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# References

hep-ph/0006210

June 2000

Cosmic rays and TeV photons as probes of
quantum properties of space-time

Giovanni AMELINO-CAMELIAa and Tsvi PIRANb

aDipart. Fisica, Univ. Roma “La Sapienza”, P.le Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italy
bRacah Institute of Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel

ABSTRACT

It has been recently observed that small violations of Lorentz invariance, of a type which may arise in quantum gravity, could explain both the observations of cosmic rays above the GZK cutoff and the observations of 20-TeV gamma rays from Markarian 501. We show here that different pictures of the short-distance structure of space-time would lead to different manifestations of Lorentz-invariance violation. Specifically, the deformation of Lorentz invariance needed to resolve these observational paradoxes can only arise within commutative short-distance pictures of space-time. In noncommutative space-times there is no anomalous effect, at least at leading order. Also exploiting the fact that arrival-time delays between high energy photons with different energies would arise in both the commutative and the noncommutative Lorentz-violation pictures, we describe an experimental programme, based on time-of-arrival analysis of high energy photons and searches of violations of GZK and TeV-photon limits, which could discriminate between alternative scenarios of Lorentz-invariance breakdown and could provide and unexpected window on the (quantum) nature of space-time at very short distances.

A rather robust expectation that is emerging from theory work on short-distance (so called, “quantum gravity”) properties of space-time is that space-time symmetries may require modification. In particular, quantum-gravity effects inducing some level of nonlocality or noncommutativity would affect even the most basic flat-space continuous symmetries, such as Lorentz invariance. This has been recently emphasized in various quantum-gravity approaches \[1-14\] based on critical or noncritical string theories, noncommutative geometry, canonical quantum gravity. While we must be open to the possibility that some symmetries be completely lost, it appears plausible that some of them be not really lost but rather replaced by a Planck-scale-deformed version, and some mathematical frameworks which could consistently describe such deformations have emerged in the mathematical-physics literature .

We shall here focus on quantum-gravity motivated violations of Lorentz invariance, but of course Lorentz-invariance violations do not have to be necessarily associated with quantum gravity and in fact even outside the quantum-gravity literature there is a large amount of work on the theory and phenomenology of violations of Lorentz invariance (see, e.g., the recent Refs. , which also provide a good starting point for a literature search backward in time).

Since quantum-gravity formalisms are still too complex to allow definite quantitative predictions of the effects, possible deformations of Lorentz invariance have been investigated through phenomenological models. In particular, the investigation of the Lorentz-violating class of dispersion relations

$$E^2\stackrel{}{p}^2\xi _\pm E^2\left(\frac{E}{E_{QG}}\right)^n$$
(1)
was proposed, for the case $`n=1`$, in Refs.  and, for all $`n`$, in Ref. . In (1) $`E`$ and $`\stackrel{}{p}`$ denote the energy and the (3-component) momentum of the particle, $`\xi _\pm `$ sets the overall sign of the deformation (i.e. $`\xi _\pm =\pm 1`$), $`E_{QG}`$ is a fixed quantum-gravity energy scale (which is of course not yet known but can be suspected to be in the neighborhood of the Planck scale $`10^{19}GeV`$) and $`n`$ is a fixed quantum-gravity number (which in principle could take any value, but we will assume it to be an integer, as it appears to be plausible ) that specifies how strongly the magnitude of the deformation is suppressed by $`E_{QG}`$. In the following we will refer to these scenarios using the notation $`n_{sign(\xi _\pm )}`$, leaving implicit the dependence on $`E_{QG}`$ (for example, we refer to the case with $`\xi _\pm =1`$ and $`n=1`$ as the case $`1_{}`$, and within the case $`1_{}`$ we consider the range of acceptable values of $`E_{QG}`$).

Early phenomenological interest in the proposal (1) came from studies based on time-of-arrival analyses  of photons associated with gamma-ray bursts or with Markarian 501.

We are here primarily concerned with another class of implications of violations of Lorentz invariance which has been more recently emphasized in the literature. It has been observed \[17,21-26\] that evidence for Lorentz-invariance violation may arise from analyses of the interactions of cosmic rays with the cosmic microwave background radiation and from analyses of the interactions of high-energy gamma-rays with the universal infrared background. In both cases we observe on earth particles with energies above a critical treshold for interaction with background radiation (cosmic microwave background radiation for ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and infrared background for 10-TeV photons). Lorentz-invariance violation could change these thresholds. Concerning the proposal (1) relevant analyses were given in Refs. . The basic point of these studies is that the anomalous effects encoded in the $`E_{QG}^n`$ term of (1), while being safely negligible in other contexts, can become very significant when a low-energy background photon collides with a high-energy particle with momentum close to the one required by threshold pion production or electron-positron pair creation.

We summarize this argument for the case of photon-photon collisions (the analysis of proton-photon pion production relevant for the cosmic-ray context is completely analogous, although of course less symmetrical). We start by discussing Lorentz-invariant head-on collision between a soft photon of energy $`ϵ`$ and momentum $`q`$ and a high-energy photon of energy $`E`$ and momentum $`p`$. This collision may create an electron and a positron both basically moving along the original direction of travel of the hard photon. Denoting with $`E_+`$ ($`E_{}`$) and $`p_+`$ ($`p_{}`$) the energy and momentum of the emerging positron (electron), energy conservation and momentum conservation imply

$$E+ϵ=E_++E_{}$$
(2)
$$pq=p_++p_{}$$
(3)
Denoting with $`p^{}`$ the common modulus of $`p_+`$ and $`p_{}`$, and using the conventional Lorentz-invariant relation between energy and momentum one then obtains the relations

$$E+ϵ=p+ϵ,pq=pϵ,E_++E_{}=2\sqrt{p^2+m^2}2p^{}+\frac{m^2}{p^{}},p_++p_{}=2p^{},$$
(4)
where $`m`$ denotes the electron mass and the fact that $`p`$ (and, as a consequence, $`p^{}`$) is a large momentum has been used to approximate the square root. Combining (2), (3) and (4) one easily obtains that the $`p`$-threshold for electron-positron pair creation is

$$pp_{th}=\frac{m^2}{ϵ}.$$
(5)
This of course is easily rederived by analyzing the photon-photon system in the C.O.M. frame, where both photons carry momentum $`\sqrt{Eϵ}`$ and at threshold the electron-positron pair is produced at rest.

This standard Lorentz-invariant analysis may be affected by the type of deformations codified in (1). This has been analyzed in Refs.  within two main assumptions: (i) Eq. (1) holds in the “laboratory frame” (ii) when a noncommutative geometry was used to support the scenario it was assumed that the noncommutativity would only affect the analysis through Eq. (1). To illustrate in a specific example the basic ingredients of the analyses reported in Refs. , let us consider the case $`1_{}`$, in which Eq. (1) predicts a deformed relation between energies and momenta such that within the assumptions (i),(ii) Eq. (4) would be replaced by

$$E+ϵ=p+ϵ\frac{p^2}{2E_{QG}},pq=pϵ,E_++E_{}2p^{}+\frac{m^2}{p^{}}\frac{p^2}{E_{QG}},p_++p_{}=2p^{},$$
(6)
where we only included the leading corrections (terms suppressed by both the smallness of $`E_{QG}^1`$ and the smallness of $`ϵ`$ or $`m`$ were neglected). Combining (2), (3) and (6) one obtains a deformed equation describing the $`p`$-threshold for electron-positron pair creation:

$$p_{th,1_{}}=\frac{m^2}{ϵ}+\frac{p_{th,1_{}}^3}{8ϵE_{QG}}.$$
(7)
Analogous relations are obtained  for the scenarios $`1_+`$, $`2_{}`$, $`2_+`$; for example, $`2_{}`$ leads to

$$p_{th,2_{}}=\frac{m^2}{ϵ}+\frac{3p_{th,2_{}}^4}{16ϵE_{QG}^2}.$$
(8)
The fact that the scale $`E_{QG}`$ is believed to be very high might give the erroneous impression that the new term $`p_{th,1_{}}^3/(8ϵE_{QG})`$ present in Eq. (7) (valid in the $`1_{}`$ scenario, which we continue to use as our illustrative case) could always be safely neglected, but this is not the case . For given high value of $`E_{QG}`$ one finds low enough values of $`ϵ`$ for which the “threshold anomaly” (displacement of the threshold) is significant. Actually in this case $`1_{}`$ (as well as in the case $`2_{}`$) there are values of $`ϵ`$ that are low enough to cause the disappearance of the corresponding threshold (values of $`ϵ`$ for which Eq. (7) has no solutions). Indeed, assuming (7) one would predict dramatic departures from the ordinary expectations of Lorentz invariance; in particular, if $`E_{QG}10^{19}GeV`$, according to (7) one would expect, contrary to the predictions of a Lorentz-invariant treatment, that the Universe be transparent to TeV photons , while the corresponding result obtainable in the cosmic-ray context would imply that the GZK cutoff may be violated . (An analysis of violations of the GZK cutoff within other schemes of Lorentz-invariance violation can be found in Ref. .) Remarkably these predictions appear to fit well the preliminary indications of some recent puzzling cosmic-ray observations  and observations of astrophysical high-energy photons .

Concerning the significance of the phenomenological scenario $`1_{}`$ we stress here that this is (to our knowledge) the only proposal that would allow to describe simultaneously both Universe transparency to TeV photons and violations of the cosmic-ray GZK cutoff. This point, which was not stressed by previous authors, may render the proposal (1) quite appealing if the preliminary indications of transparency to TeV photons and violations of the GZK cutoff turn out to be confirmed by more robust data.

Also relevant for the phenomenological analysis (but not discussed in previous studies) is the fact that the small quantum-gravity correction becomes significant only when very close to the special conditions for the threshold. Analyses of more ordinary collisions are left basically unaffected by the deformation. This is important since in principle Lorentz invariance plays a role both in the calculation of the threshold and in the algorythms used to determine the measured photon or cosmic ray energy, and therefore one might wonder whether the Lorentz-violations scenarios here considered could affect our determination of the energies as significantly as it affects the analysis of the threshold. This is indeed not the case: while we find that the analysis of the threshold can be significantly modified by the deformation, it is easy to check that instead the minute quantum-gravity deformation which we are considering would not significantly affect the processes used to determine the energies of the hard particles.

Besides contributing these elements of analysis relevant for the development of the phenomenology here under consideration, another objective of the present Letter is the one of further exploring the role that predictions of the type (7), (8), which can follow from Eq. (1), may have on the development of an experimental programme for quantum gravity , particularly as an opportunity to differentiate between alternative short-distance pictures of space-time. With respect to this last point it is important to reanalyze the two mentioned assumptions (i),(ii) on which the result (7) relies. We use the specific example of the simple “$`\kappa `$-Minkowski” noncommutative space-time developed in Refs.  to illustrate the implications of a consistent analysis within noncommutative geometry and/or of a prescription for describing the phenomenon in frames other than the laboratory frame.

One key point is that in $`\kappa `$-Minkowski a relation of type (1) can be obtained as a direct consequence of the $`\kappa `$-Poincaré invariance  of this space-time. $`\kappa `$-Poincaré is a deformation of the Poincaré group in which precise rules are still available for the description of changes of frame of reference, and actually in a $`\kappa `$-Minkowski space-time Eq. (1) can characterize significantly these rules as an invariant. Another key point is that consistency with the noncommutative nature of $`\kappa `$-Minkowski space-time requires  that the law of addition of momenta be accordingly modified. The physical interpretation of these deformed laws of addition is still being developed, but there is now a definite prescription put forward in Ref. . Importantly, in the (laboratory-frame) context here of interest the prescription of Ref.  leaves basically unaffected (in leading order) the sum of the two very different momenta $`p`$ and $`q`$ while the sum of the two momenta $`p_+`$ and $`p_{}`$, which are roughly parallel and roughly of the same magnitude, is modified in leading order:

$$pqpq,p_++p_{}=2p^{}+\frac{p^2}{E_{QG}}.$$
(9)
The fact that $`p^{}=p_+=p_{}`$ but $`p_++p_{}=2p^{}+p^2/E_{QG}2p^{}`$ reflects the fact that  the noncommutativity of $`\kappa `$-Minkowski space-time requires its associated energy-momentum space to have nontrivial (curved, nonabelian) geometry.

