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# X-ray He-like ions diagnostics : New Computations for Photoionized Plasmas: I. preliminary considerations

## 1 Introduction

With the great sensitivity and resolution of the new generation of X-ray missions XMM-Newton and Chandra, detailed spectra of several types of objects have been obtained in the soft X-ray range, showing tens of emission lines which can be used as diagnostics of the physical state of the emitting regions. For instance it is now possible to separate the He-like ions lines of the $`n=2`$ complex in many objects. These lines are used to determine the electronic temperature and the density of the observed region.

Gabriel & Jordan (1969, 1972, 1973) showed that, in collisional plasmas, the resonance, intercombination and forbidden lines ratios of He-like ions have very interesting properties. The ratio, called $`R`$, of the forbidden line $`z`$ ($`1s^2{}_{}{}^{1}S2s^3S`$) and the intercombination lines $`y`$ and $`x`$ ($`1s^2{}_{}{}^{1}S2p^3P_{1,2}^o`$) :

$$R=\frac{z}{x+y}$$
(1)
is sensitive to the electronic density $`n_e`$. The $`G`$ ratio of the forbidden plus intercombination lines over the resonant line $`w`$ ($`1s^2{}_{}{}^{1}S2p^1P^o`$) :

$$G=\frac{z+x+y}{w}$$
(2)
is sensitive to the electronic temperature.

The $`R`$ and $`G`$ ratios have therefore been extensively used to determine electron densities and temperatures of hot collisional plasmas. Recently, theoretical calculations have extended these ratios to photoionized and hybrid plasmas for extragalactic objects like the warm absorbers which are supposed to give rise to the O VII and O VIII edges in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) (Porquet & Dubau 2000 for hybrid and photoionized plasmas, and Bautista & Kallman 2001 for collisional and photoionized plasmas). In these papers however, “photoionized conditions” mean only that the spectrum is due to recombination, radiative cascades and collisional excitation, but photoionization and photoexcitation are not taken into account. Porquet et al. (2001) have introduced a term of photoexcitation in collisional plasmas, for the study of the spectra of late-type dominated coronae and O-B stars. The radiation field was a diluted photospheric black body of a few 10000K, so it had an influence only on the visible and UV transitions, but not on the resonance line excitation.

If the X-ray emitting plasma is photoionized, the irradiating continuum necessarily excite the resonance and the subordinate permitted lines. The importance of photoexcitation on the population levels and on the line ratios has also started to be taken into account. This was stressed for the first time by Sako et al. (2000) in their analysis of the spectrum of the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 3. Kinkhabwala et al. (2002) showed that it can account for the observed ratios of NVI and OVII lines in the spectrum of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068, where the observed $`R`$ ratio is larger and the $`G`$ ratio is smaller than in a pure recombination case.

However, even these last “photoionized” computations are not completely self-consistent, as the temperature is a free parameter and the thermal equilibrium is not solved. Kinkhabwala et al. (2002) assumed a multi-zone model (with a geometry adapted to the case of Seyfert 2 galaxies) where each ion is present in a different layer, and where the temperature is set a priori, as determined by the observed width of the corresponding radiative recombination continuum (RRC). The ion column densities are determined by fitting the X-ray spectrum (Ogle et al. 2003 use the same method to fit the X-ray observations of NGC 1068). The code PHOTO of Kinkhabwala, which is now implemented in the XSPEC package, takes well into account the geometry of the emitting medium, but use different approximations which are not valid for a moderately thick medium, mainly: photoelectric absorption of only the ion under study is taken into account, the medium is optically thin to the emitted photons, the thermal equilibrium is not consistently computed with the ionization equilibrium, and a very approximate line escape probability is used.

Finally, in all computations made with photoionized codes, even the most sophisticated ones like Cloudy (Ferland et al. 1998) or XSTAR (Kallman & Krolik 1995, Kallman & Bautista 2001), the transfer of the lines is not performed, or it is performed with an “escape probability” approximation. The transfer of the continuum also is generally done through an “outward only” approximation. These approximations are not valid for a thick medium, as shown by comparing the results of these approximations with full line transfer performed with our code Titan (see Dumont et al. 2000, Dumont et al. 2003). This precludes the use of these codes for column densities larger than 1023 cm-2. We will see that neglecting the possibility of large column densities can lead to misleading interpretations of the observations.

The medium observed in emission or in absorption in the X-ray range span a large range of physical conditions:

* In Seyfert 1, a few lines and edges broadened by large Doppler motions are observed in emission over an intense continuum: resonance lines of OVII (the different components of the triplet cannot be resolved) and OVIII, the fluorescent FeK line, and photoionization edges of the same ions. All these features are due to “reflection” in the atmosphere of the accretion disc irradiated by the X-ray continuum (see for instance Nayakshin et al. 2000, Ballantyne et al. 2001, Różańska et al. 2002). This reflected spectrum is formed in a few Thomson thicknesses below the surface, i.e. up to a column density of about 1025 cm-2. Much narrower spectral features appear in absorption against the underlying X-ray continuum. They are due to a medium photoionized by the central X-ray continuum and located on its line of sight, called the Warm Absorber (WA). The WA also emits a few lines and continua from H-like and He-like ions, principally OVII and OVIII, which are difficult to detect. They can be observed as P Cygni profiles when the S/N ratio is high, like in NGC 3783 (Kaspi et al. 2002). Though the location and the density of the WA is controversial, it is clearly a relatively dense medium, with a density $`n_H`$ larger than 107 cm-3, located close to the black hole, at a distance $`R`$ of the order of that of the Broad Line Region, and having a column density $`CD`$ of the order of 1021-23 cm-2. There are even suggestions that the warm absorber could be located closer to the black hole, with a larger column density (1024 cm-2, see Murray & Chiang 1995, Green & Mathur 1996), and is denser, since one should preserve the value of the ionization parameter $`n^1R^2`$ which determines the ionization state. Porquet et al. (2000) argue also that the density should be larger than 109 cm-3 to avoid the emission of too strong forbidden optical coronal lines of FeX and FeXIV which are not observed.
* Splendid X-ray spectra of a few Seyfert 2 galaxies have been obtained recently with Chandra and XMM-Newton (Ogle et al. 2003, Sako et al. 2000, Kinkhabwala et al. 2002). They are most probably produced by the reflecting medium invoked in the Unified Scheme of Seyfert 1/Seyfert 2 (Antonucci & Miller 1985). This medium is identified with the external part of the WA, but it is seen in emission, as the intense central continuum in Seyfert 2 is hidden to our view by an obscuring torus, according to the Unified Scheme. This medium is also photoionized by the central continuum, but it is located further away than the WA, as the lines are relatively narrow (between the broad and the narrow line widths). Consequently the density should be smaller, probably not larger than 107 cm-3.
* There are other types of “photoionized” objects where high resolution X-ray spectra showing the He-like and H-like lines have been observed with XMM-Newton and Chandra, allowing a study of the physical conditions in the emission region: X-ray binaries (Kallman et al. 2003, Jimenez-Garate et al. 2002, Schulz & Brandt, 2002) and cataclysmic variables (Mukai et al. 2003). The emissive medium is either an accretion column or simply the accretion disc atmosphere. The density is large, of the order of 1011 cm-3, and the column density can reach 1023 cm-2, though the geometry is clearly quite complex.

We have therefore decided to build a grid of models encompassing all those photoionized cases where X-ray lines are observed. We give here some preliminary results. Our model atom is still not very elaborate (see below), so the precision in the line fluxes and line ratios is only of the order of 50$`\%`$, but they can be used at least to get a hint of the physical parameters corresponding to the emission regions, and of the trends of the spectrum when these parameters vary. We insist, in particular, on the influence of the column density on the He-like ion emission, as our calculations are reliable using our line transfer method for large column densities, which were not properly taken into account previously, when they were greater than 1022 cm-2.

