text:
# A White Dwarf Merger Paradigm for Supernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursts

## 1 Introduction

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) were discovered over three decades ago (Klebesadel, Strong, & Olson 1973), with two distinct temporal classes emerging: short and long, with distributions centered near 0.3 and 20 s, being nearly separated at $`t=2s`$, and having larger and smaller hardness ratios respectively (Paciesas et al., 1999), though with nearly 50% overlap (Kouveliotou et al., 1993). That longer duration GRBs at cosmological distances should be associated with fading afterglows was predicted a decade ago (Paczyński & Rhoads, 1993; Katz, 1993), and confirmed more recently in the optical and X-ray bands, as for GRB 970508 (Costa et al., 1997; van Paradijs et al., 1997), and later in the radio, as for GRB 970703 (Frail et al., 1997). The identification and redshift determination of the host galaxy for GRB 970508 definitively confirmed its extragalactic nature (Metzger et al., 1997). The next year Galama et al. (1998) found the Ic SN 1998bw within the error circle of GRB 980425 (Pian et al., 1999). Just afterward Bloom et al. (1999) measured a possible SNa Ic component in the fading afterglow of GRB 980326, which led to other such possible associations, as for GRB 970228. That GRB 980425 was four orders of magnitude less luminous than typical cosmological bursts and the low redshift of SN 1998bw (0.0085), led to widespread skepticism of this association (Wheeler, 2000). Recently, however, the case for a SNa-GRB association has been bolstered by the association of GRB 030329 with SN 2003bh (Hjorth et al., 2003).

Supernovae are generally classified according to their spectra, Type II for those with hydrogen lines and Type I for those without (Filippenko, 1997). These are each further divided into three subclasses, with Ia’s showing strong Si lines in their early spectra, indicating a thermonuclear runaway of a white dwarf star, while Ib’s show helium, and Ic’s neither hydrogen nor helium, but intermediate mass elements instead. Ib’s and Ic’s are thought to share core-collapse as a common cause with all Type II’s, except that their progenitors have been stripped of hydrogen (Ib), or both hydrogen and helium (Ic). Ia’s also differ from Ib’s, Ic’s, and II’s, in their luminosities, in some cases producing, via C-O burning, nearly a solar mass of 56Ni – ten times the amount typical of all other types of SNe.

A number of models have been proposed to explain GRBs. Some earlier ones, which may not survive a GRB-SNa association, invoke neutron star (NS) collisions with other NSs or black holes (BH) (Lattimer & Schramm 1974; Eichler et al. 1989; Narayan, Paczyński, & Piran 1992). Other, more recent models produce SNa-like explosions by invoking collapses of massive stars, into magnetars (Wheeler et al., 2000), and black holes: with strong magnetic fields via “hypernovae” and “supranovae” (Iwamoto et al., 1998; Vietri & Stella, 1999), and without, via “collapsars” (MacFadyen & Woosley, 1999).

This paper shows that a conceptually very simple model involving the merger of two white dwarfs (WDs), as cores of massive stars or not (“double degenerate”), satisfies the observational constraints of long duration GRBs and most SNe well, while others fall short of this goal.

## 2 Background

In 1987 my colleagues and I discovered the first pulsar in a globular cluster (GC), with a period of 3 milliseconds (Lyne et al., 1987). It soon became clear that there were many more millisecond pulsars (MSPSRs) in the GCs than their supposed progenitors, the X-ray binaries, could account for under the standard “recycling” theory (Alpar et al., 1982), by about a factor of 100 (Chen, Middleditch, & Ruderman 1993, hereafter CMR). In recycling, an ancient, solitary, slowly-spinning NS is spun up by accretion from a captured companion. In spite of more than 16 years of effort, recycling has not yet successfully accounted for the GC MSPSR population. The most careful treatment of this issue confirmed that there had to be a mechanism, other than (gradual) post-collision accretion, either from companions or disruption disks, which could form weakly magnetized, rapidly-spinning MSPSRs (Bailyn, 1996).

The only other way to get a WD in a GC, with a mass exceeding the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 solar, is to merge two (or more) WDs (Chen & Leonard, 1993). If core-collapse via merger is possible, then formation of MSPSRs via merger, particularly with each having a binary companion, almost always dominates recycling. This is due in part because the cross section for binary-binary collisions is always larger than those of the binary-single, and, a fortiori, the single-single collisions, necessary for the isolated NS star to capture a companion from which to eventually accrete matter. Since the number density of binaries is approximately equal to that of isolated stars, the inequality of cross sections applies to collision rates as well. Moreover, each of the two stars left over from the binary-binary merger process could persist as post-SNa binary companions, consistent with the high incidence of binarity among MSPSRs. The recycling yield for MSPSRs may also be low, relative to the merger yield, because evolution, accretion, and spinup must follow the capture, as opposed to just core-collapse following merger.

The same year also saw the SN 1987A outburst, followed shortly by the discovery of the “mystery spot” (Meikle, Matcher, & Morgan 1987; Nisenson et al. 1987). There is now evidence for two spots (Nisenson & Papaliolios, 1999) on opposite sides of, and in line with, the axisymmetric ejecta (Wang et al., 2002). The closest spot was $``$0.06 arc s south of SN 1987A (17 light days in projection), and had a luminosity nearly 5% of maximum light (3$`\times `$1042 ergs/s, 8$`\times `$108 L, or magnitude 5.7 vs 2.5 at 6585 $`\mathrm{\AA }`$). Like the overabundance of MSPSRs in the GCs, this feature has never been reconciled with traditional models (of SNe).

## 3 The Paradigm for SN 1987A

When the structure and kinematics of the inner ring surrounding SN 1987A became clear almost a decade ago (Jakobsen et al., 1993; Plait et al., 1995; Burrows et al., 1995), other colleagues proposed a binary merger scenario (Chen & Colgate, 1994). In this picture, the inner ring was formed by mass loss through at least one of the two outer mass axis Lagrangean points (L2 & L3), efficiently producing its extremely low 10 km/s expansion velocity (as compared to blue supergiant (BSG) winds), essentially the thermal velocity of hydrogen at photospheric temperatures (Lubow & Shu, 1976). The polar gradients of the potential just beyond L2 and L3, may have helped collimate the gas outflow to the observed small inner ring angular height. Neither member of the close binary was likely to have had a recent red supergiant wind due to limitations of space.

The two fainter, outer rings around SN 1987A were formed close to the epoch of the contact binary during which the inner ring was formed, as all three are expanding homologously (Crotts & Heathcote, 2000). Radiation pressure from one or both stars on their companion’s outer atmosphere may have produced the wind of $``$25 km/s, least disturbed by the orbital motion for the two directions, nearest to, but at least 30 degrees from, their respective poles (Chanan, Middleditch, & Nelson 1976). The actual half angle of each cone, formed by the outer rings with the stellar remnant, which perhaps could be used to determine the pre-merger mass ratio, is a more realistic 48 degrees, with the flow, over the whole domain of polar angles, forming the observed fans of extended emission (Burrows et al., 1995). Finally, the lower nitrogen abundance, relative to that of the inner ring (Panagia et al., 1996), indicates a more superficial (and/or selective) source than Roche lobe overflow, for the gas in the outer rings, consistent with the wind hypothesis.

## 4 The Paradigm for the General WD-WD merger

As the WD cores move closer to each other in their decaying orbits within the common envelope, the shape of that envelope must transition from bi-lobed to spheroidal. Thus, for a brief period, the nearly merged star was likely to have been concave in both polar directions, but still later convex. The transition between the two geometries may cause polar ejection of material, that we can speculate formed the target into which a polar beam/jet dumped (an isotropic) $`10^{49}`$ ergs en passant (Meikle et al. 1987). To be conservative, the spot is assumed not to be material traveling at relativistic speed, prior to being hit by the beam/jet, which was relativistic (Nisenson & Papaliolios, 1999).

Just prior to core-collapse, angular momentum transfer from the two merging WD cores might have at least partially cleared out the star’s inner polar regions. Having the SNa-associated beam/jet itself blast through, or carry along, the normally intervening stellar material, seems improbable. The pre-SNa clearing process may expose the hotter interior of the star to the outside world. If this exposure is sufficiently abrupt, the increase of apparent mean temperature and luminosity of the star could be exploited to form an “early warning system” for merger SNe in most of the BSGs in the Local Group and blue stragglers in the globulars. It must, however, be followed promptly by core-collapse so that nearby material doesn’t close in again.

The merged WD would rotate with a period near 1.98 s, set by the branching between Jakobi and Maclaurin configurations (Chen & Colgate, 1994), and, if its mass exceeded 1.4 solar, core-collapse would follow in many (Saio & Nomoto, 1998) or most cases. A NS/pulsar with a spin period near 2 ms would form within a Type Ib, Ic, or II SNa, consistent, in the case of the IIp SN 1987A, with the 2.14 ms signal (Middleditch et al. 2000, hereafter M2000).

## 5 Discussion

It has already been suggested that the mystery spot in SN 1987A, about 24 light days distant from the pre-explosion binary’s pole, was a result of a lateral GRB (Cen, 1999). But the crucial link to understanding GRBs may be that most Type Ib, Ic, & II SNe, which may comprise more than 90% of all SNe, are the result of WD-WD mergers. Since, as we have argued, SN 1987A was the result of such a merger, and certainly produced a NS (Bionta et al., 1987; Hirata et al., 1987), then we know that such mergers can indeed produce NS remnants, which can also be MSPSRs (M2000). The vast overabundance, and other details of the MSPSRs in the GCs (CMR), including the 2.1 ms minimum period (Camilo et al., 2000), strongly support this assertion.

The recent discovery of five transient X-ray MSPSRs (TXRMSPs) in the Galactic plane (Wijnands 2003) does not challenge this view. The same mechanism, which likely produces most of the binary and solitary MSPSRs in the globulars, works at least as well as recycling (see above), even in the Galactic plane. The discovery of more TXRMSPs in the Plane, without any in the GCs, may indicate that the companions, whose evolution drives the transient accretion, are not common among the offspring companions to the MSPSRs produced by mergers in the GCs. The magnetic fields of the NSs associated with TXRMSPs (Psaltis & Chakrabarty, 1999) may also be larger than the 108-9 G typical of the MSPSR fields in the GCs. Either way, the situation is becoming embarrassing to the application of recycling everywhere, all the while not even exclusively supporting recycling in the Plane.

Core-merger for SNe engenders a natural beam/jet collimation mechanism and, in doing so, produces an axisymmetric SNa, consistent with SN 1987A (Wang et al., 2002), and the significant polarizations observed in SNe (Leonard et al., 2000; Wang et al., 2001). It also doesn’t suffer from the difficulty that plagues the massive star-black hole models, in producing the apparent maximum energy observed in the radio lobes (Frail et al., 2001). The less massive common envelopes in such mergers may result in more energetic GRBs and less highly collimated beam/jets, as they are both easier to break through, and to accelerate in part, hence the association with SNe Ib’s and Ic’s. However, it is not yet clear how much collimation is due to the merging cores or to the stellar interior external to them. The GRB rate of $`1.8\times 10^{10}`$/yr/Mpc3 (Schmidt, 1999), and the SN Ib,c rate of $`3\times 10^5`$/yr/Mpc3, can be reconciled if each pole of the merger has a beam/jet collimated to a 0.5 degree diameter (Lamb, Donaghy, & Graziani 2003b). The metallicity of the common envelope may also affect the GRB’s.

Unlike most Type Ib and Ic SNe, the beam/jet from SN 1987A entrained and/or encountered a much higher density of material, and thus may have been attenuated so that radio lobe formation did not occur (as these were not detected), or what radio emission was generated may have been absorbed or beamed. However, simple plasma absorption for radio frequencies from 1 to 40 GHz would require a free-electron density of $``$1010-13 cm-3, but this may to be too high to achieve (the number density of the inner ring is $``$104 cm-3). Synchroton self-absorption also may not occur, though the issue is highly complex.

