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# KANAZAWA-03-23 ITEP-LAT-2003-18 Energy-entropy study of projected space–like monopoles in finite–T quenched SU(2) QCDPresented by T. S. at Lattice’03.

## 1 INTRODUCTION

The dual superconductor mechanism  of color confinement is confirmed in many numerical simulations in the Maximal Abelian (MA) gauge  (for a review, see Ref. ). This mechanism is based on the existence of the Abelian monopoles which are condensed in the confinement phase of QCD . The monopole condensate corresponds to the so-called percolating (infrared) cluster  of the monopole trajectories. The tension of the confining string gets a dominant contribution from the IR cluster  while the finite-sized (ultraviolet) clusters do not play any role in confinement. Various properties of the UV and IR monopole clusters were studied previously in Refs. .

In the high temperature phase the monopoles become static. In this phase the IR cluster disappears  and, consequently, the confinement of the static quarks is absent because only spatial components of the IR monopole cluster are relevant for the confinement. We investigate the action, the length distribution and the entropy of spatial components of the infrared monopole clusters following Ref. .

## 2 MODEL

We use the Wilson action, $`S(U)=\frac{\beta }{2}\mathrm{Tr}U_P`$, to generate 1000-3000 configurations of the SU(2) gauge field, $`U`$, for $`\beta =2.32.6`$ on $`48^3\times N_t`$, $`N_t=6,8,12,16`$ lattices. Performing the MA gauge fixing, we locate Abelian monopoles in the gluonic fields configurations in a standard way. The phase of the diagonal component of the SU(2) gauge field gives the Abelian gauge field, $`\theta _\mu (s)=\mathrm{arg}U_\mu ^{11}(s)`$. Then we construct the Abelian field strength, $`\theta _{\mu \nu }(s)(4\pi ,4\pi )`$, which is decomposed into two parts, $`\theta _{\mu \nu }(s)=\overline{\theta }_{\mu \nu }(s)+2\pi m_{\mu \nu }(s)`$. Here $`\overline{\theta }_{\mu \nu }(s)[\pi ,\pi )`$ and $`m_{\mu \nu }(s)`$ are the electromagnetic flux and the Dirac string coming through the plaquette $`P_{\mu \nu }(s)`$, respectively. The ends of the Dirac strings correspond to the conserved elementary monopole currents , $`k_\mu (s)=1/2ϵ_{\mu \nu \rho \sigma }_\nu m_{\rho \sigma }(s+\widehat{\mu })ZZ`$, where $``$ is the forward lattice derivative. The elementary monopoles are defined on the fine lattice with the spacing $`a`$. To study the monopole charges at various scales $`b=na`$, we use the extended $`n^3`$ monopole construction ,

$`k_\mu ^{(n)}(s)={\displaystyle \underset{i,j,l=0}{\overset{n1}{}}}k_\mu (ns+(n1)\widehat{\mu }+i\widehat{\nu }+j\widehat{\rho }+l\widehat{\sigma }).`$
The spatially projected currents are:

$`K_i^{(n)}(\stackrel{}{s})={\displaystyle _{s_4=0}^{N_t1}}k_i^{(n)}(s,s_4),i=1,2,3.`$ (1)
## 3 MONOPOLE ACTION

The monopole action of the $`3D`$ projected IR monopole clusters can be defined using the inverse Monte–Carlo method . The action is represented in a truncated form  as a sum of the $`n`$–point ($`n2`$) operators $`S_i`$:

$$S_{\mathrm{mon}}[k]=_if_iS_i[k],$$

where $`f_i`$ are the coupling constants. Following Ref.  we adopt only the two–point interactions in the monopole action ($`i.e.`$ interactions of the form $`S_ik_i(s)k_j(s^{})`$).

Similarly to the $`4D`$ case we find that the monopole action of the $`3D`$ currents is proportional with a good accuracy to the length of the monopole loop, $`S_{\mathrm{mon}}=f_0L+const`$. The coupling $`f_0`$ shows a good scaling in agreement with Ref. , as can be seen from Fig. 1 where this coupling is shown as a function of the scale $`b`$ at $`T=0.8T_c`$.

## 4 LENGTH DISTRIBUTION

The length of the $`4D`$ IR monopole currents in the finite volume $`V`$ is distributed according to the Gaussian law :

$`D^{IR}(L)\mathrm{exp}\{\alpha (b,V)L^2+\gamma (b,T)L\}.`$ (2)
The length distribution function, $`D(L)`$, is proportional to the weight with which the particular trajectory of the length $`L`$ contributes to the partition function. In Eq. (2) we neglect a power-law prefactor which is essential for the distribution of the ultraviolet clusters.

Since the monopole density, $`\rho _{IR}=L_{max}/V`$, is finite, the peak of the distribution (2), $`L_{max}=\gamma (b,T)/2\alpha (b,V)`$, must be proportional to the volume of the system for large volumes. Thus, in the thermodynamic limit we expect $`\alpha (b,V)=A(b)/V`$, where $`A(b)`$ is a certain function. Therefore in the thermodynamic limit the parameter $`\alpha `$ vanishes.

Apart from the finite–volume effect, the distribution (2) has contributions from the energy and the entropy. As seen above, the action contribution is proportional to $`e^{f_0L}`$. The entropy contribution is proportional to $`\mu ^L`$ (with $`\mu >0`$) for sufficiently large monopole lengths, $`L`$. Thus, the entropy factor, $`\mu `$, is

$`\mu =\mathrm{exp}\{f_0+\gamma \}.`$ (3)
Since we are performing the simulations in a finite volume we fit numerically obtained distributions of the $`3D`$ projected currents by the function (2) and then use the bootstrap method to estimate the statistical errors. We find that the parameter $`\gamma `$ shows a good scaling with $`b`$. An example at $`T=0.8T_c`$ is shown in Fig. 2. In a small $`b`$–region we find that $`\gamma b^\eta `$ with $`\eta 3`$ for low temperatures, say, at $`T0.5T_c`$, whereas $`\eta 2`$ for $`TT_c`$.

At the critical temperature, $`T=T_c`$, the $`4D`$ IR monopole cluster disappears and we expect a similar behaviour for the $`3D`$ projected IR cluster. Thus the parameter $`\gamma (b,T)`$ should vanish at the critical point. This is indeed the case according to Fig. 3 which shows $`\gamma `$ for elementary ($`n=1`$) monopoles as a function of temperature for various temporal extensions of the lattice.

## 5 MONOPOLE ENTROPY

We determine the entropy using Eq. (3). The numerical results for the entropy factor $`\mu (b,T)`$ are shown in Fig. 4 for various temperatures.

If the monopoles are randomly walking on a $`3D`$ hypercubic lattice then we should get $`\mu =5`$ since five choices exist at each site for the monopole current to go further. Note that $`\mu >5`$ for small values of $`b`$ because in this region the quadratic monopole actions are not enough .

At large $`b`$ the entropy factor tends to a fixed value around 4, which seems independent of temperature. Contrary to the $`4D`$ case  the entropy $`\mu `$ for projected monopoles does not approach unity in the $`b\mathrm{}`$ limit. Thus we observe that the spatially projected monopole currents exhibit a motion close to the random walk at non–zero temperatures.


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# EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FOR HADRON DECONFINEMENT IN p̄-p COLLISIONS AT √𝑠=1.8 TeV IN THE FNAL CØ COLLIDER

##

The deconfined hadronic matter has a threshold at $`dNc/d\eta `$ = 7. Hadronization for all events above the threshold occurs at a constant energy density and temperature. The temperature is constant to 1$`\%`$ for 6.75 $`<`$ dNc/d$`\eta <`$ 20.2. If we treat all charged particles as pions then 1.57 $`\pm `$ 0.25(stat) pions/$`fm^3`$ are emitted from the volume. We can relate this number of pions/$`fm^3`$ emitted from the volume V to the number of gluons and quarks in the volume (see Fig.1).

$$\mathrm{n}(\mathrm{pions})=\mathrm{n}(\mathrm{gluon})+\frac{\mathrm{n}(\mathrm{q})+\mathrm{n}(\overline{\mathrm{q}})}{2}$$
(1)
We assume that two flavors of quarks and gluons are involved and that the number of quark and gluon degrees of freedom scale proportionally.

$$\mathrm{n}(\mathrm{pion})=\mathrm{V}\frac{\mathrm{G}(\mathrm{T})1.202(\mathrm{kT})^3}{\pi ^2\mathrm{}{}_{}{}^{3}\mathrm{c}_{}^{3}}$$
(2)
This corresponds to $`G(T)=23.5\pm 6.0`$(stat) quark-gluon degrees of freedom. Similarly all charged particles contribute to the freeze out energy E .

$$E(freezout)=V\frac{G(T)\pi ^2k^4}{30\mathrm{}^3c^3}T^4.$$
(3)
\[ht\] The freezout energy density emitted by the volume V is $`ϵ=1.10\pm 0.26(stat)`$ GeV/fm3 and we obtain $`G(T)=24.8\pm 6.0(stat)`$ quark-gluon degrees of freedom. In Fig.2. we compare our experimental results with Karsch’s lattice gauge calculation , where $`\frac{ϵ}{T^4}=\frac{\pi ^2}{30}G(T)=8.15\pm 2.0`$ (stat).