In light of these considerations it is easy to see that in $`\kappa `$-Minkowski it is the ordinary threshold equation (5), rather than the deformed threshold equation (7), that follows from the case $`n=1`$, $`\xi _\pm =1`$ in Eq. (1). This can be seen both in the laboratory frame and in the C.O.M. frame. In the laboratory frame the result follows from the fact that the deformed law of addition of momenta requires one to replace (6) with

$$E+ϵ=p+ϵ\frac{p^2}{2E_{QG}},pq=pϵ,E_++E_{}2p^{}+\frac{m^2}{p^{}}\frac{p^2}{E_{QG}},p_++p_{}2p^{}+\frac{p^2}{E_{QG}}$$
(10)
and this combines with (2) and (3) in a way that gives rise to two equal-magnitude but opposite corrections to the threshold equation, thereby giving us back the original threshold equation (5) (the one that also follows from assuming ordinary Lorentz invariance). In the C.O.M. frame the same cancellation appears under a different guise: In the C.O.M. frame the two photons have the same energy $`E_{com}`$, which in the $`\kappa `$-Minkowski framework, where (1) with $`n=1`$, $`\xi _\pm =1`$ would be a genuine invariant, must satisfy the leading-order relation

$$(E+ϵ)^2(pq)^2+\frac{E^3}{E_{QG}}4E_{com}^2,$$
(11)
where we also used the fact that, according to the prescription of Ref. , there is no leading-order deformation of the sum of two momenta of the same magnitude and opposite direction. Using $`qϵ`$ and $`Epp^2/(2E_{QG})`$, Eq. (11) leads to the result

$$E_{com}\sqrt{pϵ},$$
(12)
just as in the ordinary Lorentz-invariant case.

We therefore conclude that $`\kappa `$-Minkowski noncommutative space-time provides us an example of space-time in which Eq. (1) holds but the new threshold-related effects generically attributed to Eq. (1) in Refs.  are not present. This may have wider validity: it appears likely that in any noncommutative space-time in which Eq. (1) holds and corresponds to an invariant of the theory the mentioned threshold-related effects would be absent. On the contrary it appears that in a commutative space-time (in which one would be surprised to encounter $`\kappa `$-Poincaré-type deformations of the law of addition of momenta) the validity of Eq. (1) would inevitably lead to the threshold-related effects discussed here and in Refs. . Noticeably, in such space-times Eq. (1) could only be valid in one preferred class of reference frames (which some authors  tentatively identify with the frame in which the cosmic microwave background is isotropic), and a major challenge appears to be the development of a description of the new phenomena in the C.O.M. frame (which one might still expect to exist, although perhaps connected in highly nontrivial manner to the laboratory frame).

The fact that deformations of type (1) should cause the threshold-related effects discussed here and in Refs.  if space-time is commutative and should not cause them if space-time is noncommutative opens up an opportunity to distinguish experimentally between different short-distance pictures of space-time. In fact, the information obtainable with these threshold-related investigations nicely complements the fact that in any space-time (commutative or not) that supports the dispersion relation (1) with $`n=1`$ one expects the time-delay effects discussed in Refs. . If this time delays are not observed in near-future upgrades of the experimental programme of observation of gamma-ray bursts  the scenario $`1_{}`$ will be completely ruled out. If instead the time delayes are observed we will have evidence that the dispersion relation (1) is verified in Nature, and we will then be able to establish whether the space-time structures responsible for (1) are commutative or noncommutative by analyzing the threshold-related effects discussed here and in Refs.  (also on these effects experimental limits should rapidly improve in the coming years ).

In the wider picture of quantum-gravity research these are very significant developments, at least in as much as they show that gaining experimental insight on Planck-scale-related physics is no longer impossible. The fact that at least some level of Planck-scale sensitivity could be achieved in some contexts had already emerged from the analyses reported in Refs. . We are finding that in the context of the Planck-scale-deformed dispersion relation (1) and the types of space-times that could support it the experimental studies that are becoming possible by combining the analyses reported in Refs.  and the analyses reported here and in Refs.  actually constitute a rather robust experimental programme of investigation.

We close observing that (especially in light of the fact that the ambitious “quantum-gravity problem” may still require several decades of theoretical and experimental study) it may eventually become significant that the type of threshold-related effects discussed here and in Refs.  could in principle allow dedicated controlled experiments. For example, even the deformed threshold equation (8), which can result from the scenario $`2_{}`$ and is quadratically suppressed by $`E_{QG}`$, predicts a shift of the threshold of a few percent for soft photons with, say, $`ϵ310^6eV`$. This implies that studies of the cross section for collisions between soft photons with $`ϵ310^6eV`$ and hard photons with energies in the neighborhood of $`Em^2/ϵ10^8GeV`$ could test (8). We are probably very far (several decades?) from being able to devise this type of experiments, but clearly these are much closer to the realm of experiments doable in the foreseeable future than the traditionally-considered class of gedanken quantum-gravity experiments, the only one mentioned in most quantum-gravity reviews until a few years ago, which relied on the study of collisions of particles endowed with Planckian energies, i.e. with energies in the neighborhood of $`10^{19}GeV`$.

One of us (G.A.-C.) greatfully acknowledges stimulating conversations with Daniele Fargion and Fedele Lizzi.


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# 1 Quasiperiodic patterns as obtained from the root lattice 𝐴₄, the Penrose pattern (a) with two classes of vertices and the triangle pattern (b) with two different bond lengths.

Root Lattices and Quasicrystals

M. Baake

Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 14, D-7400 Tübingen,W.-Germany, University of Tasmania, Dept. of Physics, GPO Box 252C, Hobart Tas 7001, Australia

D. Joseph, P. Kramer, and M. Schlottmann

Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 14, D-7400 Tübingen,W.-Germany

appeared: J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 23 (1990) L1037-L1041

Abstract

It is shown how root lattices and their reciprocals might serve as the right pool for the construction of quasicrystalline structure models. All non-periodic symmetries observed so far are covered in minimal embedding with maximal symmetry.

For the construction of quasiperiodic tiling models by means of projection from higher-dimensional periodic structures, the primitive hypercubic lattices are the most frequently used ones. This has pragmatic reasons: the lattice $`\text{Z}\text{Z}^n`$ is simple, possible for every integer $`n`$, and its symmetry (point as well as space group) is well-known. However, the choice of $`\text{Z}\text{Z}^n`$ is too restrictive because several patterns either require a non-minimal embedding (like the Penrose pattern, Fig. 1a) or are even impossible that way (like the triangle pattern, Fig. 1b). The question now is how to select suitable candidates from the infinite pool of higher-dimensional lattices which combine the minimal embedding of the crystallographically forbidden symmetries with a systematic and simple description. It is well-known  that there is only one Fourier module in the plane for each noncrystallographic n-fold symmetry (up to n=46) and a triple of Fourier modules in 3-space with icosahedral symmetry. Therefore, from the viewpoint of general quasiperiodic densities, a single generating lattice each is sufficient. However, from the tiling point of view, there are several inequivalent examples per symmetry to be expected. Because a classification of tilings is not in sight, the question for a set of fundamental examples arises again.

Following this path, one is almost automatically guided to hypercubic centerings and to root lattices, or, as will turn out immediately, to root lattices and their reciprocals. Hypercubic centerings (i.e., centerings of the primitive hypercubic lattice with the full hypercubic point symmetry) do not exist for $`n=1`$ and $`n=2`$: they give back the primitive case. For $`n=3`$ one has the fcc and the bcc structure, the same being true for $`n>4`$, where they are called F-type and I-type structure, respectively. Only $`n=4`$ shows a higher symmetry: F-type and I-type are equivalent and they possess a 3-times larger holohedry than the primitive lattice $`\text{Z}\text{Z}^4`$. This specific 4-D lattice will be of some importance in what follows.

The root lattices are those lattices which are generated by the root system of a semisimple Lie algebra (cf.  for details). One obtains the list $`A_n(n1)`$, $`\text{Z}\text{Z}^n(n2)`$, $`D_n(n4)`$, $`E_6`$, $`E_7`$, and $`E_8`$, all root lattices are constructed from by means of combinations (i.e., of direct sums). The holohedry of a root lattice coincides with the automorphism group of the corresponding root system, wherefore the symmetry is easily accessible (cf. ). The possible angles between Voronoi vectors are multiples of $`60^0`$ or $`90^0`$ thus weakly generalizing the hypercubic situation (only multiples of $`90^0`$) which, of course, is contained.

Let us now come to the relevant examples. In 3-space, one has only the icosahedral symmetry which is both irreducibly represented and genuinely noncrystallographic. There are three different Fourier modules possible with icosahedral symmetry  which can, in minimal embedding, be obtained as a projection of the primitive (observed first ), the F-type , and the I-type hypercubic lattice in $`\text{I}\text{R}^6`$, respectively. But these three lattices are just $`\text{Z}\text{Z}^6`$, $`D_6`$, and $`D_6^R`$, so we are back to root lattices and their reciprocals (cf.  and  for tiling models based on $`\text{Z}\text{Z}^6`$ and $`D_6`$, respectively).

Let us now focus on 2-D quasilattices with rotational symmetries of order 5, 8, 10, and 12, which occur in nature in form of sections through so-called T-phases , perpendicular to the symmetry axis. The minimal embedding requires 4-D space (since, in each case, the Euler function is four). The root lattices provide these embeddings with maximal symmetry. The most prominent example, the Penrose pattern (Fig. 1a), and its partner, the triangle pattern (Fig. 1b), are obtained from the root lattice $`A_4`$ . This covers both the fivefold and the tenfold symmetry depending on the decoration of the tiles.

An eightfold symmetry can either be realized by means of $`\text{Z}\text{Z}^4`$  or by means of $`D_4`$ , the only hypercubic centering in $`\text{I}\text{R}^4`$, see Fig. 2. The latter has the advantage that also a pattern with twelvefold symmetry can be obtained, see Fig. 3. Furthermore, one can desribe a continuous transition  between the octagonal and the dodecagonal phase within the strict dualization scheme and Klotz construction , which all patterns shown are based on. Of course, the relation to different other tilings  is to be investigated in detail because manifestly inequivalent tilings (like the Penrose pattern and the triangle pattern) can exist which nonetheless share the same Fourier module.

Presently, there is no observation of a further crystallographically forbidden symmetry. For the observed ones, root lattices seem to provide the right basis for structure models, and it turns out that the minimal embedding in these cases always requires a description in a space with twice the dimension of the quasiperiodic tiling. This phenomenon - if it is not accidental - should have some physical reason and seems to be related to deflation/inflation invariance and generalized symmetries of quasiperiodic patterns. This is to be investigated in the future. Obviously, the tiling models based on root lattices should be used for structure models with realistic decorations and for the calculations of electronic and magnetic properties. Finally, quite a lot of important and interesting questions are to be answered on the way to a classification of quasiperiodic tiling models, some of which might be tackled within the dualization scheme.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Australian Research Council, and Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Stiftung.


