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# Approximating Spectral invariants of Harper operators on graphs II

## 1. Introduction

In \[MY\] Mathai and Yates examined the spectral properties of the discrete magnetic Laplacian (DML) on a graph with a free action of a discrete group, as defined by Sunada \[Sun\]. One of the results proved in \[MY\] is that when the group is amenable and has a finite fundamental domain on the graph, the spectral density function of the DML — defined using the von Neumann trace associated with the discrete group action — can be approximated almost everywhere by the normalized spectral densities of a series of finite approximations of the DML, consisting of restrictions of the DML to a regular exhaustion of the graph. The latter approximation is known in the physics literature as the integrated density of states of the DML, so that the result can be rephrased as saying that the von Neumann spectral density function of the DML is equal to the integrated density of states of the DML almost everywhere. This partial result was known to the experts, cf. \[Bel\], \[Sh\].

It was shown in \[MY\] that in fact the approximation holds at every point whenever the DML is associated with a rational weight function, and it was conjectured there that the assumption on the weight function was irrelevent. Based on the idea of the middle named author, the conjecture is established here in complete generality, and at the same time a much more straightforward argument is presented for the corresponding result in \[MY\]. Related arguments can be found for example in \[DLMSY\], \[Eck\] and \[El\], and are known to other authors, in particular Wolfgang Lück and Holger Reich.

Hereafter, let $`X`$ be a combinatorial graph with finite fundamental domain $``$ under the free action of an amenable discrete group $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Each edge $`[e]`$ of $`X`$ has associated with it two oriented edges $`e`$ and $`\overline{e}`$ with opposite orientation. While denoting the set of oriented edges by $`\mathrm{Edge}X`$, it will be convenient to work with a subset $`E^+`$ of these edges in which each combinatorial edge has exactly one oriented representative. Unless otherwise stated, functions over $`X`$ will refer to complex-valued functions over the vertices of $`X`$.

By Følner’s characterization of amenability (see also \[Ad\]) there must exist a *regular exhaustion* of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$: a tower of finite subsets $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_m\mathrm{\Lambda }_{m+1}`$, $`_m\mathrm{\Lambda }_m=\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ satisfying

(1.1)
$$\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}\frac{\mathrm{\#}_\delta \mathrm{\Lambda }_k}{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{\Lambda }_k}=0\delta >0,$$

where $`_\delta \mathrm{\Lambda }_k`$ denotes the $`\delta `$-neighborhood of the boundary of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_k`$ in $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ in the word metric (with respect to some fixed generating set.)

Let $`\{X_m\}`$ be a sequence of subgraphs of $`X`$, with $`X_m`$ being the largest subgraph of $`X`$ contained within the translates by $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_m`$ of the fundamental domain. Then the $`X_m`$ form a regular exhaustion of the graph, satisfying

(1.2)
$$\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim}\frac{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{Vert}_\delta X_m}{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{Vert}X_m}=0\delta >0,$$

where $`_\delta X_m`$ refers to the subgraph which is the $`\delta `$-neighborhood of the boundary of $`X_m`$ in $`X`$ in the simplicial metric.

The discrete magnetic Laplacian $`\mathrm{\Delta }_\sigma `$ is an example of an operator with bounded propagation, that is there exists a constant $`c`$ such that for any function $`f`$ with support $`YX`$, the function $`\mathrm{\Delta }_\sigma f`$ has support in the $`c`$-neighborhood of $`Y`$. The following theorem, proved in Section 3, provides an approximation for the spectral density function of such operators. This was posed (for the DML) as Conjecture 0.1 of \[MY\], where a proof was obtained for all points $`\lambda `$ only when the operator was the DML associated with a rational weight function $`\sigma `$.

###### Theorem 1.1 (Strong spectral approximation theorem).

Let $`X`$ be a graph on which there is a free group action by an amenable group $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$, with finite fundamental domain. Let $`\left\{X_m\right\}_{m=1}^{\mathrm{}}`$ be the regular exhaustion of $`X`$ corresponding to a regular exhaustion $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_m`$ of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Let $`A`$ be a self-adjoint operator of bounded propagation acting on $`l^2(X)`$, which commutes with an adjoint-closed set of twisted translation operators, and has spectral density function $`F`$. Construct finite approximations $`A_m`$ to $`A`$ by restricting $`A`$ to the space of functions supported on $`X_m`$, and denote by $`F_m`$ the normalized spectral density function of $`A_m`$,

$$F_m(\lambda )=\frac{1}{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{\Lambda }_m}\mathrm{\#}\{\text{eigenvalues }\lambda \text{ of }A_m\text{, counting multiplicity}\}.$$

Then

(1.3)
$$\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim}F_m(\lambda )=F(\lambda ),\lambda .$$

## 2. The discrete magnetic Laplacian and operators of bounded propagation

The DML and the Harper operator are defined by a $`U(1)`$-valued weight function $`\sigma `$ on the edges of the graph $`X`$ which is *weakly $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$-invariant*. That is, for any edge $`e`$, $`\sigma (\overline{e})=\overline{\sigma (e)}`$, and for any $`\gamma \mathrm{\Gamma }`$ there exists some $`U(1)`$-valued function $`s_\gamma `$ on the vertices of $`X`$ such that

(2.1)
$$\sigma (\gamma e)=\sigma (e)s_\gamma (𝔱(e))\overline{s_\gamma (𝔬(e))}$$

where $`𝔬(e)`$ and $`𝔱(e)`$ are the origin and terminus of the edge $`e`$ respectively. The Harper operator $`H_\sigma `$ is then given by

$$(H_\sigma f)(v):=\underset{\begin{array}{c}eE^+\\ 𝔱(e)=v\end{array}}{}\sigma (e)f(𝔬(e))\underset{\begin{array}{c}eE^+\\ 𝔬(e)=v\end{array}}{}\overline{\sigma (e)}f(𝔱(e))$$

and the DML $`\mathrm{\Delta }_\sigma `$ is defined by

$$(\mathrm{\Delta }_\sigma f)(v):=𝒪(v)f(v)(H_\sigma f)(v),$$

where $`𝒪(v)`$ is the valence of the vertex $`v`$.

For some $`s_\gamma `$ satisfying the weak $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$-invariance property for $`\sigma `$ (2.1), one can define the magnetic translation operators $`T_\gamma `$,

(2.2)
$$(T_\gamma f)(x)=s_\gamma (\gamma ^1x)f(\gamma ^1x).$$

These form an adjoint-closed set of operators over the space $`l^2(X)`$ of $`L^2`$ functions on the vertices of $`X`$, and thus determine a von Neumann algebra $`B(l^2(X))^{T_\mathrm{\Gamma }}`$ consisting of all operators over $`l^2(X)`$ that commute with the $`T_\gamma `$. This von Neumann algebra has a finite trace $`\mathrm{Tr}_\mathrm{\Gamma }`$, defined in (2.4). The DML is a self-adjoint operator in this von Neumann algebra, and so one can define its spectral density function $`F`$ by

(2.3)
$$F(\lambda )=\mathrm{Tr}_\mathrm{\Gamma }E(\lambda )$$

where $`E(\lambda )=\chi _{(\mathrm{},\lambda ]}(\mathrm{\Delta }_\sigma )`$ is the spectral projection of the DML for the interval $`(\mathrm{},\lambda ]`$.

More generally one can start with an adjoint-closed set of twisted translation operators $`T_\gamma `$ of the form (2.2), and then consider a self-adjoint bounded operator $`A`$ in the von Neumann algebra $`B(l^2(X))^{T_\mathrm{\Gamma }}`$ which — like the DML — has bounded propagation.

###### Definition 2.1.

An operator $`A`$ has *propagation bounded by $`R`$* if for any function $`fl^2(X)`$, the support of $`Af`$ is a subset of the $`R`$-neighborhood of the support of $`f`$ in the simplicial metric.

The operator $`A`$ is *weakly $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$-equivariant* if there exists a $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$-indexed set of functions $`t_\gamma :\mathrm{Vert}XU(1)`$ defining twisted translation operators $`T_\gamma `$:

$$(T_\gamma f)(x)=t_\gamma (\gamma ^1x)f(\gamma ^1x),$$

such that $`A`$ commutes with $`T_\gamma `$ and $`T_\gamma ^{}`$ for all $`\gamma \mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Then $`A`$ is an element of the associated von Neumann algebra $`B(l^2(X))^{T_\mathrm{\Gamma }}`$ with trace

(2.4)
$$\mathrm{Tr}_\mathrm{\Gamma }(A)=\underset{v}{}<A\delta _v,\delta _v>.$$

For each of the subgraphs $`X_m`$ one can define a finite operator $`A_m`$ by restricting $`A`$ to those functions with support on the vertices of $`X_m`$; explicitly, $`A_m=P_mAi_m`$ where $`P_m`$ is the orthogonal projection onto $`l^2(X_m)`$ and $`i_m:l^2(X_m)l^2(X)`$ is the canonical inclusion. We define the normalized spectral density functions of these restricted operators by

(2.5)
$$F_m(\lambda )=\frac{1}{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{\Lambda }_m}\mathrm{\#}\{\text{eigenvalues }\lambda \text{ of }A_m\text{, counting multiplicity}\}.$$

Part (i) of Theorem 2.6 of \[MY\] relates limits of these $`F_m`$ to the spectral density function $`F`$ of $`A`$ when $`A`$ is the discrete magnetic Laplacian. The argument deployed though extends trivially to bounded self-adjoint weakly $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$-equivariant operators of bounded propagation generally.

