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# Spin dynamics of the 𝑆=1/2 antiferromagnetic zig-zag ladder with anisotropy

## 1 Introduction

Recently  it has been suggested that a two dimensional spin system, $`Cs_2CuCl_4`$, has an excitation spectrum that can be described, similarly to the one dimensional case , by a continuum originated from pairs of spin $`1/2`$ spinons. The standard one dimensional Heisenberg model is known to have fractional states where the usual spin $`1`$ magnons are replaced by pairs of deconfined spin $`1/2`$ topological excitations called spinons . The characteristic low excitation energy coherent peaks that appear in the dynamical susceptibility are in this case replaced by a continuum. This property has been verified experimentally for several quasi-one dimensional spin $`1/2`$ systems like CPC , $`KCuF_3`$  and copper benzoate  where a description in terms of a nearest-neighbor Heisenberg model is assumed to apply.

Real materials are however neither strictly one-dimensional nor the interactions are of the simple Heisenberg nearest-neighbor form. Originally $`Cs_2CuCl_4`$ was taken as a quasi-one-dimensional system  but a more careful estimate of the inter-chain parameters revealed that they are of the same order as the intrachain interactions . The interlayer coupling is estimated to be two orders of magnitude smaller implying that the system is essentially two-dimensional. It forms a triangular lattice in the copper ($`Cu^{2+}`$, $`S=1/2`$) planes and constitutes therefore a frustrated system.

Frustrated systems have attracted considerable interest. Using a large-$`N`$ bosonic expansion it has been predicted  that the presence of frustration may counteract the staggered fields responsible for confinement  and lead to deconfinement of the spinons. In a non-frustrated system it is known that the low energy modes are spin-$`1`$ magnons. The presence of frustration leads to a non-collinear order parameter  which can be parametrized by three real scalar numbers. The representation of the spin operators in terms of bosonic operators contains an hidden internal gauge symmetry under which the scalar link fields transform either as charge $`+2`$ or charge $`+1`$ scalars . It has been predicted a long time ago that if the charge $`+2`$ scalars condense into a Higgs phase  then the unit charges are not confined and the spinons remain free . However the Higgs phase is just one of the possible phases predicted to occur in the frustrated two-dimensional lattice. The $`Cs_2CuCl_4`$ system provides a first experimental example of a two-dimensional system with a spectrum consistent with the existence of spinons.

One may think of a simpler system like the zig-zag ladder, where only two chains are coupled, and study the excitation spectrum of this system as a first step towards understanding the two-dimensional triangular lattice obtained in the limit when several ladders are coupled to each other. In usual spin ladders an infinitesimal coupling between chains leads to a behavior qualitatively different from the $`1d`$ case. Therefore it is interesting to see if in the case of the zig-zag ladder there is a qualitative difference from the single-chain case. It has been found before that if the next-nearest-neighbor (nnn) interaction is small enough the system still behaves qualitatively as the single-chain case. Therefore it seems reasonable that for small couplings we might find similar features characteristic of the single chain, in particular a spinon originated spectrum. The main question to be answered is what happens for large couplings where the role of the nnn coupling is important. We will show that indeed for all couplings a spinon description holds. A direct comparison with the experimental results for $`Cs_2CuCl_4`$ would require a full $`2d`$ calculation but our results for the zig-zag ladder give a first indication that the nnn coupling does not lead to a coherent energy spectrum.

In the context of a frustrated two-leg ladder similar to the zig-zag ladder  it has been shown that the spinons survive as the elementary excitations in a spontaneously dimerized ground state but become massive. A local $`Z_2`$ symmetry related to independent translations by one lattice spacing on each chain is spontaneously broken and leads to a non-vanishing dimerization for strong enough frustration. This symmetry breaking leads to kinks as elementary excitations which are massive. These kinks have been shown to have $`S=1/2`$ and therefore at least two must be created.

In general if a term removes explicitly the $`Z_2`$ degeneracy betweeen the two dimerized ground states this leads to soliton confinement. An example is to introduce explicit dimerization in the Hamiltonian. The role of explicit dimerization has also been addressed in the context of spin-Peierls systems like $`CuGeO_3`$ , $`NaV_2O_3`$  or $`Cu(NO_3)_22.5D_2O`$ . The excitation spectrum of these systems is however considerably different from the chains without dimerization. The spectrum is gapped and the lowest energy excitations are coherent spin-$`1`$ magnon peaks  that separate from the continuum that appears at higher energies. The spectrum of these systems is actually closer to integer spin chains  or to spin-ladders . The effects of explicit dimerization have received renewed attention recently .

Another source of interest in the zig-zag ladder is that it has been proposed that in the anisotropic case incommensurate quasi-long-range spin correlations should be observed. Also a gapless chiral phase has been predicted to occur . In this work we focus our attention on the combined effects of a next-nearest neighbor frustrating interaction and of anisotropy. In a two-dimensional non-frustrating system the spectrum is coherent and composed of magnons. The addition of frustrating terms may lead to deconfined spinons. In the zig-zag ladder when the nnn frustrating coupling is absent the system has a spectrum determined by gapless spinons (it is the case of the simple Heisenberg chain). Adding frustration it is expected that the spinons will remain deconfined. In the isotropic case where the effect of the nnn coupling is to dimerize the spinons are massive at sufficiently strong nnn coupling. In the anisotropic case at strong enough nnn couplings we expect the system to have a transition from the intermediate dimer phase to a gapless phase where we expect the deconfined spinons to be massless.

## 2 Hamiltonian

The anisotropic zigzag ladder is defined by the Hamiltonian

$`H`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}J_1^{XY}{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\left(S_i^+S_{i+1}^{}+S_i^{}S_{i+1}^+\right)+J_1^z{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}S_i^zS_{i+1}^z`$ (1)
$`+`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}J_2^{XY}{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\left(S_i^+S_{i+2}^{}+S_i^{}S_{i+2}^+\right)+J_2^z{\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}S_i^zS_{i+2}^z.`$
The spin operators refer to spin $`S=1/2`$ states, while the summation $`i=1,\mathrm{},N`$ runs along the “rib” of the zig-zag ladder. We shall parameterize the interactions by the coupling parameter $`j=J_2^{XY}/J_1^{XY}`$ and by the anisotropy parameter $`J_1^z/J_1^{XY}=\mathrm{\Delta }=J_2^z/J_2^{XY}`$. (The isotropic case reduces to $`j=J_2/J_1`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }=1`$.) We will set $`J_1^{XY}=1`$ henceforth. The nearest-neighbor Heisenberg chain with anisotropy corresponds to both the weak-coupling ($`J_1=0`$) and to the strong-coupling ($`J_2=0`$) limits of the zig-zag ladder. The spectrum is gapless for the case of $`XY`$ anisotropy, $`|\mathrm{\Delta }|1`$, as shown by the Bethe ansatz . The excitation spectrum consists of spin-$`1/2`$ particles dubbed spinons. Since flipping one spin represents a spin-$`1`$ excitation, the spinons can only be created in pairs. Therefore the conventional spin $`1`$ magnons are deconfined into spin-$`1/2`$ spinons that propagate incoherently.

The isotropic case has been studied before  as a function of the coupling parameter, $`j=J_2/J_1`$. As $`j`$ increases, the system goes from gapless (single chain) to a dimer phase and then to a spiral phase, where the structure factor has a maximum at a momentum $`\pi /2<q<\pi `$. The system has a spin gap in these last two phases, and it therefore only displays short-range order. In the limit that the intra-chain interaction is much larger than the inter-chain interaction ($`j\mathrm{}`$) the two chains decouple and a gapless single chain behavior is recovered. It has been argued that this only happens, strictly speaking, at $`j=\mathrm{}`$: the spin gap becomes exponentially small as $`j`$ grows, but it remains non-vanishing . Recently, on the other hand, it has been proposed that incommensurate quasi-long-range spin correlations should be observed if easy-plane ($`XY`$) anisotropy is included in the zigzag ladder . This is argued to be due to the presence of a “twist” term that results from the inter-chain interaction. It has been proposed that there is one gapless mode and one mode with a gap in the regime of strong $`XY`$ anisotropy in the inter-chain coupling. Another prediction of this work is the existence of spontaneous local spin currents. This, however, has been refuted in ref. . Also, other recent numerical work  has failed to confirm the gapless nature of the groundstate in the anisotropic $`XY`$ case at weak interchain coupling. Recent Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) results  suggest, however, that the zig-zag ladder does indeed show a gapless chiral phase as predicted in ref. .

Also, recently an analysis of the exact properties of such finite systems was carried out, looking at various correlation functions and the structure of the spectrum both in the isotropic and the anisotropic cases . The spin stiffness of the zig-zag ladder was calculated, and it was found evidence for a gapless regime at weak coupling that survives the thermodynamic limit in the case of $`XY`$ anisotropy. This was also concluded looking at the level crossings to detect the phase transition between the two regimes  using a previously proposed procedure to detect the dimer transition at strong interchain coupling . The same method was also recently used in reference .

In this work we will study the structure function and the spectral weight of the spin excitations both for the longitudinal and the transverse correlations. Our results are consistent with previous conclusions that there is a transition to a gapless regime at weak coupling if anisotropy is present. The results indicate a continuum of gapless excitations in the transverse correlations in the $`XY`$ case, and a continuum of gapped excitations in the isotropic case.

