idea of a recent merger. Fabian et al. (1987) suggest that the extensive emission-line nebulosity is photoionized gas resulting from a cooling flow of $`100M_{\mathrm{}}`$ yr-1 rather than a galaxy merger.

3C 48 was detected in X-rays with the Einstein IPC on 1980 Jul 25 (Wilkes & Elvis 1987). The spectrum was consistent with a power-law with $`\alpha =0.7_{0.4}^{+0.6}`$ and a flux density at 1 keV of $`f=0.50_{0.10}^{+0.14}`$ $`\mu `$Jy (90 per cent errors for 2 interesting parameters; $`\mathrm{\Delta }\chi ^2+4.6`$). (Our reanalysis of the data shows the quoted error in flux density is more appropriate for $`1\sigma `$ for 2 interesting parameters; $`\mathrm{\Delta }\chi ^2+2.3`$.)

## 2 Observations and Analysis Methods

### 2.1 ROSAT

The ROSAT observations, whose dates and exposure times are given in Table 1, were made with the source in the center of the telescope field of view and in normal ‘wobble’ mode during the pointed phase of the mission. 3C 48 was observed twice with the PSPC and once with the HRI. The data were corrected for instrumental effects and the motion of the satellite. Our analysis of the HRI data includes ‘dewobbling’ (Harris et al. 1998) to remove some of the time-dependent aspect uncertainties arising from pixel-to-pixel gain variations in the aspect camera CCD, as well as the use of a broadened PSF (calculated by fitting to data within 10 arcsec of the source centroid) to take account of residual aspect uncertainties. Our analysis used the Post Reduction Off-line Software (PROS X-ray package which runs in the IRAF environment.

Spectral distributions were extracted for each PSPC observation using an on-source circle of 3 arcmin radius and local background from an annulus of radii 3 and 5.7 arcmin. The large on-source region relative to most of the source counts was chosen so as to avoid losing soft photons because of the ‘Ghost Image’ effect of the PSPC (Briel et al. 1994). Radial profiles were fitted to models convolved with the Point Spread Function (PSF) using home-grown software whose algorithms are described in Birkinshaw (1994). This software takes into account any contribution of the model in the background region. A fit was first made to a one-component point-source model. We then examined the reduction in $`\chi ^2`$ when adding in a $`\beta `$ model of surface brightness $`b_\mathrm{x}(\theta )(1+[\theta /\theta _\mathrm{c}]^2)^{3\beta +0.5}`$, used to represent the presence of X-ray emitting gas in hydrostatic equilibrium.

The presence of an extended X-ray atmosphere in the HRI observation of 3C 48 has been reported previously (Crawford et al. 1999; Hardcastle & Worrall 1999). This is re-examined in the context of the new Chandra observations in §6. Our analysis of the ROSAT data and the comparison with earlier Einstein data was completed before the Chandra data became available in the public archive, and so was not guided by information from the higher-quality data set.

### 2.2 Chandra

3C 48 was observed with the back-illuminated CCD chip, S3, of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) on board Chandra on 2002 March 6. The observation was part of a study of a small sample of CSS and Giga-Hertz Peaked Spectrum sources by Siemiginowska et al. (2003a). Details of the instrument and its modes of operation can be found in the Chandra Proposers’ Observatory Guide, available from http://cxc.harvard.edu/proposer. The observation was made in the VFAINT data mode, with a 128-row subarray (giving a 1 by 8 arcmin field of view) to reduce the CCD readout time to 0.44 s and mitigate the effects of pileup on the spectrum of the quasar core. We have analyzed the archival data set using CIAO v2.3 and the CALDB v2.21 calibration database, and following software ‘threads’ available from Chandra X-ray Center (http://cxc.harvard.edu/ciao). Events with grades 0,2,3,4,6 are used. All X-ray spectra are binned to a minimum of 30 counts per bin, and the time-dependent decline in quantum efficiency is taken into account using the recommended methods. There were no intervals of flaring background, and the calibrated data have an observation duration of 9.225 ks.

The counts extracted from the circle of radius 2.5 arcsec centred on the nucleus give 0.35 counts/readout time, for which a pileup fraction of about 8 per cent is estimated by the PIMMS software. A similar fraction of piled-up events is deduced by examining the events with significant signal in the outer pixels of the 5 by 5 event islands read out in VFAINT data mode. The effect of pileup is to combine the energy of multiple soft X-rays in the core of the PSF into a single harder X-ray and thus flatten the spectrum. We therefore used two approaches to extract and model the X-ray spectrum. The first approach follows Gambill et al. (2003) in extracting the counts from an annular region of inner radius 0.5 arcsec and outer radius 2.5 arcsec, to exclude the piled up core. The resulting fluxes were then corrected for missing flux using a spectrally weighted PSF extracted using the ChaRT and MARX software (to model the mirror and instrument responses) and smoothed by a small fraction of an arcsec to give a good match to the radial profile of the data within 1 arcsec of the nucleus (thus taking into account residual effects of aspect uncertainties and pixelization). The second approach was to fit data extracted from a 2.5 arcsec radius circle either ignoring the effects of pileup or attempting to correct for it using the method of Davis (2001) as implemented in Sherpa. We found the pileup model overestimated the amount of pileup and steepened and increased the intensity of the spectrum so much as to be inconsistent with results from the annular extraction. We attribute this to the implementation of the pileup model running into difficulties for a spectrum with as much concave curvature as that we measure (see §3.2). The spectral indices from our fits without the pileup model to the data from the 2.5 arcsec radius circle were consistent with those found from the annulus and had smaller statistical uncertainties. However, because of systematic errors introduced by pileup, the model results and uncertainties reported in §3.2 are derived from fitting to the data from the annular extraction region, as obtained using Sherpa. Background for the nuclear spectrum was measured from a source-centred annulus of radii 6 and 20 arcsec. Our spectral model fitting was over energies between 0.3 and 7 keV. We used the PSF to search for extended emission using the method described in §2.1.

### 2.3 VLBA

We observed 3C 48 with the VLBA (including a single VLA antenna) at 1.5, 5.0, 8.4 and 15.4 GHz on 1996 Jan 20. The multi-frequency approach was chosen to allow us to constrain the spectra of the compact radio components. The 12 hours of observing time was evenly divided among the four frequencies.

The data were reduced in the standard manner using the AIPS software package. Pulse calibration data and observations of 3C 345 were used to perform a first calibration of the phases. We then used a point model to perform global fringe-fitting on the data, generated best maps from this process and then, because of the complex structure of the source, fringe-fitted again, using a model based on the first-generation maps, to produce the data used in the final analysis. This process was successful for all the data except for that from the 15-GHz observations, where a point model for the first iteration of fringe fitting produced unacceptably poor results. In this case we used a model based on the 8.4-GHz data for the first iteration of fringe fitting.

The final datasets were averaged to an integration time of 30 s and mapped using the AIPS task IMAGR with natural weighting of the visibilities. The different observing frequencies (four in the case of the 1.5-GHz data, two for the others) were averaged in order to make the maps, with the flux scales being corrected on the assumption of a spectral index of 0.7. The resulting maps were used in a number of iterations of antenna-based phase self-calibration until phase artifacts were largely eliminated. Amplitude self-calibration was not applied, since this might have rendered the flux scale of the maps unreliable.

## 3 X-ray spectrum

### 3.1 ROSAT

The spectrum from each PSPC observation gives an acceptable fit to a single-component power law with free $`\alpha `$, $`N_H`$, and normalization (Table 1). The absorption is slightly low as compared with the radio-inferred value for the line of sight through our Galaxy (Elvis et al. 1989), although it is consistent within $`1\sigma `$ uncertainties. The spectrum is steep, and there is no evidence of excess absorption as might be expected were the X-ray emission seen through the hypothetical dense cold gas that helps to keep the radio source small. A single-temperature Raymond-Smith thermal model fits the data poorly: e.g., the best such thermal fit to the stronger detection gives $`\chi _{\mathrm{min}}^2`$ = 56 for 26 degrees of freedom. The addition of a thermal component does not improve the single-component power-law fits.

Although the spectral shape remained remarkably constant between the observations, the normalization did not, and the flux of the first observation is $`1.5`$ times that of the second (Table 1 and Figure 2). The ROSAT data give a significantly steeper power-law spectrum than the earlier Einstein measurement. The X-ray emission could arise from a power law which varies both in spectral shape and normalization over time, but, since the spectral index remained constant between the two ROSAT observations, we investigate the possibility that the Einstein and ROSAT bands are primarily sampling separate components of emission. As Einstein is sensitive to higher energies than ROSAT (although the bands overlap considerably), we model the spectrum with a function which flattens to higher energies. Such a concave curvature might explain why the ROSAT data slightly prefer an absorption less than the column density through our Galaxy. We fitted each of the three observations (one Einstein and two ROSAT) to a two-component power-law model to investigate whether or not it is possible to find two power-law slopes which, with normalizations as the only free parameters, fit each observation at least as well as the single power law. For this exercise we fixed the absorption to the Galactic value. We stepped through values for one power-law index, fitting the other index and the normalizations, to find a case where the second power-law index was similar for all three observations. We then fixed both power laws and computed $`\chi ^2`$ and the two normalizations for a fit to each data set. Table 2 gives example fits for two components. Due to the poorly constrained nature of the fitting we do not claim to have found the best two slopes. However, this does show that it is possible that ROSAT and Einstein are both sampling a power law of slope similar to that of the radio spectrum, plus a steeper soft excess, with the normalization of the soft component (and possibly the hard component) varying over time.

### 3.2 Chandra

A fit to a single-component power law finds an absorption that, at more than 99 per cent confidence, is inconsistently small compared with the Galactic value. This is the usual indication of a soft excess. When the absorption is fixed at the radio-derived value for our Galaxy we obtain a spectral index of $`\alpha =1.35`$ (Table 2) and an upper limit to any intrinsic absorption, in excess of that in our own Galaxy of $`5\times 10^{19}`$ cm-2. The fit is only marginally acceptable, at $`\chi ^2=81`$ for 64 degrees of freedom, and shows correlated features in the residuals which suggest that the model is wrong. The spectral index is slightly larger than the value of $`0.96\pm 0.04`$ tabulated by Siemiginowska et al. (2003b) for the same observation (no goodness-of-fit or energy-band information provided), but the fits are consistent in requiring no intrinsic absorption.

