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# Abstract

## Abstract

We use a scheme of separation of degrees of freedom for a system in order to produce two systems with finite number of degrees of freedom. Our intent is to measure the energy square relative fluctuation (SRF) of the observable part through the simulation of two simple examples of composed systems, the simple harmonic oscillator, and the chain of quartic oscillators. We want to test the result found previously by us through the finite heat bath canonical ensemble (cond-mat/0210525), which is an application of Tsallis’ statistics. We see that the results obtained here are in very good agreement with the theoretical predicted values. This suggests that this kind of finite systems are ergodic, and that they do not provide “bad” statistics.

PACs: 05.20.-y, 05.70.-a

## 1 Introduction

Tsallis’ statistics, first proposed 14 years ago , is a field which attracts great attention nowadays. It has been applied to a variety of fields, among which are included: fully developed turbulence , anomalous diffusion , and the Nosé-Hoover thermostat .
Certainly, many proposals to explain its physical meaning, in particular the interpretation of the generalization parameter $`q`$, have risen. Some of them  suggest that $`q`$ measures the fluctuation of a quantity pertaining the phenomenom in which the interpretation was proposed.
We follow the path initially proposed by Plastino and Plastino , and Almeida . This approach is based on the idea that Tsallis’ power law canonical distribution is the probability function of a system which is in thermal equilibrium with a heat bath which has a finite number of degrees of freedom, and the quantity $`\frac{q_i}{q_i1}`$ is the exponent of the energy in the accessible phase space volume of the $`i`$-th system which is proportional to the number of degrees of freedom of this system. It may either be positive or negative.
It should be noticed that in this formalism the distribution is obtained in the first place (instead of postulating an entropy functional and then finding the canonical form by optimization of the former) from the system’s phase space geometry.
Of course, this is only one case where Tsallis’ statistics can be said to “apply”, since the generalization parameter $`q`$, firstly free of interpretation, provides a very convenient way of describing a wide class of phenomena. Henceforth, we will refer to our framework as the finite bath canonical ensemble, but still use the notation introduced previously. Any quantities labeled by $`0`$, $`1`$, and $`2`$ belong to the composite (observable+bath), observable, and heat bath system.
Many theoretical developments were achieved along this line . Also, a few simulations were performed in order to test the present approach . A detailed description of the finite heat bath canonical ensemble may be found within these references.
We propose here to simulate two simple systems in order to measure the square relative fluctuation (SRF) of a system. We want to test the result found in . We do this by using a procedure in which we separate the degrees of freedom of a classical system, which is not is thermal contact with any heat bath, and define one of them as the observable system, and the other as the bath. This was primarly used in .
We organize the paper as follows: in section 2, we give a brief explanation of the relative fluctuation calculation made in . Section 3 is devoted to introduce the model, the systems, and the simulations’ results. In section 4 we discuss the physical meaning of this approach. In section 5 we address our conclusions.

## 2 The relative fluctuation in the finite bath approach

In order to calculate the SRF of a random quantity $`x`$, we need to calculate the following expression:

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }x^2}{x^2}=\frac{x^2}{x^2}1.$$
(1)
The angular brackets denote ensemble averages.
In , the authors calculated equation (1) for a system’s energy $`E_1`$. This energy is distributed according to the following power law canonical distribution:

$$p(E_1)=\frac{1}{Z_1}\left[1(q_21)\beta ^{}E_1\right]^{\frac{1}{q_21}},$$
(2)
where $`Z_1`$ is the partition function, the parameter $`\beta ^{}`$ satisfies:

$$\beta ^{}(q_21)=\frac{1}{E_0},$$
(3)
$`E_1`$ and $`E_0=E_1+E_2`$ are the observable and total energies. Equation (2) is just another way of writing the distribtuion function of a system in contact with a finite heat bath, therefore, it is not, from the very beginning, a distribution which arises due to the presence of unusual characteristics, such as long-range interactions. All the moments of $`E_1`$ were calculated in , and equation (1) was written as:

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }E_1^2}{E_1^2}=\frac{q_2/(q_21)}{q_1/(q_11)}\frac{1}{q_0/(q_01)+1},$$
(4)
where:

$$\frac{q_0}{q_01}=\frac{q_1}{q_11}+\frac{q_2}{q_21}.$$
(5)
This expression is nothing less than the additivity of the exponents of the allowed phase space volumes of the three systems.
The temperature of a system was defined in , through the equipartition theorem, and is given by:

$$k_BT=\frac{E_0}{q_0/(q_01)}=\frac{E_1}{q_1/(q_11)}=\frac{E_2}{q_2/(q_21)}$$
(6)
It may seem confusing the 3 $`q`$’s introduced above, one for each system, since the whole non-extensive statistics was primarily based on a single parameter $`q`$. This approach necessarily leads us to the 3 $`q`$’s, since each system has its own phase space, and therefore, characterized by its own $`q`$. Fortunately, only one is really important, namely $`q_2`$. This is the number which characterizes the distribution function of the observable system, and if this $`q`$ goes to $`1`$, inother words, if the number of degrees of freedom of the bath goes to infinity, the distribution (2) goes to the Boltzmann-gibbs ($`BG`$) exponential, and the whole formalism, to the classical $`BG`$ one.
The simulation performed here intend to test the validity and accuracy of (4). The results are presented in the next section.

## 3 Numerical models

The idea here is as follows: suppose we have a system of $`N`$ particles in $`D`$ dimensions isolated from any other kind of interaction, which means that it is not coupled to an external bath. It has the following hamiltonian:

$$H=\underset{i=1}{\overset{DN}{}}\frac{p_i^2}{2m_i}+U(x_i)+U_{int}(x_i),$$
(7)
where the first term in the right is the kinetic energy. The other two represent the potential part. Note that there may be an interaction term in this system. Then we pick one degree of freedom, say $`p_1`$, and separate it from the rest of the hamiltonian:

$$H=\frac{p_1^2}{2m_1}+\underset{i=2}{\overset{DN}{}}\frac{p_i^2}{2m_i}+U(x_i)+U_{int}(x_i)=E_1+E_2.$$

Now we consider $`p_1`$ as our observable system and the rest of the original hamiltonian as the heat bath. Since the number of degrees of freedom of $`E_1`$ is finite, in this case equals to $`2DN1`$, provided that $`DN`$ is finite, the distribution of $`E_1`$, or equivalently $`p_1`$, is always a power law, and the results found in references  can be tested.
Although it seems to be very simple to work in this approach, it should be employed very carefully. Some cases are not direct as they seem to be, we must take into account the mixing of the coordinates.
A great example is provided by the three dimensional harmonic oscillator, where $`U_{int}(x_i)=0`$. In this system we have three momenta and three positions. Hence, it is tempting to use equation (4) to $`p_1`$ considering all the other degrees of freedom as the heat bath. In this case we would have the following numbers:

$$\frac{q_0}{q_01}=3;\frac{q_1}{q_11}=\frac{1}{2};\frac{q_2}{q_21}=\frac{5}{2}.$$

These are not correct by the fact that $`p_1`$ only trades energy with its correspondent position $`x_1`$, the other coordinates $`(p_2,p_3,x_2,x_3)`$ do not participate as a bath. In this case, the correct quantities are:

$$\frac{q_0}{q_01}=1;\frac{q_1}{q_11}=\frac{1}{2};\frac{q_2}{q_21}=\frac{1}{2}.$$
(8)
For this reason, we cannot consider the sum of any momenta as a system, for it will not span the whole allowed phase space. Therefore, it is not ergodic.
In a system which $`U_{int}(x_i)0`$, all coordinates trade energy among themselves, and the bath for a single, or more, degree of freedom is defined by the rest of the coordinates. Our second simulation is one of this case. When the system is coupled to an external bath, this carefullness is not needed since this interaction makes all the degrees of freedom to span the whole allowed phase space.
This approach was inspired by Khinchin  who suggested that degrees of freedom could be separated as a system and bath.
Thus, the simulations we present here do not describe a physical particle. They describes only a degree of freedom of a system.

### 3.1 The single harmonic oscillator in one dimension

The first system to be simulated is, perhaps, the simplest one to consider. Its hamiltonian reads:

$$H=\frac{p^2}{2m}+\frac{1}{2}Kx^2.$$
(9)
We take $`E_1`$ as the kinetic part, and the bath as the potential term. The values of $`q`$ for this problem are given in (8). We notice that this is a symmetric situation, in the sense that if we choose the potential part as the observable system, the results will be the same. The SRF for this system reads:

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }E_1^2}{E_1^2}=\frac{1}{2}.$$
(10)
The result of the simulations is presented in figure 1. It should be noticed that the SRF does not deviate much from the predicted value.

As a by product of the simulation, we present, in figure 3, the fit for the distribution of $`E_1`$. The slope values $`0.481`$. Theoretically predicted value is given by the power of the structure function of the momentum:

$$\frac{1}{q_21}=0.5.$$
(11)
In this simulation, we have taken the following values for the important parameters: mass: $`m=0.5`$, elastic constant: $`K=2.0`$, time step: $`\mathrm{\Delta }t=0.01`$. The data for building the fit of the distribution were taken after the thermalization time was achieved. We estimated it at about: $`t_{ther}=7.0\times 10^4`$. We did this by observing the time evolution of $`Q(t)=\overline{x_i\frac{H}{x_i}}\frac{1}{\mathrm{\Theta }}`$, where $`x_i`$ represents the canonical variables, $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ is proportional to the ratio $`\frac{V_0(E_0)}{\mathrm{\Omega }_0(E_0)}`$, $`V_0(E_0)`$ is the composed system’s accessible volume and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0(E_0)`$ is its structure function, and is given by:

$$\mathrm{\Theta }=\frac{E_0}{q_0/(q_01)},$$

and the overbar denotes time average. We test the approach of it to unity, for this can be a good estimate of the thermalization time of the system.
We used a Leapfrog routine to integrate the system.