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# Novelty Detection for Robot Neotaxis 11footnote 1In Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Neural Computation, pages 554 - 559, 2000

## 1 Introduction

Many animals have the ability to detect novelty, that is to recognise new features or changes within their environment. This paper describes an algorithm which learns to ignore stimuli which are presented repeatedly, so that novel stimuli stand out. A simple demonstration of the algorithm on an autonomous mobile robot is given. We term the robot’s behaviour of following the most novel stimulus neotaxis, meaning ‘turn towards new things’, taken from the Greek (neo = new, taxis = follow). A number of different versions of the novelty filter are described and compared to find the best for the particular data used.

Attending to more novel stimuli is a useful ability for a mobile robot as it can limit the amount of data which the robot has to process in order to deal with its environment. It can be used to recognise when perceptions are new and must therefore be learned. In addition, it means that the robot can be used as an inspection agent, so that after training to learn common features it will highlight any ‘novel’ stimuli, i.e., those which it has not seen previously.

### 1.1 Related Work

A number of novelty detection methods have been proposed within the neural network literature, but they are mostly trained off-line. Particularly noteworthy is the Kohonen Novelty Filter , which is an auto-encoder neural network trained by back-propagation of error. After training, any presentation to the network produces one of the trained outputs, and the bitwise difference between the input and output shows the novel parts of the input. This work has been extended by a number of authors. For example, Aeyels  adds a ‘forgetting’ term into the equations.

Ho and Rouat  use a biologically inspired model that times how long an oscillatory network takes to converge to a stable output, reasoning that previously seen inputs should converge faster than novel ones. Finally, Levine and Prueitt  use the gated dipole proposed by Grossberg  to compare inputs with pre-defined ones, novel features causing greater output values.

## 2 The Novelty Filter

### 2.1 Habituation

Habituation is a reduction in behavioural response that occurs when a stimulus is presented to an organism repeatedly. It is present in many animals, from the sea slug Aplysia  through toads  and cats  to humans . It has been modelled by Groves , Stanley  and Wang and Hsu . Habitation differs from other processes which decrement synaptic efficacy, such as fatigue, in that a change in stimulus restores the response to its original levels. This process is called dishabituation. There is also a ‘forgetting’ effect, where a stimulus which has not been presented for a long time recovers its response. Further details can be found in .

The habituation mechanism used in the system described here is Stanley’s model. The synaptic efficacy, $`y(t)`$, decreases according to the following equation:

$$\tau \frac{dy(t)}{dt}=\alpha \left[y_0y(t)\right]S(t),$$
(1)
where $`y_0`$ is the original value of $`y`$, $`\tau `$ and $`\alpha `$ are time constants governing the rate of habituation and recovery respectively, and $`S`$ is the stimulus presented. The effects of the equation are shown in figure 1. The principal difference between this and the model of Wang and Hsu is that the latter allows for long-term memory, so repeated training causes faster learning.

Figure 1 shows the synaptic efficacy increasing again at time 150, when the stimulus is removed. This is effectively a ‘forgetting’ effect, and is caused by a dishabituation mechanism which increases the strength of synapses that do not fire. In the implementation described here this effect can be removed. The experiments reported in section 4 investigate effects of the filter both with and without forgetting.

### 2.2 Using Habituation for a Novelty Filter

The principle behind the novelty filter is that perceptions are classified by some form of clustering network, whose output is modulated by habituable synapses, so that the more frequently a neuron fires, the lower the efficacy of the synapse becomes. This means that only novel features will produce any noticeable output. If the habituable synapses receive zero input (rather than none) during turns when their neuron does not fire, the synapses will ‘forget’ the inhibition over time, providing that this forgetting mechanism (or dishabituation) is turned on.

The choice of clustering algorithm is very important and depends on the data being classified. In this paper, we compare the performance of three different networks, described below, on the robot application. The three networks described were chosen because they performed best on sample data that was selected to be similar to that they would see on the robot. In addition to those described below, the Neural Gas  network also performed well, but computational constraints means that it was not possible to run it on the robot.

### 2.3 Some Possible Clustering Networks

#### 2.3.1 Kohonen’s Self-Organising Map (SOM)

Kohonen’s Self-Organising Map  works in the following way:
Every element of the input vector is connected to every node of the map by a modifiable connection. The distance $`d`$ between the input and each of the neurons in the field is calculated using

$$d=\underset{i=0}{\overset{N1}{}}\left[𝐯(t)𝐰_i(t)\right]^2$$
(2)
where $`𝐯(t)`$ is the input vector at time $`t`$ and $`𝐰_i`$ the weight between input $`i`$ and the neuron. In a Learning Vector Quantiser , used here, the neuron with the minimum $`d`$ is selected and the weight for that neuron and its topological neighbours are updated by:

$$𝐰_i(t+1)=𝐰_i(t)+\eta (t)\left[𝐯(t)𝐰_i(t)\right]$$
(3)
where $`\eta `$ is the learning rate, $`0\eta 1`$.

Usually, a two-dimensional SOM is used, but in the implementation described here a ring-shaped network, effectively a line with the end neurons linked together, was used. The neighbourhood size and learning rate remained constant so that the system was always learning. The neighbourhood comprised only the nearest neighbours of each neuron, and $`\eta `$ was fixed at 0.25.

#### 2.3.2 The Temporal Kohonen Map (TKM)

This self-organising map, proposed by Chappell and Taylor , is based on Kohonen’s SOM, but uses “leaky integrator” neurons whose activity decays exponentially over time. The exponential decay is controlled by a time constant ($`\gamma `$ in equations 4 and 5 below). This is similar to a short-term memory, allowing previous inputs to have some effect on the processing of the current input, so that the neurons which have won recently are more likely to win again. In the experiments reported here the value $`\gamma =0.4`$ was used, meaning that only the previous 2 or 3 winners had any influence in deciding the current winner. The activity of the neurons is calculated using

$$a_i(t)=\gamma a_i(t1)+e^{\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)\left[𝐯(t)𝐰_i(t)\right]^2},$$
(4)
and, in a similar way to the SOM, the neuron with the largest activity $`a`$ is chosen as winner, and its weights and those of its topological neighbours updated using the following weight update rule ($`\eta `$ and the neighbourhood remained the same):

$$𝐰_i(t+1)=𝐰_i(t)+\eta \underset{k=0}{\overset{n}{}}\gamma ^k\left[𝐯(tk)𝐰_i(tk)\right].$$
(5)
#### 2.3.3 The $`K`$–Means Clustering Algorithm

One of the simplest ways to cluster data is by using the $`K`$–means algorithm . A pre-determined number of prototypes, $`\mu `$, are chosen to represent the data, so that it is partitioned into $`K`$ clusters. The positions of the prototypes are chosen to minimise the sum-of-squares clustering function,

$$J=\underset{j=1}{\overset{K}{}}\underset{nS_j}{}𝐱^n\mu _j^2$$
(6)
for data points $`𝐱^n`$. This separates the data into $`K`$ partitions $`S_j`$. The algorithm can be carried out as an on-line or batch procedure, with the on-line version, used here, having the update rule

$$\mathrm{\Delta }\mu _j=\eta \left(𝐱^n\mu _j\right).$$
(7)
## 3 Using the Novelty Filter on a Mobile Robot

The robot implementation was designed to show that the novelty filter described in section 2.2 can be used to detect new stimuli. The novelty filter was incorporated into a system where a robot detects and turns towards new stimuli. It was implemented on a Fischer Technik mobile robot, which uses a Motorola 68HC11 microcontroller. The robot has a two wheel differential drive system and four light sensors facing in the cardinal directions.

In the experiments described below, the robot received a number of different light stimuli, which varied in the frequency of the flashes. It classified these stimuli autonomously and decided whether or not to respond (turn towards the source) according to how novel they were. Each of the sensors on the robot, in this case four light sensors, had its own novelty filter, as shown in figure 4. At each cycle, the current reading on each sensor was concatenated with the previous five to form a six element input vector, known as a delay line or lag vector. This vector was classified by the novelty filter and an output produced. In the case of the TKM, which keeps an internal history of previous inputs, only the most recent reading was needed as input.

The output of the filter was a function of how many times that neuron had fired before, due to the habituating synapse. Each of the four novelty filters fed their output to a comparator function which propagated the strongest signal, providing that it was above a pre-defined threshold, to the action mechanism. If none of the stimuli were strong enough, the cycle repeated. Owing to memory constraints, the clustering mechanism was limited to just twelve neurons arranged in a ring. All three of the networks described in section 2.3 were the same size.

A bypass function was associated with each sensor. If a neuron had not fired before (that is, its synapse had not been habituated) the comparator function favoured it, so that the system responded rapidly to new signals. If two new signals were detected simultaneously, the stronger one was used.

## 4 Experiments and Results

Three separate experiments were carried out. The first, the results of which are shown in figure 5 and table 1, was designed to test the forgetting mechanism as well as the general ability to turn towards novel stimuli. The robot was initially placed in a featureless environment. A light was introduced to project onto one of the light sensors. Once the robot had turned to face this light source, a second, slowly flashing light was added. As this light was more novel, the robot turned towards it. A further, faster flashing light was then introduced, which the robot again faced. Finally, the constant light was switched off and, in the case where a ‘forgetting’ mechanism was used, the robot perceived this lack of stimulus as novel and turned back towards it. Otherwise it did not respond.

In the second experiment, steps (a) and (b) of figure 5 were again followed. However, instead of a faster flash being shown in the third stage, a second flashing light of the same (slow) frequency was shown. If the flashing light was still novel, the robot turned towards this as it was a newer version of the most novel stimulus. However, if the flashing light had ceased to be novel, the robot ignored it.

Finally, instead of a second flashing light in part (c), a second constant light was introduced. Whether or not the robot responded to this depended on whether or not the forgetting mechanism was switched on and which sensor it was on – if it was a sensor which had not previously seen it, the robot responded.

Table 1 shows the reactions of the robot in the three experiments, both with forgetting turned on and off. The constants used for the experiments were: $`\tau =0.1`$, $`\alpha =0.5`$, $`\beta =0.1`$ and a boredom threshold (i.e., the value below which a stimuli ceased to be novel) of 0.4. The parameters of the networks were kept at the levels found to be optimal in simulations. The overall qualitative results were the same for all three networks, although the SOM took longer to produce consistent output when a new pattern was introduced (owing to the changes in the spatial pattern in the lag vector) while the TKM responded to them quickly.

In table 1 it can be seen that particular inputs caused the robot to move even when the stimulus had been seen before. This occurred because the stimulus was on a sensor which had not perceived it previously. This meant that the robot’s attention was changing unnecessarily, so a method to rectify this was devised. When a stimulus is marked as novel the robot rotates through $`360^{}`$, pausing every $`90^{}`$, so that each of the novelty filters learns to recognise all the stimuli. This means that the robot reacts to stimuli in the same way regardless of which sensor they impinge on. This functionality can be produced in other ways, such as using one novelty filter to monitor all the sensors and adding additional memory of what each sensor was seeing to turn the robot in the appropriate direction. The output of the network took a few iterations to stabilise for each new input, and the SOM in particular occasionally generated spurious readings, caused by misreading the signals so that the input vector varied. This was usually because the sensor polling could not be precisely timed, so that occasionally the time between readings varied and so an unexpected input was received.

### 4.1 Further Experiments

In the experiments described previously, all three clustering networks showed similar qualitative results. For this reason, further tests were designed to try and discriminate between the networks. The additional experiments performed involved using flashing lights which flashed at varying speeds. The neotaxis behaviour of the robot remained fixed. Two additional patterns of flashing lights were used, short–short–long–long and short-long-short-long, which the K-Means network and Temporal Kohonen Map both recognised more accurately than the SOM. The TKM in particular dealt with all the stimuli very well, but the SOM was occasionally subject to errors and took longer to respond. The number of patterns which it is possible for the robot to learn and recognise is limited by the size of the network.

