text:
# Free energy and 𝜃 dependence of SU(𝑁) gauge theoriesTalk presented by H. Panagopoulos

## 1 INTRODUCTION

Interest in $`SU(N)`$ gauge theories has recently been revived by studies in the context of M-theory, AdS/CFT correspondence, and $`𝒩=2`$ SUSY broken to $`𝒩=1`$. A number of predictions have been put forth, and we have set out to check these predictions by numerical simulation.

One aspect of these studies regards the spectrum of confining strings in four-dimensional SU($`N`$) gauge theories. A considerable amount of numerical work has been done on this subject (see  and references therein). In particular, in Ref.  we have presented computations of the string tensions $`\sigma _k`$, related to sources with $`Z_N`$ charge $`k`$, for SU(4) and SU(6) gauge theories. Our results are consistent with the sine formula $`\sigma _k/\sigma _1=\mathrm{sin}(k\pi /N)/\mathrm{sin}(\pi /N)`$, with an accuracy of approximately 1% \[2%\] for SU(4) \[SU(6)\]; this formula emerges in various realizations of supersymmetric SU($`N`$) gauge theories, and in the context of M-theory. On the other hand, our results show deviations from Casimir scaling $`\sigma _k/\sigma =k(Nk)/(N1)`$, as might be expected from the short distance behaviour of the potential, or from a strong-coupling limit.

In the present work, we study the $`\theta `$ dependence of SU($`N`$) gauge theories, for $`N3`$ and in the large-$`N`$ limit, by numerical simulation; for a longer write-up of our work, see . The angle $`\theta `$ appears in the Euclidean Lagrangian as:

$$_\theta =\frac{1}{4}F_{\mu \nu }^a(x)F_{\mu \nu }^a(x)i\theta q(x)$$
(1)
where $`q(x)`$ is the topological charge density

$$q(x)=\frac{g^2}{64\pi ^2}ϵ_{\mu \nu \rho \sigma }F_{\mu \nu }^a(x)F_{\rho \sigma }^a(x).$$
(2)
The partition function reads:

$$Z(\theta )=[dA]\mathrm{exp}(d^4x_\theta )\mathrm{exp}[VF(\theta )]$$
(3)
where $`F(\theta )`$ is the free (ground state) energy. Witten has argued  that in the large-$`N`$ limit $`F(\theta )`$ is a multibranched function of the type

$$F(\theta )=N^2\mathrm{min}_kH[(\theta +2\pi k)/N]$$
(4)
The conjecture was refined  and simplified:

$$\mathrm{\Delta }F(\theta )=𝒜\mathrm{min}_k(\theta +2\pi k)^2+O\left(1/N\right).$$
(5)
($`\mathrm{\Delta }F(\theta )F(\theta )F(0)`$). In particular, for $`\theta <\pi `$,

$$\mathrm{\Delta }F(\theta )=𝒜\theta ^2+O\left(1/N\right).$$
(6)
This conjecture has been supported by gauge/string duality arguments .

Monte Carlo studies of the $`\theta `$-dependence are made very difficult by the complex nature of the $`\theta `$ term. In fact $`\theta 0`$ cannot be directly simulated on the lattice. Here we restrict ourselves to relatively small $`\theta `$ values, where one may expand:

$$\mathrm{\Delta }F(\theta )=A_2\theta ^2+A_4\theta ^4+\mathrm{}.$$
(7)
$`A_2`$ gives the topological susceptibility, i.e.

$$A_2=\chi /2,\chi =Q^2_{\theta =0}/V,$$
(8)
where $`Q`$ is the topological charge $`Q=d^4xq(x)`$. Higher order coefficients in Eq. (7) can be related to higher moments of the probability distribution $`p(Q)`$ of the topological charge. For instance,

$$A_4=\frac{1}{24V}\left[Q^43Q^2^2\right]_{\theta =0}.$$
(9)
A convenient parameterization of the free energy using dimensionless scaling coefficients is:

$$\sigma ^2\mathrm{\Delta }F(\theta )=\frac{1}{2}C\theta ^2(1+b_2\theta ^2+b_4\theta ^4+\mathrm{})$$
(10)
($`\sigma `$: string tension, $`C=\chi /\sigma ^2`$, $`b_2=A_4/A_2`$).

Witten’s conjecture implies that $`C`$ has a finite nonzero large-$`N`$ limit $`C_{\mathrm{}}`$ and $`b_{2i}=O(1/N^2)`$. In particular one expects that $`b_2`$ is small, and that it should rapidly decrease with increasing $`N`$. A nonzero value of $`\chi _{\mathrm{}}`$ is essential to resolve the U(1)A problem, and is related to the $`\eta ^{}`$ mass :

$$\chi _{\mathrm{}}=2𝒜=\frac{f_\pi ^2m_\eta ^{}^2}{4N_f}+O(1/N).$$
(11)
## 2 CALCULATION AND RESULTS

We present results for four-dimensional SU($`N`$) gauge theories with $`N=3,4,6`$. In a nutshell, we: Determine the ratio $`C=\chi /\sigma ^2`$; verify the expected behavior $`CA+B/N^2`$, determining the large-$`N`$ limit by a fit; obtain a rather accurate estimate of $`C_{\mathrm{}}`$; estimate the values of $`b_2`$, which are found to be very small and rapidly decreasing with $`N`$, in support of Witten’s conjecture.

Simulation Details: $``$ We use the standard Wilson gauge action and the Cabibbo-Marinari updating algorithm (one SU(N) update $`N(N1)/2`$ SU(2) subgroup updates). $``$ Microcanonical over-relaxation and heat-bath updates are used in a 4:1 ratio. $``$ Values for $`\beta `$ are chosen in the weak-coupling, (beyond the 1st order phase transition ($`N=6`$), beyond crossover (peak of specific heat $`N=3,4`$)). $``$ Topological quantities are computed via cooling. We measure $`Q`$ typically every 100 sweeps. $``$ We have employed different lattice sizes, so that finite size effects are under control. Tables of our numerical results can be found in Ref. .

FIGURE 1.  Autocorrelation time $`\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{\tau }_\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{Q}`$ versus $`\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{\xi }_\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{\sigma }\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{\sigma }^{\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{1}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{/}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{2}}`$. Dotted lines show the linear fits.

A severe form of critical slowing down is seen in the measurement of $`Q`$, at large values of $`N`$. Our results (Fig. 1) suggest an exponential behavior:

$$\mathrm{ln}\tau _QN\left(e_N\xi _\sigma +c_N\right)$$
(12)
($`\xi _\sigma \sigma ^{1/2}`$, and $`e_N`$, $`c_N`$ are constants with only weak $`N`$-dependence). Thus, $`\mathrm{ln}\tau _QN`$ (at fixed $`\xi _\sigma `$). This phenomenon is possibly due to the free-energy barriers present. There are no a priori arguments in favor of this behavior; it simply arises naturally from fits, unlike a power law. No similar effect is observed in plaquette or Polyakov line correlations; this suggests a decoupling between topological modes and nontopological ones, such as those determining confining properties.

In Fig. 2, the ratio $`C`$ is plotted versus $`\sigma `$, to evidentiate possible scaling corrections (expected: $`𝒪(a^2)`$, logs). Corrections are indeed observed for $`N=3`$ and $`N=4`$, and we must allow for them in a fit, for a continuum extrapolation. Assuming a linear behavior: $`C=C_{\mathrm{cont}}+u\sigma `$, to take into account the leading $`𝒪(a^2)`$ correction, we obtain:

$`C_{\mathrm{cont}}=0.0282(12),u=0.077(24)`$ $`(N=3)`$ (13)
$`C_{\mathrm{cont}}=0.0257(10),u=0.049(15)`$ $`(N=4).`$ (14)
For $`N=6`$, there is no evidence of scaling corrections; we find: $`C_{\mathrm{cont}}=0.0236(10)`$ for $`N=6`$.

FIGURE 2.  The scaling ratio $`\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{C}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{=}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{\chi }\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{/}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{\sigma }^\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{2}`$ versus $`\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{\sigma }`$. Dotted lines show the linear fits.

In Fig. 3, our results for $`C_{\mathrm{cont}}`$ are plotted versus $`1/N^2`$ (the expected order of $`1/N`$ corrections). They are clearly consistent with a behavior of the type $`C_{\mathrm{cont}}(N)=C_{\mathrm{}}+B/N^2.`$ Assuming such a behavior, a fit to $`N=3,4,6`$ results gives

$$C_{\mathrm{}}=0.0221(13),B=0.055(19),$$
(15)
This is a rather accurate estimate of large-$`N`$ limit of $`C`$, and it is clearly nonzero.

To compare with literature, we set a standard value: $`\sqrt{\sigma }=440\mathrm{MeV}`$, for $`N3`$. We obtain: $`\chi _{\mathrm{}}^{1/4}=170(3)\mathrm{MeV}`$, and $`\chi ^{1/4}=180(2)\mathrm{MeV}`$ for $`N=3`$. From Eq. (11), with actual values of $`f_\pi `$, $`m_\eta ^{}`$, and $`N_f=3`$, one has $`191\mathrm{MeV}`$. Using Veneziano’s improvement: $`m_\eta ^{}^2m_\eta ^{}^2+m_\eta ^22m_K^2`$, one obtains $`180\mathrm{MeV}`$.

We now turn to $`b_2`$: The cancellations in its definition necessitate very high statistics. We have obtained sufficiently accurate results for $`N=3,4`$, showing scaling. A weighted average, with conservative errors, yields:

$$b_2=0.023(7)(N=3),b_2=0.013(7)(N=4).$$
(16)
Reducing statistical error on $`b_2`$ in the $`N=6`$ case is extremely difficult. We can only give a rough estimate $`b_2=0.01(2)`$ ($`\gamma =0.348`$) in this case, showing that $`b_2`$ is very small.

FIGURE 3.  The scaling ratio $`\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{C}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{=}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{\chi }\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{/}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{\sigma }^\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{2}`$ versus $`\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{1}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{/}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{N}^\textcolor[rgb]{1,0,0}{2}`$. The line is the linear fit to $`\textcolor[rgb]{1,0.368627450980392,1}{A}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0.368627450980392,1}{+}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0.368627450980392,1}{B}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0.368627450980392,1}{/}\textcolor[rgb]{1,0.368627450980392,1}{N}^\textcolor[rgb]{1,0.368627450980392,1}{2}`$.