###### Theorem 2.2 (Weak spectral approximation theorem).

Take $`X`$ to be a graph as above, and let $`A`$ be a bounded self-adjoint weakly $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$-equivariant operator over $`l^2(X)`$ of bounded propagation, with restrictions $`A_m`$ to the regular exhaustion $`X_m`$ of $`X`$. Define the following limits of the normalized spectral density functions,

(2.6) $`\overline{F}(\lambda )`$ $`=\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim\; sup}F_m(\lambda )`$
$`\underset{¯}{F}(\lambda )`$ $`=\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim\; inf}F_m(\lambda )`$
$`\overline{F}^+(\lambda )`$ $`=\underset{\delta +0}{lim}\overline{F}(\lambda +\delta )`$
$`\underset{¯}{F}^+(\lambda )`$ $`=\underset{\delta +0}{lim}\underset{¯}{F}(\lambda +\delta ).`$
Then

(2.7)
$$F(\lambda )=\overline{F}^+(\lambda )=\underset{¯}{F}^+(\lambda ),\lambda .$$

###### Proof.

Refer to the proof of Theorem 2.6 of \[MY\]. ∎

As a direct consequence, one has that at every point $`\lambda `$ at which $`F`$ is continuous, that is, for every $`\lambda \mathrm{spec}_{\text{point}}A`$,

(2.8)
$$\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim}F_m(\lambda )=F(\lambda ).$$

In particular, equation (2.8) holds for all but at most a countable set of points. In the following section a new argument is presented that extends this result to all $`\lambda `$.

## 3. The strong spectral approximation result

A consequence of Theorem 2.2 is that if the jump of $`F`$ at a discontinuity $`\lambda `$ can be approximated by the jumps at $`\lambda `$ of the piece-wise constant normalized spectral density functions $`F_m`$, then the limit of $`F_m(\lambda )`$ exists and equals $`F(\lambda )`$.

We first need a small technical lemma.

###### Lemma 3.1.

Given two sequences $`\{a_i\}`$ and $`\{b_i\}`$ with $`a_ib_i`$ for all $`i`$, it follows that $`sup_ia_isup_ib_i`$ and $`inf_ia_iinf_ib_i`$.

In particular, if $`\{f_i\}`$ is a sequence of monotonically increasing functions, then $`lim\; inf_i\mathrm{}f_i`$ and $`lim\; sup_i\mathrm{}f_i`$ are also monotonically increasing.

###### Proof.

From $`a_ib_i`$ for all $`i`$, it follows that

$$\underset{i}{inf}a_ia_kb_k\underset{i}{sup}b_ik.$$

Then $`inf_ia_ib_k`$ for all $`k`$ implies $`inf_ia_iinf_ib_i`$, and $`a_ksup_ib_i`$ for all $`k`$ implies $`sup_ia_isup_ib_i`$.

Consider the sequence $`\{f_i\}`$ of monotonically increasing functions; for any $`\delta >0`$, $`f_i(x+\delta )f_i(x)`$ for every $`i`$. Therefore

$$\underset{i>k}{inf}f_i(x)\underset{i>k}{inf}f_i(x+\delta )k.$$

Taking the limit or supremum over $`k`$ then gives

$$\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim\; inf}f_k(x)\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim\; inf}f_k(x+\delta ),$$

that is, the function $`lim\; inf_k\mathrm{}f_k`$ is monotonically increasing. The same argument with $`sup`$ instead of $`inf`$ gives the corresponding inequality for $`lim\; sup_k\mathrm{}f_k`$. ∎

The corollary then follows from Theorem 2.2.

###### Corollary 3.2.

Denote by $`D(\lambda )`$ the jump in $`F`$ at $`\lambda `$,

$$D(\lambda )=\underset{\delta +0}{lim}F(\lambda )F(\lambda \delta ),$$

and similarly let $`D_m(\lambda )`$ be the jump in the normalized spectral density functions $`F_m`$,

$$D_m(\lambda )=\underset{\delta +0}{lim}F_m(\lambda )F_m(\lambda \delta ).$$

Then for any $`\lambda `$,

(3.1)
$$\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim}D_m(\lambda )=D(\lambda )\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim}F_m(\lambda )=F(\lambda ).$$

###### Proof.

Fix some $`ϵ>0`$ and $`\lambda `$, and suppose that $`lim_m\mathrm{}D_m(\lambda )=D(\lambda )`$. Then we will show that $`F(\lambda )3ϵ<F_m(\lambda )<F(\lambda )+ϵ`$ for all sufficiently large $`m`$.

By the right continuity and monotonicity of $`F`$, there exists a $`\delta >0`$ such that $`F(x)<F(\lambda )+\frac{ϵ}{2}`$ for all $`\lambda x<\lambda +\delta `$. The $`F_m`$ approach $`F`$ at all points of continuity of $`F`$; as $`F`$ has at most a countable number of discontinuities there exists some $`x_0[\lambda ,\lambda +\delta )`$ where $`lim_m\mathrm{}F_m(x_0)=F(x_0)<F(\lambda )+\frac{ϵ}{2}`$. So for $`m`$ greater than some $`M_1`$, it follows that $`F_m(x_0)<F(\lambda )+ϵ`$. The $`F_m`$ are monotonically increasing, so

(3.2)
$$M_1\text{such that}F_m(\lambda )<F(\lambda )+ϵm>M_1.$$

Now $`F(\lambda )=D(\lambda )+lim_{\delta +0}F(\lambda \delta )`$, so we can choose $`d`$ such that $`F(\lambda d)+D(\lambda )>F(\lambda )ϵ`$. As the $`F_m`$ are monotonically increasing functions, $`\underset{¯}{F}`$ is also by Lemma 3.1. By Theorem 2.2, $`\underset{¯}{F}^+(\mu )=F(\mu )`$ for all $`\mu `$. Therefore $`\underset{¯}{F}(\mu +\delta )>F(\mu )`$ for all $`\delta >0`$. Letting $`\mu =\lambda d`$ and $`\delta =\frac{d}{2}`$ gives $`\underset{¯}{F}(\lambda \frac{d}{2})>F(\lambda d)`$ and so for sufficiently large $`m`$, $`F_m(\lambda \frac{d}{2})>F(\lambda d)ϵ`$.

From $`F_m(\lambda )F_m(\lambda \frac{d}{2})+D_m(\lambda )`$ and $`F(\lambda d)>F(\lambda )D(\lambda )ϵ`$,

(3.3) $`M_2\text{such that}F_m(\lambda )`$ $`>F(\lambda d)ϵ+D_m(\lambda )`$
$`>F(\lambda )+D_m(\lambda )D(\lambda )2ϵ`$
$`F(\lambda )|D_m(\lambda )D(\lambda )|2ϵm>M_2.`$
By supposition, $`lim_m\mathrm{}D_m(\lambda )=D(\lambda )`$. In particular we can pick an $`M`$ greater than $`M_1`$ and $`M_2`$ such that $`|D_m(\lambda )D(\lambda )|<ϵ`$ for all $`m>M`$. Therefore

$$M\text{such that}m>MF(\lambda )+ϵ>F_m(\lambda )>F(\lambda )3ϵ,$$

and thus

$$\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim}D_m(\lambda )=D(\lambda )\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim}F_m(\lambda )=F(\lambda ).$$

The following theorem establishes this approximation of the jumps. Its proof is modelled on the argument in \[El\].

###### Theorem 3.3.

The jump $`D(\lambda )`$ of $`F`$ at $`\lambda `$ is the limit of the jumps of the normalized spectral density functions:

$$\underset{m\mathrm{}}{lim}D_m(\lambda )=D(\lambda )\lambda .$$

###### Proof.

Note that the jumps can be expressed in terms of the dimensions of kernels,

(3.4) $`D(\lambda )`$ $`=dim_\mathrm{\Gamma }\mathrm{ker}(A\lambda ),`$
$`D_m(\lambda )`$ $`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{\Lambda }_m}}dim\mathrm{ker}(A_m\lambda ).`$
Consider subsets $`Y_m`$ of $`X_m`$ consisting of the $`r`$-interior of $`X_m`$, where $`A`$ has propagation bounded by $`r`$.