### 3.2 The chain of quartic oscillators

This system was inspired by the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam model, and was first studied in . Its hamiltonian is given by:

$$H=\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}\left[\frac{p_i^2}{2}+\frac{x_i^4}{4}+\frac{\left(x_{i+1}x_i\right)^4}{4}\right],$$
(12)
where $`(p_i,x_i)`$ denote the momentum and position of an oscillator, and $`N`$ is the total number of oscillators.
First we will measure the SRF of the kinetic energy of the first oscillator. We choose

$$E_1=\frac{p_1^2}{2};E_2=\underset{i=2}{\overset{N}{}}\frac{p_i^2}{2}+\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}\left[\frac{x_i^4}{4}+\frac{\left(x_{i+1}x_i\right)^4}{4}\right].$$

From a simple scaling argument , we can easily calculate the $`q`$’s for this problem. They are given next:

$$\frac{q_0}{q_01}=\frac{3N}{4};\frac{q_1}{q_11}=\frac{1}{2};\frac{q_2}{q_21}=\frac{3N2}{4}.$$

Therefore, we have a relative fluctuation given by:

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }E_1^2}{E_1^2}=2\times \frac{3N2}{3N+4}.$$
(13)
In figure 4, we present the results for several values of $`N`$.

In table 1, we show the SRF for the values of $`N`$ considered in the simulations. We see that while the number of oscillators increases, the SRF approaches $`2`$, its $`N\mathrm{}`$ value.

We also considered a system composed of momenta $`p_1,p_2`$, only, and then one composed of the first two plus $`p_3`$, and observed that the SRF agree with (13). This is to be expected since the canonical coordinates are all connected by the quartic interaction.
As a second test, we studied the average value of the potential part of this hamiltonian, namely:

$$E_1=\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}\left[\frac{x_i^4}{4}+\frac{\left(x_{i+1}x_i\right)^4}{4}\right].$$
(14)
The number of degrees of freedom for this system can be directly calculated by observing that for the kinetic part (which plays the bath’s role now), we have:

$$\frac{q_2}{q_21}=\frac{N}{2},$$

then, we have for the potential energy (observable system):

$$\frac{q_1}{q_11}=\frac{N}{4}.$$
(15)
The SRF, equation (4) is given by:

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }E_1^2}{E_1^2}=\frac{8}{3N+4}.$$
(16)
In figure 4, we present the time evolution, after thermalization, of (16) for several values of $`N`$. In table 2, we calculate the values of the relative fluctuation for each case. Once again, if the number of oscillators is increased, the SRF goes to the $`N\mathrm{}`$ value, i. e., zero.

A third test of relation (4) would be to study only a term in the potential energy, say $`x_0^4`$. The $`q_1/(q_11)`$ values may be, in some cases, not so hard to calculate, and (4) would be readly applicable. Unfortunately, this procedure does not work, as we observed by studying the above term. Although its mean value and SRF converge, these values are not predicted by our calculations. We observed that this term does not obeys the equipartition, in other words, its mean value does not follow:

$$x_0^4=\frac{1}{4}k_BT.$$

This suggests that isolated terms in the potential are non-ergodic, although the whole potential energy is an ergodic one.
In figure 5, we show the time evolution of the quantity:

$$\frac{\overline{x_0^4}}{4k_BT}$$

which, by the former, should approach $`0.25`$. Clearly, we see that it does not. We have also observed this behaviour in other terms, such as $`x_1^4x_0^4`$.
Although the equipartition does not hold in this case, we could use the final value of $`q_1/(q_11)`$ and calculate the relative fluctuation of this term. Once again, the value obtained does not coincide with the one observed in the simulations, not shown here. Hence, we cannot predict, with the tools of the canonical ensemble, for this $`x_0^4`$ term, any quantity, and, by the nature of the problem, we can also say that the other terms in the potential energy follow this line.
The reason for this discrepancy may lie in the fact that no term in the potential energy is independent of any other term in the potential energy. In the kinetic part, no single momentum component is free, it interacts with the potential part, but it does not interact with the other momenta components. This is why the single terms in the potential energy do not span the allowed phase space.

## 4 Discussion

We saw that our separation of degrees of freedom scheme provides a simple way of studying systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom. The results obtained here are in very good agreement with the theoretical results. This fact indicates that the time averages of such finite systems coincide with their ensemble averages. This seems to be in contradiction with the thought that for statistical mechanics to apply, it is required infinite number of particles, or infinite number of degrees of freedom. We state that this represents no contradiction at all for ensemble averages are taken with respect to the system’s states of energy, and not with respect to the system’s degrees of freedom. The number of states of energy of a system are always infinite in number for a classical system (which is the case here).
For example, consider a classical particle in a box. How many states of energy, i.e. how many values of the canonical coordinates $`(\stackrel{}{p},\stackrel{}{x})`$, exist such that are compatible with the particle’s energy? Clearly infinite. Generally, every degree of freedom defines a surface in its own phase space, with an infinite number of points (states).

## 5 Conclusions

We have simulated two simple systems not in thermal equilibrium with a heat bath, in order to separate its degrees of freedom, and consider them as separate systems, one as the observable and the other as the heat bath. We intended to study systems with finite number of degrees of freedom, and therefore, to test the results found in  for the square relative fluctuation of the observable system energy.
Our results are in very good agreement with the theoretical predicted value, hence indicating that these systems are indeed ergodic.
We can conclude that these finite systems do not represent a case of “bad” statistics, in the sense that the methods of statistical mechanics do not apply to them. Certainly, the method of Boltzmann-Gibbs, which assumes an ideal thermostat in certainly not appplicable, but our procedure of considering the system decoupled from the ideal heat bath, hence not in equilibrium with such a system, is clearly a good framework to use.


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# On the Geometry of the High-Velocity Ejecta of the Peculiar Type Ia Supernova 2000cx

## 1 Introduction

One-dimensional (1D) white dwarf explosion models like W7 (Nomoto et al., 1984) have been used to synthesize spectra in good agreement with those observed of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia; see Filippenko, 1997, for a general review). But recent polarization observations of the SNe Ia 1997dt (Leonard et al., 2000b), 1999by (Howell et al., 2001), 2000cx (Leonard et al., 2000a), and 2001el (Wang et al., 2003; Kasen et al., 2003) indicate that at least some SN Ia envelopes deviate significantly from spherical symmetry.

The strongest case for such deviation appears in the Ca II lines of SN 2001el. This event exhibits an unusual Ca II infrared (IR) triplet in its flux spectrum about a week before maximum brightness. Two triplets are evident: one corresponds to photospheric-velocity (PV) material and the other to higher-velocity (HV) material. In the polarization spectrum, the HV feature coincides with significant intrinsic net polarization. Kasen et al. (2003) investigate a number of envelope models to account for the HV feature. Generally, they conclude that (1) incomplete covering of the photosphere and (2) some deviation from spherical symmetry are required to produce the HV features. Unfortunately, conditions did not permit simultaneous observation of the blue spectrum so a corresponding phenomenon in the Ca II H&K feature remains unconfirmed.

Another unusual Ca II feature is found in the spectrum of the peculiar SN 2000cx (Li et al., 2001). Near maximum light, its ostensible Ca II IR triplet possesses an interesting quadruply notched feature perhaps due to what Li et al. call “some unique distribution of Ca in the ejecta of SN 2000cx,” extending to high velocity. The wavelength coverage of the near-maximum light spectra is excellent. Though polarization data at the same wavelengths are not available, simultaneous fits of the H&K and IR triplet features may help constrain at least the HV photospheric covering fraction (if indeed the HV material is not distributed in spherical symmetry).

It remains unclear why clumpy HV ejecta could occur in SNe Ia. Detailed synthetic spectropolarimetry has yet to test explosion models free from the constraint of spherical symmetry (Khokhlov, 2000; Reinecke et al., 2002; Gamezo et al., 2003). These explosion calculations have neither proceeded to the free-expansion phase nor provided abundance distributions required for detailed spectrum synthesis. On the other hand, methods for calculating synthetic spectra from three-dimensional (3D) models of SNe are in their infancy (Thomas et al., 2002; Kasen et al., 2003). Hence parameterized, direct analysis of observed SN spectra remains a powerful way of guiding explosion modellers to replicate geometrical phenomena in their models.

In this article, the goal is to analyze the Ca II features in the spectrum of SN 2000cx at a single epoch to constrain the HV ejecta geometry. A separate multi-epoch, but exclusively 1D analysis of this object is forthcoming (D. Branch et al., in preparation). That work addresses such orthogonal problems as the exhaustive identification of PV features and the unusual color evolution of this SN.

The outline of the remainder of this article is as follows. In §2 we present the spectra and identify the features of interest. In §3 we use the 1D direct analysis code Synow and the analogous 3D code Brute to test a few geometrical distributions of Ca II line optical depth. We discuss the candidate models and estimate the HV ejecta mass in §4. Conclusions appear in §5.

