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# A vacuum-dominated universe is asymptotic to de Sitter space

## A vacuum-dominated universe is asymptotic to de Sitter space

Friedmann’s equation for the radius of curvature $`R`$ of a closed homogeneous isotropic universe is

$$\dot{R}^2\left(\frac{8\pi G}{3}\right)\left[\epsilon _r\left(\frac{R_0}{R}\right)^4+\epsilon _m\left(\frac{R_0}{R}\right)^3+\epsilon _v\right]\left(\frac{R}{c}\right)^2=c^2$$

where $`\epsilon _r`$, $`\epsilon _m,\epsilon _v`$ and $`R_0`$ are, respectively, the present values of the radiation, matter and vacuum energy densities and the radius of curvature.

Astrophysical measurements indicate the expansion of the universe is accelerating, and the energy density of the universe is dominated by a cosmological constant/vacuum energy density with $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }=0.7`$ . The cosmological constant is related to the vacuum energy density by $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=8\pi G\epsilon _v/c^4`$. At late times, $`R\mathrm{}`$ and the radiation and matter energy density (and the curvature energy) are driven to zero by the expansion of the universe. The Friedmann equation becomes

$$\left(\frac{\dot{R}}{R}\right)^2=\frac{8\pi G\epsilon _v}{3c^2}=\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }c^2}{3}.$$

So, our universe is asymptotic to a de Sitter space (the vacuum solution to Einstein’s equations with a positive cosmological constant), and the asymptotic value of the Hubble constant is $`H=\dot{R}/R=c\sqrt{\mathrm{\Lambda }/3}`$.

## Horizon radius equals Schwarschild radius of vacuum energy within horizon

There is a cosmological event horizon in a de Sitter space, with horizon radius $`R_H=c/H=\sqrt{3/\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$ (see, e.g, ). Taking the Hubble constant as $`H_0=65`$ km sec-1 Mpc-1, the critical density $`\rho _c=\frac{3H_0^2}{8\pi G}=7.9\times 10^{30}`$ g cm-3, the vacuum energy density $`\epsilon _v=0.7\rho _cc^2=5.0\times 10^9`$ g cm2 sec-2 cm-3, and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=1.0\times 10^{56}`$ cm-2.

The total vacuum energy within the horizon radius $`R_H`$ is $`\epsilon _v\frac{4\pi }{3}\left(\frac{3}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}\right)^{3/2}=\frac{c^4}{2G}\sqrt{\frac{3}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}`$. The mass equivalent of this energy, $`M=\frac{c^2}{2G}\sqrt{\frac{3}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}`$, is the mass of the observable part of the vacuum-dominated universe (analogous to Wesson’s “Einstein mass” ).

The Schwarschild radius $`R_S`$ of a mass $`M`$ is $`R_S=2GM/c^2`$, so the Schwarschild radius of the vacuum energy within the horizon is $`R_S=\sqrt{3/\mathrm{\Lambda }}=R_H`$. Therefore, the volume within the horizon radius $`R_H`$ is analogous to the inside of a black hole with radius $`R_S=\sqrt{3/\mathrm{\Lambda }}=R_H`$.

The relation $`\frac{M}{R}\frac{c^2}{2G}`$, where $`M`$ and $`R`$ are the mass and radius of the universe, is sometimes obtained by invoking Mach’s principle . Because the mass equivalent of the vacuum energy within the horizon is $`M=\frac{c^2}{2G}\sqrt{\frac{3}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}`$, the relation $`\frac{M}{R}\frac{c^2}{2G}`$ holds whenever the radius of a vacuum-dominated Friedmann universe approaches or exceeds the horizon radius and is approximately true today.

## Finite degrees of freedom within the horizon

The area of the cosmological horizon at late times in a vacuum-dominated Friedmann universe is $`A=4\pi R_H^2=12\pi /\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. The holographic conjecture then indicates the number of observable degrees of freedom in the universe is $`N=A/4=\pi R_H^2=3\pi /\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, where $`A`$ is measured in Planck units. Thus, $`N=\pi R_H^2/\delta ^2=3\pi /(\mathrm{\Lambda }\delta ^2)`$, where $`\delta `$ is the Planck length.

Black hole thermodynamics alone indicates the number of observable degrees of freedom in a black hole with surface area $`A`$ is $`N=A/4`$, where $`A`$ is measured in Planck units. So, considering black holes within the horizon with radii approaching the horizon radius, the above result from the holographic conjecture is not surprising,

## Average energy per degree of freedom

For any Schwarschild black hole, with $`M=\frac{c^2R_S}{2G}`$, the number of degrees of freedom is $`N=A/4=\pi R_S^2/\delta ^2`$. Defining the Planck length by $`\delta =\sqrt{\frac{hG}{c^3}}`$, instead of the usual $`\delta =\sqrt{\frac{\mathrm{}G}{c^3}}`$, the average energy per degree of freedom is $`\frac{E}{N}=\frac{c^4\delta ^2}{2\pi GR_S}=\frac{hc}{2\pi R_S}`$.

Considering the volume of a vacuum-dominated universe within the horizon, the total vacuum energy within the horizon is $`\frac{c^4}{2G}\sqrt{\frac{3}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}=\frac{c^4R_H}{2G}`$, and the number of degrees of freedom is $`N=\frac{3\pi }{\mathrm{\Lambda }\delta ^2}=\pi \frac{R_H^2}{\delta ^2}`$. So, the average energy per degree of freedom in a vacuum-dominated Friedmann universe at late times is $`\frac{c^4\delta ^2}{2\pi GR_H}=\frac{hc}{2\pi R_H}=\frac{\mathrm{}c}{R_H}`$. Since $`\mathrm{}c=197.32`$ MeV Fermi, the average energy per degree of freedom in the observable vacuum-dominated universe at late times is about $`10^{33}`$ electron volts. The mass equivalent of this energy is approximately the quantum of mass (about $`2\times 10^{65}`$ g) identified by Wesson .

The energy of a massless quantum with wavelength $`\lambda `$ is $`hc/\lambda `$. So, if the energy per degree of freedom in the observable vacuum-dominated universe at late times is carried by massless quanta, the average wavelength of those quanta is $`2\pi R_H=2\pi \sqrt{3/\mathrm{\Lambda }}=1.09\times 10^{29}`$ cm, the circumference of the horizon. The average frequency of these quanta is $`c/\lambda =2.75\times 10^{19}/\text{ sec}=8.67/10^{12}\text{ yr}`$.

The surface temperature of a Schwarschild black hole of mass $`M`$ is $`T=\frac{\mathrm{}c^3}{8\pi GMk}=\frac{\mathrm{}c}{4\pi R_Sk}`$. A Schwarschild black hole with solar mass $`2\times 10^{33}`$ g has a surface temperature of $`6\times 10_{}^{8}{}_{}{}^{}\text{K}`$, so the surface of any large Schwarschild black hole is a low temperature environment. In particular, the surface temperature of a Schwarschild black hole with radius $`R_S=\sqrt{3/\mathrm{\Lambda }}=R_H`$ is $`T=\frac{\mathrm{}c}{4\pi R_Hk}=10_{}^{30}{}_{}{}^{}\text{K}`$.

## Possible connection to holography

The holographic conjecture and black hole thermodynamics suggests the number of bits of information necessary to describe the observable universe of radius $`R_H`$ within the horizon is $`N=\pi \frac{R_H^2}{\delta ^2}`$. This is the number of “pixels” of area $`\delta ^2`$ on the surface of one quadrant of the horizon.

The lowest frequency (lowest energy) vibrational mode of a spherical surface is the $`{}_{0}{}^{}S_{2}^{}`$ “football” mode  where the sphere is alternately elongated and compressed along its $`z`$ axis. The pressure waveform corresponding to this mode, on the circumference in any plane including the $`z`$ axis, has wavelength $`\pi R`$, where $`R`$ is the radius of the sphere. A massless quantum with wavelength $`\pi R_H`$ has twice the energy of a massless quantum with wavelength $`2\pi R_H`$ and thus twice the average energy per degree of freedom in the observable vacuum-dominated universe at late times. Because the surface temperature on the horizon is $`10_{}^{30}{}_{}{}^{}\text{K}`$, only the lowest energy excitations should occur on the surface, if the excitations have integral spin.