## 2 The computational method

### 2.1 The photoionization-transfer code

In this work we use our code Titan specially designed for an optically thick warm or hot medium. Titan is a photoionization stationary code first described in Dumont et al. (2000). The atomic data have recently been improved (Coupé 2002). It was used by Różańska et al. (2003) to fit the spectrum of the Warm Absorber of Ton S180 with a slab of constant pressure. In the present paper, we use another version of Titan implemented very recently (Dumont et al. 2003) where the line and the continuum transfer is solved with the Accelerated Lambda Iteration (ALI) method (see for instance the review of Hubeny 2001). This powerful method ensures that even the most optically thick lines are accurately computed. This is a big advantage with respect to the other photoionization codes, where the transfer of the lines (and in some cases also the transfer of the continuum) is replaced by an integral method called the “escape probability approximation”. Dumont et al. (2003) have indeed shown that this approximation leads to inaccuracies of the computed line fluxes which can reach one order of magnitude, in the case of an optically thick medium, in particular for intense lines. In our computation, all line fluxes are computed with an accuracy better than $`1\%`$.

A plane parallel slab of gas is irradiated by an incident spectrum, whose frequency-integrated flux is equal to $`F`$. We call “ionization parameter” $`\xi =4\pi F/n_H`$ erg cm s-1, where $`n_H`$ is the hydrogen number density. Some authors prefer to use an ionization parameter integrated in the X-ray range or from 1 Rydberg to infinity.

The gas composition includes the 10 most abundant elements (H, He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Fe) and all their ion species, i.e. 102 ions. H-like, He-like, Li-like, O IV and O V include a multi-level description up to $`n=5`$ for H-like and Li-like ions, $`n=4`$ for He-like ions and $`n=3`$ for O IV and O V, where $`n`$ is the principal quantum number, which ensures a correct computation of line losses in the zones where He-like ions are present. Interlocking between excited levels is included. Other ions are treated more roughly.

Titan includes all relevant physical processes from each level: photoionization and radiative and dielectronic recombination, ionization by high energy photons, fluorescence and Auger processes, charge exchanges, collisional ionization and 3-body recombination, radiative and collisional excitation/deexcitation. All induced processes are also included. The populations of each level are computed solving the set of ionization equations coupled with the set of statistical equations describing the excitation equilibrium, taking into account radiative and collisional ionizations from all levels and recombinations onto all levels, radiative and collisional excitations and deexcitations for all transitions.

Titan solves the ionization equilibrium of all the ion species of each element, the thermal equilibrium, the statistical equilibrium of all the levels of each ion, and the transfer of the lines and of the continuum. It gives as output the ionization and temperature structures, and the reflected and outward spectra. In particular the energy balance is achieved both locally (which leads to the value of the equilibrium temperature as a function of the position) with a precision better than 0.01$`\%`$, and globally (Titan checks that the integrated flux entering the slab is equal to that leaving the slab from both sides with a precision better than $`1\%`$). It was shown in Dumont et al. (2003) that such a global equilibrium cannot be achieved with an escape probability approximation with a precision better than about $`10\%`$ if the Thomson thickness of the slab is of the order of unity, and this has a strong impact on the line spectrum.

### 2.2 The He-like atom model

The He-like atom has been extensively described in the literature (Gabriel & Jordan 1969; Blumenthal et al. 1972, Mewe & Schrijver 1978, Pradhan et al. 1981, Pradhan & Shull 1981; Pradhan 1982, 1985, Porquet & Dubau 2000, Bautista & Kallman 2001). Our present model for He-like ions is made up of all terms for $`n=2`$, and 4 super-levels gathering the singlet and triplet levels for n=3 and 4. Recombinations on the upper levels $`n>4`$ are taken into account. Satellite lines are not included. We are aware that these 11 levels plus a continuum are not sufficient to get a very accurate description of the atom. However we have checked that in the case of a completely thin medium we get the correct ratios $`G`$ and $`R`$ within an accuracy of $`50\%`$, for a pure recombination spectrum as well as for pure collisional cases. In the future we intend to implement a larger number of levels and to add doubly excited states.

The wavelengths of the lines are taken from the compilation of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. We use the transition probabilities $`A`$ computed or collected by Porquet & Dubau (2000). The TOPbase data provides the photoionization cross sections (Cunto et al. 1993). The radiative recombination rate coefficients are obtained by means of the Milne relation, removing the resonances by interpolation between points on opposite sides of the resonances, while total radiative recombination rate coefficients are from Verner & Ferland (1996). The dielectronic rate coefficients are from Pequignot et al., (private communication 1986). We adopt the collisional data of Zhang & Sampson (1987), with the data for $`T=0`$ from Porquet (private communication). We use electron impact ionizations rates from Arnaud & Raymond (1992) and private communication from Arnaud. Three-body recombination rates are obtained by means of detailed balance.

## 3 Results: the thermal and ionization structure

We have run a series of models with a density varying from 107 cm-3 to 1012 cm-3, a range of column densities from 1018 cm-2 to 3 1025 cm-2, and a range of ionization parameters from 10 to 3000. We assume cosmic abundances with respect to hydrogen (Allen 1973): He: 0.085; C: 3.3 10-4; N: 9.1 10-5; O: 6.6 10-4; Ne: 8.3 10-5; Mg: 2.5 10-5; Si: 3.3 10-5; S: 1.6 10-4; Fe: 3.2 10-5.

The incident spectrum is a power law, $`F_\nu \nu ^1`$, extending from 0.1 eV to 100 keV (we will call it the “standard continuum”). It is not a very good representation of the continuum in AGN, so we have also made a few runs with a more realistic continuum: it is a power law $`F_\nu \nu ^{0.7}`$ extending from 13.6 eV to 100 keV (we call it the “AGN continuum”).

Actually these models do not take into account all possible situations.

* The element abundances have an obvious influence on the emitted spectrum, since the intensities of optically thin lines is proportional to the abundance and those of optically thick lines ($`\tau _01/a`$, where $`\tau _0`$ is the optical thickness at the line center, and $`a`$ is the damping factor) are proportional to the square root of the abundance.
* The spectral distribution of the incident continuum also has an influence on the temperature and on the ionization state. For instance, at large densities ($`10^{13}`$ cm-3), free-free heating becomes important, owing to the extension of our continuum in the infrared range. More important, a steeper or flatter continuum in the soft X-ray range would induce a different stratification in ionization. It is interesting thus to rely on the X-ray ionization parameter, because the ionization potentials of the species of interest for us are in the range 400 eV to 3 keV. If we define $`\xi _x`$ as given by the integration of the flux above 1 keV, one finds that $`\xi _x=0.33\xi `$ with our standard continuum. For the AGN continuum, one gets $`\xi _x(\mathrm{AGN})=2.4\xi _x(\mathrm{standard})`$ for the same value of the flux at 1 keV. Since in the following we want to compare the results obtained with the standard continuum to those obtained with the AGN continuum, we will call this ionization parameter “equivalent $`\xi `$”, such as $`\xi _{\mathrm{eq}}=2\xi `$, for the AGN continuum.
* We have chosen to deal with a constant density inside the slab, while a medium with a constant pressure would lead to a different ionization and thermal structure (in particular smaller column densities of highly ionized species, see Dumont et al. 2002).
* Finally we do not take into account the possible existence of microturbulence, considering only thermal broadening. If the emitting medium is dilute and continuous, one should indeed consider the possibility of a large velocity gradient, like in a wind. The intrinsic width of the lines would then be larger, and their optical thicknesses would be smaller. It would have an influence on relatively thin models, where radiative excitation of the lines is still important (cf. below), because there is more available continuum radiation. It would also have an influence on the escape of resonance lines in the case of thick models. Of course, if the medium is clumpy and made of clouds with large velocities with respect to each other, or with a velocity gradient, this “macroturbulence” has to be taken into account in the spectrum, but does not intervene in the line transfer (like in the Broad Line Region of AGN).

The influence of all these parameters will be studied in a subsequent paper.

To understand the results on the intensity ratios, it is first necessary to study the ionization and thermal state of the emitting medium.