For each $`X_m`$ define $`dim_{X_k}`$ for a subspace $`W`$ of $`l^2(X)`$ by

$$dim_{X_k}W=\frac{1}{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{\Lambda }_k}\underset{xX_k}{}P_W\delta _x,\delta _x$$

where $`P_W`$ is the orthogonal projection onto $`W`$. This has the following properties for subspaces $`W`$, $`V`$ of $`l^2(X)`$:

1. $`WVdim_{X_k}(WV)=dim_{X_k}W+dim_{X_k}V`$,
2. $`WVdim_{X_k}Wdim_{X_k}V`$,
3. $`P_WB(l^2(X))^{T_\mathrm{\Gamma }}dim_{X_k}W=dim_\mathrm{\Gamma }W`$,
4. $`Wl^2(X_k)dim_{X_k}W=\frac{1}{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{\Lambda }_k}dimW`$, regarding $`l^2(X_k)`$ as a subspace of $`l^2(X)`$.

In particular, $`dim_{X_k}l^2(X_k)=\mathrm{\#}`$ and $`dim_{X_k}l^2(Y_k)`$ converges to $`\mathrm{\#}`$ as $`k`$ approaches infinity.

Let $`i_m^{}:l^2(Y_m)l^2(X_m)`$ be the inclusion with $`(i_m^{}f)(x)=0`$ for all $`x`$ in $`X_mY_m`$. Let $`A_m^{}:l^2(Y_m)l^2(X_m)`$ be the operator $`A_mi_m^{}`$. For any function $`f`$ in $`l^2(Y_m)`$, $`(A_m^{}\lambda i_m^{})f=(A_m\lambda )(i_m^{}f)`$. Therefore as subspaces of $`l^2(X)`$,

(3.5) $`\mathrm{ker}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})`$ $`\mathrm{ker}(A_k\lambda ),`$
$`\mathrm{im}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})`$ $`\mathrm{im}(A_k\lambda ).`$
Let $`D_k^{}(\lambda )=\frac{1}{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{\Lambda }_m}dim\mathrm{ker}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})`$. Then taking $`dim_{X_k}`$,

$`D_k^{}(\lambda )=dim_{X_k}\mathrm{ker}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})`$ $`dim_{X_k}\mathrm{ker}(A_k\lambda )=D_k(\lambda ),`$
$`dim_{X_k}\mathrm{im}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})`$ $`dim_{X_k}\mathrm{im}(A_k\lambda ).`$
One also has for any $`m`$,

$$\begin{array}{c}\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}dim_{X_k}\mathrm{ker}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})+dim_{X_k}\mathrm{im}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})=\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}dim_{X_k}l^2(Y_k)\hfill \\ \hfill =\mathrm{\#}=dim_{X_m}\mathrm{ker}(A_m\lambda )+dim_{X_m}\mathrm{im}(A_m\lambda ).\end{array}$$

Consequently,

(3.6)
$$\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}D_k(\lambda )D_k^{}(\lambda )=0.$$

Recall that $`A_k=P_kAi_k`$, where $`P_k`$ is the projection onto $`l^2(X_k)`$ and $`i_k`$ is the canonical inclusion of $`l^2(X_k)`$ into $`l^2(X)`$. In terms of $`A`$ then, $`A_k^{}=P_kAi_ki_k^{}`$. By the bounded propagation of $`A`$, the support of $`Ai_ki_k^{}f`$ is contained within $`X_k`$ for any $`f`$ in $`l^2(Y_k)`$ and hence as in (3.5),

$`\mathrm{ker}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})`$ $`\mathrm{ker}(A\lambda ),`$
$`\mathrm{im}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})`$ $`\mathrm{im}(A\lambda ).`$
The kernel and image of $`A\lambda `$ are invariant under the twisted translations $`T_\gamma `$, and so for these subspaces, $`dim_{X_k}`$ equals $`dim_\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. It follows that

$`D_k^{}(\lambda )=dim_{X_k}\mathrm{ker}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})`$ $`dim_\mathrm{\Gamma }\mathrm{ker}(A_k\lambda )=D(\lambda ),`$
$`dim_{X_k}\mathrm{im}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})`$ $`dim_\mathrm{\Gamma }\mathrm{im}(A_k\lambda ),`$
and

$$\begin{array}{c}\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}dim_{X_k}\mathrm{ker}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})+dim_{X_k}\mathrm{im}(A_k^{}\lambda i_k^{})\hfill \\ \hfill =\mathrm{\#}=dim_\mathrm{\Gamma }\mathrm{ker}(A\lambda )+dim_\mathrm{\Gamma }\mathrm{im}(A\lambda ).\end{array}$$

Therefore

$$\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}D_k^{}(\lambda )=D(\lambda ),$$

which together with Equation (3.6) gives the required limit

$$\underset{k\mathrm{}}{lim}D_k(\lambda )=D(\lambda ).$$

Theorem 1.1 follows from Theorem 3.3 and Corollary 3.2.


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# A Quantum Tweezer for Atoms

## Abstract

We propose a quantum tweezer for extracting a desired number of neutral atoms from a reservoir. A trapped Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is used as the reservoir, taking advantage of its coherent nature, which can guarantee a constant outcome. The tweezer is an attractive quantum dot, which may be generated by red-detuned laser light. By moving at certain speeds, the dot can extract a desired number of atoms from the BEC through Landau-Zener tunneling. The feasibility of our quantum tweezer is demonstrated through realistic and extensive model calculations.

The manipulation and control of isolated single neutral atoms has been a long term goal with important applications in quantum computingqbit ; chuang  and fundamental physics. Trapping and cooling of single neutral atoms was first achieved in magneto-optical traps and more recently in a dipole trap Kimble ; Peng ; Kuhr ; Grangier . Despite these impressive successes, all existing methods share a common weakness: the trapping process itself is random and not deterministic. In this letter we propose a quantum tweezer that can extract a definite number of atoms from a reservoir at will, with the atoms in the ground state of the tweezer. A trapped Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is used as a reservoir and its coherent nature makes the constancy of the output possible. An attractive quantum dot, created by a focused beam of red-detuned laser light, serves as a quantum tweezer to extract a desired number of atoms from the BEC reservoir.

In a typical operation of the quantum tweezer, a quantum dot is turned on adiabatically inside the bulk of the BEC and moves out of the BEC at a certain speed so that a desired number of atoms is extracted (see Figure 1). In the initial stage of this operation, it is important that the system remains in the ground state of the trap+dot potential. The superfluidity of the BEC helps to suppress the excitations which might otherwise be induced by the turning on and movement of the quantum dot. The speed of the dot just needs to be slower than the speed of sound, and the rate of turning on of the dot potential be smaller than the frequency of phonons whose wavelength is comparable to the size of the dot.

The crucial part of the tweezer operation is when the dot moves out of the BEC. Inside the BEC, when the coupling between the trap and dot is still stronger than the atom self-interaction within the dot, the system is in a coherent state in which the number of atoms in the dot strongly fluctuates. Outside the BEC, the coupling drops exponentially with distance and eventually becomes negligible compared to the self-interaction; the eigenstates of the system are then Fock states in which the dot contains a definite number of atoms. In the general case, the dot exits the condensate in a superposition of eigenstates. However, under certain circumstances, we can steer the state into a prescribed final state, with a definite number of particles in the dot.

Starting from the ground state of the system with the dot at a certain position inside the BEC we start moving the dot outwards. At an infinitesimally slow speed, the system always stays in the lowest energy state and no atoms are extracted, simply because moving out of the BEC costs potential energy of the atoms. At some finite speed, the system may get stuck in a non-zero number state of the dot, and become de-coupled from the BEC before the atoms in the dot have a chance to leak back. In the following, we will give a detailed account of this phenomenon through a realistic model calculation. In Figure 2, we show a result for the probability of extracting a single atom as a function of the speed of the dot. The plateau extends several orders of magnitude of the speed, demonstrating the robustness of our quantum tweezer.

Our focus is on the crucial stage of the quantum tweezer operation–when the dot is leaving the BEC cloud. In this case, the density is low and the interaction between atoms in the dot and atoms in the condensate is weak. The state of the system can then be expressed as a combination of atoms in the dot (with wavefunction $`\varphi _d`$) and atoms in the BEC trap (with wavefunction $`\varphi _B`$, properly orthogonalized to $`\varphi _d`$ orthogonalized ). These two wavefunctions are chosen as the adiabatic ground state of the system when the dot is motionless and the coupling between these two sets of atoms is negligible.