Suppose each pixel (bit) on one quadrant of the horizon has value 1 if the $`z`$ axis of a lowest frequency vibrational mode lies within that pixel and zero (no excitation) otherwise. If values 0 and 1 are randomly assigned to each pixel, $`N/2`$ lowest frequency modes will be excited, and the average energy per degree of freedom will be $`\frac{hc}{2\pi R_H}`$. Because of the symmetry of the lowest frequency vibrational mode $`{}_{0}{}^{}S_{2}^{}`$, specifying the bits on one quadrant of the horizon determines the pressure waveform (superposition of $`N/2`$ lowest frequency modes) on the entire horizon.

The pressure pattern on the horizon (the superposition of the $`N/2`$ lowest frequency modes excited) can be envisioned to propagate into the universe within the horizon at the speed of light. Because the equation of state of the vacuum energy is known, a gigantic calculation (possible in principle) could determine the vacuum energy and pressure throughout the observable universe.

The scalar field responsible for the vacuum energy might be related to the size of compact extra dimensions, as suggested by Turner  and considered in . If so, the vacuum energy and pressure at any point could be related to perturbations in the size of the compact dimensions at that point. Since distortions of compact dimensions are seen in string/M theory as fermions and bosons, wave patterns on the horizon might suffice to reconstruct the distribution of matter and energy within the observable universe. This approach could only be applied to Schwarschild black holes within our universe if the equation of state for the energy inside those black holes could be determined. Although this discussion focuses on closed vacuum-dominated Friedmann universes, the argument can be extended to flat and open vacuum-dominated Friedmann universes.


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# Holes and high velocity H I in NGC 6946

## 1. Introduction

In several spiral galaxies H I has been detected in the halo. In NGC 6946 Kamphuis & Sancisi (1993) discovered widespread gas with velocities deviating strongly from galactic rotation. Studies of the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891 (Swaters et al., 1997) and the inclined spiral galaxy NGC 2403 (Fraternali et al. 2001, Schaap et al. 2000) revealed a thick layer of H I rotating more slowly than the thin disk. This has led to the picture of spiral galaxies with a halo population of high velocity H I. A few explanations have been proposed for this phenomenon, one of which is the galactic fountain mechanism with massive star formation and supernovae blowing the H I into the halo.
To investigate further the 3D picture of the anomalous H I, we have observed NGC 6946 with very high sensitivity with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. NGC 6946 is a large nearby spiral galaxy seen almost face-on and is known for its high star-formation rate.

## 2. Holes and high velocity gas

The H I disk of NGC 6946 shows a large number of holes (see fig. 1, top left panel) and gas with velocities deviating 50 to 100 km/s from normal galactic rotation. The high velocity H I is widespread and mostly located in the inner (bright optical) part of the disk (see optical image in fig. 1), suggesting a close relation with the ongoing star formation and supernovae. The gas is probably brought into the halo by galactic fountains.

In many cases in the inner disk there is a clear association between the high velocity gas and the holes (fig. 1, bottom right panel) where also many H II regions are located. However, high velocity H I and holes are also found in the outer H I layer of NGC 6946 beyond the optical disk (see fig. 1, bottom left panel), where very little or no star formation is present. Star formation is unlikely to be the cause, so another mechanism is required. Perhaps this is the result of infalling clouds onto the galaxy disk.

### Acknowledgments.

The Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope is operated by the Netherlands Foundation for Radio Astronomy with financial support from the Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Pure Research (N.W.O)

## References

Fraternali, F., Oosterloo, T.A., Sancisi, R., van Moorsel, G. 2001, ApJ, 562, L47

Kamphuis, J., Sancisi, R. 1993, A&A, 273, L31

Schaap, W.E., Sancisi, R., Swaters, R.A. 2000, A&A, 356, L49

Swaters, R.A., Sancisi, R., van der Hulst, J.M. 1997, ApJ, 491, 140


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# The Light and Heavy Scalars in Unitarized Coupled Channel and Lagrangian Approaches

## Abstract

Using ideas underlying the flavour-blind “Nijmegen Unitarised Meson Model” (NUMM) ruppthesis1 ; vanBeveren:bd ; VanBeveren:ea  we try to understand on the basis of a system of Schrödinger equations with one meson-meson and one (spinless) quark-antiquark channel coupled by a simple delta-shell transition potential the formation of (e.g. scalar) meson-meson scattering singularities in the complex momentum and energy plane. Surprisingly we are able to describe without direct meson-meson interaction and without any need for glueballs the whole known scalar meson spectrum. “Light” scalar mesons (e.g. $`f_0(600)`$, $`\kappa (800)`$, $`f_0(980)`$, $`a_0(985)`$, $`D_0^{}(2290)`$, $`\mathrm{}`$) are identified to belong to the spectrum of the transition potential, while “heavy” scalars (e.g. $`f_0(1370)`$, $`K_0^{}(1430)`$, $`f_0(1500)`$, $`f_0(1710)`$, $`a_0(1450)`$, $`D_0^{}(2621)`$ (?), $`D_0^{}(2825)`$ (?), $`D_{sJ}^{}(2928)`$ (?), $`\mathrm{}`$) are related to the confinement spectrum. Due to the particular value of the charm-strange reduced quark mass level-(anti)crossing in the complex momentum plane Hernandez:xy  occurs which relates the BABAR state $`D_s(2317)`$ Aubert:2003fg  to the bare groundstate of the confinement spectrum, while the respective groundstate of the transition potential ends up as $`D_{sJ}^{}(2782)`$ (?). We conclude with a short comment on (our) recent progress in the consistent quantum field theoretical effective description of resonances within a Lagrangian framework Kleefeld:2002au ; Kleefeld:2003xy ; Kleefeld:2001xd .

Hadronic excitations with scalar quantum numbers are a topic of heated dispute Tuan:2003bu . Unitarized coupled channel approaches as the one discussed here (see e.g. Ref. vanBeveren:2002gy  and references therein) are particularly useful to understand the non-perturbative formation and nature111“Heavy” scalars are — disregarding glueballs — mainly associated to the spectrum of the confining quark-antiquark interaction used (e.g. a harmonic oscillator potential), while “light” (dynamically generated vanBeveren:2002mc ) scalars were identified by the author (see e.g. the comments in Refs. vanBeveren:2002gy ; vanBeveren:2003uh ) to belong to the spectrum of the meson-(anti)quark transition potential (being to a good approximation of $`{}_{}{}^{3}P_{0}^{}`$-type). of (e.g. scalar) meson-meson scattering singularities in the complex momentum or energy plane, which then may enter as effective degrees of freedom with complex mass and coupling parameters effective Lagrangians describing — according to the “bootstrap” idea — meson-meson scattering already at tree level222The Lagrangian of the Quark-Level Linear Sigma Model (QLL$`\sigma `$M) Delbourgo:dk ; vanBeveren:2002mc ; Scadron:2003yg  (and references therein) has not only been shown to be an excellent canditate to achieve this task as it reproduces with a minimum of parameters at tree-level a broad spectrum of experimental facts (including the correct prediction of the mass of the now experimentally confirmed $`\kappa (800)`$-meson) and allowed us to gain some insight in the quark-content of scalar mesons Kleefeld:2001ds , yet could be also “derived” Kleefeld:2002au  from the Lagrangian of QCD. This “derivation” shows that “glueballs” and “quark-antiquark excitations” seem to be synonymous.. For a spherically symmetric situation we couple — in the simplest case — one Schrödinger equation describing a “bound” quark-antiquark system (confining potential $`V_B(r)`$) to one Schrödinger equation describing a meson-meson scattering continuum by a transition potential denoted by $`V_T(r)`$. I.e., we consider the the following coupled system of radial Schrödinger equations ($`k:=k_S:=(2\mu _S(EE_S^{(0)}))^{1/2}`$, $`k_B:=(2\mu _B(EE_B^{(0)}))^{1/2}`$):