One should realize that a photoionized medium is not uniform when it is optically thick for the absorption of the soft X-ray continuum. The temperature decreases and the medium becomes less ionized towards the non-illuminated side, as the incident continuum is more absorbed. A thick slab is thus divided into a “hot skin” below the surface, where the temperature is almost constant and the elements are highly ionized, an “intermediate” zone where the temperature decreases by about one order of magnitude and the elements are less ionized, and a “cold” zone, where the elements are in low ionization states. If the column density of the slab is not large enough, it will be made only of the hot skin, or possibly of the hot skin and a fraction of the intermediate zone. The thickness of the hot skin and the temperature at the surface increase with the value of the ionization parameter. The decrease of the temperature through the slab is large for large values of the ionization parameter. It is therefore not possible to define a unique temperature, even for a given ion species. Moreover, if lines are formed by recombination, the abundance of the upper ion giving rise to the lines can vary strongly in the region where the ion corresponding to the transition is present.

To illustrate these effects which are important for the following discussion, Figs. 1 and 2 display the temperature and the fractional ion abundances versus the column density computed from the surface to the local point, $`CD(z)`$, for two models: Model 1 has a column density of 3 1025 cm-2, a density of 1012 cm-3, an ionization parameter of $`\xi =1000`$, and is appropriate for the irradiated atmosphere of an accretion disc in an AGN; Model 2 has a column density of 1023 cm-2, a density of 107 cm-3, an ionization parameter of $`\xi =100`$, it is appropriate for the Warm Absorber. The figures at the top show the fractional abundances of the oxygen ions, the central figures show the fractional abundances of the He-like ions, and the bottom ones show the fractional abundances of the H-like ions.

Let us examine first Fig. 1 corresponding to Model 1. The column density of the hot skin is equal to 1024 cm-2 and its temperature is 2 $`10^6`$K. All the “light” elements (C, N, O) are completely ionized, and heavier elements are in the form of H-like (Si, S) or He-like species (Fe). The column density of the intermediate zone is equal to 2 1024 cm-2, and the temperature decreases down to 4 $`10^4`$K. Oxygen is in the form of OVIII and OVII, and in particular in the region where OVII dominates, the temperature varies from a few $`10^5`$K to a few $`10^4`$K. It is worth noticing that the column density of the OVII region is very large in this model (about 1021 cm-2), but the region giving rise to recombination lines (therefore to the OVII triplet) is much smaller, as OVII and OVIII do not coincide in position. The OVII spectrum is therefore emitted by the intermediate zone where the temperature varies strongly. The rest of the slab is cold and contributes only to the UV emission.

Fig. 2 corresponding to Model 2 shows that, owing to the relatively low value of the ionization parameter, the hot skin is restricted to a column density of about 1022 cm-2, and its temperature is relatively low (3.5 $`10^5`$K). The intermediate zone is not complete and the temperature decreases from 3.5 $`10^5`$K at the surface to $`10^5`$K at the back. OVIII ions dominate in a fraction of this zone, but OVII is abundant only near the back where the temperature is lower. Again the OVII spectrum is formed in this inhomogeneous zone. There is no cold zone at all.

From these examples one can understand that the emission of a thick medium is not easily described by a homogeneous model. For the formation of the He-like triplet, the column density which matters is that of the H-like ions, while it is the temperature of the He-like zone which determines the collisional excitations of the $`2s^3S_12s^3P_{0,1,2}`$ transitions, important for the $`G`$ ratio. One also sees that there will be a “saturation” of the line fluxes due to the fact that the size of the emission regions is limited according to the value of the ionization parameter. One can guess thus that the same conditions for a given ion (same column density, same temperature) could be obtained with different ionization parameters and column densities.

The spectral distribution of the incident continuum must also be taken into account. To illustrate its influence, Fig. 3 displays the same curves as Figs. 1 and 2, for a column density 1023 cm-2, a density 107 cm-3, but for the AGN continuum with an equivalent ionization parameter $`\xi _{\mathrm{eq}}=100`$. They can be compared to Model 2. Note also that the temperature is lower in the case of the AGN continuum than in the case of the standard continuum. This will be translated into differences in the line intensities as we will see below.

To complete the information, Fig. 4 displays the ion column densities of a few He-like and H-like species, $`CD_{\mathrm{ion}}`$, for slabs of different total column densities $`CD`$ and for different values of the ionization parameter. They are independent of the density in the range $`n_H=`$ 107 to 1012 cm-3 because collisional processes are negligible for ionization and recombination. The long dashed line marks the ion column density of 1017 cm-2. Several important conclusions can be drawn from these curves.

All ion column densities saturate at large values of $`CD`$ 111This is actually not obvious in the figure for light elements and small ionization parameters. Indeed when $`\xi `$ is small and the column density is large, the intermediate zone is dominated by weakly ionized species (CII, OII, etc…) and our code Titan does not converge correctly, owing to the oversimplified description of these ions. This is why the column densities of CV, CVI and OVII, do not display the saturation for $`\xi =10`$ and 30, though $`CD_{CV}`$, $`CD_{CVI}`$ and $`CD_{OVII}`$ cannot exceed those shown on the figure.. As explained above, it is due to the fact that the column density of the hot and intermediate zones, and consequently also the column density of the ion species, are determined and limited by the value of $`\xi `$. For $`\xi 30`$ the column density of the intermediate zone is small and for instance $`CD_{OVII}`$ saturates at a few $`10^{19}`$ cm-2. This result is important, as it can give an insight on the ionization parameter. If one finds from the observation of emission lines that $`CD_{OVII}`$ is larger than 1020 cm-2, it means that $`\xi `$ is larger than 300.

Another striking result is the rapid increase of $`CD_{CV}`$ and $`CD_{OVII}`$ for large values of $`CD`$ and of $`\xi `$: they can reach values as large as 1021 cm-2, contrary to heavier He-like species. This behaviour can be understood when considering Figs. 1, 2, and 3. For a given $`\xi `$, the region where a given ion species dominates is located at a specific position inside the slab. When the column density is small, the ion is not dominant, and $`CD_{\mathrm{ion}}`$ is approximately proportional to $`CD`$. When $`CD`$ increases, it reaches the position where the ion becomes dominant, so $`CD_{\mathrm{ion}}`$ increases more rapidly. $`CD_{\mathrm{ion}}`$ stops increasing when $`CD`$ becomes larger and the element becomes less ionized.

We see also that it is possible to get the same value of $`CD_{ion}`$ for a large range of values of the total column density and of the ionization parameter. For instance $`CD_{OVII}=10^{17}`$ cm-2 can be obtained with $`CD=10^{21}`$ cm-2 and $`\xi =10`$, or with $`CD=\mathrm{5\; 10}^{23}`$ cm-2 and $`\xi =300`$.

One can ask whether these results depend or not on the ionizing spectrum. Fig. 4 shows a model computed with the AGN continuum and an equivalent ionization parameter $`\xi _{eq}=100`$ (the diamond on the figure). We see that the result does not differ strongly from that obtained with the standard continuum, but of course a more extensive study is required to be obtain a firm conclusion. If these curves are indeed almost independent of the ionizing spectrum, they would help to determine the ionization parameter in the Warm Absorber, where the column densities of the ion species are measured through a curve-of-growth analysis.

For each ion, the temperature can be measured directly through the shape of the corresponding radiative recombination continuum (RRC), which is expected to vary with the frequency as $`exp(h\nu /kT)`$ (cf. Kinkhabwala et al. 2002). Note again that there is some ambiguity here for an inhomogeneous medium. First the measurement concerns the H-like zone, while the relevant temperature is that of the He-like zone. Second, in the case of very thick models (the accretion disc atmosphere for instance) the shape of the RRC is no longer a pure exponential, owing to photon reabsorption.

It is interesting to compare these observations with the temperature of the He-like and of the H-like zones. As an example, Fig. 5 displays the maximum temperatures $`T_{max}`$ of the regions where OVII and OVIII are dominant, versus the OVII column density $`CD_{OVII}`$, for models of various column densities, including a few with a non-standard incident continuum. The solid lines correspond to constant values of $`\xi `$ (thin line for OVIII, thick dashed line for OVII), and the thin dot-dashed lines to constant values of $`CD`$. The results are again almost independent of the density in the range $`n_H=`$ 107 to 1012 cm-3 because the energy losses are dominated by recombination lines and continua for which collisional processes are negligible. Note that the two points in the middle of the figure correspond to the AGN continuum, for $`CD=10^{23}`$ cm-2 and $`\xi _{eq}`$ = 200. They are located close to the values found with the standard continuum for the same parameters, owing to the strong connection between the ionization and the thermal equilibrium. Thus the $`T/CD`$(OVII) diagram is almost model-independent.