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# New advances in numerical simulations of 𝜃-vacuum systems

## Abstract

We proposed two different methods for simulating theta-vacuum systems. Both can be affected by systematic effects but these errors can be controlled by comparing the results of the two unrelated methods. This has been done for some analytically soluble models and here the same procedure is successfully applied to the interesting case of $`\text{CP}^9`$ in the scaling region.

Quantum Field Theory with topological terms is a special case of complex Euclidean actions: the action is naturally divided in a real part and a pure imaginary one, the latter in the form of $`i`$ times $`\theta `$ times an integer that depends on the gauge configuration. The same structure is shared by spin systems coupled to imaginary magnetic field: they do not describe physical systems but are nevertheless useful to improve our understanding of complex actions.

For this class of models we proposed originally a method for reconstructing the $`\theta `$ dependence from real action simulations. The main ingredient was to compute the probability distribution function of the topological charge at $`\theta =0`$ from simulations at imaginary $`\theta =ih`$ . An analytical form of the p.d.f. is extracted from the measurement of the mean value of the density of topological charge as a function of $`h`$. This is done using the saddle point approximation and doing a fit of numerical data with a suitably chosen function. At the end a multi-precision code is used to compute the sum over the different topological sectors and calculate the relevant physical quantities. The arbitrariness of the fitting function as well as the use of saddle point relation (valid up to $`𝒪(1/V)`$ corrections at finite volume) is a possible source of uncontrolled systematic effects. This is not the case in some soluble models considered (2D compact $`U(1)`$ at any coupling as well as 1D AF Ising models coupled to imaginary magnetic field) where the results where reproduced at $`\%`$ level (or better) but in general it is not possible to put any upper bound on the magnitude of these systematic effects.

This was precisely our motivation to construct an alternative and independent approach . This second approach requires as input the same data as the first one $`i.e.`$ $`x(h)`$, the measurement of the mean value of the density of topological charge as a function of $`h`$. This time we do not try to reconstruct the p.d.f. but use the fact that the sum over topological sectors that defines the partition function can naturally be written as an even polynomial in the variable $`z=\mathrm{cos}\frac{\theta }{2}`$ and the derivative of the free energy density respect to $`\mathrm{log}z^2`$ gives $`y(z)=x(\theta )/\mathrm{tan}\frac{\theta }{2}`$ where $`x(\theta )`$ is the topological charge density as function of $`\theta `$. From the last relation and its analytical continuation to imaginary $`\theta `$ we see that the behavior of $`y(z)`$ for $`z=\mathrm{cosh}(h/2)[1,\mathrm{})`$ is related to $`x(h)`$ at $`h0`$ while for $`z=\mathrm{cos}(\theta /2)[0,1]`$ we can get $`x(\theta )`$. From real action simulations we can get $`y(z)`$ for any value of $`z1`$, $`i.e.`$ up to $`y(z=1)=2\chi _o=2\frac{dx(\theta )}{d\theta }|_{\theta =0}`$ and since $`y(z0)=lim_{\theta \pi }\frac{x(\theta )}{\mathrm{tan}(\theta /2)}`$ the behavior of $`y(z)`$ near the origin is related to $`x(\theta \pi )`$. Using the transformation $`y_\lambda (z)=y(e^{\lambda /2}z)`$ we can define an effective exponent $`\gamma _\lambda =\frac{2}{\lambda }\mathrm{log}\left(\frac{y_\lambda }{y}\right)`$ that can help to distinguish between different behaviors at $`\theta \pi `$ since if $`q(\theta \pi )(\pi \theta )^\alpha `$ then $`\gamma _\lambda (y0)=1+\alpha `$. If $`\gamma _\lambda (y0)=1`$ CP symmetry is spontaneously broken at $`\theta =\pi `$, values between 1 and 2 indicate a CP symmetric vacuum with a divergent susceptibility (second order phase transition) and $`\gamma _\lambda (0)=2`$ analiticity of the free energy at $`\theta =\pi `$. It is possible to measure $`\gamma _\lambda `$ only for values of $`y`$ larger than $`2\chi _o`$ and our experience with several models is that this is a smooth function of the argument.

Our second method is based on the feasibility of a simple extrapolation procedure inside the forbidden region to reconstruct the full $`\gamma _\lambda `$ dependence. Once we have the effective exponent at any $`y>0`$ we can reconstruct the topological charge density dependence on $`\theta `$ using an iterative procedure as explained in .

As an example we plot in Fig. 1 the effective exponent for 1D AF Ising model (CP symmetry is spontaneously broken at $`\theta =\pi `$) and for a toy model that resembles the free instanton gas solution (the partition function is $`𝒵_V(\theta )=(1+A\mathrm{cos}\theta )^V`$ where $`A`$ is a constant and the CP symmetry is enforced at $`\theta =\pi `$). In both cases a simple quadratic fit allows to extract values of $`\gamma _\lambda (y=0)`$ compatible with 1 and 2 respectively (with error at $`.1\%`$ level). Also the reconstruction of the order parameter gives results with errors at level of few $`\%`$ maximum (see ).

This shows that the extrapolation of the effective exponent is a reasonable possibility. Of course in doing that we assume a smooth behavior near the origin and this is equivalent to assume that no phase transitions are present as a function of $`\theta `$ except at most at $`\theta =\pi `$. We can also naively expect that the extrapolation is safer for asymptotically free models since in this case the numeric data can extend to smaller values of $`y`$ since the topological charge susceptibility $`\chi _o`$ goes to zero increasing $`\beta `$. Since $`\lambda `$ is a free parameter in the game an internal consistency check of the procedure is to verify the independence of physical observables on it.

Clearly, once again, systematic effects introduced by the arbitrary choice of the extrapolating function can be present. What is important is that we expect the systematics to be different for the two different methods. On the other hand, if both methods give consistent results, our confidence on the quality of the results is very high.

Once we have two methods to crosscheck our results the main goal would clearly be to understand the role of the $`\theta `$ parameter in QCD and its connection with the strong CP problem. The application of our methods to QCD with theta-term would be straightforward provided we have a practical definition of the topological charge in order to do simulations at imaginary $`\theta `$. It turns out not to be the case: the known regularizations of the topological charge (e.g. ginsparg-wilson) are so involved that at the moment they are not of practical use. A good possibility for studying the $`\theta `$-term effect on the low energy dynamics are two dimensional $`\text{CP}^{N1}`$ models since they have $`\theta `$-vacua, a well defined topological charge and many features in common with four-dimensional Yang-Mills theories: they are asymptotically free, possess instanton solutions, and admit a $`1/N`$ expansion.

We already considered $`\text{CP}^3`$ in the strong coupling region and are now interested to extend these studies to the continuum limit. In this case the effect of dislocations has to be negligible not to spoil the scaling properties of the theory. From $`\theta =0`$ simulations we know that $`N=10`$ is large enough  thus we concentrated our efforts on the scaling region of the $`\text{CP}^9`$ model.

We have adopted for the action the “auxiliary U(1) field” formulation and the topological charge operator is defined directly from the $`U(1)`$ field (see ). For $`N=10`$ and $`h=0`$ the scaling window starts at $`\beta `$ around 0.75 and we decided to concentrate our efforts at $`\beta =`$0.8 , 0.85 , 0.90. The lattice sizes considered are $`L=100,200`$ for the two larger couplings and $`L=200`$ for the smaller one. A standard Metropolis algorithm was used to generate $`𝒪(10^6)`$ configurations for each value of $`\beta `$ and $`h`$ (we refer to  for a full discussion of those details).

In Fig. 2 we compare the results of the two methods for two values of $`\beta `$: the agreement is at (few) $`\%`$ level, compatible with the statistical one (the errors in the plot are the statistical ones). Following our previous consideration this can be considered the strongest possible a posteriori consistency check of the results.

We used our high quality data to address the scaling properties of the theory too. This has been done perturbatively and non perturbatively . In Fig. 3 we show how the non perturbative scaling (only data from the first method are plotted) is realized up to violations that are at most $`\pm 4\%`$. As expected the biggest violations are for the smaller inverse coupling. We can conclude that we have strong indications that, for this model, CP is spontaneously broken in the continuum, as predicted by the large $`N`$ expansion.


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# Can low-lying Roper states be explained as antidecuplet members?