The addition of a second power law gives $`\chi ^2=42`$ for 62 degrees of freedom, a highly significant improvement on an F test. The spectrum, shown in Figure 3, has best-fit power law spectral indices of $`\alpha _h=0.5`$, $`\alpha _s=2.2`$, with uncertainty contours shown in Figure 4. The 1 keV flux densities are $`0.34\pm 0.2`$ and $`0.4\pm 0.2`$ $`\mu `$Jy for the hard and soft components, respectively, where uncertainties are 1$`\sigma `$ for 2 interesting parameters. There is no evidence for line emission from Fe K fluorescence at an observed energy of 4.75 keV in this or in the spectrum with more counts (but mildly piled up) from the 2.5 arcsec radius extraction region.

## 4 X-ray variability

In §3.1 we reported X-ray flux variability between the January and August PSPC observations (Table 1 and Figure 2). The flux had increased again by the time of the HRI observation. There is also evidence for variability on a shorter time scale. Whilst the August observation was continuous, the January measurement was made in five intervals. Table 3 lists the start times and durations of the intervals, together with the 0.2–1.9 keV net counts and count rates within a circle of radius 2 arcmin centred on 3C 48. Smaller and larger on-source regions give similar results. We find a drop in count-rate over just 3 hours on January 27 that is comparable to the average amount of decrease between January and August. Similarly, the HRI data show variability at the $`20`$ per cent level on time-scales of a few hours. The flux in the Chandra data is at a similar level to that in the first PSPC exposure. There is no obvious variability during the Chandra observation either below or above 1 keV, where the soft and hard components, respectively, dominate the emission. However, the observation only lasted for 2.6 hours.

Our results for January 27 correspond to $`\mathrm{\Delta }L`$(0.2–2 keV) $`1.4\times 10^{38}`$ W in $`\mathrm{\Delta }t11.4`$ ksec. $`\mathrm{\Delta }L/\mathrm{\Delta }t`$ is above average but not wildly inconsistent with what has been seen in other quasars and Seyfert galaxies (Barr & Mushotzky 1986). We could interpret the soft excess as the high-energy tail of unbeamed emission from an accretion disc. In this case, the implied source size from the luminosity-doubling time scale is $`2\times 10^4`$ pc ($`3\times 10^5`$ mas) which, for Eddington-limited spherical accretion and an emission region of size about three times the Schwarzschild radius, implies the presence of a black hole of about $`7\times 10^8`$ M. In this paper we neither exclude nor explore further the possibility that all the X-ray emission is associated with the accretion processes. Rather we explore possible relations between the radio and hard X-ray components of the source. We also discuss briefly in §7.2 the possibility that the X-ray emission is from an embedded blazar.

## 5 VLBA results

Final maps at the full resolution available from the data are presented in Figure 5. Parameters of the maps are listed in Table 4.

The 1.5-GHz map reproduces well the source structure seen in the 1.6-GHz image of Wilkinson et al. (1990). Extending the notation used in that paper, we will denote the component to the north of ‘B’ ‘B2’ and the ‘warm spot’ close to the northern edge of the L-band maps ‘D’. These components are labelled on each map in Figure 5. In a rectangle covering all of the emission in the high-resolution map of Wilkinson et al. (1991), their map222Obtained from the radio-source atlas of Leahy, Bridle & Strom (http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/atlas/) contains 9.7 Jy and ours 10.5 Jy. The small difference between these flux densities is in the sense and of the magnitude expected given the steep-spectrum nature of 3C 48.

At higher frequencies much of the structure seen in the 1.5-GHz map is still visible, although the extended structure is not detectable. Component C is largely resolved out. B remains compact, but structure in components B2 and D is clearly present; B2 is resolved into an elongated structure surrounded by fainter emission while D is resolved into two components aligned roughly E-W. At 15 GHz the ‘core’ component A appears to be resolved into two components, possibly a true core and a jet component, separated by $`3`$ mas (20 pc); the 8-GHz core can also be modelled as two Gaussians, but otherwise there is no high-frequency evidence for the jet connecting A and B suggested by the maps of Wilkinson et al., though component A is elongated northwards in all maps.

The flux densities and deconvolved sizes of the named components are tabulated in Table 5. These were obtained with the task JMFIT, fitting a Gaussian together with zero level and slope. To reduce the effects of the different $`uv`$ plane sampling, the longest baselines in the 5, 8.4 and 15-GHz measurements were matched and a tapered weighting scheme was used to give similar dirty beams. The same restoring beam (3.5 mas) was used for all three frequencies so that in principle the resulting maps should be sensitive to the same compact structures. Matching baselines to the 1.5-GHz data was not feasible; the map of Figure 5 was used and we have tabulated, in parentheses, the flux densities measured when the low and high observing frequencies are mapped separately. Errors quoted are those returned by JMFIT.

Components B and B2 have spectra consistent with a moderately flat power law ($`\alpha 0.5`$) at frequencies between 5 and 8.4 GHz, cutting off at 15 GHz. For B the power law extrapolates to 1.5 GHz. For B2 the 1.5-GHz flux density lies above the extrapolation, but this is not unexpected as the component also appears distinctly larger at this frequency. The spectra are consistent with a model in which B and B2 are physically similar to the hotspots (regions where particles are accelerated at shocks) of powerful, FRII, radio sources.

For component A, $`\alpha `$ is roughly 0.6 at 1.5 GHz and between 1.5 and 5 GHz. Its faintness at 330 MHz (Simon et al. 1990) suggest that the flux density peaks at a frequency between 330 MHz and 1.5 GHz. The spectrum is very flat between 5 and 8 GHz and falls off rapidly by 15 GHz. A two-component model — perhaps consisting of a self-absorbed core and a steep-spectrum jet — may be necessary to explain this behaviour. The core is a sufficiently small contributor to the overall radio flux of the source that it would need to be undergoing large fractional variability (of order 100 per cent or more over time scales of decades) were it to account for the likely long-term variability in total flux discussed by Ott et al. (1994).

A comparison of the flux densities in individual components between the Wilkinson et al. (1991) map and ours is uncertain because the maximum-entropy algorithm VTESS was used in making the former. Using fixed extraction regions, the components labelled in Figure 5 all contain a higher flux in the Wilkinson et al. map (ranging from 16 per cent for component A to 53 per cent for B). However, due to the different mapping procedures, we are unable to conclude with any certainty the extent to which the reported variability in integrated flux (Ott et al. 1994) is located in specific source components.

We used JMFIT to search for evidence for proper motion of components B or B2 with respect to A at 1.5 GHz between the epoch of Wilkinson et al.’s observations (1984.3) and ours (1996.1). The usefulness of this measurement is limited by the accuracy with which we can align the weak components A. The only significant motion is that of component B, which appears to have moved northwards by $`0.3\pm 0.1`$ mas, a $`3\sigma `$ result. Taken at face value, this corresponds to an apparent motion of 2 pc in 11.8 years, so that we have a sub-luminal $`v_{\mathrm{app}}=(0.5\pm 0.2)c`$.

If we assume that the source is intrinsically two sided and symmetric out to a projected radius of 0.05 arcsec, we can constrain models in which the sidedness of the jet is related to relativistic beaming. Based on the off-source noise in the 5-GHz data, we can set a $`3\sigma `$ upper limit of $`<0.5`$ mJy for the flux of a component corresponding to component B in the hypothetical undetected counterjet, so that the jet-counterjet flux ratio here is $`>300`$. This may be compared to the large-scale jet-counterjet ratio of $`100`$ determined from the VLA imaging of Briggs (1995). For an intrinsically symmetrical pair of emitting regions, the jet-counterjet ratio is given by

$$R=\left(\frac{c+v\mathrm{cos}\theta }{cv\mathrm{cos}\theta }\right)^{3+\alpha }$$

(the exponent 3 being appropriate for a single emitting region rather than a jet), while the apparent motion on the sky of the jet component is given by

$$v_{\mathrm{app}}=\frac{vc\mathrm{sin}\theta }{(cv\mathrm{cos}\theta )}$$

These results restrict the possible values of $`v`$ and $`\theta `$ as shown in Figure 6. Only small angles to the line of sight and relativistic velocities for component B ($`v>0.7c`$) are allowed if the radio structure of 3C 48 is intrinsically symmetrical and component B moves with the bulk jet velocity.

## 6 The X-ray-emitting atmosphere

An excess of counts (compared with the PSF) in the HRI radial profile of 3C 48 on scales of 10–30 arcsec (70–200 kpc) has been reported previously (Crawford et al. 1999; Hardcastle & Worrall 1999). Based on the improvement in $`\chi ^2`$ when $`\beta `$ models of fixed parameters were added to a point-source model, it was inferred that 3C 48 lies in a luminous cluster of galaxies. When we adopted the method applied by Worrall & Birkinshaw (2001) to 3C 346, in order to determine the uncertainty in the derived parameters, we found allowed values of $`\beta =0.87_{0.19}^{+0.73}`$, $`\theta _c=8.7_{4.5}^{+10.7}`$ (1$`\sigma `$ errors), with the unresolved core contributing $`5646_{484}^{+136}`$ of the $`6000\pm 166`$ total counts within a source-centred circle of radius of 2.5 arcmin.

There is a recent concern about the accuracy of the X-ray luminosities of clusters around 3CR quasars measured with the HRI (Crawford et al. 1999; Hardcastle & Worrall 1999). Crawford & Fabian (2003) report Chandra observations for three 3CR quasars with earlier HRI cluster detections, and in two of them the Chandra-measured luminosities are significantly lower than the HRI-measured values (by a factor of 20 to 50). Crawford & Fabian attribute this discrepancy to insufficient or erroneous wobble corrections affecting the HRI results. That this may be an issue for 3C 48 is suggested by the relatively low (but uncertain) quasar-galaxy spatial covariance found by Yee & Green (1987).

