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# The Evolution of Nova Ejecta

## 1. Introduction

Classical Novae (CNe) represent an important class of eruptive astronomical object with only GRB, Supernovae and some LBV’s exceeding the energy released in their outbursts. The most recognisable characteristic is their visual light curve. Typically, this shows a rapid rise of less than a few days’ duration followed by a slower decline. Indeed, the rate at which a nova declines away from peak defines its “speed class” with the slowest novae declining at less than 0.01 magnitudes per day and the fastest novae over ten times this rate. The speed class is in turn related to both the absolute magnitude at peak (in the sense that the faster the nova, the brighter it is intrinsically) and to the velocity of the principal ejecta (the faster the nova, the higher $`v_{ej}`$ – see e.g. Warner 1989).

The parameters of the central binary systems of CNe are relatively well defined compared to those for symbiotic stars and suspected binary nuclei PNe (see e.g. Schwarz, Pollacco this volume). It has been known since the 1950’s for example that CNe comprise a white dwarf and late-type main sequence star with binary period typically a few hours. The secondary (main sequence) star is losing matter onto the surface of the WD via an accretion disk. Every $`10^410^5`$ years CNO cycle hydrogen burning occurs on the degenerate dwarf surface resulting in a thermonuclear runaway (TNR). This in turn leads to a rapid rise in luminosity ($`10^5`$ times) and ejection of $`10^510^4`$M at up to several thousand km s-1. The nova outburst may recur several thousand times during the course of evolution of the system (see Warner 1995 and references therein).

## 2. Observations of the Expanding Ejecta

Evidence that there is large scale order in the ejecta is seen in optical spectra at very early times after outburst. This has led in turn to models of the geometry of ejected material in terms of polar caps and tropical and equatorial rings for example (see Bode 2002 for a recent review). The earliest spatial resolution of nova shells has come from radio interferometry with the MERLIN array as little as two months after outburst (Eyres et al. 1996). There are however problems relating the observed structure in the radio to that deduced from optical spectroscopy (Eyres et al. 2000). This is at least in part due to our current inability to simultaneously observe at more than one frequency at this spatial resolution to disentangle the effects of temperature and optical depth on the radio images. The advent of e-MERLIN will solve this.

To-date, optical imagery has resolved over 40 CNe remnants. This includes sevenresolved by HST (Bode 2002). Much of the recent work in this area has been undertaken by Tim O’Brien and his collaborators (e.g. Slavin, O’Brien & Dunlop 1995; Gill & O’Brien 1998, 1999, 2000). Figure 1 shows images of the moderate speed class nova DQ Her (1934) and the very slow nova HR Del (1967). One can clearly see from these images several pertinent features.

In both objects we observe ellipsoidal shells. At high spatial resolutions, the overall symmetry is seen to comprise many blobs and knots. The ejected shell of HR Del looks very different in H$`\alpha `$ than in \[OIII\] with the latter emission being concentrated to the poles of the remnant (Harman & O’Brien 2003). In DQ Her, the remnant shows clear evidence of equatorial and tropical bands. In both remnants, tails of emission extend out from the main shell. This is suggestive of ablation of knots in the shell by a faster moving wind which follows some time after the initial eruption (Harman & O’Brien 2003). In section 4 we show the image of the remnant of the very fast nova GK Per which may be compared with the remnants of the slower novae shown here.

The combination of imagery and long slit spectroscopy has allowed the determination of the precise geometry of several remnants (e.g. Gill & O’Brien 2000). It has confirmed that the remnants are prolate ellipsoids and also allowed us to determine accurate distances to the remnants by expansion parallax (note that significant deceleration of the remnants is neither expected nor observed in the immediate decades following outburst, with the exception of GK Per which is discussed in detail below). Correction for the effect of inclination on the observed shape has also shown that there is a strong correlation between remnant shape and speed class in the sense that the slower the nova, the larger the ratio of major to minor axis dimensions (Bode 2002).

## 3. Remnant Shaping

For a typical nova, the ejecta from the WD envelop the secondary star in a matter of minutes. A common envelope binary thus results, with the secondary imparting energy and angular momentum to the ejecta. This scenario was first explored by in detail by Livio et al. (1990), then subsequently by Lloyd, O’Brien & Bode (1997) and Porter, O’Brien & Bode (1998).

Lloyd et al. modelled the evolution of the remnant using a 2.5D hydrodynamic code. The principal ejecta are represented by a wind with secularly increasing velocity but decreasing mass loss rate followed some time later by faster moving, more tenuous material. An important ingredient is the inclusion of the observed relation of $`v_{ej}`$ to speed class. For slower novae, lower ejection velocities effectively lead to a longer interaction time between the ejecta and the secondary and hence the expectation of a greater degree of shaping.

This model was successful in producing features such as rings and caps, plus a correlation of overall shape to speed class as required. However it gave rise to oblate shells. Porter et al. added modifications in terms of the inclusion of WD envelope rotation and its effects on the progress of the initial nova outburst with latitude on the WD surface. This again produced the required features of the remnants, but also prolate shells, as observed. Figure 2 shows some of the synthetic images produced by these latter simulations. Full 3D simulations are now in progress (see Wareing et al., this volume).

## 4. Nova GK Persei 1901

GK Per rivalled the brightness of Vega at the peak of its outburst in 1901 and then declined very rapidly. It is now classified as a very fast “neon” nova. The latter epithet comes from the strength of the Ne lines in its post-outburst spectrum, which in turn points to the eruption being on the surface of a high mass (ONeMg) WD. At a distance of 470pc (derived by expansion parallax for $`v_{ej}=1200`$ km s-1) $`L_{max}5\times 10^{38}`$ erg s-1 ($`10^4`$ times the quiescent luminosity) and $`M_{ej}10^4`$M (see Seaquist et al. 1989 and references therein). Although the outburst itself is not unique among the observed CNe, its central system certainly is.

The nova binary comprises a WD with a high value of surface magnetic field ($`B5\times 10^5`$ gauss – an intermediate polar) together with an evolved late-type (K2IV) companion. The primary and secondary masses have been estimated as $`0.9`$M and 0.25M respectively (see Dougherty et al 1996 and references therein). The binary period is the longest known for a CN at 1.904 days (the long period being consistent of course with the existence of an evolved, Roche lobe-filling secondary in the system). Also unusual for a CN are dwarf nova-like outbursts which have been observed on several occasions since the main nova eruption of 1901.

In the months following the outburst, rapidly expanding nebulosities were seen on arcminute scales (Ritchey 1901). Despite the fact that the true distance to the nova was poorly determined at the time, the nebulosities were realised to be expanding at around or above light speed and were probably due to a geometrical effect (a “light echo” – see also Bond, Sugarman this volume). Indeed, GK Per was the first astronomical source in which such an effect was observed.

Figures 3a,b show the expanding ejecta in 1917 and 1993 respectively. The 1917 image appears to show the typical ring-like structure expected for the ejecta. However, superimposed to the SW is a bar of emission. Indeed, from following the sequence of later optical imagery, it appears that the ejecta are being decelerated by interaction with an unseen medium in this quadrant (Seaquist et al. 1989). In the 1993 image, the very blobby nature of the ejecta is evident.

The confirmation that a strong interaction is taking place in this direction comes from the detection of a ridge of non-thermal (synchrotron) radio emission, as shown in Figure 3c. Furthermore, recent CHANDRA images (Figure 3d) confirm that the region is a source of X-ray emission. The nova ejecta of GK Per now resemble a supernova remnant in miniature, but evolving on human timescales.

A search for the medium into which the 1901 nova ejecta are running resulted in the detection of a large scale ($`30^{}`$) nebula in the far infrared by IRAS (Bode et al. 1987). Subsequent re-analysis of HIRAS images by Dougherty et al. (1996 - see Figure 4a) led to the confirmation that the extended far IR emission is due to dust at $`T=23\pm 1`$K with $`M_d=0.04`$M (compared to a mass of neutral hydrogen in the same region of around 1M).