11footnotetext: e-mail address: leonid.glozman@uni-graz.at

A possible experimental discovery of the antidecuplet state $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+(1540)`$  certainly disturbs a quiet life of hadron physics. Obviously there is a need not only to explain $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+(1540)`$ in a quark language (see, e.g. ), but also to answer the question where the nonstrange partners of $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+(1540)`$ are. Jaffe and Wilczek (JW)  and independently Nussinov  have suggested an interesting scenario that $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+`$ can be explained as a pentaquark with two strongly clustered $`I,J^P=0,0^+`$ diquarks. This picture is actively discussed in the community. In this case one obtains the same quantum numbers $`0,1/2^+`$ for $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+`$ as in the soliton picture . There is also a natural reason to anticipate a scalar-isoscalar diquark clustering \- the spin-spin force between valence quarks is attractive in the scalar-isoscalar diquark channel and explains a $`\mathrm{\Delta }N`$ and other ground state splittings.

However, an expectation about diquark clustering should be tested in other simple systems, like the nucleon. And indeed, it was tested in the framework of exact solutions of three-body equations either with the color-magnetic spin-spin force , or with the flavor-spin interaction of the Goldstone boson exchange type . It turns out that the spin-spin force which does explain a required $`N\mathrm{\Delta }`$ splitting, induces only a tiny quark-diquark clustering in the nucleon and hence this practically invisible clustering is unlikely to explain $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+`$. Yet, assuming that $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+`$ is much larger than nucleon one can still conjecture a strong diquark clustering in this system.

As a very important byproduct of their scenario JW have suggested that anomalously low-lying Roper states can be explained as mixtures of the 5Q antidecuplet and 5Q octet states. Indeed, there are members of the 5Q antidecuplet and 5Q octet with the same quantum numbers like $`1/2,1/2^+`$ N(1440) state, or some other Roper states like $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(1600)`$ and $`\mathrm{\Sigma }(1660)`$. Hence, assuming that the nonstrange analog of $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+`$ is approximately 100 MeV below than $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+`$ (which is a mass of the strange quark), one indeed obtains a state in the mass region of $`N(1440)`$.

The Roper states are well established practically in all flavor parts of baryons $`N(1440)`$,$`\mathrm{\Delta }(1600)`$, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(1600)`$,$`\mathrm{\Sigma }(1660)`$,…. All of them are very broad (which makes them incompatible with very narrow $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+`$) and lie approximately 0.5 GeV above their respective ground states $`N,\mathrm{\Delta },\mathrm{\Lambda },\mathrm{\Sigma },\mathrm{}`$. These two facts imply that all Roper states fall into an excited 56 plet of $`SU(6)`$. Even if we are able to assign $`N(1440),\mathrm{\Lambda }(1600),\mathrm{\Sigma }(1660)`$ states to be a mixture of the 5Q antidecuplet and 5Q octet, this cannot be done (simply by quantum numbers!) for the $`\mathrm{\Delta }(1600)`$. The latter state is not only well seen in the $`\pi N`$ scattering, but is also observed as a large bump in the electroexcitation of the nucleon . This state cannot be constructed as a system of two strongly clustered scalar diquarks and antiquark. If such a structure is assumed for other Roper states, like it is in the JW scenario, then it would mean that the nature of $`\mathrm{\Delta }(1600)`$ and other Roper states is entirely different, which is unlikely. This implies that the admixture of the 5Q antidecuplet and 5Q octet to the wave functions of $`N(1440),\mathrm{\Lambda }(1600),\mathrm{\Sigma }(1660)`$ should be at most small. An anomalous low-lying position of all Roper states is indeed naturally explained with the 3Q valence wave function and assuming a flavor-spin dependent interaction between valence quarks of the Goldstone boson exchange type .

While this simple analysis brings serious doubts that the Roper states belong to the same family of states as $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+`$, it does not answer a question what is a nonstrange analog of $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+`$. It can be $`N(1710)`$, as was conjectured in , but on the other hand this $`N(1710)`$ state is well described as a second excitation of the nucleon , so it can be well that the nonstrange analog of $`\mathrm{\Theta }^+`$ has not yet been seen.


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# The Mass Ratio Distribution in Main-Sequence Spectroscopic Binaries Measured by IR Spectroscopy

## 1 Introduction

The mass ratio distribution of binaries provides one of the few diagnostics for testing models of binary formation (for recent reviews, see Clarke 2001; Tohline 2002; Halbwachs et al. 2003). However, the use of the mass ratio distribution in spectroscopic binaries (SBs) has been limited because, in most studies, only the primary spectrum is detected. Without the secondary radial velocities, the mass ratio of a spectroscopic binary cannot be measured. Detection of the secondary spectrum is difficult because most radial velocity observations are made in visible light, where the luminosity of stars less massive than $`1`$ M is a strong function of the mass (e.g., Carney et al. 1994, hereafter CL94). As a result, the measured secondary/primary mass ratios, $`q=M_2/M_1`$, are clustered close to 1. To overcome this bias astronomers have applied powerful statistical techniques to samples of single and double-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB1s and SB2s), in order to derive the mass ratio distribution down to mass ratios as low as $`0.1`$ (e.g., Halbwachs 1987; Heacox 1995). However, because of the missing information on the mass ratios of the binaries, the resolution ability of the statistical techniques is limited, and they can only derive the gross features of the distribution. This might be the reason why the results of such analyses still differ and a consensus on the underlying distribution has not been reached.

Goldberg, Mazeh & Latham (2003, hereafter G03) studied 129 binaries identified in the Carney & Latham high-proper-motion sample (CL94), which consisted of a large fraction of halo stars. Their sample of binaries included 25 SB2s. G03 found a rise in the distribution as the mass ratio decreases to $`q0.2`$, a drop at $`q<0.2`$, and a small peak at $`q0.8`$. Halbwachs et al. (2003) considered a well-defined sample of 27 binaries within the nearby F7 to K stars, together with 25 binaries found in the open clusters of Pleiades and Praesepe. Their sample of 52 binaries consisted of 15 SB2s, for which the mass ratios were directly derived, another 9 binaries with mass ratios estimated from astrometric data (Udry et al. 2003), and an additional 7 cluster binaries with mass ratios estimated from their photometric properties. Halbwachs et al. found a mass ratio distribution with two peaks: a broad, shallow, peak between $`q0.2`$ and $`0.7`$, and a sharp, high, peak at $`q>0.8`$. The latter appears only in the distribution of the short period binaries, with periods shorter than 50 days.

Evidently, even the most recent studies do not agree on the true mass ratio distribution. It is therefore desirable to derive the mass ratio distribution with minimal need for statistical tools. To accomplish this we need a large, well defined sample of binaries dominated by SB2s with mass ratios measured over as large a range as possible. Our approach to the detection of main-sequence and pre$``$main-sequence (PMS) SB2s is to observe with high resolution, infrared (IR) spectroscopy SB1s that were previously identified and measured with visible light (Mazeh et al. 2002; Prato et al. 2002a,b). Because the secondaries in SB1s are cool, the secondary to primary light ratio is greater in the IR than in visible band, favoring their detection in the IR. One result of this approach is the smallest mass ratio ever measured dynamically in a PMS SB, $`q=0.18\pm 0.01`$, in the NTTS 160905$``$1859 system (Prato et al. 2002a).

To compile as complete and large as possible a sample for study, we chose to use a subsample of the SBs in the Carney & Latham study of 1464 high-proper-motion, nearby, late G and early K, main-sequence stars (CL94). Systematic, long term radial velocity monitoring of these stars in visible light has identified 171 SB1s and 34 SB2s (Latham et al. 2002, hereafter L02; Goldberg et al. 2002, hereafter G02). Out of these, we focused on 51 SB1s, turning 32 systems into SB2s. The composition of our sample is described in §2, the observations in §3, the analysis in §4, and the measured and derived mass ratio distribution in §5. We compare our results with previous studies in §6, discuss our results in §7 and conclude the discussion in §8.

## 2 The Sample

We selected SB1s from L02 with a well defined range of metallicities and distances, as derived by CL94 using photometry, color indices in the visible and IR, and low S/N spectroscopy. To exclude the halo stars from our sample and to include stars with relatively strong spectral lines we chose only stars identified by G03 as Galactic disk stars, with metallicities $`[Fe/H]\stackrel{>}{}1`$. To ensure high S/N ratio in the observations, and to choose a volume limited sample, we excluded all stars whose distances were estimated by CL94 to be larger than 90 pc. The SB sample identified by L02 and G02 was not complete for binaries with long periods (see discussion in G03), so we chose only binaries with periods shorter than 3000 days.

Table 1 lists the 52 SB1s observed. The system $`V`$-band magnitude, metallicity, estimated distance, and binary period, taken from L02 and CL94, appear in columns (4)–(7). Our sample is characterized by $`V<11.46`$ mag (which corresponds to $`H\stackrel{<}{}9.6`$ mag for these stars) and $`[Fe/H]>1.09`$. Column (8) of Table 1 lists the mass estimates of the primaries, as derived by CL94.