## 3 Spectral weight

The structure function is defined by the overlap of two states coupled either by the longitudinal or the transverse spin operator ,

$$S_{\mu \nu }(q,\omega )=\frac{1}{N}\underset{l,R}{}e^{iqR}_{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}𝑑te^{i\omega t}<S_l^\mu (t)S_{l+R}^\nu (0)>$$
(2)
where $`\mu `$ and $`\nu `$ are cartesian components. At zero temperature we obtain therefore

$$S_{\mu \mu }(q,\omega )=\underset{\lambda }{}M_\lambda ^\mu \delta (\omega +E_GE_\lambda )\delta (q+k_0k_\lambda )$$
(3)
where $`E_G`$ is the groundstate energy, $`E_\lambda `$ is the energy of an excited state, $`\omega `$ is the excitation energy (energy difference to the groundstate) and $`q`$ is its momentum (momentum difference to the momentum of the groundstate $`k_0`$) and the spectral weight is defined by

$$M_\lambda ^\mu =2\pi \left|<G|S^\mu (q)|\lambda >\right|^2.$$
(4)
where $`S^\mu (q)`$ is the Fourier transform of the spin operator. We will calculate the structure functions $`S_+(q,\omega )`$ and $`S_{zz}(q,\omega )`$ which probe the transverse and the longitudinal spin excitations, respectively.

The single chain case was studied before both by Bethe ansatz  and using numerical diagonalization of small systems . The continuum of excitations is contained in the thermodynamic limit between two lines: the bottom one is the single-spinon dispersion, $`ϵ_l(q)`$, and the upper one is the maximum energy resulting from the combined effect of two spinons, $`ϵ_u(q)`$. In the isotropic case ($`\mathrm{\Delta }=1`$) the lines are defined by

$`{\displaystyle \frac{ϵ_l(q)}{J_1}}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\pi }{2}}\left|\mathrm{sin}(q)\right|`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{ϵ_u(q)}{J_1}}`$ $`=`$ $`\pi \left|\mathrm{sin}\left({\displaystyle \frac{q}{2}}\right)\right|`$ (5)
and in the $`XY`$ case ($`\mathrm{\Delta }=0`$) are defined by

$`{\displaystyle \frac{ϵ_l(q)}{J_1^{XY}}}`$ $`=`$ $`\left|\mathrm{sin}(q)\right|`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{ϵ_u(q)}{J_1^{XY}}}`$ $`=`$ $`2\left|\mathrm{sin}\left({\displaystyle \frac{q}{2}}\right)\right|`$ (6)
In the $`XY`$ case the longitudinal structure function can be calculated exactly  since this system is equivalent to free spinless fermions and it is given by

$$S_{zz}(q,\omega )=2\frac{\mathrm{\Theta }(\omega \mathrm{sin}(q))\mathrm{\Theta }(2\mathrm{sin}(q/2)\omega )}{\sqrt{4\mathrm{sin}^2(q/2)\omega ^2}}$$
(7)
In the isotropic case there is no exact solution but Müller et al.  proposed an ansatz that fits very well both numerical results for small systems and various experimental results where a description in terms of a single chain is expected to hold. The Müller ansatz is

$$S_{zz}(q,\omega )=\frac{A}{\sqrt{\omega ^2ϵ_l^2(q)}}\mathrm{\Theta }(\omega ϵ_l(q))\mathrm{\Theta }(ϵ_u(q)\omega )$$
(8)
where $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ is a step function and $`A`$ a constant . This function diverges at the lower boundary while in the $`XY`$ case it diverges at the upper boundary . At momentum $`\pi `$ the divergence is stronger and it diverges as $`S_{zz}\omega ^1`$.

In the thermodynamic limit the structure function eq. (3) can be written as a product

$$S_{\mu \mu }(q,\omega )=M^\mu (q,\omega )D(q,\omega )$$
(9)
where $`M^\mu (q,\omega )`$ is the continuum limit of the spectral weight originating in the overlaps eq. (4) and $`D(q,\omega )`$ is the density of states. In the isotropic and in the $`XY`$ case the density of states is finite and nearly constant close to the low-energy threshold and it diverges at the upper threshold. On the other hand $`M^\mu (q,\omega )`$ is constant in the $`XY`$-case and it diverges at the lower threshold in the Heisenberg case. The structure function as a consequence diverges in the lower threshold for the Heisenberg chain and it diverges in the upper threshold in the $`XY`$-case . For any finite system the density of states is a set of delta functions at the excitation energies.

Using field theory it is also possible to determine the dependence of the transverse structure function close to the lower threshold. In the single chain case the transverse function is given by

$$S_+(q,\omega )\frac{1}{\left(\omega ^2ϵ_l^2(q)\right)^{3/4}};j=0,\mathrm{\Delta }=0$$
(10)
and therefore

$$S_+(\pi ,\omega )\omega ^{3/2}$$
(11)
However the finite energy structure function is not known analytically.

The ladder case is more involved. We will use exact diagonalization of finite systems together with the modified Lanczos method .

## 4 Numerical results

Let us begin by recalling the quantum numbers of the groundstate as a function of the size $`N`$ for the $`S=1/2`$ zig-zag antiferromagnet. Periodic boundary conditions are imposed throughout. The groundstate is a spin singlet in general due to the antiferromagnetic interactions. The system has three well defined regimes: (a) strong-coupling, (b) intermediate coupling and (c) weak-coupling. Consider the isotropic case first. For strong enough coupling between chains, $`j=J_2/J_1<1/2`$, it has either momentum $`\pi `$ for $`N=4n+2`$ or momentum $`0`$ for $`N=4n`$. For intermediate couplings ($`j>1/2`$), on the other hand, the momentum oscillates between $`0`$ and $`\pi `$ as a function of the coupling parameter $`j`$ and of the system size $`N`$ . There are several points along $`j`$ in this regime where the corresponding energy levels for these two momentum values cross. The groundstate is degenerate at these points, and this is reflected by peaks in the dimer correlation function . Such level crossings grow in number as the system size grows, and this indicates that the two singlet states in question are in fact degenerate in the thermodynamic limit. By the Lieb-Schultz-Mattis theorem,  this is consistent with a spin gap in the excitation spectrum that survives the thermodynamic limit in the weak-coupling regime $`j>1/2`$.

The spectrum of the anisotropic $`S=1/2`$ $`XXZ`$ zig-zag ladder has also been studied previously in the strong-coupling regime up to the Majumdar-Ghosh line ($`0<j<1/2`$).  A gapless regime occurs for $`XY`$ anisotropy $`\mathrm{\Delta }1`$ and strong coupling $`j<j_{c1}(\mathrm{\Delta })`$; an Ising antiferromagnet along the rib of the zig-zag that shows a spin gap in the excitation spectrum occurs for $`\mathrm{\Delta }>1`$ and $`j<j_{c1}(\mathrm{\Delta })`$, and a dimer phase regime that also has a spin gap exists at $`j>j_{c1}(\mathrm{\Delta })`$ and any $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$. The line $`j=j_{c1}(\mathrm{\Delta })`$ separates the gapless phase from the dimer phase for $`\mathrm{\Delta }1`$, while it separates the dimer phase from the (Ising) Néel phase for $`\mathrm{\Delta }>1`$. The line at $`\mathrm{\Delta }=1`$ and $`j<j_{c1}`$ separates the $`XY`$ gapless phase from the Ising phase.

It was found  that there is a transition from the gapped intermediate coupling regime to a weak-coupling gapless regime. In the intermediate coupling regime the two lowest states are two states with $`S_z=0`$, of momenta $`k=0,\pi `$. There is a line, $`j_{c2}(\mathrm{\Delta })`$, where the first excited state becomes a $`S_z=\pm 1`$, $`k=\pi /2`$ state signalling the doubling of the periodicity and leading to a gapless regime as confirmed from the spin stiffness tensor highest eigenvalue . The curve $`j_{c2}(\mathrm{\Delta })`$ shown in Fig. 4 of ref.  separates a spin-gap (dimer) phase from a gapless phase at small interchain couplings. As expected, the value of $`j_{c2}`$ grows near the isotropic point. (It should tend to $`j=\mathrm{}`$ at $`\mathrm{\Delta }=1`$ according to White and Affleck,  but finite-size effects gave a finite value).

Let us now analise the spectral weight eq. (4) at various points in the phase diagram parametrized by $`j`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$. We will focus our attention on two classes of parameters. We will consider the isotropic case ($`\mathrm{\Delta }=1`$) and the $`XY`$-case ($`\mathrm{\Delta }=0`$) varying in both cases the interchain coupling, $`j`$.

Let us begin with the single chain case for both values of $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ and let us consider the particular case $`N=16`$. In Fig. 1 we show the lowest energy levels (taking the groundstate as the zero of energy) for $`S_z=0`$ and $`S_z=1`$ and a given momentum for the Heisenberg chain and the $`XY`$ chain. In the Heisenberg case the states are organized into spin multiplets due to the $`SU(2)`$ spin invariance. The groundstate is a spin singlet with momentum zero. The first excited state is a spin triplet with momentum $`k=\pi `$ and the next state is another spin singlet but with momentum $`k=\pi `$. In the $`\mathrm{\Delta }=0`$ case the first excited state is now a state with $`S_z=1`$ and momentum $`k=\pi `$ and the next state is fourfold-degenerate with $`S_z=0`$ and momentum $`k=4\pi /N`$ or momentum $`k=\pi `$, or $`S_z=2`$ and the same momentum values .

The structure function $`S_{zz}`$ only couples the groundstate to states with $`S_z=0`$ and $`S_T=1`$. On the other hand $`S_+`$ only couples the groundstate to states with $`S_z=1`$ and $`S_T=1`$ ($`S_T`$ is the total spin). In the isotropic case $`S_+`$ couples to a subset of the states probed by $`S_{zz}`$ while in the anisotropic case the two functions probe different sets of states.

In Fig. 2a we show the spin excitations that contribute to $`S_{zz}(q,\omega )`$ for $`N=16`$ and for $`\mathrm{\Delta }=1`$. As mentioned above the spectral weight of the spin excitations decreases as we move away from the lower threshold. The states contained in the region defined by $`ϵ_l(q)`$ and $`ϵ_u(q)`$ have a considerable weight while those at higher energies have a much smaller weight . The spectral weight of these higher states will vanish in the thermodynamic limit. Also other states contained in the continuum have very small weights. The continuum is therefore well defined by the set of states with highest spectral weight. In Fig. 2b we show the structure function for the Heisenberg chain. The delta functions at the excitation energies have been given a finite width both in frequency and momentum for better visualization.