Several conclusions can be drawn from this figure. For high values of $`CD_{OVII}`$, $`T_{max}`$(OVII) and $`T_{max}`$(OVIII) differ by a large factor. For a given total column density, $`T_{max}`$(OVII) decreases regularly with increasing ion column density, and for a given ion column density, it decreases with $`\xi `$. $`T_{max}`$(OVIII) and $`T_{max}`$(OVII) are of the order of 106K only for high values of $`\xi `$ and $`CD_{\mathrm{ion}}`$ smaller than 1018 cm-2. $`T_{max}`$(OVII) is smaller than 105K for small values of $`\xi `$, and consequently for small values of the ion column density, ($`10^{18}`$ cm-2). This behaviour can be understood with the help of Figs. 1 and 2.

## 4 Results: the spectrum

### 4.1 Total line intensities

It is important to know which models may lead to detectable line emissions. In this aim we have computed the equivalent widths, EWs, of the sum of the triplet He-lines with respect to the incident continuum. It is a good measure of the EWs when the continuum is seen directly because the contribution of the slab itself is negligible except for very thick slabs222These EWs correspond to a non-radial view of the objects.. It is obviously an underestimation in the case of Seyfert 2 with a hidden source of continuum. For instance these EWs should be multiplied by a factor 100 if the hidden continuum is reflected by a medium with a Thomson thickness of 0.01 like in NGC 1068. A line can be detected when its EW is larger than 0.1 eV.

Figs. 6 and 7 display these EWs for all the He-like species and for several values of the ionization parameter as a function of the column density of the slab, for the standard continuum. Again they are almost independent of the density (because we consider the sum of the triplet terms and not the different components). As expected, the light species with the lowest ionization potential (CV, NVI, OVII) are the most intense for the smallest $`\xi `$, and on the contrary FeXXV is the most intense line for the largest $`\xi `$ and it disappears for $`\xi 100`$.

All EWs saturate at large column densities. This is easy to understand. These lines are due to recombination, and they saturate because the number of recombinations does not increase above a given column density, if the H-like ions are completely recombined.

For clarity, only one result for the AGN continuum is shown on Fig. 7, but it is enough to see that the EWs of this model are quite different from those of the standard continuum. So these curves cannot be considered as universal ones, contrary to $`T/CD`$(OVII) diagram.

Fig. 8 recapitulates the EWs of the OVII triplet versus the column density for all models including a few with the AGN continuum. The saturation effect is visible for all ionization parameters, and we see that the EW of the OVII triplet cannot exceed 25 eV for the standard continuum (this also seems to be the case for the AGN continuum, but we need more models to confirm this). This is an important result, as it indicates that a larger observed OVII would imply a different kind of model (for instance, non-stationary), or a partial extinction of the continuum. Note that the same EW can be obtained with a small $`CD`$ and a small $`\xi `$, or with a large $`CD`$ and a large $`\xi `$. It is thus obvious that from the measure of the CV-NVI-OVII triplets only, it is not possible to determine the values of the column density and of the ionization parameter, even if the temperature of the emitting region can be measured. A detailed study of the whole spectrum, including lines of heavier elements, is clearly necessary to get the physical parameters of the emissive medium.

Finally the EW of the OVII triplet for the AGN continuum is also shown on Fig. 8. They are quite different from the standard continuum. This is due to the different values of the He-like over H-like abundance ratios in the emission regions (cf. Fig. 3).

### 4.2 The G and R ratios

Fig. 9 displays the $`G`$ ratio for CV, OVII, SiXIII, and FeXXV versus the column density $`CD`$, for different values of the ionization parameter, and for the standard continuum. One model corresponding to the AGN continuum is also shown, for $`\xi _{eq}=100`$, and we see that it fits relatively well the curves obtained for the standard continuum.

This figure shows the strong dependency of the G-ratio on the column density, for a given ionization parameter. This is because the resonance line $`w`$ decreases with $`CD`$ (and therefore $`G`$ increases), due to the decrease of the incident radiative excitation. For a very large column density, the value of $`G`$ reaches a constant value due to the limit of the ion column density (see Fig.4).

Note also that at large values of the column density, another process occurs, namely photon destruction, which is more important for resonance lines than for forbidden lines due to resonant scattering. This destruction is mainly due to photoionization of ions of lower ionization energy by the line photons. Correct values of the ratio cannot be computed without taking into account these interactions with other ions. It is not properly taken into account by escape probability approximations (cf. Dumont et al. 2003).

The figure also shows that the dependency of $`G`$ on the ionization parameter. This behaviour is easy to explain. If we consider light elements, we know (Fig. 4) that for a given column density, $`CD`$(CV) and $`CD`$(OVII) decrease with increasing $`\xi `$ until they reach saturation, because the emission line region is pushed towards the back of the slab. Consequently radiative excitations of the resonance line increase, and the $`G`$ ratio decreases. On the contrary, $`CD`$(FeXXV) increases with $`\xi `$, inducing the decrease of $`G`$.

An important point is worth noticing. The $`G`$ ratio is almost never equal to the recombination value ($`4.5`$ for OVII for instance). At high column densities, we have seen that $`G`$ is larger than the recombination value, owing to the influence of the destruction mechanism on resonance lines. At small column densities, $`G`$ is much smaller than the recombination value (owing to the influence of radiative excitations on the $`w`$ line, as explained above). $`G`$ tends to a constant value at small values of $`CD`$, because the intensities of $`z`$, $`x`$ and $`y`$ are proportional to the rate of photoionization, while $`w`$ is proportional to the rate of radiative excitation, both being proportional to the incident flux, when it is not absorbed. We see that this value is not reached at $`CD=10^{18}`$ cm-2 for low values of $`\xi `$, because the optical thickness at the line center is still higher than unity, so the rate of radiative excitations is smaller than at the surface.

Actually, an object like NGC 1068 where the $`G`$(OVII) ratio is of the order of 7 (cf. Kinkhabwala et al. 2002) can be explained as well with $`\xi 10`$ and $`CD10^{21}`$ cm-2, as with $`\xi 300`$ and $`CD10^{24}`$ cm-2. The consideration of other spectral features due to other ions is required to disantangle these possibilities.

Fig. 10 displays the $`R`$ ratios for OVII and SiXIII as a function of the ionization parameter, for two values of the column density, and for a density $`n_H=10^7`$ cm-3. As expected, the $`R`$ ratios are almost independent of the column density and of the ionization parameter, as they are not affected by radiative excitations. Fig. 11 also displays the $`R`$ ratios of OVII and FeXXV as a function of the density, for two values of the column density and of the ionization parameter, for the standard continuum. It confirms the well-known result that $`R`$ decreases with an increasing density, as a consequence of collisional excitations of the $`2s^3S_12p^3P`$ transition. Note that the effect does not appear in the FeXXV diagram, as the critical density for this ion is larger than our limit $`n_H=10^{12}`$ cm-3.

Finally, all this discussion is illustrated in Figs. 12 and 13 which show the spectra of the OVII and SiXIII triplets for several values of the column density and of the ionization parameter. The lines are given for a spectral resolution of $`\frac{\mathrm{E}}{\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{E}}=500`$. The figures show the influence of an increasing column density at a given ionization parameter (left panels), and the influence of an increasing ionization parameter at a given column density (right panels).

### 4.3 The whole spectrum

As mentioned in the introduction, several types of objects are now observed with a great spectral resolution from 200 eV to 1 keV by Chandra and XMM-Newton. For instance, a pure reflected spectrum is observed in Seyfert 2 galaxies. It is thus interesting to give the reflected spectrum in this energy range as an illustration, for a few values of the column density and of the ionization parameter. A grid of such spectra will be used in a future paper in a study of NGC 1068 and Mrk 3.

These spectra are displayed in Fig. 14, convolved with a gaussian profile having a FWHM equal to 1500 km/sec. Note that the fluxes are given in $`\nu F_\nu `$, which is equivalent to $`F_\lambda `$ in photon number per unit of $`\lambda `$. These spectra can thus be directly compared with the published spectra (see Kimkhabala et al. 2002 for instance).

