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# Formation of current sheets and sigmoidal structure by the kink instability of a magnetic loop

## 1 Introduction

Rising filaments, flares, and coronal mass ejections on the Sun often show the phenomenology of a loop-shaped magnetic flux system with fixed footpoints at the coronal base and signatures of magnetic twist. A single twisted magnetic flux rope appears to contain essential elements of the magnetic topology of the unstable, often erupting flux. Since the ratio of kinetic to magnetic pressure, the plasma beta, is very small in the inner corona, $`\beta 10^3\mathrm{}10^2`$, the flux system must be nearly force free in the quasi static pre-eruption state, i.e.,

$$\mathbf{\times }B=\alpha (x)B.$$
(1)
Such major energy release events, which we will refer to collectively as flares in the following, often show a distinctive soft X-ray (SXR) brightening of sigmoidal (S or reverse-S) shape shortly prior or during their early, impulsive stages of development (e.g., Rust & Kumar, 1996; Manoharan et al., 1996; Pevtsov et al., 1996; Aurass et al., 1999; Moore et al., 2001; Gibson et al., 2002). The sigmoidal shape is generally regarded as a signature of coronal currents in a twisted field and shows a hemispheric preference: forward (reverse) S shapes dominate in the southern (northern) hemisphere (Rust & Kumar, 1996). Typically the central part of such transient sigmoids is approximately aligned with the neutral line of the normal photospheric field component, often also with a filament. They are bright and more sharply defined in the middle, while their ends fan out more diffusively at opposite sides of the neutral line. Sometimes their middle section is slightly split, giving the structure the appearance of two point-symmetric letters J. Each J may consist of several fibres (Fig. 1).

The solar soft X-ray corona often also contains long-lived sigmoidal structures that appear to form a separate class. These typically exist for more than a day, do not show the concentration in the middle, may be composed of many fibres that show the S shape collectively rather than individually, and may form not only within but also between active regions.

The sense of the sigmoidal shape and the handedness of the magnetic twist are correlated: Pevtsov et al. (1997) found that more than 90% of all sigmoids in those active regions that have a uniform sign of $`\alpha `$ in the photospheric magnetogram show forward (reverse) S shape for $`\alpha >(<)0`$, i.e., for right (left) handed twist. We will refer to this result as $`\sigma `$-$`\alpha `$ correlation, where $`\sigma >(<)0`$ stands for forward (reverse) S shape. The correlation is consistent with the hemispheric preference, since $`\alpha `$ is predominantly $`>(<)0`$ in the southern (northern) hemisphere (Seehafer, 1990; Pevtsov et al., 1995).

The transient sigmoids that brighten in flares (both confined and eruptive) have so far mostly been interpreted as an illumination of the unstable flux system itself. Rust & Kumar (1996) proposed that they show a sufficiently twisted, kink-unstable flux rope. Pevtsov et al. (1996), Moore et al. (2001), and others suggested further that the unstable flux rope acquired its supercritical twist through the reconnection of two nearly aligned, subcritical flux ropes near their end points, which conforms to the strong brightening in the middle of the sigmoids and may symbolically be written as $`J+JS`$. Transient sigmoids were thus regarded by Moore et al. (2001) as supporting their “tether cutting” model of flares (although they noted that another, much fainter structure was moving in sequences of SXR images in some of their events).

The presence of a SXR sigmoid correlates with the likelihood of a flaring active region to cause an eruption (Canfield et al., 1999). A “standard” model for the main phase of eruptive flares is now widely accepted (e.g., Shibata, 1999). It includes the formation of a large-scale vertical current sheet below the erupting flux, in which magnetic reconnection leads to the long-lasting energy release. This model is assumed to hold independently of the question whether the event is initiated by an instability of a single flux rope, by reconnection between flux ropes (tether cutting), or by other mechanisms, e.g., “magnetic breakout” (Antiochos et al., 1999).

The canonical instability of a twisted flux rope is the kink instability. In applications to the solar corona, the simplifying assumption of straight, cylindrically symmetric flux ropes has always been used so far (e.g., Hood, 1992). This is based on the typically large aspect ratio of solar magnetic loops. The instability occurs if the twist, $`\mathrm{\Phi }=lB_\varphi (r)/(rB_z(r))`$, exceeds a critical value, $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\mathrm{c}`$. Here $`l`$ is the length of the flux rope, $`r`$ is the (minor) radius, and $`B_z`$ and $`B_\varphi `$ are the axial and azimuthal field components, respectively. The critical value depends on the details of the considered equilibrium.

In this paper we address the relationship between the kink instability of an arched twisted flux rope and the formation of current sheets and sigmoidal structures, starting from the analytical magnetic loop equilibrium by Titov & Démoulin (1999), cited as T&D in the following (see their Fig. 2 for a schematic). This approximate, cylindrically symmetric, force-free equilibrium consists of a toroidal ring current of major radius $`R`$ and minor radius $`a`$, whose outward-directed Lorentz self-force is balanced with the help of a field by two fictitious magnetic charges of opposite sign which are placed at the symmetry axis of the torus at distances $`\pm L`$ to the torus plane. That axis lies below the photospheric plane $`\{z=0\}`$ at a depth $`d`$. The resulting field outside the torus is current-free and contains a concentric magnetic X line between the torus and its centre. A toroidal field component created by a fictitious line current running along the axis of symmetry is added. This results in a force-free field inside the torus with the twist taking a finite value everywhere in the configuration, whose part in the volume $`\{z>0\}`$ is a model of a coronal loop (or flux rope).

The presence of a toroidal field component turns the neighbourhood of the X line into a hyperbolic flux tube (HFT) which consists of two intersecting quasi-separatrix layers with extremely diverging field lines (for a strict definition of HFTs, see Titov et al., 2002). The existence of the HFT is generic to such force-free loop configurations with a nonvanishing net current (Titov et al., 1999), which is important for understanding the origin of sigmoidal structures in twisted configurations.

We present two characteristic cases of the kink instability, which show the different possibilities of current sheet and sigmoid formation in the T&D equilibrium, leaving a systematic study of the instability for a separate paper (Török et al., 2003).

T&D pointed out that the torus is also unstable with respect to global expansion (growing perturbations $`\delta R>0`$). This has recently been confirmed by Roussev et al. (2003). We expect that the global expansion instability leads to current sheets and sigmoidal structures in a manner largely analogous to the upward kink instability.

We integrate the compressible ideal MHD equations using the simplifying assumption $`\beta =0`$ which has no influence on the qualitative evolution of the kink instability in its linear phase, during which the current sheets and sigmoids are formed:

$`_t\rho `$ $`=`$ $`(\rho u),`$ (2)
$`\rho _tu`$ $`=`$ $`\rho (u)u+j\mathbf{\times }B,`$ (3)
$`_tB`$ $`=`$ $`\mathbf{\times }(u\mathbf{\times }B),`$ (4)
$`j`$ $`=`$ $`\mu _0^1\mathbf{\times }B.`$ (5)
The equilibrium by T&D is used as the initial condition for the field, with the loop chosen to lie in the plane $`\{x=0\}`$. The initial density distribution is specified such that the Alfvén velocity is uniform, $`\rho _0=B_0^2/\mu _0`$. Lengths, velocities, and times are normalized, respectively, by $`L`$, the initial Alfvén velocity, $`v_{\mathrm{a0}}=B_0/(\mu _0\rho _0)^{1/2}`$, and the Alfvén time, $`\tau _\mathrm{a}=L/v_{\mathrm{a0}}`$.

A modified Lax-Wendroff scheme is employed on a nonuniform Cartesian grid in a “half cube” $`[L_x,L_x]\times [0,L_y]\times [0,L_z]`$ with closed boundaries except the front boundary, $`\{y=0\}`$, where line symmetry with respect to the $`z`$ axis is implemented. The latter implies $`u_{x,y}(0,0,z)=0`$ so that only vertical displacements of the loop apex are permitted. Viscosity is included in Eq. (3) to improve numerical stability. The numerical details are the same as in Török et al. (2003).

## 2 Kink instability

The parameters of the basic loop equilibrium are chosen similarly to T&D: $`d=L=1`$ (50 Mm) and $`R=2.2`$. The twist is specified via the number of turns that the field lines at the surface of the torus make about its axis (counted for the whole torus), taken here to be $`N_\mathrm{t}=15`$. This also fixes the minor radius of the loop, $`a=0.32`$. The resulting twist of the coronal part of the loop, averaged over its cross section, $`\mathrm{\Phi }=4.9\pi `$, is about $`1.4\mathrm{\Phi }_\mathrm{c}`$ of this configuration (Török et al., 2003). Here the long-wavelength ($`m=1`$) kink mode develops spontaneously with downward displacement of the loop apex; it is initiated by the weak, downward-directed forces that result from the initial discretization errors of the current density on the grid. The displacement and velocity of the apex rise exponentially until the apex height is reduced to $`2/3`$ of its initial value by $`t25`$, after which the instability starts to saturate. The configuration that results for left-handed twist ($`\alpha <0`$) is shown in Fig. 2 (left) by current density isosurfaces. The kink perturbation forms a helical current sheet that is wrapped around the displaced parts of the loop at the interface with the surrounding plasma in a manner similar to the cylindrical case. The current density in this sheet rises exponentially as well, eventually exceeding the current density in the loop. The projection of both the loop and the current sheet onto the bottom plane possess a reverse S shape, as is characteristic of sigmoids in left-handed twisted fields. If the handedness of the twist is reversed, then the $`m=1`$ kink mode develops with identical time profile but reversed handedness of the loop perturbation, i.e., forward S shape of its photospheric projection.