## 5 Conclusions and Future Work

The mechanism described here is capable of recognising features which vary in time and habituating to those that are seen repeatedly. In this way it successfully acts as a novelty filter, highlighting those stimuli which are new and directing attention towards them. This is a useful ability, since it can reduce the amount of data which the robot needs to process in order to deal with its environment. However, in the application described here, the inputs are fairly clean, the environment being designed to produce differentiable inputs.

One of the assumptions that is made in this paper is that the clustering networks used will reliably separate the inputs so that new stimuli cause a new neuron to win, and old stimuli activate the same neuron each time. This is not necessarily true, and the potential problems this highlights need to be investigated. Using a growing network such as the Growing Neural Gas of Fritzke  is one solution, as is using a Mixture of Experts  in place of the clustering network, each expert recognising a different part of the input space.

In addition, the sensors used here, photocells, are crude and do not give a great deal of information, and the robot has very limited memory. To produce a system which is capable of interacting with real world environments it will be necessary to use more and better sensors. The next step will be to transfer the system onto the Manchester Nomad 200 robot, FortyTwo, and take advantage of the sensors available, viz. sonar, infra-red and a monochrome CCD camera. Before the novelty filter can deal with this information, sensor inputs will have to be extensively preprocessed, with features extracted from the images. Work using sonar scans taken whilst the robot is exploring an environment have shown success in applying the novelty filter to a real world problem (work to be published).

However, once data about the surrounding environment can be interpreted, the novelty filter presented here can be used in an inspection agent which learns a representation of an environment and can then explore and detect new or changed features within both that and similar environments. This is the ultimate aim of this research.

## Acknowledgements

This research is supported by a UK EPSRC Studentship.


text:
# Gas, Stars and Baryons in Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

## 1. Why Study Low Surface Brightness Galaxies?

Recent surveys by O’Neil, et al. (1997a, 1997b, 2000, 2001) have discovered hundreds of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies in the local universe. Plots of the surface brightness distribution – that is, the space density of galaxies plotted against central surface brightness – show a flat distribution from 21.65 through the current observational limit of 25.0 B mag arcsec-2 (Figure 1a). LSB systems therefore numerically dominate the galaxy population of the local universe. Additionally, as no trend is seen to indicate the size or mass of galaxies decreases with decreasing central surface brightness, it is likely that a significant percentage of the baryon content in the universe is contained in these diffuse systems.

## 2. LSB Galaxy Sizes

Contrary to a the often held belief that LSB and dwarf galaxies are synonymous, no correlation is seen between the central surface brightness of the galaxies in the O’Neil, et.al. samples and either total magnitude or total (gas) mass (Figure 1b). Galaxies do not become preferentially smaller with lower surface brightness. Instead, LSB galaxies occupy the same luminosity space as their HSB counterparts.

## 3. The Mass-to-Luminosity Ratio of LSB Galaxies

A subset of the O’Neil, et.al. (1997a, 1997b, 2000, 2001) LSB galaxies have rotational velocities $``$ 200 km s-1 and total luminosities at least an order of magnitude below L. As such they represent extreme departures from the standard Tully-Fisher relation. In fact, the sample does not appear to have any significant correlation between velocity widths and absolute magnitudes, with only 40% of the galaxies falling within the 1$`\sigma `$ LSB Tully-Fisher relation (Figure 2a). Unless the percentage of dark matter in these systems is unusually high, this may indicate the galaxies do not lie in the same evolutionary state as galaxies with lower gas content. Another possible interpretation, though, is found by thinking of the Tully-Fisher relation as a baryonic versus total mass relationship (i.e. McGaugh, et.al. 2000). In this case it can be seen that putting the LSB galaxies onto the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation is akin to increasing the galaxies baryonic mass-to-light ratios (Figure 2b).

Additional support for increasing the baryonic mass-to-light of LSB galaxies can be found by looking at the rotation curves of LSB galaxies. In a recent paper, Swaters, et.al (2000) has shown that the baryonic to dark matter ratio ($`M_b/M_{DM}`$) of LSB galaxies can be made to mimic to that of HSB galaxies (as opposed to being dark matter dominated even in the central regions) if $`M_b/L`$ is allowed to range from 1$`M_{}/L_{}`$ through 10$`M_{}/L_{}`$ (or even higher).

One method for increasing $`M_b/L`$ in LSB galaxies is to allow the galaxies to have an initial mass function (IMF) which produces primarily low mass stars. This can be brought about by assuming the low density inherent in LSB systems (often well below the Kennicutt criterion for star formation, i.e. van Zee, et.al 1998; de Blok, McGaugh, & van der Hulst 1996) affects the IMF in such a way as to prevent large scale production of stars with mass greater than $`2M_{}`$. In addition to putting the LSB systems back on the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation, a preferentially low mass IMF can also explain the red, gas-rich LSB galaxies found by O’Neil, Bothun & Schombert (2000) as well as the non-detection of significant numbers of red giant stars in a HST study of three nearby dE LSB systems by O’Neil, Bothun & Impey (1999).

## 4. The (Potential) Baryonic Contribution of LSB Galaxies

It was shown (above) that the number density of LSB galaxies is at least equal to that of HSB galaxies, and that the mass-to-luminosity ratio of LSB galaxies is the same, or potentially much higher than, their HSB counterparts. With these two ideas in mind, then, we can do a rough calculation of the baryonic contribution of LSB galaxies to the local universe. (All the estimates for baryon density are adapted from are from Fukugita, Hogan, & Peebles 1998).

First, assume $`L\times \frac{M}{L}`$ remains constant with decreasing central surface brightness. Then assume the number density of galaxies ($`\varphi [\mu _B(0)]`$) is constant out to 26.0 B mag arcsec-2, where it cuts off (i.e. we have seen at least a sampling of all the galaxies in the local Universe). In this case, LSB galaxies contribute 9 times the baryon density of HSB galaxies. The total contribution of disk and irregular galaxies ($`\rho _{disk+Irr}`$) to the local baryon density is then $`0.0084h_{70}^1`$, and LSB galaxies potentially contribute 40% all baryons in the local Universe.

We can now retain the assumption that $`L\times \frac{M}{L}`$ remains constant with decreasing central surface brightness, but assume $`\varphi [\mu _B(0)]`$ does not cut-off until 30.0 B mag arcsec-2. Here, $`\rho _{LSB}=\mathrm{\hspace{0.25em}17}\times \rho _{HSB}`$, $`\rho _{disk+Irr}`$ = $`0.016h_{70}^1`$, and LSB galaxies could contribute 75% all baryons in the local Universe.

Finally, we must recall the arguments if the last two sections, and consider the case where $`L\times \frac{M}{L}`$ increases to 6 times its value between 22.0 B mag arcsec-2 and 24.0 B mag arcsec-2, at which point it again remains constant. To be conservative, again assume that we have seen a sampling of all the galaxies in the Universe (i.e. $`\varphi [\mu _B(0)]`$ cuts-off at 26.0 B mag arcsec-2). For this scenario, $`\rho _{LSB}=\mathrm{\hspace{0.25em}22}\times \rho _{HSB}`$, $`\rho _{disk+Irr}`$ = $`0.020h_{70}^1`$, and LSB galaxies could contribute 97% all baryons in the local Universe. It is now a trivial step to allow $`\varphi [\mu _B(0)]`$ to remain constant only to 26.5 B mag arcsec-2, and thereby show that LSB galaxies contribute 100% of all the baryons in the local Universe.

Clearly something is wrong. Recent studies (i.e. Fukugita, Hogan, & Peebles 1998) have shown that all the baryons previously perceived to be ‘missing’ from the local Universe can be found in the form of ionized gas. Yet their accounting assumed LSB galaxies to be low mass objects, an assumption which has since been shown to be incorrect. We are now faced with the dilemma that instead of our observational counts showing an under density of baryons in the local Universe when compared with theoretical predictions, we have a clear over density. At this point all assumptions – in the theoretical models, in determining the ionized gas contribution, and in determining the space density and baryonic content of LSB galaxies – must be re-evaluated and re-tested, so that an accurate picture of the local baryonic content can be determined.

### Acknowledgments.

Thanks to Stacy McGaugh for providing Figure 3b, and to D&B for their considerable help.

## References

Davies 1990 MNRAS 244, 8

de Blok, McGaugh, & Van der Hulst 1996 MNRAS 283, 18

de Jong 1996 A&A 313, 46

Fukugita, Hogan, & Peebles 1998 ApJ 503, 518

Matthews & Gallagher 1998 AJ 116, 2196

McGaugh, et.al. 2000 ApJ 533, 99L

O’Neil, Hauser, & Bothun 2001, preprint

O’Neil, Bothun, & Schombert 2000 AJ 116, 2776

O’Neil, Bothun, & Impey AJ 118, 1618

O’Neil, Bothun, & Cornell 1997a AJ 113, 1212

O’Neil, et.al 1997b AJ 114, 2448

Phillipps et.al. 1987 MNRAS 229, 505

Swaters, et.al 2000 ApJ 531, L107

van Zee, Skillman & Salzer 1998 ApJ 497, L1

Zwaan, et.al. 1995 MNRAS 273, L35


text:
# Photoinduced absorption from localized intra-gap states.

## 1 Introduction

Recent pump-probe experiments on cuprate superconductors  and some other materials  have shown that a photoinduced change in absorption or reflection can be observed at low temperatures and especially for $`T<T_c`$. The effects are believed to be caused by excited state absorption of the probe pulse from photoexcited quasiparticle (QP) states  and theoretical analysis of the response was found to be in good agreement with experimental data on YBa2Cu3O7-δ over a wide range of doping . However, in addition to the QP response which occurs on the picosecond and subpicosecond timescale, a distinct slower response was also consistently observed in YBa2Cu3O 7-δ (YBCO) , Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (BISCO) and Bi2YxCa1-xSrCu2O8  and more recently in the charge-density-wave (CDW) quasi one-dimensional Peierls insulator K0.3MoO3. It was shown to be of non-thermal origin (detailed analysis is given in Ref. ) and occurs on a timescale of 10-8 s or longer. Its anomalous T -dependence in the two systems  lead the authors to the suggestion that the signal is due to localized states near the Fermi energy.

In semiconductors in-gap localized states lead to a photoconductivity effect due to reduced relaxation rate of one of the PE carriers. Photoconductivity was indeed observed in underdoped YBa2Cu3O7-δ . With increase of the level of doping it is difficult to detect small photoconductivity because of the increase of the dark conductivity. The observation of long-lived component in photoinduced change of absorption is more effective way to detect in-gap localized states because optical conductivity in the range of charge transfer gap shows relatively small changes with increase of doping.

## 2 Theoretical model

As photons from the pump laser pulse are absorbed, they excite electrons and holes with the energy scale of the order of the photon energy. These particles release their extra kinetic energy by electron-electron scattering. When electrons reduce their energy to the value of the order of phonon frequencies electron-phonon scattering becomes dominant. This energy relaxation process is very rapid and the particles end up in QP states near the Fermi energy within $`\tau _e=`$10$``$100 fs . Subsequent relaxation is slowed down by the presence of the gap and a relaxation bottleneck is formed. From pump-probe photoinduced transmission experiments in YBCO  and BISCO , the relaxation times of the photoexcited QPs were found to be in the range $`\tau _{QP}=`$0.3$``$3 ps. It is important that value of the gap in high-$`T_c`$ materials is of the order of phonon frequencies, therefore electron-phonon scattering is dominant only in recombination of electrons through the gap.