## 2 Spectra

In Figure 1 are three spectra of SN 2000cx collected near maximum light, originally presented by Li et al. (2001). The usual SN Ia absorptions from Si II (near 6150 Å) and S II (near 5400 Å) are accompanied by absorptions due to Fe III (near 4300 Å and 5000 Å). There is very little, if any, signature of Fe II.

Between 7900 Å and 8400 Å is a series of four notches. Usually at this phase, only absorption from the two stronger lines of the triplet ($`\lambda \lambda `$8542, 8662 — often blended) are visible in this region, and these are the best candidates for the two redder notches. The two bluer ones are perfectly consistent with a Ca II IR triplet shifted to about 22,000 km s-1 toward the observer. The bluest and weakest line of the Ca II IR triplet ($`\lambda `$8498) is approximately ten times weaker than $`\lambda `$8542, and is likely heavily blended with that line. Other ions are unlikely to produce the notches; candidates such as O I are unconvincing due to the absence or weakness of concomitant lines in the spectra.

The corresponding Ca II H&K absorption feature (3500 Å to 3800 Å) is wide and flat. A collection of currently unidentified narrow absorption features obliterates its emission peak.

Figure 2 displays the Ca II features of SNe 2000cx and 1994D near maximum light in terms of velocity relative to the observer. The top half of each panel is the H&K feature relative to the $`gf`$-weighted doublet wavelength (3945 Å), while the bottom half is the IR triplet relative to its $`gf`$-weighted wavelength (8579 Å).

The fact that these two features are blends complicates the issue of choosing a reference wavelength for producing Doppler-space plots. In a blend of P-Cygni lines, redder components dominate the shape of the aggregate profile if they are strong; they screen out the bluer lines. Nevertheless, the bluer lines must have some effect since they feed radiation to the redder lines. Given these ambiguities, we compromise by using the $`gf`$-weighted wavelengths for reference.

Figures 2a, 2b, and 2c are from SN 2000cx at days 2, 6, and 7 past maximum light, respectively. For comparison, the normal SN Ia 1994D Ca II features at day 3 past maximum appear in Figure 2d. Hatano et al. (1999a) use HV Ca II and Fe II to improve their synthetic fits of SN 1994D. In that SN, the effect of the HV Ca II is much less pronounced than in SN 2000cx. In fact, the IR triplet of SN 2000cx has a HV absorption with a depth relative to the continuum between that of SNe 1994D and 2001el.

Note that the four notches in the SN 2000cx IR triplet absorption do not evolve appreciably in velocity space over time, and that the overall velocity ranges of both features match. There appears to be a case for a one-to-one correspondence between notches in the IR triplet and depressions in the H&K absorption, but the blended nature of both features makes absolute confirmation difficult. Furthermore, the mild fluctuations visible in the H&K absorption could easily be due to some weak, narrow lines superposed on the Ca II feature.

We henceforth designate the parts of the Ca II features forming above 16,000 km s-1 relative to the $`gf`$-weighted wavelengths of H&K and the IR triplet as the “HV features.” Our fitting strategy will be to concentrate on replicating the velocity range of these features and some of their structure. Since the three SN 2000cx spectra in Figures 1 and 2 are all quite similar, we restrict the focus of the remainder of this paper to the spectrum obtained two days past maximum light.

## 3 Fits

The simplest conceptual model of a SN Ia between a few days to months after explosion consists of an homologously expanding envelope surrounding a continuum-emitting, optically thick core. The decay of freshly synthesized 56Ni to 56Fe at the center of the SN releases energy in the form of $`\gamma `$-rays. This energy diffuses outward and degrades to ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths via interactions with the matter in the SN atmosphere.

This elementary model has been implemented in a variety of codes intended for the empirical analysis of SN spectra (Jeffery & Branch, 1990; Fisher, 2000; Mazzali & Lucy, 1993). These codes all implement a sharply defined photosphere at some radius as a lower boundary for a line-forming envelope. They utilize the Sobolev approximation (Sobolev, 1947; Castor, 1970; Rybicki & Hummer, 1978) to construct radiation field estimates for given optical depth distributions. Optical depths may be parameterized (in velocity space and wavelength) or determined from a selected abundance and density model with or without a self-consistent temperature structure.

These codes have proved useful for fitting observed spectra to constrain the structure of SN envelopes. This empirical process is called “direct” analysis to distinguish it from “detailed” analysis where the full radiative transfer and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) rate equations are solved (Hauschildt & Baron, 1999). Specifically, the purpose of direct analysis is (1) to determine what species are present in a SN line-forming region and (2) to constrain the velocity space distribution of those species. The assumptions and approximations used generally restrict direct analysis to line phenomena, in particular to the Doppler shifts and overall shapes of absorption features. The results of direct analysis provide useful guidance to detailed spectrum modellers and to explosion modellers as well.

Synow is a direct analysis code that has been used to fit many spectra of various types of SNe, e.g., SN Ia 1994D (Hatano et al., 1999a), several SNe Ib (Branch et al., 2002), SN Ic 1994I (Millard et al., 1999), and SN II 1999em (Baron et al., 2000). Synow relies on spherical symmetry and parameterized line optical depth. Each selected ion is assigned an optical depth in a “reference” line, usually a strong optical line. All other line optical depths for the same ion are determined assuming Boltzmann excitation of the levels at some specified temperature. The optical depths are scaled as a function of radius to fall off exponentially or according to a power law. The full details of Synow are described by Fisher (2000).

We have recently developed a code similar to Synow in its degree of parameterization, but free from the constraint of spherical symmetry. This code, Brute, is based on Monte Carlo techniques presented in a series of papers by Lucy and Mazzali (e.g., Mazzali & Lucy, 1993), and will be discussed in detail elsewhere (R. C. Thomas, in preparation). In Brute, spatial parameterization of line optical depth is managed through a 3D template. To establish the radiation field estimates in all transitions throughout the envelope, Monte Carlo energy packets are emitted from the core and their scattering histories are followed. The required memory for Brute is much larger than that for Synow, and Brute also lacks the speed of its 1D counterpart.

### 3.1 Synow Fits

Here we investigate a few spherically symmetric distributions of Ca II optical depth. The assumption of homology in the SN atmosphere ($`vr`$) permits us to parameterize Sobolev optical depth in terms of velocity $`v`$ relative to the explosion center. In spherical symmetry, we may designate domains $`v_{min}<v<v_{max}`$ within which we define reference line Sobolev optical depth according to the rule

$$\begin{array}{cc}\hfill \tau _{ref}(v)=\tau _{ref}(v_{min})\mathrm{exp}[(v_{min}v)/v_e]& (v_{min}<v<v_{max}),\hfill \end{array}$$
(1)
where $`v_e`$ is an $`e`$-folding length. If $`v_{min}`$ is greater than the velocity at the photosphere $`v_{ph}`$, we say the optical depth profile is detached. Outside of the domain we may set the reference optical depth to zero, or use another rule for the same reference line to set up a superposition of optical depth profiles. Other line optical depths for the same ion are assigned assuming excitation temperature $`T_{exc}`$. The velocity at the photosphere in all the presented Synow fits is $`v_{ph}=12,500`$ km s-1.

Synow uses a blackbody-emitting photosphere, clearly insufficient to account for all real continuum processes at work in the formation of a SN spectrum. This limits the range over which the synthetic continuum level can be made consistent with that observed, making fits of entire spectra extending from 3000 Å to 10,000 Å problematic. We adopt a piecewise approach and choose a convenient blackbody temperature applicable for the blue part of the spectrum. Fitting only the major features blueward of 6000 Å (excluding lines of Ca II), we find that a blackbody temperature $`T_{bb}=12,000`$ K yields a decent fit to this region. Since increasing $`T_{bb}`$ from this value changes the continuum slope in the neighborhood of the IR triplet only slightly, we choose to merely scale the synthetic spectra down in order to fit that feature.

Except for the optical depth parameters of Ca II, the other parameters ($`v_{ph}`$, $`T_{bb}`$, and optical depths of ions listed in Table 1) stay fixed from fit to fit. Since the Ca II IR triplet may blend with some lines of O I, a small amount of optical depth for that ion is included in the fit, but its presence has little impact on the results. The parameters used for the various Ca II optical depths are listed in Table 2.

#### 3.1.1 One-Component Fits

Here we present three illustrative fits of the Ca II features using only one spherically symmetric velocity component in each. Figure 3 shows an example of a fit to the entire spectrum range. The observed features between 4500 Å and 6000 Å are fit rather well assuming the parameters for Fe III, Si II, and S II given in Table 1.

In Figure 4 are close-ups of the H&K feature and IR triplet fits using model 1D1 from Table 2. This single-shell model with nearly constant optical depth as a function of radius can reproduce the broad velocity extent of the H&K feature. Yet it cannot reproduce any of the structure present in the IR triplet, so next we consider independent fits to the PV and HV features to investigate this structure.

The appearance of the two strongest IR triplet lines (Ca II $`\lambda \lambda `$8542, 8662) in the PV feature as two distinct notches presents an interesting problem under spherical symmetry. In general, without assuming $`v_{min}>v_{ph}`$ or imposing a finite $`v_{max}`$, generating such a feature in spherical symmetry is only possible if $`v_{ph}v_{sep}`$, where $`v_{sep}`$ is the velocity separation of the two lines. To fit the Si II and Fe III features, $`v_{ph}=12,500`$ km s-1 is used, but $`v_{sep}`$ for the two strongest IR triplet lines is only about 4000 km s-1 and both notches have minimum wavelengths consistent with a 12,500 km s-1 blueshift.