Analysis of a single-lined orbit yields the mass function,

$$f(M)=\frac{(M_2sini)^3}{(M_1+M_2)^2}=\frac{q^3}{(1+q)^2}M_1sin^3i$$

where $`i`$ is the orbital inclination. Using the estimate of the primary mass and the limit of an edge on orbit, $`i=\pi /2`$, $`f(M)`$ determines the minimum mass ratio $`q_{min}`$. We used the mass functions reported by L02 to calculate the values of $`q_{min}`$ for the SB1s in our sample and listed these in column (8) of Table 1. The uncertainties include that of the mass function and our estimate of $`\pm 0.1`$ M for the uncertainty of $`M_{1,est}`$. During the analysis we found that one system in Table 1, G17-22, has a minimum mass ratio substantially larger than unity, $`1.36\pm 0.13`$. This probably indicates a white dwarf secondary that was originally the primary star. If this is true, the mass ratio of the system now differs from its original value. We therefore excluded this system from further analysis.

For completeness we included in our analysis the SB2s already detected by G02 which have the same limits on distance, metallicity, and period as the SB1s in Table 1. Table 2 lists these 11 binaries and is organized in the same way as Table 1, except that the last column lists the mass ratio measured by G02. Our study of the mass ratio distribution of nearby main-sequence SBs is thus based on 62 systems, the 11 SB2s in Table 2 with measured $`q`$’s, all close to 1, and the 51 SB1s in Table 1 (excluding G17-22). Figure 1 shows the distribution of $`M_{1,est}`$ in the entire sample of 62 SBs. The range of the masses is quite narrow, 0.6–0.85 M, with a median value of $`0.72`$ M.

Our sample definition relies on CL94’s distances rather than HIPPARCOS measurements, because only the former are available for all the systems in our sample, and the latter have large uncertainties at distances greater than $`60`$pc. Photometric distances might be biased towards smaller distances for binaries with high mass ratios, as the secondaries make such binaries brighter than single stars. Such bias could have introduced the Öpik effect (Öpik 1926; Branch 1976) into our sample of binaries. To look for such an effect we considered the ratio of the Hipparcos distance over the CL distance for each of the binaries in our sample. If the Öpik was present in our sample we would expect the ratio to be larger for binaries with mass ratio close to unity. To investigate this possibility, we divided our sample into two subsamples, with $`q_{min}`$ above and below $`0.85`$. The average and r.m.s of the ratios of the high and low mass ratio samples were $`1.12\pm 0.26`$ and $`1.29\pm 0.39`$, respectively. The difference between the two figures is insignificant, and certainly not in the direction expected for the Öpik effect. We conclude that there is no evidence that the Öpik effect has contaminated our sample.

## 3 Observations and Data Reduction

Observations of all stars in Table 1 were made with the NIRSPEC spectrometer at the Keck II telescope (McLean et al. 1998, 2000), following the procedures described by Prato et al. (2002a,b). The spectrometer was centered on 1.55 $`\mu `$m in order 49. Exposure times were long enough to obtain spectra with S/N $`100`$ on each target, typically between 5 and 10 minutes. The observations in June, 2000, and January, 2001, were obtained using adaptive optics (AO) and achieved resolution R $`30,000`$. Observations in February, May, and June, 2001, were made without the AO system and have resolution R $`24,000`$. A few more spectra for some of the systems were obtained when time permitted in subsequent observing runs; these later observations were all in the non-AO mode. The modified Julian dates of observation for each binary in the sample are listed in Table 3, column (2). The spectra were extracted and wavelength calibrated using the REDSPEC software package111See: http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/inst/nirspec/redspec/index.html. We used only order 49 for the results presented here because it is almost completely free of terrestrial absorption lines.

As in our previous studies (Mazeh et al. 2002; Prato et al. 2002a,b), we used the TODCOR two-dimensional correlation algorithm (Zucker & Mazeh 1994) and our library of stellar templates to analyze the target spectra for the velocities of the primary and secondary stars. Table 3 lists the derived velocities of the primary, $`v_1`$, and the secondary, $`v_2`$, and their uncertainties, as yielded by TODCOR. The uncertainties do not include the errors induced by the scatter of the radial velocities assigned to the templates, which we estimate to be of the order of 1 km s-1. The latter were added when we used these velocities for the orbital solution.

The primary velocity was detectable in every observation of each target, whereas not all spectra yielded a reliable measurement of the secondary velocities. This is because the correlation peak of the secondary was not always sufficiently prominent because of several possible factors including the secondary to primary light ratio, the inevitable differences between the spectra of the SB components and their corresponding templates, small velocity differences between the components, and the S/N ratio of the observed spectra. The last two factors may vary between one observation and another, which explains why a reliable secondary velocity may be obtained from one spectrum of an object and not from another. For our analysis we chose only spectra that yielded correlation functions for which we judged the secondary peak to be well determined. An example of the derived correlation is given in Figure 2, which shows two aspects of the two-dimensional correlation function of one spectrum of G121-75, for which we estimate the flux ratio to be $`0.08\pm 0.01`$. The relatively small flux ratio caused the increase of the correlation function at the secondary velocity to be minute, from $`0.935`$ to $`0.945`$, as can be seen from the lower panel of the figure. Nevertheless, the peak is well above the noise.

Our criteria led us to accept only 58 secondary velocities out of 112 observations. The primary and secondary velocities, and their $`1\sigma `$ uncertainties are listed in Table 3, columns (3)–(6). Out of the 51 systems in the IR sample, we have derived the secondary radial velocities for 32 systems. For convenience, columns (2) and (3) of Table 4 list the numbers of times that a target was observed and the secondary detected.

## 4 Double-Lined Orbital Analysis

In all the 32 binaries for which we measured the secondary velocity, we derived new SB2 orbital solutions using our measured values of $`v_1`$ and $`v_2`$ together with the primary velocities of L02. All the newly derived elements were consistent with the SB1 elements of L02. The mass ratios of each binary, $`q_{orb}`$, were derived from the ratio of the primary and secondary semi-amplitudes, $`K_1`$ and $`K_2`$, and are listed in column (4) of Table 4. $`K_1`$ was determined by combining the many radial velocities of L02 with our few additional measurements, and is therefore well established. On the other hand, $`K_2`$ was determined only by our few secondary velocity measurements, and is therefore less robust. We have more than one radial velocity measurement of the secondary for only 14 systems. Examples of the orbital solutions for 4 binaries are plotted in Figure 3. All $`v_2`$ measurements in these 14 systems are within 1$`\sigma `$ of the best fit orbital solution.

For 18 of the systems we have only one $`v_2`$ measurement, 4 of which have $`q_{orb}`$ values of low statistical significance, $`q_{orb}/\sigma <2`$. Two tests give us confidence that the set of $`q_{orb}`$’s we have derived are reliable. Clearly, we expect $`q_{min}<q_{orb}`$. Figure 4 plots $`q_{min}`$ as a function of $`q_{orb}`$, showing that the derived values of $`q_{orb}`$ are either greater than their corresponding value of $`q_{min}`$ or within 2$`\sigma `$ of the difference. Using the derived $`q_{orb}`$ values with the corresponding estimated masses, we can also derive $`\mathrm{sin}i`$. In Figure 5 we plot the distribution of the derived $`\mathrm{sin}i`$, together with the expected distribution for a sample of randomly oriented orbits in space. The two are very similar, again supporting our working assumption that the derived $`q_{orb}`$ are correct.

TODCOR analysis also provides the flux ratio, $`\alpha `$, at which the combination of shifted templates for the secondary and primary stars yields the maximum correlation. The last column of Table 4 lists our best estimate for $`\alpha `$ at $`1.55\mu `$m, averaged over several measurements when they were available. The derived ratios cannot be exact because of the unavoidable mismatch between the actual effective temperatures and metallicities of the primary and secondary stars and those of the templates used in the TODCOR analysis. Nevertheless, the derived values give a rough estimate of the true values. To show that this is the case, Figure 6 plots the estimated flux ratio as a function of the measured mass ratio. The solid line shows the light ratio in the photometric $`H`$-band for Baraffe et al.’s (1998) models of low-mass main-sequence stars at age 5 Byr with \[Fe/H\]=0, referenced to primary mass of 0.7 M. Our measured values are roughly consistent with the theoretical values. The large scatter is probably attributable to the approximate nature of the measured $`\alpha `$, the range of metallicities and ages of the targets, and to the fact that the model values integrate stellar spectra over the $`0.28\mu `$m width of the $`H`$-band filter while our spectra in NIRSPEC order 49 span only $`0.022\mu `$m.