$`\left(d^2/dr^2L(L+1)/r^22\mu _SV_S(r)+k_S^2\right)\psi _S(r)`$ $`=`$ $`2\mu _SV_T(r)\psi _B(r),`$
$`\left(d^2/dr^2\mathrm{}(\mathrm{}+1)/r^22\mu _BV_B(r)+k_B^2\right)\psi _B(r)`$ $`=`$ $`2\mu _BV_T(r)\psi _S(r),`$
with $`\psi _S(0)=0`$ and $`\psi _B(0)=0`$. Even though a majority of publications is trying to find the source of “light” scalars in the meson-meson scattering potential $`V_S(r)`$, we are disregarding this interaction in what follows completely (i.e. we set $`V_S(r)=0`$). The conveniently normalized333Orthonormality: $`_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑r\varphi _{m,\mathrm{}}^{}(r)\varphi _{n,\mathrm{}}(r)=\delta _{mn}`$; completeness: $`_{n,\mathrm{}}\varphi _{n,\mathrm{}}(r)\varphi _{n,\mathrm{}}^{}(r^{})=\delta (rr^{})`$. eigensolutions $`\varphi _{n,\mathrm{}}(r)`$ of the “bound” system for vanishing transition potential (i.e. $`V_T(r)`$=0) correspond to the respective eigenvalues $`k_{B,n,\mathrm{}}=(2\mu _B(E_{B,n,\mathrm{}}E_B^{(0)}))^{1/2}`$. After integrating the “bound” problem using a Green function444Green function: $`G_{\mathrm{}}(r,r^{};EE_B^{(0)})=2\mu _B_{n,\mathrm{}}\varphi _{n,\mathrm{}}(r)\varphi _{n,\mathrm{}}^{}(r^{})(k_B^2k_{B,n,\mathrm{}}^2+i\epsilon )^1`$. $`G_{\mathrm{}}(r,r^{};EE_B^{(0)})`$ and reinserting it into the “scattering” problem we arrive at the following generalized scattering problem (with $`E=(k^2+m_1^2)^{1/2}+(k^2+m_2^2)^{1/2}`$):
$`(d^2/dr^2L(L+1)/r^2+k^2)\psi _S(r)=2\mu _S_{\mathrm{}}V_T(r)_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑r^{}G_{\mathrm{}}(r,r^{};EE_B^{(0)})V_T(r^{})\psi _S(r^{})`$. Now we will approximate astonishingly well the $`{}_{}{}^{3}P_{0}^{}`$ transition potential by $`V_T(r)=\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}2}g_T(2\mu (E)/(2\mu _S))^{1/2}\delta (ra)`$ with $`2\mu (E)=k^2/E=(E^4(m_1^2m_2^2)^2)/(2E^3)`$ being the relativistic meson-meson phasespace, and hence reduce the generalized scattering problem to a (radial) scattering problem at an effective $`\delta `$-shell described by the Schrödinger equation $`K^2\psi _L(\rho )=\left(d^2/d\rho ^2+L(L+1)/\rho ^2+g\delta \left(\rho 1\right)\right)\psi _L(\rho )`$ ($``$) with $`\rho :=r/a`$, $`K:=ak`$, $`\psi _L(\rho ):=\psi _{S,L}(r)`$. With $`\lambda _{\mathrm{}}:=\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}2}g_T(aG_{\mathrm{}}(a,a;0))^{1/2}`$ and $`B_{n,\mathrm{}}:=(a\varphi _{n,\mathrm{}}(a)\varphi _{n,\mathrm{}}^{}(a))/(aG_{\mathrm{}}(a,a;0))`$ the dimensionless coupling $`g`$ displays the structure of the “Resonance Spectrum Expansion” (RSE) vanBeveren:2001kf  of Rupp & van Beveren:

$`g`$ $`=`$ $`2\mu (E){\displaystyle \underset{\mathrm{}}{}}\lambda _{\mathrm{}}^2{\displaystyle \underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{B_{n,\mathrm{}}}{EE_{B,n,\mathrm{}}}}2\mu (E){\displaystyle \underset{\mathrm{}}{}}\lambda _{\mathrm{}}^2\left({\displaystyle \underset{n=0}{\overset{N}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{B_{n,\mathrm{}}}{EE_{B,n,\mathrm{}}}}1\right).`$
By construction there holds $`_{n=0}^{\mathrm{}}B_{n,\mathrm{}}(E_B^{(0)}E_{B,n,\mathrm{}})^1=1`$. The original idea of the RSE vanBeveren:2001kf  was to consider the parameters $`B_{n,\mathrm{}}`$, $`E_{B,n,\mathrm{}}`$, $`\lambda _{\mathrm{}}`$ as free parameters to fit selective meson spectra conveniently. Empirically it has become clear vanBeveren:2001kf ; vanBeveren:2003kd  that the parameters $`\lambda _{\mathrm{}}`$ and $`B_{n,\mathrm{}}`$ should be considered as “universal” for many different meson spectra provided the product $`a\sqrt{\mu _B}`$ is kept “universal”555To keep $`a\sqrt{\mu _B}`$ constant became clear from calculations performed in e.g. Ref. ruppthesis1 ; vanBeveren:bd  based on a transition potential $`V_T(r)=g\omega \rho _0^1\delta (r\sqrt{\mu _B\omega }\rho _0)\overline{V}_{int}=g(\mu _Ba)^1\delta (ra)\overline{V}_{int}`$ successfully applied to a wide range of vector meson spectra. This transition potential was a simplified version of the harmonic oscillator form of the $`{}_{}{}^{3}P_{0}^{}`$ transition potential inferred by G. Rupp ruppthesis1  and successfully applied within the NUMM ruppthesis1 ; vanBeveren:bd ; VanBeveren:ea  in the representation $`[V_T(r)]_{ij}=\stackrel{~}{g}\omega c_{ij}(E/E_S^{(0)})^{1/2}(r/r_0)\mathrm{exp}((r/r_0)^2/2)`$ with $`r_0:=\rho _0(\mu _B\omega )^{1/2}`$. The flavour-blindness vanBeveren:2002gy  of QCD is reflected here not only by the recoupling coefficients $`c_{ij}`$ (or $`\overline{V}_{int}`$) ruppthesis1 ; vanBeveren:bd ; VanBeveren:ea ; vanBeveren:1998qg  but also by the “universal” values for $`\rho _0`$ and $`\omega `$ ($`(\mu _B\omega )^{1/2}`$ has the meaning of an oscillator length). In the RSE $`(E/E_S^{(0)})^{1/2}`$ finds the interpretation of the square root of the relativistic meson-meson phasespace, as $`4\mu (E)/E_S^{(0)}=(E^4(m_1^2m_2^2)^2)/(E^3(m_1+m_2))\stackrel{m_1=m_2}{}E/E_S^{(0)}`$.. In the results displayed below we adopted the philosophy of the NUMM to describe all meson-spectra on the basis of a harmonic oscillator potential666For the harmonic oscillator potential $`V_B(r)=\frac{1}{2}\mu _B\omega ^2r^2`$ we have $`E_{B,n,\mathrm{}}E_B^{(0)}=\omega \left(2n+\mathrm{}+\frac{3}{2}\right)`$ and
$$B_{n,\mathrm{}}(\overline{\rho })=\frac{2\omega \sqrt{\pi }}{\mathrm{\Gamma }\left(\frac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{}+\frac{3}{2}\right)\right)\mathrm{\Gamma }\left(\frac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{}+\frac{5}{2}\right)\right)}\frac{\left(\overline{\rho }^2/2\right)^{\mathrm{}+\frac{1}{2}}e^{\overline{\rho }^2}}{I_{\frac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{}+\frac{1}{2}\right)}\left(\overline{\rho }^2/2\right)K_{\frac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{}+\frac{1}{2}\right)}\left(\overline{\rho }^2/2\right)}\frac{\mathrm{\Gamma }\left(\mathrm{}+\frac{3}{2}\right)n!}{\mathrm{\Gamma }\left(n+\mathrm{}+\frac{3}{2}\right)}\left|L_n^{\left(\mathrm{}+\frac{1}{2}\right)}(\overline{\rho }^2)\right|^2.$$
Here we defined an “universal” parameter $`\overline{\rho }:=a(\mu _B\omega )^{1/2}`$, while $`I_\nu (z)`$ and $`K_\nu (z)`$ are modified Bessel functions, and $`L_n^{(\alpha )}(z)`$ are standard generalized Laguerre polynomials. with an “universal” oscillator frequency $`\omega =190`$ MeV, and constituent quark masses Scadron:2003yg  $`m_u=m_d=337`$ MeV, $`m_s=1.44m_u`$, $`m_cm_D=1865`$ MeV. Hadronic resonances in meson-meson scattering are then determined for Eq. ($``$) by solving the respective resonance condition $`\mathrm{cot}\delta _L=i`$ with777S-wave ($`L=0`$) meson-meson scattering yields $`i=\mathrm{cot}KK/(g\mathrm{sin}^2K)g=2iK/(1\mathrm{exp}(2iK))`$. $`\mathrm{cot}\delta _L=(n_L(K)/j_L(K))K/(g(j_L(K))^2)`$. As in Ref. vanBeveren:2001kf  we will choose for the description of scalar mesons ($`L=0`$) a RSE with two P-wave ($`\mathrm{}=1`$, $`N=1`$) bare quark-antiquark ($`q\overline{q}^{}`$) states in each meson-meson ($`MM^{}`$) scattering channel. Hence, the respective RSE resonance condition to be solved in each meson-meson scattering channel is888Here we defined $`\lambda :=\lambda _1`$, $`E_{MM^{}}^{q\overline{q}^{}}(K):=((K/a_{q\overline{q}^{}})^2+m_M^2)^{1/2}+((K/a_{q\overline{q}^{}})^2+m_M^{}^2)^{1/2}`$, and $`\mu _{MM^{}}^{q\overline{q}^{}}(K):=((K/a_{q\overline{q}^{}})^2+m_M^2)^{1/2}((K/a_{q\overline{q}^{}})^2+m_M^{}^2)^{1/2}/E_{MM^{}}^{q\overline{q}^{}}(K)`$.
Note that $`a_{n\overline{n}}\sqrt{\mu _{u\overline{u}}}=a_{s\overline{s}}\sqrt{\mu _{s\overline{s}}}=a_{u\overline{s}}\sqrt{\mu _{u\overline{s}}}=a_{c\overline{s}}\sqrt{\mu _{c\overline{s}}}=a_{c\overline{d}}\sqrt{\mu _{c\overline{d}}}`$ with $`\mu _{q\overline{q}^{}}:=m_qm_{\overline{q}^{}}/(m_q+m_{\overline{q}^{}})`$.