Indeed we find that Chandra does not support the existence of a cluster as luminous as found in the HRI data. Using only the best-fit HRI-derived values of $`\beta `$ and $`\theta _c`$, the fit of the Chandra radial profile to a two-component model gives $`\chi ^2`$=8.9 for 21 degrees of freedom, as compared with $`\chi ^2`$=10.3 for 22 degrees of freedom for a point-like component alone, such that the probability of the improvement being by chance is 8.5 per cent on an F test. No other choice of $`\beta `$ and $`\theta _c`$ gives a detection that can be claimed with greater confidence, where searching through these parameters further decreases the number of degrees of freedom by two. So, the detection of any extended emission is marginal.

If we assume that the Chandra detection of extended emission is real, the component contains only $`30\pm 6`$ counts and is a factor of 40 weaker than predicted by the HRI. If we further assume that the emission is from a hot gaseous environment of the quasar, the bolometric X-ray luminosity is $`2\times 10^{36}`$ W, assuming a temperature of $`kT=1.5`$ keV so that it lies on the cluster temperature-luminosity correlation (Arnaud & Evrard 1999). We convert the X-ray parameters to estimates of physical conditions using the approach of Birkinshaw & Worrall (1993). The mass deposition rate from cooling would fall far short of that predicted by Fabian et al. (1987)’s explanation for the emission-line nebulosity. The gas pressure at a radius of 6 arcsec ($`40`$ kpc) is $`2\times 10^{12}`$ Pa, which is insufficient to confine the extended emission-line regions if their pressures are $`10^{11}`$ Pa, as estimated by Fabian et al. (1987) on the basis of a photoionization model.

At a radius of about 0.5 arcsec, within which most of the radio structure is contained, the cluster pressure would be about $`3\times 10^{12}`$ Pa. The plume of 1.5-GHz radio emission stretching north from component B for about 0.3 arcsec, and contained within continuous contours in Figure 5, has a flux density of 8.7 Jy (roughly half of the total emission from 3C 48 at this frequency). Using an electron spectrum of the shape and energy limits described in §7 and Table 6, the minimum pressure in radiating particles and magnetic field (for no proton contribution) is found to be roughly $`2\times 10^9`$ Pa if the source is unbeamed. Thus despite the diffuse appearance, which does not suggest a strongly overpressured, rapidly expanding source, the external X-ray-emitting gas falls well short of providing pressure balance. The minimum internal pressure decreases if beaming is important. For models consistent with Figure 6, the minimum conditions for pressure balance are only met if the plume velocity is greater than $`0.985`$c and it is at angle to the line of sight of less than 0.4 degrees. X-ray constraints from ROSAT observations of two GPS galaxies have already found pressures one to two orders of magnitude too low to confine their radio sources assuming there is no beaming (O’Dea et al. 1996), and in a sample of FRIIs, Hardcastle & Worrall (2000) find similar results for the lobes of the five sources of maximum linear size $`10`$ kpc

## 7 Radio-related X-ray emission

The radio, X-ray, and optical luminosities of samples of quasars have been investigated using a variety of different approaches, leading most authors to conclude that emission associated with the compact radio source dominates the X-radiation in core-dominated radio sources, while a ubiquitous unbeamed component takes over as the dominant source of X-ray emission in lobe-dominated sources (e.g., Zamorani 1984; Browne & Murphy, 1987; Worrall et al. 1987; Kembhavi 1993). This can explain why core-dominated radio-loud quasars exhibit an approximately linear correlation between their 1-keV X-ray and 5-GHz radio flux densities, while lobe-dominated quasars tend to lie above the line (Fig. 7).

3C 48 is interesting in this context. Using the hard non-variable component of X-ray emission and the total radio emission (which is all compact on the scale of the other quasars) it lies close to the line defined by other core-dominated quasars (Fig. 7). If the proximity of 3C 48 to the correlation is not coincidental, then we expect a substantial fraction of the hard X-ray emission to be produced by the radio-emitting components. In the remainder of this paper we test this possibility by estimating the X-ray emission from non-thermal processes in the radio components that we resolve. We also explore briefly in §7.2 the possibility that the X-ray emission arises from an embedded blazar that contributes negligibly to the observed radio emission.

Radio components can give rise to X-ray emission by two main mechanisms; synchrotron and inverse-Compton (IC) emission. There is clear evidence for the importance of both of these processes in extended components of radio sources studied with Chandra. In particular, the jets of low-luminosity, FRI, radio galaxies (which in many respects resemble the 3C 48 jet) are often synchrotron emitters in the X-ray (e.g., Worrall, Birkinshaw & Hardcastle 2001; Hardcastle, Birkinshaw & Worrall 2001) while X-ray emission likely to be due to the inverse-Compton process has been detected from the jets, hotspots and lobes of a number of powerful FRII sources (e.g., Sambruna et al. 2002; Hardcastle et al. 2002).

If the X-ray emission is of an IC origin, the spectral index should match that of the optically-thin radio emission, which is true for the hard X-ray component (Fig. 4) in both the plume, where $`\alpha 0.75`$ (Ott et al. 1994), and the knots (Table 5). The variable soft X-ray component would require a separate explanation, such as the high-energy tail of the emission from an accretion disc (§4).

Estimates of the IC emission necessarily rely on assumptions about the geometry of the radio components, their bulk speed, and the magnetic field strength in the radio-emitting plasma. With a sufficiently low magnetic field strength, any radio-emitting component can give the required IC X-ray flux. However, there is now evidence that the extended components of radio sources have magnetic field strengths consistent with, or a factor of a few lower than, the values for energy equipartition between the radiating electrons and the magnetic field (e.g., Brunetti et al. 1999; Hardcastle et al. 2002). A magnetic field which is a factor of a few below the equipartition value can increase by an order of magnitude the predicted X-ray emissivity.

For IC calculations we must also make some assumptions about the electron spectrum. We model this as a single power law, $`N(\gamma )\gamma ^p`$ between an upper and lower cutoff energy, parametrized in terms of the lower and upper limits on the Lorentz factors, $`\gamma _{\mathrm{min}}`$ and $`\gamma _{\mathrm{max}}`$. We take $`p`$ to be $`2.5`$, reproducing $`\alpha 0.75`$ observed in the total radio emission. The normalization and values of $`\gamma _{\mathrm{min}}`$ and $`\gamma _{\mathrm{max}}`$ are selected based on available constraints from the broad-band synchrotron spectrum in the region of interest. We use the anisotropic IC code described by Hardcastle et al. (2002) for our calculations. This deals accurately with the effects of beaming and aberration on the illuminating photon population and the IC emission itself. The three parent photon populations we will consider are (i) the synchrotron photons themselves (SSC), (ii) the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB/IC), and (iii) radiation from the active nucleus (NIC).

The NIC model requires some additional assumptions. For no beaming and an equipartition magnetic field, the electron population responsible for the observed radio emission produces X-ray IC most successfully through upscattering far infra-red photons. We use the ISO results of Meisenheimer et al. (2001), and model the spectrum as having a flux density of 829 mJy at $`3\times 10^{12}`$ Hz (observed frame), above which frequency $`\alpha 1.0`$. The results are insensitive to the upper-frequency cut-off but are sensitive to the photon spectrum below $`3\times 10^{12}`$ Hz. The Meisenheimer et al. data show that the spectrum flattens, and are consistent with $`\alpha `$ between $`0.0`$ and $`1.0`$ down to a frequency of $`1.7\times 10^{12}`$ Hz. Photons of lower frequency still, in the range between $`1.7\times 10^{12}`$ Hz and $`3\times 10^{11}`$ Hz, could in principle boost the IC emission from this process considerably, but there is no justification for the introduction of a new soft population of photons in this unobserved wavelength band. We cut off the spectrum at $`1.7\times 10^{12}`$ Hz but adopt $`\alpha =0`$ below $`3\times 10^{12}`$ Hz. The photons are allowed to illuminate the radio-emitting regions as though they originated at a point source at the quasar nucleus. Because some of the IR emission in 3C 48 may originate in a circumnuclear starburst, this model is not necessarily accurate. However, as long as the starburst emission does not come from a region much larger than the radio source, it is not seriously in error.

We consider separately the resolved radio emission and the radio core as possible sites of radio-related X-ray emission. The former may explain the position of 3C 48 in Figure 7.

### 7.1 Jet-related X-rays

The main difficulty with a synchrotron model in which both radio and X-ray emission are from a population of electrons with a single-component spectrum (power law or broken power law) is the upper limit on jet surface brightness of 22.2 mag arcsec-2 in the HST F814W filter found by Kirhakos et al. (1999). This implies an upper limit of order 1 $`\mu `$Jy to the integrated jet emission at a frequency of $`3.8\times 10^{14}`$ Hz. Since this upper limit is comparable to the measured X-ray flux density at 1 keV, synchrotron emission could only make a significant contribution to the unresolved X-rays through a highly non-standard electron population which produces copious emission at frequencies only above the optical. The detection of optical jet emission is severely hampered by the bright nucleus and galaxy nebulosity, but in view of the Kirhakos et al. constraint we consider the possibility of significant X-ray synchrotron emission from the radio jet no further.

The brightest small-scale components in the jet are B and B2. However, these components contain less than 10 per cent of the radio flux of the overall jet, and, assuming source regions of about 2 mas in extent, none of the photon populations gives more IC X-ray emission than we find from the overall radio plume.