In addition to the picosecond transient, the signal on nanosecond timescale has been consistently observed in HTSC  and recently also in the quasi 1D CDW insulator K0.3MoO3 . After photoexcitation the signal relaxes within 10 ps to some non-zero value, that can be represented by a constant on the 100 ps timescale . The lifetime of the slow component, $`\tau _L`$, cannot be directly measured, since it appears to be longer than the inter-pulse separation of $`t_r1012`$ ns. This results in a signal pile-up due to accumulation of the response from many pulses (presence of photo-induced signal at negative time-delay). From the experiments  it appears that $`\tau _L>10^7`$ s. This is long in comparison with the phonon relaxation time and with the phonon escape time from the excitation volume into the bulk or thin film substrate, which is typically 10-10s, so we can ignore phonon escape effects and discuss only intrinsic relaxation processes.

Since the relaxation time $`\tau _L`$ is long in comparison with $`\tau _{QP}`$ and phonon relaxation times, we assume that phonons and quasiparticles can be described by equilibrium densities $`N_\omega `$ and $`N`$ respectively. For the relaxation of the localized carriers we apply arguments similar to those originally proposed by Rothwarf and Taylor . The rate equation for the total density of localized excitations $`N_L`$ is then given by:

$$\frac{dN_L}{dt}=RN_L^2\stackrel{~}{\gamma }N_L+\gamma N+\beta N_\omega .$$
(1)
The first term in Eq.(1) describes the recombination of two localized excitations to a condensate with a recombination rate $`R`$. The second and the third terms describe the exchange of an electron or a hole between the localized and quasiparticle states with densities $`N_L`$ and $`N`$ respectively and with a rates $`\stackrel{~}{\gamma }/\gamma \mathrm{exp}(\mathrm{\Delta }E/k_BT)`$ where $`\mathrm{\Delta }E`$ is the energy barrier between trapped carriers and quasiparticles . The last term describes the spontaneous creation of localized excitations by phonons with a relaxation rate $`\beta `$. When electron or hole is trapped additional contribution to the energy barrier may appear due to a local lattice distortion (polaronic effect). We assume that the energy barrier does not depend on whether localized state is occupied or not.

Assuming the ansatz for $`N_L=N_{L0}+n_L,`$ where $`N_{L0}`$ is equilibrium density of localized particles and $`n_L`$ is the photoinduced density created by the laser pulse and taking into account that $`N_\omega `$ and $`N`$ are given by their equilibrium values, we can rewrite Eq.(1):

$$\frac{dn_L}{dt}=Rn_L^2(2RN_{L0}+\stackrel{~}{\gamma })n_L$$
(2)
This equation is sufficiently general that it can be applied to different systems with different types of ground states. The analytic solution of Eq.(2) has the form:

$$n_L(t)=\frac{n_L(0)}{(1+\frac{n_L(0)}{\tau })\mathrm{exp}(t/\tau )\frac{n_L(0)R}{\tau }}.$$
(3)
where $`1/\tau =2N_{L0}R+\stackrel{~}{\gamma }`$. Since we are interested in a steady state solution for the case of excitation by repetitive pump pulse train, we use the condition that total number of localized excitations that recombine between two laser pulses should be equal to the number of localized excitations created by each laser pulse.

$$n_L(0)n_L(t_r)=\eta n_{QP}.$$
(4)
Here $`n_{QP}`$ is the number of photoinduced quasiparticles created by each laser pulse , $`\eta \gamma \tau _{ph}`$ is the probability of trapping a photoinduced carrier into a localized state, $`\tau _{ph}1/\mathrm{\Delta }(T)`$ is quasiparticle relaxation time. Combining Eqs.(3) and (4) one obtains the stationary solution for $`n_L(0)`$:

$$n_L(0)=\left[\sqrt{1+\frac{\eta n_{QP}}{N_{L0}/2\tau t_r}}1\right]/2\tau R$$

## 3 Results

In the line with Ginzburg-Landau approach we can expand recombination rate $`R`$ in even powers of order parameter:

$$R=\mathrm{\Gamma }+\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }(T)^2+..$$
(5)
In the BCS-like case pairing occurs at Tc and biparticle recombination is impossible above Tc ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }=0`$). This result is consistent with calculations of QP recombination rates. In the case of preformed pairing the first term in Eq.(6) is not 0 and biparticle recombination is possible above Tc.

This simple observation makes temperature dependence of the amplitude of slow component very different in these two cases . In the case of BCS-like pairing, the recombination rate is large at low temperature. It leads to a small amplitude of the photoinduced signal. With increase of T, the recombination rate decreases and relaxation via thermally activated QP is dominant. As a result, a sharp maximum in the amplitude of the photoinduced signal is observed near Tc . In the case of preformed pairing, a similar increase of the amplitude takes place below Tc. Since $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ is finite, the amplitude of the signal is a smooth function above Tc .

To compare the theory (Eqs.(5,6)) with experiments we have plotted experimental data for overdoped Ca0.132Y0.868Ba2Cu3O6.928 (Fig.1a), for underdoped YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Fig.1 b) and for CDW insulator K0.3MoO3 (Fig.2) samples. As clearly seen from the fit theory provides qualitative and some time quantitative description of the observed photoinduced changes of the absorption. In the case of overdoped Ca0.132Y0.868Ba2Cu3O6.928 (Fig.1a) a signal has been detected above Tc. This observation is consistent with existence of pseudogap above Tc  and supports the statement that overdoped materials are spatially inhomogeneous. In the case of underdoped YBa2Cu3O7-δ (Fig.1 b) the theory provides an accurate description of the data. The existence of a pseudogap is clearly seen well above Tc.

The non-bolometric long-lived signal exists above Tc in the case of CDW insulator K0.3MoO3 (Fig.2) as well. This could be attributed to the presence of pseudogap in the density of states due to a locally formed gap. This is consistent with earlier measurements on K0.3MoO3  that show a decrease of the density of states above Tc. In all cases the parameters used in the fits are the same as used in the analysis of QP relaxation . At low temperature there is a deviation of the calculated curves from the experimental points. To explain this effect we note that Eq.(6) is valid near Tc where $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is small. Higher order terms in the expansion of $`R`$ can explain this deviation.

## 4 Discussion

In cuprate superconductors there is spectroscopic evidence suggesting that there is a significant density of states in the gap possibly extending to the Fermi level, which is often attributed to a $`d`$-wave gap symmetry. However, by normal spectroscopies it is difficult to determine if the states in the gap are QP states or, for example, localized states. Time-resolved spectroscopy can answer this question rather effectively because of the different time- and temperature-dependences of the QP and localized carrier relaxations. It was argued that in the presence of impurity scattering QP DOS in the $`d`$-wave state remains finite at zero energy . Recently it was proposed  that the quasiparticles in the superconducting state may become localized for short coherence length $`d`$-wave superconductors. On the basis of available experimental data we cannot make any definite conclusion about the origin of intragap localized states. However preliminary data on electron irradiated samples show only weak dependence of the amplitude of the signal on the irradiation flux. It is inconsistent with a simple $`d`$-wave interpretation of localized states where an exponential dependence of the density of states on impurity concentration is expected .

We can, however estimate the density of the intra-gap states from the available data by assuming that the optical probe process is similar for excited state absorption from localized states and for QPs. From typical photoinduced reflection data for YBCO, we find that the amplitude of signal associated with QP response is approximately equal to the amplitude of the long-lived signal. It implies that also $`n_L(0)n_{QP}`$. From this we can conclude that the density of intra-gap states is comparable with the density of QP states. This observation has important implications for the interpretation of frequency-domain spectroscopies, since it suggests that the spectra should show a very significant intra-gap spectral density due to localized states, irrespective of the gap symmetry.

In conclusion, we mention some of the most likely possibilities of the origin of the localized states: (i) localized states associated with the inhomogeneous ground state of the cuprates (stripes) , (ii) intrinsic defect states, (iii) localized QP states in $`d`$-wave superconductor . In K0.3MoO3, the nature intra-gap excitations has been a subject of extensive study over the years and the reader is referred to ref.  for a review. However, the fact that the signals in K0.3MoO3 and YBa2Cu3O7-δ are very similar appears to rule out both spin excitations and vortex states, leaving localized charges as the most plausible origin of the intra-gap states.

## 5 Figure Captions

Figure 1: T-dependence of ns component amplitude $``$ in a) Ca overdoped YBCO and b) underdoped YBCO, together with the fits.

Figure 2: T-dependence of ns component amplitude $``$ , taken on K0.3MoO3 (Tc = 183 K) together with the fit using BCS-like gap.


text:
# Characteristic Angles in the Wetting of an Angular Region: Surface Shape

## 1 Introduction

The shape of the surface of a liquid or soap film constrained at its boundaries is a classic subject of mathematical physics . These studies demonstrate the power of producing very smooth surfaces of controlled curvature by choosing the shape of the boundary. The chief emphasis of these prior studies is to determine the global shape of the surface bounded by a given smooth surface. Here we emphasize the complementary question of the local surface shape in response to a singular boundary shape: namely, a line with a sharp bend enclosing a droplet spanning a plane sector of angle $`\alpha `$. The role of singularities in governing the shape and the motion of fluids has aroused great current interest. Such singularities occur when a fluid droplet breaks apart , when it merges another droplet , when it moves across a surface , or when it moves through another fluid .

Surprisingly, a qualitative change in the surface shape occurs as the opening angle of the boundary $`\alpha `$ increases past a right angle, as we show below. The curvatures for acute angles remain finite for the region near the vertex. But for obtuse angles, the curvatures diverge as the vertex is approached, with a power law that varies continuously with the angle. Similar characteristic angles (not necessarily equal to 90 degrees) are encountered in the problem of capillary rise in a vertical wedge-shaped container. Here the meniscus height is bounded if the opening angle of the wedge is larger than some critical value and diverges as $`r0`$ if the opening angle is less than that critical value . The contrasting behavior of acute and obtuse angles has also been noted for other phenomena involving Laplacian fields. In hydrodynamic flow, the velocity field near a wedge changes qualitatively as the angle increases through a right angle . In diffusion (and analogous random-walk polymers) emanating into a wedge-shaped region there is a similar qualitative change of behavior .

Our motivation for focusing on droplets over an angular sector arises from observations of irregular droplets seen in everyday life. These often have sector-shaped regions arising from the vagaries of deposition and substrate shape. We have noticed that evaporation in these regions leads to distinctive drying patterns of solids dissolved in the liquid. To understand the nature of these drying patterns requires knowledge of the surface shape. For the circular drops the problem of the surface shape assumes very simple solution (spherical cap), allowing one to proceed with the issue of evaporation profiles up to the level of successful comparison of the theoretical results with the experimental data. These so-called “coffee-drop deposits” have aroused recent interest .

Specifically, we consider a droplet on the horizontal surface bounded by an angle $`\alpha `$ in the plane of the substrate (Fig. 1). We assume that the droplet is sufficiently small so that the surface tension is dominant, and the gravitational effects can be safely neglected (significance of gravity increases with the size of the drop). At the same time, we do not assume that the contact angle between the “liquid–gas” surface and the plane is constant along the boundary line on the substrate. To achieve an angular boundary, the substrate must have scratches, grooves or other inhomogeneities (sufficiently small comparing to the dimensions of the droplet), which pin the contact line. A strongly pinned contact line can sustain a wide range of contact angles; the angle is not fixed by the interfacial tensions as it is on a uniform surface (Fig. 2).