An alternative is to impose a finite $`v_{max}`$ or small $`v_e`$ that prevents blending of the two absorptions into one. But this has the undesirable effect of making absorptions with flat bottoms which (when combined together) generate a Ca II $`\lambda `$8542 feature shallower than the redder line, even though the former has a higher oscillator strength. For the moment, we allow the features to blend into one absorption, using the parameters listed for fit 1D1PV in Table 2 which provide a satisfactory fit to the PV features in Figure 5.

Fitting the HV notches with a shell of Ca II optical depth (fit 1D1HV in Figure 6) is considerably less problematic than in the case of the PV feature. Using a small $`v_e`$ or imposing a finite $`v_{max}`$ prevents blending that would otherwise unite the two bluer notches of the IR triplet feature.

#### 3.1.2 Two-Component Fit

Combining the one-component PV and HV fits described above yields fit 1D2 (Figure 7). This fit is satisfactory for the IR triplet, but its major deficiency is that the peak between the two blue notches is higher than observed. Adjusting $`v_{max}`$ from 25,000 km s-1 to higher velocity permits the redder feature to weaken this peak, but extends the bluest synthetic notch further to the blue than is desired. On the other hand, the synthetic H&K feature appears to need some higher-velocity material to extend its blue edge.

#### 3.1.3 Three-Component Fit

Using three velocity components of Ca II optical depth allows us to fit every notch in the IR triplet absorption by simply overlapping pairs of notches formed by each component. The result of this model (1D3) is displayed in Figure 8. For the IR triplet, this appears to be the “best fit” among the 1D models, but the H&K feature is too strong in its bluest part. Imposing a finite $`v_{max}`$ to counteract this HV tail only deepens the synthetic H&K absorption since it removes material that scatters light from the emission lobes of the envelope.

### 3.2 Brute Fit

The assumptions used in Brute are roughly the same as those in Synow except for the freedom to choose spatial optical depth distributions without spherical symmetry. Again the same blackbody emitting, sharp photosphere is assumed, resulting in the same continuum-level problem described before, and we use the same remedy here. The technique used for radiative transfer in Brute is that of Monte Carlo, a difference from Synow, but both codes take into account multiple scattering in the calculation of the source functions of the lines.

The spatial parameterization used for the Ca II optical depth consists of two components. One is spherical (PV material) and the other is not (HV material). The idea is to engineer a simple 3D distribution of optical depth that yields a synthetic spectrum consistent with observation, and fits at least as well as the 1D model.

For the HV material in the 3D fit, we adopt a simple geometry consisting of a circular cylinder of radius 8000 km s-1 coaxial with the line of sight to the center of the photosphere. The reference optical depth for Ca II inside the cylinder is assigned according to the rule

$$\tau _{ref}(v_z)=\{\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill 0.0225v_z441.0:& 19,600<v_z<22,400\hfill & \text{km s}\text{-1}\hfill \\ \hfill 0.0315v_z+768.6:& 22,400<v_z<24,400\hfill & \text{km s}\text{-1}.\hfill \end{array}$$
(2)
According to this rule, the optical depth in the cylinder reaches a maximum value of $`\tau _{ref}=63`$ at the plane $`v_z=22,400`$ km s-1. Outside the cylinder, the optical depth for the Ca II reference line is prescribed by eq. (1) with $`\tau _{ref}(v_{min})=7`$, $`v_e=3000`$ km s-1, and $`v_{min}=13,000`$ km s-1. A plot of reference optical depth along the line of sight is presented in Figure 9. The reference optical depths of the other ions are parameterized exactly as in the Synow fits and produce the same features.

The Ca II features resulting from this 3D parameterization are shown in Figure 10. The fit to the HV IR triplet is rather good. The synthetic HV H&K is more consistent with the observation than in the 1D2 or 1D3 parameterizations. Since the PV Ca II optical depth is distributed much the same as in the 1D2 case, the weak observed peak between the redder notches cannot be reproduced. In the 1D case, this could only be accomplished by adding a third shell of optical depth and tuning its position. We note that in the 3D case, if the PV material is deployed in a nonspherical manner (such that parts of the photosphere shine through), then the peak between the two PV notches can be reproduced quite easily.

## 4 Discussion

### 4.1 HV Ejecta Geometry from the Fits

Reconstructing SN envelope structure from spectra is an ill-posed inverse problem. The problem becomes even more difficult when the assumption of spherical symmetry is relaxed; the presented 3D solution represents but one of many possible solutions.

In fact, to first order, any HV distribution of Ca II optical depth which yields the same photospheric covering factor as a function of $`v_z`$ will produce the same absorption features. The most promising avenue for breaking this degeneracy is through synthetic spectropolarimetry of high-quality data. The Stokes polarization parameters Q and U for wavelengths covering the Ca II features are required. Such Q-U plots are the means by which the HV ejecta geometry of SN 2001el is constrained (Kasen et al., 2003).

Both that study and the present one focus on the absorption features of Ca II, and ignore the emission features. Generally, emission phenomena are of limited utility in assessing HV ejecta geometry. In spherical symmetry, a HV shell gives rise to a weak, flat-topped emission feature barely detectable in flux spectra. On the other hand, if the HV ejecta are organized into isolated regions of high optical depth, those not covering the photosphere along the line of sight will only contribute individual emission bumps to the spectrum. These weak features are even harder to detect if the PV ejecta are spherically symmetric and contribute significantly to the emission feature.

On the practical side, the peculiarities of the spectrum of SN 2000cx make it impossible to use the Ca II emission features for geometrical analysis. The H&K emission feature is disrupted by a sequence of narrow lines, while the IR triplet emission is plagued by fringing in the CCD.

These factors (the inherent degeneracies of the problem, the lack of corroborating polarization data, the limited utility of emission features) prevent us from making all but the most conservative statements about the HV ejecta geometry of SN 2000cx. The similarity of the HV IR triplet of SN 2000cx to that of SN 2001el is suggestive, and its geometrical interpretation in the latter event motivates our consideration of a 3D model for SN 2000cx.

From a purely empirical standpoint, none of the presented fits stands out as the “best” overall. Any cosmetic details missed by the synthetic spectra could be tuned away by making minor adjustments to the models. However, the main goal is to simultaneously fit the HV H&K and IR triplet, and the 3D fit seems to do a better job.

Regardless of the details of the true geometry of the HV Ca II in SN 2000cx, the presence of this feature in only some SNe Ia evokes a series of questions to address in the future as high-quality data become available and 3D spectrum analysis techniques improve.

(1) How frequent is HV ejecta clumping in SNe Ia? All SNe Ia might possess HV deviation from spherical symmetry which could escape detection if optically thick parts did not obscure the photosphere. SNe 2001el and 2000cx might be examples where fortuitous orientation of HV ejecta permitted detection. This explanation is bolstered by the otherwise normal appearance of the SN 2001el spectrum. However, the peculiarities of SN 2000cx (the Fe III lines in its spectrum, its unusual light curve and color evolution; Li et al., 2001) make this hypothesis somewhat problematic.

(2) What implication does the presence of clumpy HV ejecta have for explosion models? If some SNe Ia have nonspherical HV ejecta while others do not, it might imply that more than one progenitor model is needed to explain the SN Ia phenomenon. More conservatively, the clumpiness of the HV ejecta might be a consequence of a so-called second parameter (Branch, 2001).

(3) Does the existence of nonspherical SNe Ia influence the prospects for precision cosmology? The most obvious spectroscopic effects would be due to the application of template-derived K-corrections (Nugent et al., 2002) from spherical SNe to nonspherical ones. The effect would be minor when the spectroscopic outcome of nonsphericity is isolated to a few lines (e.g. Si II). On the other hand, line-blanketing ions (e.g. Fe II) will greatly influence the photometry along some lines of sight more than others.

Ca II lines are notoriously excitable over a large range of temperature and density. This makes it possible to place limits on the HV ejecta mass, and in turn to constrain future white dwarf explosion models.

### 4.2 HV Ejecta Mass Estimates

Here we make some simple estimates of the HV ejecta mass as constrained by the Ca II features visible in the SN 2000cx spectrum at two days after maximum light. We make two pairs of estimates, each pair consisting of a 1D and 3D measurement. The first pair of estimates is made for the extreme case of a purely calcium HV ejecta composition. The second pair is based on a C/O-rich composition, similar to the outer, unburned layers of a white dwarf. The details of this composition are as listed in the SN ion signatures atlas of Hatano et al. (1999b).

For each pair of estimates, we adopt the 1D2 and 3D parameterization domains for the volume used in calculating the HV ejecta mass:

$$\begin{array}{cccc}V_{HV}^{1D2}& =& 3.9\times 10^{46}\hfill & \text{cm}\text{3},\hfill \\ V_{HV}^{3D}& =& 5.0\times 10^{45}\hfill & \text{cm}\text{3}.\hfill \end{array}$$
(3)
These presented mass estimates are not intended to be exact; in all cases the assumption of thermal equilibrium (TE) is employed. More rigorous constraints on the HV ejecta mass require detailed modelling of the physical conditions in the HV material, and these will be the focus of much future work. The estimates here and in Kasen et al. (2003) are a starting point for that effort.