An alternative to cooling is based on the index theorem, using, e.g., the overlap formulation . The rigorous properties of such an approach would make up for a useful consistency check.

In conclusion, we stress that further investigation of other observables in $`SU(N)`$ theories is called for, to test predictions from: SUSY $`SU(N)`$, M-theory and gauge/string duality.


format: text

text:
# The Stability Analysis of the HD 82943 and HD 37124 Planetary Systems

## 1 Introduction

At present, 88 planetary systems,111See http://www.obspm.fr/planetscontaining 101 giant extrasolar planets,have been discovered in Doppler surveys of solar-type stars(Marcy et al. 2000; Butler et al. 2000,2001,2002), among which there are 11 multiplanetary systems,including 9 two-planet systems(HD 83443, HD 82943, GJ 876, HD 168443, HD 74156, 47 Uma, HD 37124, HD 38529 and HD 12661) and 2 three-planet systems(55 Cnc and Ups And). In this paper,we are focusing on two planetary systems of HD 82943 and HD 37124. An international team of astronomers from the Geneva Observatory and other research institutes announced the discovery of HD 82943 planetary system,which contains two Jupiter-like planets move around the main star. And a new planet of HD 37124 was recently found by the scientists from the Keck Observatory, the University of California and the California Institute of Technology.

HD 82943 is a G0 star with $`BV=0.623`$222See http://obswww.unige.ch/$``$udry/planet/hd82943syst.html, Hipparcos parallax of 36.42 mas and distance of 27.46 pc. The mass of the parent star is $`1.05M_{}`$. Similar to the GJ 876 system(Marcy et al. 2001;Lee & Peale 2002),which are suggested that the stability of the planetary system might be sustained by the 2:1 mean-motion resonance(MMR) and secular resonance,the two planets of HD 82943 are now also locked in the state of 2:1 resonance, with orbital periods 444.6 d and 221.6 d, and semi-major axes 1.16 AU and 0.73 AU. HD 37124 is a G4 dwarf star with $`BV=0.667`$(Butler 2002,see their Table 1). The mass of the star is $`0.91M_{}`$. The orbital periods of two companions of HD 37124 are 153 d and 1942 d repspectively, with semi-major axes 0.54 AU and 2.95 AU.

In our earlier paper(Ji,Li & Liu 2002), we performed simulations to explore the dynamics of the GJ 876 system by integrating different planetary configurations of two-planet system. In this paper,we aim to study the dynamical behaviors of the HD 82943 and HD 37124 systems by examining various orbits in the vicinity of the fitting results,further attempt to discover the possible mechanisms to maintain these systems,and then make the theoretical explanations of them.

In the remainder of this paper is organized as follows: In Section 2,we introduce the numerical setup of the dynamical simulations. In Section 3, we present the main outcomes of the simulations of the HD 82943 and HD 37124 systems and then describe the analytical models that helps to explain stable mechanisms of the two systems. In Section 4, we summarize the chief results and give a brief discussion.

## 2 Numerical setup

On the basis of the N-body codes(Ji,Liu & Li 2002), our numerical integrations were performed for two double-planet systems.In our simulations,the masses of the central star are separately $`1.05M_{}`$ and $`0.91M_{}`$. By assuming sini = 1,we obtained the masses of four planets-HD82943b,HD82943c,HD37124b and HD37124c are $`1.63M_{Jup}`$, $`0.88M_{Jup}`$, $`0.86M_{Jup}`$ and $`1.01M_{Jup}`$ respectively. In the simulations,we adopted time step of one percent of the orbital period of the inner planet of each system when integrating two planets . The numerical errors were effectively controlled during the integration,with the local truncation error $`10^{14}`$ for the time span of 107 yr,in the same time the accuracy was also checked by the energy errors. In comparison, we also used symplectic integrators (Feng 1986;Wisdom & Holman 1991) to integrate the same orbit to assure the results for some cases.

For HD 82943,we took the following steps to generate the initial orbits to start the integration procedure :for each planet,we need to obtain six orbital elements - semi-major axis $`a`$ , eccentricity $`e`$ , inclination $`i`$, nodal longitude $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$, periastron $`\omega `$ and mean anomaly $`M`$. At first, the two planets are considered to locate in the same orbital plane. The orbital parameters(see Table 1) are partly taken from the web site.333See http://www.obspm.fr/encycl.html, http://obswww.unige.ch/$``$udry/planet/hd82943syst.html For all the orbits, we assume that the semi-major axes of the two planets are always unchanged,i.e.,1.16 AU and 0.73 AU respectively. And their initial inclinations are taken as $`0.5^{}`$ for all cases. The eccentricities are constructed as follows:we let the initial eccentricities $`e_0`$,0.41 and 0.54 respectively, be the centers and take the error of the measurement $`\mathrm{\Delta }e`$ as the radii to randomly produce the eccentricities,such that $`e[0.410.08,0.41+0.08]`$ and $`[0.540.05,0.54+0.05]`$ respectively. The same action can be done for the arguments of periastra,then we separately obtain $`\omega [117.8^{}3.4^{},117.8^{}+3.4^{}]`$ and $`[138.0^{}10.2^{},138.0^{}+10.2^{}]`$. The remained two angles of nodal longitudes and mean anomalies are randomly chosen between $`0^{}`$ and $`360^{}`$. Finally,we obtained 100 orbits for each planet, which were numbered from 1 to 100 in pairs, to perform the integration of the planetary system,and each pair of the orbits was integrated for the time span of 10 Myr.

The similar treatment can be done to yield the initial orbital elements of HD 37124, and the uncertainties of the eccentricities(Butler et al. 2002)and the arguments of the periastron are together listed in Table 1. However, for HD 37124,we not only consider the coplanar orbits but also take into account the mutual inclined orbits. Obviously,these orbits of the two planetary systems lie in the neighborhood of the fitting results,so we attempt to discover the stable configurations of these systems.

## 3 Dynamical analysis

In this section,we will introduce the results of the dynamical simulations of HD 82943 and HD 37124 planetary systems. Additionally,we further study the possible mechanisms of maintaining the two systems.

### 3.1 HD 82943

#### 3.1.1 Results of the dynamical simulations

For HD 82943, we totally completed 100 integrations for the time span of 10 Myr. By cataloguing the numerical results, we found that 75 out of 100 coupled orbits are unstable for the time span of $`10^5`$ yr. However, for a longer integration of 1 Myr, only 6 out of 25 cases are stable,15 out of 25 correspond to the cases of the escape of the inner planet and 4 out of 25 are associated with the leave of the outer planet. Finally, we obtained 5 pairs of the orbits, numbered No.1,No.8,No.17, No.37 and No.92 respectively, which remain stable for 10 Myr, whereas the case of No.86 is unstable when the system evolves at the time $`T>2.63`$ Myr. In the simulations, we notice that all the stable cases are involved in the 2:1 MMR and easily understand that the stability of a system is sensitive to its initial planetary configuration. The simulation results show that most systems tend to self-destruct in 104-105 yr, and the lifetime is even shorter for some cases. However, we are concentrating on the stable cases. In Table 2 are presented the ranges of the variation of the semi-major axis a, eccentricity e and inclination i of the two planets over the time span of 10 Myr for five stable configurations.From the table,we note that the eccentricity of the inner planet can be rather high,even the maximum is $`0.7392`$ for one case ,while the eccentricity of the outer planet appears to be moderate or in nearly circular orbits,and we observe that the cases of the 2:1 MMR commonly occur in the highly inclined orbits during the orbital evolution. In addition, Fig.1 displays the orbital variations of the inner and outer planets for the case of No.17; in particular, we see that the semi-major axes would undergo small oscillations for the whole time span.

#### 3.1.2 2:1 mean motion resonance

The resonances between the major planets (Murray & Dermott 1999)are very common phenomena in our solar system.We know that Jupiter and Saturn are in a 5:2 near-resonance,and the planets Neptune and Pluto are in a peculiar 3:2 mean motion resonance that maximize their separation to prevent them from close approaches when they are at conjunction. The MMR frequently occurs for the moons of the major planets,the asteroid belt and recently-discovered Kuiper belt objects(Duncan et al. 1995;Wan & Huang 2001;Zhou et al. 2000,2002). Additionally, more and more extrasolar planets of the multi-planetary systems are found in the MMR,so our interest is to study them in these systems.

In the usual notation, the critical argument $`\theta _1`$, $`\theta _2`$ for the 2:1 MMR is

$$\theta _1=\lambda _12\lambda _2+\stackrel{~}{\omega }_1,$$
(1)
$$\theta _2=\lambda _12\lambda _2+\stackrel{~}{\omega }_2,$$
(2)
Here $`\lambda _1`$, $`\lambda _2`$ are , respectively,the mean longitudes of the inner and outer planets, and $`\stackrel{~}{\omega }_1`$, $`\stackrel{~}{\omega }_2`$ respectively denote the periastra longitudes of the two planets(hereafter subscript 1 denotes the inner planet, 2 the outer planet).

For the orbit of No. 8, Fig. 2a illustrates two resonant arguments $`\theta _1`$ and $`\theta _2`$ vary with time for the time span of 10 Myr. From the figure,we notice that $`\theta _1`$ librates about $`180^{}`$,while $`\theta _2`$ librates about $`0^{}`$. Furthermore,Fig.2b in greater details displays the semi-major axes of the inner and outer planets of the system plotted against the resonant arguments,in which the semi-major axes undergo small oscillations for the overall time span and the equilibrium points are $`(0.730,180^{})`$ and $`(1.165,0^{})`$ respectively. Sequentially,these two figures exhibit that the two planets are really in the 2:1 MMR, then imply that this kind of the resonance may be responsible for the stability of the HD 82943 system.