Bode et al. (1987) first suggested that the IRAS emission might be due to material ejected in a previous phase of evolution of the central binary in the form of an ancient PN. Dougherty et al. later suggested that the origin of this material was a “born again” AGB star phase of the binary as the WD accreted material at a very high rate from the secondary star creating a common envelope which was then ejected. Dynamical considerations suggest that the age of this nebula is around 105 years, with the last major ejection around $`3\times 10^4`$ years ago (for expansion velocities of 20 km s-1). The Dougherty et al. evolutionary model is consistent with the current (low) secondary mass for its luminosity, and the $`1`$M of material present in the ancient nebula (which it would have lost).

Tweedy (1995) first detected extended optical nebulosities extending well beyond the current nova ejecta and correlated with some of the 1901/02 light echoes. We have since conducted more detailed and extensive observations using the Wide Field Camera of the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma (Bode, O’Brien & Simpson 2003). Two of the resulting images are shown in Figure 4.

The extended emission is suggestive of a slightly tilted “hourglass” flattened towards the SW. The 1901 nova sits in the middle of the waist of the optical nebula and a saddle point of the IRAS emission (Figure 4a). Careful inspection of the images shows that the \[OIII\] emission is interior to that in the H$`\alpha `$ filter, particularly towards the SW. The brightest region of the large scale optical nebulosity is also coincident with the longest lived of the light echoes from 1902 (Figure 4b). The question to be answered is whether we can tie together the asymmetries seen in the nova and ancient nebulosities in some consistent way.

We suspected that the nova binary is moving relative to the ISM towards the SW. To address this, we took the 1917 and 1993 images and measured the proper motion of the central stars. The result is shown in Figure 4a and confirms our expectation. In addition, together with measured radial velocities (Crampton, Cowley & Fisher 1986), the space velocity of the system is found to be $`45\pm 4`$km s-1 (Bode et al. 2003).

We thus have a self-consistent model where the relatively high space velocity central binary went through a final born-again AGB phase of common envelope evolution around $`10^5`$ years ago and ejected $`1`$M of material in the form of a bipolar nebula. This nebula then interacted with the ISM in the direction of motion, suffering deceleration and thus giving rise to the rather flattened appearance we see now to the SW. The nova binary is however essentially a bullet that suffers no such deceleration and (as in the case of many elderly and ancient PN - see e.g. Kerber, this volume) ends up off-centre, in the direction of overall motion.

In 1901, the central WD had accreted enough material from the secondary (this time at a slower rate) to undergo a nova outburst. The outburst illuminated the circumstellar and interstellar environment giving rise to the light echoes. The nova ejecta then encountered higher density material towards the SW, leading in turn to the shocks and particle acceleration (probably in the enhanced magnetic field drawn out from the WD) that we see now as X-ray and radio emission.

## 5. Concluding Remarks

The evolution of Classical Nova remnants is currently better understood than that of PNe as the parameters of the central system and ejecta in the former are generally more precisely defined. That being said, and acknowledging the fact that ejected masses, velocities and timescales are very different, it became apparent to me at this conference that the two communities could gain much from a closer working relationship. In the case of at least one nova (GK Per) we have an object of immediate and potentially significant common interest.

## References

Balman, S. 2002, in Classical Nova Explosions, ed. M. Hernanz,, J. Jose (New York: AIP conference proceedings), p365

Bode, M.F. 2003, ibid, p497

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# Magnetic field decay, or just period–dependent beaming?

## 1. Introduction

Neutron-star magnetic fields are determined in both x-ray and radio pulsars. The cyclotron resonance scattering features in the x-ray spectrum of accreting neutron stars allow an estimate of the field strengths. The results lie in a narrow range between (1-4)$`\times 10^{12}`$ G (Makishima et al. 1999), for both young systems and systems as old as $`10^8`$ years. This strongly suggests that neutron-star magnetic fields do not decay spontaneously.

In contrast, three arguments have been put forward for rapid ($`10`$ Myr) field decay in radio pulsars. Firstly, the anti-correlation of characteristic age ($`\tau _cP\dot{P}^1`$) and magnetic field strength, or more correctly, torque ($`\left(P\dot{P}\right)^{1/2}`$), seems to indicate magnetic field decay. It is better explained by the strong dependence of the quantities plotted.

Secondly, field decay could explain the scarcity of far-away pulsars, as they stop shining before they cover large distances. Yet since these distances are derived from dispersion measures, they will be systematicly underestimated for pulsars beyond the galactic gas layer (Bhattacharya & Verbunt 1991), causing an apparent lack of far-away pulsars.

Thirdly, if magnetic fields or torques do not decay, one expects more pulsars with long periods than are observed. A decrease in visibility with time could also explain this shortage; in fact, both Vivekanand & Narayan (1981) and Lyne & Manchester (1988) find that pulsars with longer periods have significantly narrower beams, making it less likely for them to be detected.

## 2. The population synthesis code

In a pulsar-population synthesis code, one models the birth, life and death of radio pulsars and compares each simulated sample with the real sample. Certain pulsars (nearby, slow, bright ones for example) are more easily discovered than others and will be overrepresented in the sample. To account for these selection effects, one must explicitly model the surveys in which pulsars are detected.

Our code is a parallelised version of the one described by Bhattacharya et al. (1992) and Hartman et al. (1997) and runs on TERAS, the 1024-processor 1 Tflop/s supercomputer at SARA. In short, the algorithm is as follows: in the initial settings we assume distributions for the pulsar properties at birth, and fix the time-scale for exponential magnetic field decay. The properties of each simulated pulsar are drawn from the initial distributions. We evolve the magnetic field and period, calculate the orbit though the galaxy and determine the size of the radio beam. We then check whether any of the incorporated surveys discover the pulsar, and repeat the loop until we have detected 2000 simulated pulsars. We compare their properties to those of real pulsars, vary the input settings and restart the synthesis, until the optimum solution is reached.

## 3. Magnetic field decay

Bhattacharya et al. (1992) and Hartman et al. (1997) found that models with long magnetic field decay times reproduced the observations best. Forcing the use of a short decay time, the simulation would only resemble the observed data after the introduction of a second pulsar population, with longer periods at birth, as was also found by Narayan & Ostriker (1990).

Cordes & Chernoff (1998) investigate the velocities and spin-down laws in 49 young pulsars. They assume a constant beaming fraction and find a magnetic field decay time of less than 10 Myr. Arzoumanian et al. (2002) use a period-dependent beaming model to generate pulse profiles. They do not, however, use this new beaming model to fit for the magnetic field decay time, but mention the value found by Cordes & Chernoff (1998) instead: less than 10 Myr. We have implemented pulse profiles in the way described by Arzoumanian et al. (2002), but still find that the observed pulsar properties are best reproduced in a model without field decay. However, if we follow Cordes & Chernoff (1998) in assuming that the beaming fraction does not depend on the period, we reproduce their result and find that the best model has a decay time of order 10 Myr.

Arzoumanian et al. (2002) further argue that all pulsars with the same $`P`$ and $`\dot{P}`$ have the same intrinsic (angle-averaged) luminosity and that the observed luminosity depends on the observation angle and interstellar scintillation. As the width of the resulting observed luminosity distribution is of the same magnitude as the intrinsic spread in the Narayan & Ostriker (1990) luminosity function, the two descriptions are computationally almost identical.

Gonthier et al. (2002) simulate galactic populations of radio and gamma-ray pulsars. With a beaming fraction constant with period, their best model has magnetic field decay in 5 Myr.

Although the exact relation is still subject of debate, it is clear that the beaming fraction decreases with the pulse period (Vivekanand & Narayan 1981, Lyne & Manchester 1988). If we force our code to disregard this relation, as Cordes & Chernoff (1998), Gonthier et al. (2002) and Arzoumanian et al. (2002) chose to do, we also need magnetic-field decay on a time-scale of around $`10^7`$yr to reproduce the observed period distributions.