We model the plume described in §6 crudely as a truncated cone, with a linear gradient in electron density along the cone axis to represent the brightness gradient along the plume seen in the 1.5-GHz maps. The total 1.5-GHz flux density of 8.7 Jy for this volume provides the normalization for the electron spectrum. A single constant magnetic field strength is assumed throughout the source for numerical efficiency. We assume that the spectral shape of the plume matches that of the integrated radio emission and by default use the $`80`$ MHz turnover frequency (plausibly due to synchrotron self-absorption or free-free absorption; Wilkinson et al. 1990) to provide a limit on the low-energy cutoff of the electrons. The spectrum also steepens before mm-wave radiation is emitted (Steppe et al. 1995), which gives an indication of a possible high-energy cutoff. The corresponding values of $`\gamma _{\mathrm{min}}`$ and $`\gamma _{\mathrm{max}}`$ (Table 6) depend on the degree to which the extended emission is beamed and on the derived equipartition magnetic field strength.

#### 7.1.1 Unbeamed plume model

If the plume is unbeamed and lies in the plane of the sky, the one-sidedness of the jet is a genuine intrinsic feature of the source, perhaps caused by differences in the beam’s interaction with the external medium, as suggested by Wilkinson et al. (1990). The predicted SSC, CMB/IC and NIC X-ray flux densities, assuming equipartition, are given in Table 6. The combined output is a factor of $`50`$ below the observed flux density of $`340`$ nJy (Table 2) in the hard X-ray component. We would require the magnetic field to be a factor of about 10 below the equipartition value if the mechanisms are to make an important contribution. A reduction to only a factor of six below equipartition is sufficient if $`\gamma _{\mathrm{min}}`$ is reduced to 5, allowing for the presence of electrons at energies below that for which the synchrotron emission is self-absorbed or suffers free-free absorption. The favoured interpretation of the resolved X-ray jet emission from the quasar jet PKS 0637-752 supports the presence of electrons with $`5<\gamma _{\mathrm{min}}<20`$ (Tavecchio et al. 2000).

The NIC contribution would be increased if the IR radiation were increased through beaming. To contribute the observed X-rays, assuming equipartition, a component of beamed IR emission would need both to be about a factor of 100 brighter than the measured IR (as seen by the jet) and have a rather large opening angle (Figure 5) to cover the whole jet. Although such extra IR emission cannot be ruled out, there are no observations of which we are aware which support the presence of dominant beamed IR emission. On the contrary, Meissenheimer et al.(̃2001) argue that radio galaxies and quasars have similar IR luminosities, implying that the emission seen is emitted isotropically. To get a maximum gain from scattering geometry, the nuclear beamed emission should be directed away from the line of sight. It then seems most likely that equal and opposite beamed emission should dominate the IR which is observed, and this is insufficient to produce the observed X-rays. We thus consider it unlikely that beamed IR radiation is the dominant photon source for producing the X-rays.

#### 7.1.2 Beamed plume model

In Figure 6 we presented the range of beaming parameters that are consistent with the observed sidedness and the possible detection of sub-luminal motion. As a representative example we take $`v=0.9c`$ and $`\theta =5`$ degrees, giving a bulk relativistic Doppler factor of $`\delta =4.2`$. We take the projection of the velocity vector on the sky to point along the direction of apparent motion of component B, i.e. approximately N on the radio map. In this model, the boosted CMB radiation is the dominant photon population in the source frame (Table 6). Inverse-square law and Doppler effects greatly reduce the effects of the nuclear illumination. The resulting total predicted X-ray emission is two orders of magnitude below the observed value. The magnetic field would have to be considerably below the equipartition value to achieve results approaching the observed X-ray flux, and we conclude that in this beamed model the plume is highly unlikely to contribute to any significant extent to the observed X-rays.

We can ask how large the beaming would need to be to increase the CMB/IC prediction to the observed level. The result is that we would require all the electrons in the plume to have $`v=0.994c`$, $`\theta =0.17`$ degrees, $`\delta =18`$. Unless the source has an unusually small intrinsic opening angle which is maintained for hundreds of kpc close to the line of sight, only a fraction of the electrons will participate in such boosting, and these parameters represent a lower limit to the required beaming. We thus conclude that it is unlikely that all the observed hard X-ray emission is from this mechanism.

### 7.2 Core-related X-rays

A possible site for radio-related X-ray emission (although not one which alone would explain the position of 3C 48 in Figure 7) is emission from within component A. Here the NIC can be high if the radio component is unbeamed. For example, modelling the photon and electron spectra as above, and providing the photon illumination from a point source embedded in the base of a cylindrical jet of radius 0.25 mas (from Gaussian fits to two components) and length 4 mas (from measurement), we predict X-ray emission of 20 nJy at 1 keV, somewhat above that from the extended plume. Our modelling of the far-infrared radiation source as point-like to component A is probably consistent with Meisenheimer et al. (2001)’s interpretation as originating from the type of dusty torus required by models unifying radio galaxies and quasars. However, if the source of this radiation is larger than component A, or if it is point-like and the quasar nucleus is south of component A, the predicted X-ray flux will be lower. Taking the adopted geometry at face value, it is possible to make the hard X-ray component with a magnetic field strength only a factor of two to three below equipartition. This is in line with the level of field deduced from X-ray inverse Compton measurements in components of powerful radio galaxies and quasars on larger scales (e.g., Brunetti et al. 1999; Hardcastle et al. 2002). Our modelling finds a declining X-ray to radio ratio with distance from the nucleus when knot A and the plume are compared under similar equipartition assumptions.

While the fast variability seen at soft X-ray energies with ROSAT may suggest unbeamed emission from the high-energy spectral tail of an accretion disc, we can consider the alternative possibility that we are seeing a somewhat larger beamed component embedded in the core. Simple models of a spherical moving blob have proved relatively successful in describing the multiwavelength spectra of blazars up to gamma-ray (and in some cases TeV) energies via SSC or inverse Compton scattering of external photons (e.g., Ghisellini et al. 1998). The energy at which the Compton-scattered emission becomes dominant as a hard component is normally in the X-ray band, and so may explain the concave spectrum that we observe. In Figure 8 we plot the spectrum of the core, together with an example SSC model. We have chosen beaming parameters consistent with the constraints at larger radii (assuming a symmetrical jet) of Figure 6, and a source size which is consistent with the observed soft X-ray variability. The model parameters are selected to describe roughly the level of X-ray emission while not overproducing emission at lower energies. The radio emission, much of the far-IR emission, and the blue bump are not described by the model, and the position of 3C 48 in Figure 7 is not explained. Measurements of gamma rays from 3C 48 could help establish the credibility of an embedded blazar explanation for the X-ray emission.

## 8 Conclusions

The X-ray spectrum of 3C 48 is the composite of a soft, steep-spectrum component and harder, power-law emission of slope consistent with the 1 GHz radio spectrum. The variability measured with ROSAT suggests that at least part of the X-ray emission (principally the softest) arises from a region of accretion-disc size or from a beamed blazar component.

The Chandra data give only a marginal detection of extended emission. Even if this component is real and due to cluster gas, the radio plume is over-pressured unless it is beamed towards us at an angle of less than 0.4 degrees to the line of sight and a bulk velocity of more than 0.985c. The gas pressure at the radius of the extended emission-line regions is at most $`2\times 10^{12}`$ Pa.

We have used our new multifrequency VLBA data to study the relationship between the X-ray and radio components. There is no excess absorption in the X-ray spectrum which might have allowed us to conclude that 3C 48 is small (most of the emission is within 0.5 arcsec of the nucleus) because it is bottled up by cold neutral gas.

We find weak ($`3\sigma `$) evidence for a proper motion of $`(0.5\pm 0.2)c`$ in the compact radio component B, about 0.05 arcsec from the core. It is quite plausible that the radio emission from 3C 48 undergoes sufficient interaction with the external medium that the source is intrinsically one sided at such distances from the nucleus. In that case relativistic beaming may not be important. However, if we assume intrinsic symmetry, the upper limit to the flux of knot B’s counterjet and the measured proper motion combine to suggest that relativistic boosting along the line of sight is important.

The X-ray emission of core-dominated radio-loud quasars is believed to be dominated by non-thermal radiation from the radio core, and indeed these sources show a good correlation between radio and X-ray flux. The fact that 3C 48 is consistent with the correlation leads to an expectation that substantial X-ray emission should arise from its radio features. At VLBI resolution, 3C 48 is unusual as compared with flat-spectrum quasars in that less than 1 per cent of its 1.5-GHz flux density arises from the core, and so X-ray emission from these extended radio regions would be required. The radio source is so compact that even Chandra’s resolution is insufficient to resolve spatially any X-ray emission from the radio structures. However, using the X-ray spectral results we find that synchrotron-emitting electrons in the radio plume could contribute significantly to the harder X-ray emission through SSC and up-scattering infra-red emission from the quasar nucleus. This requires the radio-regions to be free from relativistic boosting, in which case we would infer that the radio source is intrinsically one sided at distances of 300 pc and more from the nucleus, and it requires that the magnetic field is a factor of six to ten below the equipartition value. Stringent requirements on the jet opening angle make it unlikely that all of the X-ray emission is from a fast jet which sees boosted CMB emission and emits beamed X-rays in the observer’s frame, the model which is currently the most popular for explaining resolved X-ray emission from large-scale quasar jets.

The possibility remains that the X-ray emission from 3C 48 arises from close to the central engine. It may be unrelated to the radio emission, either from an embedded blazar or associated with the accretion processes, or the hard X-ray emission may arise from the up-scattering of infra-red emission from the quasar nucleus if the geometry is favourable and the magnetic field in the inner region is a factor of two to three below equipartition. The fact that the ratio of X-ray to radio emission is so close to that in quasars where a radio-X-ray relationship is established is then a coincidence.

## Acknowledgements

We acknowledge support from NASA contract NAS8-39073 and grant NAG 5-1934 during the early stages of this work, and DMW thanks the Caltech Astronomy Department for hospitality. MJH thanks the Royal Society for a Research Fellowship. We are grateful to the anonymous referee for suggesting we consider the emission from a beamed component within the core and for other suggestions which improved the paper, and to Mark Birkinshaw for discussions. The VLBA is an instrument of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.