Beaming, in general, removes the $`10^{54}`$ erg energy requirement for GRBs that hypernovae, supranovae, collapsars, and other models were proposed to satisfy (Iwamoto et al., 1998; Vietri & Stella, 1999; MacFadyen & Woosley, 1999). The vast majority of Type Ib and Ic SNe, which show no evidence of the central engine as was associated with SN1998bw (Berger et al. 2003), near GRB980425 (Kulkarni et al., 1998), may also have had more massive common envelopes, and/or radio lobes hidden by beaming, with the additional caveat that perhaps not all Type Ib and Ic SNe result in a NS remnant. The yield can not be so low, however, as to deprive the GCs of their quota of MSPSRs.

The extremely high expansion velocities seen in SNe associated with GRBs (Iwamoto et al. 1998), may be due to less massive/lower metallicity common envelopes. Likewise, the suggested correlation between the isotropic GRB energy with distance (Lamb et al. 2003a, ), if real, could also be a due to lower metallicity in the earlier common envelopes. Although the magnetic fields resulting from merger are typically low (few$`\times 10^9`$ G – M2000), these will likely have some effect on the beam/jet. Additional energetic events following the initial burst could simply be due to the beam/jet hitting other gas targets farther away in the polar directions of the binary merger. GRBs which are preceded by SNe, as might be the case for GRB 021211 (Della Valle et al., 2003), could have been produced by a beam/jet, which was slightly off our line of sight, hitting such a target.

Finally, magnetars, NSs with magnetic fields as high as $`10^{16}`$ gauss, which are supposed to drive the GRB/SNa explosion (Wheeler et al., 2000), are observationally constrained during the SNa decline (Middleditch & Kristian, 1984), and later (as in Cas A – Chakrabarty et al. 2001) by the expected X-ray modulation of the still hot NS, via residual accretion or magnetic-thermal interaction. These would otherwise be an observer’s dream, shining through the opacity from time to time, all the while slowing down dramatically. The nearby reality, however, is far different, with SNe fading time after time, like SN 1987A, at least as rapidly as the 56Co decay curve for the first few years, with rare exceptions likely only due to circumstellar material. The magnetar hypothesis can only be made viable, for the vast bulk of SNe, by the most arduous fine tuning of spin frequency and remnant opacity history.

The issue of whether most SNe Ia also result from merger is beyond the scope of this work. There could be enough such mergers, with sufficient total mass, to account for all SNe Ia (Liebert, Arnett, & Benz 1997), unless most of these result in core-collapse. Thermonuclear runaway, however, could produce overluminous SNe Ic with the usual lines from intermediate mass elements – objects which have never been observed. Thus, unless these never happen, which seems unlikely, such mergers always produce core-collapse, or by the time of the thermonuclear runaway most of the intermediate mass elements have already been consumed. There is no constraint on the delay between merger and runaway. In spite of the recent detection of hydrogen lines in the field of SN 2002ic (Hamuy et al., 2003), the science of SNe Ia’s remains in the Dark Ages.

## 6 Conclusion

We have shown that a very simple model for binary WD-WD merger explains the details of the axisymmetric remnant expanding from, and the ringed gas structure surrounding, SN 1987A (Chen & Colgate, 1994), as well as the apparent 2.14 ms pulsar signal for the compact remnant (M2000). By extending this picture to other Type II, as well as Type Ib and Ic supernovae, which comprise at least 90% of all SNe, we have accounted for the anisotropies recently discovered in many other SNe, as well as all of the fundamental details of long-duration GRBs. At this point, other models to explain this class of GRBs appear to be superfluous.

The nature of the energy source behind GRBs can definitively be confirmed only, perhaps, for pulsars, from magnetars to MSPSRs, by detecting an underlying periodicity. Thus, taking “imposter” SNe into account, high time-resolution observations of all nearby ($`<50`$ Mpc) SNe should be made, using the largest and most sensitive optical and radio telescopes, to search for pulsar remnants. Unlike SN 1987A, opacity will not be an issue for many of these. Observations of only SNe which happen to be associated with GRBs might not be fruitful, as these are usually much farther away, and the proximity of the line of sight to the rotation axis of the binary merger could reduce the amplitude of the pulsar signal.

Although a number of extragalactic SNe (but no Ib’s or Ic’s) have already been searched (Middleditch & Kristian, 1984), and this has continued sporadically, without success, only scant resources have been devoted to this effort so far. Continuing indefinitely without making further, more sensitive searches, is to risk wasting time and resources. The results from SN 1987A, now less controversial due to strong evidence for precession in two other “normal” pulsars, B1828-11 and B1642-03 (Stairs, Lyne, & Shemar 2000; Shabanova, Lyne, & Urama 2001), imply a pulsed optical signal of 10 or more solar luminosities, at 5.0 – 6.5 years of age (M2000). This is hardly surprising, as the Crab pulsar’s (nearly entirely pulsed) optical output is 4 solar, and nanosecond radio bursts in pulsars are bright enough to be seen in neighboring galaxies (Hankins et al., 2003).

This new understanding of GRBs and SNe may represent the end of an era, begun four decades ago, of exploration and discovery in high-energy astrophysics. The core-collapse events, and early stages of the 2 ms pulsar remnants from SNe in the Local Group, may be detectable by gravitational wave detectors such as LIGO (Santostasi, Johnson, & Frank 2003), provided an early, rudimentary spin frequency history can be obtained by detecting the pulsars in other bands, such as the optical and/or radio. Thus this new understanding also begins an era, which will span the first part of our own 21st Century, of extragalactic pulsar astronomy.

I thank Kaiyou Chen, Stirling Colgate, and Chris Fryer for their support, guidance, conversations and insight, and Alexander Heger for timely comments. This work was performed under the auspices of the Department of Energy.


format: text

text:
# First-Principles Study of Integer Quantum Hall Transitions in Mesoscopic Samples

## Abstract

We perform first principles numerical simulations to investigate resistance fluctuations in mesoscopic samples, near the transition between consecutive Quantum Hall plateaus. We use six-terminal geometry and sample sizes similar to those of real devices. The Hall and longitudinal resistances extracted from the generalized Landauer formula reproduce all the experimental features uncovered recently. We then use a simple generalization of the Landauer-Büttiker model, based on the interplay between tunneling and chiral currents – the co-existing mechanisms for transport – to explain the three distinct types of fluctuations observed, and identify the central region as the critical region.

Although the Integer Quantum Hall Effect (IQHE) is a generally well understood phenomenon, recent experiments on mesoscopic samples Peled1 ; Peled2  uncovered unexpected behavior in the seemingly noisy fluctuations of the Hall ($`R_H`$) and longitudinal ($`R_L`$) resistances. Previously, fluctuations in resistance had been observed in mesoscopic samples with a phase coherence length $`L_\varphi `$ larger than the sample size Timp ; Simmons ; Cobden ; they are totally random, similar to universal conductance fluctuations Fisher . By contrast, Peled et. al. find Peled1 ; Peled2  that the transition between the $`n^{th}`$ and $`(n+1)^{st}`$ plateaus of the IQHE has three distinct regimes: (i) on the high-$`B`$ side, both $`R_H`$ and $`R_L`$ have large but correlated fluctuations, such that $`R_L+R_H=h/ne^2`$; (ii) for intermediate $`B`$ values, $`R_H`$ and $`R_L`$ continue to exhibit fluctuations, but their sum is no longer constant; and (iii) on the low-$`B`$ side, $`R_H=h/(n+1)e^2`$ has no fluctuations, whereas $`R_L`$ still does. Moreover, $`R_L+R_H=R_{2t}`$ holds for all $`B`$ values Peled2 . Changing the sign of the magnetic field $`BB`$ also has interesting consequences, as discussed later. For $`n=0`$, regions (i) and (ii) are replaced by the transition to the insulating phase Peled1 . In this Letter, we explain the physics behind these observations in a unified theory, and analyze the implications for further experimental and theoretical study.

The relation $`R_L+R_H=R_{2t}`$ was first proposed by Streda et. al. MacDonald , while the fluctuations of regime (iii) are reminiscent of Jain and Kivelson’s theory on the resistance fluctuations of narrow samples Jain . These theories were questioned by Büttiker Buttiker1 , based on formulas appropriate for a four-terminal geometry Buttiker2 . We take an approach similar to Büttiker’s and use the multi-probe Landauer formula Buttiker2 ; Baranger  to calculate the resistances measured experimentally. However, we mirror the experiments by including six contacts in our model, namely the four voltage probes plus the source and the drain for the electrical current. Our model enables us to calculate both $`R_L`$ and $`R_H`$, and reveals the very rich physics underlying the observation of the mesoscopic IQHE.

The response function of the system is a $`6\times 6`$ conductance matrix $`\widehat{g}`$, with which the current-voltage relation reads $`I_\alpha =_\beta g_{\alpha \beta }V_\beta `$. Here, $`I_\alpha `$ is the out-going current on the contact $`\alpha =1,\mathrm{},6`$ and $`V_\alpha `$ is the corresponding voltage. For a mesoscopic Hall bar, $`\widehat{g}`$ characterizes the electrical response (since the system is inhomogeneous, local quantities such as the current density are not conceptually well-defined). $`\widehat{g}`$ is calculated Baranger  by solving a multi-channel scattering problem: $`g_{\alpha ,\beta \alpha }=\frac{e^2}{h}_{i,j}\left|t_{\alpha i,\beta j}\right|^2`$, where $`t_{\alpha i,\beta j}`$ is the transmission amplitude from the $`j^{th}`$ transverse channel of contact $`\beta `$ into the $`i^{th}`$ transverse channel of contact $`\alpha `$ for an electron at the Fermi energy $`E_F`$. Due to the absence of charge accumulation and to gauge invariance, $`_\alpha g_{\alpha \beta }=_\beta g_{\alpha \beta }=0`$. As a result, diagonal $`g_{\alpha \alpha }`$ are uniquely determined by $`g_{\alpha \alpha }=_{\beta \alpha }g_{\alpha \beta }=_{\beta \alpha }g_{\beta \alpha }`$. This imposes a constraint on the off-diagonal elements of $`\widehat{g}`$ for each $`\alpha `$.

Our model is sketched in Fig. 1(a). Six perfectly conducting contacts are linked to a 4$`\mu `$m$`\times 2\mu `$m sample which has a disorder potential $`V_d(𝐫)`$ and a background potential $`V_b(𝐫)`$. $`V_d(𝐫)`$ is a sum of random Gaussian scatterers generating elastic scattering inside the sample, while $`V_b(𝐫)`$ confines the electrons to the sample and creates edge states. In our simulations, we include $`L_xL_yB/\varphi _010^4`$ states of the lowest Landau level (LLL), where $`L_xL_y`$ is the area of the sample and $`\varphi _0=h/e`$ is the magnetic flux quantum. The sample Hamiltonian is a large, sparse matrix $`H_{nm}=\psi _n|V_b+V_d|\psi _m`$. Contacts are modeled by ensembles of one-dimensional tight-binding chains attached to localized eigenstates on the corresponding edges of the sample. We have verified the multi-probe Landauer formula for our model using the linear response theory. This derivation and further modeling details will be reported elsewhere Zhou . For a given magnetic field $`B`$, we numerically solve the scattering problem for different values of the Fermi energy and obtain $`\widehat{g}`$. The filling factor $`\nu `$ is also a function of $`E_F`$, and thus we can find the dependence of the conductance matrix $`\widehat{g}`$ on $`\nu `$.

The resistances are then computed from $`\widehat{g}`$. In the usual setup the current is injected in the source and extracted in the drain $`I_1=I_4=I`$; $`\widehat{I}_{14}=\left(\begin{array}{cccccc}I& 0& 0& I& 0& 0\end{array}\right)^T`$. Without loss of generality we set $`I=1`$ and $`V_4=0`$. The other five contact voltages are uniquely determined from $`\widehat{I}_{14}=\widehat{g}\widehat{V}`$. We define two longitudinal resistances $`R_{14,23}^L=(V_2V_3)/I=V_2V_3`$, $`R_{14,65}^L=V_6V_5`$, and two Hall resistances $`R_{14,62}^H=V_6V_2`$, $`R_{14,53}^H=V_5V_3`$.

