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# Bose-Einstein Condensation on inhomogeneous complex networks

## I Introduction

The impressive experimental demonstration of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) has stimulated a wealth of theoretical work aimed at a better understanding of its basic mechanism and of its potential consequences for the engineering of quantum devices .

A well known general result  is that for an ideal gas of Bose particle, BEC does not occur for homogeneous systems in dimension $`d2`$; the same is true for non interacting bosons on regular periodic lattices. The result cannot be extended to more general discrete structures lacking translational invariance, which, in principle, can now be implemented by combining quantum devices in non conventional discrete geometrical settings.

The first important problem one is faced with is the characterization of the geometrical properties of a general network, i. e. a graph. On one hand, one is interested in describing the complex geometry of a sample and identifying its effects on physics. On the other, once the effects of geometry are known, one can use the geometrical setting to tune the physical properties, by a sort of engineering in network design. As we will see, this can lead to effects analogous to the introduction of an external confining potential for regular geometries.

The problem of describing the large scale geometry of graphs by an effective parameter that generalize the Euclidean dimension of regular lattices has been successfully solved by the introduction of the spectral dimension $`\overline{d}`$ , which can be experimentally measured  and rigorously defined by graph theory . However, one expects the influence of topology to be richer and more complex on discrete structures, due to the possible relevance of local geometrical details, in addition to the large scale structure described by dimensionality.

In this direction, recent works on BEC on inhomogeneous networks  have put into evidence that strong inhomogeneities can give rise to condensation at finite temperature for a system of non interacting bosons in absence of an external confining potential even in a low-dimensional structure as a comb lattice, where $`\overline{d}=1`$. This phenomenon arises from a peculiar part of the density of states on inhomogeneous networks we shall refer to as hidden spectrum . This hidden spectrum consists of an energy region filled by a finite or infinite number of states which do not contribute to the normalized density in the thermodynamic limit. Hidden spectra do not usually affect bulk thermodynamic quantities but, as we shall show in the following, can have dramatic effects since bosonic statistics allows the macroscopic occupation of a single quantum state.

In this paper we shall determine the conditions under which, even for low dimensional systems, non-interacting bosons on a general discrete network may lead to BEC . We shall see that this is indeed possible if one resorts to a suitable discrete inhomogeneous ambient space on which bosons are defined; this is very desirable in view of the engineering of quantum devices.

Bosonic models over generic discrete structures can be made experimentally accessible through the realization of arrays of Josephson junctions (JJA) . The latter are devices that can be engineered to realize a variety of non-homogeneous patterns. We shall see indeed that classical  JJA arranged in a non-homogeneous network provide a relevant example of the proposed mechanism for BEC, leading to a spatial condensation of bosons in a single state.

The model Hamiltonian describing the low-temperature JJA is the Bose-Hubbard (BH) model . On a generic graph, the Hamiltonian is given by

$$H^{BH}=U\underset{i}{}n_i^2+\underset{ij}{}A_{ij}\left(Vn_in_jJ(a_i^{}a_j+a_j^{}a_i)\right)$$
(1)
where $`A_{ij}`$ is the adjacency matrix of the graph: $`A_{ij}=1`$ if the sites $`i`$ and $`j`$ are nearest neighbours and $`A_{ij}=0`$ otherwise; $`a_i^{}`$ creates a boson at site $`i`$ and $`n_ia_i^{}a_i`$. The phase diagram reflects the competition between the boson kinetic energy (hopping term) and the repulsive Coulomb interaction. In a realistic experimental setup , the parameters $`U`$ and $`V`$ depend on the ratio between the intergrain capacitance $`C`$ and the gate capacitance $`C_0`$, while the parameter $`J`$ describes Cooper pair hopping. Classical JJA are obtained when $`U,V<<J`$ (i.e. $`C/C_00`$); in this limit the hopping term dominates the physics of the system.

Recently, the BH model has been shown to describe the dynamics of ultracold bosonic atoms on a particular regular discrete geometry, the optical lattice . In this context the BH model describes the hopping of bosonic atoms between low vibrational states of the optical lattice; the parameters $`U`$ and $`J`$ depend on the power of the laser beams used to realize the lattice. The dynamics of a BEC in such a kind of periodic potential can thus be described by a discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation . Also for atomic Bose systems, the experiments have reached an high level of accuracy with easily tunable external parameters and accurately tailored trapping profiles .

In this paper we will consider a model of pure hopping of non interacting bosons on general non regular geometries, such as complex networks. In particular, we will analyse the possibility of having a Bose-Einstein condensate at finite temperature, providing a general condition for BEC on a general network . We will describe in detail some geometrical settings where inhomogeneities act as a confining potential, giving rise to BEC even in low dimensions.

The extension of this analysis to the full BH model on complex networks is not trivial and it is still the object of on-going investigations.

The paper is organized as follows: in section II we introduce the mathematical notations and some basic concepts in algebraic graph theory; in section III we define the pure hopping model and prove a general theorem giving the most general condition for the existence of BEC at finite temperature for non interacting bosons on a complex network. We discuss in detail the presence of “hidden” regions in the density of states in the thermodynamic limit; in section IV we apply the theorem to the case of the comb graph showing that BEC at finite temperature is present in $`1`$-dimensional structures as a consequence of the effects of the inhomogeneous geometry on the density of states; finally in section V we consider a wide class of networks where the relation between BEC and complex geometry can be analyzed in detail.

## II Complex networks and graphs

On complex networks it is not possible to introduce important mathematical tools typical of Euclidean lattices, such as the Fourier transform and the reciprocal lattice. Nevertheless general and effective mathematical techniques are provided by graph theory and the algebraic approach to graph topology . In this section we briefly recall some basic definitions and notations.

A graph $`G`$ is a countable set $`V`$ of vertices $`i`$ connected pairwise by a set $`E`$ of unoriented links $`(i,j)=(j,i)`$. In general sites represent degrees of freedom and links represent interactions between them. In particular, for bosonic models, vertices can be regarded as Josephson junctions or as sites in the optical networks, while edges represent the hopping probabilities between sites.

A subgraph $`S`$ of $`G`$ is a graph whose set of vertices $`V^{}V`$ and whose set of links $`E^{}E`$. A path in $`G`$ is a sequence of consecutive links $`\{(i,k)(k,h)\mathrm{}(n,m)(m,j)\}`$ and a graph is said to be connected, if for any two points $`i,jV`$ there is always a path joining them. In the following we will consider connected graphs. Every connected graph $`G`$ is endowed with an intrinsic metric generated by the chemical distance $`r_{i,j}`$, which is defined as the number of links in the shortest path connecting vertices $`i`$ and $`j`$. On a graph the generalized Van Hove sphere $`S_{o,r}G`$ of center $`o`$ and radius $`r`$ is the subgraph of $`G`$ containing all $`iG`$ whose distance from $`o`$ is $`r`$ and all the links of $`G`$ joining them. We will call $`N_{o,r}`$ the number of vertices contained in $`S_{o,r}`$. The Van Hove spheres play an important role in the study of the thermodynamic limit on infinite graphs. The physical quantities are usually evaluated by first considering the models restricted to the finite spheres and then taking the thermodynamic limit by letting $`r\mathrm{}`$. The average in the thermodynamic limit $`\overline{\varphi }`$ of a bounded function defined on the vertices $`\varphi (i)`$ is:

$$\overline{\varphi }\underset{r\mathrm{}}{lim}\frac{{\displaystyle \underset{iS_{o,r}}{}}\varphi (i)}{N_{o,r}}.$$
(2)
With this definition, the measure $`|V^{}|`$ of a subset $`V^{}`$ of $`V`$ is the average value of its characteristic function $`\chi _V^{}(i)`$, defined by $`\chi _V^{}(i)=1`$ if $`iV^{}`$ and $`\chi _V^{}(i)=0`$ otherwise. It can be shown  that for graphs with polynomial growth, i.e. when $`N_{r,o}r^p`$ for $`r\mathrm{}`$, the thermodynamic limit is independent from the choice of the center of the sphere $`o`$. Since all realistic networks which can be embedded in a 3-dimensional space have polynomial growth, we restrict to this class graphs and we drop the index $`o`$ of the center of the sphere. The graph topology is algebraically described by its adjacency matrix:

$$A_{ij}=\{\begin{array}{cc}1& \mathrm{if}(i,j)E\hfill \\ 0& \mathrm{if}(i,j)E\hfill \end{array}$$
(3)
On disordered structures, a useful generalization of the adjacency matrix can be considered by introducing a bounded distribution of hopping probabilities $`t_{ij}`$ which differs from link to link:

$$t_{ij}=t_{ji}\{\begin{array}{cc}0& \mathrm{if}A_{ij}=1\hfill \\ =0& \mathrm{if}A_{ij}=0\hfill \end{array}$$
(4)
with $`sup_{(i,j)}|t_{ij}|<\mathrm{}`$.

The Laplacian matrix $`L_{ij}`$ is defined by:

$$L_{ij}=z_i\delta _{ij}A_{ij}$$
(5)
where $`z_i=_jA_{ij}`$, the number of nearest neighbours of $`i`$, is called the coordination number. We will consider graph with bounded coordination number, i.e. with $`\mathrm{max}_iz_i<\mathrm{}`$.

$`L_{ij}`$ is the generalization to graphs of the usual Laplacian on a lattice, where $`z_i=z`$, $`i`$. $`L_{ij}`$ has some important spectral properties: its spectrum is real, non-negative and bounded. In particular $`0`$ is a simple eigenvalue of $`L_{ij}`$ corresponding to the constant eigenvector. Notice that, while on a regular lattice $`L_{ij}`$ is diagonalized by the Fourier transform, this is not the case for a generic graph.

A fundamental problem in graph theory is the characterization of the large scale geometry of the graph by the definition of a dimension which generalizes to infinite graphs the usual Euclidean dimension $`d`$ of lattices. The spectrum of the Laplacian operator defines the spectral dimension $`\overline{d}`$, which has been shown to be the extension of $`d`$ in many physical problems. On a infinite graph, the spectral density of the Laplacian matrix is denoted by $`\rho (l)`$. The spectral dimension $`\overline{d}`$ is defined by the asymptotic behaviour of $`\rho (l)`$ at low eigenvalues :

$$\rho (l)l^{\overline{d}/21}\mathrm{for}ł0^+$$
(6)
Interestingly, $`\overline{d}`$ can be a real number, it can be experimentally measured , it depends only on the large scale topology of the graph  and it is the direct extension to graphs of the Euclidean dimension in many physical problems. In particular, the long time asymptotic diffusion of classical particles , the low frequencies spectrum of classical harmonic oscillators , the zero mass limit of the Gaussian model  and the existence of spontaneous magnetization in continuous symmetry spin models  are determined by the spectral dimension.

## III BEC on complex networks: the general theorem

The Hamiltonian for non interacting bosons on a graph $`G`$ is:

$$H=\underset{i,jV}{}h_{ij}a_i^{}a_j$$
(7)
where $`a_i^{}`$ and $`a_i`$ are the creation and annihilation operator at site $`i`$, with $`[a_i,a_j^{}]=\delta _{ij}`$. The Hamiltonian matrix $`h_{ij}`$ is defined by:

$$h_{ij}=t_{ij}+\delta _{ij}V_i$$
(8)
The term $`t_{ij}`$, defined in (4), describes hopping between nearest neighbours sites. The diagonal term $`V_i`$ takes into account a potential at site $`i`$ and it satisfies a boundedness condition: $`sup|V_i|<\mathrm{}`$. In particular, the theorem holds also when $`V_i=0`$, i.e. when there is no on site potential.