#### 4.2.1 Pure Calcium Composition

In the Sobolev approximation, line optical depth for a transition $`lu`$ in a SN envelope is given by (Jeffery & Branch, 1990)

$$\tau _{lu}=\frac{\pi e^2}{m_ec}f_{lu}\lambda _{lu}n_lt\left(1\frac{g_ln_u}{g_un_l}\right),$$
(4)
where $`f_{lu}`$ is the oscillator strength, $`\lambda _{lu}`$ is the transition wavelength, $`n_l`$ and $`n_u`$ are the lower and upper level occupation number densities, respectively, and $`t`$ is the time since explosion. The other symbols have their usual meanings. For convenience, we rewrite this as

$$\tau _{lu}=2.292\times 10^5(gf)_{lu}\lambda _\text{Å}nt_d\frac{\mathrm{exp}(E_l/kT)}{Q(T)},$$
(5)
where we have neglected the correction factor for stimulated emission, replaced the constants with their numerical values, and imposed TE. The partition function $`Q(T)`$ for the ion in question is included.

If the HV ejecta consist of singly ionized calcium in the ground state, then the optical depth in the Ca II $`\lambda `$3934 transition (the reference line) becomes roughly proportional to the mass density of the HV ejecta. In reality, the gas consists of other ions of calcium and other species, so deriving a mass density assuming a pure Ca II composition provides an extreme lower limit to the HV mass. Substituting $`\lambda _\text{Å}=3934`$, $`(gf)_{3934}=1.3614`$, $`E_l=0`$ eV, and $`t_d=20`$ into eq. (5) gives

$$\tau _{3934}2.46n_{CaII}/Q(T).$$
(6)
If we assume that the temperature in the HV ejecta is less than 8000 K, we can use the simple approximation $`\tau _{3934}n_{CaII}`$ since $`Q(T)`$ varies slowly from 2 to 3 up to 8000 K.

Now an average mass density for the HV ejecta as derived from the Ca II optical depth can be written

$$\begin{array}{cccccc}\rho _{HV}& & (A_{Ca}/N_{Avo})n_{Ca}\hfill & & 6.66\times 10^{23}\tau _{HV}\hfill & \text{g cm}\text{-3}\text{.}\hfill \end{array}$$
(7)
If we average the reference line optical depths over the 1D2 and 3D parameterization domains, then $`\tau _{HV}^{1D2}=25.5`$ and $`\tau _{HV}^{3D}=31.5`$. Substituting these values into eq. (7) and multiplying by the volume in each case,

$$\begin{array}{ccccc}M_{HV}^{1D2}& & 3.3\times 10^8M_{},& & \\ M_{HV}^{3D}& & 5.2\times 10^9M_{}.& & \end{array}$$
(8)
These mass estimates are the “rock bottom” numbers required for the observational signature of the Ca II $`\lambda `$8542 line. The deflagration model W7 (Nomoto et al., 1984; Branch et al., 1985) suggests that the amount of material and the densities in this region should be much higher, on the order of $`6.0\times 10^3M_{}`$ in spherical symmetry above 20,000 km s-1. Including other species into the mass calculations improves the lower limit, but this requires a choice of a particular composition.

#### 4.2.2 C/O-Rich Composition

A more realistic composition model than that of pure calcium can be used to produce a more meaningful constraint on the HV ejecta mass. Here we adopt the C/O-rich composition from the ion signature atlas of Hatano et al. (1999b) as the candidate model. This composition is representative of the unburned outer layers of an exploded white dwarf.

The procedure for constraining the HV mass density is quite simple. For a given temperature $`T`$ and an atomic line, we iteratively solve the equation of state for the mass density $`\rho _{tot}`$ where $`\tau =1`$ in the line. Repeating this procedure for a range of $`T`$ yields a curve in the $`\rho _{tot}T`$ plane. Generally, the space above the curve represents densities for which the line optical depth exceeds unity. In principle, if a line has a spectroscopic signature, then $`\tau >1`$ in the line and the corresponding $`\rho _{tot}T`$ curve gives a lower limit to the mass density. Of course, this procedure depends on the assumption of thermal equilibrium, so for some ions the curves are not representative.

Contours of $`\tau =1`$ for Ca II $`\lambda `$3934 and $`\lambda `$8542 are shown along with curves for reference lines of other ions in Figure 11. For the C/O-rich composition used, the absolute minimum mass for which Ca II $`\lambda `$8542 has a spectroscopic signature is at $`\rho _{min}^{C/O}=2.2\times 10^{16}`$ g cm-3.

The value of $`\rho _{min}^{C/O}`$ depends on the choice of $`T`$, as does the relative strength of Ca II $`\lambda `$8542 to $`\lambda `$3934. However, since the optical depth of Ca II $`\lambda `$3934 is always much greater than that of the IR line, it is difficult to constrain the exact value of $`T`$ in the HV ejecta using this technique. As $`\tau `$ in a line approaches $`\mathrm{}`$, the line profile saturates and the dependence of the absorption feature depth on $`\tau `$ disappears. Rather than resort to predictions from detailed models for a temperature in the HV ejecta (as was done for SN 2001el by Kasen et al., 2003), we adopt the absolute minimum value given above for a conservative estimate of the HV ejecta masses:

$$\begin{array}{ccccc}M_{HV}^{1D2}& & 4.3\times 10^3M_{},& & \\ M_{HV}^{3D}& & 5.5\times 10^4M_{}.& & \end{array}$$
(9)
These mass estimates and densities are roughly consistent with the W7 estimate of $`6.0\times 10^3M_{}`$ in spherical symmetry above 20,000 km s-1. This might suggest that the Ca II signature could arise from primordial material as was suggested for SN 1994D (Hatano et al., 1999a), rather than from freshly synthesized material.

Other ion signature curves are plotted in Figure 11 along with the two Ca II curves. Portions of those curves lying above the Ca II $`\lambda `$8542 curve indicate candidate ions to look for in the HV material. Of particular interest is the Fe II curve: Hatano et al. (1999a) detected the presence of Fe II in SN 1994D at HV. Another interesting ion is Ti II, usually detected as a trough of lines in SN 1991bg-like events (Filippenko, 1992). The notches just to the blue of the 4300 Å Fe III feature could be attributed to HV Ti II.

One might consider using the non-detection of features of certain ions to place an upper limit on the mass at HV. This is difficult since many of the lines are blended with other, stronger features. For example, HV Sr II blends with the Ca II H&K feature. Lines from Fe II, especially if weak, blend with the Fe III features. Since we cannot be certain these lines are present, though weak and blended, we refrain from capping the HV mass estimate.

#### 4.2.3 Other Compositions

Marietta et al. (2000) present interesting simulations of the effect that a white dwarf in a binary has on its companion when it explodes. Generally, they note that more evolved companions (with less tightly bound envelopes) are more vulnerable to losing a substantial fraction of their envelope during the explosion. The resulting ejecta distribution includes an evacuated cone in the ejecta behind the companion and some hydrogen with characteristic velocity on the order of 1000 km s-1. However, a small amount of stripped hydrogen (about $`10^4M_{}`$) could be carried up to velocities exceeding 15,000 km s-1. Could the HV Ca II lines be a signature of such material?

Figure 12 is another ion signature plot, this time using the H-rich composition (Hatano et al., 1999b). The same Ca II signature curves are plotted, and the curves for both H$`\alpha `$ and H$`\beta `$ are included for comparison. The required minimum density for an optical depth of 1 in Ca II $`\lambda `$8542 is 45% higher than in the C/O-rich case, and the density for which the H$`\alpha `$ optical depth becomes unity is only 4 times higher than that. This leaves a rather narrow density window in which to form the HV Ca II without also producing an H$`\alpha `$ signature, if the H$`\alpha `$ signature were to be produced under the assumption of TE.

It is an observational fact, however, that H$`\alpha `$ in SNe II is generally in net or total emission (see, for example, spectra of SN 1999em – Hamuy et al., 2001; Leonard et al., 2002; Elmhamdi et al., 2003), an effect which cannot be replicated by a direct analysis code which uses pure resonance scattering line source functions where line flux is conserved except for occultation effects. However, pure resonance scattering is sufficient for simultaneous, satisfactory fits of H$`\beta `$ and H$`\gamma `$ in these objects (e.g., Baron et al., 2000, where synthetic H$`\alpha `$ is permitted to remain too deep compared to observations in Synow fits of SN 1999em).

If the HV ejecta in SN 2000cx were a clump of HV H-rich material blocking the photosphere, then the usual H$`\alpha `$ emission phenomenon has an interesting consequence. Assuming pure resonance scattering for all the Balmer lines, this material would produce HV H$`\alpha `$ and H$`\beta `$ absorption features at the same velocities as the HV Ca II features. The blueshifts are such that the HV H$`\alpha `$ absorption falls into the Si II feature near 6100 Å. But the net emission phenomenon will mitigate the strength of the H$`\alpha `$ absorption and further conceal the hydrogen signature. We would expect the H$`\beta `$ feature to remain in absorption, however.

In Figure 13, we show a fit to the entire spectrum with and without hydrogen in the 3D HV ejecta. The hydrogen reference line (H$`\alpha `$) optical depth used for this spectrum has a velocity-space profile similar to that described in eq. (2) except that the maximum optical depth at $`v_z=22,400`$ km s-1 is $`\tau _{ref}=4`$. As predicted, the assumption of pure resonance scattering produces a readily apparent modification to the Si II absorption feature which would be ameliorated by the net emission effect. Additionally, a previously unidentified feature at 4500 Å is fit by the synthetic HV H$`\beta `$.