When we do include period dependence of the beaming fraction and search for the best solution, the no-decay case is much more probable than decay on a 10 Myr time scale (van Leeuwen & Verbunt 2004).

## 4. Magnetars

Most of the pulsars we detect in our code were born near the sun, which makes us mostly sensitive to the local birthrate. In our best model (no magnetic field decay) we need a local birthrate of 2 kpc-2 Myr-1, which can be produced by OB-association stars with masses over $`10M_{}`$ (Hartman et al. 1997). In this model, the magnetic field strength is drawn from a log-normal distribution with centre and width $`10^{12.3\pm 0.3}`$ G. This makes no neutron stars with magnetic fields higher than $`10^{14}`$ G. To make a substantial number of these, as well as normal radio pulsars, we can shift and widen the distribution to $`10^{13.5\pm 0.9}`$ G. This increases the underlying neutron-star birthrate by roughly a factor of 4. However, as the input magnetic field distribution is wider, the simulated period distribution and magnetic field distribution are both unacceptably wider than is observed (see Fig. 1). It therefore seems implausible that radio pulsars and magnetars are formed from a single neutron-star magnetic field distribution.

## 5. Velocities

In previous work on pulsar speeds (Helfand & Tademaru 1977, Lyne & Lorimer 1994, Cordes & Chernoff 1998) one argument keeps returning: fast pulsars quickly move away from the plane, and so from our telescopes, either to escape our galaxy or to spend much time far away from it while they reverse direction. Many of these far-away pulsars escape detection, biasing the observed sample to the slow and sedentary pulsars (see Fig. 2a)

This argument is valid in the z-direction only; in a three-dimensional world, the situation is different (see also Hansen & Phinney 1997). Seen from the earth, most pulsars are born towards the galactic centre. Of these, the high-speed ones can travel the largest distances and these diffuse from the centre outward, towards our part of the galaxy (Fig. 2b). We find the effect of radial drift to be stronger than the observational selection effect in the z-direction: on the whole, our simulated detected pulsars move faster than the parent population (van Leeuwen & Verbunt 2004).

## References

Arzoumanian, Z., Chernoff, D. F., & Cordes, J. M. 2002, ApJ, 568, 289

Bhattacharya, D. & Verbunt, F. 1991, A&A, 242, 128

Bhattacharya, D., Wijers, R. A. M. J., Hartman, J. W., & Verbunt, F. 1992, A&A, 254, 198

Cordes, J. M. & Chernoff, D. F. 1998, ApJ, 505, 315

Gonthier, P. L., Ouellette, M. S., Berrier, J., O’Brien, S., & Harding, A. K. 2002, ApJ, 565, 482

Hansen, B. & Phinney, E. S. 1997, MNRAS, 291, 569

Hartman, J. W., Bhattacharya, D., Wijers, R., & Verbunt, F. 1997, A&A, 322, 477

Helfand, D. J. & Tademaru, E. 1977, ApJ, 216, 842

van Leeuwen, J. & Verbunt, F. 2004, A&A, in preparation

Lyne, A. G. & Lorimer, D. R. 1994, Nature, 369, 127

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

Makishima, K., Mihara, T., Nagase, F., & Tanaka, Y. 1999, ApJ, 525, 978

Narayan, R. & Ostriker, J. P. 1990, ApJ, 352, 222

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# Future Facilities for Gamma-Ray Pulsar Studies

## 1. Introduction

Pulsars represent astrophysical laboratories for extreme conditions. The high densities, temperatures, velocities, electric potentials, and magnetic fields associated with these spinning neutron stars give rise to high-energy emission through a variety of mechanisms. In particular, gamma-rays are produced by interactions of particles accelerated to the highest energies by electromagnetic and shock processes. Gamma-ray pulsar data therefore complement observations from longer wavelengths, where the emission often originates from thermal or plasma processes.

## 2. Motivation - Current Knowledge of Gamma-Ray Pulsars

This discussion of future gamma-ray facilities is motivated strongly by the knowledge gained from previous missions, most notably the instruments on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) - BATSE, OSSE, COMPTEL, and EGRET. Combined with what has been learned at radio, optical, and X-ray wavelengths, the gamma-ray data help illustrate the multiwavelength nature of at least some pulsars. Figure 1 is an example, showing the light curves of the seven pulsars with the strongest gamma-ray signals.

What seems clear from this figure is that pulsar light curves show at least as much variability from energy band to energy band for a given pulsar as from pulsar to pulsar within a single energy band. The combination of physics and geometry is strongly wavelength-dependent, but not in any simple way. Perhaps the most consistency is seen in the high-energy gamma-ray band, where all six of the pulsars that are seen have double-pulsed light curves. It can be argued that this predominance of double pulses is more consistent with emission from a hollow cone or other surface above a single magnetic pole than from emission coming from both magnetic poles.

In addition to these seven high-confidence gamma-ray pulsars, at least three other radio pulsars show some evidence of pulsed gamma-ray emission, and a number of other gamma-ray sources are pulsar candidates based on energetics, position, and in some cases spectral information. Beyond the pulsars themselves, gamma-ray emission from supernova remnants provides further information about particle acceleration in pulsar environments.

Figure 2 summarizes the broad-band energy spectra for these seven pulsars. The data, shown in $`\nu `$F$`\nu `$ format (or E2 times the photon number spectrum), indicate the observed power per frequency interval across the spectrum. Some features of these spectra are:

* In all cases, the maximum observed power output is the in the gamma-ray band.
* Vela, Geminga, and B1055$``$52 all show evidence of a thermal component in X-rays, thought to be from the hot neutron star surface.
* Each of these pulsars exhibits a high-energy spectral turnover or spectral break. No pulsed emission is seen above 30 GeV, the upper limit of the Compton Observatory/EGRET observations. These changes in spectral index appear to be related to the calculated surface magnetic field of the pulsar. The nature of the high-energy cutoff is an important feature of pulsar models.

Compared to the vast number of known radio pulsars, the statistics for gamma-ray pulsars are meager. Nevertheless, these observations provide ample motivation for future gamma-ray missions to study pulsars and their surroundings. For additional information about gamma-ray pulsar observations, see Thompson (2003), and for a summary of the relationship between gamma-ray and radio pulsars, see Kramer et al. (2003)

## 3. Present and Future Gamma-Ray Opportunities

### 3.1. INTEGRAL

The INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) is a European-led mission that had its launch on October 17, 2002, into an elliptical 72 hour orbit. For a summary of the INTEGRAL mission, see Winkler et al. (2003) or http://astro.estec.esa.nl/Integral/isoc/. Some relevant aspects of the project are:

* Two gamma-ray telescopes, an imager and a spectrometer, cover the energy range 15 keV to 10 MeV.
* Good timing has enabled pulsar studies.
* High-resolution gamma-ray line spectrometry allows searches for radioactive element decay, such as Ti-44, in supernova remnants.
* INTEGRAL also carries an optical telescope and an X-ray telescope
* The mission lifetime is two years minimum, with plans for up to five years.

### 3.2. Swift

Although the international Swift mission is primarily focused on studies of gamma-ray bursts, it will have gamma-ray capabilities useful for pulsar studies as well. Current information about Swift, currently planned for launch in May 2004, can be found at http://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/. Some important aspects of Swift are:

* A wide-field gamma-ray telescope covers the energy range 15 - 150 keV.
* Good timing capabilities will be useful for pulsar studies, especially magnetars, which are thought to be related to soft gamma repeaters.
* Swift also carries an optical/UV telescope and an X-ray telescope
* The mission lifetime is two years minimum, with options to extend.