In Fig. 3 we show the states with non-vanishing spectral weight for the longitudinal and the transverse structure functions for the $`XY`$ chain. The spectral weight is uniform inside the continuum defined by eqs. (6). The spectrum of the transverse excitations is however different. The lower spinon dispersion is well described by the single-spinon dispersion; particularly close to $`q=\pi `$ the gap is already rather small for such a small system. At higher energies the spectral weight is considerably spread.

As we introduce the next-nearest-neighbor interaction the spectrum remains gapless for all $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ if $`j`$ is small. In the intermediate coupling regime ($`j1`$) the system becomes gapped. In Fig. 4 we show the a) spectral weight and b) the structure function for $`j=1`$ in the isotropic case. The states with $`S_z=0`$ and momenta $`k=0,\pi `$ are nearly degenerate . The next excited state is a spin triplet with momentum $`k=\pi /2`$ which in the thermodynamic limit will have a gap to the groundstate. Accordingly the spectral weight shows a gap with a continuum above it indicative of massive spinons. In the anisotropic case the two lowest states are the same as in the isotropic case but the next excited state is a $`S_z=1`$, $`k=\pi /2`$ state . The next state is a $`S_z=0`$, $`k=\pi `$ singlet. The low value of the gap signals the near level crossing that for $`N=16`$ occurs around $`j=1.2`$ leading to a gapless regime . In Fig. 5 we show the spectral weights and the structure functions for the longitudinal and the transverse spin excitations. In the case of $`S_{zz}`$ the lowest gap is at $`k=\pi `$, while for $`S_+`$ the lowest gap is at $`k=\pi /2`$. It is also clear that the spectrum is quite sharp at $`k=\pi /2`$ in the transverse spin function.

As we increase $`j`$ further the sharpness of the gapless transverse mode at $`k=\pi /2`$ becomes stronger. In Fig. 6 we show the structure function for the isotropic case and in Fig. 7 the same function for the anisotropic case at $`j=2`$. The Goldstone mode predicted to occur in the anisotropic case for the transverse spin excitations clearly singles out.

We also consider the finite-size dependence of the low-energy excitations for the longitudinal and the transverse spectral functions as a function of the system size using results from exact diagonalizations and the modified Lanczos method. We consider system sizes up to $`N=24`$. The results extrapolate to the single-spinon dispersion curve for the various values of $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ and $`j`$. In particular we consider the anisotropic case.

In Fig. 8 we show the lowest energy states for a) $`S_z=0`$ and b) $`S_z=1`$ as a function of momentum for the $`XY`$ case for $`j=2`$. The spectrum clearly shows the doubling of the lattice cell with a significant low energy mode at $`q=\pi /2`$, particularly in the transverse correlations ($`S_z=1`$) where once again as the system size increases the gapless nature of the spectrum is evident as $`j`$ grows (weak interchain couplings).

In the single-chain case the longitudinal spectrum can be obtained considering the two-spinon curves (assuming non-interacting spinons) via the usual procedure $`E(q)=ϵ(k_1)+ϵ(k_2)`$ where $`q=k_1+k_2`$, $`E(q)`$ is the two-spinon curve and $`ϵ(k)`$ is the single-spinon dispersion curve. These two limiting curves define the region of the continuum spectrum. The transverse excitations in the anisotropic case probe however a different set of states as can be seen for example from the single-chain $`XY`$ case shown in Fig. 3c. The high energy part of the spectrum shows that the interactions between the spinons can not be ignored (remember that in the Jordan-Wigner transformation from a $`XY`$ chain to spinless fermions, the transverse correlations involve the presence of strings). Therefore the two-spinon rule requires a proper treatment of the spinon interactions. The zig-zag ladder case is still more involved particularly for the transverse excitations. In any case the continuum is clearly visible.

## 5 Conclusions

The finite-energy and finite-momentum structure function provides a direct way of analysing the excitation spectrum. Previously the structure factor was analysed in the isotropic case . The structure factor is obtained integrating the structure function over frequency at a fixed momentum. In the isotropic case the peak in the structure factor shifts from $`q=\pi `$ to $`q=\pi /2`$ when the spiral phase is reached as the Majumdar-Ghosh point is crossed. In the anisotropic case on the other hand it has been predicted that in the limit of very weak interchain coupling an incommensurate gapless chiral phase should be observed . However, for finite systems it is difficult to detect the incommensurability since the shift from commensurability is very small .

In this work we have analysed the structure function itself for the zig-zag ladder as a function of anisotropy ($`\mathrm{\Delta }`$) and the interchain coupling ($`j`$). The results show that in general the excitations are gapless or gapped spinons that have to be created in pairs as for the single-chain case. In the $`XY`$ case ($`\mathrm{\Delta }=0`$) as $`j`$ grows it is clear that a gapless mode in the transverse excitations arises in agreement with previous results from field theory  and with previous numerical results  obtained analysing the stiffness and the level crossings. In the isotropic case ($`\mathrm{\Delta }=1`$) the spectrum is a continuum of massive spinons. These results may be relevant to understand the ladder limit in the context of the recent experimental results on the two-dimensional system $`Cs_2CuCl_4`$ .

After this work was completed we became aware of a preprint  where using Möbius boundary conditions it is shown that in the isotropic case in the strong and intermediate coupling cases the spectrum may be described by a continuum resulting from two-spinon scattering, in agreement with the general conclusions of our paper.

We acknowledge several discussions with José Rodriguez and with Alexander Nersesyan. This research was partially supported by the Program PRAXIS XXI under grant number 2/2.1/FIS/302/94.

## References

Figure Captions

Fig. 1- Excitation energies from the exact diagonalization of a $`N=16`$ chain as a function of momentum for $`S_z=0`$ and $`S_z=1`$ for the Heisenberg chain and the $`XY`$ chain.

Fig. 2- a) Excitation energies of the states that contribute to the longitudinal spectral weight for the Heisenberg chain. The solid lines are the exact Bethe ansatz results for the thermodynamic limit. The numerical results are obtained via exact diagonalization of a $`N=16`$ system. The color code of the points is the following: the points correspond to states with a spectral weight that is i) $`M(q,\omega )>1`$ (black), ii) $`1>M(q,\omega )>0.1`$ (red) and iii) $`0.1>M(q,\omega )>0.01`$ (green). The same color codes are used in the remaining figures. In Fig. 2b we show the structure function. The momentum is shown in units of $`\pi `$. The vertical scale is in arbitrary units.

Fig. 3- Excitation energies of the states that contribute to the a) longitudinal and c) transverse spectral weight of the XY chain. The solid lines in Fig. 3a are the exact Bethe ansatz results. We also show the structure function for the b) longitudinal and d) transverse excitations.

Fig. 4- a) Excitation energies obtained from the exact diagonalization of a $`N=16`$ ladder in the isotropic case and $`j=1`$ that contribute to the spectral weight and b) the structure function.

Fig. 5- a) Excitation energies of the states that contribute to the a) longitudinal and c) transverse spectral weight in the anisotropic case and $`j=1`$. We also show the structure function for the b) longitudinal and d) transverse excitations.

Fig. 6- Structure function of a $`N=16`$ ladder in the isotropic case and $`j=2`$.

Fig. 7- Structure function for the a) longitudinal and b) transverse excitations in the anisotropic case and $`j=2`$.

Fig. 8- Lowest energy branch for $`\mathrm{\Delta }=0`$ and $`j=2`$ for a) $`S_z=0`$ and b) $`S_z=1`$ for different system sizes.


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# Chandra ACIS-S observations of Abell 4059: signs of dramatic interaction between a radio galaxy and a galaxy cluster.

## 1. introduction

Clusters of galaxies are complex dynamical structures and their cores are subject to an array of interesting physical processes. Constraints from imaging X-ray observations suggest that the hot X-ray emitting intracluster medium (ICM) in the core regions of rich clusters is radiatively cooling on timescales shorter than the life of the cluster, giving rise to cooling flows (Fabian, 1994, and references therein). The central dominant galaxy present in many clusters often hosts a radio loud active galactic nucleus (AGN). It has been suggested (e.g., Binney & Tabor, 1995) that cooling flows and central cluster radio galaxies are intimately related via complex feedback processes. It is easy to see how radio galaxy activity resulting from black hole accretion can be associated with a cooling flow. However, the impact of a radio galaxy on its environment is much less clear.

Theoretically, we expect radio jets to inflate cocoons of relativistic plasma that expand into the surrounding ICM (e.g. Begelman & Cioffi, 1989; Kaiser & Alexander, 1997; Reynolds et al., 2001b, , hereafter RHB). The energy input by this process has recently come under investigation for its potential role in heating cluster cores (Brüggen et al., 2001; Quilis et al., 2001; Reynolds et al., 2001a). However, while our simulations suggest that about half of the energy injected by the jets can be thermalized in the cluster center, numerical simulations of this process still carry a large degree of uncertainty, since limited computational resources require significant simplications. In order to verify the validity of the assumptions and to design future models, we require guidance from observations of radio-galaxy/cluster interactions.

Imaging X-ray observatories, such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO), provide a direct probe of this interaction. Both ROSAT and CXO observations of Perseus A have found X-ray cavities coincident with the radio lobes (Boehringer et al., 1993; Fabian et al., 2000), surrounded by X-ray shells which appear to be slightly cooler than the unperturbed ICM (see, for example, RHB for a possible explanation). Similar features are seen in CXO observations of Hydra A (McNamara et al., 2000; David et al., 2001) and Abell 2052 (Blanton et al., 2001).