The argument $`\theta _1`$ librates around $`0^{}`$ for the orbits of No.1,No.17 and No.37, and the equilibrium point is $`(0.730,0^{})`$ for three cases. Because of the libration of $`\theta _1`$, the semi-major axis of HD 82943c is well preserved to prevent from larger changes. On the other hand,we also found similar phenomena for the cases of HD 82943b. In Section 3.1.3,we will discuss the corresponding mechanism by using the coplanar model for the semi-major axis. However,we again discovered the circulation of $`\theta _1`$ ranging from $`0^{}`$ to $`360^{}`$ for No. 86,which may lead to the instability of the system and the planetary system de-integrates over 2.63 Myr.

#### 3.1.3 Coplanar analytical model for the semi-major axis

From Table 2,we observe that for some stable cases the two planets of the system can have low inclinations,and the eccentricity of the outer planet can have small value and approach to 0 during the orbital evolution.So we consider an averaged plane elliptical model in the context of three-body system,by considering the effect of the eccentricity of the outer planet. In the computation,the units of the mass,the length and the time are adopted as our previous paper.

Following our earlier paper (Ji, Liu & Li 2002;Ji, Liu & Liao 2000), we have the conjugated action-angle variables(hereafter subscript 1 is omitted for simplicity):

$$\{\begin{array}{c}\stackrel{~}{L}=\sqrt{a}\hfill \\ \stackrel{~}{l}=\theta _1=\lambda 2\lambda _2+\stackrel{~}{\omega }\hfill \end{array}$$
(3)
Then the corresponding Hamiltonian, by eliminating short-periodic terms and ignoring high eccentricity terms,takes the following form:

$$F=\stackrel{~}{F}_0\left(\stackrel{~}{L}\right)+\stackrel{~}{F}_c(\stackrel{~}{L},\text{ }\stackrel{~}{G})+\stackrel{~}{F}_1(\stackrel{~}{L},\stackrel{~}{l},\stackrel{~}{G};e_2,\theta )$$
(4)
where

$$\{\begin{array}{c}\text{ }\stackrel{~}{F}_1\text{ }=\mu _2a^2\left[\text{ }\left(\frac{9}{4}+\frac{5}{4}a^2\right)e\mathrm{cos}\stackrel{~}{l}\frac{9}{8}ae_2\mathrm{cos}(\stackrel{~}{l}\theta )\text{ }\right]\text{ ,}\hfill \\ \text{ }\theta =\text{ }\stackrel{~}{\omega }\stackrel{~}{\omega }_2=\text{ }(\omega +\mathrm{\Omega })(\omega _2+\mathrm{\Omega }_2)\text{ . }\hfill \end{array}$$
(5)
where in the equation(5), $`\mu _2`$ and $`e_2`$ respectively, are the mass and the eccentricity of HD 82943b. Clearly, $`\theta `$ is equal to $`\theta _3`$(see Section 3.1.4.). Lee & Peale(2002) suggested that $`\theta _3`$ is librating about $`0^{}`$ for the GJ 876 planetary system as a stable mechanism to maintain the system.In Section 3.1.4.,we will show that $`\theta _3`$ librates near $`180^{}`$ for the HD 82943 system. Therefore,for the second part (in brackets) of the right-sided of $`\stackrel{~}{F}_1`$ in the equation (5),we have $`|\frac{9}{8}ae_2\mathrm{cos}(\stackrel{~}{l}\theta )||\frac{9}{8}ae_2\mathrm{cos}\stackrel{~}{l}|`$, which can have the magnitude of the former item. Then there comes up a question: how does this part influence on the motion of the inner planet? We discuss this problem in the following.

However,as the Hamiltonian is not integrable,we should make some assumptions to simplify (4): firstly,we assume $`\stackrel{~}{G}=\stackrel{~}{G}_0`$ and $`\theta =\theta _0`$(for example,$`0^{}`$ or $`180^{}`$) for the adiabatic variations,which indicate that they change slowly with the time.Further we suppose $`e_2=e_{20}`$ in the computation. Finally, we have the Hamiltonian of a one degree of freedom system:

$$F=\stackrel{~}{F}_0\left(\stackrel{~}{L}\right)+\stackrel{~}{F}_c(\stackrel{~}{L},\stackrel{~}{G}_0)+\stackrel{~}{F}_1(\stackrel{~}{L},\stackrel{~}{l},\stackrel{~}{G_0}),$$
(6)
To understand the effects of the argument $`\theta _3`$ and the eccentricity $`e_2`$ of the outer planet of HD 82943 system, we investigated the motion of phase space of HD 82943c according to equation(6) by using the same initial values for the integration. In the analytical model,we remained $`\theta _3=0^{}`$, and let $`e_2`$ = 0.01,0.3 and 0.5 separately. Fig.3a exhibits the mean motion resonance argument $`\theta _1`$ plotted against the semi-major axis $`a`$ of the inner planet for the numerical results. Note that the small libration with the amplitude of $`\pm 40^{}`$. Fig.3b shows the analytical results given by the above coplanar model for the semi-major axis. The estimated equilibrium point is about $`(0.730,0^{})`$. The panel indicates that the 2:1 MMR could exist and be retained even gradually changing the eccentricity of HD 82943b and implies that the analytical results are quite consistent with the numerical simulations in comparison with Fig3a. And we found the similar results for $`\theta _3=180^{}`$ by adopting the above values of $`e_2`$.

For further experiments, we remained $`e_2=0.1`$ but varied $`\theta _3`$,which was taken as $`0^{},20^{},40^{}`$ and $`120^{},150^{},180^{}`$,respectively. Fig.4a-4b exhibit the computational results,in these figures we note that for the same small eccentricity of the outer planet,the small amplitude of libration of $`\theta _1`$ occurs when $`\theta _3=0^{}`$ and $`180^{}`$,the large amplitude of libration happens when $`\theta _3=20^{}`$ and $`150^{}`$,and the circulation appears when $`\theta _3=40^{}`$ and $`120^{}`$. Therefore, we can safely conclude that the 2:1 MMR is easy to hold when $`\theta _3=0^{},180^{}`$ for the small eccentricity of the outer planet.

However,for some multi-planetary systems(such as GJ 876, HD 82943), $`\theta _3`$ is found to librate about $`0^{}`$ or $`180^{}`$. From the previous analysis ,we comment that the reason is that the special choice of $`\theta _3`$ is helpful to preserve the mean motion resonance of two orbiting planets of such systems.Furthermore,the orbits of the planets is well separated by the mean motion resonance and then they are prevented from close approaches free from strong perturbations of each other.At the end of this section,we emphasize that this coplanar analytical model for the semi-major axis is valid for the low eccentricity of the outer planet(for No.1,No.17 and No.37,see Table 2). But we surprisingly found the orbits of No.8 apparently cross during the orbital evolution for the coplanar cases,and they are really in the 2:1 MMR as mentioned. The following Section will explain another mechanism for this peculiar case by holding their eccentricities.

#### 3.1.4 Coplanar analytical model for the eccentricity

The difference of the apsidal longitudes $`\theta _3`$ is denoted by

$$\theta _3=\theta _1\theta _2=\stackrel{~}{\omega }_1\stackrel{~}{\omega }_2$$
(7)
where $`\stackrel{~}{\omega }_1,\stackrel{~}{\omega }_2`$ are the longitudes of the periastron respectively.For the case of No.8, from Fig.5a,we notice that $`\theta _3`$ librates about $`180^{}`$,rather than $`0^{}`$, with an amplitude of $`\pm 30^{}`$,which indicates that the alignment of the pericenters(Chiang,Tabachnik & Tremaine 2001;Lee & Peale 2002) for the HD 82943 system. The apsidal alignment corresponds to the libration of the periastra longitudes of the two orbits, such that the two planets have the same averaged rate of apsidal precession. Recently, Malhotra(2002) described a dynamical mechanism for establishing apsidal alignment in a pair of planets that initially move on nearly circular orbits by using classical secular perturbation theory. Kinoshita & Nakai(2002) developed a semi-analytical secular method to explain the eccentricities of the two planets of GJ 876 and suggested the stable mechanism of the alignment of the pericenters. Now we again applied this method to the HD 82943 system.

The Hamiltonian for the coplanar case is

$$F=F(a_1,a_2,e_1,e_2,\varpi _1,\varpi _2,\lambda _1,\lambda _2).$$
(8)
Since we discuss the eccentricity of either of the planet in the case of the 2:1 MMR, by eliminating short-periodic terms,the new Hamiltonian reads:

$$F^{}=F^{}(a_1,a_2,e_1,e_2,\theta _1,\theta _3),$$
(9)
The degree of freedom of the new Hamiltonian(9) is reduced from four to two. However this Hamiltonian is not integrable. As we discuss in Section 3.1.3, the semi-major axes of the two resonant planets slightly change when they are in the 2:1 MMR, so we can assume that $`a_1`$ and $`a_2`$ are constant for the critical argument $`\theta _1=0`$. In final,the degree of freedom of the new Hamiltonian is reduced to one:

$$F^{}=F^{}(e_1,e_2,\theta _3),$$
(10)
with conservation of the angular momentum:

$$\mu _1\sqrt{a_1(1e_1^2)}+\mu _2\sqrt{a_2(1e_2^2)}=const=H.$$
(11)
We again eliminate $`e_2`$ in equation(10) according to (11) and we have

$$F^{}=F^{}(e_1,\theta _3,H)$$
(12)
Thus we can draw the level curves of the Hamiltonian and understand the global behavior of $`e_1`$ and $`\theta _3`$. As the eccentricity $`e_1`$ of the inner planet becomes large, we numerically averaged the original Hamiltonian (8) under the condition of the critical argument $`\theta _1=0`$ and the angular momentum conservation (11), and then obtain numerically the averaged Hamiltonian (12) with the parameter of the angular momentum $`H`$. The technique of the numerical averaging is described in the paper(Kinoshita & Nakai 1985), in which the case of $`\theta _10`$ is also discussed. We draw the contour map of the Hamiltonian (12) by taking $`\theta _3`$ as the horizontal axis and $`e_1`$ or $`e_2`$ as the vertical axis with the parameter $`H`$, which is determined from the initial conditions. Figure 5b shows the contour map of the Hamiltonian (12). Because the numerical solution includes the short-periodic terms, the numerically averaged solution is shown in Figure 5b. This figure shows a good agreement between the numerical solution and the semi-analytical secular solution. The eccentricities of both planets are well restricted because of the libration of $`\theta _3`$ around $`180^{}`$. Here we should mention that the period of the critical argument $`\theta _1`$ is equal to that of the difference of the longitudes of the periastron $`\theta _3`$, whose fact is the part of the stabilization mechanism of for the case of No.8 orbit. Therefore,we can safely conclude that the stability of the system of the coplanar crossing orbits is simultaneously maintained by two mechanisms-the 2:1 MMR and the apsidal alignment.