$$\frac{2iK}{1\mathrm{exp}(2iK)}2\mu _{MM^{}}^{q\overline{q}^{}}(K)\lambda ^2\left(\frac{B_{0,1}(\overline{\rho })}{E_{MM^{}}^{q\overline{q}^{}}(K)E_{B,0,1}}+\frac{B_{1,1}(\overline{\rho })}{E_{MM^{}}^{q\overline{q}^{}}(K)E_{B,0,1}2\omega }1\right).$$

Up to now the bare groundstates of the harmonic oscillator have to be determined empirically. Here we choose999Note that $`k766`$ MeV $`4\omega `$ resulting from $`E_{B,1,1}`$ seems to be to a good approximation “universal”. $`E_{B,0,1}=1310`$ MeV vanBeveren:2001kf  for S-wave $`\pi \pi `$-, $`KK(I=0)`$-, $`\pi K`$-, $`\pi \eta _{n\overline{n}}`$-scattering, $`E_{B,0,1}=2440`$ MeV for S-wave $`D\pi `$-scattering, and $`E_{B,0,1}=2545`$ MeV vanBeveren:2003kd  for S-wave $`DK`$-scattering. $`a_{u\overline{s}}`$ and $`\overline{\rho }`$ are then determined such that for given $`\lambda `$ the mesons $`\kappa (800)`$ (pole-position $`(714i\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}228})`$ MeV vanBeveren:2001kf ) and $`f_0(980)`$ (pole-position $`980`$ MeV) are reproduced simultaneously. In a good approximation $`f_0(980)`$ is here assumed to be purely strange Kleefeld:2001ds . In using $`m_\pi =140`$ MeV and $`m_K=494`$ MeV we obtain the approximate result $`a_{u\overline{s}}2.55357\text{GeV}^1`$ and $`\overline{\rho }1.45555`$ yielding immediately $`B_{0,1}(\overline{\rho })0.285546\text{GeV}`$, $`B_{1,1}(\overline{\rho })0.0166127\text{GeV}`$, and $`\lambda 1.11572\text{GeV}^{1/2}`$. On the basis of these parameters and $`m_{\eta _{n\overline{n}}}=757.9`$ MeV (for a mixing angle of $`41.84^{}`$ in $`n\overline{n}`$-$`s\overline{s}`$ basis Klabucar:2001gr ) we can determine the solution of further selective RSE resonance conditions of interest in choosing e.g. $`M,M^{}\{\pi ,\eta _{n\overline{n}},K,D,\mathrm{}\}`$101010For S-wave $`\pi \pi `$-, $`KK(I=0)`$-, $`\pi K`$-, $`\pi \eta _{n\overline{n}}`$-, $`D\pi `$-, and $`DK`$-scattering we find the following pole positions in the complex energy plane: $`\pi \pi `$-scattering: $`(516i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}412})\text{MeV}`$ ($`f_0(600)`$), $`(1385i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}81})\text{MeV}`$ ($`f_0(1370)`$, $`E_{0,1}^{dressed}`$), $`(1694i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}4})\text{MeV}`$ ($`f_0(1710)`$, $`E_{1,1}^{dressed}`$); $`KK(I=0)`$-scattering: $`980\text{MeV}`$ ($`f_0(980)`$), $`351\text{MeV}`$ (Virtual BS), $`(1452i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}191})\text{MeV}`$ ($`f_0(1500)`$, $`E_{0,1}^{dressed}`$), $`(1692i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}11})\text{MeV}`$ ($`f_0(1710)`$, $`E_{1,1}^{dressed}`$); $`\pi K`$-scattering: $`(721i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}215})\text{MeV}`$ ($`\kappa (800)`$), $`(1404i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}130})\text{MeV}`$ ($`K_0^{}(1430)`$, $`E_{0,1}^{dressed}`$), $`(1694i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}7})\text{MeV}`$ ($`E_{1,1}^{dressed}`$); $`\pi \eta _{n\overline{n}}`$-scattering: $`(960i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}107})\text{MeV}`$ ($`a_0(985)`$), $`(1423i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}161})\text{MeV}`$ ($`a_0(1450)`$, $`E_{0,1}^{dressed}`$), $`(1693i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}8})\text{MeV}`$ ($`E_{1,1}^{dressed}`$); $`D\pi `$-scattering: $`(2073i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}70})\text{MeV}`$ ($`D_0^{}(2290)`$), $`(2621i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}163})\text{MeV}`$ ($`E_{0,1}^{dressed}`$), $`(2825i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}13})\text{MeV}`$ ($`E_{1,1}^{dressed}`$); $`DK`$-scattering: $`(2782i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}166})\text{MeV}`$ ($`D_{sJ}^{}(\mathrm{?}\mathrm{?}\mathrm{?})`$), $`2244\text{MeV}`$ ($`D_s(2317)`$, $`E_{0,1}^{dressed}`$), $`1907\text{MeV}`$ (Virtual BS, $`E_{0,1}^{dressed}`$), $`(2928i\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}20})\text{MeV}`$ ($`E_{1,1}^{dressed}`$).. For S-wave $`\pi K`$-, $`D\pi `$-, and $`DK`$-scattering the results are illustrated graphically in Fig. 1.