Note that this signature is only possible if the HV hydrogen is confined to a clump blocking the photosphere. If the HV hydrogen is placed into a HV shell, a strong emission feature centered at the H$`\alpha `$ rest wavelength will appear. This is clearly not the case in the spectra of SN 2000cx. Other candidate ions for fitting this line simply fail, as discussed in a 1D direct analysis of this object (D. Branch et al., in preparation). This fit is included here since it is contingent upon the 3D distribution of hydrogen at HV that we describe.

If the 4500 Å feature is HV H$`\beta `$, and we dispense with the assumption of TE for the hydrogen lines, then we see that the lower level of H$`\beta `$ could potentially be overpopulated. This reduces the amount of HV ejecta required to produce an H$`\beta `$ feature by a factor equal to the departure coefficient of the lower level of this transition. This reduces the gap between the HV masses estimated in this work and those predicted by (Marietta et al., 2000). But can NLTE effects bridge this gap? Future detailed 3D NLTE calculations are required to answer this question.

Returning to Figure 12, we note the other ions that could be detected if the HV ejecta were indeed H-rich. It is unfortunate that basically the same ions as in the C/O-rich case appear. The strongest discriminator between the two compositions is the Balmer hydrogen series. The majority of the hydrogen stripped from the companion in the Marietta et al. (2000) models is at very low velocity, so it seems that late-time spectra should reveal this material. But as Marietta et al. (2000) themselves point out, detection of the material is problematic. Nebular H$`\alpha `$ is severely blended with iron and cobalt lines. Resorting to the infrared introduces problems with atmospheric water lines (interfering with P$`\alpha `$), and other telluric and blending effects (interfering with P$`\beta `$).

However, He I does make an appearance (in TE) at high temperature. If this ion is nonthermally excited, it might produce an HV signature. While He I $`\lambda `$5876 is not observed, nonthermal excitation could produce He I $`\lambda `$10830. At HV this line could explain a feature previously attributed by Rudy et al. (2001) to Mg II.

Another scenario for the production of a SN Ia is through recurrent novae (Starrfield, 2003) or supersoft x-ray sources (Hachisu et al., 1999). These progenitors involve a He-rich (and H-deficient) companion star. Minimum mass estimates for this case suggest HV ejecta masses about the same as in the H-rich case, assuming TE. But since helium stars are more tightly bound than those simulated by Marietta et al. (2000), mass stripping from a He-rich companion seems less likely an origin for the HV material.

Arguments in favor of a circumstellar origin fall short. The spectroscopic signature for that material is completely different from what is seen in the case of SN 2000cx. In that case, we expect a narrow H$`\alpha `$ emission spike, not unlike that found in SNe IIn (e.g., Filippenko, 1997).

## 5 Conclusions

We have presented several exploratory fits to the unique Ca II features of the unusual SN Ia 2000cx. A 1D shell of material can account for the HV IR triplet feature, but has difficulty doing so for the corresponding H&K feature. In 3D, both HV features can be fit simultaneously with a chunk of material along the line of sight which partially covers the photosphere.

Assuming a C/O-rich composition, mass estimates for the HV ejecta in both geometries discussed are consistent in the lower limit with the W7 model, suggesting a possible primordial origin. If the HV ejecta are H-rich, however, the mass required at HV to produce the observed Ca II features is somewhat higher. There is circumstantial evidence for the HV ejecta being H-rich, pointing to a signature of stripping from a companion star. This model is more favorable when NLTE effects are taken into account, but confirmation requires detailed 3D spectrum synthesis which is not currently feasible.

Understanding the origin of the HV ejecta in SNe Ia (and also its frequency and physical conditions) is potentially quite important for future explosion models and for answering the progenitor question. It is clear that better constraints on the HV Ca II phenomenon require high-quality flux and polarization spectra at near-infrared and near-ultraviolet wavelengths.

The authors acknowledge other members of the University of Oklahoma SN Group, Dan Kasen and Peter Nugent, for their helpful comments. The research presented in this article made use of the SUSPECT111 http://www.nhn.ou.edu/$``$suspect Online Supernova Spectrum Archive, and the atomic line list of Kurucz (1993). This work has been supported by grant HST-AR-09544-01.A (provided by NASA through the STScI, operated by the AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555), NASA grant NAG5-12127, and NSF grants AST-9986965, AST-9987438, AST-0204771, and AST-0307894.


text:
# I Introduction

## I Introduction

The Glauber model (GM)  has been employed for describing heavy ion reactions at high energies. It is a semiclassical model picturing the nuclei moving in a straight path along the collision direction, and gives the nucleus-nucleus interaction  in terms of interaction between the constituent nucleons (NN cross section) and nuclear density distributions. It is a well established model for high energies and has been applied to heavy ion collision for describing a number of reaction processes (See e.g. ). One of the most important physical quantities characterizing the nuclear reactions is the total reaction cross section. It is very useful for extracting information about the nuclear sizes. The Glauber model has been successively used to get the radii of radioactive nuclei from measured total reaction cross sections .

At low energies, the straight line trajectory is modified due to the Coulomb field between two nuclei. The Coulomb modified Glauber model (CMGM)  consists of replacing the eikonal trajectory at an impact parameter $`b`$, with the eikonal trajectory at the corresponding distance $`r_c`$ of closest approach in the presence of the Coulomb field. Later the non eikonal nature of the trajectory around $`r_c`$, has also been taken into account . Replacing $`r_c`$ by the distance $`r_{cn}`$ of closest approach in the presence of both the Coulomb and the nuclear field gives the Coulomb plus Nuclear modified Glauber model (CNMGM) . This model (CMGM/CNMGM) has been widely used in recent literature . Warner et. al.  have shown in their calculations for light projectiles on various targets that trajectory modifications are minor. Let us remark that the energies considered by them is much above the Coulomb barrier. The Coulomb modified Glauber model has also been used at very high energies  where trajectory modifications may be ineffective. There have been various prescriptions  to modify the NN cross sections due to nuclear density. Most of the work reported earlier  has been done using Gaussian densities. The reaction cross section is sensitive to surface density of the colliding nuclei. Depending on how well one has produced the surface texture with the Gaussian form, it will make a 5 to 10 % change in the reaction cross section over that done with realistic densities .

In the light of this, we reexamine the various trajectory corrections in the Glauber model and calculate the total reaction cross section as a function of energy upto 50 times the Coulomb barrier. We quantify the energy range in which a particular correction is effective and find that when the center of mass energy of the system becomes 30 times the Coulomb barrier, the above modifications to GM are insignificant. Thus, the energy at and above which the results of CNMGM and GM coincide depends on the Coulomb barrier between the two nuclei and will be different for a light and heavy system. In the present work we use exact nuclear densities and free NN cross sections. The center of mass correction which is important for light systems has also been taken into account. Comparison of the experimental data with our calculations are presented in the plots of $`\sigma _R(E)`$ vs. $`E`$.

## II The Glauber model

Consider the collision of a projectile nucleus $`A`$ on a target nucleus $`B`$. The probability for occurrence of a nucleon-nucleon collision when the nuclei $`A`$ and $`B`$ collide at an impact parameter $`𝐛`$ relative to each other is given by

$$T(b)\overline{\sigma }_{NN}=\rho _A^z(𝐛_A)𝑑𝐛_A\rho _B^z(𝐛_B)𝑑𝐛_Bt(𝐛𝐛_𝐀+𝐛_𝐁)\overline{\sigma }_{NN}.$$
(1)
Here $`\rho _A^z(𝐛_A)`$ and $`\rho _B^z(𝐛_B)`$ are the z-integrated densities of projectile and target nuclei respectively. $`t(𝐛)d𝐛`$ is the probability for having a nucleon-nucleon collision within the transverse area element $`d𝐛`$ when one nucleon approaches at an impact parameter $`𝐛`$ relative to another nucleon. All these distribution functions are normalized to one. Here $`\overline{\sigma }_{NN}`$ is the average total nucleon nucleon cross section.

There can be upto $`A\times B`$ collisions. The probability of occurrence of $`n`$ collisions will be

$$P(n,b)=\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{AB}{n}\right)(1s)^n(s)^{ABn}.$$
(2)
Here, $`s=1T(b)\overline{\sigma }_{NN}`$. The total probability for the occurrence of at least one NN collision in the collision of $`A`$ and $`B`$ at an impact parameter $`𝐛`$ is

$`{\displaystyle \frac{d\sigma _R}{db}}={\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{\overset{AB}{}}}P(n,b)=1s^{AB}.`$ (3)
The total reaction cross section $`\sigma _R`$ can be written as

$$\sigma _R=2\pi b𝑑b\left(1s^{AB}\right).$$
(4)
From this one can read the scattering matrix as

$`|S(b)|^2=s^{AB}=(1T(b)\overline{\sigma }_{NN})^{AB}.`$ (5)
In the optical limit, where a nucleon of the projectile undergoes only one collision in the target nucleus can be written as

$`|S(b)|^2\mathrm{exp}(T(b)\overline{\sigma }_{NN}AB).`$ (6)
The scattering matrix can be defined in terms of eikonal phase shift $`\chi (b)`$ as

$`S(b)=\mathrm{exp}\left(i\chi (b)\right).`$ (7)
If we assume $`\overline{\alpha }_{NN}`$ to be the ratio of real to imaginary part of NN scattering amplitude, the eikonal phase shift can be obtained as

$`\chi (b)={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\overline{\sigma }_{NN}(\overline{\alpha }_{NN}+i)ABT(b).`$ (8)
Here $`\overline{\alpha }_{NN}`$ will not be directly used for calculating the reaction cross section but will come through the correction in the trajectory due to the nuclear field. Once we know the phase shift and thus the scattering matrix, we can calculate the reaction cross section and also the elastic scattering angular distribution. In the present work we restrict ourselves to the calculations of reaction cross section only.