### 3.2 HD 37124

#### 3.2.1 Coplanar system

For the coplanar cases, we performed the numerical simulations of 100 pairs of HD 37124 system whose orbits were initially generated in the neighborhood of the fitting results for the time span of $`10^6`$ yr. For all the initial orbits, we remained the semi-major axes of HD 37124b and HD 37124c unchanged. The eccentricities are in the intervals of $`[0.04,0.16]`$ and $`[0.20,0.60]`$,respectively. The arguments of periastra are respectively in the span of $`[97^{}40^{},97^{}+40^{}]`$ and $`[265^{}120^{},265^{}+120^{}]`$. The nodal longitudes and mean anomalies are made at random. However,we were surprised to find that all of the coplanar configurations are stable for $`10^6`$ yr,which indicates that the HD 37124 planetary system is extremely steady for the above parameters. And the simulation results again provide strong evidences for the fitting results given by Butler(2002). In addition, we found that the semi-major axis of HD 37124b remains 0.54 AU for most cases and that of HD 37124c slightly librates about 2.95 AU(see Fig.6). Fig.7 shows two typical changes of the eccentricities for the stable orbits of HD 37124 system for $`10^6`$ yr: (a)$`e_b=0.1231`$,$`e_c=0.5592`$,$`\omega _b=64.36`$,$`\omega _c=309.56`$. The results of Fig.7a are similar to those of Butler(2002)(see their Fig.14). The eccentricity of the inner planet undergoes large variations ranging from 0.15 to 0.85,while that of the outer planet varies from 0.15 to 0.60. (b)$`e_b=0.1313`$,$`e_c=0.4490`$,$`\omega _b=110.95`$,$`\omega _c=180.63`$. Fig.7b displays the small changes of the two eccentricities. We should point out the range of the eccentricity of HD 37124c is between 0 and 0.62 by analyzing the results of 100 integrations,which is in agreement with those of Butler(2002) who stressed that the system will be de-integrated for the threshold initial eccentricity of the outer planet above 0.65. To confirm this, several complemental integrations were done for $`e_c>0.65`$. The outcomes show that the outer planet will escape from the system in the time span less than $`10^6`$ yr and result in the instability of the system.

#### 3.2.2 Mutual inclined orbit system

For the non-coplanar cases, we only changed the inclination of HD 37124b $`i_b`$ and the other orbital parameters were unchanged. In the initial conditions, the inclination of HD 37124c was always taken as $`0.5^{}`$ and $`i_b`$ was respectively increased by $`10^{}`$,$`20^{}`$,$`30^{}`$,$`40^{}`$, $`50^{}`$, $`60^{}`$,$`70^{}`$,$`80^{}`$,$`90^{}`$ with respect to that of the outer planet. Thus the nine numerical experiments were again carried out to understand the dynamical evolution for the mutual inclined orbit system. From the results,we observed that the semi-major axes of the two planets still retain well for the integration of $`10^6`$ yr. Furthermore,we found the larger amplitude variation of the eccentricity of HD 37124b(see Fig.8),which can be explained by another mechanism-Kozai resonance.

As Kozai(1962) pointed out, the resonance is present in the main belt for the orbits of asteroids at very large inclinations, because the perturbation of Jupiter will make the argument of perihelion $`\omega `$ librate around 900 or 2700. For new Kozai hamiltonian, the transformed system is reduced to one degree freedom and the Delaunay action variable $`H=\sqrt{a(1e^2)}\mathrm{cos}i`$ remains constant. The semi-major axis $`a`$ of the asteroid also remains keeps unchanged during the secular orbital evolution after eliminating short-period terms of the perturbation hamiltonian, thus one could obtain $`\overline{H}=\sqrt{\left(1e^2\right)}\mathrm{cos}i=const`$, so the inclination $`i`$ is minimum when the eccentricity $`e`$ is maximum and $`vice`$ $`versa`$.

For our results,we found that this resonance takes place for three cases of $`i_b=70.5^{}`$, $`80.5^{}`$, $`90.5^{}`$, in the meanwhile $`\omega `$ undergoes the oscillations about $`90^{}`$ or $`270^{}`$. Fig.8 displays that the argument of periastron $`\omega `$ of HD 37124b librates about $`90^{}`$ with an amplitude of $`\pm 76^{}`$ for the time span of $`10^6`$ yr,in fact,the phenomena also appears when we integrated the same orbits for $`10^7`$ yr. Notice the coupled relationship-the maximum eccentricity versus the minimum inclination and $`vice`$ $`versa`$. In addition,for this case we found the eccentricity and the inclination of the outer planet are respectively in the ranges $`[0.47,0.57]`$ and $`[0^{},40^{}]`$. Now we can use this mechanism to explain why the eccentricities of the planets of some extrasolar systems are so eccentric. Another important feature of Kozai resonance is that the existence of the protection mechanism means that it can keep the inner planet from close approaches. The libration of $`\omega `$ around 900 or 2700 means that at periastron or apastron when the distance of the inner planet from the parent star is closest to that of the outer planet, the inner planet is also at a large distance from the fundamental plane.

Finally,we should underline that Kozai resonance is a very effective mechanism to remain the stability of highly inclined systems and may actually play an important part in the secular dynamical evolution of the HD 37124 system,even for other double-planet systems.

## 4 Summary and Discussion

In this paper, we have mainly explored the secular dynamical evolution of the HD 82943 and HD 37124 systems by simulating various planetary configurations given in the neighborhood of the fitting orbits. In final, we summarize some conclusions:

(1)For HD 82943 system, we carried out 100 integrations for the time span of $`10^7`$ yr and finally found five stable configurations. The results show that all of the stable orbits are associated with the 2:1 MMR. Because of the small libration of the resonant argument,the variations of the semi-major axes of the planets can be greatly restricted to escape from close approaches. On the other hand, by means of the analytical model for the semi-major axis by considering the eccentricity of the outer planet, we again discussed the motion of the phase space of the inner planet for different $`e_2`$ and $`\theta _3`$, we detected that the 2:1 MMR can be easily preserved when $`\theta _3=0^{}`$ or $`180^{}`$ for relatively smaller $`e_2`$. Still, the model for the semi-major axis is compared with the numerical results and they are in good agreement with each other,which both suggest that the existence of a 2:1 MMR can act as one of the mechanisms to maintain the stability of the HD 82943 system.

The second mechanism is the alignment of the pericenters, and in this paper we found that $`\theta _3`$ librates about $`180^{}`$ for HD 82943 system in the simulations. In the meanwhile, the eccentricities of the two planets undergo small oscillations for the case,then the equi-Hamiltonian curves implies that the numerical results are well consistent with the coplanar analytical model for the eccentricities. In particular,we found the stable orbits of No.8 apparently cross for the coplanar cases. Generally,the apparent crossing orbits become finally unstable during secular orbital evolution. The numerical results suggest that the two planets for No.8 are really in the 2:1 MMR. In our opinion, we should point out that the stability of the new discovery of the coplanar crossing orbits is maintained by both 2:1 MMR and the apsidal alignment.

(2)For HD 37124 system,we integrated 100 pair of the orbits of the coplanar cases for $`10^6`$ yr and found that all configurations are stable. However, for non-coplanar cases,we found that Kozai resonance could frequently take place for the high inclination of the inner planet with respect to the outer planet. The presence of this resonance can explain the stable orbits of the large eccentricity of the inner planet of HD 37124 system and the small libration of $`\omega `$ about 900 or 2700 makes it possible the coupled relationship of the maximum eccentricity with regard to the minimum inclination and the minimum eccentricity to the maximum inclination. We still believe that Kozai mechanism could exist for other extrasolar planetary systems of the mutual inclined configurations. And the relevant model will be examined in our future work.

We would thank Dr. Liao Xinhao for carefully reading the manuscript and for constructive remarks and suggestions. This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundations of China(Grant No.10173006),the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program(RFDP) of Higher Education(Grant No.2000028416), the Foundation of the Postdoctoral Science of China and the Foundation of Minor Planets of Purple Mountain Observatory.


text:
# Comment on “Loss of Superconducting Phase Coherence in YBa₂Cu₃O₇ Films: Vortex-Loop Unbinding and Kosterlitz-Thouless Phenomena”

Recently, Kötzler et al. kotzler  measured the frequency-dependent conductance for $`\mathrm{YBa}_2\mathrm{Cu}_3\mathrm{O}_7`$ and interpreted their results as evidences that the decay of the superfluid density is caused by a 3D vortex loop proliferation mechanism and a dimensional crossover when the correlation length $`\xi _c`$ along the $`c`$ axis becomes comparable to the sample thickness $`d`$. In this Comment, we show that the complex conductance data presented in Ref. kotzler,  have characteristic key features not compatible with their analysis, which are instead described by the existing phenomenology of 2D vortex fluctuation in Ref. minnhagen:rev,  associated with a partial decoupling of $`\mathrm{CuO}_2`$-planes. It is also argued that the suggested dimensional crossover makes the fluctuations stronger, and accordingly shifts the transition towards lower temperature. This appears to be opposite to the conclusion in Ref. kotzler, .