In all cases there starts for $`\lambda =0`$ ($`g=0`$) a $`\delta `$-shell pole trajectory at $`K=\pi /2i\mathrm{}`$. For $`g\mathrm{}`$ this pole should behave like a particle in a box and end up at $`K\pi `$. Instead, it collides for increasing $`\lambda `$ with the pole stemming from the bare groundstate of the confinement problem and gets deflected either to the “left” ($`\pi K`$, $`D\pi `$) or to the “right” ($`DK`$)111111Consequently, the origin of “light” scalar mesons, the strong distortions of the groundstates of the “observed” confinement spectrum, and the absence of “light” non-scalar mesons for realistic transition potentials (due to the centrifugal barrier) get a nice explanation. The flavour content for $`f_0(600)`$, $`f_0(980)`$, $`f_0(1370)`$, $`f_0(1500)`$ is well consistent with Ref. Kleefeld:2001ds , while observed pole-positions correspond nicely to values obtained for a realistic transition potential VanBeveren:ea . The too large imaginary part of the $`f_0(600)`$ pole is an artefact of the used one-channel model. Furthermore, we observe a twofold nature of the $`f_0(1710)`$ being at the same time $`n\overline{n}`$ (relation to $`f_0(600)`$) and $`s\overline{s}`$ (relation to $`f_0(980)`$). The BABAR state $`D_s(2317)`$ Aubert:2003fg  and BELLE state $`D_0^{}(2290)`$ Krokovny:2002ut  are reproduced, while the respective next higherlying states are predicted to be $`D_{sJ}^{}(2782)`$ (?) and $`D_0^{}(2621)`$ (?). Note also the prediction of $`K_0^{}(1694)`$ (?) and $`a_0(1693\mathrm{}1694)`$ (?)..

Shortly we address effective Lagrangian approaches: scalar mesons are characterized within a Lagrangian close to bootstrap typically by complex mass and coupling parameters to be determined by a coupled channel approach. The formalism to describe fields within a non-Hermitian Lagrangian has been provided Kleefeld:2002au ; Kleefeld:2003xy ; Kleefeld:2001xd . The QCD-Lagrangian has been mapped Kleefeld:2002au  into a QLL$`\sigma `$M-Lagrangian replacing the gluon-quark interaction $`g\overline{q_+^c}(x)\overline{)}A(x)q_{}(x)`$ by a non-Hermitian meson-quark interaction. The resulting scalar-meson-quark interaction $`i\sqrt{2N_F/N_c}g\overline{q_+^c}(x)S(x)q_{}(x)`$ yields an asymptotic free theory which is $`PT`$-symmetric Bender:2003ve  admitting a real spectrum and a probability interpretation.

This work has been supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia of the Ministério da Ciência e da Tecnologia (e do Ensinio Superior) of Portugal, under Grants no. PRAXIS XXI/BPD/20186/99, SFRH/BDP/9480/2002, POCTI/FNU/49555/2002.


text:
# A Resonant-Mode Model of Pulsar Radio Emission

## 1. Overview of the Model

We live in a resonant cavity bounded below by the earth and above by the ionosphere. Lightning strikes excite low-frequency electromagnetic “Schumann resonances” in this cavity, as predicted by Schumann (1952), with a fundamental frequency of about 8 Hz. Such behaviour should also occur above the magnetic poles of pulsars due to the well-defined boundaries found there.

One of these boundaries is the stellar surface which, because of the star’s large electron number density, has a conductivity perpendicular to the magnetic field comparable to that of copper; the boundary condition there can be taken to be $`E_{}=0`$, where perpendicular, $``$, and parallel, $``$, are taken relative to the stellar magnetic field. Second, there is the boundary between the open and closed magnetic field lines, which forms a diverging tube. On the closed field lines there is a non-neutral plasma at the Goldreich-Julian charge density (Goldreich & Julian; 1969), which is co-rotating with the star. The strong stellar magnetic field, $`B_{}10^{12}`$ G, restricts the particle motion to be essentially along the field lines, but this still allows them to respond to an applied $`E_{}`$. The plasma can maintain $`E_{}=0`$ on the tubular boundary at frequencies up to the plasma frequency, which is $`(7.5\text{ GHz})(B_{}/10^{12}\text{ G})^{1/2}(0.1\text{ s}/P)^{1/2}`$ near the stellar surface. On the open field lines particles are accelerated away from the star by a non-zero $`E_{}`$ to ultra-relativistic speeds, creating $`e^{}/e^+`$ pairs at a pair-formation front, a third boundary. Beneath the front is the low-density acceleration zone, or polar gap; above it the pairs stream up the tube away from the star forming a dense relativistic secondary plasma. The consequences of a second front forming the gap’s base (e.g. Harding & Muslimov, 1998) are also being considered, but will not be discussed here.

Sturrock (1971) noted that the current of particles up the tube might oscillate due to intermittent screening of the accelerating field at the surface of the star by positrons returning from the pair-formation region, and this idea remains plausible. Assume for now that the current has an oscillating component; either this oscillation is in the form of the “sparking” of Ruderman & Sutherland (1975), or it occurs as an AC component of the DC space-charge limited flow from the surface. This assumption will be revisited below.

The AC component of current/potential will generate large-amplitude electromagnetic waves (Qiao, 1988) which will be essentially transverse magnetic ($`B_{}0`$) and have frequencies set by the light travel time across the gap height, $`h10^{2\pm 1}`$ m, to be around 0.1–10 MHz. Taking account of the boundary conditions discussed above, the waves will propagate in the tube as waveguide modes. Ignoring stellar rotation and vacuum polarization, and assuming an infinite stellar magnetic field—so that the dielectric tensor of the plasma is diagonal—the tube near the star supports electromagnetic waveguide modes which in flat spacetime are generally well approximated by the transverse magnetic modes of a cylindrical waveguide of arbitrary cross-section. In a circular cylinder the modes are specified by two mode numbers $`m`$ and $`n`$, and examples are shown in Figure 1. Taking account of the change in the dielectric tensor at the pair-formation front, the modes are equally applicable both below and above the front.

The waveguide mode impedances change at the pair-formation front so modes in the gap will be partially reflected from this boundary, and since the modes will also be reflected from the stellar surface, the gap can act as a resonant cavity. I have studied the dispersion relation of the plasmas below and above the front for various configurations and will present my findings elsewhere. Resonances are possible in the gap at frequencies just above the cutoff frequency of a vacuum filled cavity, though the dispersion relation differs from that of the vacuum case. In the secondary plasma above the front there are two or three modes that can carry power up the tube; all have different wavelengths, but the same low frequency as the resonance in the gap. Preliminary calculations indicate that the oscillating $`E_{}`$ in the wind just above the gap may be many times the oscillating $`E_{}`$ in the gap so that, even if the AC component of field in the gap is a small fraction of the DC component, the oscillating electric fields above the gap could be large.

When the driving frequency equals the frequency of a particular mode, and the source oscillations are positioned where that mode has antinodes, then that mode will be excited in the gap. If the source locations were to be confined symmetrically to any particular areas of the polar cap, then we might suppose these to be either near the tube axis, or perhaps close to the wall where a return current may flow. The former would tend to excite the $`m=0`$ modes, and the latter, high-order $`m`$ modes.

There are at least two phenomena that may provide a feedback mechanism in the gap. The first is the resonant field itself; energy pumped into the field by the current in turn acts back on the current twice per cycle. Secondly the large $`E_{}`$ above the front may accelerate particles of charge opposite to the primary beam current back into the gap; this charge would then cross the gap in time $`h/c`$ to provide increased screening at the base of the gap. These phenomena would tend to amplify the current/potential oscillations making the gap unstable to resonance, and supporting the assumption made above of an AC component. Also the modes will be coupled via the current, and this raises the possibilities of mode-locking, intermittency and chaos, all of which will be discussed elsewhere.

The plasmas in the tube will posses a spatio-temporal sub-structure, in particular above the antinodes of the resonant modes. Perhaps this structure together with the oscillating fields in the tube go on to produce the observed radio emission via some sort of instability mechanism (see Melrose, this volume, for a review). However, preliminary calculations indicate that at least one of the modes in the tube will be scattered to the observed radio frequencies by the inhomogeneities in the wind. With increasing altitude in the tube, the plasma density decreases and the tube diameter increases altering the local dispersion relation, and this determines the range of altitudes in which the scattering can occur.