In Fig. 2, we plot representative matrix elements $`g_{\alpha \beta }`$ as a function of $`\nu `$. For $`\nu >0.5`$, we find $`g_{\alpha ,\alpha +1}e^2/h`$ (if $`\alpha =6`$, $`\alpha +1=1`$), with all other off-diagonal matrix elements vanishing. In other words, all electrons leaving contact $`\alpha +1`$ arrive at contact $`\alpha `$. It follows that here

$$g_{\alpha \beta }g_{\alpha \beta }^{(0)}=\frac{e^2}{h}\left(\delta _{\alpha \beta }+\delta _{\alpha +1,\beta }+\delta _{\alpha 6}\delta _{\beta 1}\right).$$
(1)
¿From $`\widehat{I}_{14}=\widehat{g}^{(0)}\widehat{V}`$ we find $`V_5=V_6=h/e^2`$, $`V_2=V_3=0`$, thus $`R_{14,62}^H=R_{14,53}^H=h/e^2`$, $`R_{14,23}^L=R_{14,65}^L=0`$. This shows that the first quantized plateau is due to the chiral edge currents \[shown as oriented thick lines in Fig. 1(b)\], which become established for $`\nu >0.5`$. Variations of $`\widehat{g}(\nu )`$ from $`\widehat{g}^{(0)}`$ give rise to fluctuations in the resistances. From Fig. 2 we also see that if $`\nu <\nu _c`$ (indicated by the vertical line), $`g_{\alpha \beta }g_{\beta \alpha }`$ with high accuracy, i. e. $`\widehat{g}`$ is symmetric. For $`\nu >\nu _c`$, $`\widehat{g}`$ is no longer symmetric. The reasons for this behavior and its consequences are discussed later.

Using the conductance matrix $`\widehat{g}(\nu )`$ plotted in Fig. 2, we now compute the values of the various resistances as a function of $`0<\nu <1`$. Fig. 3(a) shows a pair $`R_L`$ and $`R_H`$. Three different regimes are clearly seen: for $`\nu >0.46`$, $`R_H=h/e^2`$ and $`R_L=0`$, corresponding to the first IQHE plateau. For $`0.42<\nu <0.46`$, $`R_L`$ exhibits large fluctuations, however $`R_H`$ is still well quantized. This is precisely the type of behavior observed in Ref. Peled1, . For $`\nu <0.42`$ the transition to the insulating phase occurs, and both resistances increase sharply. The fluctuations are very large and narrow because the calculation is done at $`T=0`$. At finite $`T`$, the peaks are smeared out.

The transition $`1<\nu <2`$ can also be simulated using the same $`\widehat{g}(\nu )`$ matrix of the LLL. Similar to Ref. Shahar, , we assume that the completely filled spin-up LLL contributes its background chiral edge current. As a result, we simply add $`\widehat{g}^{(0)}=\widehat{g}(\nu =1)`$ of Eq. (1) to the values of $`\widehat{g}(\nu )`$ describing the partially filled spin-down LLL. Although the two LLLs have different spins, the contacts mix electrons with both spins in equilibrium, justifying this addition. Resistivities $`R_{14,62}^H`$ and $`R_{14,23}^L`$ computed for $`\widehat{g}^{(0)}+\widehat{g}(\nu )`$ are shown in panel (b) of Fig. 3, whereas in panel (c) we plot their sum. The three regimes found experimentally Peled2 ; private  are clearly observed. At low-$`\nu `$ (high-$`B`$), the fluctuations of $`R_H`$ and $`R_L`$ are correlated, $`R_L+R_H=h/e^2`$. At high-$`\nu `$ (low-$`B`$) $`R_H=h/2e^2`$ is quantized while $`R_L`$ still exhibits strong fluctuations. In the intermediate regime, both $`R_H`$ and $`R_L`$ have strong, uncorrelated fluctuations. The other pair, $`R_{14,53}^H`$ and $`R_{14,65}^L`$, also exhibits the three regimes, although their detailed fluctuations are different from $`R_{14,62}^H`$ and $`R_{14,23}^L`$. From over 20 different simulations we found that the low-$`\nu `$ regime where $`R_L+R_H=h/e^2`$ is a very robust feature, although it is maintained up to different values of $`\nu `$ in different samples. The high-$`\nu `$ regime with fluctuations in $`R_L`$ and quantized $`R_H`$ is seen frequently. However, when strong direct tunneling occurs between the source or the drain and their nearby voltage probes, $`R_H`$ also fluctuates. Such strong tunneling is an artifact of our simulation note1 . We suppress it by isolating the source and drain from nearby contacts with triangular potential barriers in the corners of the sample \[see Fig. 1(a)\]. Figure 3(c) also compares $`R_{14,23}^L+R_{14,62}^H=R_{14,63}`$ with $`R_{2t}=R_{63,63}`$. \[In the setup for measuring $`R_{2t}`$, the current is $`\widehat{I}_{63}=\left(\begin{array}{cccccc}0& 0& 1& 0& 0& 1\end{array}\right)^T`$, and $`R_{2t}=V_6V_3`$\]. As found experimentally Peled2 , the two curves are very similar.

So far, we have demonstrated that our numerical simulations recapture faithfully the experimental results. We now explain the underlying physics using a simple but very general model. For the given constraints and using logical induction, we find Zhou  that $`\widehat{g}`$ can be decomposed as a sum over loops connecting contacts: $`\widehat{g}=c(k_1,\mathrm{},k_n)\widehat{r}(k_1,\mathrm{},k_n)`$. Here, $`c`$ are positive numbers and $`\widehat{r}(k_1,\mathrm{},k_n)=\widehat{l}(k_1,k_2)+\mathrm{}+\widehat{l}(k_n,k_1)`$, where $`l_{\alpha \beta }(a,b)=\frac{e^2}{h}\left(\delta _{\alpha a}\delta _{\beta b}\frac{1}{2}\delta _{\alpha a}\delta _{\beta a}\frac{1}{2}\delta _{\alpha b}\delta _{\beta b}\right)`$ contributes to a single off-diagonal element $`g_{ab}`$. A two-vertex loop $`\widehat{r}(a,b)`$ describes a $`h/e^2`$ resistor between contacts $`a`$ and $`b`$. Since $`r_{\alpha \beta }(a,b)=r_{\beta \alpha }(a,b)`$, these terms are the symmetric part to $`\widehat{g}`$. The asymmetric part of $`\widehat{g}`$ describes chiral currents, whose direction of flow is dictated by the sign of $`B`$. In particular, $`\widehat{r}(1,2,3,4,5,6)=\widehat{g}^{(0)}`$ of Eq. 1 describes the edge currents of a LL, but shorter chiral circuits may also develop at intermediate fillings $`\nu `$.

At low-$`\nu `$, all states are localized and transport in the LL can only occur through tunneling. Consider the semi-classical case sketched on the left side of Fig. 1(c). Electrons can go from 2 to 1 either through direct tunneling (probability $`t_{12}`$), or they can tunnel to the localized state near contact 6 and from there back into 1, with probability $`(1t_{12})t_{26}t_{16}(1t_{12})`$. Electrons can make any number of loops before entering 1, the total sum being $`p_{21}=\frac{h}{e^2}g_{12}=[t_{12}+t_{26}t_{16}2t_{12}t_{26}t_{16}]/(1t_{12}t_{16}t_{26})`$. Similar arguments give $`p_{12}=\frac{h}{e^2}g_{21}=[t_{12}t_{26}t_{16}t_{12}t_{16}]/(1t_{12}t_{16}t_{26})`$. $`g_{16},g_{61},g_{26}`$ and $`g_{62}`$ are computed similarly. We define $`r_{ab}=\mathrm{min}(p_{ab},p_{ba})>0`$, and $`c_{ab}=\mathrm{max}(p_{ab},p_{ba})r_{ab}>0`$. We find $`c_{12}=c_{26}=c_{61}=c=t_{12}t_{16}+t_{12}t_{26}+t_{16}t_{26}+O(t^3)`$; and up to $`O(t^2)`$, $`r_{12}t_{12}`$, $`r_{16}t_{16}`$ and $`r_{26}t_{26}`$. These processes contribute a total of $`r_{12}\widehat{r}(1,2)+r_{16}\widehat{r}(1,6)+r_{26}\widehat{r}(2,6)+c\widehat{r}(1,2,6)`$ to $`\widehat{g}`$. The symmetric resistance terms, of order $`t`$, are due to direct tunneling between contacts, and at low-$`\nu `$ they dominate the small chiral current, of order $`t^2`$. This explains why for $`\nu <\nu _c`$, $`\widehat{g}`$ is symmetric with small off-diagonal components (see Fig. 2). At high enough $`\nu `$, edge states connecting consecutive contacts appear. As already discussed, as $`\nu 1`$, $`\widehat{g}\widehat{g}^{(0)}=\widehat{r}(1,2,3,4,5,6)`$. For intermediate $`\nu `$, shorter chiral loops containing edge states can be established through tunneling, as sketched on the right side of Fig. 2(c). Assume that an electron leaving contact 3 can tunnel with probabilities $`t_3`$ and $`t_5`$ to and out of a localized state, to join the opposite edge current and enter 5. It follows that $`p_{35}=\frac{h}{e^2}g_{53}=t_3t_5/[1(1t_3)(1t_5)]`$, whereas $`p_{53}=0`$ (no electron leaving 5 enters 3). Then $`r_{35}=0`$ and the contribution to $`\widehat{g}`$ is just $`p_{35}\widehat{l}(5,3)`$. This term combines with parts of $`\widehat{l}(3,4)`$ and $`\widehat{l}(4,5)`$ to create a chiral current $`c\widehat{r}(3,4,5)`$, where $`c=p_{35}`$. Physically, this represents the backscattered current of the Jain-Kivelson model Jain .

In general, one has to sum over many types of competing processes, involving both tunneling and edge states, but $`\widehat{g}`$ can always be decomposed into symmetric resistances plus chiral loops. Consider the general form $`\widehat{g}=n\widehat{g}^{(0)}+r_{12}\widehat{r}(1,2)+r_{16}\widehat{r}(1,6)+r_{26}\widehat{r}(2,6)+r_{34}\widehat{r}(3,4)+r_{45}\widehat{r}(4,5)+r_{35}\widehat{r}(3,5)+c_0\widehat{g}^{(0)}+c_1\widehat{r}(1,2,6)+c_2\widehat{r}(2,3,5,6)+c_3\widehat{r}(3,4,5)+c_4\widehat{r}(1,2,3,5,6)+c_5\widehat{r}(2,3,4,5,6)`$. The first term describes the contribution of the $`n`$ completely filled lower LLs. All other terms describe transport in the LL hosting $`E_F`$ \[see Fig. 1(b)\], with the restriction that there is no tunneling between the left and right sides of the sample. This is justified physically because tunneling between contacts far apart is vanishingly small. The largest such terms, $`r_{23}`$ and $`r_{56}`$, are found to be less than $`10^4`$ \[see e.g. Fig. 2 , where $`r_{23}=h/e^2\mathrm{min}(g_{32},g_{32})`$\]. We solve both $`\widehat{I}_{14}=\widehat{g}\widehat{V}`$ and $`\widehat{I}_{63}=\widehat{g}\widehat{V^{}}`$ and find the identity

$$R_{14,63}=R_{63,63}=\frac{h}{e^2}\frac{1}{n+c_0+c_2+c_4+c_5}$$

Since $`R_{63,63}=R_{2t}`$, whereas $`R_{14,63}=R_{14,62}^H+R_{14,23}^L=R_{14,65}^L+R_{14,53}^H`$, this means that $`R_{2t}=R_H+R_L`$ irrespective of the value of the 12 parameters. In other words, this identity is obeyed for all $`\nu `$, in agreement with Fig. 3(c). (Adding $`r_{23}`$ and $`r_{56}`$ terms leads to perturbationally small corrections Zhou ). Here $`n+c_0+c_2+c_4+c_5`$ is the total chiral current flowing along the $`65`$ and $`32`$ edges. In particular, at low-$`\nu `$ chiral currents in the LL hosting $`E_F`$ are vanishingly small $`c_0=c_2=c_4=c_5=0`$ (there are no edge states established yet, and pure tunneling contributions are of order $`t^2`$, as already discussed. Below $`\nu _c`$, all $`t<10^4`$, see Fig. 2). It follows that here $`R_L+R_H=h/ne^2`$, explaining the perfect correlations in the pattern fluctuations at low-$`\nu `$ of the two resistances, observed both experimentally and numerically.