In this Letter, we present CXO observations of the rich galaxy cluster Abell 4059 ($`z=0.049`$). The cD galaxy of A4059 hosts the FR-I radio galaxy PKS 2354–35. A short ROSAT High Resolution Imager (HRI) observation of this source suggested the presence of two ICM cavities at the same position angle as the radio lobes (Huang & Sarazin, 1998, , hereafter HS). In § 2 we discuss our observations, confirming the presence of these cavities, and show that A4059 displays significant additional morphological complexity. Constraints on models for this source are discussed in § 3, § 4 presents our conclusions. We assume a Hubble constant of $`H_0=65\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$ and $`q_0=1/2`$, giving a linear scale of $`1\mathrm{kpc}\mathrm{arcsec}^1=0.492\mathrm{kpc}\mathrm{pixel}^1`$.

## 2. Observations

### 2.1. Data Reduction

The galaxy cluster Abell 4059 was observed with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) on 24-Sept-2000 (22.3 ksec exposure) and on 4-Jan-2001 (18.4 ksec exposure). The radio nucleus of PKS 2354-35 was placed 1 arcmin from the nominal aim point of the back-illuminated S3 chip, placing the bulk of the emission on chip-S3. In this Letter, we only use data collected on this chip. The data was read out at the standard 3.2 sec frame rate, telemetered using faint mode, and filtered on ASCA event grades. The energy range was restricted to the 0.3-10 keV band and corrected for exposure and vignetting, spectral fitting was restricted to 0.3-8.0 keV.

Some of the Sept-2000 data were affected by a period of relatively high background, with up to 10 counts per second per chip for the back-illuminated chips. However, most of the cluster emission is well above this rate and we decided to use the entire data set for imaging. For the spectral analysis, we filtered the data on the counts from chip-S1 to fall within a factor of 1.2 of the quiescent background rate, which rejected 33% of the observing window. We then used the quiescent background files by Markevitch111See http://asc.harvard.edu/cal/Links/Acis/acis/Cal\_prods/bkgrnd/current for background subtraction. The background subtracted total count rate on chip-S3 is 5.1 counts/second.

### 2.2. Morphological Appearance

Figure 1a shows an adaptively smoothed image of the central 3 arcmin of A4059. Overlayed is the 8 GHz image by (Taylor et al., 1994, , hereafter T94). While the large scale emission appears smooth (probably due to the larger smoothing length used by the csmooth algorithm), the core of A4059 is not relaxed: it is double peaked with one peak at the cluster center and the other 15 arcsec south-west of the center. The smoothed image reveals a distorted hour-glass like structure (yellow regions in Fig. 1a), centered on the nucleus and oriented perpendicular to the radio axis.

The most interesting detail of the X-ray image are the two X-ray holes already noticed by HS, clearly visible in the 5-sigma smoothed image. The higher quality CXO image confirms that these are real local brightness minima, not just a visual effect caused by a bright central bar perpendicular to the cluster elongation. A noticeable offset exists between the nucleus and the axis between the cavity centers, with the nucleus being shifted to the south-west by $`12\mathrm{}`$ from this axis. The cavity centers are roughly $`50\mathrm{}`$ apart.

To assess the significance of the cavities we extracted an azimuthally averaged radial surface brightness profile of the central region, excluding the cavity regions shown in Fig. 1a (a by-eye approximation) and calculated the expected surface brightness in the two cavities. Based on this estimate, the NW and SE cavities are significant to 26 and 5.3 sigma, respectively. However, because the central region of A4059 is strongly perturbed (roughly inward of 1 arcmin from the center), it is difficult to make a rigorous statement concerning the significance of the cavities this way.

However, the outer regions of the cluster appear relaxed. As an alternative method, we took radial surface brightness profiles from the combined SE- and NW quadrants and the combined SW-NE quadrants. As a first order correction for cluster ellipticity we shifted the radial SW-NE profile outward by a factor of 1.13, producing a good match at large radii with the SE-NW profile. Because the temperature at large $`r`$ is relatively uniform, we used an isothermal $`\beta `$-model to fit the surface brightness, which represents the outer cluster very well. Because the inner cluster regions are not well represented by a $`\beta `$-model, we only used points further than 60 arcsec from the center for the fit ($`r_\mathrm{c}50\mathrm{}`$, $`\beta =0.52`$, $`\chi ^2/dof=59/43=1.4`$).

We then compared the flux measured inside the cavity contours in Fig. 1a to that expected from the $`\beta `$-model. The NW cavity has 33 sigma significance compared to the best fit $`\beta `$-model, while the less pronounced SE cavity has 13 sigma significance. Forcing the $`\beta `$-model normalization to be consistent with the observed cavity flux increases the reduced chisquare of the fit by a factor of 2.7 (NW cavity) and 1.9 (SE cavity), corresponding to a significance of 8.5 and 6 respectively.

The radio overlay in Fig. 1a shows that the 8GHz radio lobes are only partly coincident with the cavities. The NW lobe covers a good fraction of the NW cavity. The SE lobe is much smaller than the northern lobe and not spatially coincident with the SE cavity. We note, however, that low-frequency radio observations sensitive to spatial scales of $`0.11`$ arcmin, which might reveal the full extent of the radio lobes, do not yet exist.

The central peak contains interesting sub-structure (Fig. 1b., smoothed to a S/N of 3-4). The brightest sub peak, which is well resolved by CXO and has a diameter of 3–4″$``$ 3–4 kpc, is coincident with the core of PKS 2354–35 (within the CXO pointing accuracy) and could be emission from the hot interstellar medium of the central galaxy. The three sub-peaks are located around a local brightness minimum. Our hardness ratio analysis (§2.3) suggests that this minimum is due to lack of emission rather than intervening absorption. The close correspondence between these peaks and the SE radio lobe suggests that this substructure might be caused by on-going interaction.

### 2.3. Spectroscopic Properties

We used the adaptive binning routine of Sanders & Fabian (2001) to produce hardness ratio maps. We define the hardness ratios $`h_1=(12\mathrm{keV})/(0.31\mathrm{keV})`$ and $`h_2=(210\mathrm{keV})/(12\mathrm{keV})`$ as the ratio of the counts in the respective energy bands and $`c_1`$ as the surface brightness in the 0.3-10 keV band in $`\mathrm{cts}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{pixel}^1`$. For ICM observations, $`h_1`$ is mainly sensitive to absorption variations, whereas $`h_2`$ is a temperature diagnostic. While there is no sign of varying absorption across the field (as seen in $`h_1`$), the $`h_2`$ map clearly shows a radial temperature gradient, as would be expected in a cooling flow cluster (Fig. 2). It also shows a global temperature gradient, with the SW half of the image appearing hotter than the NE half.

We have extracted a global spectrum of A4059 from the central 90 arcsec. Fitting this spectrum with a two temperature wabs\*zwabs\*(mekal+mekal) thermal plasma model (Galactic neutral hydrogen column fixed to $`N_{\mathrm{H},\mathrm{G}}=1.45\times 10^{20}\mathrm{cm}^2`$) results in the best fit parameters $`kT_1=1.34_{0.19}^{+0.53}\mathrm{keV}`$, $`kT_2=3.90_{0.36}^{+1.19}\mathrm{keV}`$, $`Z=0.60_{0.11}^{+0.16}`$, $`N_{\mathrm{H},\mathrm{z}}=5.36_{0.54}^{+0.48}\times 10^{20}\mathrm{cm}^2`$, $`\chi ^2/dof=1.29`$ (3 sigma error bars). A wabs\*zwabs\*(mkcflow + mekal) cooling flow model provides a similarly reasonable fit ($`kT_1=0.1_{0.1}^{+0.75}\mathrm{keV}`$, $`kT_2=kT_{\mathrm{𝚖𝚎𝚔𝚊𝚕}}=3.80_{0.13}^{+0.16}\mathrm{keV}`$, $`Z=0.71_{0.09}^{+0.09}`$, $`\dot{M}=27.6_{5.9}^{+6.0}M_{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{yr}^1`$, $`N_{\mathrm{H},\mathrm{z}}=5.54_{0.40}^{+0.25}\times 10^{20}\mathrm{cm}^2`$, $`\chi ^2/dof=1.26`$).

## 3. Discussion

Like Perseus A and Hydra A, A4059 shows clear signs of interaction between the radio galaxy and the ICM. However, unlike in these systems, there is no one-to-one correspondence between the radio lobes and the X-ray holes. We argue below that the cavities were indeed created by the radio activity (given the similarity in position angle and the fact that there are no other viable models for producing large ICM cavities), but that the radio galaxy has faded since they were formed. This is particularly interesting since CXO has recently found clusters with cavities but without a radio source (e.g., McNamara et al., 2001): A4059 could be a ‘missing link’ between cavities with and without detectable radio lobes, supporting the notion that cluster cavities can be created by radio galaxies without having to show current radio activity.

### 3.1. Evolutionary state

In the hydrodynamic simulations of RHB, we identified three evolutionary phases. Early on, the cocoon is highly overpressured, driving a strong shock into the ICM. Simulated X-ray maps show a cavity surrounded by a thin, hot shell. Once the cocoon comes into pressure equilibrium with the ICM, the sideways expansion of the cocoon becomes sub-sonic and the shock becomes a compression wave, though active jets can keep the advance speed of the jet heads supersonic for much longer, driving “sonic booms” into the ICM. For roughly a sound crossing time, the well defined cavity created during the supersonic phase will survive and be observable. Then, hydrodynamic instabilities will destroy the cavity altogether.

A strong shock would show up as a sharp feature in our X-ray images, which have an effective resolution222After adaptive smoothing to a signal to noise of 5. of 4–5 arcsec at the edges of the cavities. The absence of such a shock indicates that the source expansion is no longer highly supersonic. We identify the hourglass-like feature in the core with the compression wave (“sonic boom”) found in our hydrodynamic simulations (Fig. 1, RHB; in our simulated X-ray maps the brightest emission also tends to be in the equatorial plane).