In momentum space $`T(b)`$ is derived as

$`T(b)={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi }}{\displaystyle J_0(qb)S_A(𝐪)S_B(𝐪)f_{NN}(q)q𝑑q}.`$ (9)
Here $`S_A(q)`$ and $`S_B(q)`$ are the Fourier transforms of the nuclear densities and $`J_0(qb)=1/2\pi \mathrm{exp}(qb\mathrm{cos}\varphi )𝑑\varphi `$ is the cylindrical Bessel function of zeroth order. The function $`f_{NN}(q)`$ is the Fourier transform of the profile function $`t(𝐛)`$ and gives the $`q`$ dependence of NN scattering amplitude. The profile function $`t(𝐛)`$ for the NN scattering can be taken as delta function if the nucleons are point particles. In general it is taken as a Gaussian function of width $`r_0`$ as

$$t(𝐛)=\frac{\mathrm{exp}(b^2/2r_0^2)}{2\pi r_0^2}.$$
(10)
Thus,

$`f_{NN}(q)=\mathrm{exp}(r_0^2q^2/2).`$ (11)
Here, $`r_0`$ is the range parameter and has a weak dependence on energy (see for discussions). We use $`r_0=0.6`$ fm  in the energy range 2 to 200 MeV.

The average NN scattering parameter $`\overline{\sigma }_{NN}`$ is obtained in terms of pp cross section $`\sigma _{pp}`$ and nn cross section $`\sigma _{nn}`$, the parameterized forms for which are available in Ref. . For projectile energies below 10 MeV/nucleon, we use the prescription given in Ref.  for computing $`\overline{\alpha }_{NN}`$. For energies above 10 MeV/nucleon, we take the parameterized forms from the work of Ref. . These forms produce the elastic scattering data for various systems satisfactorily.

### A Optical potential in the Glauber model

The usual Glauber optical limit phase shift function is given by

$$\chi (b)=\frac{1}{\mathrm{}v}\underset{\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}V_N(𝐫)𝑑z.$$
(12)
Comparing Eq. (12) with Eq. (8), the optical potential $`V_N(r)`$ in the momentum representation can be identified as,

$`V_N(𝐫)`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{}v\overline{\sigma }_{NN}(\overline{\alpha }_{NN}+i){\displaystyle \frac{AB}{2(2\pi )^3}}{\displaystyle e^{i𝐪.𝐫}S_A(𝐪)S_B(𝐪)f_{NN}(𝐪)d^3q},`$ (13)
$`=`$ $`\mathrm{}v\overline{\sigma }_{NN}(\overline{\alpha }_{NN}+i){\displaystyle \frac{AB}{(2\pi )^2}}{\displaystyle j_0(qr)S_A(𝐪)S_B(𝐪)f_{NN}(𝐪)q^2𝑑q}.`$ (14)
Here $`j_0(qr)`$ is the spherical Bessel function of zeroth order.

### B Trajectory modifications in the Glauber model

The basic assumption in the Glauber model is the description of the relative motion of the two nuclei in terms of straight line trajectory. For low energy heavy ion reactions, the straight line trajectory is assumed at the distance of closest approach $`r_c`$ calculated under the influence of the Coulomb potentials for each impact parameter $`b`$ as given by,

$$r_c=(\eta +\sqrt{\eta ^2+b^2k^2})/k,$$
(15)
which is a solution of the following equation without the nuclear potential $`V_N(r)`$

$$E\frac{Z_PZ_Te^2}{r}\frac{\mathrm{}^2k^2}{2\mu }\frac{b^2}{r^2}\mathrm{Re}V_N(r)=0.$$
(16)
Here $`\eta =Z_PZ_Te^2/\mathrm{}v`$ is the dimensionless Sommerfeld parameter. The CMGM  consists of replacing the eikonal trajectory at an impact parameter $`b`$ with the eikonal trajectory at the corresponding distance $`r_c`$ of closest approach. The distance of closest approach $`r_{cn}`$ in the presence of both the Coulomb and nuclear potential  is obtained by solving Eq. (16) numerically, where $`V_N(r)`$ has been derived from Eq. (13). By replacing $`b`$ by $`r_{cn}`$, CNMGM is obtained. The non eikonal trajectory  around $`r_c`$ in the presence of the Coulomb field is represented by $`r^2=r_c^2+(C+1)z^2`$, where the quantity $`C`$ is given by

$$C=\frac{\eta }{kb^2}r_c.$$
(17)
Thus in the CMGM, $`T(b)`$ will be simply replaced by $`T(r_c(b))/\sqrt{(C+1)}`$.

### C The nuclear densities

The two parameter fermi (2pf) density is given by

$$\rho (r)=\frac{\rho _0}{1+\mathrm{exp}(\frac{rc}{d})},$$
(18)
where $`\rho _0=3/\left(4\pi c^3(1+\frac{\pi ^2d^2}{c^2})\right)`$. Thus, the momentum density can be derived as

$$S(q)=\frac{8\pi \rho _0}{q^3}\frac{ze^z}{1e^{2z}}\left(\mathrm{sin}x\frac{z(1+e^{2z})}{1e^{2z}}x\mathrm{cos}x\right).$$
(19)
Where $`z=\pi dq`$ and $`x=cq`$. Here $`d`$ is the diffuseness and $`c`$, the half value radius in terms of rms radius $`R`$ for the 2pf distribution is calculated by $`c=(5/3R^27/3\pi ^2d^25/3r_p^2)^{1/2}`$. Here $`r_p`$ is the proton radius. Equation (9) can be solved numerically for this density and the overlap integral can be extracted. In the present work, the density parameters have been taken from the compilation of measured charge density distributions  and are tabulated in Table I.

For lighter nuclei such as 12C and 16O, the densities are given in the from of harmonic oscillator (HO) densities as

$$\rho (r)=\rho _0\left(1+\alpha \frac{r^2}{R^2}\right)\mathrm{exp}(\frac{r^2}{R^2}),$$
(20)
where $`\rho _0=1/\left[1+1.5\alpha \right]`$. The momentum density is given by

$$S(q)=\rho _0\left(1+1.5\alpha 0.25\alpha q^2R^2\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{q^2R^2}{4}\right).$$
(21)
Center of mass correction:

For lighter nuclei such as 12C and 16O we also take into account the corrections due to Center of motion. Such a correction for harmonic oscillator wave functions is given in Ref.. With this the corrected density will become

$$S(q)=\rho _0\left(1+1.5\alpha 0.25\alpha q^2R^2\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{q^2R^2}{4}\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{q^2R^2}{4A}\right).$$
(22)
## III Results and discussions

The reaction cross sections for light and heavy systems right from near coulomb barrier to intermediate energies have been calculated. We calculate the total reaction cross section as a function of energy upto 50 times the Coulomb barrier. The data for various systems and their references are given in Table II, III and IV. The Coulomb barrier is calculated from expression $`V_C=Z_PZ_T1.44/(1.5(A^{1/3}+B^{1/3}))`$. The reduced mass $`M`$ is defined as $`M=AB/(A+B)`$.

Figure (1) shows the reaction cross section for 16O + 16O system calculated with CMGM with and without center of mass (c.m.) correction. This correction reduces the reaction cross section for lighter systems. Figures (2) to (5) show the reaction cross section for 16O on various targets as a function of center of mass energy divided by the Coulomb barrier, calculated with the Glauber model (GM), the Coulomb modified Glauber model (CMGM) and the Coulomb plus nuclear modified Glauber model (CMNGM) along with the data. Figures (5) to (9) show the reaction cross section for 12C on various targets. The center of mass correction has been taken into account in all the calculations. It can been seen from all the figures that the most significant effect in this energy range, is by the trajectory modification due to the Coulomb field. It is very significant upto energies $`6V_C`$. The modification in the trajectory due to the nuclear field tries to bring the results closer to GM. We universally find that when the center of mass energy of the system becomes 30 times the Coulomb barrier, the calculations with the CNMGM match with GM within 2 to 3%. Thus, the energy at and above which the results of CNMGM and GM coincide depends on the Coulomb barrier between the two nuclei and not on the energy per nucleon of the projectile. Further, it is observed that there is an excellent agreement between the calculations from the modified Glauber model and the experimental data. In contrast to  the present study suggests that the heavy ion reactions in this energy range can be explained by the Glauber model in terms of free NN cross sections without incorporating medium modification.

There are higher order corrections  to the optical limit phase shift function $`\chi (b)`$. These corrections are important at higher $`b`$ but tend to become smaller at larger $`b`$  and are less significant for total reaction cross section which depend mostly upon peripheral collisions. They may become important for differential cross sections away from forward direction (which probe collisions at smaller $`b`$), increasingly at higher energies. The Gaussian densities  which produce only surface textures of the nuclear density are not adequate and realistic densities are to be used (as done in ) to calculate these corrections.