The high-$`\nu `$ regime with quantized $`R_H`$ and fluctuating $`R_L`$ can also be understood easily. As already discussed, transport in the LL hosting $`E_F`$ is dominated here by the edge states; tunneling between opposite edge states (facilitated by localized states inside the sample) creates backscattered currents, as in the Jain-Kivelson model Jain . We sketch this situation in Fig. 1(d), where $`t_1`$, $`t_2`$ respectively $`t_3`$ include all possible tunneling processes leading to backscattering on the corresponding pairs of edge states. Reading the various probabilities off Fig. 1(d), we find that $`\widehat{g}=n\widehat{g}^{(0)}+(1t_1t_2t_3)\widehat{g}^{(0)}+t_2[\widehat{r}(1,2,6)+\widehat{r}(3,4,5)]+t_3\widehat{r}(1,2,3,5,6)+t_1\widehat{r}(2,3,4,5,6)`$. The first term represents the contribution of the lower $`n`$ completely filled LLs, the others are the forward and the backscattered chiral currents in the LL hosting $`E_F`$. $`\widehat{I}_{14}=\widehat{g}\widehat{V}`$ is trivial to solve. We find $`R_{14,62}^H=R_{14,53}^H=h/(n+1)e^2`$, i. e. the Hall resistances are precisely quantized, whereas $`R_{14,23}^L=R_{14,65}^L=[h/(n+1)e^2]t_2/(n+1t_2)`$. Since $`t_2`$ has a strong resonant dependence on $`E_F`$ (or $`\nu `$), it follows that $`R_L`$ fluctuates strongly. In particular, if $`n=0`$ (transition inside spin-up LLL), $`R_L`$ can be arbitrarily large when $`t_21`$, whereas in higher LLs the amplitude of fluctuations in $`R_L`$ is $`h/(n+1)e^2`$ or less, as observed both experimentally and in our simulations.

If $`B`$ changes sign, we have verified that the identity $`\widehat{g}(B)=[\widehat{g}(B)]^T`$ holds Baranger . The reason is that time-reversal symmetric tunneling is not affected by this sign change, while the flow of the chiral currents is reversed. The model mirrors itself with respect to the horizontal axis if $`B`$ changes sign, see Fig. 1. The solutions of $`\widehat{I}_{14}=\widehat{g}(B)\widehat{v}`$ are then related to the solutions of $`\widehat{I}_{14}=\widehat{g}(B)\widehat{V}`$ by $`v_2=V_6`$, $`v_3=V_5`$, $`v_5=V_3`$ and $`v_6=V_2`$, provided that the same index exchanges $`26`$, $`35`$, are performed for all $`r_{ab}`$. Terms not invariant under this transformation are $`r_{12}`$, $`r_{16}`$, $`r_{43}`$, $`r_{45}`$, $`r_{23}`$ and $`r_{56}`$. As already discussed, the last two terms are vanishingly small. In the experimental setup, the first four terms are also very small, due to the long distance between source and drain, and their nearby contacts note1 . The dominant terms $`r_{26}`$ and $`r_{35}`$ are invariant under the index exchange. It follows then that $`R_{14,23}^L(B)=R_{14,65}^L(B)`$ and vice versa, i. e. with good accuracy, the fluctuation pattern of one $`R_L`$ mirrors that of the other $`R_L`$ when $`BB`$. This symmetry has indeed been observed experimentally, with small violations at low-$`\nu `$ private  due to perturbative corrections from the non-invariant tunneling contributions $`r_{12}r_{16}`$ and $`r_{43}r_{45}`$.

We now summarize our understanding of the various results of IQHE measurements on mesoscopic samples. Similar to experiments, we find that the transition in higher LLs is naturally divided in three regimes. At low-$`\nu `$, the LL hosting $`E_F`$ is insulating and there are no edge states connecting the left and right sides of the sample. If tunneling between left and right sides is also small, we find that the fluctuations of pairs of resistances are correlated with excellent accuracy, $`R_H+R_L=h/ne^2`$. This condition is obeyed if the typical size of the wave-function (localization length) is less than the distance between contacts 2 and 3. When the localization length becomes comparable to this distance, an edge state is established and the correlation between $`R_L`$ and $`R_H`$ is lost. On the high-$`\nu `$ side the edge states are established, but localized states inside the sample can help electrons tunnel between opposite edges, leading to back-scattering like the Jain-Kivelson model. In this case, we showed that $`R_L`$ fluctuates while $`R_H`$ is quantized. Tunneling between opposite edges is likely only if the typical size of the wave-functions is slightly shorter than the distance between opposite edges. It is then apparent that the central regime in Figs. 3 (b) and (c) corresponds to the so-called “critical region”, where the typical size of the electron wave-function is larger than the sample size (distance between contacts 2 and 3, at low-$`\nu `$, or between 2 and 6 at high-$`\nu `$). In these mesoscopic samples, the voltage probes act as markers on a ruler, measuring the localization length of the wave-functions at the Fermi energy. To our knowledge, this is the first time when the boundaries of the critical region are pinpointed experimentally. This opens up exciting possibilities for experimentally testing the predictions of the localization theory.

To conclude, we used both first-principles simulations and a simple model to explain the phenomenology of the mesoscopic IQHE, for six-terminal geometry. We identified tunneling and chiral currents as coexisting mechanisms for charge transport in mesoscopic samples, and argued that the boundaries between the three distinct regimes mark the critical region.

This research was supported by NSERC and NSF DMR-0213706. We thank Y. Chen, R. Fisch, R. N. Bhatt and D. Shahar for helpful discussions.


text:
# Boundary Conditions as Mass Generation Mechanism for Complex Scalar Fields

## 1 Introduction

The spontaneous symmetry breaking plays a essential role in the Higgs mechanism for the mass generation of the fundamental particles. In the standard model the spontaneous symmetry breaking is induced by the Higgs potential through an imaginary mass term inserted by hand. The arbitrariness of the Higgs potential is one of the weakness of the Higgs mechanism, since many of the physical parameters depend on the precise form of the Higgs potential .

In an alternative approach of Coleman-Weinberg , the spontaneous symmetry breaking is induced by 1-loop radiative corrections, rather than being inserted by hand. Furthermore, in the Coleman-Weinberg approach one start with a theory massless in the tree approximation and then the theory becomes massive due to radiative corrections. Nevertheless, in the Coleman-Weinberg approach both the scalar and the vector particles develop masses proportional to the vacuum expectation value. So, massless scalar electrodynamics does not remain massless, but nor does it remain electrodynamics.

The idea of boundary conditions as mass generation mechanism is not new. Ford and Yoshimura  have introduced the idea that the existence of a non-trivial space-time topology can lead to the generation of mass and many others works have been publishing . In recent works we have stressed that there is a critical scale of the compactification length where a massless theory undergoes a transition to one massive in order $`\mathrm{}^0`$ .

In this work we study the effects of the boundary conditions on the scalar and vector fields of the massless scalar electrodynamics which satisfy homogenous Dirichlet conditions on two infinite parallel plane surfaces separated by some small distance $`a`$. As will be seen subsequently the boundary conditions may restore the symmetry and the scalar field may acquire mass. Thus, massless scalar electrodynamics turns out mass scalar electrodynamics.

The outline of the paper is as follows. In section 2 we calculate the effective potential for the scalar electrodynamics at 1-loop. In section 3 we consider the fields satisfying Dirichlet’s boundary conditions on two infinite parallel plane surfaces separated by some distance $`a`$. We derive the effective potential at 1-loop level as sums of modified Bessel functions, and we take $`a`$ very small to expand each term of the sums in power of $`a`$. After throwing away higher-order terms, we evaluate the vacuum expectation value and the renormalized mass. In section 4 we point out our conclusions and some speculations.

## 2 Effective potential for the scalar electrodynamics

Let us consider the theory of a massless, quartically self-interacting complex scalar field $`\varphi (x)`$ minimally coupled to the electrodynamics field. The lagrangian density for this theory is

$$=\frac{1}{4}F_{\mu \nu }F^{\mu \nu }+D_\mu \varphi ^{}D^\mu \varphi \frac{\lambda }{6}\left(\varphi ^{}\varphi \right)^2,$$
(1)
where $`D_\mu `$ is the covariant derivate, given by

$$D_\mu =_\mu +ieA_\mu ,$$
(2)
necessary to keep the lagrangian invariant under transformation of the U(1) group and it is answerable for the minimally coupled.

The contribution to effective potential can be somewhat simplified writing the complex field in terms of two real fields $`\varphi _1`$ and $`\varphi _2`$. Putting

$$\varphi =\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left(\varphi _1+i\varphi _2\right),$$
(3)
the lagrangian (1) becomes

$$=\frac{1}{4}F_{\mu \nu }F^{\mu \nu }+\frac{1}{2}\left(_\mu \varphi _1ieA_\mu \varphi _2\right)^2+\frac{1}{2}\left(_\mu \varphi _2+ieA_\mu \varphi _1\right)^2\frac{\lambda }{4!}\left(\varphi _1^4+\varphi _2^4+2\varphi _1^2\varphi _2^2\right).$$
(4)
The one-loop effective potential is given by111We keep $`\mathrm{}`$ to mark the quantum corrections, but we set $`\mathrm{}=c=1`$ everywhere else.

$$V_{ef}\left(\varphi _c\right)=\frac{\lambda }{4!}\varphi _c^4+\frac{3}{2}\frac{\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{\Omega }}\mathrm{ln}det\left[k_A^2+e^2\varphi _c^2\right]+$$

$$+\frac{1}{2}\frac{\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{\Omega }}\mathrm{ln}det\left[k^2+\frac{\lambda }{2}\varphi _c^2\right]+\frac{1}{2}\frac{\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{\Omega }}\mathrm{ln}det\left[k^2+\frac{\lambda }{6}\varphi _c^2\right],$$
(5)
where

$$\varphi _c^2=\varphi _{1c}^2+\varphi _{2c}^2,$$
(6)
and $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is the four dimensional space-time volume.

The second term of the above $`V_{ef}\left(\varphi _c\right)`$ corresponds to the term $`\frac{1}{2}e^2\varphi _c^2A_\mu ^2`$ of the potential and the last term corresponds to the $`\frac{\lambda }{12}\varphi _1^2\varphi _2^2`$, that is, they are contributions of graphics of external $`\varphi _1`$ legs and $`A_\mu `$ loop (second term) and $`\varphi _2`$ loop (last term). The third term of $`V_{ef}\left(\varphi _c\right)`$ corresponds to graphics of external $`\varphi _1`$ legs and $`\varphi _1`$ loop. The first term is the classical potential. Since there are three independent components of the vector field, we have the factor 3 in the second term.

Now, using the proceeding of zeta function regularization  we obtain

$$V_{ef}\left(\varphi _c\right)=\frac{\lambda }{4!}\varphi _c^4+\frac{3\mathrm{}}{64\pi ^2}e^4\varphi _c^4\left[\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{e^2\varphi _c^2}{\mu ^2}\right)\frac{3}{2}\right]+$$

$$+\frac{\mathrm{}}{256\pi ^2}\lambda ^2\varphi _c^4\left[\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{\lambda \varphi _c^2}{2\mu ^2}\right)\frac{3}{2}\right]+\frac{\mathrm{}}{2304\pi ^2}\lambda ^2\varphi _c^4\left[\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{\lambda \varphi _c^2}{6\mu ^2}\right)\frac{3}{2}\right].$$
(7)
The above equation is the effective potential in 1-loop for scalar electrodynamics with quartic self-coupling required for renormalizability on a free space-time (without boundary).

As it is well known, even though for tree approximation the minimum occurs at $`\varphi =0`$, the radiative correction of the second term in the above effective potential will lead to non-trivial vacuum, rather, vacuum will become degenerate, if $`\lambda `$ is of order $`e^4`$. Hence, the spontaneous symmetry breaking induced by radiative corrections leads both scalar and vector particles to dynamically acquire masses whose values are proportional to the vacuum expectation value .