The three figures at the top display the spectra of models computed with the AGN continuum, for a given large value of the column density ($`10^{23}`$ cm-2), and for large values of the ionization parameter. They show for instance that the relative intensities of the lines from different ions vary with the ionization parameter, as well as the relative intensities of the triplet lines from a given He-like ion. The OVIII L$`\alpha `$ line is the most intense.

The two figures at the bottom display the spectra for models computed with the standard continuum, for low values of the column density and of the ionization parameter (respectively $`CD=10^{22}`$ cm-2 and $`\xi =30`$, $`CD=10^{21}`$ cm-2 and $`\xi =10`$). The spectra are dominated by the OVII triplet, whose relative intensities are the same for both cases, while the relative intensities of the other features vary (in particular note the strong CV RRC and the very weak OVIII L$`\alpha `$ line in the bottom spectrum).

If there are several regions with different values of $`\xi `$ and of $`CD`$ contributing to the spectrum, it is thus necessary to sum the complete spectra emitted by each region, to fit the whole observed spectrum. It is in particular clear that the different ions cannot be considered independently, as each emission region provides lines from several ions.

## 5 Conclusion

Using our new version of the photoionization code Titan which is unique in treating the full line transfer, we have computed the line intensities emitted by an X-ray photoionized plasma. In particular, it was shown in Dumont et al. (2003) that much smaller values of the X-ray line intensities are obtained for resonant lines than with the other photoionization codes where the line transfer is replaced by the escape probability approximation. We focused on the He-like emission, for a range of ionization parameters and column densities. The results of this study are:

* The column density of a given ion species increases with the total column density of the medium until it reaches a limiting value depending on the ionization parameter.
* In the range of ionization parameters considered here ($`\xi `$ varying from 5 to 1000), the column density of light He-like ions (CV-NVI-OVII) decreases with increasing ionization parameter for a given value of the column density, while the opposite is the case for FeXXV.
* It is difficult to define a unique temperature for the line emitting region. Indeed the temperature varies accross the region emitting He-like lines, and it differs from that of the H-like region, for ion column densities larger than a few $`10^{17}`$ cm-2.
* For a given ionization parameter, the maximum temperature of the OVII emitting region decreases with the OVII column density when it is larger than a few $`10^{17}`$ cm-2, and the relation seems to be model-independent. So this is a rough way to determine the ionization parameter in the Warm Absorber of AGN, if $`T`$(OVII) and $`CD`$(OVII) are known.
* The equivalent widths (computed assuming that the continuum is seen directly, when this is not the case they have to be divided by the Thomson thickness of the reflecting medium) of the sum of the He-like triplet increase with column density until they reach a limiting value depending on the ionization parameter. We find for instance that the highest value reached by EW(OVII triplet) is $``$ 25eV. A larger observed OVII would imply different models (for instance, non-stationary), or a partial extinction of the continuum.
* The $`G`$ ratios of the He-triplets are almost never equal to the pure recombination value. For low values of the column density, the ratio is smaller, owing to radiative excitation of the resonance line, and for high values of the column density it is larger, owing to photon destruction during the process of resonant scattering.
* The same EWs and the same $`G`$ ratios can be obtained with a small ionization parameter and a small column density, or with a large ionization parameter and a large column density. For instance the observed $`G`$(OVII) ratio in NGC 1068 can be explained with $`\xi 10`$ and $`CD10^{21}`$ cm-2, or with $`\xi 300`$ and $`CD10^{23}`$ cm-2.

To summarize, our study has shown that in modelling X-ray spectra one cannot dispense with a treatment including all ion species, a full transfer of the continuum and, in the case of a relatively thick medium, also of the lines. This is true even if there are several regions with different physical parameters contributing to the spectrum (as for instance in the case of an extended diluted medium with a variation of the dilution factor of the incident flux). In particular the different ions cannot be considered independently, as each emission region provides lines from several other ions.

The present paper presents only the qualitative behaviour of the spectra, as the errors due to the use of the simplified atomic model for He-like ions can reach 50$`\%`$ (which, incidentally, is smaller than the errors obtained when using the escape probability approximation for a column density of $`10^{22}`$ cm-2 or larger, cf. Dumont et al. 2003, and in preparation). Moreover, we have not discussed in detail the influence of the spectral distribution of the ionizing continuum, which is important, nor that of turbulent velocity, and the was restricted to the study of a constant-density medium. Forthcoming papers will be devoted to building a grid of X-ray spectra taking into account these various possibilities, using a more sophisticated He-like model-atom (restricted here to 11 levels plus a continuum), and to apply the results to a few well observed X-ray emitting sources.

###### Acknowledgements.

We deeply aknowledge Franck Delahaye for providing us some collisional data for the OVII ion and Marie-Christine Artru for many enlightning discussions on atomic data.


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# The Galactic Halo and CDM

## 1. Introduction

The cosmological principle states that there are no special places in the Universe. A simple corollary of this principle is that we cannot be anywhere special in the Universe, and this assumption has been supported by a long line of discoveries running all the way from Copernicus to Shapley demonstrating that we live in the sprawling suburbs of the Milky Way. It also, of course, means that the Milky Way is a very ordinary spiral galaxy. Although we should not be fooled into thinking that all galaxies are necessarily like the Milky Way, we have a very useful test of any theory of galaxy formation in that properties of the Milky Way should lie within the range of what is considered “normal” by the theory.

In some ways, we are making life hard for ourselves by using the Milky Way for such tests, since many observations that are fairly trivial in external galaxies are rather challenging in our own galaxy. Our position within the Milky Way complicates the issue for several reasons. First, the geometry is more complex than for distant systems, since there is no simple relationship between angular and linear scale. Second, since parts of the Milky Way lie in all directions, large surveys are generally required to study its properties. Third, living right in the dust lane of the Galaxy makes obscuration more of a factor than in most external systems. However, these difficulties mainly affect attempts to measure global properties of the Milky Way, such as its overall morphology. For smaller-scale phenomena, our proximity to the action makes the Galaxy an ideal laboratory.

In particular, the Milky Way offers the unique possibility for an in situ local measurement of halo properties that is not attainable for any other system. By measuring local stellar kinematics, Kuijken & Gilmore (1991) obtained a fairly robust estimate for the total amount of mass in the solar neighborhood within $`1.1\mathrm{kpc}`$ of the Galactic plane, $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{1.1}70M_{}\mathrm{pc}^2`$. Much of this mass can be attributed to the visible components of the Galaxy: $`25M_{}\mathrm{pc}^2`$ is contributed by the normal stellar component, and $`15M_{}\mathrm{pc}^2`$ comes from the interstellar medium (Olling & Merrifield 2001). However, this still leaves around $`30M_{}\mathrm{pc}^2`$ unaccounted for, which presumably must be attributed to the dark matter halo. If the scaleheight of this dark component is large compared to the $`1.1\mathrm{kpc}`$ within which the mass is measured, then we can obtain a direct measure of the local dark matter density, $`\rho ^{\mathrm{DM}}(R_0,0)0.014M_{}\mathrm{pc}^3`$. Here, we have made explicit the Galactocentric cylindrical polar coordinates which locate the Sun at a radius $`R_08.5\mathrm{kpc}`$ from the Galactic center (Kerr & Lynden-Bell 1986), approximately in the $`z=0`$ plane. As we shall see below, this single data point is probably the most important contribution that the Milky Way can make to the general study of dark matter, since it offers a unique localized measurement that we cannot make at any other point, or in any other dark matter halo.

## 2. Central Cusp

One immediate constraint that the local dark matter measurement offers is on the power law slope of any central cusp in the dark matter distribution. Almost all simulations indicate that cold dark matter (CDM) should form halos with a density distribution that goes from a relatively shallow power law at small radii to a steeper one at large radii, with a transition occuring at a radius $`r_s`$ that depends on the mass of the halo. For an object the size of the Milky Way, this transition should occur at $`r_s20\mathrm{kpc}`$, well outside $`R_0`$, so the density distribution in the inner Galaxy should follow a single power law rather closely.