In order to study the kink mode with upward apex displacement, a small upward initial velocity perturbation is applied at the apex. It is ramped up over $`5\tau _\mathrm{a}`$ to $`u_z=0.01`$, then switched off. In this run the $`m=1`$ kink mode develops with a similar growth rate as before, but again starts to saturate after $`t25`$, at an apex velocity of $`u_z0.1`$. The resulting configuration in the case of left-handed twist is also shown in Fig. 2 (right). In addition to the helical current sheet that is again formed as the kink perturbation piles up the surrounding flux, a second current sheet, which has no analogue in the cylindrical case (but corresponds to the main element of the standard flare model), now occurs below the rising section of the loop. It is formed by a pinching of the HFT in the lateral stagnation flow set up below the rising loop apex. For a detailed analysis of the pinching mechanism, which is a three-dimensional generalization of the well-known pinching of X points in the 2D case, we refer to Titov et al. (2003) and Galsgaard et al. (2003). The current density rises exponentially in both sheets, exceeding that in the kinked loop in the nonlinear stage of the instability. The rising unstable loop and the helical current sheet now both possess a forward S-shaped photospheric projection – opposite to the characteristic sigmoid shape in left-handed fields. Reversing the twist of the initial configuration leads to the upward $`m=1`$ kink mode with identical time profile but reversed handedness of the kink perturbation. It should be noted that the applied velocity perturbation is exactly vertical and so does not introduce a preference for the handedness of the kink perturbation. The two configurations of opposite sigmoidal shape shown in Fig. 2 possess the same photospheric $`\alpha `$.

## 3 Formation of sigmoids

In all four cases discussed in the previous section, the handedness of the kink perturbation of the loop axis (sign of “external writhe”) equals the handedness of the field line twist (sign of “internal writhe”). This is a general property of the kink instability (known as resonance at the point of marginal stability; see, e.g. Linton et al., 1999). Its immediate consequence is that *transient sigmoids cannot be identified with rising kink-unstable loops*. Since there are strong observational indications for the existence of substantial magnetic twist in eruptive flux systems, transient sigmoids must in general be associated with another structure in the unstable twisted flux.

We follow the suggestion by T&D that bright SXR structures outline magnetic structures with enhanced current density, and hence enhanced dissipation, and calculate field lines that pass through the vertical current sheet below the upward-rising kinked loop (Figs. 3 and 4). These field lines form a sigmoidal surface that not only follows the $`\sigma `$-$`\alpha `$ correlation but also corresponds nicely to further properties of transient sigmoids like the near-alignment with the photospheric neutral line, the concentration in the middle and the diffuse spreading at the ends. The occasionally observed splitting into two J-shaped parts, which may themselves consist of multiple J-shaped fibres, can readily be explained by assuming the existence of multiple current density peaks within the current sheet. This can naturally be expected in a fibrous corona (we have indicated this effect in Figs. 3 and 4 by selecting field lines that pass closely to the $`z`$ axis; in our simulation of a smooth initial configuration, the current density peaks exactly at the $`z`$ axis). Flux pileup in the stagnation flow at both sides of the current sheet may also lead to the effect. Finally, cases of sigmoid lengthening, as described by Manoharan et al. (1996), are consistent with the new interpretation only.

Magnetic reconnection is expected to occur in the vertical current sheet, amplifying the brightening of the sigmoidal field lines at SXR and permitting transitions between continuous (S) and broken (double J) sigmoidal patterns (in both directions).

With this interpretation, transient sigmoids cannot be considered as direct support of the tether cutting model (Moore et al., 2001) but, of course, they do not contradict the model in any manner. Our interpretation is not undermined by the fact that the kink-unstable loop does not succeed to evolve into a true eruption in our simulations (Török et al., 2003), because transient sigmoids occur at the onset of eruptive events.

The downward-kinked loop may be associated with long-lived sigmoids. As the instability saturates, this kink perturbation may lead to a stable structure which follows the $`\sigma `$-$`\alpha `$ correlation and is nearly aligned in the middle with the photospheric neutral line. The dip in the loop or in the flux below it supports the formation of a filament, which is often observed in close spatial association with sigmoids (Pevtsov, 2002). Further studies are required to check this conjecture. See Török & Kliem (2003) for an alternative interpretation of long-lived sigmoids as loops of enhanced current density but subcritical twist.

## 4 Conclusions

The magnetic loop equilibrium by T&D is unstable against the long-wavelength ($`m=1`$) ideal kink mode if the magnetic twist exceeds a critical value. The handedness of the kink perturbation equals the handedness of the field line twist. Consequently, the photospheric projection of rising kink-unstable loops develops a forward (reverse) S shape for left (right) handed twist. This is opposite to the strong observed ($`\sigma `$-$`\alpha `$) correlation of sigmoid shape with magnetic handedness. Hence, transient SXR sigmoids, which brighten in major energy release events, preferably in eruptive events, cannot in general show the presumed kink-unstable flux itself. We suggest that transient sigmoids outline field lines which pass through the current density enhancement in a vertical current sheet formed below the rising loop. This interpretation leads to agreement with the $`\sigma `$-$`\alpha `$ correlation (and hemispheric preference) as well as with their alignment with the photospheric neutral line and with their further specific geometric properties. Transient sigmoids thus indicate the formation of the vertical current sheet that is the central element of the standard model for eruptive flares. The question under which conditions a rising kink-unstable loop develops into an eruption requires further study.

Downward-kinking loops take a sigmoidal shape that follows the observed correlation with handedness. They may be related to long-lived sigmoids and to filament formation.

###### Acknowledgements.

We thank R. J. Leamon for pointing out the relationship of our calculations to the model by Rust & Kumar (1996). This investigation was supported by BMBF/DLR grants No. 50 OC 9901 2 and 01 OC 9706 4, by the Volkswagen Foundation, and by EU grant No. HPRN-CT-2000-00153. The John von Neumann-Institut für Computing, Jülich granted Cray computer time.


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# A Heavenly Example of Scale Free Networks and Self-Organized Criticality

## 1 Introduction

Two generative themes to grasp complexity in its variety of manifestations confront us. One refers to a general dynamical principle, or how complexity is made. Another refers to ways of understanding inter-relations between parts of a complex system. We will leave aside the problem of defining complexity (grassberger, ), which to date has been posed in terms of algorithms or information, rather than plausible dynamical laws.

The first theme we discuss is self-organized criticality (btw, ; HowNatureWorks, ), which posits that the dynamics of slowly, driven dissipative systems impels them toward a robust dynamical attractor that accommodates avalanches of all sizes. These avalanches, in turn, imprint long range correlations throughout the structure in which they occur. The physical system and the avalanches in it cogenerate each other through a long, historically contingent process into a complex entity. One cannot speak of one, the system, without the other, the avalanches.

Often, we are mislead by the intermittent occurrence of the avalanches into thinking of the two as being separate. Although most of the time, the system, such as the network of faults in the crust of the earth, appears static, one cannot forget that a dynamics, in this case seismic processes or earthquakes, must account for the current appearance of the network of faults as being a particular snapshot in geological time over which the crust of the earth, and network of faults has changed greatly. (Remembering this fact, one becomes skeptical of definitions of complexity which forget about the dynamics of the actual physical process that generates the ensemble of observed states.)

As the second theme, modern network theory has emerged as a powerful framework for describing many disparate systems ranging from the topology of the world wide web, to biological regulatory networks (Barabasi02, ), or physical systems such as the coronal magnetic field (Hughes:longpaper, ). By using nodes as the basic objects, a great simplification in the description of the system can be obtained by only linking strongly interacting or correlated nodes. For example, since $`N`$ nodes can have at most $`N(N1)/2`$ links between them, pruning insignificant links can produce drastic simplifications, especially if the final number of links is of order $`N`$. Then, the network can be considered as the essential backbone of the inter-relationships between different parts of the system. In this way, networks may distill the main qualities, or most significant features, from the messy and hard-to-describe systems we generally refer to as complex.

Empirically, it has been observed that many networks are neither totally random nor completely ordered like a regular lattice. They lie in between, exhibiting strong heterogeneity from node to node. In fact, some networks are scale-free, in the sense that the number of links attached to any node is distributed as a power law, up to a cutoff determined by the total number of links in the network.

Various models of complex or scale-free networks have been proposed. In the preferential attachment model of Barabasi and Albert, a network grows by adding links to nodes with a probability proportional to the number of already existing links at that node (Barabasi99, ). A common feature of this and other models is that the process generating the network assures that a system wide network always exists. Furthermore, the number of nodes and links in the network are assumed to always grow.