### 3.3. AGILE

Astro-rivelatore Gamma a Immagini LEggero (AGILE) is a small gamma-ray telescope being built by an Italian collaboration for launch in mid-2005. Current information about AGILE can be found at http://agile.mi.iasf.cnr.it/Homepage/index.shtml. Some important aspects of AGILE are:

* This wide-field high-energy gamma-ray telescope covers the energy range 20 MeV - 50 GeV, similar to that of CGRO/EGRET and GLAST/LAT. AGILE will have somewhat better sensitivity than EGRET.
* Accurate timing will facilitate pulsar studies.
* Super-AGILE is a co-aligned hard X-ray telescope covering the energy range 10 - 40 keV.
* The mission lifetime is two years minimum, with options to extend.

### 3.4. Ground-Based Gamma-Ray Telescopes

Complementary to the satellite gamma-ray telescopes just described are the new ground-based gamma-ray telescopes that operate at higher energies than can typically be reached from space. Although none of the previous generation of such telescopes detected any pulsed gamma radiation, there is evidence for very-high-energy emission from supernova remnants. The new telescopes, including MILAGRO, HESS, STACEE, CANGAROO-3, MAGIC, and VERITAS, give greater sensitivity and in many cases a lower energy threshold that will overlap that of GLAST. In contrast to the satellite telescopes, which are often photon-limited, the ground-based telescopes have high statistics but are background limited. For additional information about these, see Rowell (2003).

### 3.5. GLAST

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is a major international gamma-ray mission led by NASA and the Department of Energy in the U.S. and including substantial contributions from many other countries. Its two wide-field instruments cover the energy range from about 10 keV to 300 GeV. Scheduled for launch in late 2006 or early 2007, GLAST is planned for a five year mission or longer. Information about the project can be found at http://glast.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

In terms of pulsars and their environments, the principal GLAST contribution will come from the high-energy Large Area Telescope (LAT), which was originally called GLAST by itself. The other instrument, the GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM), does not have sufficient photon timing or resolution to add substantially to pulsar studies. The following discussion will concentrate, therefore, on the properties of the LAT (Gehrels and Michelson (1999), and http://www-glast.stanford.edu/):

* The LAT covers the energy range 20 MeV - 300 GeV, with sensitivity at least a factor of 30 greater than EGRET.
* The LAT energy reach brings good sensitivity to the largely-unexplored range above 10 GeV, where EGRET had limited capability.
* The huge LAT field of view ($`>`$ 2 ster) and planned operation in a scanning mode will provide exposure to most of the sky every day.
* The point spread function will be substantially better than EGRET’s, and the capability to localize sources will be better than 1 arcmin for many sources.
* Accurate pulsar timing is part of the baseline design.
* The LAT has no expendable components that could limit the life of the instrument.

Figure 3 shows one measure of pulsar observability: the pulsar spin-down luminosity divided by 4$`\pi `$ times the square of the distance, the total available pulsar energy output at Earth. This plot uses the new ATNF pulsar catalogue (http://www.atnf.csiro.au/research/pulsar/psrcat/) with distance estimates using the new NE2001 electron density model of Cordes and Lazio (2002). Ten gamma-ray pulsars and candidates are shown as the large squares. Six of the seven pulsars with the highest value of this observability parameter are gamma-ray pulsars. Below these, only a handful of pulsars are visible in gamma rays. The GLAST LAT sensitivity will push the lower limit down substantially farther. Two approximate sensitivity limits are shown for GLAST LAT - one for low-Galactic-latitude sources and one for those at high latitudes, because the high diffuse emission along the Galactic plane reduces the sensitivity for point source detection. The phase space that GLAST LAT opens up is substantial, particularly when coupled with the new radio pulsar discoveries that have been made and will be made in the near future.

A second important feature of the LAT is that its sensitivity will be large enough to allow pulsar searches using the gamma-ray data alone. Various analyses have shown that only the brightest pulsars could be found in the EGRET data using blind searches (Brazier and Kanbach 1996; Jones, 1998; Chandler et al. 2001). For all of the other unidentified EGRET sources, the photons are just too few and too far apart in time to derive unambiguous pulse periods. With GLAST LAT, periodicity searches will be feasible for most, if not all, the unidentified EGRET sources (Mattox, 2000; McLaughlin and Cordes, 2000). The potential is to find a whole new population of rotation-powered pulsars, much as X-ray astronomy has started to do in the past few years. Radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars could be an important new window onto the physics of the extreme conditions around these spinning neutron stars.

Despite the search capability of the LAT, the most powerful test of pulsar detection will remain the analysis of the gamma-ray data with known timing solutions. The LAT, like EGRET, will be constrained by statistics, with times between photons representing many thousand rotations of the neutron stars in some cases. In order to obtain the maximum sensitivity, therefore, GLAST will need contemporaneous timing solutions. A program to coordinate radio observations during the GLAST operating epoch is being organized by Steve Thorsett, one of the GLAST InterDisciplinary Scientists (IDS).

The number of pulsars that will be seen by GLAST LAT or other new gamma-ray telescopes is highly uncertain, as are predictions of which known radio pulsars should be visible at gamma-ray energies. The reason for such uncertainty is that a variety of models for gamma-ray pulsars have developed, and these models differ on their expectations for future observations. Clearly one important goal of these gamma-ray observations will be to challenge and refine the models.

GLAST is planned as a facility mission, with data available to all scientists after an initial sky survey, along with software to perform standard analyses, including pulsar timing. A GLAST Science Support Center is located at Goddard Space Flight Center to help with data analysis.

## 4. Summary

Gamma rays have become part of the multiwavelength approach to the study of pulsars. The relatively large power output seen in gamma rays makes them especially useful probes of the particle acceleration and interaction processes in pulsar magnetospheres. New space-based and ground-based gamma-ray missions are emerging that will add substantially to the capabilities in this high energy range.

## References

Brazier, K.T.S. and Kanbach, G. 1996, A&AS, 120, 85

Chandler, A. M. et al. 2001, ApJ, 556, 59

Fierro, J. M., Michelson, P. F., Nolan, P. L., Thompson, D. J. 1998, ApJ, 494, 734

Gehrels, N. and Michelson, P. 1999, Astroparticle Phys., 11, 277

Gotthelf, E. V., Halpern, J. P., Dodson, R. 2002, ApJ, 567, L125

Jackson, M. S., Halpern, J. P., Gotthelf, E. V., Mattox, J. R. 2002, ApJ, 578, 935

Jones, B.B. 1998, PhD Thesis, Stanford University

Kanbach, G. et al. 1994, A&A, 289, 855

Kramer, M. et al. 2003, MNRAS, 342, 1299

Kuz’min, A. D., Losovskii, B. Ya. 1997, Astronomy Letters, 23, 283

Mattox, J.R. 2000, private communication

McLaughlin, M. A., Cordes, J. M. 2000, ApJ, 538, 818

Rowell, G. 2003, these proceedings

Thompson, D. J. 2001, in High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy, American Institute of Physics (AIP) Proceedings, 558, Edited by Felix A. Aharonian and Heinz J. Völk. American Institute of Physics, Melville, New York, p. 103-114

Thompson, D.J. 2003, in Cosmic Gamma Ray Sources, Kluwer ASSL Series, Edited by K.S. Cheng and G.E. Romero, in press

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Winkler, C. et al. 2003, A&A, submitted


text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

The holographic principle  has become one of the most important ideas in quantum gravity. It has led to many major advances in the field in recent years. One may wonder whether it constrains the possible backgrounds in string theory, or any consistent theory that includes gravity. Indeed, in a recent paper  we have argued that the symmetries of de Sitter space are incompatible with the holographic requirement of finite entropy of a causal patch. We further argued that the incompatibility shows up in the very long time behavior of inflating spaces, perhaps as an inevitable instability.

In this note we will use the same argument to constrain the set of possible maximally symmetric compactifications of string theory to two dimensions111We thank Juan Maldacena for suggesting the application of the argument to AdS2., at least in cases where they admit a geometric description. We will show that consistency with holography requires at least three space–time dimensions.