In the following section we first give a simple account of the shape that assumes that the liquid surface is nearly horizontal, and then we make a more systematic asymptotic analysis of the region where the distance $`r`$ from the vertex is much smaller than the fixed inverse mean curvature $`R`$ of the droplet, not making any a priori assumptions about the horizontalness of the surface. In the discussion section that follows, we calculate the curvatures of the obtained surface shape and describe some possible implications. In particular we discuss how the refraction of the light in the drop shows contrasting properties in acute versus obtuse angular regions.

## 2 Calculation

### Boundary problem.

Our purpose is to calculate the shape of the surface of the drop $`z(r,\varphi )`$. Use of the cylindrical coordinates looks most natural in this problem so that the angle occupied by the liquid on the substrate is $`0<r<\mathrm{}`$ and $`\alpha /2<\varphi <\alpha /2`$ and hence the boundary conditions are

$$z(0,\varphi )=z(r,\alpha /2)=z(r,\alpha /2)=0$$
(1)
We start from the Laplace equation for the surface tension:

$$2H=\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }p}{\sigma }$$
(2)
where $`H`$ is the mean curvature of the surface $`H=(c_1+c_2)/2`$ and $`c_1`$ and $`c_2`$ are the two principal curvatures. Here $`\sigma `$ is the surface tension and $`\mathrm{\Delta }p`$ is the pressure difference between liquid and gas ($`\mathrm{\Delta }p>0`$). Since we neglect the effects of gravity, the pressure within the droplet is constant, and so is $`\mathrm{\Delta }p`$. Thus $`\mathrm{\Delta }p/\sigma `$ is just a constant parameter of the dimensions of inverse length. Since this is the only dimensional scale in the problem, introduction of the dimensionless variables $`r/Rr`$ and $`z/Rz`$ (where $`R\sigma /\mathrm{\Delta }p`$) makes the mathematical formulation parameterless:

$$2H=1$$
(3)
Thereby we agree to measure all quantities of the dimension of length in units of $`R`$. Having found $`z(r,\varphi )`$, one can restore the desired surface shape in ordinary units by simple substitution $`z(r,\varphi )Rz(r/R,\varphi )`$.

Given a surface $`z(r,\varphi )`$, its mean curvature can be computed in terms of the coefficients of the first and the second fundamental quadratic forms of the surface:

$$H=\frac{1}{2}\frac{EN2FM+GL}{EGF^2}$$
(4)
Here $`E`$, $`F`$, $`G`$ are the coefficients of the first fundamental quadratic form of the surface and $`L`$, $`M`$, $`N`$ are those of the second fundamental quadratic form (see  or  for a concise review of these results of the differential geometry). For the surface $`x(r,\varphi )=r\mathrm{cos}\varphi `$, $`y(r,\varphi )=r\mathrm{sin}\varphi `$ and arbitrary $`z(r,\varphi )`$ these coefficients are:

$$E=1+z_r^2F=z_rz_\varphi G=r^2+z_\varphi ^2$$
(5)
and

$$L=\frac{z_{rr}}{\sqrt{1+z_r^2+(z_\varphi /r)^2}}M=\frac{z_{r\varphi }z_\varphi /r}{\sqrt{1+z_r^2+(z_\varphi /r)^2}}N=\frac{z_{\varphi \varphi }+rz_r}{\sqrt{1+z_r^2+(z_\varphi /r)^2}}$$
(6)
Combining equations (3)-(6) gives a second-order non-linear differential equation for the function $`z(r,\varphi )`$:

$$\left[z_{\varphi \varphi }+rz_r+r^2z_{rr}+\left\{z_{\varphi \varphi }z_r^2+rz_r^3+z_{rr}z_\varphi ^22z_{r\varphi }z_rz_\varphi +2z_rz_\varphi ^2/r\right\}\right]+$$

$$+r^2\left[1+\left\{z_r^2+(z_\varphi /r)^2\right\}\right]^{3/2}=0$$
(7)
Note that this equation could also have been obtained if we had tackled the problem by minimizing the surface area $`A=\sqrt{1+z_r^2+(z_\varphi /r)^2}r𝑑r𝑑\varphi `$ (and hence the surface energy $`\sigma A`$) while keeping the volume of the liquid beneath the surface $`V=zr𝑑r𝑑\varphi `$ fixed111The integrations are over the angular region occupied by the drop.. This is equivalent to the minimization of the functional $`A\lambda V`$ with respect to arbitrary variations of $`z(r,\varphi )`$ that leave the boundary fixed, with $`\lambda `$ being a Lagrange multiplier. The proper choice of this parameter is $`\lambda =\mathrm{\Delta }p/\sigma `$ in ordinary units or $`\lambda =1`$ in dimensionless ones, which arises from the expression for the total energy $`E=\sigma AV\mathrm{\Delta }p`$. The Euler-Lagrange equation for the functional $`A\lambda V`$ reads exactly as eq. (7).

Thus, the boundary problem for $`z(r,\varphi )`$ consists of the equation (7) and boundary conditions (1). Note that we do not specify the boundary conditions at the opposite side of the drop (the furthest from the vertex), and this will lead to a set of undetermined coefficients in the solution to our problem. However, our purpose is to infer the universal features of the solution near the vertex, determined solely by the opening angle of the sector of interest and independent of the shape of the boundary outside of that sector. As we show below, knowledge of this subset of boundary conditions imposes sufficiently strict limitations on possible solutions, so that many important properties of the surface shape can be determined on the basis of only these local conditions. Had we specified all the boundary conditions, we would have obtained the exact parameter-free solution, dependent on the global shape of the boundary.

### Horizontal solution.

There is no generic method for solving second-order non-linear differential equations of the kind of eq. (7), so we seek an approximate solution. First of all, we notice that if all partial derivatives of $`z`$ are small ($`|z_r|1`$ and $`|z_\varphi /r|1`$), i.e. if the surface is nearly horizontal, then the curly brackets in each pair of the square brackets can be neglected with respect to the rest of the terms. This horizontal approximation is not entirely obvious, and it will be justified in the next subsection. Thus, omitting the curly brackets in eq. (7), an easy-to-solve Poisson equation is recovered:

$$^2z=1$$
(8)
The general solution to the boundary problem (8), (1) can be written as a sum of three terms:

$$z=\frac{r^2}{4}+z_{PN}+z_{GH}$$
(9)
where $`(r^2/4)`$ is a solution to the non-homogeneous equation:

$$^2\left(\frac{r^2}{4}\right)=1$$
(10)
$`z_{PN}`$ is a particular solution to the homogeneous equation with non-homogeneous boundary conditions:

$$^2z_{PN}=0\text{and}z_{PN}(r,\alpha /2)=z_{PN}(r,\alpha /2)=\frac{r^2}{4}$$
(11)
and $`z_{GH}`$ is the general solution to the fully homogeneous boundary problem:

$$^2z_{GH}=0\text{and}z_{GH}(r,\alpha /2)=z_{GH}(r,\alpha /2)=0$$
(12)
A particular solution to problem (11) is

$$z_{PN}(r,\varphi )=\{\begin{array}{cc}\frac{r^2}{4}\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}\alpha }=Re\left(\frac{\xi ^2}{4\mathrm{cos}\alpha }\right)\hfill & \text{if}\alpha \frac{\pi }{2}\hfill \\ & \\ \frac{r^2}{\pi }\mathrm{ln}r\mathrm{cos}2\varphi +\frac{r^2}{\pi }\varphi \mathrm{sin}2\varphi =Re\left(\frac{\xi ^2\mathrm{ln}\xi }{\pi }\right)\hfill & \text{if}\alpha =\frac{\pi }{2}\hfill \end{array}$$
(13)
where a complex variable $`\xi =re^{i\varphi }`$ has been introduced on the plane of the substrate. Since this expression is a real part of an analytical function of $`\xi `$ (for each fixed $`\alpha `$), it is a harmonic function on $`(r,\varphi )`$-plane by the Cauchy-Riemann conditions, and hence it is a solution to $`^2z_{PN}=0`$. Boundary conditions can be verified by direct substitution $`\varphi =\pm \alpha /2`$.

The general solution to the homogeneous problem (12) must satisfy the symmetry of the problem (i.e. must be even in $`\varphi `$) and can be found by standard methods of mathematical physics:

$$z_{GH}=\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}C_nr^{(2n+1)\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}\left[(2n+1)\frac{\pi \varphi }{\alpha }\right]=Re\left(\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}C_n\xi ^{(2n+1)\pi /\alpha }\right)$$
(14)
The constants $`C_n`$ cannot be determined without imposing further conditions on the solution (for instance, obviously $`C_n`$ may depend on $`\alpha `$). Had we specified the boundary conditions along some curve $`r_0(\varphi )`$ that represents the rest of the boundary of the drop, all the $`C_n`$ would be fixed. Since the number of coefficients $`C_n`$ is infinite, any reasonable boundary condition at $`r_0(\varphi )`$ can be satisfied. On the other hand, as it is apparent from our construction, those missing boundary conditions would not influence any other terms in the solution, which are universal and do not depend on the rest of the drop.

Thus, the general solution (even in $`\varphi `$ and going to 0 as $`r0`$ in cylindrical coordinates) to the boundary problem (8), (1) is

$$z(r,\varphi )=\{\begin{array}{cc}\frac{r^2}{4}+\frac{r^2}{4}\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}\alpha }+\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}C_nr^{(2n+1)\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}\left[(2n+1)\frac{\pi \varphi }{\alpha }\right]\hfill & \text{if}\alpha \frac{\pi }{2}\hfill \\ & \\ \frac{r^2}{4}+\frac{r^2}{\pi }\left(\varphi \mathrm{sin}2\varphi \mathrm{ln}r\mathrm{cos}2\varphi \right)+\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}C_nr^{(2n+1)2}\mathrm{cos}\left[(2n+1)2\varphi \right]\hfill & \text{if}\alpha =\frac{\pi }{2}\hfill \end{array}$$
(15)
Note the dominant terms in the limit $`r1`$ for different values of $`\alpha `$: for acute angles ($`\alpha <\pi /2`$) the $`r^2`$-term dominates, for obtuse angles ($`\alpha >\pi /2`$) the $`r^{\pi /\alpha }`$-term does, and for the right angle ($`\alpha =\pi /2`$) the $`(r^2\mathrm{ln}r)`$-term does. At $`\alpha =\pi /2`$ both the $`r^2`$ and the $`r^{\pi /\alpha }`$ terms scale with $`r`$ as $`r^2`$ (i.e. they “switch” here in the sense of power dominance), and at exactly this value a logarithmic correction to $`r^2`$ appears, as it typically happens for a power series solution near a crossover of two powers.