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# Baryons and Confining Strings

## 1 Motivation

The potential of three heavy quarks has recently been the object of detailed numerical studies , which lend support to the so-called Y law, inspired by a string picture of heavy baryons. Here, we study the leading effect of string fluctuations on the potential, the analogue of the Lüscher term  in the quark-antiquark potential. Understanding such corrections to the Y law is particularly important since the transition from $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ to Y law occurs at large quark separations .

## 2 Setup

We study three static quarks in a $`D`$-dimensional Euclidean space with periodic Euclidean time extent $`T`$. The potential is obtained from the $`T\mathrm{}`$ limit,

$$V_{\text{q}\text{q}\text{q}}=\underset{T\mathrm{}}{lim}\frac{1}{T}\mathrm{ln}Z_{\text{q}\text{q}\text{q}}.$$
(1)
In the string picture, the classical ground state of the three-quark system is given by three strings meeting at a junction, whose position is determined by the requirement of minimal total length of the strings. The balance of tensions implies angles of $`\frac{2\pi }{3}`$ between the strings. The classical potential is proportional to the total length of the strings in this configuration,

$$V_{\text{cl}}=\sigma (L_1+L_2+L_3)+m=\sigma L_\text{Y}+m,$$
(2)
where $`\sigma `$ is the same string tension that appears in the mesonic potential. $`m`$ represents the self-energy of the junction.

Following the mesonic case , we shall expand the action to second order in the transverse fluctuations $`\stackrel{}{\xi }_a(t,s)`$ of the string world sheets $`a=1,2,3`$ around the classical configuration. Transversality means $`\xi _a^D=0`$ and $`\stackrel{}{e}_a\stackrel{}{\xi }_a=0`$, where $`\stackrel{}{e}_a`$ is a spatial unit vector in the direction of string $`a`$. With $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }(t)`$ denoting the position of the fluctuating junction, the boundary conditions are

$$\stackrel{}{\xi }_a(t,0)=\stackrel{}{x}_a,\stackrel{}{\xi }_a(t,L_a+\stackrel{}{e}_a\stackrel{}{\varphi }(t))=\stackrel{}{\varphi }_a(t),$$
(3)
where $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }_a\stackrel{}{\varphi }\stackrel{}{e}_a(\stackrel{}{e}_a\stackrel{}{\varphi })`$, and periodic in $`t`$.

Invariance under Euclidean transformations inside the plane of the sheet and perpendicular to it fixes the leading term in a derivative expansion of the bulk string action to

$$S_{\text{fluct}}^{\text{bulk}}=\frac{\gamma }{2}\underset{a=1}{\overset{3}{}}_{\mathrm{\Gamma }_a}\stackrel{}{\xi }_a\stackrel{}{\xi }_a,$$

where $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_a`$ is the domain of $`\xi _a`$ implied by the boundary conditions (3). We also include a boundary term,

$$S_{\text{fluct}}^{\text{bound}}=\frac{\mu }{2}dt|\dot{\stackrel{}{\varphi }}|^2.$$

The change of area caused by fluctuations of the junction in the plane of a given sheet cancels in the sum over sheets. The three-quark potential including leading fluctuation effects can thus be extracted from the partition function

$$Z_{\text{q}\text{q}\text{q}}=\mathrm{D}\stackrel{}{\varphi }\underset{a=1}{\overset{3}{}}\mathrm{D}\stackrel{}{\xi }_a\mathrm{e}^{TV_{\text{cl}}S_{\text{fluct}}^{\text{bulk}}S_{\text{fluct}}^{\text{bound}}}.$$
(4)
## 3 Calculation

We shall compute $`Z_{\text{q}\text{q}\text{q}}`$ in two steps. For fixed $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }`$, each of the string partition functions,

$$Z_a(\stackrel{}{\varphi })=\mathrm{D}\xi _a\mathrm{exp}\left\{\frac{\gamma }{2}|\stackrel{}{\xi }_a|^2\right\},$$

splits into a minimal-area and a fluctuation part,

$$Z_a(\stackrel{}{\varphi })=\mathrm{e}^{\frac{\gamma }{2}{\scriptscriptstyle |\stackrel{}{\xi }_{a,\text{min}}|^2}}\left|det_{\mathrm{\Gamma }_a}\left(\mathrm{\Delta }\right)\right|^{\frac{D2}{2}},$$

where $`\stackrel{}{\xi }_{a,\text{min}}`$ is harmonic and satisfies (3) and the determinant is computed with Dirichlet boundary conditions on the domain $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_a=\{(t,s)0sL_a+\stackrel{}{e}_a\stackrel{}{\varphi }(t)\}`$.

To leading order in $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }`$,

$$\stackrel{}{\xi }_{a,\text{min}}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{T}}\underset{\omega }{}\stackrel{}{\varphi }_\omega ^{}\frac{\mathrm{sinh}(\omega s)}{\mathrm{sinh}(\omega L_a)}\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}\omega t}+𝒪(\varphi ^2),$$

where $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }_\omega `$ are the Fourier components of $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }(t)`$. This implies

$$|\stackrel{}{\xi }_{a,\text{min}}|^2=\underset{\omega }{}\omega \mathrm{coth}(\omega L_a)|\stackrel{}{\varphi }_\omega ^{}|^2+𝒪(\varphi ^3),$$

which is the change in minimal area due to $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }_a`$.

The determinant induces a renormalisation of both $`\sigma `$ and $`m`$. After applying a Pauli–Villars regularisation, the determinant, which can be expressed in terms of the heat kernel of $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$, can be computed by mapping the domain $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_a`$ conformally to a rectangle $`L_a^{}\times T`$. Since the conformal map cannot change the ratio $`L_a^{}/T`$ (the modular parameter of the cylinder), one has to choose $`L_a^{}=L_a+\frac{1}{T}\stackrel{}{e}_a\stackrel{}{\varphi }dt`$. To leading order in $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }`$, the conformal map is

$$f(z)=z+\frac{1}{\sqrt{T}}\underset{\omega 0}{}\frac{\stackrel{}{e}_a\stackrel{}{\varphi }_\omega }{\mathrm{sinh}(\omega L_a)}\mathrm{e}^{\omega z}+𝒪(\varphi ^2).$$

Following Ref. , the determinant on $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_a`$ can be related to that on the rectangle, and one finds

$$\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{ln}det_{\mathrm{\Gamma }_a}(\mathrm{\Delta })=2\mathrm{ln}\eta \left(\frac{\mathrm{i}T}{2L_a^{}}\right)\hfill \\ \hfill \frac{1}{12\pi }\underset{\omega }{}\omega ^3\mathrm{coth}(\omega L_a)|\stackrel{}{e}_a\stackrel{}{\varphi }_\omega |^2+𝒪(\varphi ^3),\end{array}$$

where $`\eta `$ is Dedekind’s function.

The Gaussian integral over $`\stackrel{}{\varphi }`$ in (4) can now be performed and $`V_{\text{q}\text{q}\text{q}}`$ be extracted from the limit $`T\mathrm{}`$, cf. (1). One obtains:

$`V_{\text{q}\text{q}\text{q}}`$ $`=V_{\text{cl}}^{\text{ren}}+V_{1/L}^{}+(D3)V_{1/L}^{}+𝒪(L^2),`$
$`V_{1/L}^{}`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{\pi }{24}}{\displaystyle \underset{a}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{L_a}}`$
$`+{\displaystyle \underset{0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{d}\omega }{2\pi }}\mathrm{ln}\left[\frac{1}{3}{\displaystyle \underset{a<b}{}}\mathrm{coth}(\omega L_a)\mathrm{coth}(\omega L_b)\right],`$
$`V_{1/L}^{}`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{\pi }{24}}{\displaystyle \underset{a}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{L_a}}`$
$`+{\displaystyle \underset{0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{d}\omega }{2\pi }}\mathrm{ln}\left[\frac{1}{3}{\displaystyle \underset{a}{}}\mathrm{coth}(\omega L_a)\right].`$ (5)
Here, we have separated contributions from fluctuations in the plane of the three quarks, $`V_{1/L}^{}`$, and perpendicular to it, $`V_{1/L}^{}`$. Note that both expressions are homogeneous in $`L_a`$, representing exactly the $`𝒪(L^1)`$ term.

## 4 Check on the mesonic string

As a check, we can (artificially) split the string connecting a quark and an antiquark into two sections of length $`L_1`$ and $`L_2`$, pretending there is a junction in between. The mass of the junction should not affect the large-$`L`$ behaviour, and we should recover the known result. In this case, there is no contribution $`V_{1/L}^{}`$ and the integral in $`V_{1/L}^{}`$ becomes

$$\begin{array}{c}\underset{0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{\mathrm{d}\omega }{2\pi }\mathrm{ln}\left[\frac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{coth}(\omega L_1)+\mathrm{coth}(\omega L_2)\right)\right]\hfill \\ \hfill =\frac{\pi }{24}\left(\frac{1}{L_1}+\frac{1}{L_2}\frac{1}{L_1+L_2}\right),\end{array}$$

which just corrects the Lüscher terms of the two string sections into that of the full string.

## 5 Special cases

The following special cases reveal interesting consequences of our result. In the equilateral case, $`L_a=L=\frac{L_\text{Y}}{3}`$, it so happens that the fluctuations in the plane do not contribute. Those perpendicular to it yield

$$V_{1/L}=V_{1/L}^{}+(D3)V_{1/L}^{}=(D3)\frac{\pi }{16L}.$$

This means that there is no $`1/L`$ term in $`D=3`$.

Expanding about the equilateral case, $`L_a=(1+\epsilon _a)L`$ with $`_a\epsilon _a=0`$, one finds

$$V_{1/L}\frac{\pi }{144L}\underset{a}{}\epsilon _a^2(D3)\frac{\pi }{16L}\left(1+\frac{2}{9}\underset{a}{}\epsilon _a^2\right),$$

so in $`D=3`$, the $`1/L`$ term is positive. This makes $`V_{\text{q}\text{q}\text{q}}`$ non-concave as a function of the scale $`L`$ for fixed angles between the quarks. This is actually true for all geometries, not just almost equilateral ones. Fig. 1 shows a density plot of $`V_{1/L}`$, as given by Eq. (5), as a function of $`L_1`$ and $`L_2`$ for fixed $`L_3=1`$. In $`D4`$, the $`1/L`$ term is always negative, so $`V_{\text{q}\text{q}\text{q}}`$ is concave.