The thermodynamic limit on the graph is studied by first considering the finite Van Hove sphere $`S_r`$ and then letting $`r\mathrm{}`$. This definition of the thermodynamic limit is very general and it applies to a general discrete structure. On graphs with symmetries (lattices, fractals, bundled structures, etc.) different shapes of Van Hove spheres can be introduced, preserving the symmetry of the network. It can be shown that for regular choices of the spheres the properties of the model for $`r\mathrm{}`$ do not depend on the shape of the sphere. The Hamiltonian (7) restricted to the sphere is:

$$H^{S_r}=\underset{i,jS_r}{}h_{ij}^{S_r}a_i^{}a_j$$
(9)
where $`h_{ij}^{S_r}=h_{ij}`$ if $`i`$ and $`j`$ belong to $`S_r`$ and $`h_{ij}^{S_r}=0`$ otherwise.

For each finite sphere of radius $`r`$ let us consider the eigenvalues equation:

$$\underset{jS_r}{}h_{ij}^r\psi (j)=E\psi (i)$$
(10)
The normalized density of states $`\rho ^r(E)`$ on $`S_r`$ is defined as:

$$\rho ^r(E)=\frac{1}{N^r}\underset{k}{}\delta (EE_k^r)$$
(11)
where $`E_k^r`$ are the $`N^r`$ eigenvalues of $`H_{ij}^r`$.

We define $`\rho (E)`$ to be the density of states of $`h_{ij}`$ in the thermodynamic limit if:

$$\underset{r\mathrm{}}{lim}|\rho ^r(E)\rho (E)|𝑑E=0$$
(12)
Let $`E_m\mathrm{Inf}(\mathrm{Supp}(\rho (E)))`$, where $`\mathrm{Supp}(\rho (E))`$ is the support of the distribution $`\rho (E)`$. On a graph, the asymptotic behavior at low energies of the density of states is described by an exponent $`\alpha `$:

$$\rho (E)(EE_m)^{\frac{\alpha }{2}1}\mathrm{for}EE_m$$
(13)
The exponent $`\alpha `$ in general depends both on graph topology and on the external potential. Interestingly, when $`h_{ij}=L_{ij}`$ and when the external potential $`V_i`$ satisfy suitable regularity conditions, $`\alpha `$ coincides with the spectral dimension $`\overline{d}`$. In particular this happens when $`V_i=0`$. A hidden region of the spectrum is an energy interval $`[E_1,E_2]`$ such that $`[E_1,E_2]\mathrm{Supp}(\rho (E))=\mathrm{}`$ and $`lim_r\mathrm{}N_{[E_1,E_2]}^r>0`$, where $`N_{[E_1,E_2]}^r`$ is the number of eigenvalues of $`H_{ij}^r`$ in the interval $`[E_1,E_2]`$. Notice that in general $`N_{[E_1,E_2]}^r`$ can diverge for $`r\mathrm{}`$ and the eigenvalues can become dense in $`[E_1,E_2]`$ in the thermodynamic limit. Therefore this condition not only includes the trivial case of discrete spectrum but is far more general; an interesting example of this behaviour is found in the comb lattice without external potential  which will be studied in detail in the next section.

We now define the lowest energy level for the sequence of densities $`\rho _r(E)`$, setting $`E_0^r=\mathrm{Inf}_k(E_k)`$ and $`E_0=lim_r\mathrm{}E_0^r`$. In general, $`E_0E_m`$. If $`E_0<E_m`$, then $`[E_0,E_m]`$ is a hidden region of the spectrum, which will be called hidden low-energy spectrum.

In the following we will consider models at fixed filling $`f=N/N_r`$ ($`N`$ is the number of particles in the system). In the grand canonical ensemble the equation that determines the fugacity $`z`$ in the thermodynamic limit is:

$$f=\underset{r\mathrm{}}{lim}\frac{\rho ^r(E)dE}{z^1e^{\beta E}1}$$
(14)
Setting $`E_0=0`$ we have that $`0z1`$.

The integral in the equation (14) can be divided into two sums, the first one considering the energies smaller than an arbitrary constant $`ϵ`$ and the second the energies larger than $`ϵ`$:

$$\frac{\rho ^r(E)dE}{z^1e^{\beta E}1}=\underset{k=0}{\overset{E_kϵ}{}}\frac{1}{z^1e^{\beta E_k^r}1}+_{E>ϵ}\frac{\rho ^r(E)dE}{z^1e^{\beta E}1}$$
(15)
We define:

$$n_ϵ^r\underset{k=0}{\overset{E_kϵ}{}}\frac{1}{z^1e^{\beta E_k^r}1}$$
(16)
as the fraction of particles with energy smaller than $`ϵ`$. Bose-Einstein condensation occurs in this systems if it exists a critical temperature $`T_c>0`$ such that, for any $`T<T_c`$, $`n_ϵlim_r\mathrm{}n_ϵ^r>k>0`$, for all $`ϵ>0`$; i.e. $`n_0lim_{ϵ0}n_ϵ=k>0`$.

From definition (16), $`n_0`$ can be strictly positive only if $`lim_r\mathrm{}z(r)=1`$. Indeed, if this limit is smaller than $`1`$ it follows that $`n_ϵ(1z)^1lim_r\mathrm{}N_ϵ^r/N^r`$, where $`N_ϵ^r`$ is the number of state with energy smaller than $`ϵ`$. If the ground state is not infinitely degenerate, $`lim_{ϵ0}lim_r\mathrm{}(N_ϵ^r/N^r)=0`$ and then $`n_0=0`$.

Taking first the limit $`r\mathrm{}`$ and then $`ϵ0`$ in equation (15) we obtain:

$$f=n_0+\underset{ϵ0}{lim}\underset{r\mathrm{}}{lim}_{E>ϵ}\frac{(\rho ^r(E)\rho (E))dE}{z^1e^{\beta E}1}+\underset{ϵ0}{lim}\underset{r\mathrm{}}{lim}_{E>ϵ}\frac{\rho (E)dE}{z^1e^{\beta E}1}$$
(17)
Now, from the boundedness of $`(z^1e^{\beta E}1)^1`$ for $`E>ϵ`$ and from the definition (12), the first of the two limits in the right hand side of (17) vanishes:

$$f=n_0+\underset{ϵ0}{lim}_{E>ϵ}\frac{\rho (E)dE}{z^1e^{\beta E}1}=n_0+\frac{\rho (E)dE}{z^1e^{\beta E}1}$$
(18)
where, again, $`n_0`$ can be different from $`0`$ only if $`z=1`$.

The integral in equation (18) is an increasing continuous function of $`z`$ with $`0z<1`$. If the limit:

$$f_c(\beta )=\underset{z1}{lim}\frac{\rho (E)dE}{z^1e^{\beta E}1}$$
(19)
is equal to $`\mathrm{}`$, then $`z<1`$ and $`n_0=0`$. If the limit is finite, $`f_c(\beta )`$ is a decreasing function of $`\beta `$ with $`lim_\beta \mathrm{}f_c(\beta )=0`$ and $`lim_{\beta 0}f_c(\beta )=\mathrm{}`$. Then, for a suitable $`\beta _c`$, $`f_c(\beta _c)=f`$. For $`\beta >\beta _c`$, (i.e. $`T<T_c`$) $`z=1`$ and $`n_0=ff_c(\beta )>0`$ while for $`\beta <\beta _c`$, (i.e. $`T>T_c`$) $`z<1`$ and $`n_0=0`$.

From the divergence or finiteness of the limit (19) one obtains the most general condition for the occurrence of Bose-Einstein condensation on a graph.

First, if $`0=E_0<E_m`$ (i.e. the system presents a low-energy hidden spectrum) the limit (19) is finite and there is Bose-Einstein condensation at finite temperature:

$$f_c(\beta )\frac{1}{e^{\beta E_m}1}\rho (E)𝑑E=\frac{1}{e^{\beta E_m}1}.$$
(20)
On the other hand, when $`E_0=E_m`$ the value of the limit (19) is determined by the exponent $`\alpha `$. Indeed if $`\alpha >2`$:

$$f_c(\beta )_0^\delta \frac{c_1E^{\frac{\alpha }{2}1}dE}{\beta E}+_{E>\delta }\frac{\rho (E)dE}{e^{\beta E}1}<\mathrm{}$$
(21)
where $`\delta `$ and $`c_1`$ are suitable constants. Therefore in this case Bose-Einstein condensation occurs at finite temperature.

For $`\alpha <2`$ we have:

$$f_c(\beta )\underset{z1}{lim}_0^\delta \frac{zc_1E^{\frac{\alpha }{2}1}dE}{\beta E+1z}=\mathrm{}$$
(22)
and there is no Bose-Einstein condensation. When $`\alpha =2`$ we have to consider the logarithmic correction to (13) and it is possible to show that the limit (19) diverges.

The Hamiltonian (7) describes different models of non interacting bosons on graphs. The simplest example is the discretization of the usual Schrödinger equation. In this case the Hamiltonian is: $`h_{ij}=\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}L_{ij}`$, where $`L_{ij}`$ is the Laplacian operator. This is a pure topological model, completely defined by the graph geometry and it can be shown that $`E_0=E_m`$, i.e. there are no hidden states in the low energy region and $`\alpha =\overline{d}`$. Therefore the occurrence of BEC is determined by the spectral dimension (6), which has been calculated for a wide class of discrete networks .

On real condensed matter structures an interesting case is a pure hopping of non interacting bosons on graphs. This has been considered in  for the description of the Josephson junction arrays in the weak coupling limit with Hamiltonian matrix given by: $`h_{ij}=tA_{ij}`$. In this case the behaviour of the model is much more complex and the presence of hidden spectra can give rise to Bose-Einstein condensation also in low dimensional structures .

Finally, the most general application of our result concerns particles interacting with an external potential, described by the Hamiltonian: $`h_{ij}=tA_{ij}+V_i\delta _{ij}`$. Indeed, the introduction of a local potential strongly enhances the possibility of modifying the energy spectra in order to induce BEC in non regular geometries.

In the next section, we will study in detail the pure hopping model defined on the comb graph, where the inhomogeneous topology produces low energy hidden states which give rise to Bose-Einstein condensation in a $`1`$-dimensional structure ($`\alpha =\overline{d}=1`$).

## IV Pure hopping models and BEC on the comb graph

The comb lattice is an infinite graph, which can be obtained connecting to each site of a linear chain, called backbone, a 1-dimensional chain called finger (see figure 1). The sites of the comb can be naturally labelled introducing two integer indices $`(x,y)`$ with $`x,yZ`$, where $`x`$ labels the different fingers and $`y`$ represents the distance from the backbone.

A suitable definition of the finite Van Hove sphere for the comb lattice is the square periodic comb of $`L\times L`$ sites. In this case the backbone and each finger are rings of $`L`$ sites. Each vertex can be labelled by $`(x,y)`$, $`x,y[0,1,\mathrm{},L1,L]`$, with the conditions $`(0,0)(L,0)`$ and $`(x,0)(x,L)`$ in order to guarantee periodic boundaries.