In , the authors noted the fact that in all representations of the de Sitter group, the boost generator (which generates time translations for the static patch) has a continuous spectrum. However, the area of the de Sitter horizon is finite, which implies a finite entropy for the quantum de Sitter Hamiltonian, and finite entropy is inconsistent with a continuous spectrum. Therefore, pure, eternal de Sitter space is inconsistent with holography. The simplest explanation is that all de Sitter solutions in string theory are at best metastable, with a finite lifetime followed by decay to a supersymmetric vacuum.

We can apply the same logic to 1+1 dimensional Lorentz and AdS invariant compactifications of string theory. The area of the horizon of the Rindler wedge of 1+1 dimensional Minkowski space is simply the volume of the compact internal space, and hence is finite. However, the 1+1 dimensional Poincaré algebra has the same commutation relation used in  to prove continuity of the spectrum. Therefore, by the same argument, the Rindler Hamiltonian is continuous, which is inconsistent with the finite area of the horizon. An identical argument can be made for 1+1 dimensional anti de Sitter space. Our conclusion is that maximally symmetric compactifications of string theory to 1+1 dimensions in which the horizon area is macroscopic are never stable. One possible resolution is that the volume of the compact space is infinite; another is that it is very small and the entropy is zero. In the latter case there is only order one state in the Hilbert space, and the symmetry argument does not apply.

It is also the case that supersymmetric compactifications to 1+1 dimensions will typically contain massless moduli, which in two dimensions have an IR quantum instability. The expectation values of such moduli will quickly spread to infinity (e.g. if an IR cutoff is suddenly removed), which may account for the instability in the size of the compact manifold. Similar arguments were made in .

The plan of the paper is as follows: in section 2, we review the formalism of thermofield dynamics and its connection to the Rindler wedge of Minkowski space. In section 3, we prove (using the technique of ) that the Rindler Hamiltonian is continuous. The same proof applies to the Hamiltonian of the “Rindler” wedge of AdS. In section 4, we discuss the field theoretic instability, non-Lorentz invariant compactifications to 1+1, and conclude. A reader already familiar with the techniques of  may wish to skip to section 4.

Note added: after this paper was first posted on the arxiv, a preprint  appeared which presented a supersymmetric compactification of heterotic string theory to 1+1 dimensions. We believe that despite the lack of massless propogating degrees of freedom, due to IR divergences this model has a completely trivial S-matrix, and as such evades our argument in a way that will be mentioned briefly at the end of section 3. This physics will be discussed further in .

## 2 Thermofield dynamics

Thermofield theory was invented  in the context of many body theory for the purpose of simplifying the calculation of real time correlation functions in finite temperature systems. Its connection with black holes was realized by Israel , and elaborated in the holographic context by Maldacena . In the thermofield formalism, one takes the tensor product of two copies of the original field theory, labeled by $`1,2`$. The two copies are decoupled, and the total Hamiltonian is

$$H_{tf}HIIH,$$
(2.1)
where $`H`$ is the Hamiltonian for the original theory and $`I`$ is the identity operator. We then construct the entangled state

$$|\psi =\frac{1}{\sqrt{Z}}\underset{i}{}e^{\frac{1}{2}\beta E_i}|E_i,E_i,$$
(2.2)
where $`|E_i,E_j=|E_i|E_j`$, and $`|E_i`$ are energy eigenstates. Strictly speaking the correlation is not between identical states but between a state and its CPT conjugate. The state $`|\psi `$ is a particular eigenvector of $`H_{tf}`$ with eigenvalue zero. Furthermore ambiguities in the construction due to degeneracies can be resolved so that $`|\psi `$ is annihilated by the conserved generators of symmetry transformations such as angular momentum or electric charge. Correlations between subsystems $`1`$ and $`2`$ are due to the entanglement in $`|\psi `$.

Operators which belong to subsystem $`1`$ have the form $`AI`$, and will be denoted $`A_1`$. Operators associated with subsystem $`2`$ are defined in a similar manner, except with an additional rule of hermitian conjugation:

$$A_2IA^{}.$$
(2.3)
Standard thermal correlation functions may be written as expectation values:

$$\psi |A_1(0)B_1(t)|\psi .$$
(2.4)
As can be easily seen from the form of $`|\psi `$, 2.4 is simply the thermal expectation value of $`A(0)B(t)`$, evaluated in a thermal density matrix at inverse temperature $`\beta `$. The state counting entropy observed in subsystem $`1`$ is the entropy of entanglement of the state $`|\psi `$. In conventional applications, no physical significance is usually attached to correlators involving both subsystems, but we can certainly define them; for example

$$\psi |A_1(0)B_2(t)|\psi .$$
(2.5)
In the finite temperature AdS/CFT correspondence, 2.5 has a simple interpretation : it corresponds to a correlator between operators on the two disconnected boundaries of the spacetime. It is not hard to see that one can compute 2.5 by analytically continuing 2.4:

$$\psi |A_1(0)B_2(t)|\psi =\psi |A_1(0)B_1(ti\beta /2)|\psi .$$
(2.6)
### 2.1 Rindler space

We will now consider the relationship between thermofield dynamics and quantum field theory in spaces with horizons. The simplest example is Rindler space. One plus one dimensional Minkowski space can be divided into four quadrants: I, II, III and IV (see Figure 1). Quadrants I and III consist of points separated from the origin by a space–like separation, while points in II and IV are displaced by timelike intervals. Quadrant I is Rindler space, and can be described by the metric

$$ds^2=r^2dt^2dr^2,$$
(2.7)
where $`r`$ is proper distance from the origin, and $`t`$ is the dimensionless Rindler time. The Rindler quadrant may be described by the Unruh thermal state with temperature

$$T_{rind}=\frac{1}{2\pi }=\frac{1}{\beta _{rind}}.$$
(2.8)
Quadrant III is a copy of quadrant I, and can be precisely identified with the other half of the thermofield double. To see this we first of all note that the Rindler Hamiltonian is the boost generator. Since the Minkowski vacuum is boost invariant, it is an eigenvector of the boost generator with vanishing eigenvalue. Furthermore, the Minkowski vacuum is an entangled state of the degrees of freedom in the two quadrants I and III. Finally, it is well known that when the density matrix for quadrant I is obtained by tracing over III the result is a thermal state at the Rindler temperature. It is easy to see that correlators between fields in quadrants I and III are related by exactly the same analytic continuations derived from thermofield dynamics. To see this, recall that the usual Minkowski variables $`X^0,X^1`$ are related to the Rindler coordinates by

$`X^0`$ $`=`$ $`r\mathrm{sinh}t`$ (2.9)
$`X^1`$ $`=`$ $`r\mathrm{cosh}t.`$ (2.10)
Since the inverse Rindler temperature 2.8 is $`2\pi `$, the continuation in equation 2.6 is

$$tti\pi ,$$
(2.11)
or, from 2.10, $`X^\mu X^\mu `$. Thus the thermofield continuation takes quadrant I to quadrant III.

In any dimension other than 1+1 the area of the horizon–and therefore the entropy of Rindler space–is infinite. However, if we consider the space $`_{1,1}\times _8`$, where $`_8`$ is any eight-dimensional compact manifold, the area of the Rindler horizon is nothing but $`\mathrm{vol}(_8)`$, and therefore the entropy of the Rindler wedge must be finite.

A very similar construction produces the “Rindler” wedge of anti de Sitter. Start with the coordinates in which Euclidean AdS is a ball: $`ds^2=d\rho ^2+sinh^2\rho d\mathrm{\Omega }^2`$. Continuing the azimuthal angle of the sphere $`\varphi it`$ gives a metric covering one quarter of the AdS hyperboloid (see figure 1). As in flat space, the horizon area is finite only for the case of AdS2.