It may seem from the structure of the expression (15) that this solution is a discontinuous function of $`\alpha `$ at $`\alpha =\pi /2`$. However, this is not true. The key observation is that the coefficients $`C_n`$ can be different for different values of $`\alpha `$. In particular, $`C_0`$ in the upper line of eq. (15) is not the same as the one in the lower line. Let us keep the notation $`C_0`$ for the coefficient $`C_0`$ in the right-angle expression (lower line) and introduce a new notation $`C`$ for that coefficient in the expression for angles different from $`\pi /2`$ (upper line). Consider some angle $`\alpha `$ in the vicinity of $`\pi /2`$, i.e. let $`\alpha =\pi /2+\epsilon `$, where $`|\epsilon |1`$, and expand the second and the $`Cr^{\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}(\pi \varphi /\alpha )`$ terms in the result for $`\alpha \pi /2`$ in small parameter $`\epsilon `$:

$$\frac{r^2}{4}\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}\alpha }+Cr^{\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}(\pi \varphi /\alpha )=\frac{r^2}{4}\left(\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\epsilon }\right)\left(1+O(\epsilon ^2)\right)+$$

$$+Cr^2\left(1\frac{4}{\pi }\epsilon \mathrm{ln}r+O(\epsilon ^2)\right)\left(\mathrm{cos}2\varphi +\frac{4}{\pi }\epsilon \varphi \mathrm{sin}2\varphi +O(\epsilon ^2)\right)$$
(16)
Now, since $`C`$ can depend on $`\alpha `$ (and hence $`\epsilon `$), we set

$$C=\frac{1}{4\epsilon }+C_0+O(\epsilon )$$
(17)
Then the two diverging terms of the order of $`1/\epsilon `$ cancel, and we recover (up to the leading order in $`\epsilon `$) the second and the $`C_0r^{\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}(\pi \varphi /\alpha )`$ terms in the result for $`\alpha =\pi /2`$:

$$\frac{r^2}{4}\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}\alpha }+Cr^{\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}(\pi \varphi /\alpha )=\frac{r^2}{\pi }\mathrm{ln}r\mathrm{cos}2\varphi +\frac{r^2}{\pi }\varphi \mathrm{sin}2\varphi +C_0r^2\mathrm{cos}2\varphi +O(\epsilon )$$
(18)
Since the other terms in the result (15) are identical in the upper and the lower lines, we have shown thereby that our solution is indeed continuous in $`\alpha `$ at fixed $`r`$ for $`\alpha =\pi /2`$ (or $`\epsilon =0`$).

Thus, solution (15) behaves reasonably well in the full range of values of angle $`\alpha `$ from 0 to $`\pi `$. It cannot be used for $`\alpha >\pi `$ since in that range it violates the horizontalness requirement employed in its derivation.

### Asymptotic analysis.

The results above required the assumption that the drop is nearly horizontal. This assumption has not been justified yet, and now we justify it via a more systematic treatment. Since we are interested in the behavior of the surface near the vertex of the angle, we introduce a new small parameter for the problem

$$rR=\frac{\sigma }{\mathrm{\Delta }p}\text{(ordinary units)}$$
(19)
or

$$r1\text{(dimensionless units)}$$
(20)
For small $`r`$ we may write $`z(r,\varphi )`$ as a standard series expansion:

$$z(r,\varphi )=r^\nu \mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\varphi )+r^\mu \mathrm{\Phi }_\mu (\varphi )+\mathrm{}$$
(21)
where $`0<\nu <\mu <\mathrm{}`$. Note that we do not restrict our attention to the horizontal case only, i.e. we do not require $`1<\nu `$. Values of $`\nu `$ between 0 and 1 leading to non-horizontal surfaces will be eliminated automatically by application of boundary conditions to the solutions of eq. (7), thus justifying the horizontal assumption. Here we find only the main asymptotic ($`\nu `$-term) and the first order correction ($`\mu `$-term), but the method allows one to proceed up to an arbitrary order. Details of the calculation are considered in the Appendix; results are presented below. We also treat the case of the right angle separately since we expect logarithmic corrections to the main power of $`r`$ and failure of the assumption (21).

### Leading asymptotic.

Substitution of $`z(r,\varphi )=r^\nu \mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\varphi )`$ into eq. (7) and retention of only the dominant terms for $`r1`$ lead to different equations for different possible values of power $`\nu `$. Solution of those equations and application of symmetry arguments and boundary conditions eliminate some222The leading-order angular solution for $`\nu 1`$ is $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\varphi )=C\mathrm{cos}^\nu \varphi `$. This cannot vanish as required for $`\varphi \pm \alpha /2`$ (see Appendix for details). values of $`\nu `$, leaving at the end only two possibilities ($`\nu =2`$ and $`\nu =\pi /\alpha `$). For these two values the terms retained are a subset of those constituting eq. (8), yielding the following main order result:

$$z(r,\varphi )=\{\begin{array}{ccc}\frac{1}{4}r^2\left(\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}\alpha }1\right)\hfill & \text{if}0\alpha <\frac{\pi }{2}\hfill & (\nu =2)\hfill \\ & & \\ Cr^{\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}\frac{\pi \varphi }{\alpha }\hfill & \text{if}\frac{\pi }{2}<\alpha \pi \hfill & (\nu =\pi /\alpha )\hfill \end{array}$$
(22)
This agrees with the leading behavior of the horizontal solution (15) as $`r0`$. Thus, our surface is indeed nearly horizontal (since $`\nu >1`$), and the horizontal approach indeed produced a sensible result.

The constant $`C`$ is again restricted by neither the equation nor the side boundary conditions, but it would get fixed once the boundary conditions at the furthest side are taken into account. It is a direct equivalent to the constant $`C`$ in the horizontal solution (15) obtained by an independent treatment (recall that we relabeled the $`C_0`$ in the upper line of eq. (15) into $`C`$).

Dependence $`\nu (\alpha )`$ is shown on Fig. 3: for acute angles $`\nu =2`$ and for obtuse ones $`\nu =\pi /\alpha `$.

### First order correction.

The final first-order result for the surface shape in the limit $`r1`$ is:

1. If $`0<\alpha <\pi /4`$, then $`\nu =2`$, $`\mu =4`$ and

$$z(r,\varphi )=\frac{1}{4}r^2\left(\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}\alpha }1\right)+$$

$$+\frac{1}{192}r^4\left(\left[4\mathrm{tan}^2\alpha 3\right]\frac{\mathrm{cos}4\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}2\alpha }+\left[2\mathrm{tan}^2\alpha +12\right]\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}\alpha }\left[6\mathrm{tan}^2\alpha +9\right]\right)+\mathrm{}$$
(23)
2. If $`\pi /4<\alpha <\pi /2`$, then $`\nu =2`$, $`\mu =\pi /\alpha `$ and

$$z(r,\varphi )=\frac{1}{4}r^2\left(\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}\alpha }1\right)+Cr^{\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}\frac{\pi \varphi }{\alpha }+\mathrm{}$$
(24)
3. If $`\pi /2<\alpha <3\pi /4`$, then $`\nu =\pi /\alpha `$, $`\mu =2`$ and

$$z(r,\varphi )=Cr^{\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}\frac{\pi \varphi }{\alpha }+\frac{1}{4}r^2\left(\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}\alpha }1\right)+\mathrm{}$$
(25)
4. If $`3\pi /4<\alpha <\pi `$, then $`\nu =\pi /\alpha `$, $`\mu =3\pi /\alpha 2`$ and

$$z(r,\varphi )=Cr^{\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}\frac{\pi \varphi }{\alpha }+C^3\frac{\pi ^3}{4\alpha ^2(2\pi \alpha )}r^{(3\pi /\alpha )2}\mathrm{cos}\frac{\pi \varphi }{\alpha }+\mathrm{}$$
(26)

The structure of the solution (23)-(26) becomes clear if one plots functions $`\nu (\alpha )`$ and $`\mu (\alpha )`$ together (Fig. 3). Four powers of $`r`$ appear in these formulas: $`r^2`$, $`r^4`$, $`r^{\pi /\alpha }`$ and $`r^{(3\pi /\alpha )2}`$. For any given $`\alpha `$ our procedure selects the two lowest powers in this set of four. Different powers get selected for different $`\alpha `$; this leads to the four cases appearing in (23)-(26). In a full expansion, we expect all four powers to be present for all angles333Note that all terms satisfy boundary conditions independently..

Since a plane $`z=Dx=Dr\mathrm{cos}\varphi `$ is the exact solution to the equation (7) when the boundary of the surface is a straight line $`\alpha =\pi `$, it is rewarding to observe that both terms in the expression (26) reduce to this functional form with $`D=C+\left(C^3/4\right)+\mathrm{}`$ as $`\alpha \pi `$.

Note that although the leading asymptotics in $`r`$ is the same in the results (15) and (23)-(26), the sub-leading terms are different. This is due to the fact that the two results are based on different approximations: the former assumes $`|z_r|1`$ and $`|z_\varphi /r|1`$ while the latter assumes $`r1`$. Since, as shown in the previous subsection, the horizontal approximation follows from the close-to-the-vertex one ($`r1`$), the asymptotic treatment of this subsection describes the surface shape more accurately than result (15), picking up lower powers of $`r`$ for the first sub-leading terms.

### Right-angle sector: first two terms in the expansion.

We already know that a pure power series does not work in the case $`\alpha =\pi /2`$ and that the leading power of $`r`$ should be close to 2, at most logarithmically close. So, we introduce a new ansatz instead of series (21):

$$z(r,\varphi )=(r^2\mathrm{ln}r)\mathrm{\Phi }_1(\varphi )+r^2\mathrm{\Phi }_2(\varphi )+\mathrm{}$$
(27)
Subsequently, by repeating the steps of the Appendix, we find $`\mathrm{\Phi }_1(\varphi )=A\mathrm{cos}2\varphi `$, then obtain the second term ($`\mathrm{\Phi }_2(\varphi )`$) and fix $`A=1/\pi `$ by boundary conditions. As a result we recover the lower line of the expression (15):

$$z(r,\varphi )=\frac{1}{\pi }r^2\mathrm{ln}r\mathrm{cos}2\varphi +r^2\left(\frac{1}{\pi }\varphi \mathrm{sin}2\varphi \frac{1}{4}+C_0\mathrm{cos}2\varphi \right)+\mathrm{}$$
(28)
where $`C_0`$ is again a constant equivalent to the $`C_0`$ in (15). The relation between the constant $`C_0`$ in this right-angle expression and the constant $`C`$ in the result (23)-(26) for $`\alpha \pi /2`$ is exactly the same as in eq. (17) due to the continuity of the full solution for all values of $`\alpha `$.

Thus, an asymptotic expansion of the dimensionless function $`z`$ of the dimensionless coordinates $`r`$ and $`\varphi `$ in the limit $`r1`$ has been found for all values of $`\alpha `$ in the range from 0 to $`\pi `$. A natural extension of this study is to consider angular regions that have $`\alpha >\pi `$. We guess that for such cases $`z(r,\varphi )`$ grows as a power of $`r`$ less than unity, so that the slope of the surface diverges at the vertex. But we have not succeeded to verify this behavior with our methods.

Typical behavior of the universal function $`z(r,\varphi )`$ (eqs. (23)-(26) and (28)) for angles $`\alpha =3\pi /8`$, $`\pi /2`$ and $`5\pi /8`$ is shown on Fig. 4. To facilitate the comparison, we also plot the bisector cross-sections of the same three surface profiles in one frame (Fig. 5). Constant $`C_0`$ is taken to be 1 in all cases, while the value of constant $`C`$ is chosen according to the prescription (17). In spite of the existence of drastic mathematical difference between the three regimes, this difference is not apparent from looking at the profile of the surface itself (as on Fig. 4), and that is probably why it went unnoticed so far. We will further emphasize this qualitative difference in the following section.