In the thermodynamic limit the spectrum of the infinite comb is evaluated as the limit for $`L\mathrm{}`$ of the spectrum of the hopping model on the finite $`L\times L`$ combs. The eigenvalue equation (10) on the finite comb with $`h_{ij}=tA_{ij}`$ with the previous labeling of sites reads:

$$t\underset{x^{},y^{}=0}{\overset{L1}{}}\left[(\delta _{x,x^{}+1}+\delta _{x,x^{}1})\delta _{y,0}\delta _{0,y^{}}+(\delta _{y,y^{}+1}+\delta _{y,y^{}1})\delta _{x,x^{}}\right]\psi (x^{},y^{})=E\psi (x,y)$$
(23)
By exploiting the translation invariance in the direction of the backbone, a Fourier transform in the variable $`x`$ reduces (23) to a 1-dimensional eigenvalue problem. Let us define:

$$\psi (k,y)=\underset{x}{}e^{ikx}\psi (x,y)$$
(24)
with $`k=2\pi n/L`$, $`n=1\mathrm{}L`$. The eigenvalues equation (23) becomes:

$$t\underset{k^{},y^{}}{}\left[2\mathrm{cos}(k)\delta _{y,0}\delta _{0,y^{}}\delta _{k,k^{}}+(\delta _{y,y^{}+1}+\delta _{y,y^{}1})\delta _{k,k^{}}\right]\psi (k^{},y^{})=E\psi (k,y)$$
(25)
Now (25) is diagonal in the variable $`k`$ and can be written as:

$$t\underset{y^{}}{}\left[2\mathrm{cos}(k_0)\delta _{y,0}\delta _{0,y^{}}+(\delta _{y,y^{}+1}+\delta _{y,y^{}1})\right]\psi (y^{})=E\psi (y)$$
(26)
where $`\psi (k,y)=\delta (kk_0)\psi (y)`$ with $`k_0=2\pi n/L`$, $`n=0\mathrm{}L`$. Equation (26) can be regarded as a 1-dimensional problem of a quantum particle interacting with a potential in the origin, $`V(k_0)=2t\mathrm{cos}(k_0)`$. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors of (26) are obtained by imposing the matching condition in $`y=0`$ for the free particle solutions on the chain. Indeed, for $`y0`$, (26) the wave function satisfying (26) in $`y0,L1`$ are:

$`\psi (y)=\mathrm{cos}(hy+\alpha )`$ $`\mathrm{for}`$ $`2tE=2t\mathrm{cos}(h)2t;`$ (27)
$`\psi (y)=Ae^{hy}+Be^{hy}`$ $`\mathrm{for}`$ $`E=t(e^h+e^h)<2t;`$ (28)
$`\psi (y)=A(1)^ye^{hy}+B(1)^ye^{hy}`$ $`\mathrm{for}`$ $`E=t(e^h+e^h)>2t.`$ (29)
Imposing $`\psi (y)`$ to be a solution in $`y=0`$ and $`y=N1`$ introduces restrictions on the parameters $`h`$, $`\alpha `$, $`A`$ and $`B`$, and on the eigenvalues $`E`$.

Let us first consider the conditions for (27), in $`y=L1`$ and $`y=0`$:

$`t\mathrm{cos}[h(L2)+\alpha ]t\mathrm{cos}(\alpha )=2t\mathrm{cos}(h)\mathrm{cos}[h(L1)+\alpha ]`$ (30)
$`t\mathrm{cos}[h(L1)+\alpha ]t\mathrm{cos}(h+\alpha )2t\mathrm{cos}(k_0)\mathrm{cos}(\alpha )=2t\mathrm{cos}(h)\mathrm{cos}[h(L1)+\alpha ]`$ (31)
The system has odd solutions with $`\alpha =\pi /2`$ (i.e. $`\psi (i)=\mathrm{sin}(hi)`$), $`h=2\pi n/L`$ and $`n=1,\mathrm{},L/21`$ and even solutions, obtained by solving:

$$\mathrm{cos}(k_0)\mathrm{cot}(hL/2)=\mathrm{sin}(h)$$
(32)
Equation (32) can be solved graphically (see figure 2) obtaining $`L/2`$ solutions. In the large $`L`$ limit the allowed values for $`h`$ are: $`h\pi (2n1)/L`$ with $`n=1,\mathrm{},L/2`$. Each values of $`k_0`$ corresponds to $`L1`$ solutions with energy between $`2t`$ and $`2t`$.

Let us now consider cases (28,29). For $`E<2t`$ the wave function in $`y=L1`$ and $`y=0`$ satisfies the conditions:

$`t(Ae^{h(L2)}+Be^{h(L2)})t(A+B)=t(e^h+e^h)(Ae^{h(L1)}+Be^{h(L1)})`$ (33)
$`t(Ae^{h(L1)}+Be^{h(L1)})t(Ae^h+Be^h)2\mathrm{cos}(k_0)(A+B)=t(e^k+e^k)(A+B)`$ (34)
leading to:

$$\mathrm{cos}(k_0)\mathrm{coth}(hL/2)=\mathrm{sinh}(h)$$
(35)
Equation (35) can be solved graphically. For $`\mathrm{cos}(k_0)>0`$, (35) has a real solution. In the limit $`L\mathrm{}`$ this is $`\mathrm{sinh}(h)=\mathrm{cos}(k_0)`$, corresponding to energy is $`E=2t\sqrt{1+\mathrm{cos}^2(k_0)}`$. If $`\mathrm{cos}(k_0)<0`$, only the solution with $`E>2t`$ is present and for $`\mathrm{cos}(k_0)=0`$ one has the constant solution $`\psi (y)=1`$ with energy $`E=0`$.

The complete spectrum of the comb is now obtained by considering the eigenvalues of (26) for the $`L`$ values of $`k_0`$. For each $`k_0`$ there are $`L1`$ eigenvalues of type (27) with energy $`E=2t\mathrm{cos}(h)`$ and wave functions $`\psi (x,y)=e^{ik_0x}\mathrm{sin}(hx)`$ and $`\psi (x,y)=e^{ik_0x}\mathrm{cos}(h|y|+\alpha )`$, with $`h`$ and $`\alpha `$ satisfying conditions (30,31). The fraction of states in this spectral region is $`f=L(L1)/L^2`$. Notice that $`f`$ tends to 1 in the thermodynamic limit. The normalized density of states in this spectral region is:

$$\frac{dn}{L^2}=\frac{Ld(Lh/2\pi )}{L^2}=\frac{dE}{\pi \sqrt{4t^2E^2}}$$
(36)
with $`E[2t,2t]`$. Since the fraction of states with energies $`E<2t`$ or $`E>2t`$ vanishes in the thermodynamic limit, (36) represents the normalized density of states $`\rho (E)`$ of the pure hopping model on the comb graph.

However, the lowest energy state is obtained from a solution of type (28). These solutions appear only for $`\mathrm{cos}(k_0)>0`$ and they satisfy relation (35). Since the energy is a decreasing function of $`h`$, the lowest energy level is obtained for $`\mathrm{cos}(k_0)=1`$. In this case we have $`\mathrm{coth}(hL/2)=\mathrm{sinh}(h)`$, and in the thermodynamic limit this corresponds to $`\mathrm{sinh}(h)=1`$. From (28) we get $`E_0=t\sqrt{8}`$. The lowest energy in the normalized density of states is $`E_m=2t`$ and therefore $`E_0<E_m`$. Then the eigenvalue equation (23) presents a hidden spectrum in the thermodynamic limit, and the pure hopping boson model on the comb lattice exhibits BEC at low enough temperatures. From equations (28,33,34) it is also possible to show that on the infinite graph the eigenvector corresponding to the lowest energy eigenvalue is $`\psi (x,y)=e^{h|y|}`$. The wave function for the condensate is localized along the backbone and it decreases exponentially along the finger (see figure 3).

This model does not present an energy gap between $`E_0`$ and $`E_m`$, contrary to the typical instance of non interacting bosons trapped in a harmonic well. Indeed for each value of $`k_0`$ ($`\mathrm{cos}(k_0)>0`$) there is a solution of (35) with a different energy in the interval $`[E_0,E_m]`$. In a finite comb of $`L^2`$ sites there are $`L/2`$ solution of this type and for $`L\mathrm{}`$ these solutions fill densely the interval $`[E_0E_m]`$. Normalizing the density of states to $`L`$, we can obtain the spectral density in the thermodynamic limit for $`E[E_0E_m]`$:

$$\frac{dn}{L}=\frac{d(Lk_0/2\pi )}{L}=\frac{|E|dE}{2\pi \sqrt{8t^2E^2}\sqrt{E^24t^2}}$$
(37)
An analogous equation holds for the spectral region at high energy ($`E=[2t,\sqrt{8}t]`$), where the other hidden states appear. The density of states can then be represented as in figure 4, where we used the two different normalizations for the hidden spectra and for $`\rho (E)`$.

¿From the knowledge of the complete spectral density of the comb, the thermodynamic quantities relative to BEC such as the filling of the ground state as a function of $`T`$, the specific heat and the critical temperature as a function of $`f`$ can be analytically calculated .

## V Bose-Einstein Condensation on graphs: further examples

The spectrum of the pure hopping model can be studied in detail in a wide class of fractals and inhomogeneous discrete structures. In particular, the behaviour observed in the comb lattice is typical of bundle structures . This class of graphs are obtained by a “fibering” procedure, i.e. attaching a fiber graph to every point of a “base” graph. They are characterized by a hidden low-energy region, and from the general result of section III they exhibit BEC at finite temperature. Moreover, as in the comb graph, the wave function of the condensate is localized along the base and presents a fast decay along the fibers. An example of this behaviour is found in the brush graph, which is illustrated in figure 5.

An interesting example of a graph where the geometrical setting gives rise to an isolated eigenstate in the low-energy region of the pure hopping model is the star graph. The effect, which is analogous to that caused by an impurity on a line, here is not produced by the presence of an external potential but simply by the topology of the system. Interestingly, the wave function is here completely localized in the center of the star, with an exponential decay along the arms. In figure 6 the star graph with the ground state and the spectrum of the pure hopping model are shown.

Graphs with constant coordination number are typical examples in which the pure hopping model do not present hidden low energy regions. This is due to the fact that for this class of graphs the spectrum of the model can be obtained from that of the Laplacian matrix by a shift of the zero in the energy. The existence of BEC is therefore determined by the spectral dimension $`\overline{d}=\alpha `$ of the graph, describing the density of eigenvalues of the Laplacian at low energy. This parameter can be exactly calculated for a wide class of discrete structures. On lattices, $`\overline{d}`$ coincides with the usual Euclidean dimension and one recovers the classical result for BEC on translation invariant structures. For exactly decimable graphs  (e.g. the Sierpinski gasket  and the T-fractal, see figure 7) where one always has $`\overline{d}<2`$ there is no Bose-Einstein condensation.