## 6 Lattice gauge theory

Numerical simulations of lattice gauge theory were performed in $`D=3`$. $`V_{\text{q}\text{q}\text{q}}`$ was extracted from Polyakov loop correlators using the method of Ref.  on a $`48^2\times 32`$ lattice with lattice spacing $`a0.15\text{fm}`$ ($`\beta =11`$), for one qqq geometry. The deviation from a pure Y law (with the measured mesonic string tension) is shown in Fig. 2.

The asymptotic Y law is clearly approached from above as predicted, making the potential non-concave, but the magnitude of the $`1/L`$ term appears too large: $`V_{1/L}=1.2(2)\frac{\pi }{24L_\text{Y}}`$ compared to a coefficient of $`0.39`$ as predicted by Eq. (5). The discrepancy may be due to the small quark separations: even for the largest geometries, the shortest string in the classical configuration is only $`0.45\text{fm}`$ long, so the string picture is hardly applicable. In addition, it should be noted that the numerical result is very sensitive to the estimate of the mesonic string tension. Finally, a mandatory extrapolation to $`T\mathrm{}`$ has not been performed yet, so that excited-state contributions may significantly affect the measured coefficient.

A more thorough check of the string predictions should also include other geometries. Finally, it would be very interesting to extend the calculation to larger $`\text{SU}(N)`$ gauge groups and compare with predictions from $`1/N`$ expansions.


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# 1 Stability and cosmological problems of intersecting brane models

## 1 Stability and cosmological problems of intersecting brane models

In spite of the great success of quantum field theory and classical Einstein gravity, there is still no consistent unification scenario in which quantum gravity is successfully included. Perhaps the most promising scenario in this direction is string theory, in which consistency of the quantum gravity is ensured by a requirement of additional dimensions. Originally the size of extra dimensions was assumed to be as small as $`M_p^1`$. However, later observations showed that there is no reason to require such a tiny compactification radius. In this respect, what we had seen in the old string theory was a tiny part of the whole story. In the new scenario, the compactification radius (or the fundamental scale) is an unknown parameter that should be determined by observations. In models with large extra dimensions, the observed Planck mass is obtained by the relation $`M_p^2=M_{}^{n+2}V_n`$, where $`M_{}`$ and $`V_n`$ denote the fundamental scale of gravity and the volume of the $`n`$-dimensional compact space. In this scenario the standard model fields are expected to be localized on a wall-like structure and the graviton propagates in the bulk. The most natural embedding of this picture in the string theory context is realized by a brane construction. Thus it is quite important to construct models of the brane world where the observed fermion spectrum of the standard model is included in the low energy effective theory. In this respect, chirality of the fermions and the family replication are two of the most important characteristics of the standard model, which must be included in the fundamental theory. Possiblities for fermion chirality in brane construction are already discussed by many authors. One of the examples is to locate D3-branes on a orbifold singularity. An alternative is discussed in, where Dp-branes are put intersecting at non-vanishing angles. Considering open strings stretched between them, strings living at the intersecting points become chiral fermions in four-dimensional effective Lagrangian. Phenomonological aspects of intersecting brane world are discussed in ref. and many authors.

In this paper we discuss stabilization and cosmological aspects of the Yukawa couplings in the intersecting brane models. Here we do not pretend to make it clear the whole story of the cosmological evolution, nor to discuss all the possible problems, but simply focus on some cosmological criteria that will become important in generic situations. Of course, we know that sometimes cosmology of the models for the braneworld (or models with large extra dimensions) seems quite peculiar.222Constructing successful models for inflation with a low fundamental scale is still an interesting problem. Baryogenesis and inflation in models with a low fundamental scale are discussed in . We think constructing models of particle cosmology with large extra dimensions is very important since future cosmological observations would determine the fundamental scale of the underlying theory. In any case, we know historically that the characteristic features of phenomonological models are revealed by discussing their cosmological problems. Then it will be quite natural to consider a question, “What is the characteristic problem of the intersecting brane models that would be induced by cosmology?” In this paper we will discuss one of the possible answers for the above question.

In the models of the intersecting branes, several kinds of moduli fields are expected to exist at low energy effective theory. Some of them might be fixed by the natural mechanisms and integrated away from the effective theory, while others might not.333Shift of a gauge coupling during inflation is discussed in .  In this paper we focus our attention to the Yukawa couplings, which come from the instantons of triangles bounded by three branes. It was noticed in ref. that Yukawa couplings among three fields living at brane intersections will arise from the calculation of worldsheet instantons involving three boundary conditions.

As we will see in the next section, surface area of a triangle depends also on the volume and the structure of the compactification, which could be fixed by some known mechanisms. Thus we consider in this paper the most optimistic scenario in which the geometry of the compactified space is already fixed and does not induce another problem. In this case the ambiguity of the area of the triangle appears only through the shift of the relative position of the three branes, which cannot be fixed by the conventional mechanism for the moduli stabilization.

For the distance between two branes, it is known that an effective potential is generated when supersymmetry is broken. This potential is a simple perturbative effect of the string, but cannot stabilize the relative position of intersecting branes, because the distance is already $`0`$ for such branes. On the other hand, it was noted in ref., that in the context of the intersecting brane world, Yukawa couplings are generated by the worldsheet instantons involving three different boundary conditions and three different intersections. In this paper we will discuss that the effective potentials generated through conventional fermion loop corrections stabilize the Yukawa couplings. The stabilization of the Yukawa couplings is good news for the intersecting brane models, although it forces some modifications to the previous models. In this paper, however, we also point out that the cosmological problems might remain even if one considers the above mechanism for the stabilization.444Of course the situation is much better than that without any mechanism for the stabilization. One reason is that generic models of intersecting brane world contain at least three triangles of intersecting branes that correspond to three generations, which might lead to three degenerated vacua where each triangle shrinks. Then it is natural to worry about the problem of cosmological domain walls that interpolate between two of the three degenerated vacua. Even if the fluctuations of the corresponding massless modes are suppressed, the allowed initial condition for the brane configuration is quite restricted. One way to avoid these problems is to include at least one “large” correction to the effective potential that involves the areas of the triangles. Such a potential will stabilizes the brane configuration during cosmological evolution of the early Universe. Unfortunately, in this case one should have to worry about the significant correction that might affect the effective Yukawa couplings in the standard model. At present, it seems impossible to include such corrections within the setups of the conventional intersecting brane models. Another way is to assume that the translational invariance is explicitly broken at the beginnings and there is no freedom for the brane positions to be shifted. In this case, one must answer why branes are fixed at the present positions. Explicit breaking of the reparametrization invariance would be possible, but it requires significant modification of the original scenario. From the discussions above, it seems rather difficult to construct a model where the present brane configuration is ensured by introducing another mechanisms for the stabilization. Alternatively, one can assume that the three generations are not equal but slightly different in their geometrical settings, so that the cosmological domain walls become unstable even if they are produced. The last example seems to be the most realistic. For example, one may assume “tiny warping” that resolves the degeneracy of the three vacua and destabilizes the domain wall. In this case, our criteria will merely put a lower bound for the warping factor. Let us explain the situation in more detail. The areas of the triangles depend on the parameter $`A`$ in eq.(2.4), which represents the Kähler structure of the torus. If the parameter $`A`$ is slightly warped so that it depends on the generation, it induces energy difference in (2.6). In this case, our criterion for the unstable domain walls puts a lower bound on the magnitude of the energy difference between different vacua. For $`\sigma (10^5GeV)^3`$, the required energy difference $`ϵ`$ is

$$ϵ>\frac{\sigma ^2}{M_p^2}$$
(1.1)
where $`\sigma `$ is the tension of the domain wall. When the tension of the domain wall is smaller than $`(10^5GeV)^3`$, one should consider another bound from the nucleosynthesis,

$$ϵ>\lambda \sigma M_{EW}^2/M_p,$$
(1.2)
where $`\lambda 10^7`$ is required, and $`M_{EW}`$ is the electroweak scale. In the present model, the tension of the domain wall is about $`\sigma M_{EW}^3`$ and the energy difference $`ϵ`$ is induced by the shift of the Kähler structure $`A`$, if $`A`$ is warped.555To be more precise, here the Kähler structure $`A`$ is supposed to distinguish the generation. This can be realized by introducing additional breaking of the flavor symmetry, or by assuming that the positions of the triangles are weakly fixed on the warped manifold. Then it is straightforward to calculate the required bound for the warp factor from eq.(1.2) and (2.6).666Here the energy difference is induced by the light fermions whose Yukawa couplings depend explicitly on $`A`$. Since the area of the heaviest fermion vanishes in each vacuum, the Yukawa coupling (2.5) of the heaviest fermion can not depend on $`A`$. At present one cannot remove the theoretical uncertainties concerning the prefactors and numerical factors in the exponents, but the result suggests that the tiny shift in the Kähler structure $`A`$ is enough to remove the unwanted domain walls. Since the required warping is tiny, one can expect that the small pertubvation induced by the additional flavor-violating components might solve the problem, which is ignored so far. Of course, the problem is not confined to the issue of the stability of the Yukawa couplings, but should be solved including the stabilization of the whole moduli fields, which should be discussed in the forthcoming papers.

One might also think that the relative position of the intersecting three branes could be fixed without introducing any mechanism for the stabilization, if the homogeneous initial condition is achieved during inflation. In this case, however, it is difficult to construct models where the fluctuations of the positions of the branes are safely suppressed throughout inflation and reheating.777In this sense, brane collision cannot produce intersecting braneworld. In models where the electroweak symmetry is spontaneously broken by radiative corrections, there is a lower bound for the largest Yukawa coupling, which suggests that the initial condition (and its fluctuation) must be finely tuned to be within the restricted area. Obviously, phenomonological bound is so tight that the unnatural fine tuning is required, even if our mechanism for the stabilization works. Otherwise, the electroweak symmetry breakdown does not start because none of the fermions develops $`O(1)`$ Yukawa coupling.