The Hamiltonian of the system is $`\widehat{H}=𝑑x\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}^{}(x)[\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2M}^2+V_t(x)+V_d(x,t)+\frac{g}{2}\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}^{}(x)\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}(x)]\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}(x)`$. We can write $`\widehat{\mathrm{\Psi }}(x)=\varphi _B(x)\widehat{c}+\varphi _d(x)\widehat{a}`$ in the weak coupling limit, where $`\widehat{c}`$ annihilates an atom in the trap and $`\widehat{a}`$ annihilates an atom in the dot. We shall denote the state with $`n`$ atoms in the dot (and $`Nn`$ atoms in the BEC) by $`|n`$; an atom jumping from the dot to the BEC corresponds to the transition $`|n|n1`$. Given that $`\varphi _d(x)`$ is much more localized than $`\varphi _B(x)`$, the repulsion felt by the atoms in the dot is stronger than the one felt by the ones in the BEC. This asymmetry between the two potentials yields $`n`$ much smaller than $`N`$ in general and sets our system apart from two-state condensates discussed elsewhere Leggett .

The non-vanishing matrix elements of the Hamiltonian are (for $`nN`$)

$`n|\widehat{H}|n`$ $`=`$ $`E_nnE_1+{\displaystyle \frac{n(n1)}{2}}\nu ,`$ (1)
$`n|\widehat{H}|n+1`$ $`=`$ $`n+1|\widehat{H}|n=\sqrt{n+1}[\mathrm{\Delta }+nG],`$ (2)
$`n|\widehat{H}|n+2`$ $`=`$ $`n+2|\widehat{H}|n=\sqrt{(n+1)(n+2)}A.`$ (3)
The parameters depend on the position $`x_d`$ of the dot and can be explicitly calculated. $`E_1=ϵ_d+V_t(x_d)\mu +4A`$ accounts for the energy difference between the ground state in the dot and the chemical potential $`\mu `$ while $`\nu =gJ_{0,4}`$ represents the repulsion an atom in the dot feels from another atom there. We have defined the generalized overlap integrals as $`J_{m,n}=𝑑x(\varphi _B)^m(\varphi _d)^n`$. Notice that $`E_1`$ increases as the dot moves away from the center of the BEC. The off-diagonal terms are the couplings that allow an atom to tunnel from the dot to the BEC (or vice versa) either by itself or in pairs. The two terms in $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\sqrt{N}[\varphi _B|V_t|\varphi _d+gNJ_{3,1}]`$ correspond to quantum tunneling over a barrier and the interaction of a particle in the dot with three atoms in the BEC trap, respectively; this last term dominates when the dot is inside the BEC cloud. Equivalently, $`G=g\sqrt{N}J_{1,3}`$ is due to the interaction of three atoms in the dot with one atom in the trap. Finally, $`A=gNJ_{2,2}/2`$ is due to the interaction of two atoms in the trap with two in the dot. Outside of the BEC the off-diagonal terms vanish exponentially, since the overlap integrals do so.

Although our scheme works in any dimensionality, we concentrate in what follows on a dilute, one-dimensional condensate Gorlitz  as an example. Such a system can be obtained by tightly confining the cloud in the transverse directions, in which the atomic dynamics are frozen out. The coupling constant is $`g=4\pi a_s\mathrm{}/(M_{atom}L^2)`$, where $`a_s`$ is the $`s`$-wave scattering length and $`L`$ is the length of the perpendicular confinement. We shall express our results in the following units: length in units of $`L_0=1\mu `$m, time in units of $`M_{atom}L_0^2/\mathrm{}`$, and energy in units of $`\mathrm{}^2/(M_{atom}L_0^2)`$.

We plot in the bottom panel of Figure 3 our calculation of the energy levels as a function of the position for a harmonic trap with frequency $`\omega =0.005`$ and $`N=10,000`$ atoms. The dot used is a square potential with depth $`U_0=8`$ and width $`a=1`$; the coupling constant is $`g=8`$. The edge of the condensate cloud is marked by the dotted line change of slope . For comparison, the top panel shows the curves $`E_n(x)`$, corresponding to the energies of states with $`n`$ atoms in the dot in the absence of the tunneling terms. The wavefunction for the BEC was calulated by numerical solution of the Schrödinger equation in imaginary time imaginary time solution .

Let us consider the evolution of the number of atoms in the dot as the dot moves out of the BEC, with the help of Figure 3. It is possible for an atom to tunnel out of the dot when there is no extra energy required to do so, i.e., when the energy for $`n`$ atoms in the dot is equal to the energy of $`n1`$ atoms in the dot. This is shown in the top panel of Figure 3 as the locations where the curves for $`E_n`$ and $`E_{n1}`$ cross. These crossings also correspond to the resonance condition that we see in Figure 1, the extra energy due to the $`n`$-th atom being equal to the chemical potential $`\mu `$ of the condensate extra . The possibility of tunneling out is realized by the off-diagonal terms, which open up energy gaps in the crossings as seen in the bottom panel of Fig. 3. As demanded by the quantum adiabatic theorem, starting in the ground state (the lowest curve) at some position $`x`$, if the dot moves infinitesimally slow the system remains in its ground state by losing one atom at each avoided crossing. When the dot is finally outside the condensate, no more atoms are left in it. Note that only one atom is allowed to leak out of the dot at each crossing with the ground state, due to the dimishing repulsion between atoms in the dot as there are less atoms in it (see Fig. 1). The next atom would have a chance of leaking to the condensate as the dot moves further away from the center of the BEC trap and lifts up its potential energy.

On the other hand, if the dot is moving at a finite speed there is a probability for the system to tunnel through the gap into an excited state, which corresponds to an atom not leaking back to the condensate when it is energetically allowed to do so. In the extreme (sudden) case in which the dot moves at infinite speed the system remains in its initial state, the atoms in the dot having no time to leak. For an atom moving at speed $`v`$, the probability for Landau-Zener (LZ) tunneling Landau-Zener  on the width $`\delta `$ of the gap as $`P_{LZ}=\mathrm{exp}(\delta ^2/2\alpha v)`$, where $`\alpha `$ is the difference in the slopes of the two intersecting curves, which is approximately equal to $`dE_1/dx`$. For a dot moving at fixed speed $`v`$, the evolution is adiabatic ($`P_{LZ}<0.01`$) if $`\delta >(9.21\alpha v)^{1/2}`$ and sudden ($`P_{LZ}>0.99`$) if $`\delta <(0.02\alpha v)^{1/2}`$.

We can rewrite the resonance condition as $`E_1=(n1)\nu `$. Using the definition of $`E_1`$ and the fact that outside the BEC the off-diagonal terms are exponentially small, we can see that transitions take place outside the BEC (i.e. $`V(x_d)\mu >0`$) when

$$ϵ_d+(n1)\nu <0.$$
(4)
Notice in particular that the $`|1|0`$ transition always takes place outside the BEC. Such transitions are typically sudden in the sense of the LZ tunneling, due to the smallness of $`\delta `$ there. We can design a situation in which all transitions with $`nn_0`$ take place inside the condensate while those with $`n<n_0`$ occur outside the cloud. A dot moving at a speed slow enough for all transitions inside the cloud to be adiabatic extracts then exactly $`n_0`$ atoms.

This is demonstrated in Figure 2, where we show the probability of extracting one atom as a function of the velocity of the dot. The calculation was performed assuming the system to be initially in the ground state some distance inside the BEC and integrating the equations of motion with the Hamiltonian matrix (1-3).

In Figure 4 we show the calculated evolution of the probability of finding no atoms (dashed), one atom (dotted), and two atoms (solid lines) in the dot as a function of position for three different speeds of the dot. The top panel show the adiabatic result, obtained for $`v`$ that is several orders of magnitude smaller than the smallest speed in Figure 2. As expected, after the $`|2|1`$ transition has taken place there is one atom in the dot, while after the $`|1|0`$ transition there are none left. The middle panel corresponds to a slow speed, for which the evolution is adiabatic everywhere except at the $`|1|0`$ transition, whose LZ tunneling is sudden. Under these circumstances, the dot ends up with exactly one atom once it is outside the condensate. The last panel shows the evolution for an even larger speed. In this case the LZ tunneling takes place only partially and the outcome corresponds to a superposition of number states. One important point illustrated clearly in this figure is that there is no definite number of atoms in the dot during most of the evolution.

We can also find a situation in which for a certain range of speeds the output is two particles while for a different range (and for all other parameters fixed) the output is one particle, both with high certainty. This is achieved by choosing the $`|2|1`$ transition next to the edge of the cloud, so that both it and the $`|3|2`$ transitions have appreciable gaps opened at the crossing. In Figure 5 we show the energy levels for this case, while in Figure 6 we see the probability of extracting one and two atoms as a function of the speed of the dot. We can clearly see that there are two separate plateaus at different ranges of speed.