## 3 Discussion

### Curvature.

Let us better understand the main order result by looking at the curvature of the surfaces described above. The principal curvatures along the bisector of the angular region are in the $`\widehat{r}`$ and $`\widehat{\varphi }`$ directions, and for the points on the bisector the radial ($`c_{rr}`$) and the azimuthal ($`c_{\varphi \varphi }`$) curvatures are simply444For an arbitrary point of the surface the principal curvatures are determined by the roots $`c_1`$ and $`c_2`$ of the quadratic equation
$$\left|\begin{array}{cc}LcE& McF\\ McF& NcG\end{array}\right|=0$$
At the points where the principal directions are along the coordinate ones (e.g. on bisector) coefficients $`F`$ and $`M`$ vanish and the principal curvatures are given by simple relations (29) (see  for details).

$$c_{rr}=\frac{L}{E}\text{and}c_{\varphi \varphi }=\frac{N}{G}$$
(29)
with $`E`$, $`G`$, $`L`$ and $`N`$ defined in eqs. (5)-(6). For small $`r`$ (and therefore small $`|z_r|`$ and $`|z_\varphi /r|`$) these expressions simplify even further to

$$c_{rr}=z_{rr}\text{and}c_{\varphi \varphi }=\frac{z_{\varphi \varphi }}{r^2}+\frac{z_r}{r}$$
(30)
so that the principal curvatures sum to $`^2z`$. Thus, for the surface (22) and (28) (up to the leading order in $`r1`$ only) these principal curvatures are:

$$\begin{array}{ccc}c_{rr}=\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{2\mathrm{cos}\alpha }\hfill & c_{\varphi \varphi }=\frac{1}{2}\frac{1}{2\mathrm{cos}\alpha }\hfill & \text{if}0\alpha <\pi /2\hfill \\ & & \\ c_{rr}=\frac{2}{\pi }\mathrm{ln}r\hfill & c_{\varphi \varphi }=\frac{2}{\pi }\mathrm{ln}r\hfill & \text{if}\alpha =\pi /2\hfill \\ & & \\ c_{rr}=C\frac{\pi (\pi \alpha )}{\alpha ^2}r^{(\pi /\alpha )2}\hfill & c_{\varphi \varphi }=C\frac{\pi (\pi \alpha )}{\alpha ^2}r^{(\pi /\alpha )2}\hfill & \text{if}\pi /2<\alpha \pi \hfill \end{array}$$
(31)
Typical behavior of radial curvature $`c_{rr}`$ on the bisector as a function of $`r`$ is shown on Fig. 6 for the same three values of $`\alpha `$ as on Figs. 4 and 5. Now the dramatic difference between the two regimes of $`\alpha `$ becomes apparent. For acute angles the curvatures remain finite as $`r0`$ while for obtuse ones the curvatures diverge as a negative power of $`r`$ (changing from 0 to $`1`$ as angle $`\alpha `$ passes from $`\pi /2`$ to $`\pi `$). The limiting case of the right angle has an intermediate logarithmic divergence.

Note that the finite values of curvature (for $`\alpha <\pi /2`$) sum to $`1`$ in full accord with equation (3). However, the divergent values (for $`\alpha \pi /2`$) have the opposite signs and thus sum to 0. This is a result of the neglect of the corrections to the main asymptotic in $`r`$. Had we kept the corrections to the divergent curvatures, they would sum to $`1`$. Thus, for instance, the second term in the solution (25) is the kind of the correction which provides summation to $`1`$ when the main (divergent) terms sum to 0.

The origin of the arbitrary constant $`C`$ in the solution (22) is now seen to be related to the divergence of principal curvatures for obtuse angles. Indeed, for acute angles the curvatures are finite and $`c_{rr}+c_{\varphi \varphi }=1`$ while for the obtuse ones the curvatures are divergent and $`c_{rr}+c_{\varphi \varphi }=0`$ (up to the main order in $`r`$). Therefore, multiplication of the solution $`z(r,\varphi )`$ by an arbitrary constant is not allowed in the former case while is perfectly legitimate in the latter one (since both $`c_{rr}`$ and $`c_{\varphi \varphi }`$ get multiplied by the same constant). Thus, a possibility for an arbitrary multiplicative constant in the solution for obtuse angles comes from the divergence of the curvature, which in its turn reflects a different $`r`$-dependence of $`z(r,\varphi )`$ for $`\alpha >\pi /2`$.

On the other hand, the presence of an undetermined coefficient means that the shape is influenced by the boundary conditions at the side of the drop furthest from the vertex. Hence, different scaling with $`r`$ for different angles results in different dependence on boundary conditions outside of the sector of interest: for acute angles the dimensionless shape of the surface at the tip of the sector does not depend on these boundary conditions while for obtuse angles it does. Of course, this argument was based on the main-order solution (22), but general dependence of the surface shape on the boundary conditions at the opposite side of the drop via constant $`C`$ is already apparent from the first-order solution (23)-(26): the larger the opening angle, the stronger dependence of $`z(r,\varphi )`$ on these yet-unspecified boundary conditions (the number of terms containing $`C`$ increases as $`\alpha `$ increases). This seems quite reasonable, as intuitively surface shape near the vertex must cease depending on the rest of the drop as $`\alpha 0`$, and it must be fully specified by the rest of the drop when there is no vertex at all (i.e. when $`\alpha =\pi `$).

### Experimental realizations.

The contrast between the drops over acute and obtuse angular regions may be seen in the way they refract light. To illustrate, we picture a pair of sector-shaped droplets on a transparent substrate at a distance $`s`$ above an object plane (Fig. 7). One angle is acute, and the other one is obtuse. The object plane consists of a set of closely spaced parallel lines perpendicular to the bisectors of each angular region, so that the spacing between the lines is in the $`\widehat{r}`$ direction along the bisector. Observation of the object plane through the droplets allows one to make qualitative judgment about the behavior of the curvature near the vertices of each sector. The result of such a simple demonstration with spacing between the parallel lines of approximately $`1.6`$ mm, acute angle of about $`51^{}`$, and obtuse angle of about $`124^{}`$ is shown in Figure 8. As it is apparent from this image, the spacing between the lines seen through the drop over the obtuse angular region decreases as they approach the vertex, while the spacing between the lines seen through the drop over the acute sector remains unchanged. Note that only a few millimeters near the vertex should be taken into account while viewing this figure since the inverse mean curvature $`R`$ for water drops not distorted by gravity is of this order of magnitude. At higher distances gravitational effects cannot be neglected while calculating the surface shape.

This observation agrees favorably to the result of our calculation, as it can be seen from an argument based on geometrical optics. Indeed, for the dimensions of the optical image along the bisector only radial curvature is important, and one can write the following approximate expression for the linear magnification by the drop in the $`\widehat{r}`$ direction:

$$m=\frac{1}{1+s(n1)c_{rr}}$$
(32)
where $`n`$ is the index of refraction of the liquid the droplets are made of555This expression assumes the horizontalness of the drop.. According to our result, for obtuse angles the curvature diverges and the magnification should go to zero as the vertex is approached; for acute angles both quantities remain finite. Thus, qualitative validity of our result is confirmed by the simple demonstration described above. Similar behavior should hold for the light reflected off the surface of the droplet because curvature is equally important for both such phenomena.

Another possible system to test the predictions of our study is a pressurized soap film. As shown in Figure 9, a soap film on a wedge-shaped frame with an applied constant pressure difference across it will have constant mean curvature. Thus, it is described by our formalism. The only difference between such a film and a liquid drop is that the film has two surfaces, and therefore the applied $`\mathrm{\Delta }p`$ must be two times as much as $`\mathrm{\Delta }p`$ in equation (2). Once such a surface is produced, it can be made as big as necessary for experimental convenience, since gravitational effects are virtually absent for this realization.

As these examples illustrate, the change in behavior on going from acute to obtuse planar angular regions can show up in concrete ways. We suspect that further differences will emerge as capillary flow and evaporation properties of these sector-shaped liquid interfaces are explored.

The authors are grateful to Leo Kadanoff for an insightful discussion, to Joseph Keller for a useful mathematical clarification, to Sidney Redner for pointing out the analogous phenomena in hydrodynamics and diffusion, and to Itai Cohen for his help with photographing the drops. This work was supported in part by the MRSEC Program of the National Science Foundation under Award Number DMR-9808595.

## Appendix

Here we present some details on how we obtain expressions (22) and (23)-(26). One starts from the substitution of $`z(r,\varphi )=r^\nu \mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\varphi )`$ (the first term of the expansion (21)) into eq. (7) and obtains the following equation for $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\varphi )`$:

$$r^\nu \left(P[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ]+r^{2\nu 2}Q[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ]\right)+r^2\left(1+r^{2\nu 2}R[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ]\right)^{3/2}=0$$

where

$$P[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ]=\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ^{\prime \prime }+\nu ^2\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu $$

$$Q[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ]=\nu ^2\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ^2\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ^{\prime \prime }+\left(\nu \nu ^2\right)\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu \left(\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ^{}\right)^2+\nu ^3\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ^3$$

$$R[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ]=\left(\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ^{}\right)^2+\nu ^2\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ^2$$

Considering all possible values of $`\nu `$, leaving only main terms in $`r`$ (the smallest powers of $`r`$) and solving for $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\varphi )`$ in each case, one arrives at the following set of solutions (only even terms are shown due to the symmetry of the problem):

$$\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\varphi )=\{\begin{array}{cc}C\mathrm{cos}^\nu \varphi \hfill & \text{if}0<\nu <1\hfill \\ & \\ C\mathrm{cos}\varphi \hfill & \text{if}\nu =1\hfill \\ & \\ C\mathrm{cos}\nu \varphi \hfill & \text{if}1<\nu <2\hfill \\ & \\ C\mathrm{cos}2\varphi \frac{1}{4}\hfill & \text{if}\nu =2\hfill \\ & \\ \text{no solution}\hfill & \text{if}\nu >2\hfill \end{array}$$

($`C`$ is independent of $`r`$ and $`\varphi `$ everywhere but arbitrary otherwise.) Obviously, the first two options can not satisfy boundary conditions $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\alpha /2)=\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\alpha /2)=0`$ for angles $`\alpha <\pi `$, and thus the “not horizontal” solutions with $`\nu 1`$ are naturally eliminated. In cases 3 and 4 boundary conditions yield $`\nu =\pi /\alpha `$ and $`C=1/(4\mathrm{cos}\alpha )`$ respectively. Thus, the main order result in the limit $`r1`$ is nothing but eq. (22):

$$z(r,\varphi )=\{\begin{array}{ccc}\frac{1}{4}r^2\left(\frac{\mathrm{cos}2\varphi }{\mathrm{cos}\alpha }1\right)\hfill & \text{if}0\alpha <\frac{\pi }{2}\hfill & (\nu =2)\hfill \\ & & \\ Cr^{\pi /\alpha }\mathrm{cos}\frac{\pi \varphi }{\alpha }\hfill & \text{if}\frac{\pi }{2}<\alpha \pi \hfill & (\nu =\pi /\alpha )\hfill \end{array}$$

Then we proceed in exactly the same fashion to determine $`\mu `$ and to find $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\mu (\varphi )`$ by employing just calculated main order result. Substitution of the first two terms of the expansion (21) into equation (7) yields the following equation for $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\mu (\varphi )`$:

$$r^\nu \left(P[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ]+r^{\mu \nu }U[\mathrm{\Phi }_\mu ]+r^{2\nu 2}Q[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ]+r^{\nu +\mu 2}V[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ,\mathrm{\Phi }_\mu ]+O(r^{2\mu 2})\right)+$$

$$+r^2\left(1+r^{2\nu 2}R[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ]+r^{\nu +\mu 2}W[\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu ,\mathrm{\Phi }_\mu ]+O(r^{2\mu 2})\right)^{3/2}=0$$

where $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\varphi )`$ is already known, $`P`$, $`Q`$, $`R`$ are the same as in the equation for $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\nu (\varphi )`$,

$$U[\mathrm{\Phi }_\mu ]=\mathrm{\Phi }_\mu ^{\prime \prime }+\mu ^2\mathrm{\Phi }_\mu $$

and expressions for $`V`$ and $`W`$ are irrelevant to any final results. Similar to the previous case analysis, including thorough consideration of all possible cases for values of $`\mu `$, neglect of the terms of the order higher than the first correction in $`r`$ and application of symmetry arguments and boundary conditions to the solutions, leads to the first-order result (23)-(26).

Obviously, the procedure of building the next term of power series for the solution of eq. (7) can be repeated up to an arbitrary order.