If we write this power law as $`\rho (r)r^\alpha `$ (where we have assumed, for the moment, that the halo is spherical), and normalize the distribution using $`\rho ^{\mathrm{DM}}(R_0,0)`$, we find that the total mass of dark matter interior to the Solar radius is

$$M^{\mathrm{DM}}(R_0)=\frac{4\pi }{3\alpha }\rho ^{\mathrm{DM}}(R_0,0)\times R_0^3\frac{1.0\times 10^{11}}{3\alpha }M_{}.$$
(1)
The total amount of baryonic material (stars plus interstellar medium) in the inner Galaxy can be estimated by modeling these components, and their gravitational influence can be calculated. After conducting such a census, Olling & Merrifield (2001) concluded that this material has the same gravitational influence as a spherical distribution of mass $`M^{\mathrm{baryon}}(R_0)5.7\times 10^{10}M_{}`$.111This is not quite the same as the total mass of baryonic material, since this material is not in reality distributed spherically.

These masses can be compared to that which is inferred dynamically by equating the centripetal acceleration of an object on a circular orbit around the Galaxy at $`R_0`$ to the acceleration induced by gravity at this radius. This value depends on the rate at which an object would have to travel to follow a circular orbit of radius $`R_0`$ around the Milky Way, $`\mathrm{\Theta }_0220\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ (Kerr & Lynden-Bell 1986), which gives a dynamical mass of

$$M^{\mathrm{total}}(R_0)=\frac{R_0\mathrm{\Theta }_0^2}{G}9.5\times 10^{10}M_{}.$$
(2)
Subtracting $`M^{\mathrm{baryon}}(R_0)`$ from this total mass gives a measure of the contribution from dark matter, which can be equated to the value in Equation 1. Thus, we can solve for the only unknown in Equation 1, the power law index $`\alpha `$, from which we find a value of $`\alpha 0.4`$.

Binney & Evans (2001) performed a similar but much more thorough analysis in which they looked at the enclosed mass at all radii in the galaxy (by fitting to the full rotation curve rather than just the local value of the circular velocity at $`R_0`$). They also used the microlensing optical depth toward the Galactic center to constrain the baryon density in the inner Galaxy. Since the microlensing measurements place a similar amount of mass in baryons, $`M^{\mu \mathrm{lens}}(R_0)4\times 10^{10}M_{}`$, and the strongest limits on the halo mass come from the circular speed near the Solar radius in the Galaxy, they reached a similar conclusion that $`\alpha <0.4`$.

There are also other lines of evidence that the dark matter distribution in the middle of the Milky Way cannot be strongly centrally concentrated. In particular, the Milky Way is known to be a barred galaxy, and the rate at which its central bar rotates tells us something about the distribution of dark matter in the vicinity. Modeling of the HI and CO kinematics near the Galactic center (Englmaier & Gerhard 1999), associating features in the stellar distribution of the Galaxy with orbital resonances (Sevenster 1999) and Lagrange points (Binney, Gerhard & Spergel 1997), and direct measurements of the pattern speed (Debattista, Gerhard & Sevenster 2002) all indicate that the bar is rotating rapidly. In this context, “rapid” means that the bar pattern is rotating at such a speed that it travels at approximately the same speed that stars near the end of the bar orbit the Galaxy. This is as fast as a bar pattern can rotate, but there is no reason why it has to travel so quickly. Indeed, if a bar is embedded in a massive dark halo, then simulations have shown that the transfer of angular momentum from the bar to the dark halo should rapidly slow the bar from this maximum speed (Debattista & Sellwood 2000). Therefore, the rapid observed rotation speed of the Galactic bar provides evidence that the Milky Way cannot have a lot of dark matter near its center to absorb the bar’s angular momentum. This argument implies that any central cusp in the dark matter distribution must be rather weak, in line with the value of $`\alpha 0.4`$ derived above.

This low value for the central power law cusp in the Milky Way is not what the CDM simulations predict. There has been some disagreement amongst the simulators as to the exact value of $`\alpha `$, with a lengthy argument as to whether it lies closer to 1.0 (Navarro, Frenk & White 1996) or 1.5 (Moore et al. 1999). However, one thing upon which all would agree is that the central cusp of a CDM halo should have a power law index much larger than the value of 0.4 that we have inferred for the Milky Way. Thus, we would appear to have dealt a killer blow to CDM: in the one place that this type of measurement can be made reliably, the observations conflict grossly with the predictions of the theory.

However, the case for the prosecution is not quite as convincing as it might at first appear. First of all, even if a galaxy initially formed with a steep power law cusp in its dark halo as CDM requires, there are mechanisms that could have erased it by the present day. In particular, as described above, the interaction between a bar and a central cusp can redistribute angular momentum rather effectively, so a strong bar could fling dark matter out from the center of a galaxy, rearranging any initial cusp into a less concentrated distribution. Unfortunately, once again the theorists are unable to agree on the efficacy of this mechanism: Weinberg & Katz (2002) have shown that a strong initial bar in the Milky Way could have wiped out a central cusp, whereas Sellwood (2003) has argued that any plausible bar would lack sufficient angular momentum to do anything significant to the dark matter distribution. It is worth noting, though, that the above simple calculation on the Milky Way implies that any redistribution of mass would have to be pretty radical: since our calculation effectively measures the total mass of dark matter inside $`R_0`$ in the Milky Way, the deficit from a primordial $`\alpha 1`$ cusp could only be explained if the initial cusp material had been flung all the way out to beyond $`R_0`$.

A second weakness in the above argument for a low value of $`\alpha `$ is its reliance on various Galactic constants. There are significant uncertainties in the contributions of baryonic material to the local density in the Galaxy, which translate directly into uncertainties in the amount of the total density that must be attributed to dark matter. Further, The total dynamical mass constraint depends on the adopted values for the basic Galactic constants $`R_0`$ and $`\mathrm{\Theta }_0`$ (see Equation 2). Thus, for example, Binney & Evans’ (2001) exclusion of an $`\alpha =1`$ model depends largely on the fact that such a model would require the local rotation speed to be $`230\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, in conflict with their adopted conventional value of $`\mathrm{\Theta }_0=220\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. Although it might be considered inappropriate to suggest such a thing at an IAU-sponsored symposium, it is likely that the IAU-sanctioned “official” values of the Galactic constants are in error at this level of precision.

More detailed fits to the rotation curve face the additional problem that the shape of this curve becomes rather uncertain in the innermost parts of the Galaxy, where one might hope to be able to see the effects of a central cusp. In this region, the Milky Way’s bar means that material in the disk is following strongly non-circular orbits, and it is not trivial to allow for this effect in the analysis of kinematic observations to obtain a definitive rotation curve.

These uncertainties leave plenty of “wiggle room” for those who would like to hold on to the CDM paradigm. By adopting a somewhat non-standard rotation curve in its innermost parts, and by invoking a modest redistribution of halo material out to larger radii, Klypin, Zhao & Somerville (2002) obtained a completely satisfactory match between the observed rotation curve of the Milky Way and the predictions of a multi-component model incorporating an initial CDM cusp. Thus, this test is not by any means conclusive. Further refinements in the data and modeling might in future allow a more definitive result, but the large number of systematic errors that lurk in the analysis mean that we are still a long way from such a discriminating test.

## 3. Halo Shape

One of the systematic effects that we have thus far ignored is that the dark matter halo is unlikely to be exactly spherical. If we allow the halo to be flattened, then the simple argument from which we derived a value of $`\alpha 0.4`$ breaks down. In particular, a halo that is flattened towards the disk will concentrate the dark matter closer to the Galactic plane, so that the average dark matter density at a distance $`R_0`$ from the Galactic center will be less than the value of $`\rho ^{\mathrm{DM}}(R_0,0)`$ that we measure in the Galactic plane. If we correct this over-estimate in the value that we have used to normalize the dark matter density profile, then a larger value of $`\alpha `$ is required to produce the same total mass of dark matter interior to $`R_0`$.