A fundamental property of the spectral dimension is its independence from the local details of the graph, i.e. universality . The value of $`\overline{d}`$ and the behaviour of the density of eigenvalues in the low energy region is not changed under a wide class of transformations, called isospectralities, which can strongly modify the geometry of the graph. A simple consequence of this property is that if we consider the pure hopping model on a graph with constant coordination number, which differs from a graph of known dimension $`\overline{d}`$ by an isospectrality, BEC occurs only if $`\overline{d}>2`$. An example of this behaviour is given by the ladder graph (figure 8) which can be obtained from the linear chain by the addition of finite-range links. On this structure then the pure hopping model does not exhibit BEC.

An important properties of $`\overline{d}`$ is that the dimension of the graph obtained as a direct product of two graphs is the sum of the dimensions of the original structures. An example is illustrated in figure 9, where we show the direct product of a linear chain and a well known fractal, a Sierpinski gasket. In this the coordination number case $`z_i`$ is constant, and applying the previous properties it is easy to show that $`\overline{d}=1+2\mathrm{ln}(3)/\mathrm{ln}(4)>2`$, and therefore, applying the previous results, one immediately infers that BEC occurs on this graph.

## VI Concluding remarks

We studied in detail BEC of non-interacting bosons on general discrete networks, i. e. on graphs. We evidenced that these systems support spatial condensation of bosons into a single state even if $`\overline{d}<2`$.

Due to recent advances in engineering technology, Josephson junction networks can be build in a variety of controllable, non-conventional architectures. The theoretical interest for these systems stems naturally from the ability of experimentalists in varying the properties of the networks by acting directly on their geometry. We expect that non universal quantities - such as the critical temperature for condensation - will depend crucially on the geometry of a graph, thus leading to the possibility of engineering network geometries suitable to observe spatial BEC of Cooper pairs.

Our analysis shows that classical inhomogeneous Josephson junction networks build on graphs may support a spatial BEC of Cooper pairs induced only by the geometry of the ambient space on which the junctions lie. We feel our prediction of the existence of spatial BEC in Josephson junction networks may be brought soon to direct experimental testing.

Acknowledgements We thank F. Illuminati and A. Trombettoni for enlightening discussions and a careful reading of the manuscript. We thank F. Illuminati for suggesting the star graph as an interesting geometrical structure.


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# References

The boson peak in structural and orientational glasses of simple alcohols:

Specific heat at low temperatures

M. A. Ramos, C. Talón, S. Vieira

Laboratorio de Bajas Temperaturas, Depto. de Física de la Materia Condensada, C-III

Instituto ”Nicolás Cabrera”, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain

ABSTRACT

We review in this work specific-heat experiments, that we have conducted on different hydrogen-bonded glasses during last years. Specifically, we have measured the low-temperature specific heat $`C_p`$ for a set of glassy alcohols: normal and fully-deuterated ethanol, 1- and 2- propanol, and glycerol. Ethanol exhibits a very interesting polymorphism presenting three different solid phases at low temperature: a fully-ordered (monoclinic) crystal, an orientationally-disordered (cubic) crystal or ’orientational glass’, and the ordinary structural glass. By measuring and comparing the low-temperature specific heat of the three phases, in the ’boson peak’ range 2–10 K as well as in the tunneling-states range below 1K, we are able to provide a quantitative confirmation that ”glassy behavior” is not an exclusive property of amorphous solids. On the other hand, propanol is the simplest monoalcohol with two different stereoisomers (1- and 2-propanol), what allows us to study directly the influence of the spatial rearrangement of atoms on the universal properties of glasses. We have measured the specific heat of both isomers, finding a noteworthy quantitative difference between them. Finally, low-temperature specific-heat data of glassy glycerol have also been obtained. Here we propose a simple method based upon the soft-potential model to analyze low-temperature specific-heat measurements, and we use this method for a quantitative comparison of all these data of glassy alcohols and as a stringent test of several universal correlations and scaling laws suggested in the literature. In particular, we find that the interstitialcy model for the boson peak \[A. V. Granato, Phys. Rev. Lett. 68 (1992) 974\] gives a very good account of the temperature $`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ at which the maximum in $`C_p/T^3`$ occurs.

PACS numbers: 65.40.+g, 63.50.+x, 61.43.Fs
—————————————
Corresponding author. Tel: +34-91 397 5551. Telefax: +34-91 397 3961. E-mail: miguel.ramos@uam.es

1. Introduction

After several decades of research on the subject, the universal properties exhibited by glasses at low temperatures  (i.e., their vibrational excitations at low frequencies) continue to be a vivid matter of interest and debate . It is well known  that glasses or amorphous solids have thermal properties (and also dielectric or acoustic ones) very different from those of crystalline solids. Moreover, these properties are very similar among different families of glassy materials irrespective of either the type of chemical bonding or other structural details, hence the name “universal”. At temperatures $`T<1`$ K, the specific heat $`C_p`$ depends approximately linear ($`C_pT`$) and the thermal conductivity $`\kappa `$ almost quadratically ($`\kappa T^2`$) on temperature, in contrast to the cubic dependences observed in crystals for both properties which is well understood in terms of Debye’s theory. Quantitatively, the specific heat of nonmetallic glasses is much larger and the thermal conductivity orders of magnitude smaller than those of dielectric crystals. At $`T>1`$ K, $`C_p`$ still deviates from the expected $`C_{\mathrm{D}ebye}T^3`$ dependence, presenting a broad maximum in $`C_p/T^3`$, in the same temperature range where the thermal conductivity exhibits a universal plateau. It is nowadays clear that this universal feature is closely related to an excess in the vibrational density of states $`g(\nu )`$ over the crystalline Debye behavior, leading to a ubiquitous maximum in $`g(\nu )/\nu ^2`$ at frequencies $`\nu 1`$ THz which is known as the boson peak, a dominant feature in the vibrational spectra of glasses very thoroughly observed and studied  by Raman and inelastic neutron scattering.

About 30 years ago, Phillips  and Anderson, Halperin and Varma  introduced independently the now well-known tunneling model (TM), which postulated the ubiquitous existence of atoms or small groups of atoms in amorphous solids which can tunnel between two configurations of very similar energy. This simple model of tunneling states successfully explained the low-temperature properties of amorphous solids , though only for $`T<1`$ K. However, the also rich universal behavior of glasses above 1 K (the broad maximum in $`C_p/T^3`$, the corresponding boson peak in vibrational spectra, or the abovementioned plateau in the thermal conductivity) still were unexplained. Among the different approaches proposed since then to understand the general behavior of glasses in the whole range of low-frequency excitations, the phenomenological soft-potential model (SPM), which can be regarded as an extension of the TM, is one of the best accepted and most often considered. The SPM  postulates the coexistence in glasses of acoustic phonons (crystalline-like, extended lattice vibrations) with quasilocalized low-frequency (soft) modes. In the SPM, the potential of these soft modes is assumed to have a uniform stabilizing fourth-order term $`W`$, an energy scale which is the basic parameter of the model . In addition, each mode has its own first-order (asymmetry $`D_1`$) and second-order (restoring force $`D_2`$) terms, which can be either positive or negative, hence giving rise to a distribution of double-well potentials (tunneling states) and more or less harmonic single-well ones (soft vibrations). The parameter $`W`$ marks the crossover from the tunneling-states region at the lowest temperatures to the soft-modes region above it. Indeed, $`W`$ can be approximately determined either from the minimum $`T_{\mathrm{m}in}`$ in $`C_p/T^3`$ ($`W`$1.8–2$`k_\mathrm{B}T_{min}`$) or from the position of the maximum $`T_{\kappa ,max}`$ in a $`\kappa /T`$ versus $`T`$ plot: ($`W\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1.6}k_\mathrm{B}T_{\kappa ,max}`$) . Similarly to the TM, a random distribution of potentials is assumed: $`P(D_1,D_2)=P_s`$. For a more detailed description of the SPM, the reader is referred to the reviews of Refs. .

In addition to these phenomenological models, other recent approaches  have focused on suggesting general scalings, correlations or universalities in the low-temperature properties of glasses which could hint at their microscopic origin.

In order to gain understanding in this issue, we have conducted a series of measurements  of specific heat at low temperatures for a special family of glasses, simple alcohols such as ethanol , propanol  and glycerol , which have low glass transition temperatures $`T_\mathrm{g}`$ (they are liquid at room temperature) and a molecular, hydrogen-bonded network. In this work, we propose a systematic method to analyze low-temperature specific-heat data, partly based upon the SPM. Then, we employ this method for a critical comparison of the data obtained by us for the alcohols and, finally, we make use of the collected set of parameters as a test of several correlations and scaling laws suggested in the literature.

2. Experimental

During last years, we have performed specific-heat measurements on different glassy alcohols, by employing a calorimetric cell especially designed for samples which are liquid at room temperature and that allows to prepare in situ different solid phases. Firstly, experiments were conducted in a 4He cryostat, reaching temperatures down to $``$1.7 K. Later, we have used a very similar calorimetric cell within a 3He cryostat being able to measure the specific heat to about 0.5 K.

In particular, we have studied  both normal hydrogenated and fully-deuterated ethanol, both of which exhibit a rich polymorphism, presenting stable (monoclinic) crystal, orientational glass (OG, an orientationally-disordered cubic crystal, obtained by quenching a rotationally-disordered plastic phase), and structural glass (amorphous) phases .

We have also investigated  the behavior of the next substance in the series of monoalcohols, propanol, which is the smallest one which has two different stereoisomers, 1- and 2-propanol, hence allowing us to study directly the effect of the spatial rearrangement of atoms on the low-temperature properties of glasses.

Finally, we have also measured  the specific heat and the thermal conductivity of glassy glycerol, probably the most widely studied  glass-forming liquid.

Further details on the experimental setup employed for the heat-capacity measurements, as well as on the experimental procedures followed to obtain and characterize the different solid phases are given in the corresponding references indicated above.

3. Results

The specific heat of several glassy alcohols (deuterated ethanol in either true glass or OG phases, both isomers of propanol, and glycerol) is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, all of them exhibiting the usual “glassy” behavior, with a quasilinear contribution at very low temperature (tunneling states) and a broad maximum in $`C_p/T^3`$ (boson peak).

First of all, we remark that both structural glass and OG (i.e., a crystal with orientational disorder) phases of ethanol show, qualitatively and even quantitatively, the same glassy features in the low-temperature specific heat , the boson peak in inelastic neutron scattering , or at the glass transition . These results provide a quantitative confirmation of the fact that “glassy” behavior is not an exclusive property of amorphous solids, which simply lack translational disorder, but a more general characteristic of solids where any kind of disorder is able to soften the rigid vibrational spectrum of a crystalline lattice and/or to provide additional thermodynamic degrees of freedom which are somehow the basic ingredient of the glass state.

It is also noteworthy that 2-propanol has a much larger specific heat above 1 K than 1-propanol (and than any other glassy alcohol). However, the reason for this difference is based on its significantly larger Debye contribution (see Fig. 1 and Table 1). This difference between both isomers of propanol also occurs in their crystalline states , which have been recently found to be different indeed, a monoclinic crystalline structure for 1-propanol and a triclinic one for 2-propanol . Therefore, the influence of the position of the hydroxyl (OH–) on the elastic constants of the hydrogen-bonded network seems to be very relevant. In contrast, the “excess” specific heat attributable to tunneling states and quasilocalized vibrations in glasses is much less affected by these changes in the atomic arrangement.