However, one can imagine a different scenario where the number of nodes and links in the network are statistically stationary. Furthermore, and perhaps even more to the point, one can consider a situation where the system wide network only emerges after a transient self-organizing process. Before reaching the stationary state, no system wide network exists; it arises as a result of a long, historically contingent process. Such networks can be said to be self-organized networks, and in this case one can ask if self-organized criticality (SOC) provides a mechanism for the emergence of scale-free networks, out of a collection of uncorrelated random networks. This could happen just like a sandpile, with avalanches of all sizes, can be made out of a collection of uncorrelated sand grains by slowly adding them together without disturbing the system too much, for instance, by shaking the sandpile violently in a continuous fashion. We now give a specific example of a SOC mechanism for scale-free networks. We describe a naturally occuring physical system, namely the sun.

A complex interwoven network of magnetic fields threads the surface of the sun. Magnetic energy stored in the coronal network builds up due to turbulent plasma forces until stresses are suddenly released by a rapid reconfiguration of the magnetic field (mhd, ). This releases energy that is converted to radiation and observed as a solar flare. The probability distribution of flare energies is a featureless power law that spans more than eight orders of magnitude (aschwanden:TRACE, ).

Lu and Hamilton first proposed that the corona is in a self-organized critical state (lh, ), with avalanches of all sizes (btw, ). However, SOC systems often show scale free behavior not only for their event statistics, but also for emergent spatial and temporal structures (btw, ), as seen both in physical systems (e.g. (frette:realrice, )) and numerical models (e.g. (hughes:nsdm, )).

In fact, like flares, concentrations of magnetic flux on the photosphere (which is the visible surface of the sun) also exist on a wide variety of scales. The strongest concentrations are sunspots, which occur in active regions that may contain more than $`10^{22}`$Mx. The smallest resolvable concentrations above the current resolution scale of $`10^{16}`$Mx are fragments. For many years, solar physicists have believed that at each scale a unique physical process is responsible for the dynamics and generation of magnetic concentrations, e.g. a “large scale dynamo” versus a “surface dynamo” etc.

Motivated by results from numerical simulations of a model, which is described later, we recently reanalyzed several previously published data sets reporting the distribution of concentration sizes (close, ). We just plotted the distribution using a double logarithmic scale instead of a log-linear one, as had been done previously. As shown in Fig. 1, we found that the distribution of magnetic flux concentration sizes is scale free over more than two decades, corresponding to the range of this particular measurement (Hughes:longpaper, ).

Of course the basic equations that describe the evolution of the magnetic field are continuous. However, the corona is a highly turbulent system and the dynamics of its magnetic field is intermittent. The field itself is concentrated into narrow regions and does not spread out uniformly. Observations of the solar corona reinforce this view, showing loops of hot plasma, emanating from magnetic concentrations, which are thought to trace out the paths of the magnetic flux tubes. So, although the fundamental equations of plasma physics are continuous and smooth, what we actually observe are well defined, discrete entities such as magnetic concentrations and flux tubes. We decided therefore to treat the coronal magnetic field as made up of discrete interacting loops modelprl .

The fundamental entity in the model is a directed loop that traces the midline of a flux tube, and is anchored to a flat surface at two opposite polarity footpoints. A footpoint locates the center of a magnetic concentration. A collection of these loops and their footpoints gives a distilled representation of the coronal magnetic field structure. Our network model is able to describe fields that are very complicated or interwoven. A snapshot of a configuration in the steady-state is shown in Fig. 2. The number of loops connecting any pair of footpoints is indicated by a color-coding. It is evident that both the number of loops attached to a footpoint and the number of loops connecting any pair of footpoints vary over a broad range.

Loops injected at small length scales are stretched and shrunk as their footpoints diffuse over the surface. Nearby footpoints of the same polarity coalesce, to form magnetic fragments, which can themselves coalesce to form ever larger concentrations of flux, such as sunspots. Conversely, adjacent, opposite polarity footpoints cancel. Each loop carries a single unit of flux, and the magnetic field strength at a footpoint is given by the number of loops attached to it. The number of loops that share a given pair of footpoints measures the strength of the link.

Loops can reconnect when they collide in three dimensional space. The flux emerging from the positive footpoint of one of the reconnecting loops is then no longer constrained to end up at the other footpoint of the same loop, but may instead go to the negative footpoint of the other loop. This re-wiring process allows footpoints to exchange partners and reshapes the network, but it maintains the degree of each footpoint.

If rewiring occurs, it may happen that one or both loops need to cross some other loop. Thus a single reconnection between a pair of loops can trigger an avalanche of causally related reconnection events. Reconnections occur instantaneously compared to the diffusion of footpoints and injection of loops.

The system therefore evolves by a combination of slow diffusion of footpoints, occassional injection of new loops and rapid avalanches of reconnection. These avalanches punctuate quiet periods where the configuration of loops only changes gradually and slowly. Thus, a type of stick-slip dynamics is observed.

From arbitrary initial conditions, the system eventually reaches a steady state, where the cancellation processes on average balance the steady inflow of new loops. In the steady state we find that the system of loops and footpoints self organize into a scale free network (Hughes:longpaper, ). The number of loops, $`k_{foot}`$, connected to any footpoint is distributed as a power law

$$P(k_{foot})k_{foot}^\gamma ,\gamma 2.$$

Clearly, each footpoint can be thought of as a node in the network and each loop as a link. Therefore, this distribution corresponds to the degree distribution of the network, and the exponent $`\gamma `$ is the exponent for the degree distribution.

There are a variety of ways to associate an energy with the loops, depending on their length, and how many loops connect a pair of footpoints. Reconnection will shorten loops and therefore liberate energy from the magnetic field. A cascade of reconnections represents a flare. Defining the energy to be only proportional to the total length of loops, the distribution of flare energies follows a power law (modelprl, ). However, during the transient while the system organizes itself, the distribution of flare energies is not a power law. Thus, our model is a true SOC system.

We find two new quantities to characterize scale free networks. Numerical simulations of the model show that the strength of the link between two nodes, which is the number of loops connecting two nodes, is distributed as a power law, with an exponent $`\alpha \gamma `$. In addition, the number of unique nodes linked to any specific node also exhibits scale free behaviour, with a different exponent, which is greater than $`\alpha `$.

To sum up, we have demonstrated that SOC is a mechanism for generating scale free networks. In our model the complex network which self-generates itself into a state with avalanches of all sizes is fully scale free. Not only is the degree distribution a power law, but so is the distribution of link strengths, the number of distinct nodes linked to any particular node, and the avalanches. The system wide network emerges only after a transient period where the avalanches and the network have cogenerated each other into a critical state. Before that happens, no system wide network exists and the avalanches are also limited by a scale smaller than the system size.


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# Integral and derivative dispersion relations, analysis of the forward scattering data.

## 1 Introduction

The energy dependence of the hadronic total cross sections as well as that of the parameters $`\rho =\mathrm{}eA(s,0)/\mathrm{}mA(s,0)`$ \- the ratios of the real to the imaginary part of the forward scattering amplitudes - was widely discussed quite a long time ago (see rhohist ; DDR  and references therein). However, in spite of recent detailed investigations on the subject COMPETE , the theoretical situation remains somewhat undecided, mainly because of the $`\rho `$ parameter.

In the papers COMPETE , all available data on $`\sigma _{tot}(s)`$ and $`\rho (s)`$ for hadron-hadron, photon-hadron and photon-photon interactions were considered. Many analytical models for the forward scattering amplitudes were fitted and compared. The ratio $`\rho `$ was calculated in explicit form, from the imaginary part parametrised by contributions from the pomeron and secondary reggeons. The values of the free parameters were determined from the fit to the data at $`ss_{min}`$, where $`\sqrt{s_{min}}=5`$ GeV. Omitting all details, we note here the main two conclusions. The best description of the data is obtained for the model with $`\sigma _{tot}`$ rising as $`\mathrm{log}^2s`$. The model with $`\sigma _{tot}(s)s^ϵ,ϵ>0`$ was excluded from the list of the best models (in accordance with COMPETE criteria, see details in COMPETE ).

Analysis of these results shows that they are due to a poor description of $`\rho `$ data at low energy. On the other hand, there are a few questions concerning the explicit Regge-type models usually used for the analysis and description of the data. How low in energy can the Regge parametrisations be extended, as they are written as functions of the asymptotic variable $`s`$ rather than the “Regge” variable $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _t`$ ($`=E/m`$ in the laboratory system for identical colliding particles)? At which energies can the “asymptotic” normalization

$$\sigma _{tot}(s)=(1/s)\mathrm{}mA(s,0)$$
(1)
instead of the standard one

$$\sigma _{tot}(s)=(1/2mE)\mathrm{}mA(s,0)$$
(2)
be used? And last, how much do the analytic expressions for $`\rho `$ based on the derivative dispersion relations deviate from those calculated in the integral form?

In this paper, we try to answer these questions considering three pomeron models for $`pp`$ and $`\overline{p}p`$ interactions at $`\sqrt{s}5`$ GeV.