The calculation is a little more complicated than this heuristic argument would suggest, since flattening the dark matter distribution also alters its gravitational potential. Nonetheless, it is fairly straightforward to calculate the acceleration due to gravity from ellipsoidal power-law density distributions with different values of $`\alpha `$ and degrees of flattening as parameterized by the polar-to-equatorial axis ratio $`q`$. One can show that all density distributions with the same value of $`\rho ^{\mathrm{DM}}(R_0,0)`$ but different values of $`\alpha `$ and $`q`$ will produce the same gravitational acceleration in the Galactic plane at the Solar radius if they have the same value for the quantity

$$I(q,\alpha )=q_0^1\frac{x^{2\alpha }\mathrm{d}x}{\sqrt{1(1q^2)x^2}}$$
(3)
\[c.f. Binney & Tremaine (1987) equation (2-91)\]. This integral equation can be solved by a simple iteration to obtain pairs of values of $`\alpha `$ and $`q`$ that produce the same value of $`I`$. Figure 1 shows the family of parameter values that produces identical values of $`I`$ – and hence the same acceleration in the Solar neighborhood – as the spherical $`\alpha =0.4`$ halo derived in Section 2.. Clearly, if we allow arbitrary flattening of the halo, we can obtain a wide range of power law indices, including the value of $`\alpha 1`$ favored by the simplest CDM models. Perhaps more interestingly, we can turn this calculation around. If it is assumed that the dark matter is distributed in an $`\alpha 1`$ cusp, as the CDM models require, then Figure 1 shows that the halo has to be modestly flattened to an axis ratio of $`q0.7`$ in order to provide the correct centripetal acceleration at the Solar radius.

This value can be compared with what is found through other lines of investigation. The difficulty in measuring the shape of the Milky Way’s halo by other means is that most probes of its potential only sample the equatorial plane, so provide no direct handle on the mass distribution in the polar direction. However, some tracers are affected by this third dimension.

One of the strongest tests is provided by the variation in thickness of the Galaxy’s gas layer with radius. Because the amount of mass close to the plane decreases with radius, the local gravitational field in the $`z`$ direction also decreases. This lower field is less effective at pulling the gas to the plane, so the thickness of the layer increases with radius. However, if the dark matter halo is flattened, the dark matter is concentrated disproportionately toward the Galactic plane, increasing the vertical gravitational field and thus somewhat suppressing this tendency of the gas layer to flare with radius. Olling & Merrifield (2000) compared the observed flaring of the Galactic gas layer to the predicted thickness of the layer in hydrostatic equilibrium in plausible mass models of the Milky Way with a variety of halo flattenings. This analysis showed that satisfactory fits could be obtained with flattenings of $`0.7<q<0.9`$.

An exciting new probe of the third dimension is offered by the tidal debris of merging remnants. In the Milky Way, the detritus from the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy has now been traced all around the sky (Majewski 2003). The fact that it forms a coherent stream over such a large angle places a strong limit on the degree of halo flattening. Only in a spherical potential would this orbit stay in a single plane; in a flattened potential, the orbit would precess around, destroying the coherence of the stream. Ibata et al. (2001) used this reasoning to argue that the carbon stars they had traced from the stream must be orbiting in a potential that is close to spherical, with $`q>0.9`$. However, the case here is still not entirely clear-cut: if the carbon stars that had been detected came from a stream that had wrapped around the Milky Way several times, as the Ibata et al. model suggested, then at any point around the stream there should be stars on different “laps” around the Galaxy, with rather different kinematics. However, the observed kinematics of these carbon stars shows a lot of coherence, suggesting that most stream members are on the same lap. If the stream is more localized in this way, then the effects of precession would be reduced, and so a flatter halo could be possible. Clearly, more data are required.

Another test of the plausibility of a flattening of $`q0.7`$ is by comparison with the flattenings of the halos in other galaxies. Such measurements are equally difficult in other systems, but there are a few objects with reliable measurements, based either on the gas layer flaring method, or observations of polar rings (which are similar in nature to the merger stream discussed above), or the shape of the isophotes of X-ray emission from hot gas \[which provides a rather direct measure of the shape of the gravitational potential in early-type galaxies – see Buote (2003)\]. The Milky Way is placed in the context of these measurements in Figure 2. The amount of data is depressingly small, but it is already apparent that, although the Milky Way’s halo is a little rounder than average, it is by no means exceptional.

Figure 2 also shows the approximate distribution of halo flattenings that were produced in Dubinski’s (1994) CDM simulations. Using this distribution as a test of the theory is rather better than looking at the steepness of any central cusp in the dark matter distribution: as discussed in Section 2., there are a number of ways of altering the primordial degree of cuspiness at the centers of halos, but the larger-scale shape of the halo is a lot harder to mutate. As is apparent from Figure 2, CDM passes this test with some ease, although the shortage of data limits the scope for detailed comparison.

## 4. Conclusions

Astronomers often proceed dangerously rapidly from saying “this theory is completely implausible” to asserting “I always said that this theory was right, and, by the way, I invented it.” CDM is no exception to this overly-rapid process, so it is certainly still worth testing the theory critically wherever possible. In this regard, the unique in situ observations that one can make of the dark matter density in the Milky Way offer important tests of the theory.

Happily (or unhappily, depending on your perspective), the Milky Way seems to pass these tests fairly easily. The apparent discrepancy between the predicted density cusp of a CDM halo and the observed mass of dark matter in the inner Milky Way can be explained astronomically (e.g., through errors in the adopted rotation curve) or astrophysically (e.g., via redistribution of the primordial halo by a bar). One can even invoke CDM itself to explain the discrepancy: the theory generically predicts that halos should be flattened, and when such flattening is introduced in the modeling a steeper cusp is inferred for the Milky Way.

Other measures of halo shape are also more-or-less consistent with this picture. The one potentially conflicting result comes from the study of the Sagittarius Stream: if future work shows that this stream really is wrapped several times around the Galaxy without significant precession, then the Milky Way must have a halo that is very close to spherical, which would be rather uncomfortable for CDM. However, even such a strong result would not be a killer blow against CDM, since the theory predicts a wide range of halo shapes, a few of which will be close to spherical.

Indeed, this shortcoming illustrates what is probably the fundamental limiting factor in using the Milky Way as a laboratory to test CDM. The theory is sufficiently flexible that any property of the Milky Way is likely to lie somewhere within the range of possibility. The real test must surely come from comparing the properties of large samples of galaxies to the predicted distribution of the population in CDM cosmology. If, for example, star streams in other galaxies were all found to require spherical halos, then CDM would be in deep trouble.

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# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

In the neutralino sector of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) , the gaugino mass parameter $`M_1`$, the higgsino mass parameter $`\mu `$, and the trilinear coupling parameter $`A_\tau `$ in the stau sector, can be complex. The physical phases $`\phi _{M_1}`$, $`\phi _\mu `$ and $`\phi _{A_\tau }`$ of these parameters can cause large CP-violating effects already at tree level.

In neutralino production

$`e^{}+e^+`$ $``$ $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_i^0+\stackrel{~}{\chi }_j^0`$ (1)
and the subsequent leptonic two-body decay of one of the neutralinos

$`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_i^0`$ $``$ $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{}_1,`$ (2)
and of the decay slepton

$`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{}}`$ $``$ $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0+\mathrm{}_2;\mathrm{}_{1,2}=e,\mu ,\tau ,`$ (3)
the neutralino spin correlations lead to several CP-odd asymmetries. With the triple product $`𝒯=(\stackrel{}{p}_e^{}\times \stackrel{}{p}_\mathrm{}_2)\stackrel{}{p}_\mathrm{}_1`$, we define the *T-odd* asymmetry of the cross section $`\sigma `$ for the processes (1)-(3):

$`𝒜_\mathrm{T}={\displaystyle \frac{\sigma (𝒯>0)\sigma (𝒯<0)}{\sigma (𝒯>0)+\sigma (𝒯<0)}}.`$ (4)
If absorbtive phases are neglected, $`𝒜_\mathrm{T}`$ is CP-odd due to CPT invariance. The dependence of $`𝒜_\mathrm{T}`$ on $`\phi _{M_1}`$ and $`\phi _\mu `$ was analyzed in .