In addition, we have concurrently measured the specific heat and the thermal conductivity of glassy glycerol , and have used those combined data as a more reliable test of the SPM, which has been shown to successfully explain the specific heat and the thermal conductivity in a wide temperature range. In this work, we will only use the specific-heat data for a general comparison with other glassy alcohols.

In Fig. 1, the specific heat of five glasses (four truly amorphous and one disordered crystal) is displayed below $``$2.5 K in a typical $`C_p/T`$ vs $`T^2`$ plot. In the simplest version of the TM , the random distribution of tunneling states can be regarded as a constant density of two-level systems (TLS), which neglecting some logarithmic corrections gives a linear contribution to the specific heat $`C_p=C_{\mathrm{T}LS}T`$. Taking also into account the Debye contribution due to extended long-wavelength vibrations of the amorphous lattice, $`C_{\mathrm{D}ebye}=C_\mathrm{D}T^3`$, it is clear that $`C_p/T`$ vs $`T^2`$ should plot linearly with an intercept $`C_{\mathrm{T}LS}`$ at $`T=0`$. Although this simple method has been traditionally used to determine $`C_{\mathrm{T}LS}`$ and $`C_\mathrm{D}`$, it poses some problems. As Fig. 2 reminds, there is an additional source of specific heat arising from the low-frequency vibrations responsible for the boson peak and the maximum in $`C_p/T^3`$. This contribution is not completely negligible below 1 K, that brings as a consequence that many linear fits $`C_p=C_1T+C_3T^3`$ found in the literature unavoidably provide cubic coefficients clearly exceeding the true Debye one, obtained from elastic measurements in those cases where they are available, i.e., $`C_3>C_\mathrm{D}`$. Indeed, $`C_1`$ and especially $`C_3`$ depend on the chosen range for the linear fit. In order to solve these inconveniences, we propose a systematic method to analyze low-temperature specific-heat measurements. The basic point is to realize that the difficulties originate from the lower-energy side of the additional vibrations responsible for the boson peak. These have been well accounted for by the SPM  as harmonic soft modes giving rise to a specific heat below the maximum $`C_p=C_{\mathrm{s}m}T^5=\frac{2\pi ^6}{21}P_sk_\mathrm{B}\left(\frac{k_\mathrm{B}T}{W}\right)^5`$. Therefore, a quadratic polynomial fit in $`C_p/T`$ vs $`T^2`$ seems the most appropriate solution. The question however remains how to decide the temperature range to fit the data, with physical meaning. It is clear that the distribution of soft modes and correspondingly the specific heat can not grow $`C_pT^5`$ unlimitedly. Gil et al.  proposed a gaussian distribution in the asymmetry of the soft potentials, which without any further fitting parameter allowed them to account for the specific heat, thermal conductivity and vibrational density of states $`g(\nu )/\nu ^2`$ in the whole relevant range, including the “boson peak”. At least for practical reasons, let us assume that distribution function. It is easy to find that the simple $`C_{\mathrm{s}m}T^5`$ approximation starts deviating $``$ 5% from the $`C_p(T)`$ curve accounting for experimental data approximately at $`T>0.75W\frac{3}{2}T_{\mathrm{m}in}`$. Therefore, we suggest to fit specific-heat data in a $`C_p/T`$ vs $`T^2`$ representation by using a quadratic polynomial $`C_p=C_{\mathrm{T}LS}T+C_\mathrm{D}T^3+C_{\mathrm{s}m}T^5`$ in the temperature range $`0<T<\frac{3}{2}T_{\mathrm{m}in}`$. The results from these fits for the studied glassy alcohols are shown in Table 1. As a proof of consistency, we want to mention that the obtained $`C_\mathrm{D}`$ for glycerol agrees better than 1% (hence within the experimental error) with the Debye coefficient estimated  from elastic measurements. Unfortunately, this is the only glass from those studied here for which elastic data are available. Nevertheless, we believe that the method proposed is a reasonable alternative to determine the Debye coefficient of a glass from low-temperature specific-heat measurements, especially when elastic data are lacking. The so-obtained values of $`C_\mathrm{D}`$ and $`\theta _\mathrm{D}`$ have been used in Fig. 2 to scale $`C_p`$ data for the reasons discussed below.

For sake of completeness, we also show in Table 1 the SPM parameters $`W`$ (determined from $`W\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1.8}k_\mathrm{B}T_{min}`$ , with the exception of glycerol which has a flat minimum and has been better determined from available thermal-conductivity data ) and $`P_s`$ (determined from the given expression for $`C_{\mathrm{s}m}`$). It is to be stressed that all studied glasses present comparable values of $`P_s`$ (basically, the distribution density of quasilocalized excitations, either tunneling states or soft modes), not existing any significant difference between amorphous glasses and orientational glasses (OG).

4. Discussion

In this section, we will make use of the compiled set of data for the studied glassy alcohols taken as a model system to critically discuss several correlations or scaling laws which have been suggested in the literature to be universal for glasses or amorphous solids.

First, we will address very briefly the scaling proposed by Liu and Löhneysen . They suggested a general correlation between the mechanisms leading to the $`C_p/T^3`$ maximum in crystalline and amorphous solids. They plotted the height $`P_c`$ of the maximum in $`C_p/T^3`$ (i.e., $`(C_p/T^3)_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ in our notation) versus its position $`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ for a wide set of materials, mainly amorphous polymers and metals, as well as typical network glasses, together with their corresponding crystalline solids. They found an approximate general correlation $`P_cT_{max}^{1.6}`$, somehow indicating a close relation between the $`C_p/T^3`$ maxima in glasses and crystals. However, we have included in such a graph (see Fig. 2 of Ref. ) specific-heat data for molecular glasses and crystals (both our hydrogen-bonded materials and van der Waals glasses from Lindqvist et al. ), finding that these molecular solids deviate systematically about a factor 5 from the general scaling proposed by those authors. Moreover, for the different phases of H- and D-ethanol we have plotted $`(C_p/T^3)/P_c`$ vs $`T/T_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$, as also suggested by Liu and von Löhneysen . We found (see Fig. 11 of Ref. ) that data for the disordered solids (either glass or OG) superimpose in the whole temperature region but, in contrast, the curves for the ordered crystals showed a far narrower shape. This fact points out again to the different nature of the low-energy vibrational spectra of glasses and crystalline solids.

Other authors have suggested that the low-energy excitations of glasses may be correlated with the fragility of the glass-forming liquid, a parameter proposed by Angell  to characterize how fragile or strong is a supercooled liquid to resist the structural degradation induced by temperature, and which is usually measured by the deviation of the shear viscosity from an Arrhenius law. Zhu  has suggested a general correlation between the density of tunneling states and the fragility, presenting data for a variety of glasses. More fragile glasses would have a larger number of minima on the potential-energy hypersurface, hence explaining a higher density of tunneling states and a higher value of $`C_{\mathrm{T}LS}`$. On the other hand, Sokolov et al.  have correlated the fragility of the system with the excess of vibrational excitations normalized to the Debye level. Specifically, they showed that the ratio $`(C_{exc}/C_\mathrm{D})_{\mathrm{m}ax}=(C_p/C_\mathrm{D}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1})_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ decreases with increasing fragility. More recently, Zhu and Chen  have argued against the universality of such a correlation.

Unfortunately, accurate fragility values using the same criteria are not available for the four glass-forming liquids studied in this work. Nevertheless, it can be seen from viscosity data  that all alcohols possess an intermediate degree of fragility. Liquid ethanol seems to be slightly more fragile than glycerol, and 1-propanol is less fragile. There are no published data for 2-propanol to our knowledge. In this framework, the large difference in $`C_{\mathrm{T}LS}`$ between ethanol and glycerol (almost one order of magnitude, see Table 1) for two systems of very similar fragility claims against the correlation proposed by Zhu . Moreover, 1-propanol has a contribution to $`C_p`$ from tunneling states almost a factor of 3 higher than that of glycerol, being less fragile. The correlation with $`(C_{exc}/C_\mathrm{D})_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ is more difficult to ascertain. The obtained values are all around $`(C_{exc}/C_\mathrm{D})_{\mathrm{m}ax}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.5}`$ as expected for intermediate fragilities, but the smaller deviations do not show up the expected trend. Neither suggest normalized $`C_p/C_\mathrm{D}`$ curves shown in Fig. 2 any kind of universal behavior. Furthermore, the very similar values of $`C_{\mathrm{T}LS}`$ and $`(C_{exc}/C_\mathrm{D})_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ for either true glasses (quenching a supercooled liquid) or orientational glasses (quenching a plastic crystal) of ethanol cast doubts about the relevance of the fragility of the glass-forming liquid to understand the low-temperature properties of glasses.

Finally, we would like to consider the interstitialcy model proposed by Granato . According to this model, liquids can be considered as crystals containing a few interstitials in thermal equilibrium, which become frozen in the glassy state. Self-interstitial resonance modes would be the physical realization of the soft modes and tunneling states of the SPM, giving rise to the boson peak. For the simplest approximation, taken a single frequency for the resonance modes, the maximum in $`C_p/T^3`$ is predicted  to appear at a temperature $`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}\theta _\mathrm{D}/35`$. Several authors have tested this relation for different collections of experimental data, finding empirically $`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}\theta _\mathrm{D}/40`$  or $`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}\theta _\mathrm{D}/38`$ . It can be seen in Table 1 that this correlation works very well for all glassy alcohols studied by us. On the contrary, the maxima of the corresponding crystalline states  take place at higher reduced temperatures ($`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}/\theta _\mathrm{D}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1}/25`$ for these alcohols), as it seems always be the case (see Fig. 3.3 in Ref. ). However, we have tested this correlation between $`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ and $`\theta _\mathrm{D}/35`$ from published data  for another model system: vitreous B2O3 submitted to different thermal treatments producing significant changes in mass density, elastic constants, etc. . Variations of up to 17% in $`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ and $`\theta _\mathrm{D}`$ were achieved with this method. We find that, although $`(C_{exc}/C_\mathrm{D})_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ ranges uncorrelatedly from 1.18 to 1.70 for the seven different B2O3 glasses, the ratio between $`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ and $`\theta _\mathrm{D}`$ remains constant for all of them: $`\theta _\mathrm{D}/T_{\mathrm{m}ax}=\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}51}\pm 1`$. Let us notice that for other oxide glass as SiO2, $`\theta _\mathrm{D}/T_{\mathrm{m}ax}=\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}46}`$ . So, it may well be that the exact $`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}/\theta _\mathrm{D}`$ ratio could somewhat depend on the kind of glass, what is not in conflict with the interstitialcy model , but for a given “system”, fixing some secondary parameters, the boson peak and Debye temperatures seems to be clearly correlated.

5. Conclusions

In summary, we have reviewed and comparatively discussed specific-heat experiments, that we have conducted on different hydrogen-bonded glasses during last years: normal and fully-deuterated ethanol, 1- and 2- propanol, and glycerol. We have proposed a systematic method partly based upon the soft-potential model to analyze these low-temperature specific-heat measurements, and to test several universal correlations and scaling laws suggested in the literature. In particular, we have found that the correlation between the temperature $`T_{\mathrm{m}ax}`$ at which the maximum in $`C_p/T^3`$ occurs and the Debye temperature $`\theta _\mathrm{D}`$ proposed by the interstitialcy model for the boson peak is very well fulfilled.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by MCyT (Spain) within project BFM2000-0035-C02-01.