## 2 Integral and derivative dispersion relations.

Assuming, in accordance with many analyzes, that the odderon does not contribute asymptotically at $`t=0`$, one can show that the integral dispersion relations (IDR) for $`pp`$ and $`\overline{p}p`$ amplitudes can be reduced to those with one subtraction constant rhohist :

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\rho _\pm \sigma _\pm \hfill & =\hfill & \frac{B}{2m_pp}+\hfill \\ & +\hfill & \frac{E}{\pi p}\mathrm{P}\underset{m_p}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\left[\frac{\sigma _\pm }{E^{}(E^{}E)}\frac{\sigma _{}}{E^{}(E^{}+E)}\right]p^{}𝑑E^{}\hfill \end{array}$$
(3)
where $`m_p`$ is the proton mass, $`E`$ and $`p`$ are the energy and momentum of the proton in the laboratory system, and $`B`$ is a subtraction constant, usually determined from the fit to the data. The indices $`+()`$ stand respectively for the $`pp`$ and $`(\overline{p}p)`$ amplitudes. The standard normalization (2) is chosen in Eq.(3).

In the above expression, the contributions of the integral over the unphysical cuts from the two-pion to the two-proton threshold are omitted because they are $`1\%`$ (see, e.g. valeng ) in the region of interest ($`\sqrt{s}5`$ GeV).

The derivative dispersion relations (DDR) were obtained DDR  separately for crossing-even and crossing-odd amplitudes

$$f_\pm (s,0)=A_+(s,0)\pm A_{}(s,0).$$
(4)
They are very useful in a practice due to their simple analytical form at high energies, $`Em_p`$:

$$\mathrm{}ef_+(E,0)E\mathrm{tan}\left[\frac{\pi }{2}E\frac{d}{dE}\right]\mathrm{}mf_+(E,0)/E.$$
(5)
However it is important to estimate the corrections to these asymptotic relations (5) if one is to use them at finite $`s`$.

It will be shown in the forthcoming paper that one can obtain for the even part of amplitude

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\mathrm{}ef_+(E,0)\hfill & =\hfill & B_++E\mathrm{tan}\left[\frac{\pi }{2}E\frac{d}{dE}\right]\mathrm{}mf_+(E,0)/E\hfill \\ & \hfill & \frac{2}{\pi }\underset{p=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{C_+(p)}{2p+1}\left(\frac{m_p}{E}\right)^{2p}\hfill \end{array}$$
(6)
with

$$C_+(p)=\frac{e^{\xi D_\xi }}{2p+1+D_\xi }[\mathrm{}mf_+(E,0)E\mathrm{}mf_+^{}(E,0)].$$

where $`f^{}=df/dE`$ and $`D_\xi =d/d\xi ,\xi =\mathrm{ln}(E/m_p)`$.

It can be proven, using the properties of $`\mathrm{exp}(\xi D_\xi ),`$ that $`C_+(p)`$ does not depend on $`E`$. A similar expression is obtained for the crossing-odd part of the amplitudes.

## 3 Phenomenology.

Our aim is to compare the fits of three pomeron models with $`\rho (s)`$ calculated by two methods: the integral dispersion relation, and the asymptotic form of the DDR but with a subtraction constant.

We apply as a first step the IDR and DDR only to $`pp`$ and $`\overline{p}p`$ data, fitting the high-energy models to the data at $`\sqrt{s}5`$ GeV.

### 3.1 Low-energy data.

Low-energy total cross sections for $`pp`$ (143 points) and $`\overline{p}p`$ (220 points) interactions at $`\sqrt{s}<5`$ GeV are explicitly parameterized and the values of the free parameters are determined from a fit to the data at $`s<s_{min}`$ (all data on $`\sigma `$ and $`\rho `$ are taken from data ). Thus we perform an overall fit in three steps.

1. The chosen model for high-energy cross-sections is fitted to the data on the cross sections only at $`s>s_{min}`$.
2. The obtained “high-energy” parameters are fixed. The “low-energy” parameters are determined from the fit at $`s<s_{min}`$, but with $`\sigma _{pp}^{\overline{p}p}(s_{min})`$ given by the first step.
3. The subtraction constant $`B_+`$ is determined from the fit at $`s>s_{min}`$ with all other parameters kept fixed.

Then, without fitting, we calculate the ratios $`\rho _{pp}`$ and $`\rho _{\overline{p}p}`$ at all energies above the physical threshold.

### 3.2 High energy. Pomeron models.

We consider three models leading to different asymptotic behaviors for the total cross sections. We start from the explicit parameterization of the total $`pp`$ and $`\overline{p}p`$ cross-sections, then, to find the ratios of the real to imaginary parts, we apply the IDR making use of the second method for a calculation of the low-energy part of the dispersion integral. Then we compare results for ratios calculated through the DDR.

All the models include the contributions of pomeron, $`f`$ and $`\omega `$ reggeons (we consider these reggeons as effective ones because it is not reasonable to add other secondary reggeons provided only the $`pp`$ and $`\overline{p}p`$ data are fitted.)

$$\sigma _{pp}^{\overline{p}p}=𝒫(E)+R_f(E)\pm R_\omega (E),$$
(7)
where $`R_f=R_+,R_\omega =R_{}`$ and

$$R_\pm (E)=g_\pm \left(E/\lambda m_p\right)^{\alpha _\pm (0)1}.$$
(8)
The parameter $`\lambda `$ can play a role only for the pomeron term in the triple pole model (see below), in the simple pole and dipole models $`\lambda =1`$.

When the imaginary part of amplitude is integrated in IDR we consider (for comparison) two kinds of normalization: the standard one defined in Eq. (2) and the asymptotic one given by Eq. (1). For the latter case, in the expressions for cross-sections, the replacement $`E/\lambda m_ps/s_1`$ is made.

Besides, we compare our results with the models which are written as functions of $`is`$ and with the asymptotic normalization (1).

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\frac{1}{s}A_{pp}^{\overline{p}p}(s,0)\hfill & =\hfill & i𝒫(is)+iR_f(is)\pm R_\omega (is)\hfill \end{array}$$
(9)
We denote such fits as “$`is`$ fits”. We present the results of the fits using DDR (with a subtraction constant) and of standard fits with amplitudes defined in accordance with “$`is`$” rule.

Simple pole pomeron model (SP). In this model, the intercept of the pomeron is larger than unity d-l

$$𝒫(E)=g\left(E/(\lambda m_p)\right)^{\alpha _𝒫(0)1}.$$
(10)
Dipole pomeron model (DP). The pomeron in this model is a double pole in the complex angular momentum plane with intercept $`\alpha _𝒫(0)=1`$.

$$𝒫(E)=g_1+g_2\mathrm{ln}(E/\lambda m_p).$$
(11)
Tripole pomeron model (TP) The pomeron is the hardest complex $`j`$-plane singularity allowed by unitarity: the triple pole at $`t=0`$ and $`j=1`$.

$$𝒫(E)=g_1+g_2\mathrm{ln}^2(E/\lambda m_p).$$
(12)
## 4 Results, discussion and conclusions.

The quality of the fits is presented in the Table, where $`\chi ^2`$ per number of experimental points is shown. In the Figures we show the curves only for the simple-pole pomeron model. For other models the curves are practically the same in the region where data are available.

|  | Standard | | Asymptotic | |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | normalization | | normalization | |
|  | IDR | DDR | IDR | $`\mathrm{"}is\mathrm{"},B=0`$ |
| Simple Pole | 1.046 | 1.065 | 1.112 | 1.121 |
| Double Pole | 1.053 | 1.045 | 1.132 | 1.079 |
| Triple Pole | 1.044 | 1.046 | 1.111 | 1.115 |

Table. The values of the $`\chi ^2`$ per point ($`\chi ^2/N_p`$) obtained in the various pomeron models and through the different methods for the calculation of the ratio $`\rho `$. Both $`\sigma _{tot}`$ and $`\rho `$ are included.

As one can see from the Table, all models give similar descriptions of the data on $`\sigma _{tot}`$ and $`\rho `$. Evidently, the fit with the integral dispersion relations and with the standard normalization is preferable. While the data on $`\sigma `$ are described with $`\chi ^2/N_p0.91`$, the data on $`\rho `$ are described less well, with a $`\chi ^2/N_p1.5`$ in $`pp`$ case. We believe that this occurs because of the bad quality of the $`\rho `$ data.

We would like to note that the values of $`\rho `$ calculated using DDR deviate from those calculated with IDR even at $`\sqrt{s}78`$ GeV (see Fig. 2). It means that in order to have more correct values of the $`\rho `$ at such energies, one must use the IDR rather than explicit analytical expressions from the DDR.

The neglect of the subtraction constant, together with the use of asymptotic formulae in a non-asymptotic domain, may be the source of the conclusion of COMPETE  excluding the simple-pole model from the list of the best models. Inclusion of these (non-asymptotic) terms improves the description of $`\rho `$ considerably, and may lead to different conclusions regarding the simple-pole model.

However, in order to have these final conclusions, one will have to make a complete (a la COMPETE) analysis of the all data, including cross sections and $`\rho `$ for $`\pi p`$ and $`Kp`$ interactions111The first results obtained in this direction (after the Conference) are given in CLMS ..


text:
# Imaging density disturbances in water with 41.3 attosecond time resolution

## Abstract

We show that the momentum flexibility of inelastic x-ray scattering may be exploited to invert its loss function, alowing real time imaging of density disturbances in a medium. We show the disturbance arising from a point source in liquid water, with a resolution of 41.3 attoseconds ($`4.13\times 10^{17}`$ sec) and 1.27 $`\AA `$ ($`1.27\times 10^8`$ cm). This result is used to determine the structure of the electron cloud around a photoexcited chromophore in solution, as well as the wake generated in water by a 9 MeV gold ion. We draw an analogy with pump-probe techniques and suggest that energy-loss scattering may be applied more generally to the study of attosecond phenomena.

preprint: cond-mat/???????