## 3 Mass generation for the complex scalar field

Let us consider the scalar $`\varphi `$ and vector gauge $`A_\mu `$ fields satisfying Dirichlet’s boundary condition on two infinite parallel plane surfaces separated by some small distance $`a`$. Now, the effective potential, Eq.(5), is written as

$$V_{ef}\left(\varphi _c\right)=\frac{\lambda }{4!}\varphi _c^4+\frac{3}{2}\frac{\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{\Omega }}\mathrm{ln}det\left[k_A^2+\frac{n_3^2\pi ^2}{a^2}+e^2\varphi _c^2\right]+$$

$$+\frac{1}{2}\frac{\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{\Omega }}\mathrm{ln}det\left[k^2+\frac{n_1^2\pi ^2}{a^2}+\frac{\lambda }{2}\varphi _c^2\right]+\frac{1}{2}\frac{\mathrm{}}{\mathrm{\Omega }}\mathrm{ln}det\left[k^2+\frac{n_2^2\pi ^2}{a^2}+\frac{\lambda }{6}\varphi _c^2\right].$$
(8)
Using proceeding of zeta function regularization we obtain

$$V_{ef}\left(\varphi _c\right)=\frac{2\alpha ^2}{4!}\varphi _c^4+\frac{3\mathrm{}}{32\pi ^2}e^4\varphi _c^4\left[\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{e^2\varphi _c^2}{\mu ^2}\right)\frac{3}{2}\right]\frac{\mathrm{}}{4\pi ^2}e^4\varphi _c^4\underset{n_3=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{K_2\left(2n_3ea\varphi _c\right)}{\left(n_3ea\varphi _c\right)^2}+$$

$$+\frac{\mathrm{}}{24\pi a}\alpha ^3\varphi _c^3\left[1+\frac{1}{3\sqrt{3}}\right]+\frac{\mathrm{}}{64\pi ^2}\alpha ^4\varphi _c^4\left[\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{\alpha ^2\varphi _c^2}{\mu ^2}\right)+\frac{1}{9}\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{\alpha ^2\varphi _c^2}{3\mu ^2}\right)\frac{5}{3}\right]+$$

$$\frac{\mathrm{}}{8\pi ^2}\alpha ^4\varphi _c^4\underset{n_1=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{K_2\left(2n_1\alpha a\varphi _c\right)}{\left(n_1\alpha a\varphi _c\right)^2}\frac{\mathrm{}}{72\pi ^2}\alpha ^4\varphi _c^4\underset{n_2=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{K_2\left(2n_2\sqrt{3}\alpha a\varphi _c\right)}{\left(n_2\sqrt{3}\alpha a\varphi _c\right)^2},$$
(9)
where we define $`\alpha ^2=\frac{\lambda }{2}`$ for the sake of simplicity. The term of order $`\alpha ^4`$ may be dropped against the first term of order $`\alpha ^2`$. Therefore,

$$V_{ef}\left(\varphi _c\right)=\frac{2\alpha ^2}{4!}\varphi _c^4+\frac{\mathrm{}}{24\pi a}\alpha ^3\varphi _c^3\left[1+\frac{1}{3\sqrt{3}}\right]+$$

$$+\frac{3\mathrm{}}{32\pi ^2}e^4\varphi _c^4\left[\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{e^2\varphi _c^2}{\mu ^2}\right)\frac{3}{2}\right]\frac{\mathrm{}}{4\pi ^2}e^4\varphi _c^4\underset{n_3=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{K_2\left(2n_3ea\varphi _c\right)}{\left(n_3ea\varphi _c\right)^2}+$$

$$\frac{\mathrm{}}{8\pi ^2}\alpha ^4\varphi _c^4\underset{n_1=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{K_2\left(2n_1\alpha a\varphi _c\right)}{\left(n_1\alpha a\varphi _c\right)^2}\frac{\mathrm{}}{72\pi ^2}\alpha ^4\varphi _c^4\underset{n_2=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{K_2\left(2n_2\sqrt{3}\alpha a\varphi _c\right)}{\left(n_2\sqrt{3}\alpha a\varphi _c\right)^2}.$$
(10)
Let us consider the small $`a`$ and $`\alpha `$ of order $`e`$ case. Since $`\varphi `$ is of order $`\alpha ^1`$, $`\alpha a\varphi _c<<1`$ and $`ea\varphi _c<<1`$. Consequently, we expand the last three terms on the right-hand side of Eq.(10) . Hence, up to higher-terms, the effective potential becomes

$$V_{ef}\left(\varphi _c\right)=\frac{2\alpha ^2}{4!}\varphi _c^4+\frac{\mathrm{}}{48a^2}e^2\varphi _c^2+\frac{\mathrm{}}{72a^2}\alpha ^2\varphi _c^2\frac{\mathrm{}\pi ^2}{360a^4}.$$
(11)
The minimum occurs at $`\varphi _c=\varphi `$, where

$$\frac{dV_{ef}}{d\varphi _c}|_{\varphi _c=\varphi }=0.$$
(12)
Differentiating Eq.(11), we have

$$\varphi \left[\frac{\alpha ^2}{3}\varphi ^2+\frac{\mathrm{}e^2}{24a^2}+\frac{\mathrm{}\alpha ^2}{36a^2}\right]=0.$$
(13)
There will be non-trivial solution of Eq.(13) if the sum of the terms between brackets vanishes. However, there is not order of $`a`$ (with respect to the orders of $`e`$) which permits a non-trivial solution. Therefore the minimum of $`V_{ef}`$ is satisfied for

$$\varphi =0.$$
(14)
The result (14) shows that the vacuum is non-degenerate, and, therefore spontaneous symmetry breaking cannot occur. Actually, the boundary conditions allow just one constant vacuum solution, $`\varphi =0`$. If the result had been $`\varphi =constant0`$, the effective potential would not have been used and a solution $`\varphi =\varphi _0(x)`$ would have been expected because the boundary conditions break the translational invariance (that is the case when $`\alpha `$ is of order $`e^2`$). Since symmetry breaking does not take place the vector field does not develop mass through the Higgs mechanism.

Although the effective potential given by the Eq.(11) is finite, that is not a final result because the coupling constant in it is an arbitrary parameter. Therefore, we must fit it to the renormalized coupling constant using the renormalization condition

$$\frac{d^4V_{ef}}{d\varphi _c^4}|_{\varphi _c=M}=\lambda _R,$$
(15)
where $`M`$ is a arbitrary floating renormalization point, to get $`\lambda =\lambda _R`$.

The renormalized mass of the scalar field is given by

$$\frac{d^2V_{ef}}{d\varphi _{cl}^2}|_{\varphi _c=\varphi =0}=\frac{\mathrm{}\lambda _R}{36a^2}+\frac{\mathrm{}e^2}{24a^2}=m_\varphi ^2,$$
(16)
which may be non-zero in order $`\mathrm{}^0`$ depending on the order of $`a`$ with respect to the order of $`e`$.

Eq.(16) shows if $`a`$ is of order $`e`$ then the scalar field mass will be of order $`\mathrm{}^0`$. This result is in agreement with our initial assumption. If $`a`$ is of lower order than $`e`$ ($`a>e`$) then the mass will lie far outside the expected range of validity of our approximation. It follows that there is a typical length scale given by the compactification length $`a`$ of the theory. Within this length scale, the massless scalar electrodynamics theory with self-interaction becomes massive due to boundary conditions effects.

It is worth noting the fact that if $`a`$ is small enough the theory will become one massive in order $`(\mathrm{}^0)`$. This is because $`e`$ and $`a`$ are independent parameters, so the mass term found can be of order zero-loop, even though it is a one-loop result (it is from radiative corrections). Since $`m_\varphi ^2`$ is of order $`\mathrm{}^0`$, it cannot be subtracted out by mass counter-term of order $`\mathrm{}`$.

We stress the fact that if $`a`$ is small enough, spontaneous symmetry breaking will not take place and the effect of the boundary conditions will be of restoring the symmetry of the theory. Consequently, the gauge vector field $`A_\mu `$ will not develop mass through the Higgs mechanism.

### 3.1 Boundary conditions only on the gauge field

Let us only consider the gauge vector field $`A_\mu `$ satisfying the boundary conditions. Now, the effective potential can be obtained from Eq.(10) taking $`a`$ goes to infinity in the second and last two terms. Thus, we get

$$V_{ef}\left(\varphi _c\right)=\frac{2\alpha ^2}{4!}\varphi _c^4+\frac{3\mathrm{}}{32\pi ^2}e^4\varphi _c^4\left[\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{e^2\varphi _c^2}{\mu ^2}\right)\frac{3}{2}\right]\frac{\mathrm{}}{4\pi ^2}e^4\varphi _c^4\underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{K_2\left(2nea\varphi _c\right)}{\left(nea\varphi _c\right)^2}.$$
(17)
Since the boundary conditions are only imposed on the vector field, the vacuum expectation value of $`\varphi `$ field may develop any constant value and the effective potential can be used to determine it.

Now, let us consider the small $`a`$ and $`\alpha `$ of order $`e`$ case. We expand the last term on the right-hand side of Eq.(17). Up to higher-terms we find

$$V_{ef}\left(\varphi _c\right)=\frac{2\alpha ^2}{4!}\varphi _c^4+\frac{\mathrm{}}{48a^2}e^2\varphi _c^2\frac{\mathrm{}\pi ^2}{720a^4}.$$
(18)
The minimum of the above effective potential is satisfied for

$$\varphi =0.$$
(19)
The renormalized mass of the scalar field is given by

$$\frac{d^2V_{ef}}{d\varphi _{cl}^2}|_{\varphi _c=\varphi =0}=\frac{\mathrm{}e^2}{24a^2}=m_\varphi ^2.$$
(20)
Since symmetry breaking does not take place, the Eq.(20) shows if $`a`$ is of order $`e`$ then the scalar field will develop mass and the vector field will not.

If $`ea\varphi _c>1`$ then spontaneous symmetry breaking will take place and the effect of the boundary conditions ought to be a displacement of the vacuum expectation value of $`\varphi `$ field from one have been found by S. Coleman and E. Weinberg.

The last term of Eq.(18) depends on the global space-time structure through $`\frac{1}{a^4}`$. It is nothing but the Casimir energy (vacuum energy density) of the electromagnetic field.

## 4 Conclusion

In this paper we have studied the scalar electrodynamics confined between two parallel plane surfaces separated by small distance $`a`$. We have showed that in the small $`a`$ and $`\lambda `$ of order $`e^2`$ case, spontaneous symmetry breaking does not take place. Because, when $`a`$ is not small enough spontaneous symmetry breaking is induced by radiative corrections, i. e., by Coleman-Weinberg mechanism, we can infer there is a critical length scale of the finite region where the symmetry is restored. We have found that if $`a`$ is of order $`e`$, the massless scalar field will acquire mass but vector field will not, because spontaneous symmetry breaking does not take place. Since $`a`$ goes like $`\frac{1}{m_\varphi }`$, it is comparable with the Compton wavelength of the scalar particle.

We are aware that our work appears as simplified useful exercise for investigating the mechanism through which boundary conditions generate mass for the elementary particle. Although, we feel that our work may be applied to study superconductivity and others subjects, too. We would like to warn that we have not account the gauge invariance of our results

It is worth noting the fact our approach for scalar electrodynamics does lead to the mass generation for scalar particles but not for photons, like we expect.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the National Agency for Research (CAPES)(Brazil).


text:
# High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy of the Brown Dwarf ϵ Indi Ba 1footnote 11footnote 1Based on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (United Kingdom), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), the Australian Research Council (Australia), CNPq (Brazil), and CONICRT (Argentina)., 2footnote 22footnote 2Based on observations obtained with the Phoenix infrared spectrograph, developed and operated by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.

## 1 INTRODUCTION

The recently discovered nearby T-dwarf companion to $`ϵ`$ Indi (Scholz et al. 2003) will be important in improving our understanding of the behavior of the brown dwarfs that fall within the newly defined L and T spectral types (e.g., Kirkpatrick et al. 1999; Geballe et al. 2002). The T-dwarf reported by Scholz et al. (2003) was discovered by Volk et al. (2003) to be a close optical double consisting of an early T dwarf ($`ϵ`$ Indi B) and a late T dwarf ($`ϵ`$ Indi C) separated by 0.6 arcseconds. With an accurately known distance of 3.626$`\pm `$0.009 pc, $`ϵ`$ Indi Ba and Bb are the nearest known brown dwarfs. They share a common proper motion with the K5V star $`ϵ`$ Indi, lying at a projected distance of $``$1460 AU from their presumed primary star. The age of $`ϵ`$ Indi itself has been estimated by Lachaume et al. (1999) to be $``$0.8 to 2.0 Gyr: this age estimate is based upon its rotational velocity and Ca II K-line emission. $`ϵ`$ Indi Ba and Bb are thus brown dwarfs with very well-defined luminosities and approximate ages.