Finally, we would like to make some remarks about the generality of our method. The parameters defining the Hamiltonian matrix elements depend on the density of the trapped BEC at the location of the dot. We expect the general behavior found in our one dimensional calculations to remain true in any number of dimensions, since the motion of the dot singles out a direction and the other dimensions get effectively integrated out. Moreover, since the density of the BEC at the location of the dot is unchanged by the location of other dots elsewhere, we can consider a train of dots extracting atoms from the BEC independently of each other.

This work has been supported by the NSF and the Welch Foundation.


text:
# AGN-Galaxy Clustering with the Panoramic Deep Fields

## 1. The Panoramic Deep Fields

The environments of radio-quiet AGN and radio galaxies have been measured using the Panoramic Deep Fields, a $`UB_JRI`$ imaging survey of two $`5^{}\times 5^{}`$ fields with a depth of $`B_J23.5`$ and $`R22.5`$. The wide field-of-view and depth was obtained by coadding SuperCOSMOS scans of UK Schmidt photographic plates. The resulting galaxy catalogues contain more than $`2\times 10^5`$ galaxies per field and thus provide the large sample size required for accurate estimates of AGN-galaxy clustering. As the galaxy catalogues contain more than 1000 objects with spectroscopic redshifts from the NED database, the polynomial fitting technique of Connolly et al. (1995) was used to estimate photometric redshifts for all galaxies with $`B_J`$ and $`R`$-band detections. The B1950 coordinates of the field centres are $`00532803`$ (SGP field) and $`1040+0000`$ (F855 field). Access to the galaxy catalogue and cutout images are available via http://astro.ph.unimelb.edu.au/data/.

## 2. Radio-quiet AGN

The environments of $`z<0.7`$ radio-quiet AGN were measured using the Panoramic Deep Fields galaxy catalogues and 109 $`UB_JR`$ selected AGN with spectroscopic identifications from La Franca et al. (1999) and Croom et al. (2001). Galaxy clustering is a function of restframe colour so the galaxy sample was split into red (early-type) and blue (late-type) subsamples which were selected using the $`B_JR`$ colour of a non-evolving Sbc template as a function of $`z`$ and the galaxy photometric redshifts.

AGN-galaxy clustering was measured using the angular cross-correlation function. The spatial cross-correlation function was then determined with Limber’s equation (Limber 1954), the angular cross-correlation function, AGN spectroscopic redshifts and the smoothed distribution of galaxy photometric redshifts. A thorough description of the techniques and their application to the SGP field is provided by Brown, Boyle & Webster (2001). The clustering of blue galaxies around radio-quiet AGN is weak and was detected with low signal-to-noise resulting in poor constraints on the radio-quiet AGN-blue galaxy spatial cross-correlation function.

The signal-to-noise of the angular cross-correlation function is decreased by AGN-galaxy pairs which are not physically associated with each other. For objects with good redshift estimates, it is possible to increase the signal-to-noise of the angular cross-correlation function by excluding object pairs which can not be physically associated. While the photometric redshifts of $`z>0.3`$ blue galaxies have errors comparable to the redshift estimate, the photometric redshifts of red galaxies have $`1\sigma `$ errors of $`<20\%`$. The radio-quiet AGN-red galaxy angular cross-correlation function determined with AGN-galaxy pairs with redshifts within $`2\sigma `$ of each other is shown in Figure 1. A power-law provides a good approximation of the observed clustering in both of the Panoramic Deep Fields. The spatial cross-correlation was approximated by a power-law of the form

$$\xi (r)=(r/r_0)^\gamma $$
(1)
where $`r`$ is the spatial separation in comoving coordinates and $`r_0`$ and $`\gamma `$ are constants. The values of $`r_0`$ (with $`\gamma =1.9`$) are $`8\pm 3h^1\mathrm{Mpc}`$ and $`10\pm 2h^1\mathrm{Mpc}`$ in the F855 and SGP fields respectively. The values of $`r_0`$ are comparable to those determined for early-type galaxies (Brown, Boyle & Webster 2001). There is no evidence of a systematic increase or decrease of $`r_0`$ with redshift.

## 3. Radio Galaxies

The environments of radio galaxies were measured using 230 radio galaxies from Brown, Webster & Boyle (2001). The radio galaxy-galaxy angular cross-correlation function is significantly stronger than the radio-quiet AGN-galaxy cross-correlation function. However, estimates of the value of $`r_0`$ vary by a factor of $`2`$ between the SGP and F855 fields. A possible cause of the variations from field-to-field is large-scale-structure. The cluster catalogue of Brown, Webster & Boyle (2002) shows structures with sizes comparable to the field-of-view. Figure 2, a comparison of the distribution of radio galaxies and clusters in the F855 field, shows radio galaxies and clusters tracing the same large-scale-structure across the field.

The radio galaxy-cluster spatial cross-correlation function is extremely strong with $`\gamma 2.8`$ and $`r_0`$ values of $`9\pm 2h^1\mathrm{Mpc}`$ and $`10\pm 2h^1\mathrm{Mpc}`$ in the F855 and SGP fields respectively. The strength of the clustering is consistent with radio galaxies tracing the same structures as clusters. As with radio-quiet AGN, there is no evidence of significant evolution of $`r_0`$ with redshift.

## 4. Summary

The Panoramic Deep Fields have been used to measure the AGN-galaxy cross-correlation function for radio-quiet AGN and radio galaxies. By applying colour selection and photometric redshift criteria, it has been possible to significantly increase the signal-to-noise of the angular cross-correlation function. The clustering of red (early-type) galaxies around $`UB_JR`$ selected AGN is comparable to the clustering of early-type galaxies at low redshift. The clustering of galaxies around radio galaxies is strong though large variations in the clustering strength are observed between the two Panoramic Deep Fields. The distribution and spatial cross-correlation function of radio galaxies and galaxy clusters indicate that these objects trace the same large-scale-structures.

## References

Brown, M. J. I., Webster, R. L., & Boyle, B. J. 2001, AJ, 121, 2381

Brown, M. J. I., Boyle, B. J.,& Webster, R. L. 2001, AJ, 122, 26

Brown, M. J. I., Webster, R. L., & Boyle, B. J. 2002, MNRAS, in preparation

Connolly, A. J., Csabai, I., Szalay, A. S., Koo, D. C., Kron, R. G., & Munn, J. A. 1995, AJ, 110, 2655

Croom, S. M., Smith, R. J., Boyle, B. J., Shanks, T., Loaring, N. S., Miller, L., & Lewis, I. J. MNRAS, 2001, 322

La Franca, F., Lissandrini, C., Cristiani, S., Miller, S., Hawkins, M. R. S., & MacGillivray, H. T. 1999, A&AS, 140, 351

Limber, D. N. 1953, ApJ, 117, 134


text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

It is well known that the creation of an open homogeneous universe requires either very special potentials  or fine tuned initial conditions . Thus, for example, the early mechanism suggested by Coleman and De Luccia , requires a special class of inflaton effective potentials which have a metastable minimum followed by a small slope region which permits a further slow-roll inflation. The inflaton field is supposed to be initially trapped in the false vacuum leading to a period of inflation, which gives an almost de Sitter space with small quantum fluctuations. The field eventually undergoes a quantum tunnelling, nucleating bubbles within which it slowly rolls down to the true vacuum. The interior of such a bubble is actually an open universe. To keep the quantum fluctuations small, a very flat potential is required while one also requires a metastable minimum. Thus this scenario can only be realised at the cost of having very special potentials and fine tunings.

An interesting alternative mechanism was suggested recently by Hawking and Turok (HT) , which aims to remove some of these shortcomings. The HT mechanism makes use of the no–boundary proposal of Hartle and Hawking  and provides a novel technique for creating an open inflationary universe described by a singular instanton obtained in a minisuperspace model with an inflaton field. The HT instanton provides a method of calculating the probability of the creation of a homogeneous open universe while removing the requirement of a false vacuum and at the same time giving rise to a universe with small quantum fluctuations. Despite its novelty, several aspects of this mechanism have been criticised. For example Vilenkin  has criticised the use of a singular instanton and has produced a counter-example, whereby a model with a minimally coupled massless scalar field which permits a singular instanton has been shown to lead to catastrophic results. The proposal and this controversy have led to considerable work in this field. Gratton and Turok  have argued that singular instantons should not be ignored, as suggested by Vilenkin, as the field configurations contributing to the path integral are in any case non-differentiable. Wu  has pointed out that the singular instantons should be treated as constrained solutions which are not the stationary points of the gravitational action. Turok  has further suggested that a careful treatment of these instantons may remove the instability pointed out by Vilenkin. Unruh  has shown that the instanton creates a finite bounded universe of which the homogeneous hyperbolic geometry is a part. Linde  has suggested the introduction of a change of sign in the Euclidean action for an instanton in quantum cosmology, giving the probability $`Pe^S`$, different from what one obtains with the proposal of Hartle and Hawking. Bousso and Hawking  have shown that with Linde’s prescription the creation of a universe with large numbers of black holes is favoured resulting in a universe without a radiation dominated era. Further work on open inflation has also been done in the context of scalar-tensor gravity theories  and in higher dimensions. Garriga  has given a method for obtaining HT instantons in four dimensions by dimensional reduction of higher dimensional non-singular instantons. By including a cosmological constant in the theory, he obtains a non-singular instanton, although eleven dimensional supergravity theory does not have a cosmological constant. Such a theory has, however, been shown  to permit also a singular instanton.