In Fig. 1, $`G^{}`$ in the complex conductance $`G=G^{}+iG^{\prime \prime }`$ from Fig. 2 in Ref. kotzler,  is replotted as $`\omega G^{}L_k`$, with the kinetic inductance $`L_k(T)`$ extracted in Ref. kotzler, . In Ref. kotzler, , it is assumed that $`\omega L_k(T)G(\omega ,T)=S(\omega /\omega _0)`$ with a scaling function $`S=S^{}+iS^{\prime \prime }`$ satisfying

$$S^{\prime \prime }=1/[1+(\omega /\omega _0)^\alpha ]$$
(1)
and $`S^{}`$ is obtained from the Kramer-Kronig relation minnhagen:rev . Kötzler et al. find that their data can be characterized by $`\alpha 0.7`$, which corresponds to the heights of the dissipation peaks equal to 0.23 (solid line in Fig. 1). However the data exceed this value by more than $`40\%`$, and the peak height shows a systematic increase with increasing frequency, whereas Eq.(1) predicts constant peak heights: These observations imply that the scaling function (1) cannot properly describe the experimental data. The 2D vortex explanation, on the other hand, predicts that the peak heights should systematically increase with $`\omega `$ and should always be between $`1/\pi 0.32`$ and 0.5 (dashed and dotted lines in the Fig. 1) minnhagen:rev ; festin . The lower value $`1/\pi `$ corresponds to the Minnhagen response form \[given by $`\alpha =1`$ in Eq. (1)\] associated with bound vortex-antivortex pairs dominating close to the Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) transition. The higher value $`1/2`$ corresponds to the Drude response \[given by $`\alpha =2`$ in Eq. (1)\], dominated by abundant free vortices well above the KT transition. Both free vortices and bound pairs are present above the KT transition with the proportion of free vortices increasing with $`T`$. This explains why the peak heights increase with $`T`$ minnhagen:rev ; festin .

Kötzler et al. link their proposed mechanism to an apparent sample independent onset of deviation at about 35(nH)-1 for the inductive data taken at 1kHz from the inferred 3D $`L_k^1`$. The relevant scale where vortex type fluctuations become important may be estimated from the KT transition criteria $`L_k^1=8.2\times 10^2T`$ (KnH)-1 giving $`L_k^17`$(nH)-1 for the samples in Ref. kotzler, . This places the KT-transition (which in principle always can be associated with a large enough sample of finite thickness) very close to the inferred 3D transition. Although 35(nH)-1 is larger, it is still of the same order of magnitude. This suggests that the deviation at 1kHz occurring below the inferred critical $`T_c`$ (as well as below the inferred KT-transition) may indeed be caused by vortex loops. However, in such a scenario the deviation from the inferred zero frequency $`L_k^1`$ towards higher values is due to the finite frequency minnhagen:rev . This deviation would then vanish in the limit of small frequency (small in the sense that the dissipation peaks in Fig. 1 cease to move to the left) implying a frequency dependent onset of deviations. Any change of the 3D $`L_k^1`$ caused by a dimensional crossover ($`\xi _cd`$) will always increase fluctuations and cause deviation in the limit of zero frequency to the left instead of to the right of the inferred 3D $`L_k^1`$.

In our scenario the deviation occurs when $`\omega /\omega _0`$ becomes large which always happens for a $`T`$ below $`T_c`$ because $`\omega _00`$ at $`T_c`$. The reason is that the larger $`\omega /\omega _0`$ the more of the larger vortex loops become ineffective in renormalizing $`L_k^1`$, causing an increase from the $`\omega =0`$-value minnhagen:rev . The universality found in Ref.kotzler,  implies that $`\omega _0L_k^1`$ which is similar to what happens in the 2D XY model jonsson . The point to note is that in order for the data to deviate to the right of the $`\omega =0`$-data the fluctuations involved in the $`\omega =0`$-data should be the ones that are made ineffective by the finite frequency. Since the $`\omega =0`$-data obeys the 3D critical scaling the relevant fluctuations would have to be the usual vortex loops. Consequently the data is well explained without invoking a vortex blow out involving an additional $`\xi _c/d1`$ condition.


text:
# Galactic SNR candidates in the ROSAT all-sky survey

## 1. Introduction

Supernovae (SNe) are rare events, believed to occur at intervals of $``$30-50 years in the Galaxy (van den Berg & Tamman 1991; Tamman et al. 1994). However, in the past 2000 years, only 7 Galactic SNe have been observed — SN 185 (RCW86), SN 386 (G11.2-0.3), SN 1006, SN 1181 (3C58), Crab SN, Tycho SN, and Kepler SN. Most Galactic SNe appear unobserved owing to visible-band extinction by interstellar dust. When observational techniques in the radio band became available and the SNR Cas A was found to be the brightest radio source in the sky, several surveys and directed searches for SNR were performed at decimeter-wavelengths. Of course, radio observations are unhampered by interstellar dust. Currrently, about 250 SNRs have been identified in the radio band (Green 2000 and references therein). Although this catalog represents the result of more than 40 years of intensive search with the largest radio telescopes, it is incomplete and strongly biased by mainly two selection effects: (i) the surface brightness of the remnant must be above the sensitivity limit of the observations, and (ii) the angular size of the remnant must be at least several times the resolution of the observations. These effects mean that not only are old faint remnants missing in the current catalogues, but there is also a deficit of young but distant SNRs (Green 1991). This is only a small fraction of SNRs of the total number expected according to the galactic SNe rate and the life-time of their remnants.
The RASS was performed from 1990 June to 1991 February and is the first (and only) all-sky survey done with an imaging X-ray telescope and thus provides another window that can be exploited to find SNRs as well as the compact objects that may reside within them (Aschenbach 1996). ROSAT was sensitive at soft X-ray energies (0.1-2.4 keV), had an angular resolution in survey mode of $``$$`96^{^{\prime \prime }}`$ and a limiting survey sensitivity of $`f_x3\times 10^{13}`$ erg cm-2 s-1 (Voges et al. 1999). The exposure time varied between about 400 s and 40,000 s in the ecliptic plane and poles respectively.

## 2. Analysis and Results

Performing a search for extended ($``$ 5 ) and unidentified X-ray sources in the RASS database at $`\left|b\right|`$ 15 , about 350 objects were identified as potential SNR candidates (Busser 1998). Studying their X-ray morphology and correlating the results with radio catalogues and surveys like NVSS, ATNF, Molonglo and Effelsberg and the optical DSS as well as with SIMBAD and NED, allowed to discriminate between extragalactic background objects and SNR candidates, leaving 230 targets for subsequent identification purpose. About 50 of the 350 candidates turned out to be likely galaxies or clusters of galaxies, whereas $``$ 70 were found to be spurious background features. So far, 14 RASS sources were found to be promising SNR candidates and are currently subject of further follow-up studies in the X-ray and radio band. Due to the relatively low photon statistics and spatial resolution of the RASS data, it is not possible to perform a detailed analysis which allows to identify the nature of the objects. Below we briefly mention three targets which turn out to be likely SNRs according to their X-ray and radio morphology.

* G296.7-0.9 is located in a HII region (Russeil 1996) which is overlapping partly the area of radio emission. The target has an extent of about 15$`\times `$10 in X-rays and at radio wavelength. A pointed ROSAT HRI observation which has a 18 times higher angular resolution compared to the survey observation shows an incomplete shell in the east, supporting strongly the SNR interpretation (Fig. 1a/b).
* G308.3-1.4 is listed as a possible SNR in the MOST supernova remnant catalogue based on the composite radio morphology and the ratio of 60 $`\mu `$m to 843 MHz flux densities (Whiteoak 1992). The RASS PSPC data support this identification showing a hard X-ray source with a diameter of about 10 partly overlapping with the radio arcs (Fig. 1c).
* G38.7-1.4 shows X-ray emission in the RASS with an extent of about 12$`\times `$8, surrounded by an incomplete radio shell in the Effelsberg galactic plane 11 cm-survey (Reich et al 1990). A follow-up observation with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope at 6 cm wavelength was recently performed, which shows the shell to be significantly polarized. This result clearly favours a SNR interpretation of G38.7-1.4 (Fig. 1d).

## 3. Summary and Prospects

About 70 galactic SNRs are listed in Green’s SNR Catalogue (Green 2000) being detected in X-rays. Making use of the spectro-imaging capability provided by ROSAT in its all-sky survey, we reanalysed a sample of about 350 extended X-ray sources, which were proposed by (Busser 1998) as SNR candidates. Performing a more dedicated imaging analysis and making use of recently updated databases like SIMBAD and the NED we reduced the number of SNR candidates to be about 230. 14 of these targets turn out to be promising SNR candidates based on available data and are subject of follow-up observations for clarification. Two candidates were recently observed with the Chandra observatory and another six candidates with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope. The analysis of these data is currently in progress. We will continue this campaign providing additional observations in X-rays with XMM-Newton and Chandra and in radio with Effelsberg and ATNF telescopes. Optical observations will complete our multi-wavelength studies.

## References

Aschenbach, B. 1996, ROSAT Observations of Supernova Remnants, in Röntgenstrahlung from the Universe, eds H.U.Zimmermann, J.Trümper and H.Yorke, MPE Report 263, p213-220

Busser, J.-U. 1998, PhD thesis, Munich

Green, D.A. 2000, ‘A Catalogue of Galactic Supernova Remnants’, Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Green, D.A. 1991, PASP, 103, 209

Reich, W., Fürst, E., Reich, P., Reif, K. 1990, A&AS, 85, 633

Russeil, D. 1996, A&A, 319, 788

Tamman, G.A. 1994, The frequency of supernovae in Bludman, S.A., Mochkovitch, R., Zinn-Justin, J., (eds.) Supernovae, Les Houches, 1990, p1

van den Berg & Tamman, G.A. 1991, ARA&A, 29, 363

Voges, W. et al. 1999, A&A, 349, 389

Whiteoak, J.B.Z. 1992, A&A, 262, 251


text:
# PWIA Extraction of the Neutron Magnetic Form Factor from Quasi-Elastic {^𝟑}(𝐇𝐞)⃗(𝐞⃗,𝐞') at 𝐐^𝟐=0.3 to 0.6 (GeV/c)2

## Abstract

A high precision measurement of the transverse spin-dependent asymmetry $`A_T^{}`$ in $`{}_{}{}^{3}\stackrel{}{\mathrm{He}}(\stackrel{}{e},e^{})`$ quasielastic scattering was performed in Hall A at Jefferson Lab at values of the squared four-momentum transfer, $`Q^2`$, between 0.1 and 0.6 (GeV/c)2. $`A_T^{}`$ is sensitive to the neutron magnetic form factor, $`G_M^n`$. Values of $`G_M^n`$ at $`Q^2=0.1`$ and 0.2 (GeV/c)2, extracted using Faddeev calculations, were reported previously. Here, we report the extraction of $`G_M^n`$ for the remaining $`Q^2`$-values in the range from 0.3 to 0.6 (GeV/c)2 using a Plane-Wave Impulse Approximation calculation. The results are in good agreement with recent precision data from experiments using a deuterium target.