Brisk progress has been made recently in the generation and detection of ultrashort, attosecond (1 as = 10<sup>-18</sup> sec) laser pulses with high harmonic generation techniques drescher1 ; drescher2 ; baltiuska ; hentschel ; keinberger ; niikura1 ; niikura2 ; paul . This has heralded an age of attophysics in which many-electron dynamics will be probed in real time. Much of what is already known about electron dynamics has been derived from energy-loss techniques such as inelastic x-ray, electron, or neutron scattering, which have been fruitfully applied to the study of, for example, plasma oscillations, exciton dynamics, and spin waves. Such experiments are normally examined in the frequency / momentum representation, where the spectra may be easily compared to theoretically calculable response functions for the electron density or local magnetic moment. However if such measurements truly reflect dynamics, a temporal representation may also be illuminating.

In this letter we demonstrate a method for inverting energy-loss measurements into time and space, permitting explicit imaging of electron dynamics in a medium. This allows the spatial extent of excited states to be determined, i.e. the mean free path or dephasing distance, and a parallel with pump-probe techniques to be drawn. Inverting requires reliable sampling of a loss function along both energy and momentum axes with sufficient range to resolve the features of interest and sufficient resolution to provide an adequate field of view. Therefore, because of its kinematic flexibility, we consider the case of inelastic x-ray scattering (IXS).

In IXS a photon with well-defined initial momentum and energy, $`(𝐤_i,\omega _i)`$, is impinged on a specimin which scatters it to a final $`(𝐤_f,\omega _f)`$. The spectral density of scattered photons is proportional to the dynamic structure factor of the material, $`S(𝐤,\omega )`$, where $`\omega =\omega _i\omega _f`$ and $`𝐤=𝐤_i𝐤_f`$ are the transferred energy and momentumschuelke . $`S(𝐤,\omega )`$ was posed originally by van HovevanHove  as a measure of the dynamical properties of an interacting electron system, and by the fluctuation-dissipation theorem is related to the imaginary part of a response functionsturm

$$Im\left[\chi (𝐤,\omega )\right]=\pi \left[S(𝐤,\omega )S(𝐤,\omega )\right]$$
(1)
which can thereby be experimentally determined. $`\chi (𝐤,\omega )`$ is known as the density Green’s function, or density propagator, and describes the way disturbances in the electron density propagate in the system. $`\chi (𝐤,\omega )`$ is the space-time fourier transform of $`\chi (𝐱,t)=i<0|[\delta \widehat{n}(𝐱,t),\delta \widehat{n}(0,0)]|0>\theta (t)`$, where $`\delta \widehat{n}`$ is the density fluctuation operator, and in real space represents the disturbance produced by a delta function source at the origin at $`t=0`$. Energy loss scattering, in this sense, is rather like a pump-probe experiment; the system is perturbed at a reference point in time, and its subsequent evolution observed. To make the analogy more concrete we wish to carry out such an inversion on a real IXS data set.

Unfortunately, inverting requires knowledge of the full $`\chi (𝐤,\omega )`$, but the experiment provides only its imaginary part. In other words in IXS there is a phase problem, like that in x-ray crystallography, that must be overcome before results can be visualized explicitly. Fortunately, the phase can be retrieved by exploiting the causal properties of $`\chi (𝐤,\omega )`$, i.e. the fact that it satisfies the Kramers-Krönig (KK) relation, the second of which may be writtenjackson

$$Re\left[\chi (𝐤,\omega )\right]=\frac{2}{\pi }P_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑\omega ^{}\frac{Im\left[\chi (𝐤,\omega )\right]}{\omega ^{}\omega }.$$
(2)
Eq. (2) ensures that $`\chi (𝐱,t)`$ = 0 for $`t<0`$ and is equivalent to choosing a retarded causality convention for the propagator. From (2) Re\[$`\chi (𝐤,\omega )`$\] may be determined, which in principle allows reconstruction of $`\chi (𝐱,t)`$martinCDW ; circumvent .

We used this procedure to image the density disturbance generated by a point perturbation in liquid water. The elementary quantum of density oscillation in water is the plasmon, which arises from collective vibration of the $`2s`$ and $`2p`$ shells of Oxygen whose density determines the normal frequency $`\omega _p=22`$ eVkaoWater . The plasmon is also the fundamental source of electronic screening in water and determines, for example, its optical refractive indexnwater . We used IXS to sample the plasmon momentum and energy dependence over the ranges 1 eV $`<\omega <`$ 100 eV and $`0.476<k<4.95\AA ^1`$ (Figure 1). Measurements were carried out on station C-1 at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), where a nested Si(111)/(400) monochromator with sagittal focusing was employedken , and at CMC-CAT at the Advanced Photon Source (APS), where a single Si(333) channel cut was used. Both experiments used a diced, backscattering Ge(444) analyzer to achieve overall energy and momentum resolutions of $`\mathrm{\Delta }\omega =0.30`$ eV and $`\mathrm{\Delta }k=0.146\AA ^1`$. This configuration provided effective spacetime resolutions of $`\mathrm{\Delta }t=41.3`$ as and $`\mathrm{\Delta }x=1.27\AA `$, with fields of view of 13.8 fs and 54.3 $`\AA `$.

In addition to inelastic scattering the spectra contained zero loss lines due to the static liquid structure factor. This was subtracted and the spectra extrapolated to 0 at $`\omega =0`$, where $`Im[\chi (𝐤,\omega )]`$ must vanish by causality, and at $`k=0`$, where it must vanish by charge conservation. The $`F`$ sum rule was applied with $`n_0=0.20/\AA ^3`$ to place the spectra on an absolute scale.

While the proposed Kramers-Krönig inversion procedure is simple in principle, unexpected subtleties arise when applying it to a discrete and finite data set. First, a discrete Im\[$`\chi (\omega )`$\] implies that $`\chi (t)`$ is periodic, a property incompatible with the causality constraint that $`\chi (t)`$ vanish for all $`t<0`$. Second, the KK relations are defined on an infinite $`\omega `$ interval, yet our scan range was a finite 100 eV. We resolve the former issue by analytically continuing the spectra onto a continuous freqency interval, by linear interpolation, resulting in a time axis which is formally infinite. This permits $`\chi (t)`$ to vanish for all $`t<0`$, but brings about an aliasing effect that makes the dynamics repeat with a period $`T=2\pi /d\omega =13.8`$ fs, where $`d\omega `$ is the spectrometer resolution (here the quantity $`2\pi /d\omega `$ plays the role of the Nyquist critical frequency familiar from Fourier optics).

The latter issue is resolved by extrapolating the spectra to $`\omega \mathrm{}`$ with a Lorentzian fit, which is appended to the measured spectra (Figure 2). This forces the time domain to be formally continuous, causing $`\chi (𝐱,t)`$ to be defined even on times much shorter than the effective resolution of $`2\pi /100`$ eV $`=41.3`$ as. It is fair to examine the function on such short time scales, though one must remember that its behavior is sensitive to the form of the extrapolation (Figure 2).

Figure 3 displays time frames of $`\chi (𝐱,t)`$. Because the medium is isotropic the disturbance is spherically symmetric, and each image is a section of this sphere with $`\chi (𝐱,t)`$ plotted in units of $`\AA ^6`$ on the vertical axis. At negative times $`\chi (𝐱,t)`$ vanishes and the system is ”placid” (Fig. 3a). At $`t=0`$ the system is ”struck” with a positive perturbation, generating a negative recoil at the origin surrounded by a positive build-up at $`|x|=1.3\AA `$ as current flows away from the source point (3b). On an expanded scale a dip is also visible at $`|x|=2.5\AA `$, followed by another peak at $`3.8\AA `$ (3h), forming a transient structure analogous to the Friedel oscillations that occur around point impurities in metalsfriedel ; commentFriedel .

Because of the compensating charge from the ion cores the pattern (3h) experiences a return force which causes it to reverse direction and change shape (3c). An anharmonic oscillation occurs, with a time scale of order the plasma frequency $`T=2\pi /\omega _p=180`$ as (3d-g). Overall, the disturbance is seen to be rather local, occurring within 5 $`\AA `$ of the origin, a property related to the broad line shape in Figure 1. A plasmon in water can oscillate a few times but never develops into a true propagating mode.

As time evolves the entropy grows and the disturbance damps as the system evolves toward thermal equilibrium. The disturbance decays below our threshold of detectability, determined by the experimental noise level shown in Fig. 3i, after an elapsed time of 350 as $``$ less time than it takes light to travel 100 nm in vacuum.