Figure 6 shows that detection of secondaries by IR spectroscopy extends down to $`\alpha 0.04`$. Below this light ratio, our spectra in NIRSPEC order 49 do not yield reliable secondary velocities through the analysis described here. As we discuss in the next section, this is associated directly with the minimum mass ratio to which our observations are sensitive.

## 5 The Mass Ratio Distribution

Our new measurements of the mass ratio extend down to $`q=0.20\pm 0.04`$ and $`0.18\pm 0.03`$ for G14-54 and G255-45, respectively (Table 4). To our knowledge, these are the lowest mass ratios yet measured dynamically in a detached main-sequence binary in which the primary is a G or K spectral type star. They are matched only by our work on PMS stars (Prato et al. 2002a). Together with the 11 SB2s in Table 2, dynamically derived mass ratios are now available for 43 of the 62 binaries in our sample.

What is the nature of the binaries in which IR spectroscopy did not detect the secondary? There seem to be no significant differences in the distributions of brightness, period, or metallicity (Figure 7a,b,c) of the binaries with and without IR detections of the secondary. Applying a two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K–S) test to these three distribution pairs yields significance values of $`0.47`$, $`0.45`$ and $`0.15`$, respectively. Figure 7d suggests, however, that the systems with secondaries undetected in the IR have systematically lower $`q_{min}`$’s than those with detected secondaries. The K–S test shows that difference in the two distributions is very significant; the probability that they are drawn from the same distribution is only $`5.6\times 10^4`$. This suggests that systems with low $`q_{min}`$, and hence small $`M_2`$, are undetected probably because their secondary/primary light ratio falls below our sensitivity limit.

The lowest panel of Figure 7d displays our detection limit more directly. For each bin of width $`\mathrm{\Delta }q_{min}=0.10`$, the abscissa plots the ratio of the number of binaries with IR detected secondaries to the number of binaries having $`q_{min}`$ in that bin. The figure indicates that our observations detected all systems with $`q_{min}>0.5`$, and have monotonic decreasing sensitivity below that value. Taken together, the distribution of non-detections in the middle panel, and the sensitivity plotted in the lower panel, indicate that most of the undetected secondaries in binaries with $`q_{min}`$ below $`0.5`$ probably have actual mass ratios that are smaller than 0.5. If their $`q`$’s were larger, we probably would have detected them.

The top and middle panels of Figure 8 show the distribution of mass ratios of the SB2s as detected in visible light by G02 and in the IR, as described here. To allow for the uncertainties of the mass ratios we distributed each binary as a Gaussian centered on its measured $`q`$ value, with a width equal to its estimated uncertainty. The Gaussians were truncated at $`q_{min}\sigma _q`$ and 1, where $`\sigma _q`$ is the uncertainty of $`q_{min}`$, and were normalized accordingly. This smoothing procedure mitigates the influence of the few objects in our sample with measured $`q_{orb}`$ values with low statistical significance. The SB2s detected in the visible band are clustered around $`q0.85`$, with a narrow spread of $`0.1`$, whereas the SB2s detected in the IR are centered at $`q=0.55`$, with a very large spread.

The lowest panel of Figure 8 shows our best estimate of the distribution of the 19 SB1s that remain in our sample, derived by the algorithm of Mazeh & Goldberg (1992), assuming random orientations of the binaries. We did not use the fact that the IR observations could reliably detect a binary with mass ratio larger than $`q0.5`$. It is satisfying that the derived distribution is consistent with this limit. It is interesting to compare this estimated distribution with that of the $`q_{min}`$’s of the same sample (middle panel of Figure 7d). The two are not very different. This is probably because all the systems with small inclinations, and therefore with high mass ratios, were turned into SB2s by our technique, and subsequently were moved to the middle panel of the figure. Thus, the binaries with undetected secondaries have on the average only slightly higher mass ratios than their minimum values. The top panel of Figure 9 shows the sum of the three distributions of Figure 8. This is an estimate of the directly measured mass ratio distribution.

To complete the analysis, we must correct the distribution at the top of Figure 9 for the binaries undetected by L02 and G02. Binaries could have escaped detection because their primary velocity semi-amplitude, $`K_1`$, fell below a certain threshold. For a given sample of binaries with random orientations, this observational selection effect primarily affects binaries with small mass ratios, and so evidently biases the measured distribution (Mazeh, Latham, & Stefanik 1996). The correction Mazeh et al. suggest relies on the assumption that the mass ratio and period distributions are independent, and strongly depends on the period distribution of the sample, because the effect is much stronger for longer periods. However, the observed period distribution of the sample is subject to the same effect, and therefore cannot be used to estimate the true period distribution (e.g., Halbwachs et al. 2003). Thus, although the selection effect is certainly there, the algorithm to correct for it includes inherently large uncertainties.

We corrected for the undetected binaries with the algorithm presented by Mazeh, Latham, & Stefanik (1996), following G03 by assuming a period distribution which is linear in log $`P`$ with the same parameters. We further assumed that the $`K_1`$ detection threshold is 2.5 km s-1. The lower panel of Figure 9 presents our result; the uncertainties are given by Poisson statistics, and do not include the systematic errors. As expected, this distribution shows that the effects of the correction are most important below $`q0.3`$. For concreteness, we refer to this as the corrected mass ratio distribution.

Halbwachs et al. (2003) suggested that the mass ratio distribution is different for the short and the long period spectroscopic binaries. Trying different periods, they found the best period to separate their sample into short and the long periods is 50 days. We searched for such a difference in our data following Halbwachs et al. approach. Our analysis indicated that if such an effect does exist in our data, it is most pronounced when the sample is divided by a period limit of 100 days. The resulting subsamples include 38 and 24 long and short period binaries, respectively. The resulting mass ratio distributions are depicted in Figure 10.

The two subsamples are smaller than the united sample, and consequently their numerical noise is much larger. Therefore, we derived the two distributions with only six bins. Further, we omitted the first bin in the plot because its uncertainty in the long period subsample is too large to allow any significant comparison. The comparison between the five plotted bins suggests that the mass ratio distribution of the long period binaries rises towards low mass ratio, while the distribution of the short period binaries does not. However, the small sample size and hence large uncertainties in the low-q bins does not allow us to establish this finding firmly, and we need more binaries to investigate the possible difference.

## 6 Comparison with Previous Studies

Both mass ratio distributions shown in Figure 9, the directly measured one (top panel) and the one corrected for undetected binaries (lower panel), are approximately flat between $`q=1`$ and $`0.3`$. This result appears to differ from the recent derivations of the mass ratio distribution obtained by Halbwachs et al. (2003) and Tokovinin (2000), and is slightly different from the results of G03.

G03 analyzed the whole sample of SBs found in the CL94 survey, and suggested that the mass ratio distribution of the Galactic disk binaries rises monotonically toward low $`q`$’s. Their Figure 6 (right panel) shows, however, that the rise could be confined to $`q<0.3`$, and that the distribution is consistent with having an approximately constant value between $`q=0.3`$ and 1. The Galactic disk sample of G03, consisting of 73 binaries, is very similar to ours, as both were chosen from the CL94 survey. Their sample is somewhat larger, as they did not exclude binaries with distances larger than 90 pc. On the other hand, we added the information about the mass ratio for an additional 32 binaries. Therefore, the flatness of the distribution of the CL94 Galactic disk sample down to $`q0.3`$ seems firm from our results. We suggest that the insignificance rise of the distribution in the mass ratio range of 0.3–0.5 indicated by the analysis of G03 is the result of the inherently low resolution of the analysis. This is caused by the lack of mass ratio information for most of the binaries, which can not be recovered by the statistical analysis.

Halbwachs et al.’s (2003) mass ratio distribution shows a prominent peak near $`q=1`$. This feature confirms the Tokovinin (2000) study, which found a large excess of “twin binaries” in the range of $`q`$ between $`0.95`$ and 1. Both studies found this excess to be confined to binaries with periods shorter than 30–50 days. Tokovinin’s sample of SB2s with periods between 2 and 30 days included only 5 systems in the mass ratio range of 0.8–0.9 and 41 binaries in the range of 0.9–1, an enhancement of a factor of $`8`$. We do not find such a peak, neither in our Figure 9, which presents our best estimate for the mass distribution of the whole sample studied here, nor in Figure 10, which separates our sample for short and long period binaries.

Tokovinin (2000) studied a sample of published SB2s, detected by different spectrographs and observers. The sample includes the SB2s listed in the Eighth Catalog of Spectroscopic binaries (Batten et al. 1989) and the SB2s included in his compilation of orbits published since then. All the binaries were detected either by direct measurements of the secondary lines, or by resolving the two spectra with the one-dimensional correlation function.