### 3.2. Source Power

We can estimate the radio source parameters based on the presence of the X-ray cavities (Heinz et al. 1998, RHB, Churazov et al. 2000). We use the two-temperature fit of § 2 to estimate the physical parameters of the ICM. Taking the hot emission to arise uniformly in a sphere of 90″ radius yields an electron density of $`n_{\mathrm{hot}}0.009\mathrm{cm}^3`$. Assuming the cold gas is in pressure equilibrium with the hot gas gives an electron density of $`n_{\mathrm{cold}}0.031\mathrm{cm}^3`$ and a volume filling factor of $`5\times 10^3`$.

We assume that both X-ray cavities are completely evacuated by the lobes and estimate their size from the smoothed images by approximating them as spheres. While this is clearly a simplification, it will be sufficient for this order of magnitude estimate. A ‘by eye’ fit of the cavities gives bubble radii of $`r_{\mathrm{bub}}20\mathrm{}`$ (20 kpc). The pressure in the hot phase is $`p_{\mathrm{ICM}}1.1\times 10^{10}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{cm}^3`$, relatively close to the minimum energy pressure in the lobes of $`p_{\mathrm{ME}}35\times 10^{11}\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^3`$ (T94). At a minimum, the radio galaxy has to perform “p dV” work against the ICM. Including the internal energy of the plasma within the cavities, this gives an integrated energy output of $`E_{\mathrm{tot}}8\times 10^{59}\mathrm{ergs}`$.

The radio galaxy had to inject this energy into the bubbles before they floated out of the cluster core. This buoyancy timescale is approximately twice the sound crossing time of the relevant region of the cluster, $`\tau 4r_{\mathrm{bub}}/c_\mathrm{s}8\times 10^7\mathrm{yr}`$, where we have used the sound speed for a $`4\mathrm{keV}`$ gas, $`c_\mathrm{s}1000\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. The time-averaged source power needed to produce the cavities is then $`L_{\mathrm{kin}}E_\mathrm{b}/\tau 3\times 10^{44}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$.

Alternatively, we can estimate the source age from the “sonic boom” arguments of RHB. The hour-glass structure through the cluster center is roughly 50″ long (i.e., $`25\mathrm{}25\mathrm{kpc}`$ on either side of the center). Following RHB, we equate this to the distance traveled by a shock/compression wave which moves at least at the sound speed of the hot ICM. This gives a source age of $`\tau 2.4\times 10^7\mathrm{yrs}`$ and a time-averaged power of $`L_{\mathrm{kin}}E_\mathrm{b}/\tau 10^{45}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$.

A third, X-ray independent way to estimate the source power is based on the radio flux. The flux densities at 5 GHz and 8 GHz are given by T94 as 76 mJy and 34 mJy, while the 1.4 GHz NVSS flux Condon et al. (1998) is 1.3 Jy. The NVSS flux lies a factor of 2 above the extrapolation of the 5–8 GHz flux, and the NVSS image suggests spatial extension on arcmin scales (a factor of $`2`$ larger than seen at 5–8 GHz). This suggests that NVSS is detecting low frequency emission from plasma that is emitting a steep radio spectrum, possibly indicating that it has suffered synchrotron aging. A reasonable upper limit on the current radio power can be derived by taking the 1.4 GHz luminosity, and using the arguments of Bicknell et al. (1998) to convert it into a kinetic luminosity. Taking the smallest reasonable value of their conversion parameter, $`\kappa _{1.4}>10^{12}`$, we estimate an upper limit on the current kinetic power of $`L_{\mathrm{kin}}<7\times 10^{43}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$.

Comparing the time-averaged source power (derived the X-ray cavities) to that derived from the radio luminosity (which is equivalent to the source power averaged over the synchrotron cooling time of the 1.4 GHz electrons, $`\tau _{\mathrm{cool}}10^7\mathrm{yrs}`$), one infers that either this source has faded in kinetic luminosity by an order of magnitude or more, or that the magnetic field in the lobes is considerably out of equipartition. Since the thermal pressure is close to the equipartition pressure estimated by T94, we favor the first possibility. Given the uncertainties in these arguments (especially in $`\kappa _{1.4}`$, for which we chose a conservative value), the source could easily have faded by more than an order of magnitude. Indeed, the fact that the average power is in the realm of FR-II radio galaxies, while morphology and current radio luminosity qualify it as an FR-I, leads us to speculate that PKS2354–35 is an example of an FR-II source that has faded into an FR-I source on a timescale of less than $`10^8\mathrm{yr}`$.

The apparent offset between the cluster center and the center of the cavities and the asymmetric brightness distribution through the equatorial regions of the hour-glass structure may be evidence for bulk ICM motions. In particular, the morphology suggests a bulk flow in a NE direction which might further squeeze the outward moving compression wave from the radio galaxy, and sweep back the cavity structure. We note that the SW ridge is rather cool and thus cannot be a strong shock resulting from the interaction of a bulk flow with the radio galaxy. Hydrodynamic simulations are required to investigate this system further.

## 4. Conclusions

We have presented CXO observations of Abell 4059. While the ICM appears smooth and relaxed on large scales, it shows complex morphology in the core region which is likely the result of interaction between the ICM and the central FR-I radio galaxy PKS2354–35. As was suggested by HS, PKS 2354–35 appears to have inflated two large cavities in the ICM. Together with a central bar-like structure, these cavities produce an hour-glass like morphology which can be readily understood as being due to a radio cocoon expanding into the ICM. While clear correspondence exists between the NW cavity and the NW radio lobe, the SE cavity is much larger than the SE lobe, suggesting that this could be a ‘missing link’ between cavities with and without visible radio lobes.

The absence of sharp edges in the brightness images and of large temperature jumps implies that PKS2354–35 is not driving a strong shock into the ICM. We suggest that it is in the weak-shock/compression-wave phase identified in the hydrodynamic simulations of RHB. Dynamical estimates give a time averaged kinetic source power of at least $`L_{\mathrm{kin}}3\times 10^{44}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$, while estimates based on the current radio luminosity indicate a source power of $`L_{\mathrm{kin}}7\times 10^{43}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$. We suggest that this source has faded by a significant amount (and possibly from an FR-II phase) during the past $`10^8\mathrm{yr}`$.

## Acknowledgments

We thank Eugene Churazov and Torsten Ensslin for helpful discussions. We acknowledge support from SAO grant GO0-1129X, the National Science Foundation grants AST 9529170 and AST 9876887, and NASA under grant NAG5-6337. YC wishes to thank support from the MOST through the National R & D program for women’s universities. CSR thanks support from Hubble Fellowship Grant HF 01113.01-98A.


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# Effects of disorder on the wave front depinning transition in spatially discrete systems

## Abstract

Pinning and depinning of wave fronts are ubiquitous features of spatially discrete systems describing a host of phenomena in physics, biology, etc. A large class of discrete systems is described by overdamped chains of nonlinear oscillators with nearest-neighbor coupling and subject to random external forces. The presence of weak randomness shrinks the pinning interval and it changes the critical exponent of the wave front depinning transition from 1/2 to 3/2. This effect is derived by means of a recent asymptotic theory of the depinning transition, extended to discrete drift-diffusion models of transport in semiconductor superlattices and confirmed by numerical calculations.

05.45.-a; 82.40.Bj; 45.05.+x

Phenomena in many different fields may be described by means of spatially discrete systems: motion of dislocations in crystals , atoms adsorbed on a periodic substrate , arrays of coupled diode resonators , weakly coupled semiconductor superlattices (SL) , sliding of charge density waves (CDW) , superconductor Josephson array junctions , propagation of nerve impulses along myelinated fibers , pulse propagation through cardiac cells , calcium release waves in living cells , etc. In many of these systems, disorder due to differences in the parameters of individual elements is important because it has a strong impact in the collective behavior. A distinctive example of collective behavior in discrete systems (not shared by continuous ones) is the phenomenon of wave front pinning: for values of a control parameter in a certain interval, wave fronts joining two different constant states fail to propagate . When the control parameter surpasses a threshold, the wave front depins and starts moving . The existence of such thresholds is an intrinsically discrete fact, which is lost in continuum aproximations. Recently, a theory of front depinning and motion near threshold has been proposed by some of us for one-dimensional (1D) nonlinear spatially discrete reaction-diffusion (RD) systems . In our theory, propagation failure and front depinning are characterized by studying the behavior of a few sites, provided the effects of spatial discretization are sufficiently strong .

In this paper, we consider the effect of weak disorder on the wave front depinning transition in spatially discrete 1D systems. Applications will include discrete RD systems subject to a random field, sliding CDW and domain motion in SL. In these examples, the main effect of disorder is to soften the transition, changing the critical exponent from 1/2 to 3/2. The latter value was obtained by D. Fisher in a mean field model of sliding CDW using scaling arguments .

We consider chains of diffusively coupled overdamped oscillators in a potential $`V`$, subject to a random force field $`F+\gamma \xi _n`$:

$$\frac{du_n}{dt}=u_{n+1}2u_n+u_{n1}+FAg(u_n)+\gamma \xi _n.$$
(1)
Here $`g(u)=V^{}(u)`$ presents a ‘cubic’ nonlinearity, such that $`Ag(u)F`$ has three zeros, $`U_1(F/A)<U_2(F/A)<U_3(F/A)`$ in a certain force interval ($`g^{}(U_i(F/A))>0`$ for $`i=1,3`$, $`g^{}(U_2(F/A))<0`$). The fluctuating part of the force field is $`\gamma \xi _n`$, where $`\gamma 0`$ characterizes the disorder strength and $`\xi _n`$ is a zero mean random variable taking values on an interval $`(1,1)`$ with equal probability. An example of a model described by Eq. (1) is (except for the mean field approximation which we do not make) D. Fisher’s modification of the Fukuyama-Lee model of sliding CDW . In it, $`u_n=\theta _n\chi _n`$, $`g(u)=\mathrm{sin}u`$, $`\gamma \xi _n=\chi _{n+1}2\chi _n+\chi _{n1}`$, where $`\theta _n`$ is the CDW phase at the site $`n`$ and $`\chi _n`$ is a random variable taking values with equal probability on $`(0,2\pi )`$.