Several features of pulsar radio emission have a natural interpretation in the model. The stability of mean pulse profiles will be explained if the same modes are continuously excited, or there is rapid switching between a fixed subset of modes. If switching between modes occurs on timescales of several pulses or more, it will be recognized as the observed profile changes. Nulling will be observed if the mode has a low amplitude in the line of sight, or if the resonance (and hence the emission) temporarily ceases—perhaps because the pair-formation fronts become very irregular or the driving oscillations cease as the primary beam current becomes steady. The model can produce short timescale intensity variations due to a few factors, including the inhomogeneity in the plasmas and the finite $`Q`$-factor of the cavity, and may explain the origins of microstructure. The $`m=0`$ modes may correspond to the emission usually denoted as ‘core’ (Rankin, 1983; Lyne & Manchester, 1988), with the higher order $`m`$ modes yielding ‘conal’ emission; indeed, for $`m7\text{}10`$ various modes or combinations of modes have concentric rings of antinodes with a ratio of angular widths very close to those determined for the inner and outer cones of Rankin (1993).

The mode plots in Figure 1 can also be directly interpreted as polar emission maps, and show similarities to those of Deshpande & Rankin (1999) and others. Furthermore, the polarization of the scattered emission is determined by the polarization of the underlying mode; since antinodes adjacent in the tube cross-section have orthogonal polarization this gives a direct mechanism for the observed orthogonal modes, whilst scattering of the $`E_{}`$ component would tend to produce unpolarized emission, perhaps with some polarization in the plane of curvature of the magnetic field lines.

Provided that the modes are not pinned to structure in the tube’s wall, the modes will be free to rotate about its axis and this will be observed as subpulse drift. For instance, this should be the case when the inclination angle $`\chi `$ between a pulsar’s rotation and magnetic axes is small, making the tube’s cross-section approximately circular; in turn this might explain why pulsars exhibiting quasi-stable subpulse drift generally have small $`\chi `$.

If it is also true that the modes are not pinned to the AC current beams, but rather that the current beams follow the mode antinodes, then the modes will rotate due to stellar rotation and general relativistic frame dragging. A standing wave can be viewed as a distribution of oscillators in space, all of which are synchronized, and to achieve this synchronization in some set of frames requires that $`c^1(g_{0\alpha }/g_{00})𝑑x^\alpha =0`$. Then it is found that the modes, whatever their form, must rotate with a frequency $`\left(12GI/c^2r^3\right)\mathrm{cos}\left(\chi \right)P^1`$ where $`r`$ is the distance from the center of the star, and $`I`$ is the stellar moment of inertia. The sense of this rotation relative to the stellar surface is opposite to that of the stellar rotation at the rotational pole closest to the gap. This does not reproduce the long circulation times found by Deshpande & Rankin (1999) and others and this failure will be discussed elsewhere. If frame-dragging and stellar rotation are not the cause of subpulse drift, then it suggests that the rotating modes are pinned to current density columns which circulate about the axis, probably due to $`𝐄\times 𝐁`$-drift.

### Acknowledgments.

I thank R. Burman and R. Manchester for many useful suggestions, and UWA, the ATNF and my wife for financial support.

## References

Deshpande, A. A. & Rankin, J. M. 1999, ApJ, 524, 1008

Goldreich, P. & Julian, W. H. 1969, ApJ, 157, 869

Harding, A. K. & Muslimov, A. G. 1998, ApJ, 508, 328

Lyne, A. G. & Manchester, R. N. 1988, MNRAS, 234, 477

Qiao, G. 1988, Vistas Astron., 31, 393

Rankin, J. M. 1983, ApJ, 274, 333

—. 1993, ApJ, 405, 285

Ruderman, M. A. & Sutherland, P. G. 1975, ApJ, 196, 51

Schumann, W. O. 1952, Z. Naturforsch., 7a, 149

Sturrock, P. A. 1971, ApJ, 164, 529


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# Non linear excess conductivity of Bi2Sr2Can-1CunO2n+4+x (𝑛 = 1, 2) thin films

## I Introduction

High-$`T_c`$ superconductors exhibit strong superconducting fluctuations at the superconducting temperature, as a result of the high ratio of the transition temperature to the condensation energy - essentially due to their short coherence length. Such fluctuations have been extensively studied in the weak and strong fluctuation limits (respectively the Gaussian and the critical regime). There is now a rising interest in the possibility to suppress superconductivity by the application of an electric field, and the study of the electric field dependence of the fluctuations appears as a first step towards this goal. Early theoretical work has focused on the reduction of the excess conductivity in the Gaussian regime, by the application of a transport current approaching the depairing current (non linear conductivity). The electric field dependence of the Aslamazov-Larkin termaslamazov68  was obtained in Refs. hurault69 ; schmidt69 ; tsuzuki69 ; gorkov70 , and the one of the additional ’anomalous’ Maki-Thompson termthompson70  in Ref. maki71 . Experimental results on Al films demonstrated the suppression of fluctuations by the electric field in the isotropic two-dimensional limitkajimura70 ; kajimura71 . The theory, based on a Langevin equation for the order parameter, was extended to below $`T_c`$ in Ref. kajimura71b . Later, several works considered the contribution of the interaction of fluctuations in the critical region and, recently, the expression for the fluctuation conductivity in the transition region was revisited and the similarity of the results with those obtained for the broadening of the transition under a strong magnetic field was pointed out (see Ref. puica03  and refs therein). Such experiments on high-$`T_c`$ superconductors are difficult, as they require high current densities, which generally induce an uncontrolled heating of the sample. As a result, only few experimental works have investigated the effect of the electrical field on the resistive transition of the cuprates. In Ref. soret93 , a field-induced crossover between a three-dimensional and two-dimensional behavior was reported for a YBa2Cu3O7-x single crystal, in the temperature range $`ϵ=(TT_c)/T_c<\mathrm{2\hspace{0.33em}10}^2`$. In Ref. gorlova95 , the non-linear resistivity in the range $`0<ϵ<\mathrm{7\hspace{0.33em}10}^2`$ was used to obtained the characteristic depairing field of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x single crystal. It was found to be about 10 times smaller than the expected value and its temperature dependence was clearly different from the $`ϵ^{3/2}`$ dependence predicted in Ref. schmidt69 .

In this contribution, we compare the excess conductivity suppression for this system with the one in Bi2Sr2CuO6+x, where the investigation of temperature intervals as large as $`0.2<ϵ<0.6`$ was possible due to an electrical critical field more than one order of magnitude smaller.

## II Experiment

The measurements were carried out on Bi2Sr2Can-1CunO2n+4+x ($`n`$ = 1, 2) epitaxial, c-axis oriented thin films. They were grown on heated SrTiO3 substrates, by reactive rf sputtering with an oxygen rich plasma (Ref. li93  and refs therein). After deposition of typically 2500 Å thick films, Au contacts were sputtered, and the samples were patterned in the four contact transport geometry, with a current carrying strip of typical width and length ($`L`$) of 80 $`\mu `$m and 200 $`\mu `$m. The annealing of the samples at low temperature was used to set the doping state, which was determined from the normal state resistivity temperature dependencekon00 . The thin film with $`n=2`$ (sample II) was overdoped. A thin film with $`n=1`$ was studied for two different doping states: an overdoped one (sample Ia) and an underdoped one (sample Ib). Two other samples with $`n=1`$ (samples Ic and Id), respectively close to optimal doping and strongly overdoped, were also investigated. The sample parameters are summarized in Table 1.