The electromagnetic form factors of the nucleon have been a longstanding subject of interest in nuclear and particle physics. They describe the distribution of charge and magnetization within nucleons and allow sensitive tests of nucleon models based on Quantum Chromodynamics. Precise knowledge of the form factors advances our understanding of nucleon structure.

The proton electromagnetic form factors have been determined with good precision at low values of the squared four-momentum transfer, $`Q^2`$, while the neutron form factors are known with much poorer precision because of the lack of free neutron targets. Over the past decade, with the advent of high-quality polarized beams and targets, the precise determination of both the neutron electric form factor, $`G_E^n`$, and the magnetic form factor, $`G_M^n`$, has become a focus of experimental activity. Considerable attention has been devoted to the precise measurement of $`G_M^n`$. While knowledge of $`G_M^n`$ is interesting in itself, it is also required for the determination of $`G_E^n`$, which is usually measured via the ratio $`G_E^n/G_M^n`$. Furthermore, precise data for the nucleon electromagnetic form factors are essential for the analysis of parity violation experiments  designed to probe the strangeness content of the nucleon.

Until recently, most data on $`G_M^n`$ had been deduced from elastic and quasi-elastic electron-deuteron scattering. For inclusive measurements, this procedure requires the separation of the longitudinal and transverse cross sections and the subsequent subtraction of a large proton contribution. Thus, it suffers from large theoretical uncertainties due in part to the deuteron model employed and in part to corrections for final-state interactions (FSI) and meson-exchange currents (MEC). These complications can largely be avoided if one measures the cross-section ratio of $`d(e,e^{}n)`$ to $`d(e,e^{}p)`$ at quasi-elastic kinematics. Several recent experiments  have employed this technique to extract $`G_M^n`$ with uncertainties of $`<`$2%  at $`Q^2`$ below 1 (GeV/c)2. Despite the high precision reported, however, there is considerable disagreement among some of the experiments  with respect to the absolute value of $`G_M^n`$. The most recent deuterium data  further emphasize this discrepancy.

Thus, additional data on $`G_M^n`$, preferably obtained using a complementary method, are highly desirable. Inclusive quasi-elastic $`{}_{}{}^{3}\stackrel{}{\mathrm{He}}(\stackrel{}{e},e^{})`$ scattering provides just such an alternative approach . In comparison to deuterium experiments, this technique employs a different target and relies on polarization degrees of freedom. It is thus subject to completely different systematics. As demonstrated recently , a precision comparable to that of deuterium ratio experiments can be achieved with the $`{}_{}{}^{3}\mathrm{He}`$ technique.

The sensitivity of spin-dependent $`{}_{}{}^{3}\stackrel{}{\mathrm{He}}(\stackrel{}{e},e^{})`$ scattering to neutron structure originates from the cancellation of the proton spins in the dominant spatially symmetric $`S`$ wave of the 3He ground state. As a result of this cancellation, the spin of the 3He nucleus is predominantly carried by the unpaired neutron alone . Hence, the spin-dependent contributions to the $`{}_{}{}^{3}\stackrel{}{\mathrm{He}}(\stackrel{}{e},e^{})`$ cross section are expected to be sensitive to neutron properties. Formally, the spin-dependent part of the inclusive cross section is contained in two nuclear response functions, a transverse response $`R_T^{}`$ and a longitudinal-transverse response $`R_{TL^{}}`$, which occur in addition to the spin-independent longitudinal and transverse responses $`R_L`$ and $`R_T`$ . $`R_T^{}`$ and $`R_{TL^{}}`$ can be isolated experimentally by forming the spin-dependent asymmetry $`A`$ defined as $`A=(\sigma ^{h+}\sigma ^h)/(\sigma ^{h+}+\sigma ^h)`$, where $`\sigma ^{h^\pm }`$ denotes the cross section for the two different helicities of the polarized electrons. In terms of the nuclear response functions, $`A`$ can be written

$$A=\frac{(\mathrm{cos}\theta ^{}\nu _T^{}R_T^{}+2\mathrm{sin}\theta ^{}\mathrm{cos}\varphi ^{}\nu _{TL^{}}R_{TL^{}})}{\nu _LR_L+\nu _TR_T}$$
(1)
where the $`\nu _k`$ are kinematic factors and $`\theta ^{}`$ and $`\varphi ^{}`$ are the polar and azimuthal angles of target spin with respect to the 3-momentum transfer vector $`𝐪`$. The response functions $`R_k`$ depend on $`Q^2`$ and the electron energy transfer $`\omega `$. By choosing $`\theta ^{}=0`$, i.e. by orienting the target spin parallel to the momentum transfer $`𝐪`$, one selects the transverse asymmetry $`A_T^{}`$ (proportional to $`R_T^{}`$). Various detailed calculations  have confirmed that $`R_T^{}`$, and thus $`A_T^{}`$, is strongly sensitive to $`(G_M^n)^2`$.

The experiment was carried out in Hall A at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab), using a longitudinally polarized continuous-wave electron beam incident on a high-pressure polarized 3He gas target . Six kinematic points were measured corresponding to $`Q^2=0.1`$ to $`0.6`$ (GeV/c)2 in steps of 0.1 (GeV/c)2. An incident electron beam energy, $`E_i`$, of 0.778 GeV was employed for the two lowest $`Q^2`$ values of the experiment, while the remaining points were obtained at $`E_i=1.727`$ GeV. The spectrometer settings of the six quasielastic kinematics are listed in Table I. To maximize the sensitivity to $`A_T^{}`$, the target spin was oriented at $`62.5^{}`$ to the right of the incident electron momentum direction. This corresponds to $`\theta ^{}`$ from $`8.5^{}`$ to $`6^{}`$, resulting in a contribution to the asymmetry due to $`R_{TL^{}}`$ of less than $`2\%`$ at all kinematic settings, as determined from plane-wave impulse approximation (PWIA) calculations. Further experimental details can be found in references .

Results for $`A_T^{}`$ (Fig. 1) as a function of $`\omega `$ for all six kinematics of this experiment together with the extracted $`G_M^n`$ values at the two lowest $`Q^2`$ kinematics of the experiment were reported previously . A state-of-the-art non-relativistic Faddeev calculation  was employed in the extraction of $`G_M^n`$ at these two $`Q^2`$ kinematics. As discussed in , this calculation, while very accurate at low $`Q^2`$, is not believed to be sufficiently precise for a reliable extraction of $`G_M^n`$ from the 3He asymmetry data at higher $`Q^2`$ because of its non-relativistic nature. Thus, it was not used to extract $`G_M^n`$ for $`Q^2`$ values of 0.3 and 0.4 (GeV/c)2, even though the Faddeev calculation has been extended numerically to a $`Q^2`$ value up to 0.4 (GeV/c)2. The high precision 3He quasielastic asymmetry data in the breakup region from the same experiment  at $`Q^2`$ values of 0.1 and 0.2 (GeV/c)2 provided stringent test of the Faddeev calculation and supported further the approach used in Ref.  in extracting $`G_M^n`$ at $`Q^2`$ values of 0.1 and 0.2 (GeV/c)2. Thus, a fully relativistic three-body calculation is highly desirable for a reliable extraction of $`G_M^n`$ at higher values of $`Q^2`$. Unfortunately, such a calculation is not available and difficult to carry out at present time.

On the other hand, the size of FSI and MEC corrections to inclusive scattering data is well known to diminish with increasing momentum transfer, and so PWIA will likely describe the data well at higher $`Q^2`$. Indeed as shown in Fig. 1, the PWIA  calculation provides excellent description of the data at $`Q^2`$ values of 0.5 and 0.6 (GeV/c)2. In light of this, we felt it was reasonable to extract $`G_M^n`$ from our asymmetry data using PWIA. In order to estimate the model uncertainty of this procedure, we used results from the full Faddeev calculation up to a $`Q^2`$ value of 0.4 (GeV/c)2 to study quantitatively the size and $`Q^2`$-dependence of FSI and MEC corrections.

A recent PWIA calculation  which takes into account the relativistic kinematics and current using the AV18 NN interaction potential and the Höhler nucleon form factor parameterization  (for the proton form factors and $`G_E^n`$) was used for the extraction of $`G_M^n`$ at $`Q^20.3`$ (GeV/c)2. In this calculation, the struck nucleon is described by a plane wave, and the interaction between the nucleons in the spectator pair is treated exactly by including the NN and the Coulomb interaction between the pp pair. The de Forest CC1 off-shell prescription  was adopted for the electron-nucleon cross section. Furthermore, the Urbana IX three-body forces  were included in the 3He bound state.

To extract $`G_M^n`$, measured transverse asymmetry data from a 30 MeV region around the quasielastic peak were used. The PWIA calculation  was employed to generate $`A_T^{}`$ as a function of $`G_M^n`$ in the same 30 MeV-wide $`\omega `$ region. In doing so, spectrometer acceptance effects were taken into account. By comparing the measured asymmetries with the PWIA predictions, $`G_M^n`$ values could be extracted. Results for $`G_M^n`$ were obtained in two ways: (a) by taking the weighted average of $`A_T^{}`$ from three neighboring 10 MeV bins around the quasi-elastic peak (30 MeV total for $`\omega `$) and then extracting $`G_M^n`$ from this average asymmetry, and (b) by first extracting $`G_M^n`$ from each these 10 MeV bins separately and then taking the weighted average of the resulting $`G_M^n`$ values. Both methods yield essentially the same results (within 0.1%).

The systematic uncertainty in $`G_M^n`$ is almost entirely due to the systematic error from the determination of the beam and target polarizations, which is $`1.7\%`$ in $`A_T^{}`$ and $`0.85\%`$ in $`\delta G_M^n/G_M^n`$. Such a high precision in the determination of beam and target polarizations can be achieved by using elastic polarimetry . An additional systematic error occurs in the extraction of $`G_M^n`$ due the experimental uncertainty in the determination of the energy transfer $`\omega `$. The uncertainty due to this source is 1.4% at $`Q^2=0.3`$ and becomes negligible ($`<0.5`$%) at the higher $`Q^2`$ points.