Provided $`g(u)`$ is odd with respect to $`U_2(0)`$ and $`\gamma =0`$, there is a symmetric interval $`|F|F_c`$ where the wave fronts joining the stable zeros $`U_1(F/A)`$ and $`U_3(F/A)`$ are pinned. For $`|F|>F_c`$, there are smooth traveling wave fronts, $`u_n(t)=u(nct)`$, with $`u(\mathrm{})=U_1`$ and $`u(\mathrm{})=U_3`$. The velocity $`c(A,F)`$ depends on $`A`$ and $`F`$ and it satisfies $`cF<0`$ and $`|c|(|F|F_c)^{\frac{1}{2}}`$ as $`|F|F_c`$ . Examples are the overdamped Frenkel-Kontorova (FK) model ($`g=\mathrm{sin}u`$)  and the quartic double well potential ($`V=(u^21)^2/4`$). Less symmetric nonlinearities yield a non-symmetric pinning interval and our analysis of the depinning transition applies to them with trivial modifications .

Let us recall the main features of the active point theory of the wave front depinning transition in the absence of disorder . Except when $`A`$ is too small (the continuum limit in which $`F_c0`$), the stable wave front profile differs appreciably from either $`U_1`$ or $`U_3`$ at finitely many points, $`u_n`$, $`n=L,\mathrm{},1,0,1,\mathrm{},M`$, called the active points. At $`n<L`$, $`u_nU_1(F/A)`$ and at $`n>M`$, $`u_nU_3(F/A)`$. We shall reconstruct the wave front profile $`u(nct)`$ by analyzing the behavior of the active points $`u_n(t)`$, $`n=L,\mathrm{},1,0,1,\mathrm{},M`$, as the front moves for $`F>F_c>0`$ (the case $`F<0`$ can be obtained by using symmetry considerations). The arbitrary phase of the (translation invariant) wave front will be fixed by imposing that the solution of the system of active points at time $`t=0`$ (and $`F`$ slightly larger than $`F_c`$) be equal to its stationary solution at $`F=F_c`$, $`u_n(A,F_c)`$, $`n=L,\mathrm{},M`$ up to terms of order $`(FF_c)`$. $`F_c`$ is obtained from the condition that the matrix of the coefficients in the system of active points linearized about the stationary solution has a zero eigenvalue. Provided $`V_n`$ ($`V_L^2+\mathrm{}+V_M^2=1`$) is the corresponding eigenvector, an outer approximation to the solution $`u_n(t)`$ is $`u_n(t)u_n(A,F_c)+\phi (t)V_n`$, where the amplitude $`\phi `$ obeys the equation $`d\phi /dt=\alpha (FF_c)+\beta \phi ^2`$, in which $`\alpha =_{i=L}^MV_i+A^1[V_L/g^{}(U_1(F_c/A))+V_M/g^{}(U_3(F_c/A))]>0`$, $`\beta =(A/2)_{i=L}^Mg^{\prime \prime }(u_i(A,F_c))V_i^3>0`$. The solution of this equation such that $`\phi (0)=0`$ \[equivalent to $`u_n(0)=u_n(A,F_c)`$ for $`n=L,\mathrm{},M`$\] is $`\phi =[\alpha (FF_c)/\beta ]^{\frac{1}{2}}\mathrm{tan}\left(\sqrt{\alpha \beta (FF_c)}t\right)`$. The amplitude $`\phi `$ blows up at times $`t=\pm t_b`$, $`t_b=\pi /(2\sqrt{\alpha \beta (FF_c)})`$. The inverse width of this time interval yields an approximation for the wave front velocity, $`|c|\sqrt{\alpha \beta (FF_c)}/\pi `$. At the blow up times, the previous outer approximation to $`u_n(t)`$ has to be matched to an appropriate inner solution. At the later blow up time $`t_b`$, the appropriate inner solution is the solution of the active point system at $`F=F_c`$ with the boundary conditions that $`u_n=u_n(A,F_c)`$ as $`t\mathrm{}`$ and $`u_n=u_{n+1}(A,F_c)`$ as $`t\mathrm{}`$. At the earlier blow up time $`t_b`$, the inner solution obeys the same system of equations at $`F=F_c`$, but the boundary conditions are $`u_n=u_{n1}(A,F_c)`$ as $`t\mathrm{}`$ and $`u_n=u_n(A,F_c)`$ as $`t\mathrm{}`$ .

Effects of disorder. How does weak disorder modify this picture of the wave front depinning transition? Our main idea is to find a dominant balance of the disorder effects with nonlinearities and $`(FF_c)`$ near the depinning transition. Given our active point construction sketched above, the dominant balance is struck provided $`(FF_c)=O(\gamma )`$ as $`\gamma 0`$. The amplitude Equation becomes

$`{\displaystyle \frac{d\phi }{dt}}=\alpha (FF_c)+\gamma {\displaystyle \underset{n=L}{\overset{M}{}}}V_n\xi _n+\beta \phi ^2,`$ (2)
and the matching condition is the same as before. The solution of Eq. (2) blows up at the end of time intervals of duration $`1/|c_R|`$, where

$`|c_R|={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\pi }}\sqrt{\alpha \beta (FF_c)+\gamma \beta {\displaystyle \underset{n=L}{\overset{M}{}}}V_{R+n}\xi _{R+n}},`$ (3)
provided the argument of the square root is positive. Otherwise the motion of the wave front stops and it becomes pinned. Notice that we have chosen now $`u_R(t)`$ as the central active point that was distinguished with the subscript zero in our previous formulas. After the blow up, $`u_R`$ jumps to $`u_{R+1}(A,F_c)`$, approximately, and it remains there until a time $`1/|c_{R+1}|`$ has elapsed. Then it jumps to $`u_{R+2}(A,F_c)`$ approximately, and so on.

The magnitude of interest in these systems is usually an average velocity $`|c_R|`$ over sufficiently many points. For example, this magnitude is proportional to the current due to a sliding CDW and it is important to know its behavior near the depinning field and the magnitude thereof. We shall argue that the average velocity is approximately given by the following equation:

$`|\overline{c}|{\displaystyle \frac{1}{N}}{\displaystyle \underset{R=1}{\overset{N}{}}}|c_R|=|c_R(\xi )|,`$ (4)
$`|c_R(\xi )|{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi }}{\displaystyle _1^1}\{\alpha \beta (FF_c)+\gamma \beta \sigma \xi \}_+^{\frac{1}{2}}𝑑\xi .`$ (5)
Here $`N(L+M+1)`$ is sufficiently large, $`\sigma =1`$, and $`\{x\}_+^{\frac{1}{2}}`$ is $`\sqrt{x}`$ if $`x>0`$ and zero otherwise. The idea of the proof is as follows. Let us assume that $`A`$ is so large that $`L=M=0`$ and there is only one active point. Then the central limit theorem applied to Eq. (3) with $`V_R=1`$ yields Eqs. (4) - (5). Let us assume now that there are two active points. The previous argument fails because now the sum in Eq. (3) comprises two terms instead of one. Then the terms in the arithmetic mean are no longer independent: when $`u_R=u_1`$ for instance, Eq. (3) contains $`\xi _1`$ and $`\xi _2`$. After the blow up time, $`u_R=u_2`$ and Eq. (3) contains $`\xi _2`$ and $`\xi _3`$, etc. However, we can group the sums appearing in the arithmetic average of Eq. (4) in two groups containing only independent random variables: $`R=2r1`$ and $`R=2r`$, with $`r=1,2,\mathrm{}`$. The variable $`V_1\xi _1+V_2\xi _2`$ has zero mean and correlation $`2\sigma ^2/3`$, where $`\sigma ^2=V_1^2+V_2^2=1`$. This correlation is exactly the same as that of the variable $`\xi _1`$. Then the central limit theorem applied to each group (of sums of ‘dimer’ random variables) gives one half the integral in Eq. (5), and the sum of these two halves yields Eq. (4). If we have more active points, we just have to subdivide the arithmetic mean in as many subgroups as active points and use the previous argument to prove Eq. (4).

The elementary integral in Eq. (5) yields $`\overline{c}=0`$ if $`F<F_c\gamma \sigma /\alpha `$ (recall that $`\sigma =1`$),

$$|\overline{c}|=\frac{\sqrt{\beta \sigma }}{3\pi \gamma }\{\begin{array}{c}|\frac{\alpha }{\sigma }(FF_c)+\gamma |^{\frac{3}{2}},\text{if}|FF_c|\frac{\gamma \sigma }{\alpha },\hfill \\ |\frac{\alpha }{\sigma }(FF_c)+\gamma |^{\frac{3}{2}}|\frac{\alpha }{\sigma }(FF_c)\gamma |^{\frac{3}{2}}\hfill \end{array}$$
(6)
if $`(FF_c)>\gamma \sigma /\alpha `$. Clearly we have a new critical field $`F_c^{}=F_c\gamma \sigma /\alpha `$, and a new critical exponent $`3/2`$ (instead of $`1/2`$ for the case without disorder), $`|\overline{c}|(FF_c^{})^{3/2}`$. We have compared our theory to the direct numerical solution of Eq. (1) in Fig. 1, obtaining an excellent agreement of theoretical predictions and numerical simulation.