Given the potential importance of the HT scenario, it is of interest to study its robustness with respect to additional ingredients that are expected to be present. Here as a step in this direction, we shall consider the effects of including higher derivative corrections to the gravitational action, on the existence of both non-singular de Sitter and singular HT-type solutions. Quadratic and higher-order terms in the Riemann curvature tensor and its traces appear in the low-energy limit of superstrings , as well as when the usual perturbation expansion is applied to General Relativity . For example, it is known that with suitable counter terms viz $`C^{\mu \nu \rho \delta }C_{\mu \nu \rho \delta },R^2,\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ added to the Einstein action one may obtain a perturbation theory which is well behaved, formally renormalizable and asymptotically free. Some singular as well as non-singular instanton solutions have recently been presented in the case of quadratic Lagrangians . The renormalisation of higher loop contributions introduces terms into the effective action that are higher than quadratic order. Consequently it is important to also study the effects of these additional terms. In this paper we shall study the effects of including higher order terms, by looking at the effects of including $`R^3`$-contributions to the action. By employing the conformal equivalence of higher-order gravity theories with Einstein gravity coupled to matter fields, we argue that this term is prototypical of the higher order terms than quadratic, and in this sense represents a more general perturbation to the Einstein–Hilbert action than the $`R^2`$-correction, at least within the context of four-dimensional FLRW space-times. This allows us to find the range of parameters in each theory for which the singular HT as well as non-singular instantons exist in these more general settings.

The outline of the paper is as follows. In section 2, we obtain the conditions for the existence of de Sitter instanton solutions in higher derivative theories, in particular in quadratic and cubic theories. Section 3 contains an analogous study in the presence of a scalar field, using the equivalence picture, obtained by a conformal transformation of the higher order gravitational Lagrangians. Included are also the conditions for the existence of both singular and the non-singular instantons permitted in the two theories, as well a comparative study of the two. Finally section 4 contains our conclusions.

## 2 Instantons in higher derivative theories

We consider a theory described by the following Euclidean action

$$I_E=\frac{1}{16\pi }f(R)\sqrt{g}d^4x\frac{1}{8\pi }_MKf^{}(R)\sqrt{h}d^3x$$
(2.1)
where $`g`$ is the determinant of the 4-dimensional metric, $`f`$ is a differentiable function of the scalar curvature $`R`$, $`h_{ij}`$ is the metric induced on $`M`$, $`K=h^{ij}K_{ij}`$ is the trace of the second fundamental form, and prime denotes differentiation with respect to the argument of the function. Here we shall mainly be concerned with the case where $`f(R)`$ is given by the general polynomial function

$$f(R)=\underset{n=0}{\overset{N}{}}\lambda _nR^n.$$
(2.2)
Choosing $`N=2`$, one obtains the quadratic Lagrangian which, as was mentioned above, is known to have a number interesting features. Such quadratic terms in the Riemann curvature tensor and its trace also appear in the Gauss-Bonnet combination, as well as in the low energy limit of the superstring theory. If one only considers the conformally flat space-times in 4 dimensions, then in the quadratic theory the Gauss-Bonnet combination essentially reduces to a $`R^2`$ term. We shall, however, also consider the general cases, the prototype of which is the cubic case.

As in the work of Hawking and Turok , we are interested in $`O(4)`$ symmetric Euclidean instanton solutions described by the metric

$$ds^2=d\sigma ^2+b^2(\sigma )\left(d\psi ^2+sin^2\psi d\mathrm{\Omega }_2^2\right)$$
(2.3)
where $`d\mathrm{\Omega }_2^2`$ is the metric of 2-sphere. The scalar curvature for this metric is given by

$$R=6\left(\frac{\ddot{b}}{b}+\frac{\dot{b}^2}{b^2}\frac{1}{b^2}\right),$$
(2.4)
where a dot denotes a derivative with respect to $`\sigma `$. Considering $`b`$ and $`R`$ as independent variables we rewrite the action (2.1), including the constraint given by (2.4), through a Lagrange multiplier $`\beta `$, in the form

$$I_E=\frac{\pi }{4}𝑑\sigma \left[f(R)b^3\beta \left(R+6\frac{\ddot{b}}{b}+6\frac{\dot{b}^2}{b^2}\frac{6}{b^2}\right)\right]$$

$$\frac{1}{8\pi }_Md^3x\sqrt{h}Kf^{}(R).$$
(2.5)
The variation of the action (2.5) with respect to R gives

$$\beta =b^3f^{}(R).$$
(2.6)
Substituting from (2.6) in Eq.(2.5) we obtain

$$I_E=\frac{\pi }{4}_{\sigma =0}^{\sigma _M}\left[(f(R)Rf^{}(R))b^3+6\left(f^{}(R)b\dot{b}^2+f^{\prime \prime }(R)\dot{R}b^2\dot{b}+bf^{}(R)\right)\right]𝑑\sigma $$

$$+3\pi [\dot{b}b^2f^{}(R)]_{\sigma =0}.$$
(2.7)
The variation of the action (2.7) with respect to $`b`$ yields

$$2\frac{\ddot{b}}{b}+\frac{\dot{b}^21}{b^2}+\frac{f^{\prime \prime \prime }(R)}{f^{}(R)}\dot{R}^2+\frac{f^{\prime \prime }(R)}{f^{}(R)}\ddot{R}+2\frac{f^{\prime \prime }(R)}{f^{}(R)}\frac{\dot{b}}{b}\dot{R}\frac{1}{2}\frac{f(R)}{f^{}(R)}+\frac{1}{2}R=0.$$
(2.8)
The de Sitter instanton solution has the form

$$b=H_o^1\mathrm{sin}H_o\sigma $$
(2.9)
where $`H_o`$ is a constant which upon using (2.4) is found to be $`R_o=12H_o^2`$. For a de Sitter instanton solution, equation (2.8) therefore reduces to an equation for $`R_o`$ in the form,

$$\frac{f^{}(R_o)}{f(R_o)}=\frac{2}{R_o},$$
(2.10)
which in turn shows that for a polynomial action of the form (2.2), a de Sitter instanton will exist for any real solution $`x=R_o`$ of the equation

$$\underset{n=0}{\overset{N}{}}(n2)\lambda _nx^n=0.$$
(2.11)
The two cases of special interest for us are the quadratic and cubic Lagrangians:

I. The quadratic case

Considering the quadratic ($`N=2`$) truncation of the Lagrangian (2.2), in the form

$$f_2(R)=2\mathrm{\Lambda }+R+\alpha R^2$$
(2.12)
the condition (2.10) for the existence of a de Sitter instanton solution becomes $`R=4\mathrm{\Lambda }=12H_o^2`$, which implies that in this case no such solutions exist for $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$.

II. The cubic case

Considering the cubic truncation ($`N=3`$) of the action (2.2), in the form

$$f_3(R)=2\mathrm{\Lambda }+R+\alpha R^2+\beta R^3,$$
(2.13)
Eq. (2.10) implies that in this case a de Sitter instanton will exist for any real positive root of the equation

$$\beta x^3x+4\mathrm{\Lambda }=0.$$

Note that as opposed to the quadratic case, in this case de Sitter instanton solutions can also exist for $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$, and are given by $`R=12H_o^2=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\beta }}`$. Note also that in both the quadratic and cubic cases, the existence conditions for the instanton solutions are independent of the parameter $`\alpha `$, the reason being that the quadratic term in each action satisfies the equation (2.11) identically. The corresponding action, however, does depend on it.

III. The general polynomial case

The existence of de Sitter instanton solutions in the the case of a higher order theory based on the general Lagrangian (2.2) depends on the algebraic equation (2.11) having a real solution. This raises two important questions. Firstly, given the existence of de Sitter instanton solutions in a lower order Lagrangian theory, what are the effects of switching on higher order terms? Secondly, given that as $`N`$ increases the number of roots of the equation (2.11) also increase, what is the likelihood that such an equation has a real root and hence a de Sitter instanton solution.