## 3 Continuity of the spectrum

It is a fact that any system with finite entropy must have a discrete spectrum; actually, the statement is stronger: there must be a finite number of states below any given energy $`E`$, so the spectrum can not have discrete accumulation points. Because this is central to our analysis, we present a short proof below.

The entropy $`S`$ is defined by $`S\mathrm{Tr}\rho \mathrm{ln}\rho `$, where $`\rho e^{\beta H}/Z`$ and $`Z\mathrm{Tr}e^{\beta H}`$. Here trace means the sum over all the states in the spectrum of the Hamiltonian, to be replaced by an integral with the proper measure in the case that the spectrum is continuous. Expanding the relation above gives

$$S=(1/Z)\mathrm{Tr}e^{\beta H}\left(\beta H+\mathrm{ln}Z\right)=\mathrm{ln}Z+(\beta /Z)\mathrm{Tr}He^{\beta H},$$
(3.12)
which is nothing but the ordinary thermodynamic relation $`S=\beta F+\beta E`$. As can be easily seen from 3.12, $`S`$ is not affected by the shift $`HHE_0`$, for any constant $`E_0`$. Therefore we can take the ground state energy to be zero (we will assume the energy is bounded from below). Then the second term in 3.12 is manifestly positive, and

$$S\mathrm{ln}Z=\mathrm{ln}e^{\beta H}\mathrm{ln}\left(Ne^{\beta E_N}\right),$$
(3.13)
where $`E_N`$ is the $`N`$th energy level, and we have temporarily assumed that the spectrum is countable. Now the proof is clear: if there exists any energy $`E_N`$ below which there are an infinite number of states, the entropy will diverge; and hence finite entropy implies a discrete spectrum with no accumulation points.222Note that this does not imply that the Hilbert space is finite. In general, the level spacing $`\delta ETe^S`$, at least for $`T\delta E`$.

This demonstrates that if the entropy of the Rindler wedge is finite, then the Rindler Hamiltonian $`H_R`$ must have a discrete spectrum. The implications for the thermofield Hamiltonian $`H_{tf}`$ are weaker. The spectrum of this operator consists of the differences of eigenvalues of $`H_R`$, namely $`E_iE_j`$. If the spectrum of $`H_R`$ is discrete, this set of numbers need not be, but is certainly countable. In the next section we will prove that the spectrum of the full thermofield Hamiltonian $`H_{tf}`$ is not countable, and hence that the entropy of the thermal ensemble defined using $`H_R`$ is infinite.

### 3.1 Representations of the Poincaré algebra

The Poincaré group in 1+1 dimensions has three generators, which satisfy the following algebra:

$`[P_0,K]=iP_1`$ (3.14)
$`[P_1,K]=iP_0`$ (3.15)
$`[P_0,P_1]=0.`$ (3.16)
The $`P_i`$ generate translations in space and time, and $`K`$ is the boost generator. The choice of a Rindler wedge preserves only the generator $`K`$ (this is obvious if one recalls that the Rindler wedge is the region of space seen by a uniformly accelerating observer). The boost generator $`K`$ acts by generating translations in Rindler time $`t`$; in other words, the Rindler Hamiltonian is $`K`$. The generators $`P_i`$ do not act on the Hilbert space of one wedge; rather, they act on the full thermofield double space by mixing degrees of freedom from the two halves. In the case of a free field theory this means that the modes of one Rindler wedge become a linear combination of modes of both wedges under the action of the $`P_i`$; see the appendix of  for more details. The crucial point is that the states of the thermofield double space, namely Minkowski space, form a representation of the full group.

If we define $`P_\pm =P_0\pm P_1`$, and identify the boost $`K`$ with the thermofield Hamiltonian $`H`$ the algebra becomes:333For simplicity of notation, for the rest of the section we will refer to the full thermofield double Hamiltonian $`H_{tf}`$ simply as $`H`$.

$`[H,P_+]=iP_+`$ (3.17)
$`[H,P_{}]=iP_{}`$ (3.18)
$`[P_+,P_{}]=0.`$ (3.19)
Using 3.19, we wish to prove that the spectrum of $`H`$ is continuous. Following , consider the operator $`e^{iP_{}}(t)`$:

$$e^{iP_{}}(t)e^{iHt}e^{iP_{}}e^{iHt}=e^{e^{iHt}iP_{}e^{iHt}}=e^{iP_{}e^t}.$$
(3.20)
We will now assume that the spectrum of $`H`$ is countable, and use the assumption to derive a contradiction. We have

$$\left|\alpha |e^{iP_{}}|\alpha \right|=1\delta .$$
(3.21)
Here $`|\alpha `$ is some state in the Hilbert space, and $`\delta >0`$ because $`e^{iP_{}}`$ is unitary and $`P_{}`$ is non-zero. Define

$$F(t)\alpha |e^{iP_{}(t)}|\alpha =\alpha |e^{iHt}e^{iP_{}}e^{iHt}|\alpha =\alpha |e^{iP_{}e^t}|\alpha .$$
(3.22)
From this, $`F(t)1`$ as $`t\mathrm{}`$, and $`F(0)=1\delta <1`$. We will now prove that $`F(t)`$ is quasiperiodic (see e.g. the appendix of ).

Any discrete sum of the form

$$\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}f_ne^{i\omega _nt}$$
(3.23)
is quasiperiodic if

$$\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|f_n|^{\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}}<\mathrm{}.$$
(3.24)
Therefore, it suffices to show that $`F(t)`$ can be written as a sum of this form. But, expanding the state $`|\alpha `$ in the energy basis:444The energies $`\omega _i`$ are the eigenvalues of the thermofield Hamiltonian $`H=H_{tf}`$, and hence are differences of pairs of energies of the Rindler Hamiltonian $`H_R`$; but see the last paragraph before Section 3.1.

$$F(t)=\underset{n,m}{}f_n^{}f_mn|e^{iP_{}}|me^{i(\omega _n\omega _m)t}.$$
(3.25)
Consider the sum

$$\underset{m,n}{}f_n^{}f_mf_m^{}f_nn|e^{iP_{}}|mm|e^{iP_{}}|n=\underset{n}{}|f_n|^{\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}}\underset{m}{}|f_m|^{\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}}n|e^{iP_{}}|mm|e^{iP_{}}|n.$$
(3.26)
Considering the inner sum, we have (since $`_mn|e^{iP_{}}|mm|e^{iP_{}}|n=1`$, and the terms are real and positive)

$$\underset{m}{}|f_m|^{\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}}n|e^{iP_{}}|mm|e^{iP_{}}|n1,$$
(3.27)
and therefore

$$\underset{m,n}{}f_n^{}f_mf_m^{}f_nn|e^{iP_{}}|mm|e^{iP_{}}|n1.$$
(3.28)
This shows that $`F(t)`$ satisfies the criterion 3.24, and hence $`F(t)`$ is quasiperiodic. Therefore, since $`F(0)<1`$, $`F(t)`$ can not tend to $`1`$ as $`t\mathrm{}`$, and we have a contradiction.

We can make almost exactly the same argument using the “Rindler” wedge of AdS2. The algebra is $`SO(2,1)`$ (which is identical to the dS2 algebra) and in fact the analogy to the argument of  is exact. The generator of “Rindler” time translations is one of the boost generators of the AdS hyperboloid. Again, the argument shows the the spectrum must be continuous.

This proves that $`H_{tf}`$ can not have a countable spectrum, and therefore that the $`E_i`$ cannot be discrete and the entropy cannot be finite. However, the area of the Rindler horizon in 1+1 dimensions is finite, and so we see there is a fundamental conflict between the holographic principle and the existence of a stable compactification of string theory to 1+1 dimensional Minkowski, AdS, or dS space.

We note one possible loophole–if the representation is trivial, so that there are only vacua in the spectrum, our argument fails. In that case the generators are zero, and there is no conflict with the algebra. We believe the examples presented in  fall into this category, as any state with non-zero energy will cause an infinite back-reaction on the geometry.