In any case, changes are required for the present models of the intersecting brane world. Of course, the situation is much better than the models where stabilization of the Yukawa couplings is ignored. As we have discussed above, once the effect of the stabilization is included, a small warp factor may solve the problem of the initial brane condition, because it can destabilize the unwanted domain walls.

## 2 1-loop potential and vacuum degeneracy

In this section we consider the simplest example in ref.. What we would like to see is the Yukawa couplings in the quark sector. The Yukawa coupling among two chiral fermions and one Higgs boson cannot appear from perturbative effects of the string theory, but induced by worldsheet instanton corrections of the corresponding triangle that has three boundaries of the intersecting branes and three vertices where matter fields live.

Here we consider the simplest case and derive the expression for Yukawa couplings. When computing a sum of worldsheet instantons, the simplest example comes from D-branes wrapping 1-cycles in a $`T^2`$, where branes are intersecting at one angle. Here we associate each brane to complex number $`z_\alpha ,(\alpha =a,b,c)`$,

$`z_a`$ $`=`$ $`R\times (n_a+\tau m_a)\times x_a`$
$`z_b`$ $`=`$ $`R\times (n_b+\tau m_b)\times x_b`$
$`z_c`$ $`=`$ $`R\times (n_c+\tau m_c)\times x_c.`$ (2.1)
Here $`(n_\alpha ,m_\alpha )𝐙^2`$ denote the 1-cycle the brane $`\alpha `$ wraps on $`T^2`$ and $`x_\alpha 𝐑`$ is an arbitrary number. $`\tau `$ is the complex structure of the torus. These branes are given by a straight line in $`𝐂`$. The triangle corresponding to a Yukawa coupling must involve three branes, which has the form $`(z_a,z_b,z_c)`$ with $`z_z+z_b+z_c=0`$. The solution is

$$x_\alpha =I_{\beta \gamma }x/d,$$
(2.2)
where $`x=x_0+l,x_0𝐑,l𝐙`$ and $`d=g.c.d.(I_{ab},I_{bc},I_{ca})`$. Here $`I_{\beta \gamma }`$ stands for the intersection number of branes $`\beta `$ and $`\gamma `$. Indexing the intersection points, one can obtain a simple expression for $`x_0`$888See ref. for more detail.,

$$x_0(i,j,k)=\frac{i}{I_{ab}}+\frac{j}{I_{ca}}+\frac{k}{I_{bc}}+\frac{I_{ab}ϵ_c+I_{ca}ϵ_b+I_{bc}ϵ_a}{I_{ab}I_{bc}I_{ca}},$$
(2.3)
where the parameter $`ϵ_\alpha `$ correspond to shifting the positions of the three branes. Using this solution, one can compute the areas of the triangles whose vertices lie on the triplet of intersections $`(i,j,k)`$,

$$A_{ijk}(l)=\frac{1}{2}(2\pi )^2A|I_{ab}I_{bc}I_{ca}|\left(x_0(i,j,k)+l\right)^2$$
(2.4)
where $`A`$ represents the Kähler structure of the torus. The corresponding Yukawa coupling is given by

$$Y_{ijk}\sigma _{abc}\underset{l𝐙}{}exp\left(\frac{A_{ijk}(l)}{2\pi \alpha ^{}}\right),$$
(2.5)
where $`\sigma _{ijk}=sign(I_{ab}I_{bc}I_{ca})`$ is a real phase.

Now our question is how one can determine the areas of the triangles. A perturbative force between branes can produce potential for the distance between two branes. However, it is obvious that this force cannot affect the area of a triangle when branes are intersecting. On the other hand, one can see from eq.(2.5) that almost all the parameters are determined if the windings of the branes and the structure of the manifold are fixed by some mechanisms. The only ambiguity that might remain at low energy effective theory is one parameter of three $`ϵ_\alpha `$, which corresponds to shifting the relative brane position. For the area of a triangle, only one of the three parameters $`ϵ_\alpha `$ is independent.

An effective potential for the area of a triangle is obtained by considering a well-known 1-loop correction from fermion loops of the form

$$\mathrm{\Delta }V(\varphi _c)=\frac{3}{64\pi ^2}Y_{ijk}^4\varphi _c^4ln\left(\frac{\varphi _c^2}{\mu ^2}\right),$$
(2.6)
where $`\varphi _c`$ denotes the classical field. From eq.(2.6) and (2.5), one can easily see that the 1-loop correction stabilizes the area of the triangle.

Because of the exponential form of the potential, intersecting branes are stabilized when one of the areas of the three triangles vanishes. In general, models for the intersecting branes are designed so that the three triangles cannot shrink simultaneously to a point, so that they satisfy the phenomonological requirements. Thus it is straightforward to construct the models in which one of the three Yukawa couplings becomes large, while others remain (hierarchically) small.999Note that the triangle of the largest Yukawa coupling always shrinks to a point. As a result, the areas of the triangles are no longer the free parameters, but are always determined once the geometrical settings are fixed.

## 3 Conclusions and Discussions

Stabilization of the moduli fields and their cosmological implications are quite important in any phenomenological models of string theory. In this paper we examined a peculiar cosmological problem of the moduli field in models of the intersecting brane world. We focused our attention to a relative position of three branes and discussed its cosmological problems. The relative position of the intersecting three branes is not determined by conventional perturbative effects. To obtain an effective potential for the corresponding moduli, one should consider string effects that have more than two boundaries. In models of the intersecting brane world, instanton effects that have three boundaries play an important role in determining Yukawa couplings. We considered a simple model and discussed how the relative position among three intersecting branes appears in the effective potential. We showed that the effective potential that contains the area of the triangle is generated by the 1-loop corrections of fermions, which involve the Yukawa couplings. Cosmological aspects of the model are also discussed in this context. The constraints on the models become slightly stronger if one includes the stabilization of the Yukawa couplings, since the area of the triangle is no longer a free parameter of the model. However, once the stabilization is included, there appears a chance to solve the cosmological problem of the initial brane configuration. As we have discussed, a tiny warp factor can induce the energy difference between degenerated vacua, which removes the cosmological domain walls.

## 4 Acknowledgment

We wish to thank K.Shima for encouragement, and our colleagues in Tokyo University for their kind hospitality.


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# SPI Measurements of Galactic 26Al

## 1 Introduction

The measurement of 1809 keV emission from Galactic 26Al has been one of the design goals of the INTEGRAL mission (Winkler et al., 2003; Hermsen & Winkler, 2002). 26Al gamma-rays were discovered already in 1982 by HEAO-C (Mahoney et al., 1982), and since then are considered direct proof of ongoing nucleosynthesis in the Galaxy. Several follow-up experiments have set out to measure details about 26Al sources.

Much has been learned through the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, in particular with COMPTEL’s sky survey over 9 years, which resulted in an all-sky image in the 1809 keV gamma-ray line (Plüschke et al., 2001; Knödlseder et al., 1999; Oberlack, 1997; Diehl et al., 1995). This image clearly demonstrates that emission along the plane of the Galaxy dominates, hence 26Al nucleosynthesis is common throughout the Galaxy, rather than a local phenomenon of the solar system. The irregular structure of the emission and alignments of emission maxima with spiral-arm tangents suggested that massive stars dominate 26Al nucleosynthesis (Chen et al., 1995; Prantzos & Diehl, 1996). This could be further substantiated through comparisons with candidate source tracers, and through modelling of 26Al emission from the Galaxy and specific source regions based on knowledge about the massive-star populations (Knödlseder et al., 1999; Knödlseder, 1999).

The high spectral resolution of Ge detectors of 3 keV (FWHM) at the 26Al line energy of 1808.7 keV is expected to reveal more information about the sources and their location through Doppler broadenings and shifts, from Galactic rotation (Gehrels & Chen, 1996) and from dynamics of the 26Al gas ejected into the interstellar medium. In particular after the GRIS balloon experiment and their report of a significantly-broadened line (Naya et al., 1996), alternative measurements of the 26Al line shape were of great interest. GRIS’s value translates into an intrinsic line width of 5.4 keV, equivalent to a Doppler broadening of 540 km s-1. Considering the $`1.04\times 10^6`$ y decay time of 26Al such a large line width is hard to understand (Chen et al., 1997; Sturner & Naya, 1999). Other high-resolution measurements are in mild conflict with the GRIS result. The original HEAO-C measurement was interpreted as an intrinsically-narrow line of width less than 2 keV (Mahoney et al., 1984), and the recent RHESSI measurement shows some broadening, however at an intermediate value of about $`2.0(+0.78,1.21)`$ keV FWHM (Smith, 2003), significantly less than the GRIS value. SPI on INTEGRAL (Vedrenne et al., 2003; Roques et al., 2003) with its competitive spectral resolution and the INTEGRAL core observing program (Winkler et al., 2003) emphasizing exposures of the inner region of the Galaxy is expected to clarify these questions through high-quality data. The initial calibration phase early in the mission, which used exposures of sources in the Cygnus region, had demonstrated an excellent performance of the instrument and even shown convincing evidence of detections of diffuse 26Al emission from the Cygnus region, supporting these prospects. In this paper, we report initial analyses of the first part of the inner Galaxy region survey of the INTEGRAL core program.

## 2 Observations, Data, and Analysis

The first year of the INTEGRAL mission will emphasize a deep survey of the inner part of the Galaxy, devoting about 4 Msec of exposure to this region, in a dedicated observing pattern characterized by a 2 pitch, extending $`\pm `$ 30 in longitude and $`\pm `$ 20 in latitude away from the Galactic Center (Winkler et al., 2003). Data sharing agreements within the INTEGRAL Science Working Team imply that results on Galactic 26Al for the separate Galactic quadrants will not be addressed here, but reported in future papers. The data used for this initial analysis encompass INTEGRAL orbits 46–66 (mission days 1157–1216). Not all our analyses use the exactly same data, different selections were applied from early stages of processing; a minimum set comprises in total 839 pointings with 0.971 Ms integrated exposure livetime (see Figure 1).