The model uncertainty inherent in the extraction procedure depends on the various ingredients of the calculation, such as the NN potential, the proton nucleon form factors, relativity, and the reaction mechanism, including FSI and MEC. The main processes neglected in PWIA are FSI and MEC; therefore, these two contributions are expected to dominate the overall model uncertainty. As mentioned, we used results from the non-relativistic Faddeev calculation carried out up to a $`Q^2`$ value of 0.4 (GeV/c)2 to estimate the uncertainties resulting from the omission of FSI and MEC. (Faddeev results for $`Q^2>0.4`$ were not generated because the calculation manifestly breaks down in that kinematic regime)

To estimate the effect of FSI, the non-relativistic Faddeev calculation with FSI, corrected for relativistic effects, was compared  with the relativistic PWIA calculation . Relativistic corrections to the Faddeev calculation were derived from a comparison between the standard, relativistic PWIA calculation  and a modified, non-relativistic PWIA calculation . One can thus study the size and the $`Q^2`$-dependence of the FSI effect up to a $`Q^2`$ value of 0.4 (GeV/c)2. As expected, FSI corrections to $`A_T^{}`$ decrease with increasing $`Q^2`$. The estimated errors in $`A_T^{}`$ due to the neglect of the FSI effect in PWIA are 9.0%, 3.6% for $`Q^2`$ of 0.3, 0.4, and on the order of 1-2 $`\%`$ for $`Q^2`$ values of 0.5, and 0.6 (GeV/c)2 based on an extrapolation beyond a $`Q^2`$ value of 0.4 (GeV/c)2.

The MEC effect can be addressed in a similar manner. Based on the Faddeev calculation , we find that MEC corrections to $`A_T^{}`$ near the top of the quasielastic peak decrease exponentially as $`Q^2`$ increases. Similar conclusions have been drawn from studies of the quasi-elastic $`\stackrel{}{d}(\stackrel{}{e},e^{})`$ process . We estimate the uncertainty due to the neglect of the MEC effect in PWIA for $`A_T^{}`$ on top of the quasi-elastic peak to be 3.6%, 2.4%, 1.0%, and 1.0% for $`Q^2`$ of 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6 (GeV/c)2, respectively.

The effect of various different off-shell prescriptions  was studied in the framework of the PWIA calculation, and the contribution to the uncertainty of extracting $`G_M^n`$ from $`A_T^{}`$ was found to be negligible. Difference in $`G_M^n`$ arising from different choices of NN potential and other nucleon form factor parametrizations was found to be about $`1\%`$.

Results for $`G_M^n`$ extracted at $`Q^2=0.3`$ to 0.6 (GeV/c)2 using the PWIA calculation are presented in Table II along with statistical, systematic, and model uncertainties. The model uncertainties are obtained based on studies described previously, which may represent the lower limits only. The results are plotted in Fig 2 along with the previously reported $`G_M^n`$ results  at $`Q^2=0.1`$ and 0.2 (GeV/c)2, which were extracted using the Faddeev calculation. All other published results since 1990 are also shown. The error bars shown on our data are the quadrature sum of the statistic and systematic uncertainties reported in Table II, which do not include the estimated model uncertainty.

While limitations exist in our approach, we note that our results are in very good agreement with the recent deuterium ratio measurements from Mainz , and in disagreement with results by Bruins et al. .

In conclusion, we have measured the spin-dependent asymmetry $`A_T^{}`$ in the quasi-elastic $`{}_{}{}^{3}\stackrel{}{\mathrm{He}}(\stackrel{}{e},e^{})`$ process with high precision at $`Q^2`$-values from 0.1 to 0.6 (GeV/c)2. In this Rapid Communication, we report the extraction of $`G_M^n`$ at $`Q^2`$ values of 0.3 to 0.6 (GeV/c)2 based on PWIA calculations, which are expected to be reasonably reliable in our range of $`Q^2`$. We estimate the total uncertainty of our results to be about 4-6%. A more precise extraction of $`G_M^n`$ at these $`Q^2`$ values requires a fully relativistic three-body calculation, which is unavailable at present. Efforts are underway to extend the theory into this regime .

We thank the Hall A technical staff and the Jefferson Lab Accelerator Division for their outstanding support during this experiment. This work was supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, DOE/EPSCoR, the U. S. National Science Foundation, the Science and Technology Cooperation Germany-Poland and the Polish Committee for Scientific Research, the Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica (Murst), the French Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN). This work was supported by DOE contract DE-AC05-84ER40150 under which the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. The numerical calculations were performed at the U. S. National Energy Research Scientific Computer Center (NERSC) and NIC in Jülich.


text:
# Monocular UHECR Spectra as Measured by HiRes

## 1 Detectors

The HiRes experiment consists of two air-fluorescence detectors separated by 12.6 km and located at the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. One detector, HiRes-I, consists of 22 mirrors covering 3–17 in elevation and nearly 360 in azimuth. It uses a sample-and-hold data acquisition system to save the photomultiplier tubes’ pulse height and time information. HiRes-I has been running since June of 1997. The second detector, HiRes-II, located 12.6 km away, consists of 42 mirrors, covers 3–31 in elevation, and uses a flash ADC (FADC) system to save pulse height and time information from its phototubes . The sampling period of the FADC electronics is 100 ns. HiRes-II has been operating since October of 1999. The mirror units at each site are identical, with a 5 m2 mirror collecting light onto an array of 256 phototubes. Each phototube covers about one square degree of the sky.

## 2 Monocular Analysis

The two detectors are designed to observe cosmic ray showers steroscopically. However, HiRes-I has been running for much longer than HiRes-II and at energies below about 1018 eV, events can only be observed by one detector. Thus we are presenting here spectra from monocular analyses.

Determination of the shower geometry in monocular mode is done by fitting the trigger times, $`t_i`$, of hits to the following function of the angles, $`\chi _i`$, of hits above the horizon,within the event plane:

$$t_i=t_0+\frac{R_p}{c}\mathrm{tan}\left(\frac{\pi \psi \chi _i}{2}\right)$$
(1)
Here $`R_p`$ is the impact parameter, $`\psi `$ the in-plane angle between the shower and the horizon, and $`t_0`$ the time of closest approach.

With limited elevation coverage, HiRes-I monocular events are too short in angular spread for reliable determination of $`\psi `$ and $`R_p`$ by timing alone. For this analysis, the expected form of shower development itself was used to constrain the time fit to yield realistic geometries. The shower profile was assumed to be described by the Gaisser-Hillas parameterization

$$N(x)=N_m\left(\frac{xx_0}{x_mx_0}\right)^{(x_mx_0)/\lambda }e^{(x_mx)/\lambda }$$
(2)
where $`N(x)`$, $`N_m`$ are the number of particles at depth $`x`$ and at shower maximum depth $`x_m`$, respectively. The first-interaction depth and shower elongation constant are denoted by $`x_0`$, and $`\lambda `$ .This technique is called the profile-constrained fit (PCF). Equation 2 is in agreement with previous HiRes measurements , and with CORSIKA/QGSJET simulations . Based on these, we fixed $`x_0`$ and $`\lambda `$ at 40 and 70 g/cm2, respectively. We allowed $`x_m`$ to vary in 35 g/cm2 steps between 680 and 900 g/cm2, matching the expected range for proton to iron primaries in this energy range. This procedure breaks down for events with energies less than $`3\times 10^{18}`$ eV, providing the lower limit to the HiRes-I spectrum.

The greater elevation coverage of HiRes-II allows for the reconstruction of the shower geometry from timing alone. Equation 1 is linear in $`R_p`$ and $`t_0`$, we find the best value for these variables analytically for each $`\psi `$; the best $`\psi `$ is then found by $`\chi ^2`$ minimization. With the geometry of the shower known, we fit the observed light signal to the Gaisser-Hillas parameterization of Eqn. 2. We collected photo-electrons from all tubes into a sequence of time bins. This exploited the FADC data acquisition system and lessened our sensitivity to PMT acceptance.

Two calibration issues effect both sites: the absolute calibration of the phototube gains and the determination of the transparency of the atmosphere. The phototube gains are determined through a nightly illumination of the phototube clusters with a YAG laser and a monthly illumination by a Xenon flash bulb. The atmospheric transparency is determined by probing the atmosphere hourly with a set of laser shots from each of the sites which is observed and reconstructed by the other site.

## 3 Data-MC Comparisons

The aperture as a function of energy is a necessary component of the spectrum calculation. It is determined by Monte Carlo calculation. To verify our calculated aperture and analysis procedures, we undertook an extensive program of Monte Carlo simulation development and comparison of simulated data with real data. Two figures exemplify this; both are from the HiRes-II analysis. In figure 1 we compare data and MC distributions of two geometric variables: $`r_p`$ and $`\psi `$. In figure 2 we compare the distributions of reconstructed energies. Note that any large discrepancy between the atmospheric parameters used in MC and the conditions under which the data were actually taken would heavily influence the distribution of impact parameters.

## 4 The HiRes Spectra

The two HiRes monocular spectra are shown in figure 3  along with what one would expect from a model combining galactic sources with uniformly distributed extra-galactic sources. The GZK cutoff is evident, and there is no need from this data to invoke extraordinary means in order to evade it.

In figure 4 we compare our spectra with that of AGASA. The shape of the two spectra agree quite well for energies below 100 EeV, and reducing the AGASA energies by 20%, which is within AGASA’s stated systematic uncertainty, makes this comparison explicit. The famed discrepancy between HiRes and AGASA has thus been reduced to a few points above 100 EeV, where AGASA has five events (with they’re energy scale reduced by the 20%) and HiRes has only one.


text:
# A Search for Neutral Baryon Resonances Below Pion Threshold

## Abstract

The reaction $`p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)X^0`$ was studied with two high resolution magnetic spectrometers to search for narrow baryon resonances. A missing mass resolution of 2.0 MeV was achieved. A search for structures in the mass region of $`0.97<M_{X^0}<1.06`$ GeV yielded no significant signal. The yield ratio of $`p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)X^0/p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)n`$ was determined to be $`(0.35\pm 0.35)\times 10^3`$ at 1.004 GeV and $`(0.34\pm 0.42)\times 10^3`$ at 1.044 GeV.