## 4 String theory arguments

Let us begin with supersymmetric compactifications of string theory. In general there will always be massless moduli such as the overall size of the compact space. These massless degrees of freedom can be thought of as $`1+1`$ dimensional scalar fields. But it is well known that in $`1+1`$ dimensions there are logarithmic infrared divergences. For example the two point function has a divergence of the form $`𝑑k/k`$. While the UV divergence can of course be regulated, the IR divergence represents a true physical effect; namely that the fields fluctuate more and more at longer and longer wavelengths. In particular, if the Hamiltonian includes a mass term $`m^2\theta (t)`$, where $`\theta `$ is the unit step function, the expectation value $`\varphi ^2(t)`$ will tend to infinity like $`t`$, for $`t>0`$. This means that the field, once released from its confining potential, fluctuates more and more in field space. This effect indicates a decompactification of the manifold. In other words the compactification is unstable.

This argument (which was discussed previously in ) is in some ways more generic than the argument presented above, because it does not rely on maximal symmetry. On the other hand, it does require that at least some of the compactification moduli are massless.

There are, of course, $`1+1`$ dimensional compactifications of string theory such as the linear dilaton vacua in which the dilaton varies linearly, either with respect to time or space. However, these obviously violate Lorentz invariance. What is more, at the weak coupling end the volume of the compact space diverges if expressed in Planck units. Other possible examples, such as pp wave in anti de Sitter space, can be thought of as Lorentz non–invariant $`1+1`$ dimensional theories and do not contradict our conclusion.

## 5 Conclusion

In both  and the present paper we have found that the delicate symmetries that ensure the equivalence of different observers (observer compementarity ) can not be implemented for systems of finite entropy. It seems that for these symmetries to be exact, an infinite horizon area must be available for information to spread out in. We think that this is a general rule: Exact observer complementarity is only possible if the horizon is infinite in extent.

This raises the question of finite mass black hole horizons. In this case there is no exact symmetry between observers outside the black hole and those which fall through the horizon. Indeed sufficiently careful measurements of tidal forces should be able to tell a freely falling observer exactly when she crosses the horizon. Only in the limit of infinite mass does the horizon become precisely undetectable.

## 6 Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank C. W. Kim and the faculty and staff of KIAS for their hospitality, where this work was initiated. We thank Jacques Distler, Simeon Hellerman, and Juan Maldacena for discussions. N.G. would like to thank UCT for supporting her studies there.

The work of M.K. is supported by NSF grant PHY-0070928, and that of L.S. by NSF grant PHY-0097915.


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# Isospin effects on two-particle correlation functions in E/A = 61 MeV 36Ar + 112,124Sn reactions

## Abstract

Small-angle, two-particle correlation functions have been measured for 36Ar+ 112,124Sn collisions at E/A = 61 MeV. Total momentum gated neutron-proton ($`np`$) and proton-proton ($`pp`$) correlations are stronger for the 124Sn-target. Some of the correlation functions for particle pairs involving deuterons or tritons ($`nd`$, $`pt`$, and $`nt`$) also show a dependence on the isospin of the emitting source.

PACS number(s): 25.70.Pq

1Corresponding Author: Roberta Ghetti, Department of Physics, Lund University, Sweden E-mail address: roberta.ghetti@nuclear.lu.se

The isospin dependence of the nuclear equation of state (EOS) is probably the most uncertain property of neutron-rich matter. This property is essential for the understanding of extremely asymmetric nuclei and nuclear matter as it may occur in the $`r`$-process of nucleosynthesis or in neutron stars . In order to study the isospin-dependent EOS, heavy ion collisions with isotope separated beam and/or target nuclei can be utilized . In these collisions, excited systems are created with varying degree of proton-neutron asymmetry. A noticeable isospin dependence of the decay mechanism has been predicted . Sensitive observables should be: pre-equilibrium neutron/proton emission ratio , isospin “fractionation” , isoscaling in multifragmentation , neutron and proton flows .

Recently, the two-nucleon correlation function has been considered as a probe for the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy . In this theoretical study with an isospin-dependent transport model (IBUU), it was shown that a stiff EOS causes high momentum neutrons and protons to be emitted almost simultaneously, thereby leading to strong correlations. A soft EOS delays proton emission, which weakens the $`np`$ correlation. In this paper we study experimental two-particle correlation functions of systems similar in size, but with different isospin. This work shows that, indeed, an isospin signal can be derived.

Two-particle correlation functions were measured in E/A = 61 MeV 36Ar-induced collisions on isotope-separated targets of 112Sn and 124Sn. The experiment was performed at the AGOR Superconducting Cyclotron of KVI (Groningen). The interferometer consisted of 16 CsI(Tl) detectors for light charged particles, mounted at a distance 56–66 cm from the target in the angular range 30o$``$$`\theta `$$``$114o, and 32 liquid scintillator neutron detectors, mounted 2.7 m from the target behind the “holes” of the CsI array, in matching positions to provide the $`np`$ interferometer . In this analysis, only data from the angular range 60o$``$$`\theta `$$``$120o were used for neutrons. Finally, 32 phoswich modules from the KVI Forward-Wall were mounted in the angular range 6o$``$$`\theta `$$``$18o, to collect information on the centrality of the collision. At least one fragment in the Forward-Wall was always required in our selected events, which biases our data towards midperipheral collisions . Energy thresholds for $`p`$, $`d`$, $`t`$ in the CsI(Tl) detectors were 8, 11, 14 MeV respectively, and for neutrons in the liquid scintillators 2.0 MeV. Details about the experimental setup and the particle energy determination are given in Refs. .

Fig. 1 shows the ratios of the $`n`$, $`p`$, $`d`$ and $`t`$ kinetic energy yields measured in 36Ar+124Sn and 36Ar+112Sn (note the different scale in the figure for $`n`$ as compared to $`p`$, $`d`$ and $`t`$). An equal number of events is sorted for the two Sn-targets. The different solid angle coverage of $`n`$ and $`p`$ detectors is accounted for, and the neutron energy is efficiency corrected . One can notice not only a substantial enhancement of the $`n`$ yield for the neutron-rich system (as may be expected), but also that the enhancement is strongly energy dependent. Furthermore, the $`p`$ yield is reduced at low energies for the neutron-rich system, and the $`t`$ yield is enhanced over the whole energy range. On the other hand, the yields of the deuteron spectra are the same for the two systems.

The correlation function, $`C(\stackrel{}{q},\stackrel{}{P}_{tot})`$ = $`kN_c(\stackrel{}{q},\stackrel{}{P}_{tot})`$ / $`N_{nc}(\stackrel{}{q},\stackrel{}{P}_{tot})`$, is constructed by dividing the coincidence yield ($`N_c`$) by the yield of uncorrelated events ($`N_{nc}`$) constructed from the product of the singles distributions . $`\stackrel{}{q}=\mu (\stackrel{}{p}_1/m_1\stackrel{}{p}_2/m_2)`$, where $`\mu `$ is the reduced mass, is the relative momentum, and $`\stackrel{}{P}_{tot}=\stackrel{}{p}_1+\stackrel{}{p}_2`$ is the total momentum of the particle pair. The correlation function is normalized to unity at large values of $`q`$, 80$`<`$$`q`$$`<`$120 MeV/c for $`pp`$ and $`np`$, and 160$`<`$$`q`$$`<`$200 MeV/c for all other particle pairs.