Energy calibration during this time was derived by fitting instrumental background lines at energies 439, 585, 883, 1014, 1369, and 1779 keV as accumulated for each orbit. Calibrated single-detector events (“SE”, triggering one single of the 19 Ge detectors), and the composite of single and multiple detector hits (SE+“multiple events, ME”) were analyzed. Note that at the 26Al line energy 40% of the measured events are multiples. A systematic uncertainty of our energy calibration at energies below $``$ 150 keV may however distort the energies assigned to multiple events. We therefore perform independent analyses per event type (SE, SE+ME), to check for such systematics which could lead to artifacts in the wings of spectral lines.

Background dominates the overall signal, (see Figures 24), so that in the 26Al line region (1809$`\pm `$4 keV) we measure $`5\times 10^5`$ counts from the inner Galaxy, while our background reference is based on exposures of the Crab region providing $`1.3\times 10^5`$ counts in the line-region. Continuum dominates, but $``$ 17% of the total signal is in a rather broad line-like feature around 1810 keV. This is mostly instrumental background, which needs to be understood before extracting the 26Al signal: For the GCDE, we expect from COMPTEL measurements a signal strength of about 13000 counts or 2.7% of the total measured counts in the line region. Background is expected at 1808.7 keV from excited 26Mg produced from spallation of Al and from $`\alpha `$-captures on Na, and at 1810.7 keV from 56Mn($`\beta ^{}`$)56Co($`EC`$)56Fe, but other nuclear lines may contribute (Weidenspointner et al., 2003). Correlation analysis with other line features and cosmic-ray activation monitors is underway to model details of this underlying background, both in shape and intensity (e.g. Jean et al., 2003).

Data analysis is complicated due to the large number (839) of individual pointings, different measurement times of source and background, and detector and background evolution within and between them. For a strong source, one may hope to subtract a sufficiently well-defined background and then see a source signal. Indeed, when we use exposures from the Crab region, adjust for the different exposures and detector resolutions by normalization on the nearby background lines at energies 1764 and 1779 keV, and subtract this normalized “off-source” reference from the integrated spectrum measured from the inner Galaxy, we obtain an excess signal which indicates the presence of a celestial signal from 26Al (Fig 5). The strong instrumental background lines do not perfectly subtract. The suppression by a factor $``$ 90, however, would correspond to residuals from the instrumental feature at 1809 keV of less than half of what we observe; also, residuals appear in the wings of the instrumental lines, because our normalization does not trace time-variable gains or non-Gaussian detector degradation. The feature at 1809 keV, however, resembles the expected line more closely than background residuals: we indicate the expected 26Al signal with a Gaussian at the 26Al line energy and instrumental line width. Note that here we do not use SPI’s imaging capabilities, so it is not surprising that a not very significant 26Al detection is obtained (see Figure 5).

Imaging analysis makes use of the detailed response of the SPI instrument as is obtained from Monte Carlo simulations (Sturner et al., 2003), including the properties of the coded mask, the Ge camera, and all other material possibly interacting with incident gamma-rays. Calibrations before INTEGRAL’s launch (Attie et al., 2003) and on Cyg-X1 and the Crab in the first part of the mission have verified the validity of this response (Roques et al., 2003; Sturner et al., 2003). Adopting an intensity distribution on the sky, one may thus predict the measured event distribution from 26Al for the observed exposure pattern. Adding these to a suitable background model, one obtains a prediction for the actually-measured dataset. A fitting procedure can then be used to adjust intensity parameters of the 26Al skymap and background components:

$$D_{i,j,E}=I_ES\mathrm{}+a_{j,E,k}B_{E,k}+\mathrm{}_{i,j,E}$$

Here $`D`$ are the measured data, $`S`$ the sky intensity distribution, $`\mathrm{}`$ the instrument response function, $`B`$ the background model, $`\mathrm{}`$ the statistical noise, and indices are $`i`$ for detectors, $`j`$ for pointings, $`E`$ for energy, and $`k`$ for background model components. From such fits we obtain intensity spectra $`I_E`$ of our sky model as constrained by our measurement. Several implementations (e.g. spidiffit/spi\_obs\_fit) of this analysis concept have been developed (Strong, 2003; Knödlseder, 2003), differing in the method of minimum searches and uncertainty estimates: The fit determines the mean of the intensity parameter posteriors through a Markov-Chain Monte Carlo method marginalizing over the background parameters (spidiffit), or alternatively minimizes the log-likelihood function through a Levenberg-Marquardt minimum search to fit spectral intensities (spi\_obs\_fit). Background amplitudes $`a_{j,E,k}`$ are fitted per pointing and energy from the measurement (spidiffit), or prescribed by an absolute model based on tracers of continuum and line background components (spi\_obs\_fit). Error bars $`\delta I_E`$ are determined as standard deviation from the mean with the same Markov-Chain Monte Carlo method (Strong, 2003) for the large number of fitted parameters in spidiffit, and with an eigenvalue analysis of the error matrix (Strong, 1985; Knödlseder, 2003) for the few fitted parameters in spi\_obs\_fit.

Estimates of the systematic uncertainties have been added in quadrature to these statistical uncertainties and are thus included in the error bars given in figures 68. We fit different models ($`k`$) of background, such as continuum background interpolated from adjacent energies, line backgrounds from scaled reference observations off the source of interest, and scaling models using suitable tracers of background such as the rate of saturated-signal events in the Ge detectors; these are assumed to arise from cosmic-ray triggers which activate spacecraft material and hence generate nuclear-line background (Jean et al., 2003). Suitable models $`S`$ of the 26Al sky intensity distribution were adopted from the COMPTEL 26Al all-sky results (Plüschke et al., 2001), and from distributions of free electrons or warm dust as derived from COBE measurements (see Knödlseder et al., 1999).

If the signal is sufficient, one may consider imaging analyses in narrow spectral bins, such as exercised for the case of the 511 keV emission from the inner Galaxy (Knödlseder et al., 2003); in our case, the signal is too weak to reasonably constrain such analysis with its intrinsically many free parameters. For instrumental background only, no or only modest correlation with a plausible 26Al skymap is expected, while the correlation should be significantly better within the 26Al line energy bins. However, systematic uncertainties in our background models lead to distortions of such a correlation. It is the main task of current analysis efforts to understand the level and possible spectral shapes of such systematic uncertainties.

## 3 Results

From spectral analysis through fitting of adopted models for the 26Al skymap over an energy range around the 26Al line, we obtain clear detections of celestial 26Al emission at the level of 5–7$`\sigma `$. The results for the 26Al flux, as well as details of the spectral signature, however, vary significantly with parameters of the analysis, and thus indicate the levels of uncertainty at this initial stage of the work; statistical uncertainties are negligable, in comparison.

In Figure 6 we show a spectrum derived from all (single and multiple) events with spidiffit using the COMPTEL Maximum-Entropy map from 9 years of measurements as a model for the spatial distribution of the sky emission (Plüschke et al., 2001). Given the rather modest spatial resolution of SPI, the particular choice of such distribution is not critical, as long as the dynamic range of fluxes and spatial distribution are approximately correct; any choice of good source tracers, such as the warm dust or free electron distributions (see e.g. Knödlseder et al., 1999), produce very similar results. Here we treat background by adopting the relative detector intensity ratios from the Crab exposures, and adjust their intensity for each pointing in the fit.

In Figure 7 we compare this to a spectrum derived from single events only (to avoid ME energy calibration issues), with spi\_obs\_fit and the COBE/DIRBE 240 $`\mu `$m dust map as sky model, modelling background for the continuum from adjacent energy bins, and for the line component through taking detector ratios from the Crab exposures and absolute intensity variations from the rate of saturated events in the Ge camera during the actual GCDE measurements.

Figure 8 then illustrates how results depend on different datasets for the background: here the exposures taken for SN1987A were used as a reference to model detector ratios, in an otherwise analogous analysis with spi\_obs\_fit.

Our fitted sky intensity values (see Table 1) from the inner $`\pm `$30 of the Galaxy are (3–5)$`\times 10^4`$ ph cm-2s-1, and thus fall into the range suggested by previous observations: The general consensus for the inner-Galaxy brightness of 26Al is $``$ $`4\times 10^4`$ ph cm-2s-1, considering all uncertainties involved (Prantzos & Diehl, 1996); here “inner Galaxy” means integrating over the central radian, roughly $`\pm 30^{}`$ in longitude about the Galactic Center. COMPTEL had measured a value somewhat lower value of $`2.8\pm 0.15\times 10^4`$ ph cm-2s-1 (Oberlack, 1997), with their background subtraction from high-latitude observations possibly suppressing large-scale diffuse flux components. On the other hand, RHESSI recently measured a rather high value of $`5.7\pm 0.54\times 10^4`$ ph cm-2s-1 (Smith, 2003) from earth occultation analysis of their measurements pointed at the sun.

The different values for our line positions, all somewhat higher than the expected value of 1808.7 keV, may indicate systematics in our energy calibration, the impact of detector degradation over the time of measurements, or some structured underlying background effect which may shift our signal upward by a few tenths of a keV. On the other hand, all line width results which we obtain are consistent with SPI’s instrumental resolution of 3 keV (FWHM) and thus support RHESSI’s recent finding (Smith, 2003) that the broad line reported by GRIS (Naya et al., 1996) probably cannot be confirmed. Work is in progress to refine our spectral treatment and background modelling, in order to be able to further quantify and substantiate this conclusion.

###### Acknowledgements.

SPI has been completed under the responsibility and leadership of CNES. We are grateful to ASI, CEA, CNES, DLR, ESA, INTA, NASA and OSTC for support.