Since the discovery of the $`\mathrm{\Delta }(1232)`$ resonance in the 1950’s, many baryon resonances have been discovered with $`m>m_\mathrm{\Delta }`$. These baryon states are interpreted as net three-quark color-singlet objects with angular and radial excitations . The quark model explains the mass difference of $`m_\mathrm{\Delta }m_N`$ by quark spin-spin interactions . Since all the low-lying quark-model states are accounted for, a baryon bound state with a mass between the nucleon and the $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ should not exist in the present theoretical framework. Indeed, there was no evidence for such a resonance prior to 1997, and several searches  for charge-two resonances yielded null results. In 1997, however, possible evidence of neutral baryon states at 1.004, 1.044, and 1.094 GeV was reported in the $`ppp\pi ^+X^0`$ reaction . The two lower mass states are below pion threshold, and the only allowed decay channels are the radiative ones, which implies that their natural widths are of the order of a few keV, much narrower than the experimental resolution of a few MeV. The authors suggested a possible explanation of these resonance states in terms of interacting colored quark clusters.

These experimental results are most astounding when one considers the countless experiments carried out with many different probes over more than 50-years in which the claimed states were never observed. L’vov and Workman  argued that the reported structures are “completely excluded” by the fact that no such structure was reported in the existing real Compton scattering data . Furthermore, the existence of these states appears to be ruled out by their effects on the predicted composition of a neutron star which lead to a reduced maximal mass inconsistent with the observational limit . As a counter argument, Kobushkin  suggested that the claimed states could be members of a total anti-symmetric representation of a spin-flavor group such that the one-photon excitation or decay channels are forbidden and only the $`2\gamma N`$ channels are allowed. While there is no room for these new exotic baryon states within the many theoretical constituent quark models , a colorless Diquark Cluster Model  mass formula closely reproduced the observed masses. Recently, a model based on the excitation of quark condensates  was suggested which interpreted the resonances as multiple production of a “genuine” Goldstone Boson with a mass of 20 MeV.

The existence of baryon resonances below pion threshold, if established experimentally, could profoundly change our understanding of quark-quark interactions and strongly suggest new degrees of freedom in the quark model. However, the states claimed in Ref.  were of limited statistics amid a rather significant background. The signals of the $`ppp\pi ^+X^0`$ peaks were of the order of $`10^3`$ compared to that of the $`ppp\pi ^+n`$ peak. Given the potential impact of these states, experimental verification in different reaction channels is highly desired. Recently, single baryon states of 0.966, 0.987, and 1.003 GeV were reported in the missing mass spectra of the $`pdppX^0`$ reaction , but a similar search in the same reaction channel has reported no resonance structure . This paper reports the first dedicated search in the $`p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)X^0`$ channel in the mass region of $`0.97<M_{X^0}<1.06`$ GeV. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the $`X^0`$ states would be a product of strong interactions through an intermediate state $`N^{}`$ of the nucleon, $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$, or N resonances.

The ratio of the coupling at the $`\pi N^{}X`$ vertex to that at the $`\pi N^{}n`$ vertex can be determined through the cross section ratio:

$$\left(\frac{g_{\pi N^{}X}}{g_{\pi N^{}n}}\right)^2=\frac{\sigma _{p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)X^0}}{\sigma _{p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)n}}K_s.$$
(1)
According to B. Tatischeff et al., the suppression factor $`K_S`$ is expected to be in the order of $`10^3`$. Therefore, a high-resolution, high-statistic and low background $`(e,e^{}\pi ^+)`$ measurement could be used to reveal the resonance states as abnormal structures above the radiative tail of the $`p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)n`$ reaction, as first suggested by Azimov.

The measurement was conducted at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility’s experimental Hall A, taking advantage of the high resolution spectrometer pair and the high quality CW beam of the CEBAF accelerator. The data were collected during a 12 hour period. An electron beam of energy 1.722 GeV and average current 33 $`\mu `$A was scattered on a liquid hydrogen target. The target cell was an aluminum can 15 cm in length and 6.35 cm in diameter, and was oriented with its axis along the beam direction. Two magnetic spectrometers were used in coincidence. One spectrometer was set to a central momentum of 1.040 GeV/c to detect the scattered electrons at 19 on beam right, the other spectrometer was set to 41.6 on beam left to detect $`\pi ^+`$ particles first at 0.621 GeV/c (Kinematics-A) corresponding to the missing neutron peak as a calibration, then at 0.543 GeV/c (Kinematics-B) for the resonance search. The four-momentum transfer square is 0.2 GeV2, and the invariant mass of the $`\pi ^+X^0`$ system is $`W1.44`$ GeV.

A combination of a threshold gas Cherenkov counter and a lead-glass calorimeter array at the focal plane provided clean $`e/\pi ^{}`$ separation in the electron arm. In the hadron arm, the $`\pi ^+/p`$ separation was achieved by an Aerogel Cherenkov detector combined with the particle’s velocity and energy loss measured by the trigger scintillators. The resolution of the reconstructed two-arm vertex was $`\sigma _z=0.6`$ cm along the beam direction, and was mainly limited by the multiple scattering through the window material at the target chamber and the spectrometer entrance. The path length corrected coincidence time had a resolution of $`2.0`$ ns (FWHM) which is dominated by the rise time of the photomultiplier tubes attached to the scintillators. After particle ID cuts and a two-arm vertex cut of $`|\mathrm{\Delta }z|<1.0`$ cm, the ratio of real-to-random coincidences was about 1:1 in Kinematics-B as shown in Fig. 2.

Yields were corrected for event-reconstruction efficiencies ($`90\%`$) and data acquisition dead times ($`10\%`$). The effect of pion decay was accounted for by weighting each event with a survival factor which was calculated based on the pion’s momentum and path length ($``$23.5 m). A window of 3.4 ns centered around the timing peak was used to select the $`(e,e^{}\pi ^+)`$ events, and accidental events were sampled from a 34 ns time window on each side of the timing peak. No noticeable fine-structure was observed in any spectrum of accidental events. The phase space volumes were calculated through a Monte Carlo simulation which started by sampling a missing mass range uniformly. Spectrometer models, reconstruction resolutions and target material effects were considered in the simulation. The charge-normalized $`(e,e^{}\pi ^+)`$ yields were obtained by subtracting the accidental events from the coincident events and dividing the result by the phase space volume.

The normalized yield, as a function of missing mass, is plotted in Fig. 3(a) in 1.0 MeV bins. The missing mass resolution is 2.0 MeV, as demonstrated in Kinematics-A, and is mainly due to the energy loss in the target material. Due to the large size of the target cell, the incident electron, the scattered electron, and the outgoing pion passed through averaged material thickness of 0.5, 0.6, and 0.4 g/cm2, respectively. The yield of Kinematics-B, which is the Bethe-Heitler radiation tail of the $`p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)n`$ reaction, has been amplified fifty times in Fig. 3(a). A third-order polynomial was fit to the Kinematics-B yield with a reduced $`\chi ^2`$ of 1.2 for 90 data points. The signature of an $`X^0`$ resonance would be an excess of yield above the smooth shape of the radiation tail. A line shape corresponding to such a signal with the strength of $`K_s=1.0\times 10^3`$ at 1.004 and 1.044 GeV is illustrated in Fig. 3(a) by the curve shifted from the data. The deviations of the data from the polynomial fit are divided by the $`p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)n`$ peak-height and plotted in Fig. 3(b). To the level of $`K_s1.0\times 10^3`$, no resonance signal can be identified in the mass region of $`0.97<M_{X^0}<1.06`$ GeV. Fitting these fluctuations with a Gaussian of FWHM $`=2.0`$ MeV, the experimental resolution, leads to $`K_s=(0.35\pm 0.35)\times 10^3`$ at 1.004 GeV and $`K_s=(0.34\pm 0.42)\times 10^3`$ at 1.044 GeV. For the reported state at 0.987 GeV of Ref. , we found $`K_s=(0.94\pm 0.44)\times 10^3`$. The state at 1.094 GeV was not covered in this measurement.

The null result of this experiment does not necessarily contradict the claim of Ref.. First, the hadronic reaction could have allowed more exotic channels for the production of $`X^0`$, for example, through a reaction with a dibaryon type intermediate state. Second, due to the limited beam time and the unfavorable target geometry, the sensitivity of this measurement was not much improved compared to Ref.. However, this measurement clearly demonstrated the potential of high resolution missing mass searches in coincidence experiments. Further improvements of the experimental apparatus underway are expected to reduce the timing resolution to 0.5 ns and the missing mass resolution to 0.5 MeV. A dedicated search can set a tighter limit of $`K_s1.0\times 10^4`$. With the addition of neutron detectors or photon detectors to identify the radiative decay products of $`X^0`$, experimental sensitivity can be enhanced further by at least one order of magnitude. We point out that very weakly excited states can only be observed when searched for seriously in dedicated experiments. This usually requires a great deal of care, effort and accelerator time, and most of all, very high resolution detectors. Detailed attention must be paid to backgrounds and instrumental effects which can lead to false structures. With the new generation of high resolution spectrometers and the high intensity CW electron beam of Jefferson Lab, a carefully planned experiment could set a much tighter limit on or even discover narrow baryon structures which might not have been visible in earlier lower resolution experiments.

In conclusion, a high resolution missing mass search in the $`p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)X^0`$ reaction yielded no significant signal in the mass region of $`0.97<M_{X^0}<1.06`$ GeV. The yield ratio of $`p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)X^0/p(e,e^{}\pi ^+)n`$ was determined to be $`(0.35\pm 0.35)\times 10^3`$ at 1.004 GeV and $`(0.34\pm 0.42)\times 10^3`$ at 1.044 GeV, consistent with a null signal.

We thank Drs. E. L. Lomon, B. Norum, B. Tatischeff and W. Turchinetz for many discussions. We also thank the Jefferson Lab Hall A collaboration, Hall A technical staff and the Jefferson Lab Accelerator Division for their support of this experiment. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (contract DE-FG02-99ER41065, FIU) and the National Science Foundation (contract PHY00-98642, Rutgers). Southeastern Universities Research Association manages Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility under DOE contract DE-AC05-84ER40150.