The ability to detect the secondary is sensitive to the light ratio of the primary and the secondary, which in turn strongly depends on the mass ratio. For example, many of the binaries compiled by Tokovinin (2000) were detected by the CfA spectrograph which operates in the visible light, centered at 5200 Å. At this band the stellar luminosity, $`L_{5200}`$, depends on mass as $`L_{5200}M^{7.4\pm 0.6}`$ (G02). Therefore, at q=0.85, for example, the light ratio falls down to $`0.3`$, a value that makes the detection of the secondary velocity difficult, depending on the S/N and resolution of the spectra. The fact that Tokovinin’s sample includes a few SB2s with $`q0.8`$ does not exclude a strong selection effect against finding such binaries. Those binaries could have been observed with exceptionally high S/N ratio, so that their secondary could have been detected. Tokovinin (2000) noted that his sample could have also included the Öpik effect. We suggest that the high peak at $`q1`$ in Tokovinin’s study could be the result of a the combination of the two selection effects. The absence of a similar peak in Tokovinin’s sample for the long-period sample could have arisen in the intrinsic difficulty of resolving the two sets of lines in the spectra of the long period binaries.

We now consider whether our sample could have suffered from an opposite selection effect that prevented us from detecting binaries with $`q`$ between 0.95 and 1. We could have missed such systems if L02 did not identify binaries with mass ratios close to unity in the original survey for binaries in the sample of high-proper-motion stars. L02 observed all stars in that sample a few times and carefully examined the one-dimensional correlation function of the measured spectra. To escape detection by the L02 survey a binary had to fulfill two conditions. First, the one-dimensional correlation function must not resolve the two set of lines, which can happen only for binaries with small radial velocity amplitude. Second, the radial velocity of the single, blended peak of the correlation must not vary. The blended peak represented the spectral lines of the primary and the secondary together, and therefore was sensitive to the radial velocities of both spectra. Thus, the center of this peak would not vary only if the contribution of the variation of the primary was canceled out by the secondary. This could happen if the light ratio and the radial velocity of the primary and the secondary were the same, possible only in a very narrow range of mass ratios, between, say, $`q=0.98`$ and unity.

In fact, there is a way to detect some binaries in this range of mass ratios, as Halbwach’s et al. (2003) noted. One could search for the variation of the width of the peak of the one-dimension correlation. Halbwachs et al. (2003) did not include such “line width spectroscopic binaries” in their analysis, because they considered that “the derivation of their orbital elements are rather hazardous”. The result, they commented, is a mass ratio distribution which is biased against twin binaries.

L02, however, have scrutinized carefully the one-dimensional correlation functions for peaks with variable widths, in order to detect binaries hidden by this effect. Once a system with a variable width of the one-dimensional correlation peak was detected, L02 and G02 thoroughly analyzed such systems with TODCOR to try to resolve the two velocities. Obviously, some binaries with mass ratio between, say, $`q0.98`$ and 1 and a small radial velocity amplitude could have escaped L02 scrutiny. However, this effect would be the strongest in long period binaries, in contrast to Figure 10, which does not show the twin binary feature for both subsamples. We therefore suggest that the effect in our sample is small and could not explain the discrepancy between our results and those of Tokovinin (2000).

The peak at $`q1`$ measured by Halbwach’s et al. (2003) is much smaller than that of Tokovinin’s sample. Halbwach’s et al. Figure 7a suggests that the mass ratio frequency at the peak is higher by a factor of $`2.7\pm 0.7`$ than the averaged frequency in the range of 0.2–0.9. This peak is based in part on the correction for the line width spectroscopic binaries not included in their analysis. Without the correction, the peak is only 1.4 higher than the averaged frequency. This peak is still not consistent with our results, but the difference is not very significant. Apparently, a much larger sample in needed to establish whether this peak is real or not.

## 7 Discussion

The main result of our analysis is the flatness of the mass ratio distribution between $`q=0.3`$ and $`1`$. Between $`q=0.1`$ and $`0.3`$ the distribution might be higher than its value at $`q>0.3`$, consistent with the peak found by G03 at $`q0.2`$. However, the height of the possible rise cannot be determined with confidence, because the uncertainty of the correction at low mass ratios is large and depends on the true distribution of periods in the sample. For example, if we had assumed a flat distribution in $`P`$ rather than one flat in $`\mathrm{log}P`$, the correction would have been larger, and the peak at low q’s more prominent. A determination of the mass ratio distribution below $`q0.3`$ will require a radial velocity survey with sensitivity better than the CL94 one (L02, G02). We find some evidence that this peak is confined to the binaries with periods longer than 100 days. Below $`q=0.1`$ our results are very uncertain.

The flatness of the mass ratio distribution between $`q=0.3`$ and $`1`$ can already put some constraints on the binary formation models. For example, Bate, Bonnell & Bromm (2002) suggested that a high frequency of close binaries can be produced through a combination of dynamical interaction in unstable multiple systems and orbital decay of initially wider binaries. Orbital decay may occur as a result of gas accretion and/or the interaction of a binary with its circumbinary disc. They found that such mechanisms result in a preference for close binaries to have roughly equal-mass components, a tendency that is not found by our results. On the other hand, dynamical disintegration of small clusters of stars could result in very different mass ratio distributions, depending on the exact parameters of the dynamical model used (Durisen, Sterzik, & Pickett 2000). Durisen, Sterzik, & Pickett (2001) found one model which produced for G type primaries almost flat distribution.

To place our findings in a wider context, we consider the distribution of the masses of the secondaries in our sample. For a sample as homogeneous as ours, the distribution of mass ratios reflects that of secondary masses. Using the median primary mass of 0.72 M, our result indicates a secondary mass spectrum that is approximately flat down to 0.2 M, and possibly higher between 0.07–0.2 M. This differs from the monotonic rise toward low masses found in the single star Initial Mass Functions (IMFs) of young open clusters (e.g., Barrado y Navascues 2002; Tej et al. 2002; Moreaux et al. 2003) and the much younger star forming regions (Luhman et al. 2000). It also differs from the log-normal IMF derived by Chabrier (2003) for the galactic field stars. Our results show that the secondaries in binaries with periods $`P<3000`$ days are not captured from a single-star IMF, and that their formation mechanisms must differ from that for single stars.

It is interesting to compare the distribution of the masses of stellar secondaries with that of the extra-solar planets. In order to compare the two distributions we need to scale their respective parent samples to ones of same size. The binaries studied in this work are found in a set of 488 disk stars closer than 90 pc within the larger CL94 sample. The size of the parent sample of the extra-solar planets is not known. We assume, somewhat arbitrarily, that the planets came from a parent sample of 2000 stars. We scaled both to a common sample size of 1000. The results are shown in Figure 11; the top panel plots the secondary mass distribution of our sample, and the lower panel the mass distribution of the extra-solar planets, both on a logarithmic scale in mass. The scale of the ordinate in both panels is $`dN_{1000}/d\mathrm{log}M_2`$, where $`N_{1000}`$ is the cumulative number of secondaries up to $`M_2`$ for a parent sample of 1000 single (and multiple) stars. We plotted the secondary distribution down to 0.07 M, which corresponds to $`q=0.1`$; our measurements are very insensitive below this value. (While Figure 9 presents number of binaries per mass ratio bin, Figure 11 gives the number per log $`M_2`$ increment.)

To calculate the mass distribution of the extra-solar planets, we used the compilation of the 101 planets as of April, 2003222http://exoplanets.org/almanacframe.html, and applied the MAXLIMA algorithm of Zucker & Mazeh (2001), which derives the distribution of masses from their minimum values, the values actually measured. Following Zucker & Mazeh, we assumed that the population of planets is complete for those with velocity semi-amplitude greater than 40 m s-1. We therefore used in our analysis only the 70 planets around G and K primaries, with $`K_1`$ larger than this threshold, and corrected the distribution accordingly. The dashed line shows the uncorrected distribution. The uncertainties of the corrected distribution represent the random errors, derived with Monte-Carlo simulations. They do not represent the systematic errors that might be the consequence of the assumed period distribution or even the basic assumption of the independence of the mass and period distributions (e.g., Zucker & Mazeh 2002). The scale of the two panels is different because we find that the frequency of stellar secondaries in the 0.07–0.7 M range, with $`P<3000`$ d, is substantially larger than the presently detected frequency of extra-solar planets in the 1–10 Jupiter mass ($`10^3`$$`10^2`$ M) range. The former is about 15%, whereas the latter is about 3%, assuming a parent sample of 2000 stars.

The two panels suggest the presence of two distinct populations. Plotted on a logarithmic basis in mass, the stellar secondary population decreases toward the regime of the brown dwarfs. The planetary distribution is consistent with a cutoff above $`15`$ Jupiter masses and a flat distribution below this value. The gap separating the two populations is the “brown-dwarf desert” which suggests a natural distinction between a planet and a low-mass stellar secondary based on mass (e.g., Jorissen, Mayor & Udry 2001; Zucker & Mazeh 2001). The decline of the stellar population towards the brown-dwarf region is consistent with the general trends found by Luhman et al. (2000) and Moraux et al. (2003).