$`\chi (𝐱,t)`$ provides a means to visualize electron dynamics, but more significant is its relevance to a rather broad class of ultrafast processes in matter. Specifically, because it describes the disturbance from a point source, by the principle of superposition $`\chi (𝐱,t)`$ can be used to determine the effects of extended sources. The charge $`n_{ind}(𝐱,t)`$ induced in a medium by a time-dependent source $`n_{ext}(𝐱,t)`$ is determined in reciprocal space by the relationshippines

$$n_{ind}(𝐤,\omega )=\frac{4\pi e^2}{\mathrm{}k^2}\chi (𝐤,\omega )n_{ext}(𝐤,\omega )$$
(3)
which in real space is a convolution over the dimensions of $`n_{ext}(𝐱,t)`$ identical to the Green’s function integral used to handle sources in ordinary differential equationsmathwalk . We illustrate its use by modeling an oscillating dipole, and a gold ion travelling in water at 0.01 times the speed of light, $`c`$. As a model of the former we take $`n_{ext}(𝐱,t)=[\delta (x+0.5\AA )\delta (x0.5\AA )]\mathrm{cos}(\omega _0t)`$, i.e. two point charges with opposite sign separated by 1 $`\AA `$, oscillating with a frequency $`\omega _0=2`$eV$`/\mathrm{}`$. The resulting disturbance, $`n_{ext}(𝐱,t)`$, is shown in Figure 4a. Such a disturbance would occur, for example, around a photoexcited chromophore in solution, and should have influence on short-range fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) commonly used to measure distances in biological systemsstryer . Similarly, an ion with charge $`Z`$ traveling at velocity v, represented as $`n_{ext}(𝐱,t)=Z\delta (𝐱𝐯t)`$, for $`Z=79`$ and $`𝐯=0.01c`$ produces the pattern in Figure 4b. This is an image of the density wake of a 9 MeV gold ion traveling in water and can be used, for example, to quantify the stopping power, dE/dxpenn .

It is important to address the issue of why, despite the spatial resolution of $`dx=1.27\AA `$, individual atoms are not visible in Figs. 3$``$4. The reason is that a density propagator is actually a function of two spatial variables, $`\chi (𝐱,𝐱^{};t)`$, with a Fourier transform of the more general form $`\chi (𝐤,𝐤^{};\omega )`$. There being only one momentum transfer in scattering, we measure only the diagonal (i.e. longitudinal) response, $`\chi (𝐤,𝐤;\omega )`$sturm . In other words the present analysis has assumed a translational invariance that does not strictly apply. The images in Figs. 3$``$4 must therefore be thought of as spatial averages $``$ not single events but the mean of many events at different locations in the specimin. In many cases an ensemble average provides adequate information; if not this limitation can be overcome by using standing wave techniquesschuelke2 ; golovchenko .

The existence of nonlocality in electrodynamics, in both time and space, is well establishedjackson ; agranovich . In this article we have shown that they may be combined to explicitly image electron dynamics. Because x-rays may be tuned over extremely broad ranges of energy, time scales are accessible that are currently out of the reach of laser-based techniques. We therefore suggest that IXS, because of its kinematic flexibility, may provide an alternative window on the attosecond phenomena targeted in Refs. drescher1 ; drescher2 ; baltiuska ; hentschel ; keinberger ; niikura1 ; niikura2 ; paul . A sensible starting point for comparison would be the photofragmentation reaction of NaI or LiF.

Not all attosecond phenomena may be probed with IXS. Like x-ray diffraction, it is only sensitive to phenomena which modulate the electron density, that is, which are capable of screening charge, such as collective modes like plasmons and phonons. This makes IXS somewhat inappropriate for the study of low energy single particle excitations except in materials which cannot sustain collective electronic vibration, such as large gap insulatorswolfgang . This is also true of resonance techniques which rely specifically on the coulomb interaction to reach final statesjohn ; me ; zahid . On the other hand, low energy electronic screening, which is determined by the plasmon through its real part, is quite accessible.

We gratefully acknowledge experimental support from T. Gog, and helpful input from P. M. Platzman, N. W. Ashcroft, T. Brabec, G. Toombes, Wei Ku, I. K. Robinson, and S. K. Sinha. This study was supported by the U.S. Dept. of Energy grant DEFG02-97ER62443. CHESS is supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under cooperative agreement DMR-0225180. The APS is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract W-31-109-ENG-38.


text:
# High resolution X-ray observations of 3C 58

## 1. Introduction

3C 58 (G130.7+3.1) is a Crab-like nebula believed to be associated with the historical supernova SN 1181. X-ray observations reveal reveal a compact source at the center, and a power law spectrum whose index steepens with radius, characteristic of particle injection from a central pulsar. 3C 58 appears to be quite different from the Crab Nebula in many respects, however. The nebula is larger, and the radio luminosity is ten times lower than that of the Crab. The X-ray luminosity is nearly 2000 times lower, perhaps suggesting that any central pulsar has undergone a significant reduction in its injection power. However, recent Chandra HRC observations (Murray et al. 2002) have revealed PSR J0205+6449, the second most energetic pulsar known in the Galaxy, powering the nebula; the characteristic age is $`\tau P/2\dot{P}5\times 10^3`$ yr which, assuming a true age of $`820`$ yr based on the historical association, implies an initial spin period of $`P_060`$ ms — much longer than that inferred for the Crab pulsar.

The emission from the center-most region of 3C 58 is extended, with elongation in the N-S direction, perpendicular to the long axis of the main nebula. The pulsar resides at the center of this compact core nebula, and a jet-like feature protrudes westward. At the western edge resides a narrow radio wisp discovered by Frail & Moffett (1993), who suggested that this lies along the pulsar wind termination shock. Using the measured value of $`\dot{E}=10^{37.6}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$ and the pressure determined for the nebula interior, the expected radius of the termination shock is $`r_w12^{\prime \prime }`$, in good agreement with the north-south extent of the core nebula in 3C 58 (Slane et al. 2002). This suggests a toroidal structure with an inclination angle of $`70^{},`$ and with a projected pulsar spin axis in the E-W direction. The elongated shape of the entire PWN is consistent with a pulsar axis oriented in the E-W direction (Begelman & Li 1992, van der Swaluw 2003).

While unresolved from the compact surrounding nebula, limits on the X-ray flux from PSR J0205+6449 provide important constraints on models for NS cooling. The upper limit to the thermal emission from the NS surface falls well below predictions from standard cooling models and appears to require the presence of some rapid cooling mechanism (Slane, Helfand, & Murray 2002). Such rapid cooling may imply an above-average NS mass, for which an increased proton fraction in the interior allows the direct Urca process to proceed (Yakovlev et al. 2002), or may indicate the presence of pion condensates in the NS interior, which also lead to rapid cooling (Tsuruta et al. 2003).

## 2. New Observations of 3C 58

3C 38 was recently observed for 350 ks with the ACIS detector onboard the Chandra Observatory. The X-ray image, shown in Figure 1 (Slane et al. 2003, in preparation) and described in more detail below, reveals a complex structure consisting of loops, elongated features, and broad diffuse emission. The observation was divided into three segments to accommodate interruptions by the radiation zones in the Chandra orbit. An error in on-board commanding resulted in the final segment being carried out with the spacecraft dither turned off for the full 170 ks duration, resulting in no exposure in regions corresponding to gaps between the CCD chips or to bad column regions in the CCDs for this segment; these result in faint vertical features evident in Figure 1.

### 2.1. Spatial and Spectral Structure in 3C 58

X-ray spectra were extracted from various regions of 3C 58, with corresponding background spectra taken from a region of the CCD beyond the extent of the nebula. The emission is well described by a power law model, typical of synchrotron emission. The spectral index varies throughout the PWN, however. We find, in particular, that the average spectral index increases with radius (Figure 2, left), as expected for synchrotron losses as the electrons diffuse from the center, consistent with the results based on studies of 3C 58 with ASCA (Torii et al. 2000) and XMM-Newton (Bocchino et al. 2001). Here we have forced the column density to be the same for each emission region, but have left the overall value as a free parameter in the spectral fit. The best-fit value for the column density is $`N_H=(3.69\pm 0.06)\times 10^{21}\mathrm{cm}^2`$, and we use this value when investigating the emission from discrete regions from throughout the nebula.

For the jet-like region protruding from the pulsar, we extracted spectra from three distinct regions extending across the feature. Fixing the column density for each region at that derived above, we find a spectral index of $`2.0`$ with no significant evidence for variations from region to region.

As noted above, one of the remarkable features revealed by the deep ACIS observation of 3C 58 is the presence of loop-like structures throughout the nebula, suggestive of magnetic structures in which the synchrotron emission is enhanced. We have investigated the spectra from individual loops, and compared these with the emission in the “void” regions interior to the loops to search for variations that might be expected if the synchrotron-emitting particles age as they diffuse from the loop regions. While we find spectral index differences between loops in the interior and exterior regions of the nebula, the void regions have spectra similar to those of the corresponding loops. The jet-like feature extending eastward from the pulsar appears to merge with a loop structure to the southeast, possibly suggesting that the former is not actually a jet. However, the spectrum of this feature is flatter than for the adjacent loop. While this does not confirm the jet notion, it does indicate that this is a distinct feature.

The X-ray spectrum from the outermost region of 3C 58 (Figure 2, right) is not well fit by a simple power law. Residual emission below $`1`$ keV requires an additional thermal model with $`kT0.25`$ keV and roughly a factor of 3 overabundance of Ne. This is similar to results reported by Bocchino et al. (2001) based on XMM-Newton observations, and represents confirmation of the long-sought thermal shell bounding 3C 58. The density of the thermal plasma is of order $`n0.05\mathrm{cm}^2`$, corresponding to an observed mass of $`0.06M_{}`$, although these values are quite uncertain due to the poorly defined geometry of the thermal emission region. The presence of enhanced Ne suggests that the thermal emission is associated with stellar ejecta. However, if associated with reverse-shocked ejecta, this would imply the presence of a considerable swept-up ISM component outside the PWN, which is not observed. If, instead, the emission is from ejecta swept up the the PWN itself, the size, age, and spindown power for the system imply a relatively small total ejecta mass (Chevalier 2003).