The 54o$``$$`\theta `$$``$114/120o $`pp`$/$`np`$ correlation functions are presented in Figs. 2a,b. The neutron energy threshold is here 8 MeV, to match the proton threshold. The shape of the correlation functions looks as expected from the interplay of quantum statistical and final state interactions. Comparing the two Sn-targets, one observes a small but hardly significant enhancement of the correlation strength for 124Sn, in both $`pp`$ and $`np`$ correlation functions. For the interpretation of the correlation data, it is important to note that the correlation function depends on the space-time extent of the emitting source. From the size of the source, a stronger correlation is expected for the smaller 36Ar+112Sn system, an effect expected also because of the larger excitation energy per particle available for this system (yielding a shorter emission time). On the other hand, the change in neutron number implies a different symmetry energy which also affects the $`n`$ (and $`p`$) emission times. Neutrons are expected to be emitted faster in the neutron-rich system, which would lead to an enhancement of the correlation strength for 36Ar+124Sn. Thus, the net influence on the correlation function is not easily predictable, both due to the uncertainty in the symmetry energy and to the presence of more than one source of emission.

The emission of light particles from 61 A MeV (midperipheral) heavy ion reactions originates from (at least) three sources, a projectile-like (PLS) and a target-like (TLS) evaporative sources (statistical evaporation, SE) and an intermediate velocity source (IS). The IS source represents dynamical emission (DE), which is described either by early nucleon-nucleon collisions or by other pre-equilibrium processes. Some evidence for the creation of a “neck-source” with low density  has recently been presented, and this may well comprise the dominating part of the DE source. By selecting nucleon pairs with high (low) total momentum, in the proper emission source frame, the DE (SE) emission should be favored. In the following, the $`P_{tot}`$ distributions for $`pp`$ and $`np`$ pairs are calculated in the frame of forward moving sources of velocity 0.02c (TLS) or 0.18c (IS). These velocities are estimated from Maxwell-Boltzmann fits to the singles energy distributions. Low- and high-$`P_{tot}`$ selections correspond to 20–35$`\%`$ of the total correlation yields.

Figs. 2c,d present the $`pp`$ and $`np`$ correlation functions gated on low-$`P_{tot}`$. The $`pp`$ correlation function is sensitive to this gate, and a suppression in the correlation strength is observed, while the $`np`$ correlation function is only slightly suppressed. This is a first hint that the $`np`$ correlation function may be dominated by DE.

Figs. 2e,f present the $`pp`$ and $`np`$ correlation functions gated on high-$`P_{tot}`$. Both $`pp`$ and $`np`$ correlation functions are affected and, in accordance with earlier observations , an enhancement in the correlation strength is observed relative to the ungated correlation functions.

All results from these angle integrated data (54o–114/120o) show smaller isospin effects than could be expected from the $`N/Z`$ ratio, which is 1.18 for 36Ar+112Sn and 1.35 for 36Ar+124Sn. In case the neck formation dominates the DE process, this is surprising, since the neck region should exhibit a strengthened neutron excess, quite sensitive to the isospin of the target nucleus . In an attempt to select phase-space regions that favor DE emission, we now look at: $`i`$) $`pp`$ correlations in the forward (30o$``$$`\theta `$$``$42o) region and $`ii`$) $`np`$ correlations which include very low energy neutrons ($`E_n`$$``$2 MeV, in the lab system). Neutrons with 2–8 MeV energy, detected at 54o$``$$`\theta `$$``$120o, correspond to 15-45 MeV energy in an IS ($`v`$=0.18c) source.

The results for $`pp`$ and $`np`$ correlation functions obtained under conditions ($`i`$) and ($`ii`$), are shown in Fig. 3. A stronger $`pp`$ correlation function is now observed for the more neutron-rich system, 36Ar+124Sn. This is true for integrated (a) as well as low-$`P_{tot}`$ gated (c) correlations. The low-$`P_{tot}`$ gated correlations show the largest isospin signal. The reason for the relatively large value of the $`P_{tot}`$ cut (450 MeV/c), is the necessity to populate the large $`q`$ (normalizing) region in the forward (30o$``$$`\theta `$$``$42o) detectors. This cut corresponds to TLS protons with $`E_p`$$`<`$30 MeV, and IS protons with $`E_p`$$`<`$20 MeV. It is these low energy protons that show the largest isospin effect.

The $`np`$ correlation functions at angles 54o–120o (Figs. 3b,d,f), show large isospin effects when low energy neutrons, 2$``$$`E_n`$$``$8 MeV, are included (compare with Figs. 2b,d,f). Again, the correlation is stronger for the more neutron-rich system, indicating that the space-time extent of the emitting source is smaller in 124Sn. In particular, both low-$`P_{tot}`$ gated (here $`P_{tot}`$$`<`$ 240 MeV/c) correlation functions (Fig. 3d) are enhanced as compared to Fig. 3b (instead of being suppressed as expected for an evaporative source). A plausible explanation for this is that the pairs selected by this gate are dominated by DE particles. Since this effect did not occur in the data where the low energy neutrons were removed (Fig. 2d), we attribute the correlation enhancement to DE particles in the energy range 15–45 MeV, which are favored in the neutron-rich system. If this isospin effect mainly comes from the intermediate energy particles, it should be connected to the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy .

Within the multi-source reaction mechanism described above, composite particles, like deuterons and tritons, are believed to be predominantly emitted from the DE source , where they are formed by a coalescence mechanism . Let us first remark that neither integrated nor $`P_{tot}`$ gated $`dd`$, $`tt`$ and $`dt`$ correlation functions show any appreciable difference between the two Sn-targets . This is in agreement with the small sensitivity shown by the calculations of Ref. . Even so, a variation of the correlation functions such as $`nd`$, $`nt`$, etc. may be expected, as a consequence of the isospin effects on neutrons and protons. Indeed, this is the case in our experimental data, which can be taken as a further evidence for the presence of true isospin effects. Figs. 4a,b present the angle-integrated (54o$``$$`\theta `$$``$120o) $`nd`$ (a) and $`nt`$ (b) correlation functions, measured for the two Sn-targets, with a neutron energy threshold of 2 MeV. The anticorrelation observed for $`nd`$ pairs (Fig. 4a), has been observed earlier for smaller collision systems, both at lower energies  and for 61 A MeV . It may originate from the depletion of low relative momentum $`nd`$ pairs due to triton formation . In Fig. 4a the difference in correlation strength between the two Sn-targets can be observed.

The correlation functions of $`nt`$ pairs (Fig. 4b), exhibit a broad peak which contains the contributions from the particle-unbound ground state of 4H, and possibly from higher lying excited states . Once again, a small enhancement in the strength is observed for the 124Sn-target.

The $`pd`$ and $`pt`$ correlation functions, measured in the forward angular range (30o$``$$`\theta `$$``$42o), are shown in Figs. 4c,d. The $`pd`$ correlation function (c) is characterized by a pronounced anticorrelation at small $`q`$, due to final state Coulomb repulsion. The isospin effect is negligible. The $`pt`$ correlation function (d), contains resonance contributions from several excited states of 4He . A small isospin effect is seen in this correlation function.

In summary, isospin effects have been investigated in the E/A = 61 MeV 36Ar+112Sn, 124Sn reactions, and, for the first time, correlation functions from systems similar in size but with different isospin have been experimentally determined. Both angle-integrated and total-momentum gated correlation functions for all different pairs of particles containing $`n`$, $`p`$, $`d`$ and $`t`$, have been measured. The largest effects from the isospin of the emitting system are seen in the $`np`$ correlation function. In particular, gated $`np`$ correlation functions which should favor a dynamical emission source, show a stronger correlation for 124Sn than 112Sn. This could be explained by different time distributions, with a shorter average emission time for the neutron-rich system. Smaller isospin effects are also seen in $`pp`$, $`pt`$, $`nd`$ and $`nt`$ correlation functions. These experimental results demonstrate that two-particle correlation functions indeed provide an additional observable to probe the isospin dependence of the nuclear EOS.

The authors wish to thank S. Brandenburg and the AGOR crew, F. Hanappe and the DEMON Collaboration. This work was partly supported by the European Commission (Transnational Access Program, contract HPRI-CT-1999-00109), and by the Swedish Research Council (grant nr F 620-149-2001).