In case the neutralino decays into a $`\tau `$-lepton, $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_i^0\stackrel{~}{\tau }_k^\pm \tau ^{}`$, $`k=1,2`$, the T-odd transverse $`\tau ^{}`$ and $`\tau ^+`$ polarizations $`P_2`$ and $`\overline{P}_2`$, respectively, give rise to the *CP-odd* observable

$`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(P_2\overline{P}_2),`$ (5)
which is also sensitive to $`\phi _{A_\tau }`$. For various MSSM scenarios, $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$ was discussed in . For measuring the asymmetries, it is crucial to have both large asymmetries and large cross sections. In this note we study the impact of longitudinally polarized $`e^+`$ and $`e^{}`$ beams of a future linear collider in the 500 GeV range on the asymmetries $`𝒜_\mathrm{T}`$, $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$ and on the cross sections $`\sigma `$.

## 2 Numerical results

We present numerical results for $`e^+e^{}\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0`$ with the subsequent leptonic decay of $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0`$ for a linear collider with $`\sqrt{s}=500`$ GeV. For $`𝒜_\mathrm{T}`$, Eq. (4), we study the neutralino decay into the right selectron and right smuon, $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{}}_R\mathrm{}_1`$, $`\mathrm{}=e,\mu `$ and for $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$, Eq. (5), that into the lightest scalar tau, $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0\stackrel{~}{\tau }_1\tau `$. We study the dependence of the asymmetries and the cross sections on the beam polarizations $`P_e^{}`$ and $`P_{e^+}`$ for fixed parameters $`\mu =|\mu |e^{i\phi _\mu }`$, $`M_1=|M_1|e^{i\phi _{M_1}}`$, $`A_\tau =|A_\tau |e^{i\phi _{A_\tau }}`$, $`M_2`$ and $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$. We assume $`|M_1|=5/3M_2\mathrm{tan}^2\theta _W`$ and use the renormalization group equations  for the selectron and smuon masses, $`m_{\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{}}_R}^2=m_0^2+0.23M_2^2m_Z^2\mathrm{cos}2\beta \mathrm{sin}^2\theta _W`$ with $`m_0=100`$ GeV. The interaction Lagrangians and details on stau mixing can be found in .

In Fig. 1a we show the dependence of $`𝒜_\mathrm{T}`$ on the beam polarization for $`\phi _{M_1}=0.2\pi `$ and $`\phi _{A_\tau }=\phi _\mu =0`$. A small value of $`\phi _\mu `$ is suggested by constraints on electron and neutron electric dipole moments (EDMs)  for a typical SUSY scale of the order of a few 100 GeV (for a review see, e.g., ). It is remarkable that in our scenario the asymmetry can be close to 10% even for the small value of $`\phi _{M_1}=0.2\pi `$ and for $`\phi _\mu =0`$. The cross section $`\sigma =\sigma (e^+e^{}\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0)\times \mathrm{BR}(\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{}}_R\mathrm{}_1)\times \mathrm{BR}(\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{}}_R\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0\mathrm{}_2)`$ is shown in Fig. 1b. For our scenario with $`|A_\tau |=250`$ GeV and $`\phi _{A_\tau }=0`$, the neutralino branching ratio is BR$`(\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{}}_R\mathrm{}_1)`$ = 0.63 (summed over both signs of charge) and BR($`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{}}_R\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0\mathrm{}_2`$) = 1. Note that the asymmetry $`𝒜_\mathrm{T}`$ and the cross section $`\sigma `$ are both considerably enhanced for negative positron and positive electron beam polarization. This choice of polarization enhances the contributions of the right slepton exchange in the neutralino production, Eq. (1), and reduces that of left slepton exchange . While the contributions of right and left slepton exchange enter $`\sigma `$ with the same sign, they enter $`𝒜_\mathrm{T}`$ with opposite sign, which accounts for the sign change of $`𝒜_\mathrm{T}`$.

In Fig. 2a we show the contour lines of the $`\tau `$ polarization asymmetry $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$, Eq. (5), for $`\phi _{A_\tau }=0.5\pi `$ and $`\phi _{M_1}=\phi _\mu =0`$ in the $`P_e^{}`$-$`P_{e^+}`$ plane. We have chosen a large value of $`|A_\tau |=1500`$ GeV because $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$ increases with increasing $`|A_\tau ||\mu |\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ . For unpolarized beams the asymmetry is 1%. However, it reaches values of more than $`\pm 13\%`$ if the $`e^+`$ and $`e^{}`$ beams are polarized with the opposite sign. If at least one of the beams is polarized (e.g. $`P_e^{}=0.8`$, $`P_{e^+}=0.6`$), the asymmetries are somewhat smaller ($`10\%`$). The reason for this dependence is again the enhancement of either the right or the left selectron exchange contributions in the production process. The cross section $`\sigma =\sigma (e^+e^{}\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0)\times \mathrm{BR}(\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0\stackrel{~}{\tau }_1^+\tau ^{})`$ is shown in Fig. 2b with $`\mathrm{BR}(\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0\stackrel{~}{\tau }_1^+\tau ^{})=0.22`$. Also $`\sigma `$ is very sensitive to variations of the beam polarization and varies between 1 fb and 30 fb.

Since the asymmetry $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$ is also very sensitive to the phases $`\phi _{M_1}`$ and $`\phi _\mu `$ we show for $`\phi _{M_1}=0.2\pi `$ and $`\phi _\mu =\phi _{A_\tau }=0`$, the dependence of $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$ and $`\sigma =\sigma (e^+e^{}\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0)\times \mathrm{BR}(\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0\stackrel{~}{\tau }_1^+\tau ^{})`$ on the beam polarization in Figs. 3a, b, respectively. The neutralino branching ratio is $`\mathrm{BR}(\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0\stackrel{~}{\tau }_1^+\tau ^{})=0.19`$ for our scenario. Despite the small phases, $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$ reaches values up to $`12\%`$ for negative $`e^{}`$ and positive $`e^+`$ beam polarizations.

## 3 Summary and conclusion

Within the MSSM we have analyzed the dependence on the beam polarization of two CP-odd asymmetries in $`e^+e^{}\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0`$ and the subsequent leptonic two-body decay of $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0`$. For the decay process $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{}}_R\mathrm{}_1`$, $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{}}_R\stackrel{~}{\chi }_1^0\mathrm{}_2`$ with $`\mathrm{}_{1,2}=e,\mu `$, we have found that the asymmetry $`𝒜_\mathrm{T}`$ of the triple product $`(\stackrel{}{p}_e^{}\times \stackrel{}{p}_\mathrm{}_2)\stackrel{}{p}_\mathrm{}_1`$, which is sensitive to $`\phi _{M_1}`$ and $`\phi _\mu `$, can be twice as large if polarized beams are used, with e.g. $`P_e^{}=0.8`$ and $`P_{e^+}=0.6`$. Also for these polarizations the cross section can be enhanced up to a factor of 2. For the neutralino decay, $`\stackrel{~}{\chi }_2^0\stackrel{~}{\tau }_1^{}\tau ^\pm `$, we have given numerical examples for the beam polarization dependence of the CP-odd $`\tau `$ polarization asymmetry $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$, which is also sensitive to $`\phi _{A_\tau }`$. For the scenarios considered, both $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$ and the cross section depend sensitively on the beam polarizations and can be enhanced by a factor between 2 and 3. The dependence on the beam polarizations of the asymmetries $`𝒜_\mathrm{T}`$, $`𝒜_{\mathrm{CP}}`$ and of the cross sections is due to the contributions from right and left selectron exchange in the neutralino production process. Generally, negative (positive) $`e^{}`$ and positive (negative ) $`e^+`$ beam polarization enhances right (left) selectron exchange. Due to the fact that both asymmetries and cross sections can be enhanced significantly, we conclude that the option of having both beams polarized at an $`e^+e^{}`$-collider is advantageous for the determination of the CP-odd asymmetries.

## 4 Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the ‘Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung’ (FWF) of Austria, projects No. P13139-PHY and No. P16592-N02 and by the European Community’s Human Potential Programme under contract HPRN-CT-2000-00149. This work was also supported by the ’Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft’ (DFG) under contract Fr 1064/5-1.