## 3. Conclusions

3C 58 is a young PWN powered by an energetic pulsar. The compact interior shows evidence of structure from the pulsar wind termination shock. Limits on thermal emission from the neutron star itself require rapid cooling mechanisms such as the direct Urca process or the presence of exotic particles in the NS interior. The overall structure of the PWN itself is dominated by a significant east-west elongation, consistent with a pulsar rotation axis in this same direction, along with complex loop-like structures that may represent magnetic structures in the nebula. Thermal emission from the outer regions of the nebula appear to correspond to ejecta-rich material that is bounding the PWN.

#### Acknowledgments.

This work was supported by NASA Contract NAS8-39073 and Grant GO0-1117A.

## References

Begelman, M.C. & Li, Z-Y. 1992, ApJ, 397, 187

Bocchino, F. et al. 2001, A&A, 369, 1078

Chevalier, R. A. 2003, astro-ph/0301370

Frail, D. A. & Moffett, D. A. 1993, ApJ, 408, 637

Murray, S. S. et al. 2002, 568, 226

Slane, P., Helfand, D. J. & Murray, S. S. 2002, ApJ, 571, L45

Torii, K. et al. 2000, PASJ, 52, 875

Tsuruta, S. et al. 2002, ApJ, 571, L143

van der Swaluw, E. 2003, A&A, 404, 939

Yakovlev, D. G. et al. 2002, A&A, 389, L24


text:
# Tripartite Quantum State Sharing

## Abstract

We demonstrate a multipartite protocol to securely distribute and reconstruct a quantum state. A secret quantum state is encoded into a tripartite entangled state and distributed to three players. By collaborating, any two of the three players can reconstruct the state, whilst individual players obtain nothing. We characterize this $`(2,3)`$ threshold quantum state sharing scheme in terms of fidelity, signal transfer and reconstruction noise. We demonstrate a fidelity averaged over all reconstruction permutations of $`0.73\pm 0.04`$, a level achievable only using quantum resources.

Secret sharingSha79  is a powerful technique in computer science, which enables secure and robust communication in information networks, such as the internet, telecommunication systems and distributed computers. The security of these networks can be enhanced using quantum resources to protect the information. Such schemes have been termed quantum secret sharingHil99 . Many applications in quantum information science, however, require the distribution of quantum states. One such example are quantum information networks, which are expected to consist of nodes where quantum states are created, processed and stored, connected by quantum channelsCir97 . It is of paramount importance that the quantum channels in these networks allow the robust and secure distribution of quantum states between nodes. Cleve et al.Cle99  proposed the secret sharing of quantum states as a protocol that provides these capabilities, overcoming failures or conspiracies by nodes. We term this quantum state sharing to differentiate from the quantum secret sharing of classical information. In $`(k,n)`$ threshold quantum state sharingCle99 , the “dealer” node encodes a secret state into an $`n`$-party entangled state and distributes it to $`n`$ “player” nodes. Any $`k`$ players (the access structure) can collaborate to retrieve the quantum state, whereas the remaining $`nk`$ players (the adversary structure), even when conspiring, acquire nothing. This scheme provides quantum information networks with a secure framework for distributed quantum computation and quantum communication.

The original quantum state sharing scheme by Cleve et al. was formulated for discrete states and requires the control and coupling of qudits ($`d`$-dimensional extensions of qubits), which is extremely experimentally challenging. In the continuous variable regime, however, quantum state sharing is feasible utilizing Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) entanglementTyc02 , an experimentally accessible quantum resourceOu92 ; Bow03 . We demonstrate $`(2,3)`$ threshold quantum state sharing in this regime. In our scheme, a secret coherent state is encoded into a tripartite entangled state and distributed to three players. We demonstrate that any two of the three players can form an access structure to reconstruct the state. The state reconstruction is characterized in terms of fidelity, signal transfer, and reconstruction noise. These measures show a direct verification of our tripartite continuous variable entanglement. As coherent states form an over-complete basis for all quantum states, arbitrary states can be shared by this scheme.

The quantum states of interest in this paper reside at the frequency sidebands of an electromagnetic field. In the Heisenberg picture of quantum mechanics, a quantum state can be represented by the field annihilation operator $`\widehat{a}=(\widehat{X}^++i\widehat{X}^{})/2`$, where $`\widehat{X}^\pm =\widehat{X}^\pm +\delta \widehat{X}^\pm `$ are the amplitude (+) and phase (-) quadratures, with variances of $`V^\pm =(\widehat{X}^\pm )^2`$. In our dealer protocol, the dealer interferes the secret state $`\widehat{a}_{\mathrm{in}}`$ with one of a pair of EPR entangled beams $`\widehat{a}_{\mathrm{EPR1}}`$ on a 1:1 beam splitter (Fig. 1). The two output fields and the second entangled beam $`\widehat{a}_{\mathrm{EPR2}}`$ form the three shares which are distributed to the players. The entangled state ensures that the secret is protected from each player individually and is generated by interfering a pair of amplitude squeezed beams $`\widehat{a}_{\mathrm{sqz1}}`$ and $`\widehat{a}_{\mathrm{sqz2}}`$Bow03 . The dealer can further enhance the security of the scheme by displacing the coherent amplitudes of the shares with correlated Gaussian white noiseLan03 . Choosing the Gaussian noise to have the same correlations as the quadrature entanglement, the shares can be expressed as

$`\widehat{a}_1`$ $`=`$ $`(\widehat{a}_{\mathrm{in}}+\widehat{a}_{\mathrm{EPR1}}+\delta 𝒩)/\sqrt{2}`$ (1)
$`\widehat{a}_2`$ $`=`$ $`(\widehat{a}_{\mathrm{in}}\widehat{a}_{\mathrm{EPR1}}\delta 𝒩)/\sqrt{2}`$ (2)
$`\widehat{a}_3`$ $`=`$ $`\widehat{a}_{\mathrm{EPR2}}+\delta 𝒩^{}`$ (3)
where $`\delta 𝒩=(\delta N^++i\delta N^{})/2`$ represents the Gaussian noise with mean $`\delta N^\pm =0`$ and variance $`(\delta N^\pm )^2=V_N`$, and  denotes the complex conjugate.

The reconstruction protocol used for the $`(2,3)`$ quantum state sharing scheme is dependent on the corresponding access structure (Fig. 1). The access structure formed when players 1 and 2 collaborate, henceforth denoted {1,2}, reconstructs the secret quantum state by completing a Mach-Zehnder interferometer using a 1:1 beam splitterTyc02 . The access structures {2,3} and {1,3} reconstruct the quantum state by utilizing a 2:1 beam splitter and an electro-optic feedforward loopLan03 . In the latter protocol, combining the shares on the beam splitter with appropriate relative phase reconstructs the phase quadrature of the secret state on one of the beam splitter outputs. In contrast, the amplitude quadrature has additional noise as a result of this process. This noise, however, is correlated with the amplitude quadrature of the other beam splitter output, which is detected. The resulting photocurrent is fedforward to displace the amplitude quadrature of the first output. Assuming no losses, the quadratures of the reconstructed secret can then be expressed as Lan03

$`\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{out}}^+`$ $`=`$ $`g^+\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{in}}^++{\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}}(1\sqrt{3}g^+)(\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{sqz}_1}^++\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{sqz}_2}^+)+`$ (4)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(g^+\sqrt{3})(\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{sqz}_1}^{}\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{sqz}_2}^{})+(\sqrt{3}g^+)\delta N^+`$
$`\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{out}}^{}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}}(\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{in}}^{}+\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{sqz}_1}^+\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{sqz}_2}^+)`$ (5)
where $`g^\pm =\widehat{X}_{\mathrm{out}}^\pm /\widehat{X}_{\mathrm{in}}^\pm `$ are the optical quadrature gains. The phase quadrature gain $`g^{}=1/\sqrt{3}`$ is set by the 2:1 beam splitter, whilst the amplitude quadrature gain $`g^+=(1/\sqrt{3}+G/\sqrt{6})`$ has an additional term which is a function of the electronic feedforward gain $`G`$. We refer to the specific gain of $`g^+g^{}=1`$ as the unitary gain point. At unitary gain and in the limit of perfect squeezing, the quadratures of the reconstructed state are given by $`\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{out}}^\pm =(\sqrt{3})^{\pm 1}\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{in}}^\pm `$. This state is directly related to the secret state via a local unitary parametric operation. Although not in the same form as the secret state, such a reconstructed state is only achievable using entanglement. On the other hand, the unitary parametric operation is local and requires no entanglement. Therefore, the essence of the reconstruction protocol is contained within the feedforward scheme.