The former question relates to the question of stability or fragility of the de Sitter instanton solution with respect to addition of higher order terms to the Lagrangians . In this connection it is clear that as $`N\mathrm{}`$, there is a real solution for every odd $`N`$ but not necessarily for an even $`N`$. More generally it is known that if the series expansions are convergent (representing some analytic function say on $`\{|z|<r\}`$) and if $`T:\{|z|<s\}`$, where $`s<r`$, then for large $`N`$, the number of real zeros of the infinite series, representing the function in $`T`$ is the same as the number of real zeros of any partial sum of size greater than $`N`$, counting zeros by multiplicity . Regarding the latter, the results by Kac  concerning the probability of n-th order polynomials to have real roots demonstrates that this is in fact rare, thus demonstrating that such theories are likely to have only few de Sitter instanton solutions (see also ,  ). The above two points are important to bear in mind when considering such solutions in more general settings where higher order Lagrangian terms are present.

Now the primary criterion for deciding whether an instanton solution is physically favoured is to compute the Euclidean action $`S_E`$ . The wave function for the system to the leading approximation is then given by $`e^{S_E}`$. This allows the calculation of the probability of creation of a de Sitter universe, described by these instantons. The Euclidean action, which is obtained by integrating over half of the $`S^4`$ is, for the general action (2.1) considered here, given by

$$I_{dS}=\frac{\pi }{6H_o^4}f(H_o^2).$$
(2.14)
For the quadratic and cubic cases considered here, these actions take the explicit forms

$${}_{}{}^{2}I_{dS}^{}=\left[\frac{3\pi }{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}+12\pi \alpha \right],$$
(2.15)
$${}_{}{}^{3}I_{dS}^{}=\left[\frac{2\pi }{H_o^2}\frac{\pi \mathrm{\Lambda }}{2H_o^4}+12\pi \alpha \right]$$
(2.16)
respectively, where $`H_o`$ is given by $`12H_o^2=R_o`$ and $`R_o`$ is a real positive root of the equation (2.11). Note that an increase in the values of $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$ enhances the probability of the creation of the de Sitter instanton. Although the solution (2.9) does not depend on $`\alpha `$, the action cannot remain negative unless $`\alpha >\frac{1}{8\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$. Thus we obtain a lower bound on $`\alpha `$ for the quadratic case. In the cubic case, if $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$, $`R=12H_o^2=1/\sqrt{\beta }`$, and hence a negative $`\beta `$ is not allowed in this case. Since $`H_o`$ is independent of $`\alpha `$, it is obvious that a larger $`\alpha >0`$, will give greater probability of creation.

To obtain an open inflationary universe, one considers the $`O(4)`$ symmetric metric (2.3) and substitutes $`\psi =\frac{\pi }{2}+i\tau `$ to obtain

$$ds^2=d\sigma ^2+b^2(\sigma )\left(d\tau ^2+cosh^2\tau d\mathrm{\Omega }_2^2\right)$$
(2.17)
which is a spatially inhomogeneous de Sitter like metric. Now setting $`\sigma =it`$ and $`\tau =i\frac{\pi }{2}+\chi `$, the metric (2.17) becomes

$$ds^2=dt^2+a^2(t)\left(d\chi ^2+\mathrm{sinh}^2\chi d\mathrm{\Omega }_2^2\right)$$
(2.18)
with $`a(t)=ib(it)`$, which is a singular expanding open model.

Our aim here is to find out the precise conditions under which the HT singular instantons  are permitted in each case considered above. We shall do this in the next section by employing a conformal transformation which converts both the quadratic and cubic Lagrangian theories into Einstein gravity with a minimally coupled, self interacting scalar field $`\varphi `$.

## 3 Instantons in the conformally equivalence picture

It is well known that the theories with higher order Lagrangians are conformally equivalent to Einstein gravity with a matter sector containing a minimally coupled, self interacting scalar field $`\varphi `$, with an effective potential $`V(\varphi )`$ . The precise form of the self interaction of the scalar field is determined by the higher derivative terms in the action. For a general polynomial Lagrangian of order $`n`$ of the form (2.2), the form of the potential is extremely complicated. However, one can obtain the qualitative behavior of the potentials for all values of $`n`$ at small and large values of the field $`\varphi `$. The asymptotic behavior of potentials at infinity depends on the combination of the highest degree of the Lagrangian polynomial and the dimensionality $`D`$ of space-time. In particular, for $`D>2N`$ the potential is unbounded from above, for $`D=2N`$ it flattens into a plateau and for $`D<2N`$ it has an exponentially decaying tail . Importantly, for $`D<2N`$, $`V(\varphi )`$ remains qualitatively the same as $`N`$ increases. As a result, in the 4 dimensional case, the qualitative behavior of $`V(\varphi )`$ does not change relative to the $`R^3`$ case even when higher order terms with $`N>3`$ are considered. This implies that the $`n=2`$ contribution is rather special in four dimensions, and that the $`R^3`$-term is in this sense more generic, being prototypical of higher order perturbations to the action. Thus, it is important to check if the results of the quadratic theory are robust with respect to the more general $`R^3`$ perturbations. It is also worth mentioning in this connection the results of  which show that in the case of the cubic theories, there exists a region of parameter space in which neither the tunnelling nor the Hartle-Hawking boundary conditions predict a suitable inflationary scenario, good enough to solve the horizon and flatness problems, contrary to what is obtained in the case of quadratic theories. We note that another cubic term, $`R\mathrm{}R`$, which may also be reduced to a theory of Einstein gravity, minimally coupled to two scalar fields, after a suitable conformal transformation, is not considered here.

As was mentioned above, the theory represented by the Lagrangian $`f(R)`$ can be written as a scalar field theory minimally coupled to Einstein gravity. More precisely, considering a conformal transformation of the form

$$\stackrel{~}{g}_{\mu \nu }=\mathrm{\Omega }^2g_{\mu \nu }$$
(3.19)
where $`\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{\Omega }=\frac{\varphi }{\sqrt{6}}=\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{ln}|f^{}(R)|`$, allows such a general action to be transformed into

$$I=\sqrt{\stackrel{~}{g}}\left[R(\stackrel{~}{g})\frac{1}{2}(\stackrel{~}{}\varphi )^2V(\varphi )\right],$$
(3.20)
with $`V(\varphi )=\frac{1}{2}e^{2\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}\varphi }\left[R\frac{f}{R}f(R)\right]`$. Thus knowing the precise form of $`f(R)`$, allows the corresponding potential to be determined, in principle.

The Einstein field equations corresponding to the action (3.20) is derived using the equation $`\frac{I}{\stackrel{~}{g}^{\mu \nu }}=0`$ and the scalar field equation is obtained from $`\frac{I}{\varphi }=0`$. Choosing $`\stackrel{~}{g}`$ to be given by the metric

$$ds^2=d\stackrel{~}{\sigma }^2+a^2(\stackrel{~}{\sigma })\left(d\psi ^2+\mathrm{sin}^2\psi d\mathrm{\Omega }_2^2\right),$$
(3.21)
the corresponding field equations become

$$3\left[\frac{a^21}{a^2}\right]=\left[\frac{1}{2}\varphi _{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}V(\varphi )\right],$$
(3.22)
$$\varphi ^{\prime \prime }+3\frac{a^{}}{a}\varphi ^{}=\frac{V}{\varphi },$$
(3.23)
where primes denote derivatives with respect to $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }`$. We now look for non-singular de Sitter as well as singular HT instanton solutions of these equations. The two cases of interest to us here are the theories with quadratic and cubic Lagrangians.

I. The quadratic case

In this case the Lagrangian takes the form $`f(R)=R+\alpha R^22\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, with the corresponding scalar field potential given by

$$V(\varphi )=\frac{1}{8\alpha }e^{2\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}\varphi }\left[e^{\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}\varphi }1\right]^2+\mathrm{\Lambda }e^{2\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}\varphi }.$$
(3.24)
With a non-zero cosmological constant, the de Sitter instanton solution exists for $`\alpha >0`$, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }>0`$ as well as for $`\alpha <0`$, $`0<\mathrm{\Lambda }<\frac{1}{8|\alpha |}`$, and is given by

$$\varphi =\varphi _o=\sqrt{\frac{3}{2}}\mathrm{ln}(1+8\alpha \mathrm{\Lambda }),$$

$$a(\stackrel{~}{\sigma })=\sqrt{\frac{3(1+8\alpha \mathrm{\Lambda })}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}\mathrm{sin}\sqrt{\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3(1+8\alpha \mathrm{\Lambda })}}\stackrel{~}{\sigma }.$$
(3.25)
The corresponding Euclidean action evaluated in this case becomes

$$I_E=\left(\frac{3\pi }{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}+12\pi \alpha \right)$$
(3.26)
which is the same as in the original quadratic theory.