The resistivity in the limit of vanishing current density was obtained using a 10 $`\mu `$A ac current and a lock-in amplifier detection. The investigation for large current densities was carried out using the pulsed current technique. The current pulses where 10 $`\mu `$s long, with a repetition rate $`\tau =10^4`$ and the maximum current value was 100 mA. Both the voltage on a reference resistor fed with the measuring current and the one on the sample, after amplification by home-made amplifiers, were recorded, using a $`2.5`$ MHz, 16 bits digital acquisition card. The measurement of the resistance, obtained from the ratio of the two voltages, was linear within 0.3% over the current range. The non linearity was corrected from the raw measurements. Evaluating the temperature increase due to the measuring current is crucial for the high current density transport experiments, as an apparent decrease of the excess conductivity with current may occur, due to the sample temperature increase only. A reliable determination of the non linear excess conductivity requires a method for measuring the sample temperature. For this purpose, we modified the technique to a ’pulse-probe’ one: after the completion of the main 10 $`\mu `$s pulse with current density $`J`$ and the measurement at the end of this pulse, a probe pulse with current $`J_sJ`$ is performed immediately after. A typical secondary current pulse was $`J_sJ/50`$. Neglecting the sample heating by current $`J_s`$, the value of the resistance during the secondary pulse provides a measure for the sample temperature about 1 $`\mu `$s after the main pulse, using the ac resistivity data as a thermometer. Such a method does not, however, catch the fast temperature relaxation which occurs between the main and the probe pulses. This relaxation, with a typical relaxation time in the ns rangecarr90 , may be estimated as $`\mathrm{\Delta }TRi^2/A\lambda `$, where $`A`$ is the sample surface and $`\lambda 10^7`$ WK-1m-2 is the boundary conductance, yielding $`\mathrm{\Delta }T0.01`$ K and 0.1 K for samples with $`n=1`$ and $`n=2`$ respectively.

## III results and discussion

The temperature increase for the over-doped Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x thin film (sample II) is shown in Fig. 1b. The resistance of the current contacts for this sample was $`20\mathrm{\Omega }`$. As can be seen from the comparison with the resistance of the sample and, also, from the scaling of the sample heating with $`J^2`$, the data may be described using the simple evaluation: $`(T_{sample}T_{experiment})R(T_0,J)J^2`$ below $`100`$ K. This demonstrates that the strip temperature is essentially determined by the heating power in the film constriction rather than by the one dissipated in the current contacts. Using the probe value as the actual sample temperature, a slight broadening of the transition remains which must be attributed to the transport current (Fig. 2b).

The reduced excess conductivity was obtained as : $`\sigma ^{}(J)/\sigma ^{}(J=0)=R(0)(R_nR(J))/R(J)(R_nR(0))`$, where $`R_n`$ is the normal state resistance. $`R_n`$ was obtained from the extrapolation to below $`T=130`$ K of the empirical function $`R=a+bT^\alpha `$ for this overdoped samplekon00 , which fitted the data in the temperature interval 130–300 K with $`\alpha =1.13`$. As can be seen in Fig. 3, the broadening of the transition corresponds to a drop of the reduced excess conductivity from the normal state asymptotics $`\sigma ^{}(J)/\sigma ^{}(0)=1`$ to zero with decreasing temperature. A similar, but far more dramatic, behavior is observed for the Bi2Sr2CuO6+x thin films. Samples Ia and Id were overdoped, with $`\alpha =1.08`$ and $`\alpha =1.10`$ respectively. Samples Ib and Ic were underdoped. For these samples, the normal state resistivity was fitted using an activated law. Indeed, as in the case of underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+xtolpygo96  and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+xkon00 , it was found that the resistivity is well described by the activated law $`\rho _0+b\mathrm{exp}(\mathrm{\Delta }/T)`$ below $`T^{}`$, and by a linear temperature dependence above. $`T^{}65`$ K and $`T^{}85`$ K was found respectively for samples Ib and Ic. As in Ref. tolpygo96 , it was found that $`\mathrm{\Delta }T^{}`$. For all samples with $`n=1`$, the sample heating was found to increase with decreasing temperature (Fig. 1a): this is likely due to the decrease of the sample specific heat and of the thermal conductivity at low temperature. For these samples, the resistivity at temperatures well above the mid-point transition is clearly affected by the transport current, which points to the suppression of the excess conductivity by the current. Finally, we stress that the resistivity curves obtained at constant $`J`$ are not equivalent to the constant $`E`$ curves usually obtained from theoretical computations, and that the electric field ($`E=RI/L`$) must be calculated for each data point in order to compare with the theoretical results.

Before we compare these results with theory, let us examine the experimental artifacts which may affect the results given above. First, the normal state resistivity, as extrapolated from the high temperature values to the superconducting transition, may not be exact. It can be shown that the error made in the reduced excess conductivity is of the order of $`(\delta R_n/\sigma ^{})^2`$. So, the error which results from the normal state indetermination drops strongly as one enters the superconducting transition, as evidenced by the error bars in Fig. 3. Also, despite very different normal state approximations were used (power law or activated ones), the characteristic field obtained from the excess conductivity was invariably well below the theoretical one. Thus, it is unlikely that the uncertainty on the normal state resistivity value can account for this central result of our measurements. Then, the accuracy of the sample temperature may be questioned. The error made in the computation of the temperature after the main pulse is critical only for sample II. At the middle of the transition for this sample, the broadening at the highest current density is about 0.6 K. This is larger than the temperature increase (0.2 K)obtained from the probe signal and, due to the high sensitivity of the method in the transition region, noticeably larger than the expected error on the sample temperature. Then, the fast temperature relaxation that occurs after the main pulse should be estimated. After correcting the temperature, the sample resistance values above the superconducting transition (say, 14 K and 100 K for sample Ia and II respectively ) where the effect of current reduces to that of heating, agree within a temperature shift of about 0.2 K. While such a temperature difference would yield a sizeable correction of the results for sample II, this is clearly not so for sample with $`n=1`$. Finally, it may be argued that the sample inhomogeneities affect the transition and its broadening with electric field. The finite width of the transition ( $`8`$ K, $`2`$ K, $`3`$ K, $`3`$ K and $`5`$ K for the 10%–90% transition completion of samples II, Ia, Id, Ib and Ic respectively) could be partly attributed to the inhomogeneities that are present in the sample. While it should be stressed that, a contrario, a narrow transition does not necessarily mean a more homogeneous sample and that intrinsic fluctuations also result in a broadening of the transition (see Fig. 2b), this could be indeed a serious limitation in the present case. As will be seen later, the universal behavior observed for the $`n=1`$ samples, independently of their oxygen concentration, rules out such an interpretation in this case.

The theoretical results considering only non interacting fluctuations, i.e. Gaussian ones, for a 2D system were given in Refs. hurault69 ; schmidt69 ; tsuzuki69 ; gorkov70 . In this case, the normalized excess conductivity is simply given by :