We present the first high-resolution infrared spectroscopic observations of $`ϵ`$ Indi B. Synthetic spectra computed from unified cloudy models by Tsuji (2002) are compared to the observed high-resolution spectra; these comparisons are used to derive the stellar parameters of effective temperature (Teff), surface gravity (defined as log g), and projected rotational velocity (vsin(i)).

## 2 OBSERVATIONS

High-resolution infrared (IR) spectra were obtained on $`ϵ`$ Indi Ba using the 8.1 m Gemini South reflecting telescope and the NOAO Phoenix spectrometer (Hinkle et al. 1998). This instrument is a cryogenically cooled echelle spectrograph that uses order separating filters to isolate individual echelle orders. The detector is a 1024x1024 InSb Aladdin II array. The size of the detector in the dispersion direction limits the wavelength coverage in a single exposure to about 0.5 % (1550 km s-1 or $``$0.0120$`\mu `$m at 2.3$`\mu `$m and $``$0.0080$`\mu `$m at 1.6$`\mu `$m). One edge of the detector is blemished so the wavelength coverage on all but the brightest source is typically trimmed a few percent to avoid this area. The spectra discussed here were observed with the widest (0.35 arcsecond) slit resulting in a spectral resolution of R=$`\lambda `$/$`\mathrm{\Delta }`$$`\lambda `$= 50,000. Two spectral regions were observed, with one centered at $`\lambda `$=2.314$`\mu `$m and the other centered at 1.555$`\mu `$m. These spectral regions sample crucial diagnostic lines from the molecules CO, H2O, and CH4.

At the time of our observations we were unaware of the existence of $`ϵ`$ Indi Bb. Following the discovery (Volk et al. 2003) we re-examined our acquisition images. Acquisition images of $`ϵ`$ Indi B at 1.647 $`\mu `$m taken on 2003 August 13 under good conditions (0.4” FWHM delivered image quality (DIQ)) confirm the Volk et al. (2003) detection. The companion can also be seen in 1.558 $`\mu `$m images on 2002 December 29, although it is less well-resolved due to inferior seeing (0.8” arcsec DIQ). It is, however, barely perceptible at 2.321 $`\mu `$m (2003 January 16) with 0.4” DIQ. The issue relevant to the current investigation is the extent to which the spectrum of $`ϵ`$ Indi B might suffer contamination from a nearby companion. The observed image profile at 1.647 $`\mu `$m is well fit by a model in which the companion is fainter by 1.9 mag and is 0.65” away at a position angle of 125 degrees. At 2.321 $`\mu `$m the magnitude difference is $`>`$ 3 between the two stars, so that the companion could contribute no more than 6% to the spectrum in this region. Our data prevent an estimate at 1.558 $`\mu `$m but Volk et al. (2003) report a difference of 1.3 magnitudes. In addition the position angle is at 35 degrees to the 0.35 arcsecond slit. Detailed examination of the spectral images showed no trace of $`ϵ`$ Indi Bb at the location expected so we are confident that our spectra are contributed almost entirely by $`ϵ`$ Indi Ba.

Each program star was observed along the slit at two or three separate positions separated by 4” to 5” on the sky: the delivered image FWHM at the spectrograph varied from 0.25”-0.80” during the nights that spectra were taken, so stellar images at different positions on the slit were well separated on the detector. Equal integration times were used for a particular program star during a particular set of observations. With this observing strategy, sky and dark backgrounds are removed by subtracting one integration from another (the star being at different positions on the detector array). During each night, 10 flat-field and 10 dark images were recorded for each given wavelength setting of the echelle. A hot star, with no intrinsic spectral lines in the regions observed, was also observed each night in each observed wavelength region.

Two-dimensional images were reduced to one-dimensional spectra using an optimal extraction algorithm described in Johns-Krull, Valenti, & Koresco (1999). Wavelengths and telluric corrections in the 2.31 $`\mu `$m region were determined by fitting observed telluric features with a scaled atmospheric transmission function from Wallace & Hinkle (2001). There are no significant telluric features in the 1.56 $`\mu `$m region, so the wavelength scale was determined by matching a spectrum of HR 1629 (K4 III) with an IR FTS atlas of Arcturus (Hinkle, Wallace, & Livingston 1995)

Figure 1 illustrates the combined and reduced spectra for $`ϵ`$ Indi Ba in both the 2.313$`\mu `$m and 1.556$`\mu `$m regions, with the wavelengths plotted as air wavelengths. The data points have been smoothed over the slit width of 4-pixels and the final signal-to-noise ratio is about 30–40. The 2.31$`\mu `$m region contains strong vibration-rotation lines from the first overtone bands of CO (here (2–0) lines from 12C16O), as well as some weak, blended H2O features, and weak absorption from methane. Detectable spectral features at 1.55$`\mu `$m are not as strong as at 2.31$`\mu `$m, nor as well-defined as the individual vibration-rotation CO lines, and consist mostly of blended H2O features. Two of the stronger features can be assigned to mainly two H2O lines (as marked in Figure 1) on the basis of the study of H2O by Tereszchuk et al. (2002).

## 3 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

The observed spectra of $`ϵ`$ Ind Ba at 2.313$`\mu `$m and 1.556$`\mu `$m are compared to synthetic spectra calculated from model atmospheres as discussed by Tsuji (2002). These models are so-called “unified cloudy models” in which dust is allowed to exist in the photosphere over a limited range defined by a condensation temperature, Tcond, and a critical temperature, Tcr, such that dust is found in the region of Tcr $``$ T $``$ Tcond. At the critical temperature, dust grains become so large that they precipitate from the the photosphere. The models employed in this analysis are computed with plane parallel geometry, in hydrostatic equilibrium, and have solar abundances.

Figure 2 illustrates a comparison of observed and synthetic spectra, for both the 2.313$`\mu `$m (top panel) and 1.556$`\mu `$m (bottom panel) regions. The 2.313$`\mu `$m spectrum contains strong 12C16O (2–0) lines and some weak H2O features. The 1.556$`\mu `$m spectrum exhibits primarily H2O absorption, with these features composed of many blended individual spectral lines. In the top panel, the comparison synthetic spectra span effective temperatures from 1400K to 1800K and these models have surface gravities of log g= 5.5 (in units of cm s-2). This particular spectral region is illustrated as any CH4 absorption beginning near $`\lambda `$$``$ 2.3158$`\mu `$m, and clearly apparent in the models with Teff=1400K or 1500K, is very temperature sensitive. Its observed absence (or extreme weakness) in $`ϵ`$ Ind Ba indicates that Teff= 1600K; higher effective temperatures begin to produce CO lines that are too weak. The CO lines that dominate this region are not very sensitive to gravity over the expected range for the brown dwarfs with these approximate temperatures; however, the 1.556$`\mu `$m region features dominated by H2O are more sensitive to surface gravity, as shown in the bottom panel of Figure 2. Here, a slightly lower effective temperature is derived, with Teff=1400K, and the gravity sensitive H2O features indicate that log g$``$5.0 to 5.5. Higher effective temperatures produce H2O absorption features that are too weak for any reasonable surface gravity, while temperatures much lower than Teff=1400K (say 1300K) produce increasingly strong CH4 absorption, which looks nothing like the observed spectrum of $`ϵ`$ Ind B. This effect is shown by the Teff=1300K model spectrum in the bottom panel of Figure 2 that is offset vertically from the observed spectra and 1400K models. The offset is done as the different absorption features in the 1300K model (that are caused by increasing CH4 and decreasing H2O absorption), if overlaid on the observed spectrum, would produce merely confusion.

Fits to the line profiles (primarily the strong CO lines), as shown in Figure 2, also yield the projected rotational velocity, with vsin($`\iota `$)=28 km s-1 (with an uncertainty of $`\pm `$3 km s-1). Wavelength shifts between observed and synthetic spectra also provide an accurate radial velocity for $`ϵ`$ Ind B, which we find to be Vheliocentric= –41.0$`\pm `$0.7 km s-1. This radial velocity is very close to the published value for $`ϵ`$ Ind A’s velocity of –39.6$`\pm `$0.8 km s-1 from Wielen et al. (1999). The similarity of radial velocities for both $`ϵ`$ Ind A and Ba strengthens their physical association, as argued by Scholz et al. (2003) based on their respective distances and proper motions.

The combination of both the 2.314$`\mu `$m and 1.555$`\mu `$m high-resolution spectra and their comparison to synthetic spectra result in values for temperature and gravity in $`ϵ`$ Ind Ba to be Teff=1400–1600K and log g=5.0–5.5. Taking the average of these values as being the best estimates we find an effective temperature of 1500K and a gravity of log g=5.25. Scholz et al. (2003) used photometry to derive the luminosity of $`ϵ`$ Ind Ba and found it to be log(L/L)=–4.67. This luminosity can be combined with our estimates of temperature and gravity to yield a spectroscopic mass estimate of 32MJupiter. Scholz et al. (2003) derive a mass of 40-60MJupiter, which is close to the mass derived from the high-resolution spectra. In addition, given the luminosity and effective temperature, the radius of $`ϵ`$ Ind Ba can be estimated and then combined with the projected rotational velocity to yield a maximum rotational period. With log(L/L)=–4.67 and Teff= 1500K, a radius of (R/R)= 0.069 is derived. Given vsin($`\iota `$)=28 km s-1, then the maximum rotational period for $`ϵ`$ Ind Ba will be 3.0 hours.

The effective temperature derived by Scholz et al. (2003) is 1260K and results from the luminosity combined with the distance and a radius defined by a theoretical Mbol–radius relation that results from structural models of brown dwarfs. This Teff is somewhat lower than our value of 1500K, however this difference is typical of the differences found to date between spectroscopically derived effective temperatures and those derived from structural models. The differences in Teff also indicate differences in the implied radii from the two methods. In our case, the higher spectroscopic Teff for $`ϵ`$ Ind Ba requires a smaller radius to support its luminosity. The two techniques are complementary, in the sense that the radius does not enter into the computation of the plane parallel atmosphere, but does in the Mbol–radius relation. Age uncertainties can also affect derived physical paprameters, especially for the structural models. Larger sets of comparison measurements of physical parameters derived from both model atmospheres and structural models will improve our understanding of the root cause of these differences. A comparison of the temperature scales is illustrated in Figure 3, where spectroscopic Teff’s are plotted versus structural Teff’s; the spectroscopic temperatures are taken from Basri et al. (2000), Leggett et al. (2001), and Schweitzer et al. (2002), while the structural temperatures are those from Dahn et al. (2002). The Dahn et al. Teff’s also use a Mbol–radius relation from structural models in deriving temperatures. Despite using different sets of model atmospheres (with differing treatments of dust), there is a clear trend in the differences between the spectroscopically derived effective temperatures when compared to the structural temperatures from Dahn et al. (2002). At higher temperatures, the spectroscopic Teff’s tend to fall below the structural Teff’s, with the reverse situation at lower temperatures and a crossover point at $``$1900-2000K. Our derived Teff for $`ϵ`$ Ind B falls nicely on the cool end of this trend. We do not speculate here on the reasons for the systematic differences between structural and spectroscopic effective temperatures.