## 8 Closing Remarks

The present analysis of spectroscopic binaries, which relies on combining systematic, precision spectroscopy in visible and IR light, shows that for solar-type main-sequence stars it is already possible to measure the mass ratio distribution in close binaries down to $`q`$ 0.2–0.3, thereby providing empirical input to theories of binary formation with minimal statistical inference. The prospects are excellent for improving the sensitivity limit to lower mass ratios by analyzing several IR spectroscopic orders simultaneously (Bender et al. 2003).

Purely spectroscopic observations of SB2s, however, leave the orbital inclination, and hence component masses, undetermined. The inclination can be measured by combining the spectroscopic results with interferometric observations that resolve the binary. Boden, Creech-Eakman, & Queloz (2000) have illustrated this approach to derive precise component masses using the Palomar Testbed Interferometer, and Halbwachs et al. (2003) used HIPPARCOS measurements for the same purpose in their study of nearby SBs. The development of ground-based IR interferometers, and the advent of the Space Interferometry Mission, offer the promise of significant progress in this area in the coming decade.

We thank the referee for a careful review and very helpful comments that helped us to improve the manuscript. We are grateful to Dorit Goldberg and Dara Norman for their assistance in the early stages of this project. This research was supported in part by NSF Grant 02-05427 (MS), by NASA through the American Astronomical Society’s Small Research Grant Program (LP), and by the Israeli Science Foundation grant no. 40/00 (TM). SZ is grateful for partial support from the Jacob and Riva Damm Foundation. Data presented herein were obtained at the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership between the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and NASA. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W.M. Keck Foundation. The authors extend special thanks to those of Hawaiian ancestry on whose sacred mountain we are privileged to be guests.


text:
# Lattice Study of the Massive Schwinger Model with a 𝜃 term under Lüscher’s ”Admissibility” conditionTalk presented by H. Fukaya.

## 1 Introduction

The studies of chiral symmetries on the lattice have made much progress recently. There are two keys in these developments; (1) Ginsparg-Wilson relation :

$$\gamma _5D+D\gamma _5=aD\gamma _5D,$$
(1)
and (2) Lüscher’s “admissibility” condition :

$$1U_{\mu \nu }^P(x)ϵ\text{for all}x,\mu ,\nu .$$
(2)
where $`a`$ denotes the lattice spacing, $`U_{\mu \nu }^P(x)`$ denotes a plaquette and $`ϵ`$ is a fixed constant.

The first key, the Ginsparg-Wilson relation, gives a redefinition of chiral symmetries without fermion doublers at the classical level. The second key, the ”admissibility” condition Eq. (2), makes gauge fields smooth. Under this condition the gauge fields are classified by a topological charge which corresponds to that of the continuum theory, giving a well-defined chiral anomaly at the quantum level.

In two-dimensional QED, the topological charge is defined as

$`Q`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi }}{\displaystyle \underset{x,\mu ,\nu }{}}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{i}{2}}ϵ_{\mu \nu }\mathrm{ln}U_{\mu \nu }^P(x)\right]\text{(integer)}`$ (3)
$`_{a0}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi }}{\displaystyle _{T^2}}d^2x{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}ϵ_{\mu \nu }F_{\mu \nu }(x).`$
While numerical studies on Ginsparg-Wilson fermion have been performed, no study of Lüscher’s admissible gauge fields has been done before.

We present a numerical study of two-dimensional QED with Lüscher’s gauge action which satisfies admissibility condition automatically . We show that topological structure is realized on the lattice, $`\theta `$ dependence of observables can be evaluated by our new method. As a result we obtain the mass of isotriplet meson which is consistent with the continuum theory. This work may offer a new approach to investigate “topology” in the lattice gauge theories.

## 2 Lattice Simulations

We take Lüscher’s gauge action combined with the domain-wall fermion action;

$`S`$ $`=`$ $`\beta S_G+{\displaystyle \underset{\text{flavor}=1}{\overset{2}{}}}S_F,`$ (4)
$`S_G`$ $`=`$ $`\{\begin{array}{c}{\displaystyle \underset{x,\mu ,\nu }{}}{\displaystyle \frac{(1\mathrm{Re}U_{\mu \nu }^P(x))}{1(1\mathrm{Re}U_{\mu \nu }^P(x))/ϵ}}\hfill \\ \text{if admissible}\hfill \\ \mathrm{}\text{otherwise}\hfill \end{array},`$ (8)
$`S_F`$ $`:`$ the domain-wall fermion action (9)
$`\text{including Pauli-Villars fields},`$
where $`\beta =1/e^2`$. The Lüscher’s condition is automatically satisfied with this action.

We use the Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) method with pseudo-fermions and conjugate gradient (CG) algorithm for the inversion of the fermion matrix. 50 molecular dynamics steps with step-size $`\mathrm{\Delta }\tau =0.02`$ are performed for each trajectory and configurations are updated per 10 trajectories. We also check the admissibility at the Metropolis test. The simulations are carried out on a $`16\times 16\times 6`$ lattice with $`\beta =0.5`$ and $`ϵ=1.0`$. Fermion mass $`m`$ is taken to be 0.1,0.2,0.3 and 0.4.

## 3 Topological Sectors and Reweighting

We set the initial link variables as follows,

$`U_1^{cl[N]}(x,y)`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{exp}\left\{{\displaystyle \frac{2\pi Ni}{L}}\delta _{x,L}y\right\},`$
$`U_2^{cl[N]}(x,y)`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{exp}\left\{{\displaystyle \frac{2\pi Ni}{L^2}}x\right\},`$ (10)
where $`L=16`$ is the lattice size. This configuration gives constant background electric fields over the torus and minimizes the gauge action in the sector with topological charge $`N`$. As Fig.1 shows, Lüscher’s action generates configurations without any topology changes.

Thus admissible gauge fields are separated into topological sectors and configurations are generated in each sector with Lüscher’s action. The next task is to sum up the expectation values in each sector with correct weights.

$$O_{\beta ,m}^{full}=\frac{_{N=\mathrm{}}^+\mathrm{}e^{iN\theta }O_{\beta ,m}^NR^N(\beta ,m)}{_{N=\mathrm{}}^+\mathrm{}e^{iN\theta }R^N(\beta ,m)},$$
(11)
where

$`R^N(\beta ,m)={\displaystyle \frac{Z_N(\beta ,m)}{Z_0(\beta ,m)}},`$
$`O_{\beta ,m}^N:\text{expectation value in each sector}`$
$`Z_N(\beta ,m):\text{generating functional in each sector.}`$
We developed a new method to calculate the reweighting factor $`R^N(\beta ,m)`$ . By separating $`R^N(\beta ,m)`$ into three factors as

$`R^N(\beta ,m)=\mathrm{exp}(\beta S_{Gmin}^N)`$
$`\times {\displaystyle \frac{𝑑\nu _1𝑑\nu _2det(D_{DW}^N)^2/det(D_{PV}^N)^2}{𝑑\nu _1𝑑\nu _2det(D_{DW}^0)^2/det(D_{PV}^0)^2}}`$
$`\times e^{\left[_\beta ^{\mathrm{}}𝑑\beta ^{}\left(S_GS_{Gmin}^N_{\beta ^{},m}^NS_G_{\beta ^{},m}^0\right)\right]},`$ (12)
where $`S_{Gmin}^N`$ in the first factor denotes the minimum of the gauge action in $`N`$ sector, the second factor is the contribution from free fermion determinants given by the integral of Polyakov loops , and the third one is a $`\beta `$ integral of the expectation value of the gauge action.

Once the reweighting factor is known, we can evaluate theta dependence of observables as in Eq. (11).

## 4 Meson Masses

We calculated the isotriplet meson propagators at various $`\theta `$ as

$`{\displaystyle \underset{y}{}}\pi (x,y)\pi (0,0)_{full}=`$
$`{\displaystyle \underset{N=4}{\overset{4}{}}}e^{iN\theta }{\displaystyle \underset{y}{}}\pi (x,y)\pi (0,0)_{\beta ,m}^NR^N(\beta ,m).`$ (13)
Here we have ignored $`|N|>4`$ sectors since they only give contributions less than 1.2 % of zero sector. Fitting them into hyperbolic cosine function, we evaluated the meson mass.

As Figs.3 and 3 show, the fermion mass and $`\theta `$ dependence of the pion mass are consistent with that of continuum theory at small $`\theta `$ ;

$$m_\pi (m\mathrm{cos}\frac{\theta }{2})^{\frac{2}{3}}.$$
(14)
Moreover, it is remarkable the residual mass in the chiral limit is consistent with zero within statistical error even in this strong coupling regime;

$$m_\pi (m0)=0.057\pm 0.060.$$
(15)
## 5 Summary

We performed a numerical simulation of 2 dimensional theory with Lüscher’s gauge action combined with domain-wall fermion action. We also proposed a new method for summing over different topological sectors.