Considering the conditions for the singular HT instanton solutions, we note that such solutions cannot be obtained for all values of the parameters $`\alpha `$ and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ in the quadratic theory. The existence conditions can be obtained by recalling the general features of the potential $`V(\varphi )`$ in this case (with $`\alpha ^{}=\alpha `$), namely:

$``$ $`V(\varphi )`$ has two zeros, $`\varphi _+`$ and $`\varphi _{}`$ , given by

$$\varphi _\pm =\sqrt{\frac{3}{2}}\mathrm{ln}(1\pm \sqrt{8\alpha ^{}\mathrm{\Lambda }}).$$
(3.27)
$``$ $`V(\varphi )`$ has a maximum at $`\varphi =\varphi _m=\sqrt{\frac{3}{2}}\mathrm{ln}(18\alpha ^{}\mathrm{\Lambda })`$, with $`V(\varphi _m)=\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{18\alpha ^{}\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$.

$``$ $`V(\varphi )\frac{1}{8\alpha ^{}}`$ as $`\varphi \mathrm{}`$.

The choice of initial conditions play a dominant role in the evolution of these solutions. Let us assume that at $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }=0`$, $`\varphi (0)=\varphi _+`$ and $`V(\varphi _+)=0`$. It then follows that $`\varphi ^{}(0)=0`$ and $`\frac{dV}{d\varphi }|_{\varphi _+}=\frac{\sqrt{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}{\sqrt{3\alpha ^{}}(1+\sqrt{8\alpha ^{}\mathrm{\Lambda }})}`$. Since the point $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }=0`$ is a non-singular point, the manifold looks locally like $`R^4`$ in spherical polar coordinates and we may assume $`a(\stackrel{~}{\sigma })=v_o\stackrel{~}{\sigma }+0(\stackrel{~}{\sigma }^2)`$ where $`v_o`$ is the initial velocity, i.e., $`a^{}(o)=v_o`$. The potential has a negative gradient at $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }=0`$. The initial conditions along with the field Eqs. (3.22) and (3.23) determine the evolutions of $`b`$ and $`\varphi `$.

To find conditions for the existence of singular HT in this case, we assume that close to the singularity $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }_f`$, ( $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }_f\stackrel{~}{\sigma }<1`$ ) behave as

$$\varphi =q\mathrm{ln}(\stackrel{~}{\sigma }_f\stackrel{~}{\sigma })$$
(3.28)
$$a(\stackrel{~}{\sigma }_f\stackrel{~}{\sigma })^n$$
(3.29)
Eq. (3.22) then determines $`q=\sqrt{\frac{3}{2}}`$ for $`n<1`$ and Eq.(3.23) gives

$$n=\frac{3}{4}=\frac{1}{3}\left[1+\frac{18\alpha ^{}\mathrm{\Lambda }}{6\alpha ^{}}\right].$$
(3.30)
This in turn determines $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ in terms of $`\alpha ^{}`$

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }=f(\alpha ^{})=\frac{215\alpha ^{}}{16\alpha ^{}}$$

and hence results in the bound $`\alpha ^{}<\frac{2}{15}`$ on the coupling constant of the quadratic term. Thus the conditions for the existence of a singular HT instanton (a singularity at which $`a`$ vanishes as $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }\stackrel{~}{\sigma }_f`$ and $`\varphi `$ diverges logarithmically) are in this case given by: $`\alpha <0,\mathrm{\Lambda }=f(\alpha )`$ and $`8|\alpha |\mathrm{\Lambda }<1`$. There are therefore the following possibilities in this case:

$``$ The scalar field may move uphill and become stabilised at $`\varphi _m`$, giving the

non-singular instanton solution.

$``$ The universe may end up in a singularity at $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }=\stackrel{~}{\sigma }_f`$, giving the singular HT

instanton.

The important point here is that the existence of singular HT instantons in this case requires $`\alpha <0`$, which makes them rather special. We also note that in this model, $`V(\varphi )`$ cannot be neglected even close to the singularity, in contradiction to the case considered by .

II. The cubic case

In this case the Lagrangian takes the form $`f(R)=R+\alpha R^2+\beta R^32\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, with the corresponding scalar field potential given by

$$V(\varphi )=\frac{\alpha ^3}{27\beta ^2}e^{2\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}\varphi }\left[1+\frac{9\beta }{2\alpha ^2}\left(1e^{\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}\varphi }\right)+\left(1\frac{3\beta }{\alpha ^2}\left(1e^{\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}\varphi }\right)\right)^{\frac{3}{2}}\right]$$

$$+\mathrm{\Lambda }e^{2\sqrt{\frac{2}{3}}\varphi }.$$
(3.31)
With a non-zero cosmological constant, there exist de Sitter instanton solutions in this case of the form

$$\varphi =\varphi _o,$$

$$a(\stackrel{~}{\sigma })=\frac{1}{H_o}\mathrm{sin}H_o\stackrel{~}{\sigma }$$
(3.32)
where $`\varphi _o`$ is the solution of $`dV(\varphi )/d\varphi =0`$ for the potential (3.31) and $`H_o`$ is given by $`3H_o^2=V(\varphi _o)`$. In the case of $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$, the Euclidean action can be evaluated to be

$$I_E=12\pi (\alpha +2\sqrt{\beta }),$$
(3.33)
which is real and negative for $`\alpha >0,\beta >0`$.

We now look for consitions for the existence of singular HT instanton in the cubic theory. We recall that the scalar field potential in this case has a maximum for $`\alpha >0`$ and $`\beta 0`$, but becomes flat at large $`\varphi `$ for $`\beta 0`$, as in the quadratic theory. Fig. 1 shows the potential $`V(\varphi )`$ (3.31) for a number of values of $`\beta `$ with $`\alpha =1`$ and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$. Given that in this case $`\alpha <0`$ makes $`V(\varphi )<0`$, we shall restrict ourselves to $`\alpha >0`$.

Now in the case of the cubic theory with $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$, one obtains HT instantons corresponding to the solution of the equations (3.28) and (3.29) with

$$q=\sqrt{\frac{3}{2}}andn=\frac{3}{4}.$$
(3.34)
On the other hand, when $`\mathrm{\Lambda }0`$, HT instantons are allowed if $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ satisfies

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }=\frac{15}{16}\frac{\alpha ^3}{27\beta ^2}\left[1+\frac{9\beta }{2\alpha ^2}+\left(1\frac{3\beta }{\alpha ^2}\right)^{3/2}\right].$$
(3.35)
Thus $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ in this case is determined in terms of the dimensional constants $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$ satisfying the constraint $`\beta <\frac{\alpha ^2}{3}`$. Note that $`\alpha `$ can assume some small negative values if $`\mathrm{\Lambda }0`$. The conditions for the existence of HT instantons in this case are:

$``$ $`V(\varphi )`$ has a maximum.

$``$ $`\alpha ^2>3\beta `$.

$``$ $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ satisfies the constraint given by (3.35) and could be positive, zero or negative,

depending upon the values of $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$.

## 4 Discussion

We have studied the existence of singular and non-singular instanton solutions in theories of gravity with quadratic and cubic Lagrangians. We find that in the quadratic case, the existence of both types of instantons requires a non–zero cosmological constant; whereas in the cubic case instanton solutions can also exist with a vanishing cosmological constant.

To study the existence of HT instantons and clarify the special features of the two types of solutions, expressed the higher order Lagrangian theories as Einstein gravity minimally coupled to a scalar field, using a conformal transformation of the metric. In the case of the quadratic theory, the non-singular instanton corresponds to the scalar field sitting at the maximum of the potential. This gives an indication that the Lorentzian continuation of this solution ( with $`\alpha <0`$ ) is stable, as is the case with the de Sitter solution in the quadratic theory for $`\alpha <0`$ . The fact that HT instantons cannot be obtained with $`\alpha >0`$ shows that they are rather special in the quadratic theory. There is also no HT instantons for $`\mathrm{\Lambda }<0`$ in this case. In the case of the cubic theory, HT instantons can exist for both $`\alpha <0`$ and $`\alpha >0`$ subject to a constraint which relates the cosmological constant to the dimensional constants $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$ in the gravitational action.

Finally, in view of our discussion of higher order polynomial Lagrangians in section 2, we would expect our general results regarding the behaviour of the HT instantons, obtained using the cubic theory, to hold in higher order Lagrangian settings, although the algebraic relations among the dimensional constants, $`\alpha `$, $`\beta `$ etc. and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ would be different at different orders.

Acknowledgement :  BCP and SM would like to thank IUCCA and IUCCA Reference Centre at North Bengal University for the use of facilities. RT would like to thank the IUCCA Reference Centre at North Bengal University for warm hospitality.