The treatment of dust in the photosphere is a crucial ingredient in the quantitative spectral modelling of the cool L and T dwarfs. Here we have used the unified dust models as discussed in detail by Tsuji (2002); however, we also investigated other dust treatments to see what effects these would have on the derived physical parameters (primarily Teff). Two other sets of model atmospheres were generated: 1) one in which dust remained in all layers where the thermochemical conditions allowed dust condensation (case B), and 2) the other being the case where all dust sank out of the photospheric layers (case C). These very same effects were also investigated and discussed in detail by Basri et al. (2000) for a sample of late-M and L dwarfs. In our case B, where dust exists over a wide range of depths in the photosphere, the model absorption lines (CO, H2O, and CH4) are all much weaker than the observed absorption lines (the addition of significant dust opacity over a large region of the photosphere weakens the gas phase absorption lines), and no realistic fit to the observed spectra is possible for any reasonable Teff. For the atmospheres where all dust sinks from the photosphere (case C), the model molecular absoprtion lines have more realistic strengths, but the temperature sensitive CH4 appears at even higher effective temperatures; we derive Teff=1800K for $`ϵ`$ Indi Ba. The disagreement with the structural models is even worse here. This exercise suggests that some dust in the photosphere provides a better physical picture in modelling the high-resolution IR-spectra of $`ϵ`$ Ind Ba. Our initial comparison here points to the need for more high-resolution spectral analyses across the temperature range of the L and T dwarfs.

## 4 CONCLUSIONS

We have used high-resolution infrared spectra of the nearest brown dwarf, $`ϵ`$ Ind B, to derive its physical parameters using comparisons to synthetic spectra calculated from model atmospheres. The spectroscopic Teff=1500K, with log g=5.2, and an estimated mass of M=32MJupiter. The projected rotational velocity is vsin($`\iota `$)=28 km s-1, indicating a maximum rotational period of $``$3.0 hours. The comparison between the Teff scales derived from spectroscopic plus model atmosphere analyses against those derived from Mbol–radius relations reveals a significant systematic difference that is unexplained.

The staff of the Gemini South Observatory are to be thanked for technical support. We also thank J. Tennyson for his comments on the H2O assignments, and the referee (G. Basri) for helpful suggestions in improving this paper. This research had made use of the SIMBAD database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. The work reported here is supported in part by the National Science Foundation through AST99-87374 (V.V.S.) and NASA through NAG5-9213 (V.V.S.).


text:
# Comment on ‘A Wave Traveling over a Hopf Instability Shapes the Cochlear Tuning Curve’

## Abstract

Since the seminal work by H.L.F. Helmholtz in 1863, to understand the basic principles of hearing has been a great, but still unresolved, challenge for physicists. Some time ago, it has been pointed out (Eguíluz et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 5232, 2000) that the generic mathematical properties of nonlinear oscillators undergoing a Hopf bifurcation account for the salient characteristics of hearing. Recently, M.O. Magnasco proposed a model of the cochlea (Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 058101, 2003), which employs Hopf-type instabilities for cochlear amplification. While this model reproduces the input-output behaviour of the cochlea to some extent, the generated model responses deviate significantly from physiological measurements. The reason for the discrepancies between model and experiment are due to the critical choice of the Hopf control parameter close to the bifurcation point ($`\mu =0`$). The question whether the bifurcation parameter has to be chosen critically or subcritically ($`\mu <0`$), is central, and has become the subject of a scientific debate. In this contribution, we argue that, for sustained input signals, the control parameter will assume a subcritical value. This leads to model results that are in close agreement with reported experimental data.

Eguíluz et al. Eguíluz et al. (2000) have put forward the idea that the salient properties of hearing could be described by a Hopf oscillator system. Their paper, however, left open the actual detailed implementation of this concept within known properties of the cochlea. In a recent contribution Magnasco (2003), M.O. Magnasco attempts to close this gap by complementing the Hopf system with a model of a wave that interacts with the Hopf instabilities as it travels along the cochlea. His results corroborate the generic validity of the Hopf-approach by producing responses that are much closer to measured cochlea data Eguíluz et al. (2000); Magnasco (2003) if compared with the pure Hopf instabilities Eguíluz et al. (2000).

In Magnasco (2003), the Hopf system is considered tuned exactly at the bifurcation point $`\mu =0`$. While this approach reduces the computation time, it seriously modifies the obtained cochlear response. For the following, we will concentrate on the modifications imposed on the frequency response curves, as they respond more sensitively to modeling details if compared to tuning curves.

The first consequence is that nonlinear responses ($`RF^{1/3}`$) are obtained for sustained sound inputs, irrespective of the stimulus size. This is in contradiction to the constant-gain regime for small stimuli that has previously been outlined (experimentally: bottom curves in Fig. 2 (a) of Magnasco (2003); theoretically: see Ref. Eguíluz et al. (2000)).

Secondly, the amplifier bandwidth becomes exceedingly small ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{3dB}F^{2/3}`$) Eguíluz et al. (2000), which leads to abrupt discontinuous model responses. It is true that in nonstationary driving conditions, $`\mu `$ may approach or even cross zero (e.g. in order to reduce the response time for incoming follow-up signals). For sustained signals, however, $`\mu `$ will assume a non-zero equilibrium value Camalet et al. (2000). As the transition points between linear and compressive regime, as well as the amplifier bandwidths, are smooth functions of $`\mu <0`$, this can consistently be exploited for obtaining realistic response curves Kern (2003). We emphasize that the filter-based passive model of Magnasco (2003) already mimicks longitudinal BM coupling. Therefore, the negligence of the longitudinal BM stiffness should not be considered as a substantial cause for the obtained response curve discontinuities. Moreover, also contributions from additional paths with $`\omega \omega _{ch}`$ are unable to remove this effect, but instead will merely result in a smoothening of the sharp transition at the response peak. Simulations with models that include passive BM couplings Kern and Stoop  clearly show that the defect persists as long as $`\mu =0`$ is chosen.

Thirdly, we argue that the choice $`\omega _{ch}>\omega _{pass}`$ of the Hopf resonance frequency bem , which is necessary for obtaing the curve forms reported in Fig. 4 b under the condition of $`\mu =0`$, is unrealistic. It implies that the amplification on the BM takes place on the decaying branch of the passive response, where viscous losses of energy are important. Instead, we propose that the amplification takes place around the passive response peak, where the group velocity becomes small, and a large amount of energy is accumulated in the presence of only moderate viscous forces. This view is corroborated from two-tone suppression experiments, from which the location of amplification can be determined Patuzzi (1996).

Our recent modeling approach Kern and Stoop (2003) is based on $`\mu <0`$ and on a detailed hydrodynamic model of the passive cochlea for the traveling wave. Without any further modifications, this model’s response yields almost perfect agreement with experimental data for low-intensity stimuli (see Fig. 1). The behavior of the response curves on the high frequency branch can be brought even closer to measured data (see Fig. 2 (a) of Magnasco (2003) and Fig. 1 of Eguíluz et al. (2000)), by including the observed mechanical forward coupling of outer hair cells Geisler and Sang (1995). The result is a perfect collapse of the response curves on the high frequency branch Kern (2003). For stimuli of high intensity, additional effects evidently must be incorporated, as is indicated by the broadened low frequency response of the experimental measurements. In particular, the backward coupling among outer hair cells may become important, as by the interaction of activated Hopf amplifiers, frequencies $`\omega _i>\omega `$ will be generated and back-propagated by the coupling. When they are actively amplified, they will lead to the observed shoulder of the low-frequency response. In Magnasco (2003), this behavior is phenomenologically modeled by the filter properties, that lack the detailed relationship to cochlear biophysics proposed in Eguíluz et al. (2000).


text:
# X-RAY EMISSION FROM THE QUASAR PKS 1127-145: COMPTONIZED IR PHOTONS ON PARSEC SCALES

## 1 Introduction

X-ray emission from the central regions of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is associated with accretion flows or jets. The latter dominate the observed X-ray fluxes in blazars, the objects with powerful, relativistic jets oriented close to the line of sight. The X-ray spectra of these objects extend to high energy $`\gamma `$-rays and origin of both depends on the total luminosity of a source (e.g. Fossati et al. 1998). In the least luminous sources, called High Energy Peaked BL Lacs, the X-rays are produced by synchrotron emission, while the $`\gamma `$-rays – presumably by Comptonization of the synchrotron radiation (SSC). In intermediate luminosity objects – Low Energy Peaked BL Lacs – both X-rays and $`\gamma `$-rays are likely produced by the SSC process. Finally, in the most luminous sources – Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQ) – the high energy spectra are dominated by so-called external radiation Comptonization (ERC) process, but with a possible contribution to the soft/mid X-ray bands from the SSC radiation. Seed photons for the ERC process may come directly from the accretion disk (Dermer & Schlickeiser 1993), from the broad line region (BLR) (Sikora, Begelman & Rees 1994), and from an optically thick molecular torus in the form of thermal IR radiation from hot dust (Błażejowski et al. 2000). The luminosity of FSRQ detected with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) is usually dominated by GeV radiation. However, there is a subclass of FSRQ with their luminosity peaked in the MeV band. Hereafter we call the former ’GeV-blazars’, and the latter ’MeV-blazars’. A possible explanation for this division could be related to the location of the radiation site in the jet. As discussed by Sikora et al. (2002), in GeV-blazars radiation is produced closer to the central black hole, while in MeV-blazars, the active region is significantly farther from the center (see Sect. 3 for details). Currently, there are about a dozen known MeV-blazars or candidates for such a class; unfortunately any searches for them are limited by the low sensitivity of $`\gamma `$-ray detectors in the $`130`$ MeV band, where their spectra often have a peak.

PKS 1127-145 is a radio loud quasar at redshift $`z=`$1.187 with a radio spectrum peaked around 1 GHz, characteristic of the GigaHertz-Peaked (GPS) radio-sources (Stanghellini et al. 1998; O’Dea 1998). Chandra observations have revealed a large scale (at least $``$300 kpc) X-ray jet associated with weak radio emission (Siemiginowska et al. 2002). The extended radio structure is much weaker (nearly 3 orders of magnitude) than the core emission. This value is significantly lower in comparison to the typical FRI and FRII sources (Kellerman & Owen 1988). VLBI observations show a double component with a parsec scale jet on one side (Wehrle et al. 1992; Stanghellini et al. 1998). The core emission dominates also in X-rays and the total kpc-scale X-ray jet emission is $``$ 60 times fainter than the core emission (Siemiginowska et al. 2002). The strong X-ray core has also been detected by BeppoSax (Giommi et al. 2002), with the spectrum extending up to $`300`$ keV. Finally, a very likely counterpart to that core is an EGRET source 2 EG J1134-1515 (Thompson et al. 1995).

We propose that the high energy emission originating in the central parsec-scale region of the quasar PKS 1127-145 can be described in terms of the blazar phenomenon. This can be justified by the following:

* as is the case for many $`\gamma `$-ray detected blazars, but contrary to steep spectrum radio quasars (SSRQ), the X-ray and $`\gamma `$-ray luminosities of PKS 1127-145 exceed the optical/UV luminosity by a very large factor (for X-rays in SSRQ see, e.g., Sanders, et al. 1989; Laor et al. 1997);
* the X-ray spectrum of PKS 1127-145 is much harder than in SSRQ ($`\alpha _x0.30.5`$ vs. $`0.60.8`$) (e.g., Reeves & Turner 2000);
* in contrast to SSRQ, the luminosity is peaked in the $`\gamma `$-ray band (Thompson et al. 1995);
* the radio spectrum is flat and variable (Wehrle et al. 1992), and superluminal motion is observed (Jorstad et al. 2001).

At the same time, unlike a typical blazar, PKS 1127-145 has a very low optical polarization (Impey and Tapia 1990) and optical variability (Bozyan et al. 1990). This suggests a thermal origin of the optical/UV radiation. Such co-existence of the strong, non-thermal $`\gamma `$-ray component with a prominent thermal UV bump is a characteristic of the MeV-blazars. We show that the jet emission model developed by Sikora et al. (2002) for MeV-blazars can explain these spectral properties and make prediction that PKS 1127-145 can be variable in X-rays and $`\gamma `$-rays on the time scale of the order of a month.

## 2 The observations

We obtained the multiwavelength spectrum of PKS 1127-145 shown in Figure 1. from the literature. The radio data (Steppe et al. (1995), Geldzahler & Witzel (1981), Kuhr et al. (1981), Shimmins & Wall (1973), Wright & Otrupcek (1990), Griffith et al. (1994), Condon et al. (1998), Large et al. (1981), Douglas, Bash & Bozyan (1996)) were extracted from the NED archives. The JHK photometry points are from 2MASS IRSA catalog111http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/index.html. The EGRET data are taken from Thompson et al. (1995). The X-ray data are from Chandra X-ray Observatory (Bechtold et al. 2001, see discussion below) and from BeppoSax (Giommi et al. 2002).