Similarly, we can analyze the effect of weak disorder in the doping of the wells on the motion of wave fronts in dc current biased semiconductor SL. If the total current density is close to a pinning value, the displacement current is almost zero except at certain times during wave front motion at which the wave front jumps from one well to the adjacent one. The average velocity given by Eq. (4) is proportional to the arithmetic mean of time averages of the displacement current over the time interval between maxima thereof. The average velocity is basically the mean velocity at which the wave front traverses $`N`$ wells. To calculate it, we take advantage of our theory of wave front motion in current biased SL . The equations we use are those in Ref.  except that the dimensionless Poisson equation is now $`E_iE_{i1}=\nu (n_i1\gamma \xi _i)`$ where $`\gamma `$ and $`\xi `$ defined as in Eq. (1) represent the disorder in well doping. In the SL equations, the roles of the force $`F`$ and the parameter $`A`$ are taken by the total current density $`J`$ and the dimensionless doping $`\nu `$. If $`\gamma =0`$ and $`\nu `$ surpasses a certain minimal value, there are two critical values of the current, $`J_1`$ and $`J_2`$, such that a wave front is pinned if $`J_1JJ_2`$ and it moves at a constant velocity $`c(J,\nu )`$ otherwise. The velocity $`c`$ is positive if $`J<J_1`$ and negative if $`J>J_2`$. Furthermore, near the critical currents, $`|c||JJ_c|^{1/2}`$ ($`J_c`$ is either $`J_1`$ or $`J_2`$) . How does the disorder correct this picture? The effect of disorder is to add a term $`\gamma D(E_j)\xi _{j+1}\gamma [v(E_j)+D(E_j)]\xi _j`$ to the total current density $`J`$ in the dimensionless discrete Ampère equation. Then the theory in Ref.  yields an equation similar to Eq. (3) for the front velocity:

$`|c_R|={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\pi }}\sqrt{\alpha \beta (JJ_c)\gamma \beta {\displaystyle \underset{n=L}{\overset{M}{}}}U_{R+n}^{}W_{R+n}},`$ (7)
$`W_{R+n}=(v_{R+n}+D_{R+n})\xi _{R+n}D_{R+n}\xi _{R+n+1}.`$ (8)
Here: (i) $`U_{R+n}^{}`$ is the left eigenvector corresponding to the zero eigenvalue of the linearized equations about the stationary solution at $`J=J_c`$ (chosen so that $`_{n=L}^MU_{R+n}^{}U_{R+n}=1`$; $`U_{R+n}`$ is the right eigenvector), (ii) we define $`v_{R+n}=v(E_{R+n})`$, etc., and (iii) $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$ are given by Eqs. (20) and (21) in Ref. . The values $`E_{R+n}`$ are those of the stationary electric field profile at $`J=J_c`$. The noise term in Eq. (8) can be written as $`[U_{R+n}^{}(v_{R+n}+D_{R+n})U_{R+n1}^{}D_{R+n1}]\xi _{R+n}`$, provided we take $`U_{R+n}^{}=0`$ for $`n<L`$ and $`n>M+1`$. The noise term has zero average and a correlation $`2\sigma ^2/3`$, with $`\sigma ^2=[U_{R+n}^{}(v_{R+n}+D_{R+n})U_{R+n1}^{}D_{R+n1}]^2`$. Using the previously mentioned argument of splitting the arithmetic mean in groups of independent random variables, we can show that Eqs. (4) and (5) hold provided $`\sigma `$ in Eq. (5) is given by the previous formula and $`(FF_c)`$ is replaced by $`(JJ_c)`$. Comparisons of the resulting average front velocity $`\overline{c}`$ with the results of numerically solving the SL model are shown in Figures 2 and 3 for currents close to $`J_1`$ and $`J_2`$, respectively.

In conclusion, we have shown that weak disorder changes qualitatively the wave front depinning transition in overdamped one-dimensional discrete models. Disorder shrinks the pinning interval and it changes the critical exponent for the velocity from 1/2 to 3/2. Whether these features are robust and hold for strong disorder remains to be seen. An interesting indication is that the critical exponent 3/2 is obtained independently of the noise strength in mean field models of sliding CDW .

This work was supported by the Spanish DGES grant PB98-0142-C04-01 and by the Third Regional Research Program of the Autonomous Region of Madrid (Strategic Groups Action).


text:
# What is wrong with Schwarzschild’s coordinates?

## I DERIVATION OF THE SCHWARZSCHILD METRIC

Let us assume that in a centrally symmetric gravitational field outside its source:
(i) The relative space of an “infinitely” distant observer resting relative to the source is Euclidean. This means that in this space ordinary spherical coordinates $`(r,\theta ,\varphi )`$ may be introduced, with the origin coinciding with the center of the source.
(ii) The equivalence principle Rindler (1977) holds. This implies, among others, that any pointlike clock freely falling radially with the initial value of velocity zero “at infinity” may be so adjusted initially that it reads always, during its fall, the relative time in the reference frame of the above-mentioned observer. Let us denote such time by $`\tau `$.

Let $`\rho `$ be the spatial coordinate in the radial direction in the local inertial frame A connected with such a clock. As follows from (ii), the standards of simultaneity, time unit and length unit in every direction in A agree with the ones in the frame of the “infinitely” distant observer. Thus:

$$d\rho =drvd\tau .$$
(1)
On the other hand, the spacetime metric is locally expressed in A by the formula:

$$ds^2=d\tau ^2+d\rho ^2+r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }^2,$$
(2)
where:

$$d\mathrm{\Omega }^2=\mathrm{sin}^2\theta d\varphi ^2+d\theta ^2.$$

By appropriate substitution we get:

$$ds^2=\left(1v^2\right)d\tau ^22vd\tau dr+dr^2+r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }^2$$
(3)
(cf. Refs. Trautman (1966); Nurowski et al. (1999); Volovik (2001)). Note that, thanks to the elimination of the local coordinate $`\rho `$, although the expression (2) holds only locally, this restriction is no more valid with respect to the formula (3).
(iii) According to the point of view of the “infinitely” distant observer, a test particle freely falling radially in the above way obeys the Newtonian law of free fall, i.e. its velocity is always equal to the escape velocity for the given value of the radial coordinate:

$$v=\sqrt{2M/r}.$$
(4)
where $`M`$ denotes the mass of the source and geometrized units are adopted, so that $`G=c=1`$. Substituting the expression (4) into (3), we obtain:

$$ds^2=\left(1\frac{2M}{r}\right)d\tau ^2+2\sqrt{\frac{2M}{r}}d\tau dr+dr^2+r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }^2,$$
(5)
where $`r_g=2M`$ is the gravitational radius (Schwarschild radius) of the source.

At first sight, the formula (5) does not resemble the Schwarzschild metric. However, in fact this is its Painlevé-Gullstrand form Painlevé (1921); Gullstrand (1922); Israel (1987). Let us consider the local inertial frame B that at the moment spatially coincides with A and rests relative to the center of gravitation. Let $`\tau ^{}`$ be the time coordinate in B. Now, in consequence of (ii), it is related to the coordinates in A by the formula of the appropriate Lorentz transformation:

$$d\tau ^{}=\gamma \left(d\tau +vd\rho \right),$$
(6)
where:

$$\gamma =1/\sqrt{1v^2}.$$
(7)
By regarding (1), we get:

$$d\tau ^{}=\frac{1}{\gamma }d\tau +\gamma vdr.$$
(8)
The time coordinate $`\tau ^{}`$ disagrees with $`\tau `$ with respect to the unit and to simultaneity. Now, let us introduce a new time coordinate $`t`$ that agrees with $`\tau `$ with respect to the unit and with $`\tau ^{}`$ with respect to simultaneity:

$$dt=\gamma d\tau ^{}$$
(9)
(cf. Refs. Schiff (1960); Wild (1996)) or:

$$dt=d\tau +\gamma ^2vdr,$$
(10)
or equivalently, by regarding (4) and (7):

$$d\tau =dt+\left(1\frac{2M}{r}\right)^1\sqrt{\frac{2M}{r}}dr.$$
(11)
By substituting (11) into (5), we obtain:

$$ds^2=\left(1\frac{2M}{r}\right)dt^2+\left(1\frac{2M}{r}\right)^1dr^2+r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }^2,$$
(12)
which is the Schwarzschild’s formula. This completes a derivation of it in the way which is commonly regarded as impossible (cf. for example Ref. citenamefontRindler (1968)).

## II ALTERNATIVE DERIVATION

Let us replace the assumption (iii) by a new assumption:
(iii) According to the point of view of the “infinitely” distant observer, a test particle freely escaping radially with the final value of velocity zero “at infinity” obeys the Newtonian law of free fall, i.e. its velocity is always equal to the escape velocity for the given value of the radial coordinate. This means that (4) must be replaced by:

$$v=\sqrt{2M/r}$$
(4)
and instead of (5), we get:

$$ds^2=\left(1\frac{2M}{r}\right)d\tau ^22\sqrt{\frac{2M}{r}}d\tau dr+dr^2+r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }^2.$$
(5)
Nevertheless, the final result (12) remains the same. Instead of (11), we obtain:

$$d\tau =dt\left(1\frac{2M}{r}\right)^1\sqrt{\frac{2M}{r}}dr.$$
(11)
It is easy to see that substituting (11) into (5) results in (12). This is no surprise, since (5) is just another branch of the Painlevé-Gullstrand form of the Schwarzschild metric, discovered by P. Painlevé Painlevé (1921) and rediscovered, for example, by G. Lemaître Lemaître (1933, 1997).

## III TWO VERSIONS OF THE SCHWARZSCHILD FIELD?

In the framework of the Newtonian kinematics, the assumptions (iii) and (iii) were compatible. However, in the framework of the relativistic kinematics they contradict each other. This is because, in the light of (ii), each of them would distinguish other local inertial frame that would have to agree with the frame of the “infinitely” distant observer, resting relative to the center of gravitation, with respect to the standards of length unit, time unit and simultaneity. Unfortunately, the frames distinguished in the above sense by the alternative assumptions would move relative to each other and thus disagree at least with respect to simultaneity. Consequently, each of the assumptions (iii) and (iii) is satisfied in a different physical situation. By comparison of (5) and (5), it is easy to see that the corresponding metrical fields are time reflections of each other.