$$\sigma ^{}(T,E)/\sigma ^{}(T,0)=_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑x\mathrm{exp}\{x[E/E_c(T)]^2x^3\}$$
(1)
where $`E_c(T)=E_0ϵ^{3/2}`$, $`E_0=16\sqrt{3}k_BT_c/\pi e\xi _0`$ and $`ϵ=(TT_c)/T_c`$. The Gaussian result is found to account roughly for the data for all samples (Fig. 3). However, the characteristic field obtained from these fits is $`E_010^3`$ Vm-1 for samples with $`n=1`$ and $`E_0\mathrm{3\hspace{0.33em}10}^5`$ Vm-1 for sample II. These values are considerably smaller than the theoretical estimates $`E_0=10^6`$ Vm-1 and $`E_0=\mathrm{3\hspace{0.33em}10}^7`$ Vm-1 (using $`\xi _0=40`$ Å and $`\xi _0=20`$ Årespectively). As shown in Ref. puica03 , there is an enhanced suppression of the excess conductivity, below the zero-field transition temperature, when critical fluctuations are taken into account within the Hartree approximation. Such an enhancement may result in a decrease of the apparent value for $`E_0`$ when only Gaussian fluctuations are considered. Within the Hartree approximation, the magnitude of the fluctuation renormalization is essentially determined by the Ginzburg number and the anisotropy of the superconductivity. These parameters determine the shift of the superconducting transition temperature with respect to the bare mean field temperature and, associated to this shift, there is an enhancement of the superconducting fluctuations. For sample II, using $`s=15.35`$ Å, $`\xi _{0c}=0.2`$ Å, $`\kappa =100`$ for the superconducting plane separation, the transverse coherence length and the Ginzburg Landau parameter respectively, it is found —as a result of the quasi-2D character for this material— that the bare mean field characteristic temperature calculated according Ref. puica03 ; ullah91  is larger by about 30 K than the superconducting transition temperature (in Ref. puica03  the fluctuating modes are cut for $`k^2>c\xi _0^2`$ and we have used here $`c=1`$). Such a difference results in a large enhancement of the superconducting fluctuations with respect to the Gaussian approximation. This clearly fails to account for the experimental data taken at $`E=0`$ (Fig. 2b). Critical fluctuations from the Hartree approximation and the raw superconducting parameters given above are then clearly strongly overestimated in the region of interest for our data, and it is not surprising that we were unable to obtain a satisfying fit of the reduced excess conductivity in this case. However, the Hartree approximation results were used in Ref. livanov97  to provide convincing fits of the resistivity data under a magnetic field. The anisotropy parameter obtained from these fits was $`r=(2\xi _{0c}/s)^2=\mathrm{5\hspace{0.17em}10}^3`$ and the Ginzburg number (using the notation from Ref. puica03 ) was $`g=G_i^2/4T_c=\mathrm{4.5\hspace{0.17em}10}^5`$ K-1, while, from the raw superconducting parameters given above, one obtains $`r=\mathrm{1.7\hspace{0.17em}10}^4`$ and $`g=\mathrm{6.7\hspace{0.17em}10}^4`$ K-1. These differences both contribute to a decrease of the magnitude of the superconducting fluctuations, and the prediction for the zero field resistivity using the same parameter values as Ref. livanov97  now agrees more reasonably with the experimental data (Fig. 2b) (although some part of the transition broadening is likely due to the sample inhomogeneity). Following the formalism of Ref. puica03 , the reduced excess conductivity for such $`r`$ and $`g`$ values is now essentially that of the Gaussian regime (here, $`E<\mathrm{5\hspace{0.17em}10}^3`$ Vm-1) and the experimental data may be fitted using $`E_0(T_c)=\mathrm{4.7\hspace{0.17em}10}^5`$ Vm-1 (Fig. 3b).

In the case of samples with $`n=1`$, using the following parameters : $`s=12.3`$ Å, $`\xi _{0c}=2`$ Å, $`\kappa =100`$, the bare mean field transition temperature is only shifted by about 0.4 K with respect to the superconducting transition temperature. The critical region should then be much narrower than for sample II and, logically, the Gaussian and the Hartree approximations give close results for $`E_0`$ (Fig. 3a), i.e. well below the above theoretical estimate for all $`n=1`$ samples (Table 1). The Results of Ref. puica03  should also be valid also for $`T<T_c`$ where the normalized excess conductivity is zero. As pointed out in Ref. puica03 , the treatment of the electric field dependence of the excess conductivity within the Hartree approximation naturally yields results comparable to those obtained in the case of a magnetic field, within the same approximationullah91 . As a result, one may expect that the excess conductivity also scales with temperature and electric field, as was observedwelp91  in the case of a magnetic field. As shown in Fig. 4, the fluctuation conductivity is found to scale according to the two-dimensional law ullah91 : $`\sigma ^{}(T/E)^{1/2}[(TT_c(E))/(TE)^{1/2}]`$, provided one takes $`dT_c(E)/dE`$ a constant as given in Table 1. A three-dimensional law ($`\sigma ^{}(T^2/E)^{1/3}[(TT_c(E))/(TE)^{2/3}]`$), yields a slightly less satisfying scaling, but comparable $`dT_c(E)/dE`$ value. The critical temperature field dependence obtained in this way confirms the fit of the reduced excess conductivity with the results in ref.puica03 , as the critical field $`T_{c0}(dT_c/dE)^1`$ is also well below the theoretical estimate (Table 1).

Thus, there are converging experimental pieces of evidence that the apparent characteristic field —at least for samples with $`n=1`$, for which the transition broadening is much larger than the error possibly made for the sample temperature— is well below the one expected from a simple estimate of the depairing field. Several explanations may be considered for this. First, it is known that the existence of ’hot spots’, where the sample temperature locally exceeds $`T_c`$, may drive the sample into the normal state. Such instabilities must be ruled out above $`T_c`$, i.e. in the analysis of the reduced conductivity. Below $`T_c`$, the characteristic current density for which hot spots develop may be estimated to be skocpol74  $`10^{10}(T_cT)^{1/2}`$ Am-2, well above current densities which significantly affect the resistive curve of $`n=1`$ samples. Then, as noticed above, the transition width of the sample is finite, which may be interpreted as the result of a distribution of the superconducting temperature. The effect of $`T_c`$ inhomogeneities on the superconducting transition is complicated and the full percolation problem (with a non-linear conductivity) should be considered in the general case. The situation is more simple when the resistivity is close to the normal state value, as the assumption of a uniform current density may be used. Using this assumption in the case of the larger current displayed in Fig. 2a and the results of Ref. puica03 , it is found that the resistivity curve for a field $`E/E_010^4`$, as would be expected from the theoretical estimates above, is only weakly affected by a distribution of $`T_c`$ with a typical width of 1.5 K. In addition, within the hypothesis that this $`T_c`$ distribution strongly influences the apparent value for the characteristic electric field, one would expect that this parameter would be highly sensitive to the oxygen doping state. This is clearly not so, as demonstrated in the case of the $`n=1`$ samples (Table 1): although the optimal doping might coincide with a maximum in $`E_0`$, the characteristic electric field is well below the depairing estimate for all samples. Another possible explanation for the apparent weakness of the critical field is that the observed current-induced resistivity is the one of the intergranular material. Such a contribution is unlikely for these epitaxial films where grains (typically 0.1 $`\mu `$m large) are well oriented by the substrate and exhibit sharp (0–90) grain boundaries at the atomic level. It is known also that granular bulk or thin films materials close to $`T_c`$ are invariably in the Ginzburg-Landau regime, where the critical current is the one needed for the suppression of the order parameter in the grainsdarhmaoui96 . Moreover, this would require that the intergranular weak links contribution to the resistivity is comparable to the normal state value, which would likely imply a two step transition curve (corresponding to the Ginzburg-Landau to the Ambegaokar-Baratoff behavior crossover temperature) at large currents, which is not observed here. The scaling of the data according to the prediction of the depairing mechanism rather suggests that a microscopic mechanism (at the coherence length scale) should be found. Microdomains at this scale or belowpan01  is one of such candidates and it has already been noticed that they may affect the magnitude of the depairing currentdarhmaoui96 . Along this line, it is worth mentioning that the $`n=1`$ material also exhibits a peculiar behavior with respect to the superconducting Nernst effect. Indeed, whereas the Nernst effect for YBa2Cu3O6+x and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x shows a peak which shifts with magnetic field to lower temperature in a way similar to the resistive transitionri94 , the underdoped $`n=1`$ material has shown a nearly field independent peakcapan03 . Moreover, the Nernst effect clearly has its maximum well above the resistive transition temperature (i.e. in the fluctuation regime), whereas this peak points —at zero field— towards the completed resistive transition in the case of the two former compounds. As underlined in Ref. capan03 , this discrepancy between the resistive and the Nernst effect transitions may be due to an anomalously large vortex contribution, such as the one arising from a vanishing vortex viscosity. Such a mechanism could account for an enhanced dissipation with current, as observed here. The existence of a phase coherence length distinct from the amplitude one, as proposed in the case of microscopic inhomogeneitypan01 , may also account for these anomalies. Finally, the contribution of the $`d`$-wave symmetry to the depairing field should also be considered as, in the nodal directions, the depairing field is virtually zero: although there is to our knowledge no theoretical evaluation in this case, we expect a decrease of the critical field with respect to the conventional $`s`$-wave symmetry, as well as an in-plane angular dependence of the non-linear resistivity. Clearly, further studies of the effect of large electric field, in particular on compounds which have shown distinct resistive and thermodynamic lines —such as Tl2Ba2CuO6+δcarrington96 — are needed to clarify these mechanisms.

###### Acknowledgements.

We acknowledge the support of CMCU to project 01/F1303.