Applying Lüscher’s condition to numerical simulations we find that the lattice gauge fields are separated into topological sectors. Our reweighting method enables the summation over topological sectors. We obtained the results which are qualitatively consistent with that in the continuum theory. It is also notable that the residual mass of the domain-wall fermion in the chiral limit is consistent with zero even in the strong coupling regime.

As future works, we plan to perform more precise and quantitative studies of 2 dimensional QED and comparison to the results in conventional lattice formalism . Studying how to extend our approach to 4 dimensional QCD is also important.


text:
# Scaling in Fracture and Refreezing of Sea Ice

## Abstract

Sea ice breaks up and regenerates rapidly during winter conditions in the Arctic. Analyzing satellite data from the Kara Sea, we find that the average ice floe size depends on weather conditions. Nevertheless, the frequency of floes of size $`A`$ is a power law, $`NA^\tau `$, where $`\tau =1.6\pm 0.2`$, for $`A`$ less than approximately 100 $`km^2`$. This scale-invariant behaviour suggests a competition between fracture due to strains in the ice field and refreezing of the fractures. A cellular model for this process gives results consistent with observations.

journal: Physica A

, , , , , and

Polar ice is a dynamic phenomenon linked to sea currents and global climate. Even in the coldest winter conditions, the ice fields in the Arctic seas are unstable to fragmentation and drift. Cracks in the polar ice have been observed spanning the entire polar region. Here we study the fragmentation process within a small section of the Arctic ice in order to obtain an empirical description of fracture and healing of sea ice.

Many fragmentation processes are governed by the irreversible formation of cracks, typically modeled by simplified approaches to the dynamical interplay between stress redistribution and crack formation across the fragmenting system. Ice fields in the Arctic seas represent a different situation as emerging cracks in addition may undergo rapid healing due to refreezing. Hence, in these systems, a steady-state situation ensue where the fragmentation and the healing process balance each other. Note, however, that even though the two processes are opposite, they do not lead to the system being reversible with respect to time: Fragmentation and healing are very different processes.

In winter conditions, Arctic sea ice typically freezes to a thickness of approximately two meters. Ice fields are subject to stresses due to wind and sea currents. Such stresses cause cracks in the ice field, and further fragmentation occurs when ice floes collide with each other. Ice floes merge when the exposed water between floes freezes, and the cracks heal. The competition between fracture and healing results in a distribution of ice floe sizes that depends on weather conditions.

In the right panel of Fig. 1 we show a 10000 km2 ice field in the region of the Kara sea depicted on the left side of the picture. The ice floes were identified from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) pictures taken with 3-day intervals in the period January–March 1994 by the European Space Agency (ESA) ERS-1 satellite. The ice floes were determined by measuring the displacements of a regular grid of points 500 m apart over a 3-day interval. Thin arrows on the right panel of Fig. 1 show displacements during the period 24-27 February 1994. From this set of up to $`40,000`$ ice displacements rigid areas are identified by searching for vector regions which transform through rigid transformations (i.e. translations followed by rotations) . Each of these rigid areas is identified as an ice floe.

The data allow us to determine 29 different ice field patterns from time series of satellite data over the entire period. The ice field is quantified by counting the number $`N`$ of ice floes of area $`A`$ occurring in each sample. The distribution of ice floes, illustrated in Fig. 2 for the case of the same data set as in Fig. 1, shows scaling with $`NA^\tau `$ and $`\tau =1.6\pm 0.2`$. A similar behaviour was found for all 29 sets, with variations in the width of the scaling regime from frame to frame.

The temporal variation in ice field patterns can be quantified by, for example, the variation in average ice floe size. This variation reflects the widely different weather conditions, with wind speeds reaching up to 30 m/s, and air temperatures ranging between -10 and -40 C.

The overall distribution, represented by the circles in fig. 2, obtained by summing the whole data set, shows a power-law behaviour that extends over more than two orders of magnitude, with a similar exponent as the individual frames.

Over the last decade, there has been a strong interest in systems with competing mechanisms and irreversibility. The present system is of this type. Such systems may organize themselves to a steady state characterized by scale invariance, as is the case for turbulence  or systems exhibiting self organized criticality .

The appearance of scaling behaviour in the ice floe distribution may be described by a simple model where fracture and healing compete to shape the ice field. A feature of ice floe dynamics is that stresses build up between fragments, making both crack healing and crack formation initiate along pre-existing cracks. Our dynamic model for fracture and healing is defined on a two-dimensional grid. Depending on geometry, we either heal the crack or create a new one perpendicular to it, by applying the following rules at each time step:

i - A random point on a boundary between two fragments is selected, which defines the interacting region at the current time step.

ii - As shown in fig. 3, a new crack always appears when:

(iia) the overlapping region is less than the smallest touching fragment’s side;

(iib) the chosen point is situated on the corner of an ice floe.

In both cases, one of the two cracking possibilities is selected with equal probability.

iii - Healing happens in either of the cases displayed on fig. 3, and stated below:

(iiia) the interacting region entirely contains the touching border of one of the floes;

(iiib) the selected point corresponds to the intersection of three ice floes. In this case, one of the three healing possibilities illustrated is randomly chosen.

iv - Either cracking or healing may occur with equal probability if the selected point is found in particular configurations, such as:

(iva) the interacting region of one of the fragments is “L” shaped;

(ivb) both fragments are of the same lateral size and are in full lateral contact.

As displayed on fig. 3, different cracking configurations are randomly chosen.

v - Nothing is done if the point corresponds to the place where 4 cracks meet.

When a new crack is created, it starts at the selected point and propagates until an other crack is found, or the border of the mesh is reached. A crack may only start at the mesh borders if there are no cracks in the system. This happens in the first steps of the evolution since we start with a single ice floe which spans the whole mesh. If a crack is healed, the line corresponding to the crack is followed and erased until no open line is left, such as in the healing case shown on panel (iva) of fig. 3.

As a result we obtain a dynamical steady-state behaviour of the ice floe field, where ice floes of all sizes appear. The distribution of fragment sizes is a power law with $`\tau 1.5`$, as is depicted by the full line in fig. 2. When a large mesh is employed, the system exhibits a huge number of possible configurations. Although, as already mentioned, we start the dynamics with a very particular configuration, irreversibility is observed after a large number of steps because tracing back the original configuration would be virtually impossible following the rules of the model. Therefore, after the transient regime, the system attains a dynamically changing state which bears no fingerprint of the initial conditions, or of any other instant configuration in its remote past.

We remark that no explicit attempt has been made to relate crack formation to neighboring floe sizes with a preference for fragmenting the largest, or the thinnest of them. Neither does the model take into account the possible preference for equal size fragments to induce cracks, as suggested by . We stress that when a crack is induced as illustrated in fig. 3, one of the floes is chosen with equal probability. When refreezing occurs the crack to be healed is selected in the same way. The fragmentation process, however, assumes that all cracks initiate on pre-existing one dimensional fractures, a feature reminiscent of the boundary induced fragmentation discussed by . Our geometric rules intend only to incorporate some basic physical properties in the model. For instance, rule (ii-a) is an attempt to take into account the torsion along the touching fragments due to the center of mass displacement of the ice floes, which would very likely induce new cracks. Energy sharing among the fragments would tend to make new fracture development less probable when three ice floes meet. Instead, the splash of cold water is more likely to occur, leading to refreezing of the cracks as implemented in rule (iii-b). Similar qualitatively considerations apply to the other geometries. Instead of introducing ad-hoc weights to cracking or healing in each case, we simply chose the most probable case. We have checked that a characteristic size scale appears if the rules are inverted, whereas only finite size effects seem to be observed when one adopts those presented above.

The present model is related to a variety of models that have been employed to describe crack formation in different systems . It differs by considering an interaction proportional to contact between fragments, and, in particular, by proposing a mechanism that naturally balance crack formation and healing.

In summa, the ice floe system presents us with a case study for a largely unexplored class of fracturing/healing phenomena with steady state dynamics — phenomena that would include continental plate dynamics on time scales of hundreds millions of years.

Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the program Transport and Fate of Contaminants in the Northern Seas, coordinated by the Norwegian Polar Institute, and the High Performance Computing Programme at the University of Tromsø. The European Space Agency (ESA) provided the ERS-1.SAR.PRI data under the Research Usage Price. R.D., A.H. and S.R.S. thank Nordita and the Niels Bohr Institute for their hospitality and support. R.D. and S.R.S. also acknowledge partial support from CNPq and the PRONEX initiative of Brazil’s MCT under contract No. 41.96.0886.00.