FIGURE CAPTIONS

FIGURE 1: Low-temperature specific heat plotted as $`C_p/T`$ vs $`T^2`$ for several glassy alcohols. Solid lines are fits to quadratic polynomials (see text).

FIGURE 2: Low-temperature specific heat of the same glasses in Fig. 1, scaled to the cubic Debye contribution $`C_{\mathrm{D}ebye}`$, as a function of temperature normalized to $`\theta _\mathrm{D}`$. The arrow indicates the position of the maximum at $`T=\theta _\mathrm{D}/35`$ predicted within the interstitialcy model.

TABLES


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# Chapter 1 H2, D/H and the CMBR Temperature at𝑧=3.025 Toward QSO 0347–3819

## Chapter 1 H2, D/H and the CMBR Temperature at
$`z=3.025`$ Toward QSO 0347–3819

### Abstract

A new molecular hydrogen cloud has been identified at $`z=3.025`$ in the absorption-line spectrum of the quasar 0347–3819 observed with the UVES spectrograph at the VLT/Kueyen telescope. At the same redshift numerous metal lines and the D i Ly-5, Ly-8, Ly-10, and Ly-12 lines were detected. The simultaneous analysis of metal and hydrogen lines yielded D/H = $`(3.75\pm 0.25)\times 10^5`$. This value is consistent with SBBN if the baryon-to-photon ratio, $`\eta `$, lies within the range $`4.4\times 10^{10}\eta 5.3\times 10^{10}`$, implying $`\mathrm{\Omega }_bh_{100}^2=0.018\pm 0.002`$ (1 $`\sigma `$ c.l.). The population of the ground state rotational levels of H2 from $`J=0`$ to 5 revealed a Galactic-type UV radiation field in the H2-bearing cloud ruling out UV pumping as an important mechanism for C+. Accounting for two other important excitation mechanisms such as collisions and FIR photon absorption, we were able to measure for the first time the temperature of the cosmic background radiation at $`z>3`$, $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}=12.1_{3.2}^{+1.7}`$ K, from the analysis of the C+ fine-structure lines. This result supports the value of $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}=10.968\pm 0.004`$ K predicted at $`z=3.025`$ by the hot Big Bang cosmology.

### 1. Introduction

In the standard Big Bang model (SBB) the temperature of the relic radiation from the hot phase of the Universe is predicted to increase linearly with redshift $`z`$: $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}(z)=T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}(0)(1+z)`$. At the present epoch direct measurements show that $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}(0)=2.725\pm 0.001`$ K (1 $`\sigma `$ c.l.), and that the relic radiation follows a Planck spectrum with very high precision . However, at earlier cosmological epochs $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}`$ cannot be measured directly. It was suggested that this scaling in proportion to $`(1+z)`$ can be tested by observing the population of excited fine-structure lines in the QSO absorption spectra .

The relative population of the fine-structure levels may not, however, be caused by photo-absorption of the CMBR only. Non-cosmological sources such as particle collisions, pumping by UV radiation or by IR dust emission may compete with the CMBR to populate the excited fine-structure levels. Only independent knowledge of the ambient radiation field, particle densities and the kinetic temperature of the gas allow to disentangle the contribution of the background radiation from that of other mechanisms. For these reasons previous studies set only upper limits to $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}`$ , , , , , .

The physical parameters in question can be accurately estimated if the absorber is a diffuse molecular cloud. Molecules allow to measure the volumetric gas density $`n_\mathrm{H}`$, the kinetic temperature $`T_{\mathrm{kin}}`$ and the intensity of the UV radiation field through the analysis of their distribution on the low rotational levels. In particular, intervening molecular clouds showing H2 and the fine-structure lines of C i and C ii provides a unique opportunity to measure the cosmic microwave background radiation temperature in early cosmological epochs and to test the SBB predictions.

Another observational test of the SBB model is the measurement of the hydrogen isotopic ratio at high $`z`$. The standard (homogeneous) Big Bang nucleosynthesis (SBBN) predicts the same D/H abundance ratio for any direction in the early Universe since “no realistic astrophysical process other than the Big Bang could produce significant D” . Deuterium is created exclusively in BBN and therefore we can expect that the D/H ratio decreases with cosmic time due to conversion of D into 3He and heavier elements in stars. It is clear that the precise measurements of the D/H values at high redshift are extremely important to probe whether BBN was homogeneous. The choice of the appropriate BBN model may in turn place constrains on different models of structure formation.

In this contribution we discuss the role of the H2-bearing cloud with respect to the measurement of D/H and $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}`$ at $`z_{\mathrm{abs}}=3.025`$ toward the quasar 0347–3819.

### 2. Observations and results

The spectroscopic observations of Q0347–3819 ($`z_{\mathrm{em}}=3.23`$, V = 17.3) obtained with the VLT 8.2 m telescope are described in  and . The spectrum was obtained with the resolutions FWHM $`7.0`$ km s-1 and $`5.7`$ km s-1 in the UV and near-IR ranges, respectively. A signal-to-noise ratio of S/N $`1040`$ per resolution element was achieved in these observations.

The analysis of the H2, deuterium and metal absorption-lines was performed in . We found that the fractional abundance of H2 is $`f_{\mathrm{H}_2}=(3.3\pm 0.2)\times 10^6`$. This value is similar to that observed in the Galactic diffuse clouds with low color excesses, $`E(BV)<0.1`$. The kinetic gas temperature is found to be less than 430 K. The population of the low rotational levels is represented by a single excitation temperature of $`T_{\mathrm{ex}}=825\pm 110`$ K. The observed population ratios of H2 in different rotational states and the C ii/C ii ratio give the number density $`n_\mathrm{H}6`$ cm-3, and the cloud dimension along the line of sight $`D14`$ pc. The relative populations of H2 in the $`J=4`$ and 5 rotational levels correspond to the rate of photo-destruction $`I2\times 10^{10}`$ s-1. The photo-absorption rate, $`\beta _0I/0.11`$, is thus equal to $`\beta _02\times 10^9`$ s-1. Taking into account that the Galactic interstellar radiation field value ranges in $`5\times 10^{10}`$ s-1 $`\beta _01.6\times 10^8`$ s-1 , we conclude that the UV radiation fields in the $`z_{\mathrm{abs}}=3.025`$ absorbing cloud and in the Galactic ISM are very much alike. We also found that the formation rate of H2 upon grain surfaces, $`Rn_\mathrm{H}3\times 10^{16}`$ s-1, is similar to that measured in the Galaxy .

The simultaneous analysis of metal profiles and the H+D Lyman series lines yielded a new estimation of the hydrogen isotopic ratio D/H = $`(3.75\pm 0.25)\times 10^5`$ in this DLA. It implies that the present-day baryon density is $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{b}h^2=0.018\pm 0.002`$. The obtained D/H value is in good agreement with the hydrogen isotopic ratio found in the Lyman Limit Systems in , , . We thus summarize that when all most accurate measurements of D/H in high redshift QSO absorbers are considered, one finds the same D/H which is about 2.5 times the mean ISM value of D/H = $`(1.50\pm 0.10)\times 10^5`$ .

Recently, an attempt was made to measure $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}`$ in the H2 molecular cloud at $`z=2.34`$ toward Q1232+0815 . However, further analysis of this system  revealed inconsistency of the H2 and HD column density measurements  which places the value of $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}`$ found in  to an upper limit only.

In our analysis of the DLA system at $`z=3.025`$  we obtained a self-consistent solution for both molecular and metal absorption lines. We have considered collisions and excluded fluorescence and dust emission as significant processes in the population of the C+ excited level $`J=3/2`$. Our measurement of $`N`$(C ii)/$`N`$(C ii) = $`(3.8\pm 0.3)\times 10^3`$ leads to the most probable value of $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}=12.1_{3.2}^{+1.7}`$ K which is fully consistent with the predicted temperature $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}=10.968\pm 0.004`$ K within 1 $`\sigma `$ confidence intervals.

We conclude that our result, together with upper limits measured in the above mentioned papers support the linear evolution of the CMBR within the framework of the hot Big Bang cosmology. Being considered together, these D/H and $`T_{\mathrm{CMBR}}`$ measurements show again that the fundamental concepts of cosmology and of Big Bang nucleosynthesis are consistent with observations.


text:
# Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI1footnote 11footnote 1Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.

## 1 INTRODUCTION

This paper is a continuation in a series of papers of radial-velocity studies of close binary stars: Lu & Rucinski (1999, Paper I), Rucinski & Lu (1999, Paper II) and Rucinski et al. (2000, Paper III), Lu et al. (2001, Paper IV), Rucinski et al. (2001, Paper V). The main goals and motivations are described in these papers. The companion paper of Rucinski (2002, Paper VII) describes the technical details and methods of data reductions as well as the resulting measurement uncertainties, based on data in the six previous papers.

This paper is structured in the same way as Papers I – V in that most of the data for the observed binaries are in two tables consisting of the radial-velocity measurements (Table Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.) and their sine-curve solutions (Table Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.). Section 2 of the paper contains brief summaries of previous studies for individual systems. Figures Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto. show the data and the radial velocity solutions.

The observations reported in this paper have been collected between October 1997 and June 2001; the ranges of dates for individual systems can be found in Table Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.. All systems discussed in this paper, except SV Cen, have been observed for radial-velocity variations for the first time. We have derived the radial velocities in the same way as described in previous papers. See Paper IV and Paper VII for discussion of the broadening-function approach used in the derivation of the radial-velocity orbit parameters: the amplitudes, $`K_i`$, the center-of-mass velocity, $`V_0`$, and the time-of-eclipse epoch, $`T_0`$.

The data in Table Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto. are organized in the same manner as in previous papers. In addition to the parameters of spectroscopic orbits, the table provides information about the relation between the spectroscopically observed epoch of the primary-eclipse T0 and the recent photometric determinations in the form of the (O–C) deviations for the number of elapsed periods E. It also contains our new spectral classifications of the program objects.

For further technical details and conventions used in the paper, please refer to Papers I – V and VII of this series.

## 2 RESULTS FOR INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS

### 2.1 SV Cam

SV Cam is a short-period, detached binary system. It has been the subject of numerous photometric and four spectroscopic studies. In two first spectroscopic investigations, Hiltner (1953) and Rainger et al. (1991), the system was observed as a single-lined spectroscopic binary (SB1). The secondary component was subsequently detected by Pojmanski (1998) who used the spectral resolution three times lower than ours. Oezeren et al. (2001) observed the system at a relatively high spectral resolution, but chose to adopt the spectroscopic results of Pojmanski (1998), concentrating on the details of line-profile changes, in relation to the known, high activity of this short-period RS CVn-type system.