Chandra ACIS-S observations of PKS 1127-145 (conducted on 2000-05-28) provide constraints on the jet model parameters. We analyzed the ACIS-S data in CIAO and found the best fit parameters for the assumed absorbed power law model fit to the Chandra X-ray spectrum (0.3-7 keV; see analysis details in Bechtold et al. 2001, and Siemiginowska et al. 2002): photon index $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ = 1.29$`\pm `$0.05, absorbing equivalent Hydrogen column N$`{}_{H}{}^{}{}_{}{}^{z_{abs}=0}`$= 5.66$`\pm 0.07\times 10^{20}`$ atoms cm -2 (in excess to the Galactic column of 3.8 $`\times 10^{20}`$). This model gives a flux (2-10keV) = $`5.35\times 10^{12}`$ ergs cm-2 s-1 which corresponds the X-ray luminosity of $`4.9\times 10^{46}`$ ergs s-1. Such a value of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ and the X-ray luminosity are consistent with the X-ray emission coming from the jet and a possible relation of this source to the MeV-blazars which we consider below. This is also strongly supported by a detection of PKS 1127-145 at hundreds keV with BeppoSax and at hundreds MeV with EGRET.

## 3 The model

Here we apply the shock-in-jet model scenario (e.g. Sikora et al. 2001) to the X-ray emission of PKS 1127-145. The emission processes contributing to the X-ray and gamma-ray band are related to the Inverse Compton scattering of the soft photons by the relativistic particles in the jet. In the Synchrotron Self-Compton (SSC) process the synchrotron photons emitted by the jet relativistic particles are Compton scattered by the same population of particles. In the External Radiation Compton (ERC) process the seed photons are located outside the jet.

We assume that due to collisions of two inhomogeneities propagating down the jet with different velocities, the shock is formed at a distance $`r_0`$ from the jet apex and terminated at $`2r_0`$. The shock propagates down the conical jet with bulk Lorentz factor $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_b`$. In our model the high energy radiation is produced via the Compton process directly by accelerated electrons/positrons. The particles are assumed to stay in the acceleration zone for a much shorter period of time than the life-time of the shock and their acceleration/injection is approximated by a power-law function, $`Q\gamma ^p`$, with the energy ranging from $`\gamma _{min}`$ to $`\gamma _{max}`$.

In the External-Radiation-Compton scenario the X-rays are produced by the Compton scattering off the electrons in the slow cooling regime, and the gamma-rays by the Compton scattering off the electrons in the fast cooling regime (see Sikora et al. 2002 for details). The electron energy dividing both regimes is given by equality of the electron cooling time scale, $`t_c^{}=\gamma /|\dot{\gamma }|`$, to the shock life-time, $`t^{}\mathrm{\Delta }r_{coll}/(c\mathrm{\Gamma }_b)`$, where $`|\dot{\gamma }|c\sigma _Tu_{ext}^{}\gamma ^2/(m_ec^2)`$, $`u_{ext}^{}`$ is the energy density of the external radiation field, and $`\mathrm{\Delta }r_{coll}`$ is the distance over which the collision of inhomogeneities takes place. The primed quantities are as measured in the shock comoving frame. Hence, the dividing energy is

$$\gamma _c=\frac{m_ec^2\mathrm{\Gamma }_b}{\sigma _T\mathrm{\Delta }r_{coll}u_{ext}^{}}.$$
(1)
The dividing energy is imprinted in the Compton spectrum at the frequency:

$$\nu _c\frac{𝒟^2\gamma _{c}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}\nu _{ext}}{1+z},$$
(2)
where $`\nu _{ext}`$ is the frequency of the external photons and $`𝒟=1/\mathrm{\Gamma }_b(1\beta cos\theta )`$ is the Doppler factor of the radiating shocked plasma. The spectrum around $`\nu _c`$ changes its slope by $`\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha _{x\gamma }0.5`$.

The soft photons contributing the most to the external radiation field, $`u_{ext}^{}`$ in the AGN cores could come from an accretion disk, from the Broad Emission Line Region (BEL) or from hot dust (IR) associated with an obscuring torus. Because of spectral similarities of PKS 1127-145 with the MeV-blazars we assume that the high energy radiation in this object is produced at a few parsecs, where $`u_{ext}^{}`$ is strongly dominated by thermal radiation of the hot dust. PKS 1127-145 was not detected in the mid- and far-IR bands. However, the measured spectral turnover in the $`j`$, $`h`$, and $`k_s`$ bands suggests a relatively strong contribution from the hot dust.

The presence of the hot dust in AGN is generally accepted as a part of the AGN paradigm (Urry & Padovani 1995). The minimal distance of the dust from the central engine is determined either by the maximal temperature it can survive,

$$r_{d,min}\frac{1}{T_{d,max}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}}\times (L_{UV}/4\pi \sigma _{SB})^{1/2},$$
(3)
where $`T_{d,max}10001500`$K and $`L_{UV}`$ is the disk luminosity, or by the inner edge of the molecular torus provided it is larger than $`r_{d,min}`$ given above (see, e.g., Yi, Field, & Blackman 1994). In our calculations we approximate the dust distribution as spherical and recover its minimum distance/maximum temperature from a model fit to the observed high energy spectrum. It should be emphasized here, that as long as the distance of the shock region from the black hole is smaller than the distance of dust, the value of $`u_{ext(dust)}^{}`$ is not very sensitive to dust geometry, e.g. whether the dust is distributed spherically or is located in the flattened torus. The density of the external IR radiation field can be approximated by the formula:

$$u_{ext(dust)}\frac{\xi _{IR}L_{UV}}{4\pi cr_{d,min}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}}\times \frac{1}{1+(r/r_{d,min})^2},$$
(4)
where $`\xi _{IR}`$ is the fraction if the UV radiation converted by dust into thermal radiation.

We apply the model to PKS 1127-145 assuming that the parsec scale jet is pointing at or very close to the line of sight. This can be justified by detection of a superluminal motion in this source during the Multi-epoch VLBA observations with $`\beta _{app}19`$ (Jorstad et al. 2001). We compute the model by fitting the minimal distance/maximum temperature of dust to the data. The results are presented in Figure 1, which shows the contributing model components: synchrotron emission, SSC, ERC(IR), ERC(BEL) and ERC(UV).

The ERC(BEL) is computed assuming that at $`r>r_{BEL}`$ luminosity of BEL drops with a distance $`1/r`$, where $`r_{BEL}`$ is the distance at which the BEL luminosity peaks (e.g., Peterson 1993; Kaspi 2000). Parameters of the ERC model are given in the figure caption. They are obtained by matching: the Chandra X-ray spectrum, the EGRET flux, and the high frequency radio flux. The emission at lower frequencies (below $`10^{10}`$ Hz) is produced at significantly larger distances from the jet apex (in comparison to our model) and thus, is not taken into account in our modeling of the spectrum.

In Fig.1. we show also contribution into X-ray and $`\gamma `$-ray bands from Comptonization of direct accretion disk radiation (ERC(UV)). Using analytical approximations given by Dermer & Schlickeiser (2002), one can find that this contribution at a distance of a few parsecs is about four orders lower than the contribution from Comptonization of IR radiation of a hot dust.

Since observational data in different spectral bands are not simultaneous, the model spectral fit and its parameters should be considered only qualitatively. However, the Chandra and BeppoSax observations which were separated by 12 months, are both consistent with the extension of a very hard X-ray spectrum up to MeV energies and peaking at the level of the EGRET detection. Therefore the main result of our model — that X-ray emission of PKS 1127-145 is dominated by Compton scattering of the infrared photons — is not sensitive to the spectral changes between the observations.

## 4 Discussion

Our model shows that the X-ray and gamma-ray spectrum of PKS 1127-145 may originate in the parsec scale jet. This emission can be described entirely by the Comptonization of the IR radiation with a possible contribution from ERC(BEL) at energies $`>1`$GeV. This object is similar to the other MeV-blazars where the SSC component is very weak and, therefore, the X-ray spectrum has a very hard slope down to the lowest energies.

Another interesting feature of PKS 1127-145 is the co-existence of a prominent UV thermal bump (as seen in radio-lobe dominated quasars), with the extremely luminous $`\gamma `$-ray component. Both components are very common for the MeV-blazars (see e.g. Tavecchio et al. 2000). In our model this co-existence can be associated with the distance between the shock and the jet apex which affects the synchrotron emission. The ratio $`u_{ext}^{}/u_B^{}`$ is higher for larger shock distances in MeV-blazars than for smaller shock distances in GeV-blazars, where in the former case the external radiation is dominated by infrared radiation of dust, while in the latter case it is dominated by broad emission lines, and $`u_B^{}=B^2/8\pi `$ is the magnetic energy density in the shocked plasma in a jet. This results in a weaker synchrotron spectrum in MeV-blazars than in GeV-blazars assuming that both emit comparable bolometric luminosity. Secondly, the entire synchrotron component is shifted into lower frequencies in MeV-blazars (because the average frequency of the synchrotron radiation is $`\nu _{SYN}B^{^{}}`$ and in our model magnetic field scales with distance like $`B^{^{}}1/r`$). Both effects diminish the synchrotron contribution to the UV-band, thus the thermal UV-bump becomes visible. Lower synchrotron luminosities in MeV-blazars explain also why in these objects the SSC component is weak ($`L_{SSC}L_{SYN}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}`$) and, therefore, its contribution to the X-ray band is negligible (see Sikora et al. 2002).

The available EGRET data do not constrain the location of the luminosity peak and do not provide a spectral slope for the PKS 1127-145 $`\gamma `$-ray spectrum. Therefore, in order to minimize the number of free model parameters we adopted a single-power law electron injection function, instead a double-one assumed in modeling of other MeV-blazars (Sikora et al. 2002). This approach leads to a different location of the luminosity peak in our model spectrum of PKS 1127-145 ($`h\nu 100`$MeV) than in the models of the other MeV-blazars ($`1`$MeV $`<h\nu <30`$MeV). Better $`\gamma `$-ray data are needed in order to apply the same model to both MeV-blazars and PKS 1127-145 and to constrain better the model parameters. However, based on the current observations of PKS 1127-145, we conclude that it is quite similar to other MeV-blazars. Since in the model, high energy radiation is produced at a few parsecs, we can predict that PKS 1127-145 should be variable in the X-ray and $`\gamma `$-ray bands on a time scale of the order of a month. Monitoring of the source with gamma-ray instruments such as Integral or GLAST may provide an opportunity to verify this prediction.

PKS 1127-145 has been included in samples of GigaHertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources (Stanghellini et al. 1998). GPS sources are considered to be at an early stage of their expansion into large scale radio sources. However, GPS samples are heterogenous and may contain many blazars (Lister 2003; Siemiginowska et al. 2003; Stanghellini 2003). The X-ray data provide a way to identify blazars and separate them from the “true” GPS sources. It is important to understand a number of blazars in the GPS samples, so we can test whether they are consistent with blazars being “young” GPS sources, but seen along the jet, with the emission from the GPS double radio component suppressed by the parsec scale jet emission. This is critical to our understanding of the nature and evolution of radio sources.

Finally, it is worth noting the similarity of the PKS 1127-145 with other high-z X-ray luminous quasars with very hard X-ray spectra, e.g.: 1508+5714 (Moran & Helfand 1997); GB 1428+4217 (Fabian et al. 1998; Fabian et al. 2001); PKS 2149-306 (Elvis et al. 2000); PMN J0525-3343 (Fabian et al. 2000). All of them are FSRQ and with their peculiar spectra, similar to those of MeV-blazars, they can represent those FSRQ which have nuclei embedded in a very dusty environment. Such hypothesis can be further explored by detailed infrared spectroscopy of those sources and by observations of $`\gamma `$-ray spectra with GLAST which are expected to be relatively soft.

This research is funded in part by NASA contract NAS8-39073and in part by NASA through Chandra Award Number GO-01164X and GO2-3148A issued by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center, which is operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for and on behalf of NASA under contract NAS8-39073 and by Polish KBN grant 5 P03D 00221. We would like to thank G. Madejski and anonymous referee for their valuable comments which helped to improve the paper. We acknowledge the use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

FIGURE CAPTIONS