On the other hand, in each of them it is possible to introduce a new time coordinate in a way that results in transforming the metric into the time-reflexible form (12). One might be tempted, therefore, to interpret (5) and (5) as two descriptions of the same physical reality in different systems of coordinates. The reaction to such temptation depends on the question which of the descriptions is more fundamental.

To some extent, the situation resembles the one that resulted from analogous duality of the Eddington-Finkelstein forms of the Schwarzschild field Anderson (1967). D. Finkelstein even interpreted his result as implying past-future asymmetry of such field Finkelstein (1958). Unfortunately, this interpretation has not been taken seriously, partly because he introduced his time coordinate in a purely formal way, whereas Schwarzschild’s time coordinate has a clear physical meaning. This suggests regarding the latter as more fundamental and the former as a mere auxiliary variable. Such a suggestion is strengthened by the interpretation of the Finkelstein extension as an intermediate step toward the Kruskal extension Anderson (1967); Misner et al. (1973). However, the matter is otherwise in the case of our time coordinate. Let us, now, go into details.

## IV PHYSICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE SPACETIME COORDINATES

Schwarzschild’s coordinates are usually regarded as representing the point of view of an “infinitely” distant (“outer”) observer Landau and Lifschitz (1981). This would mean that they are the result of the most appropriate extrapolation of the local coordinates from a spacetime region where the gravitational field is negligible, onto the regions where it cannot be neglected. Such extrapolation should be based on local reference frames that (a) agree with respect to the standards of length unit, time unit and simultaneity and (b) rest relative to each other.

Unfortunately, the influence of gravitation results in the situation that the frames which satisfy (a) cannot satisfy (b) and vice versa. The only way out is constructing the frames that would satisfy both (a) and (b) by transferring somehow the metrical standards from the frames A satisfying (a) to the frames B satisfying (b) (see Sec. I). This may be done in two equivalent ways: either by appropriate corrections of measurements performed in resting frames or by transferring to the latter the results of measurements performed in the frames satisfying (a) by a suitable Galilean transformation. It is clear from our derivations that both ways result in defining the coordinates in which the spherically symmetric metrical field acquires the form (5) or (5).

The first version of the construction consists in correcting the effects of length contraction and time dilation resulting from the motion of frames B relative to the corresponding frames A, and correcting the influence of gravitation on the result of application of the standard synchronization procedure in the frames B. Refraining from correcting the simultaneity is irrelevant with respect to spatial coordinates, but it is of crucial importance when the time coordinate is concerned. It results in defining a coordinate which does not represent the point of view of any observer. Since it will agree with the time in A, and thus with the relative time of the “infinitely” distant observer, with respect to the unit, and with the time in B with respect to simultaneity, it is clear (cf. Ref. Misner et al. (1973)) that the time coordinate defined this way can be identified with Schwarzschild’s time coordinate $`t`$.

There is an important asymmetry between the two versions of the above-mentioned construction. Whereas the second one is, in principle, applicable for any finite value of the radial coordinate for which the tidal forces are not too big, the first one is restricted to the region where its value is greater than the gravitational radius Rindler (1977). This means that the second version is preferable Gautreau and Hoffmann (1978), for which the choice of our time coordinate $`\tau `$, rather than $`t`$, is natural.

It follows from the above considerations that our coordinates represent the point of view of an “infinitely” distant observer better than Schwarzschild’s coordinates. The latter may be regarded as the result of a compromise between such a point of view and the points of view of observers permanently resting in the Schwarzschild field, since they get the standards of length and time units from the frame resting “at infinity”, and the standard of simultaneity from the frame resting in the given spacetime region.

Needless to say, this is true only about the regions with the radial coordinate greater than the gravitational radius. For smaller values of that coordinate, Schwarzschild’s time coordinate has no independent physical meaning and it is completely derivative with respect to our. This means that this is rather the former than the latter time coordinate that should be treated as a mere auxiliary variable. For further advantages and applications of the Painlevé-Gullstrand coordinates, see, for example, Refs. Volovik (2001); Kraus and Wilczek (1994); Visser (1998); Doran (2000); Parikh and Wilczek (2000); Martel and Poisson (2001); Schützhold (2001).

Although the manifold covered by the Painlevé-Gullstrand coordinates, identical in any case with the appropriate Finkelstein extension, is neither geodesically complete nor maximal Anderson (1967), it has another interesting property which may be called spatial maximality: a spacetime is spatially maximal iff a global time function Wald (1984) exists in it, the hypersurfaces of constancy of which are maximal in the sense of the geometry induced on them.

## V THE MEANING OF THE COORDINATE SINGULARITY AT THE GRAVITATIONAL RADIUS

It is clear from the formulae (4) and (4) that at the gravitational radius the velocity $`v`$ acquires the absolute value equal to the constant $`c`$ (in our units $`c=1`$), i.e. to the light velocity in vacuum, which is the limit of velocity of matter in local inertial frames. The directions of the worldlines of light signals propagating radially is defined by the condition of the metric and its non-radial components acquiring the value zero. For the field with the metric (5), this condition reduces to the equation:

$$\left(1\frac{2M}{r}\right)d\tau ^2+2\sqrt{\frac{2M}{r}}d\tau dr+dr^2=0.$$
(13)
For the metric with the field (5), the equation 13 must be replaced by:

$$\left(1\frac{2M}{r}\right)d\tau ^22\sqrt{\frac{2M}{r}}d\tau dr+dr^2=0.$$
(13’)
The solutions of 13 and 13’ are:

$$dr=\left(1\sqrt{2M/r}\right)d\tau ,$$
(14)
$$dr=\left(1\sqrt{2M/r}\right)d\tau $$
(15)
and:

$$dr=\left(1+\sqrt{2M/r}\right)d\tau ,$$
(14)
$$dr=\left(1+\sqrt{2M/r}\right)d\tau ,$$
(15)
respectively. Let us have a look at their respective special cases at the gravitational radius:

$$dr=2d\tau ,$$
(16)
$$dr=0$$
(17)
and:

$$dr=0,$$
(16)
$$dr=2d\tau .$$
(17)
They mean that, for both fields, one of the signals rests. The other in the field (5) moves toward the center of gravitation and in the field (5) in the opposite direction. Thus, in the first field rests the outgoing and in the second the ingoing signal. Consequently, in both cases the Schwarzschild sphere works as an unidirectional membrane, but in the field (5) directed inward and in the field (5) outward.

The above result is no surprise Anderson (1967). What is more interesting is the fact that the equations (14),(15) and (14),(15) may be derived from simple equations:

$$dr=(c+v)d\tau ,$$
(18)
$$dr=(c+v)d\tau ,$$
(19)
which are consequences of the Galilean velocity composition formula, applied to the velocities of ingoing and outgoing light signals, respectively, relative to the appropriate frame A, and of A relative to the center of gravitation. This means that the influence of gravitation on physical phenomena reduces to some “dragging” toward the source in the field (5), or in the opposite direction in the field (5), the stronger the closer to the source. At the gravitational radius nothing special takes place, but only the “dragging” velocity reaches the value equal to the light velocity.

For the values of the radial coordinate smaller than the gravitational radius, the “dragging” velocity becomes greater than the light velocity. Thus, in such spacetime regions the resting frames would have to move relative to local inertial frames with extraluminal velocities. This is why they are physically impossible. Moreover, if the standard notion of simultaneity as orthogonality of the spacetime interval to the worldline of a resting object is extrapolated from local inertial frames to such non-physical frames, then two events simultaneous in such a frame may be separated by a timelike interval. No wonder that inside the Schwarzschild sphere the proper time along any worldline of ordinary matter flows backward in Schwarzschild’s coordinate time $`t`$ Misner et al. (1973). No such effect appears with respect to our time $`\tau `$.

## VI DISCUSSION

If our arguments for the suggested duality of the Schwarzschild solution are sound, then a question arises. It seems that only one of the metrical fields (5) , (5) can represent the gravitational field around a spherically symmetric body. There are strong arguments that it is rather (5) than (5) Wald (1984). What is, then, if any, the physical meaning of the field (5)? If gravitation always expresses itself as “dragging” inward (see Sec. V above), then how can the field of opposite nature be produced? The lack of answer to this question would suggest that the field (5) as such is non-physical, being a mere formal result of time reflection of the field (5). However, such a conclusion would imply that some cosmological models (cf. Refs. Lemaître (1933); Gal-Or (1981)) are non-physical.

On the other hand, our derivations are based on a very strong reading of the equivalence principle. According to it, at any spacetime point there exists a local inertial frame (LIF) which not only is equivalent to a given LIF in the usual sense in which all LIF-s are, but, in addition, agrees with it with respect to the length unit in all directions, time unit and simultaneity. It is clear, for example, that at the same spacetime point no two LIF-s which are moving relative to one another are strongly equivalent in this sense. Moreover, no two LIF-s at spacetime points with different values of the radial coordinate in the counterpart of the Schwarzschild solution in Nordström’s second theory Nordström (1913) are so equivalent. Thus, that counterpart does not satisfy the equivalence principle in our interpretation. This observation seems to meet R. Sexl’s objection cited in Ref. Ehlers and Rindler (1997).

Assuming the existence of the relation of strong equivalence is tantamount to assuming the existence of the “ether” vector field in the sense of Ref. Trautman (1966). Now, one may object that such an assumption, although quite natural in the Newtonian framework, is illegitimate from a purely relativistic point of view. This objection does not invalidate our derivations of Secs. I and II, but it calls the above-mentioned duality into question, since the difference between assumptions (iii) and (iii) may be interpreted as resulting from arbitrary choices of time coordinates to represent the point of view of the “outer” observer. Nevertheless, even if such an objection is raised, our considerations still seem to have shed new light on the problem of the physical meaning of the Schwarschild metric.