Our double-lined (SB2) spectroscopic orbit is very well defined, with small errors of the orbital parameters. We note that determinations of the radial velocity semi-amplitude of the primary component, $`K_1`$, agree well in the four existing solutions. Starting with Hiltner (1953) (as reanalyzed by Rainger et al. (1991)), Rainger et al. (1991), Pojmanski (1998) and the current, the results have been (in km s-1) : $`121.7\pm 1.9`$, $`122.3\pm 1.5`$, $`118.5\pm 2.0`$, and $`121.86\pm 0.76`$. The results of Pojmanski (1998) differ the most, but are still within the errors of the solutions. The center of mass velocity, $`V_0`$, seems to show a secular progression, although the data of Pojmanski (1998) deviate from the trend. In the same order as before: $`16.2\pm 1.4`$, $`11.2\pm 1.2`$, $`13.7\pm 1.5`$ and $`9.13\pm 0.78`$ km s-1. Noting that the observations were made in 1947, 1988, 1993 and 1997, the trend may be related to the motion about the third body with the period of about 65 – 75 years and the semi-amplitude of about 2 km s-1 (Rainger et al., 1991).

The results of Pojmanski (1998), although the first to reveal the motion of the secondary component, show deviations described above and, even more importantly, differ rather substantially from our results in the value of $`K_2`$: $`211.5\pm 5.5`$ versus our $`190.17\pm 1.73`$ km s-1. Possibly, the discrepancies are due to the rather complex reduction scheme of the previous study which involved successive removal of the two spectral signatures from individual spectra. This was entirely unnecessary in our case because the broadening functions that we analyzed were very well defined and radial velocities of both components could be measured with great ease. Figure Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto. shows one of the broadening functions for SV Cam, in comparison with other systems analyzed in this paper. On the basis of the widths of the individual signatures in the broadening functions, and taking into consideration the instrumental broadening, we estimate the apparent rotation velocity of the components, $`V_1\mathrm{sin}i=122\pm 10`$ km s-1 and $`V_2\mathrm{sin}i=85\pm 8`$ km s-1. Patkos & Hempelman (1994) found that the orbit of SV Cam is oriented exactly edge on, $`i90^{}`$, so that these are our estimates of the equatorial rotational velocities. We note that Pojmanski (1998) estimated $`V_1\mathrm{sin}i=105`$ km s-1 while a solar-size star in the orbital synchronism would have $`V\mathrm{sin}i90`$ km s-1.

The total mass, $`(M_1+M_2)\mathrm{sin}^3i=1.871\pm 0.045M_{}`$, and the mass ratio, $`q=0.641\pm 0.007`$, lead to the masses, 1.14 and 0.73 $`M_{}`$, which are somewhat large for the combined spectral type that we estimated as G2V, but would agree with the estimate of Pojmanski (1998) of F8V. The estimated value of $`V_1\mathrm{sin}i`$ would also suggest a primary larger than the Sun. The mean color index from the Tycho-2 Catalog (Hog et al., 2000, TYC2), $`BV=0.62`$, is in agreement with our spectral type. We should note that our low-dispersion classification as well as the TYC2 color index relate to the combined photometric properties of the system.

The ephemeris that we used was that of the photometric study of Pribulla et al. (2001) which covered the time range actually slightly after our observations and gave a perfect agreement for the time of eclipses. Since the published $`T_0`$ was already shifted from the actual time of observations, we recalculated the published moment to our $`T_0`$ so that no whole cycles appear in the phase count in Table Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.. We also used the orbital period from the same study simplifying it to the six decimal places, 0.593073 days, which was entirely sufficient for the duration of our observations. We note that the orbital period cited in the Hipparcos Catalogue (ESA, 1997, HIP) was slightly different, 0.593075 days, while Pojmanski (1998) used 0.593071 days.

With a good Hipparcos parallax, $`p=11.77\pm 1.07`$ mas (HIP), and well determined tangential motions, $`\mu _\alpha \mathrm{cos}\delta =41.5\pm 1.1`$ mas/y and $`\mu _\delta =150.9\pm 1.1`$ mas/y (TYC2), the system of SV Cam appears to be one of the best currently characterized close binary systems on the lower main sequence. Of note is the relatively large spatial motion of 64 km s-1, mostly the result of the large tangential motion; the systemic radial velocity is moderate, $`V_0=9.13\pm 0.78`$ km s-1.

### 2.2 EE Cet

Variability of the combined light of the visual binary ADS 2163 was discovered by the Hipparcos satellite mission (ESA, 1997). The light curve was relatively sparsely covered, showing variation of about 0.23 magnitude. On the basis of an observation that the southern component rotates too rapidly for the technique used by Nordstroem et al. (1997) to measure its radial velocity, this component was our prime candidate for being the source of the variability observed by Hipparcos. We could observe this star without contamination by the northern companion which is separated by 5.6 arcsec. We found that the southern component is a contact binary system and we assume that it should carry the variable-star name EE Cet. It appears to be a contact system of the W-type, i.e. with the less massive component eclipsed during the primary eclipse; however, it is the more massive, slightly cooler component which gives a better defined signature in the broadening function, probably because of its larger radiating area. In phasing our observations, we used the HIP prediction for times of eclipses.

We caution that there exists certain confusion in the literature as to which component of ADS 2163 should be called A and which B. On the average, the southern component, which we identify here with EE Cet, is the fainter of the two and this agrees with the naming of the stars in the HIP catalog, where the visual binary appears under CCDM J02499+0856. However, in the ADS catalog the names are actually reversed and in SIMBAD it is the northern, brighter component which carries the name of EE Cet. Lampens et al. (2001) published photometric data for one epoch and give $`V(A)=9.47`$ and $`V(B)=9.83`$ identifying the southern component as fainter. To complicate things even further, we found that the northern component of ADS 2163 is also a close binary system showing radial velocity variations; this component may very well be a variable star. However, currently we have insufficient radial-velocity data to analyze this binary system; we hope to be able to provide such data in one of the subsequent papers of this series. We only note that Nordstroem et al. (1997) gave its radial velocity, $`V_0=+2.26\pm 0.04`$ km s-1, which is similar to the center-of-mass velocity of EE Cet, $`V_0=+1.60\pm 0.93`$ km s-1.

The radial velocity solution for EE Cet is very well defined. However, because of the lack of reliable Hipparcos parallax (it is actually listed as negative), we cannot derive the absolute magnitude of the binary. Once the two components of the visual binary are photometrically separated and parallaxes for both components determined, this quadruple system may turn out as one of the most interesting among bright stars of the sky.

### 2.3 KR Com

KR Com is another Hipparcos satellite photometric discovery. In phasing our observations, we used the HIP prediction for times of minima. The shallow eclipses are of almost identical depth of only about 0.06 mag. so there is no obvious reason for the EB classification which has been used in the HIP Catalog; the system is a contact binary and would normally be designated as EW.

The star had been known as a very close visual system of very small mean separation of only 0.12 arcsec. In the HIP catalog it appears as CCDM J13203+1746, with the magnitude difference of components of 0.60 magnitude; it is also known as ADS 8863. The visual binary was a subject of numerous speckle interferometry investigations. While these observations are of lesser relevance in the context of this paper, we note that the close binary shows rather large radial-velocity variations, so that its small photometric variation may be partly due to “dilution” of the close-binary variability signal in the combined light of the visual system. Our broadening function indicates that the brighter component is the contact system while the fainter component is a slowly-rotating star, as can be seen in Figure Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.. The brightness of the visual companion is large, $`L_3/(L_1+L_2)=0.56\pm 0.04`$ (at light maxima of the close binary), which confirms the previous magnitude-difference estimates.

Our radial velocity orbit is very well defined, mostly due to the brightness of the system at $`V_{max}=7.14`$. We could very well isolate the signature of the third, slowly-rotating star, as one can see in Figure Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.. Allowing for the contribution of the visual companion, and with the Hipparcos parallax of $`p=13.07\pm 0.87`$ mas, one obtains $`M_V^{tot}=2.72\pm 0.15`$ and thus $`M_V^{EW}=3.20`$, while the RD97 calibration predicts $`M_V^{EW}(cal)=3.42`$. The latter is obtained using the color TYC2 index, $`(BV)=0.52`$, which suggests a spectral type of about F8; our direct classification is G0IV, although the spectral type and the luminosity class relate to the combined properties of the triple system. The average radial velocity of the third component, $`\overline{V_3}=3.59\pm 0.12`$ km s-1 (the error of a single observation is 0.93 km s-1), is significantly different from the center-of-mass velocity of the binary, $`V_0=7.86\pm 0.38`$ km s-1.

KR Com has one of the smallest mass ratios known among contact binaries, $`q=0.091\pm 0.002`$. The total minimum mass, $`(M_1+M_2)\mathrm{sin}^3i=0.517\pm 0.008M_{}`$, indicates that the orbit is rather strongly inclined to the line of sight, which is another reason for the small photometric amplitude. As is normally observed, the small mass ratio is associated with the A-type characteristics of the contact system, i.e. the deeper eclipse corresponds to the more massive star being eclipsed by the less massive companion.

### 2.4 V401 Cyg

Together with SV Cam, this binary is one of two in this paper which had not been discovered by the Hipparcos mission. In fact it was discovered by Hoffmeister (1929) and since then was sporadically observed, mostly for eclipse timing. Photometrically, the binary appears to be a rather typical contact system with relatively large light variation of about 0.55 magnitude. Herzeg (1993) pointed out that the orbital period of the system is lengthening. Wolf et al. (2000) conducted a light-curve analysis and found the best-fitting, photometric mass ratio, $`q_{ph}0.3`$. To some extent to our surprise (because we see so many cases of $`q_{ph}q_{sp}`$), we found $`q=0.290\pm 0.011`$.

Our radial velocity orbit was based on the assumed period of 0.582714 days, as in the HIP Catalog. For the initial time of the primary minimum, we used the data in Nelson (2001) obtained during the span of our observations. The agreement is very good (see Table Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.) given the somewhat larger error of our $`T_0`$ for this star, when compared with other binaries. The main reason for the larger error was the relative faintness of this binary ($`V_{max}10.5`$) and the fact that we discovered a third “light” in the system. The spectral signature of the third star (which may, but does not have to be physically associated with the binary) can be seen in the broadening function in Figure Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto. as a small feature projecting onto the prominent signature of the primary component. Similar noise fluctuations are common in broadening functions of faint stars, but this one is always present, at the same radial velocity at all orbital phases. By integrating the amount of light in this additional feature, we could estimate that, at the light maximum of the binary, $`L_3/(L_1+L_2)=0.03\pm 0.01`$. Because the third-light contribution is so small, we neglected it in our measurement. However, it may have slightly affected the amplitude of the primary component, $`K_1`$, due to the fact that (1) the radial velocities of primary component are, by necessity, always close to $`V_0`$ and (2) the third component appears to have a very small radial velocity relative to the binary system.

### 2.5 GM Dra

GM Dra was discovered photometrically by the Hipparcos satellite as a 9th magnitude contact binary with a fairly large variation of about 0.27 mag. The system was observed photometrically by Çiçek et al. (2001), one year after our observations. The authors gave a recent moment of the light minimum and improved the value of the orbital period.

Our radial velocity orbit is quite well defined (Figure 2). GM Dra is a rather uncomplicated contact system of the W-type, i.e. with the smaller star eclipsed during the deeper minimum (although the difference in the depth of the eclipses is very small). The spectral type F5V and the color index $`BV=0.48`$ agree. The absolute magnitude derived from the HIP parallax, $`p=10.16\pm 0.88`$ mas and $`V_{max}=8.65`$ is $`M_V=3.68\pm 0.20`$, which is in perfect agreement with the calibration of Rucinski & Duerbeck (1997, RD97), $`M_V(cal)=3.66`$.