In our experiment we use a Nd:YAG laser producing a coherent field at 1064nm to provide a shared time frame between all parties; to yield the dealer secret state, produced by displacing the sideband vacuum state of the laser field using an amplitude and a phase modulator at 6.12MHz; and to produce two amplitude squeezed states generated in hemilithic MgO:LiNbO3 optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) pumped with 532nm light. The output fields of each OPA are squeezed $`4.5\pm 0.2`$dB below the quantum noise limit. These squeezed beams are interfered on a 1:1 beam splitter with an observed visibility of $`99.1\pm 0.2\%`$. The beam splitter outputs are EPR entangled and satisfy the wave-function inseparability criterion $`(\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{EPR1}}^++\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{EPR2}}^+)^2(\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{EPR1}}^{}\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{EPR2}}^{})^2/4=0.44\pm 0.02<1`$Dua00 ; Bow03 . To enhance the security of the secret state against the adversaries, the coherent quadrature amplitudes of the entangled beams are displaced with Gaussian noise of variance $`V_N=3.5\pm 0.1`$dB. Experimentally, this noise can be actively applied using electro-optic modulation techniques, but in our case it appears naturally as a result of de-coherence111This aspect of de-coherence will be described in detail in a later publication.. A homodyne detector is used to characterize the secret, adversary and reconstructed quantum states using a configuration of removable mirrors. To ensure accurate results, the total homodyne detection efficiency, $`\eta _{\mathrm{hom}}=0.89\pm 0.01`$, is inferred out of each measurement.

We characterize the quality of the state reconstruction for the access and adversary structures using fidelity $`=\psi _{\mathrm{in}}|\rho _{\mathrm{out}}|\psi _{\mathrm{in}}`$, which measures the overlap between the secret and reconstructed quantum statesShu95 . Assuming that all fields involved have Gaussian statistics and that the secret is a coherent state, the fidelity can be expressed in terms of experimentally measurable parameters as

$$=2e^{(k^++k^{})/4}/\sqrt{(1+V_{\mathrm{out}}^+)(1+V_{\mathrm{out}}^{})}$$
(6)
where $`k^\pm =X_{\mathrm{in}}^\pm ^2(1g^\pm )^2/(1+V_{\mathrm{out}}^\pm )`$. In our experiment, the fidelity for {1,2} can be determined directly; however, for {2,3} and {1,3} a unitary parametric transformation must be applied before a meaningful fidelity is obtained. This unitary transform can be applied either optically or a posteriori. The final state is then $`\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{para}}^\pm =(\sqrt{3})^1\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{out}}^\pm `$, so in the ideal case $`\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{para}}^\pm =\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{in}}^\pm `$. Under ideal conditions and at unitary gain, any one of the access structures can achieve $`=1`$ corresponding to perfect reconstruction of the secret quantum state, whilst the corresponding adversary structure obtains $`=0`$.

When no entanglement is used, the maximum fidelity achievable by {2,3} and {1,3} is $`_{\{2,3\}}^{\mathrm{clas}}=_{\{1,3\}}^{\mathrm{clas}}=1/2`$, whilst {1,2} can still achieve $`_{\{1,2\}}^{\mathrm{clas}}=1`$, so the average fidelity achieved by all permutations of the access structure cannot exceed $`_{\mathrm{avg}}^{\mathrm{clas}}=2/3`$. This defines the classical boundary for $`(2,3)`$ threshold quantum state sharing. Note that for general $`(k,n)`$ threshold quantum state sharing of a coherent state, independent of the dealer protocol, the maximum average fidelity achievable without entanglement resources is $`_{\mathrm{avg}}^{\mathrm{clas}}=k/n`$.

With the $`\{1,3\}`$ and $`\{2,3\}`$ protocols being equivalent, our $`(2,3)`$ threshold quantum state sharing scheme is demonstrated through the implementations of the $`\{1,2\}`$ and $`\{2,3\}`$ reconstruction protocols. Figure 2 shows the noise spectra and corresponding inferred Wigner function standard deviation contours for the secret and reconstructed state for the {1,2} protocol. The fidelity obtained from these noise spectra is $`_{\{1,2\}}=0.93\pm 0.03`$ with $`g^+=0.94\pm 0.01`$ and $`g^{}=0.97\pm 0.01`$. The corresponding adversary structure {3} gets a fidelity of $`_{\{3\}}=0`$ since the share contains no component of the secret state. Figure 2 (d) shows several measured fidelity points as a function of phase space distance, $`r`$, between the coherent amplitudes of the secret and reconstructed states. Each fidelity point has a non-zero distance due to mode mismatch, optical losses and imperfect phase locking.

Similarly, Figure 3 shows an example of the secret and reconstructed state for the {2,3} protocol. In this case, to allow a direct comparison between the secret and reconstructed states, the inferred Wigner function standard deviation contour of the reconstructed state after the a posteriori local unitary parametric operation is also shown. Figure 4 shows the measured fidelity for a range gains. Around the unitary gain point, we achieve a fidelity of $`_{\{2,3\}}=0.63\pm 0.02`$ with $`g^+g^{}=1.02\pm 0.03`$. The corresponding adversary structure {1} achieves a fidelity of only $`_{\{1\}}=0.03\pm 0.01`$. The quantum nature of our protocol is demonstrated by the fidelity averaged over all the access structures $`_{\mathrm{avg}}=0.74\pm 0.04`$, which exceeds the classical limit $`_{\mathrm{avg}}^{\mathrm{clas}}=2/3`$.

Fidelity is a single state dependent measure of the efficacy of quantum information protocols. There are alternative measures which provide complementary information about these processes. One obvious technique is to measure the signal transfer to ($`𝒯`$), and the additional noise on ($`𝒱`$), the reconstructed stateRal98 . Such analysis has been used to characterize quantum non-demolitionPoi94  and quantum teleportation experimentsBow03b . Unlike the fidelity measure, both $`𝒯`$ and $`𝒱`$ are invariant to unitary transformations of the reconstructed state. Therefore, for the $`𝒯`$ and $`𝒱`$ analysis, an a posteriori unitary transform is not required. The signal transfer is given by $`𝒯=T^++T^{}`$, where $`T^\pm =\mathrm{SNR}_{\mathrm{out}}^\pm /\mathrm{SNR}_{\mathrm{in}}^\pm `$ are the quadrature signal transfer coefficients, with $`\mathrm{SNR}^\pm `$ being the standard signal-to-noise ratios. The additional noise is given by $`𝒱=V_{\mathrm{cv}}^+V_{\mathrm{cv}}^{}`$, where $`V_{\mathrm{cv}}^\pm =V_{\mathrm{out}}^\pm |\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{in}}^+\delta \widehat{X}_{\mathrm{out}}^+|^2/V_{\mathrm{out}}^\pm `$ are the conditional variances. Experimentally, the signal-to-noise ratios that define $`𝒯`$ can be obtained from our measured noise spectra (Fig. 2 and 3), whilst $`V_{\mathrm{cv}}^\pm `$ can be determined from the output quadrature variance and the optical quadrature gains $`V_{\mathrm{cv}}^\pm =V_{\mathrm{out}}^\pm (g^\pm )^2`$. In the ideal case, any one of the access structures can achieve perfect state reconstruction with $`𝒯=2`$ and $`𝒱=0`$, whilst the corresponding adversary structure obtains no information with $`𝒯=0`$ and $`𝒱=\mathrm{}`$.

Figure 5 (inset) shows the experimental $`𝒯`$ and $`𝒱`$ points for the {1,2} protocol. We measure a best state reconstruction of $`𝒯_{\{1,2\}}=1.77\pm 0.05`$ and $`𝒱_{\{1,2\}}=0.01\pm 0.01`$. Both of these values are close to optimal, being degraded only by optical losses and experimental inefficiencies. Similarly, Figure 5 shows the points for the {2,3} protocol for a range of gains, together with the corresponding adversary structure {1}. The majority of the experimental points are in agreement with the theoretical prediction, with the discrepancies accountable for by drifts in our control system. The accessible region for the {2,3} protocol without entanglement is illustrated by the shaded region. The quantum nature of the state reconstruction is demonstrated by the experimental points which exceed this classical region. For the {2,3} protocol we measure a lowest reconstruction noise of $`𝒱_{\{2,3\}}=0.46\pm 0.08`$ and a largest signal transfer of $`𝒯_{\{2,3\}}=1.03\pm 0.05`$. Points with $`𝒯>1`$ exceed the information cloning limitBow03b  and demonstrate that the {2,3} protocol has better access to information encoded on the secret state than any other parties. The adversary structure obtains a mean $`𝒯_{\{1\}}=0.41\pm 0.01`$ and $`𝒱_{\{1\}}=3.70\pm 0.08`$. The separation of the adversary structure $`𝒯`$ and $`𝒱`$ points from that of the {2,3} protocol in Figure 5 illustrates that in such a protocol the access structure performs far better than any adversary structure.

Our experimental demonstration of $`(2,3)`$ threshold quantum state sharing is the first application of continuous variable tripartite entanglement. Furthermore, it is extendable to an arbitrary $`(k,n)`$ scheme, without a corresponding scale-up of the required quantum resourcesTyc03 . The implementation of quantum state sharing broadens the scope of quantum information networks allowing quantum communication between multiple nodes, whilst providing security against malicious parties in the network as well as node and channel failures.

We wish to thank Timothy Ralph, Tomáš Tyc, Roman Schnabel and Hans Bachor for useful discussions and the support of the Australian Research Council and iCORE.