### 2.6 V972 Her

V972 Her is another Hipparcos photometric discovery. The light variation is small, about 0.08 mag. indicating a small orbital inclination or “dilution” of light in a triple system. The HIP light curve is very well defined and suggests a perfect contact system (EW). It is not clear why the system was given there a classification EB which would suggest unequally deep minima.

Our radial velocity orbit is very well defined, mostly thanks to the large brightness of the system, $`V_{max}=6.62`$. With the relatively large HIP parallax (the largest in this group of binaries), $`p=16.25\pm 0.61`$ mas, and thus $`M_V=2.67\pm 0.09`$, the system is the nearest contact binary in this group of ten binary systems. The RD97 calibration with $`BV=0.39`$ (which agrees with our spectral type F4V) gives $`M_V(cal)=2.87`$, which is in marginal agreement with the directly determined $`M_V`$. The very small value of $`(M_1+M_2)\mathrm{sin}^3i=0.276\pm 0.006M_{}`$ confirms the expectation of a very small orbital inclination angle.

Our initial $`T_0`$ was based on the time determined by Keskin et al. (2000) which was obtained in the middle of our spectroscopic run, but gives a rather large O–C = +0.0224 days. We have no explanation for this discrepancy because our $`T_0`$ is nominally accurate to $`0.0016`$ days. The binary is a contact system of the W-type with the less massive component eclipsed at the deeper minimum; however, the difference in depth is very small.

### 2.7 ET Leo

The photometric variability of the star was discovered by the Hipparcos mission. The period assigned there was equal to one half of the true orbital period. Instead of the exact double of the HIP period, we used the value given by Gomez–Forrellad et al. (1999) of 0.346503 days. Their initial epoch $`T_0`$ (obtained three years before our observations) and the new period predict the moment of the deeper eclipse which agrees well with our determination (see Table 2).

Our spectral type, G8V, appears to be late relative to the TYC2 color index $`(BV)=0.61`$. The parallax is large, $`p=13.90\pm 1.44`$ mas, but apparent magnitude is only moderate, $`V_{max}=9.48`$, indicating that the system is intrinsically rather faint: $`M_V=5.20\pm 0.24`$. The RD97 calibration, utilizing the $`(BV)`$ index as above, predicts $`M_V(cal)=4.01`$; an agreement in $`M_V`$ would require a color index as large as $`(BV)1.0`$. This discrepancy between the spectral type and the color index remains to be explained.

ET Leo must be observed at a relatively low orbital inclination angle. This would explain the small photometric variability of only 0.06 mag. as well as the small radial-velocity amplitudes leading to $`(M_1+M_2)\mathrm{sin}^3i=0.450\pm 0.012M_{}`$.

### 2.8 FS Leo

The photometric variability of FS Leo was discovered by the Hipparcos mission. In spite of our efforts, we have not been able to find any spectral signatures of the secondary component in the system, so that this is a single-lined binary (SB1); it is the only such system in this group of ten binary systems. The radial velocity of the only visible component is very well defined. For the initial phasing of our observations, we used the original HIP prediction which gave a time deviation O–C = $`0.035`$ days.

Our spectral type is F2V and the photometric data derived from the HIP and TYC databases give $`V_{max}=8.94`$ and $`(BV)=0.26`$, the latter suggesting a slightly earlier spectral type around F0. The HIP parallax, $`p=6.12\pm 1.41`$ leads to $`M_V=2.87\pm 0.51`$. At this point we are unable to classify the system, but it is unlikely that this is a contact system. Of interest is the large spatial velocity of the system of 70 km s-1 which results mostly from the large tangential motion: $`71.3\pm 1.1`$ and $`38.7\pm 1.1`$ mas/year in both coordinates (TYC2).

### 2.9 V2388 Oph

This bright, 6th magnitude, very close visual binary (Fin 381, CCDM J17542+1108) has been the subject of many speckle interferometry investigations. The study of Soederhjelm (1999) resulted in the following set of the parameters: the separation, $`a=0.088`$ arsec, the magnitude difference between components, $`\mathrm{\Delta }m=1.80`$ mag, the mean HIP magnitude for the primary $`H_p=6.45`$, the orbital period, $`P=8.9`$ years. $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ derived in this study was much larger than in several previous speckle interferometry investigations which usually suggested a number around 0.2 mag. We note that our entirely independent derivation based on the broadening functions gives $`L_3/(L_1+L2)=0.20\pm 0.02`$, hence $`\mathrm{\Delta }m=1.75\pm 0.02`$ mag., confirming the result of Soederhjelm (1999).

Rodriguez et al. (1998) discovered variability of the star, apparently independently of the HIP discovery. They classified it as a W UMa-type system with a relatively long orbital period of 0.802 days. Newer photometry of Yakut & Ibanoglu (2000) (used for $`T_0`$ in Table Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.) confirmed that the HIP times-of-minima prediction; in fact, the HIP ephemeris gives a slightly smaller O–C for the time of the primary eclipse. The $`ubvy`$ photometric data agree with the previous spectral type of F5Vn assuming no interstellar reddening. We would tend to give the star a slightly earlier spectral type, F3V. The HIP light curve is very well defined, and has a shape typical for a contact system, with eclipses 0.30 and 0.25 mag. deep. The relatively large HIP parallax, $`p=14.72\pm 0.81`$, and $`V_{max}=6.13`$, gives $`M_V=1.97\pm 0.13`$ for the whole triple system hence $`M_V^{EW}2.17`$, while the RD97 calibration predicts $`M_V(cal)=1.78`$ for the W UMa-type binary, assuming $`(BV)_0=0.41`$ from TYC2. The system appears to be one of the most luminous among currently known contact binaries. This may explain the imperfect agreement in $`M_V`$ at the high-luminosity end where the RD97 calibration becomes highly uncertain.

As for other triple-lined systems, we measured the radial velocities of the binary after removing the third-body signature from the broadening function first and then by analyzing the remaining contact-binary BF. The radial velocity orbit of the close binary is very well defined (Figure Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.) and describes a typical A-type contact system with moderately small mass-ratio, $`q=0.186\pm 0.002`$. The minimum mass, $`(M_1+M_2)\mathrm{sin}^3i=1.93\pm 0.03M_{}`$, when related to the spectral type of about F3–F5, suggests a rather large orbital inclination angle, $`i90^{}`$. Thus, in spite of the necessity of dealing with a complicated BF (Figure Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.), the radial-velocity parameters for V2388 Oph are very well defined.

The radial velocity measurements for the third component show some residual dependence on the phase of the close binary which may indicate some “cross-talk” in the measurements; we illustrate a similar, but larger effect in the case of the next system, II UMa. The semi-amplitude of the variations which correlate with the binary phase is about 2.5 km s-1, which leads to a slightly elevated error per a single-observation of 1.50 km s-1; for a single sharp-line star we could expect an error at the level of $`1.21.3`$ km s-1 or less. The mean radial velocity of the third component, $`\overline{V_3}=30.64\pm 0.20`$ km s-1, is significantly different from the center-of-mass velocity for the binary, $`V_0=25.88\pm 0.52`$ km s-1 which may result from the motion on the 8.9-year orbit.

### 2.10 II UMa

The photometric variability of the star was discovered by the Hipparcos satellite. The HIP prediction on the time-of-eclipse served very well for phasing of our observations. The star is a known, close visual binary, designated as ADS 8594 or CCDM J12329+5448, with the separation of component of 0.87 arcsec and difference in brightness 1.64 mag.

The broadening functions (see Figure Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.) show a well-defined signature of the third component with the relative brightness, $`L_3/(L_1+L_2)=0.17\pm 0.01`$, implying $`\mathrm{\Delta }m=1.92\pm 0.01`$ mag. The triple-star characteristics of the star were handled by us in the same way as for the previously described star, V2388 Oph. Again, we see some unwelcome cross-talk in the radial velocities $`V_3`$, as shown in the plot versus the close-binary phase in Figure Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.. This case is a bit more extreme than for V2388 Oph, with the error per single observation of 2.86 km s-1 in place of the expected $`1.21.3`$ km s-1 or less. We do not have a ready explanation for the coupling between the velocities and why the scatter appears to be increased only within the first half of the orbit. The dependence of $`V_3`$ on the binary-system phase has been observed in some triple stars in our program, but we usually have no simple explanation for its occurrence. However, we are not very concerned about its presence because our goal is the radial velocity orbit of the close binary system, which is in fact very well defined (see Figure Radial Velocity Studies of Close Binary Stars. VI111Based on the data obtained at the David Dunlap Observatory, University of Toronto.). The average velocity of the third component, $`\overline{V_3}=16.02\pm 0.37`$ km s-1, can be compared with the center-of-mass velocity of the close binary, $`V_0=8.02\pm 1.10`$ km s-1.

The binary is a long-period ($`P=0.825`$ days) contact system of the A-type. Our spectral type suggests elevated luminosity, F5III, but classification of strongly broadened spectra of contact binaries is not easy, especially when combined with the spectrum of the third component. However, a high luminosity would agree with the relatively large size of the system implied by the long orbital period. The system is quite distant, because its HIP parallax is $`p=5.04\pm 1.81`$ mas. With the observed $`V_{max}=8.14`$ for the whole system, $`M_V=1.65\pm 0.8`$. Using $`L_3/(L_1+L2)=0.17\pm 0.01`$, the absolute magnitude of the close binary is $`M_V^{EW}=1.82`$, which agrees rather well with the RD97 calibration predicting $`M_V(cal)=1.70`$ for the assumed TYC2 color index $`(BV)=0.40`$.

## 3 SUMMARY

The paper presents radial-velocity data and orbital solutions for the sixth group of ten close binary systems that we observed at the David Dunlap Observatory. Only the detached, short-period system SV Cam was observed spectroscopically before. All systems except FS Leo are double-lined (SB2) binaries with visible spectral lines of both components and all, with the additional exception of SV Cam, are contact binaries.

Although our selection of our targets is quite unsystematic and is driven only by the brightness above the limit of about 11 mag. and the shortness of the orbital period (below one day), we continue seeing very interesting objects among the bright, photometrically discovered binaries. Eight of the systems are new photometric discoveries of the Hipparcos project. The magnitude-limited nature of the HIP survey has led to an emphasis on relatively luminous, massive, early-type (middle-A to early-F) contact systems. Because the Hipparcos mission discovered mostly small photometric amplitude systems, which were overlooked in previous whole-sky surveys, we tend to observe systems somewhat pre-selected in that they either have low orbital inclinations, such as V972 Her or ET Leo, or are members of triple systems as for KR Com, V401 Cyg, V2388 Oph and II UMa. In the latter case, while radial velocity amplitudes are large, the diminished photometric variation is due to the “dilution” of the variability signal in the combined light of the triple system. In addition to these four triple systems, we also observed separately a component in a wider visual binary, EE Cet; the other component of this system appears to be radial-velocity variable whose properties remain to be studied.

Support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada to SMR and SWM is acknowledged with gratitude. The research has made use of the SIMBAD database, operated at the CDS, Strasbourg, France and accessible through the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre, which is operated by the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada. We thank the anonymous referee for the very careful and constructive review of the paper.

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