## IV Conclusions

To summarize, we have reexamined the various trajectory corrections in the Glauber model and calculated the total reaction cross section as a function of energy upto 50 times the Coulomb barrier. The most significant effect in this energy range is by the trajectory modification due to the Coulomb field. The modification in the trajectory due to nuclear field is also taken into account. We derive $`V_N(r)`$ consistently from Eq. (13). We quantify the energy range in which a particular correction is effective and find that when the center of mass energy of the system is about 30 times the Coulomb barrier, no trajectory modification to GM is really required. Exact nuclear densities and free NN cross sections have been used in the calculation. The center of mass correction which is important for light systems has also been taken into account. There is an excellent agreement between our calculations including all the modifications discussed in the manuscript, and the experimental data. In contrast to  the present study suggests that the heavy ion reactions in this energy range can be explained by the Glauber model in terms of free NN cross sections without invoking any medium modification. It implies that the density effects on the NN cross sections are either absent or very minor. One possible explaination for this is the fact that for heavy ions, the contribution to the reaction cross section comes from the surface region where the density is very small.

###### Acknowledgements.

The author acknowledges the stimulating discussions with Z. Ahmed, S. Kailas, and S.V.S Sastry. He is also thankful to V. Jha for providing the reaction cross section data for some of the systems.


text:
# Magnetic Penetration Depth Measurements of Pr2-xCexCuO4-δ Films on Buffered Substrates: Evidence for a Nodeless Gap

## Abstract

We report measurements of the inverse squared magnetic penetration depth, $`\lambda ^2(T)`$, in Pr2-xCexCuO4-δ ($`0.115x0.152`$) superconducting films grown on SrTiO3 (001) substrates coated with a buffer layer of insulating Pr2CuO4. $`\lambda ^2(0)`$, $`T_c`$ and normal-state resistivities of these films indicate that they are clean and homogeneous. Over a wide range of Ce doping, $`0.124x0.144`$, $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ at low $`T`$ is flat: it changes by less than 0.15% over a factor of 3 change in $`T`$, indicating a gap in the superconducting density of states. Fits to the first 5% decrease in $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ produce values of the minimum superconducting gap in the range of $`0.29\mathrm{\Delta }_{\mathrm{min}}/k_BT_c1.01`$.

It is still a puzzle whether pairing symmetry in $`n`$-type cuprates is $`d`$ wave or nottsuei2 ; armitage1 ; kokales1 ; prozorov1 ; alff2 ; kashiwaya1 ; ctchen1 ; alff1 ; skinta1 . Recently, novel concepts on pairing symmetry of $`n`$\- and $`p`$-type cuprates have come forward: a possible transition in pairing symmetryskinta2 ; Biswas1  and/or a mixed symmetry order parametermuller1 ; kohen1 ; daghero1 . Our previous workskinta2  involved La2-xCexCuO4-δ (LCCO) and Pr2-xCexCuO4-δ (PCCO) films grown directly on SrTiO3 substrates. We found that at low Ce doping levels, $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ at low $`T`$ was quadratic in $`T`$, but at higher dopings, $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ showed activated behavior. These results suggested a $`d`$\- to $`s`$-wave pairing transition near optimal doping, as was also suggested by tunneling experimentsBiswas1  on PCCO films. We have subsequently improved film quality by eliminating the interface between the film and substrate, by growing PCCO films onto Pr2CuO4 (PCO)/SrTiO3 instead of directly onto SrTiO3. The insulating PCO layer is thought to lessen lattice mismatch between PCCO film and SrTiO3 substrate, so that these films should be more homogeneous through their thickness. In fact, their normal state resistivities are somewhat lower than those of unbuffered PCCO films for the same doping, $`x`$. $`T_c`$’s at optimal doping in the two film families are the same, $`T_c24`$ K.

Films were prepared by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) on 10 mm $`\times `$ 10 mm $`\times `$ 0.35 mm SrTiO3 substrates as detailed elsewherenaito01 . The same growth procedures and parameters were used for all films. For all films, PCCO and PCO layers are 750 Å and 250 Å thick, respectively. Ce concentrations, $`x`$, are measured to better than $`\pm 0.005`$ by inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy. X-ray rocking curves show full-width at half maximum of (006) reflection for all films to be less than 0.4, which implies that the films are highly $`c`$-axis oriented.

The penetration depth, $`\lambda (T)`$, was measured down to $`T0.5`$ K using a mutual inductance apparatus, described in detail elsewhereturneaure\_1 ; turneaure\_2 , in a He3 refrigerator. The system temperature was measured with a Cernox resistor (LakeShore Inc.) and its reliability, below 1 K, was confirmed by measuring the superconducting transition temperature of a Zn plate, $`T_c=0.875`$ K.

Each film was centered between drive and pick-up coils with diameters of $`1`$ mm. A small current at 50 kHz in the drive coil induced diamagnetic screening currents in the film, i.e., parallel to the CuO2 planes. The time derivative of the net magnetic field from drive coil and induced current in the film was measured as a voltage across the pick-up coil. The real and imaginary parts of the mutual inductance are proportional to the quadrature and in-phase components of ac voltage, respectively. Because the coils were much smaller than the film, the applied field was concentrated near the center of the films, and demagnetizing effects at the film perimeter were not relevant. Because films were thinner than $`\lambda `$, the current density induced in the films was essentially uniform through the film thickness. Nonlinear effects occur only very close to $`T_c`$ where $`\lambda ^2`$ is less than 1% of its value at $`T=0`$. All data presented here represent linear response.

The procedure to extract $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ from the measured mutual inductance is the following. First, a constant background mutual inductance due to stray couplings between drive and pickup circuits is subtracted from raw data. This background is the measured mutual inductance at $`4.2`$ K with the sample replaced by a 100 micron-thick superconducting Pb foil with identical shape and area. No magnetic field passes through the Pb foil. A glass shim ensures that the spacing between coils is the same as with the real sample. The adjusted data are normalized to the mutual inductance measured above $`T_c`$, at $`T30`$ K, where the film is utterly transparent to the ac field. Normalization reduces uncertainties associated with amplifier gains and nonideal aspects of the coil windings. A numerical model of the drive and pick-up coils enables us to convert the subtracted and normalized mutual inductance to $`sheet`$ conductivity: $`\sigma d=\sigma _1di\sigma _2d`$, where $`d`$ is film thickness. Finally, $`\lambda ^2`$ is determined from $`\sigma _2d`$ via: $`\sigma _2=1/\mu _0\omega \lambda ^2`$, where $`\mu _0`$ is the magnetic permeability of vacuum and $`\omega `$ is the angular frequency of the drive current. The absolute accuracy of $`\lambda ^2`$ is limited by $`\pm 10`$% uncertainty in $`d`$. The $`T`$ dependence of $`\lambda ^2`$ is unaffected by this uncertainty.

Except for differences in the flatness of $`\lambda ^2`$ at low $`T`$, which is the focal point of this paper, buffered films are very much like unbuffered films reported earlierskinta2 . Fig. 1 shows in-plane resistivity, $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$, for buffered PCCO films. $`\rho _{ab}`$ in the normal state decreases smoothly and monotonically with Ce doping, $`x`$, even for small changes in $`x`$, implying that the main difference among films is Ce content. If there were random variations in degree of epitaxy, structural defects, etc., then resistivity would not be such a smooth function of $`x`$. These resistivities are slightly smaller than for PCCO films without buffer layersskinta1 ; skinta2 , and significantly lower than for NCCO and PCCO crystalskokales1 ; kokales2 . The inset of Fig. 1 shows that resistive transitions are reasonably sharp, and that $`T_c`$ is a weak function of Ce concentration, although resistivity is not. Table 1 summarizes properties of the films.

Fluctuations cause $`\sigma _1(T)`$ to peak at the superconducting transition. Hence, $`\sigma _1(T)`$ is a much more stringent test of film quality than resistivity. For example, if $`T_c`$ varies through the film thickness, resistivity reveals only the highest $`T_c`$. Because our probing magnetic field passes through the film, $`\sigma _1(T)`$ has a peak at the $`T_c`$ of every layer. Transitions associated with small bad spots in the film, as opposed to an entire film layer, are distinguished by their having essentially no effect on the superfluid response, $`\sigma _2`$. When a layer goes superconducting there is a distinct change in the slope of $`\lambda ^2(T)`$.

$`\sigma _1(T)`$’s of buffered PCCO films (Fig. 2) show that several of them have a double transition, reflected as shoulder ($`x=`$ 0.115, 0.124, and 0.137) or satellite ($`x=`$ 0.144 and 0,152) structure of peaks. We define two transition temperatures, $`T_{c1}`$ and $`T_{c2}`$, from peaks in $`\sigma _1(T)`$, where $`T_{c1}>T_{c2}`$. The resistive $`T_c`$ is always at the onset of the $`T_{c1}`$-peak. For the films most important to the conclusions of this paper, $`0.124x0.144`$, the width of the $`T_{c1}`$ peak, $`\mathrm{\Delta }T_{c1}`$, is $`1`$ K, indicating excellent film homogeneity. The peak at $`T_{c2}`$ most likely involves a bad spot in the film, since there is no corresponding feature in the slope of $`\lambda ^2(T)`$, (see Fig. 3). Accordingly, the lower transition is neglected in our analysis. Films with highest and lowest Ce concentrations ($`x=`$ 0.115 and 0.152) have broader transition widths ($`\mathrm{\Delta }T_c=2.43.9`$ K) than other films, perhaps because $`T_c`$ is more sensitive to $`x`$.

Figure 3 shows $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ for all films. $`\lambda ^2(0)`$ vs. $`x`$ increases rapidly for $`x0.133`$, and it is constant or decreases slowly for $`x>0.133`$. Values of $`\lambda ^2(0)`$ are slightly higher than for unbuffered films. The surprising upward curvature that develops in $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ near $`T_c`$ at high Ce concentrations was also observed in unbuffered LCCO and PCCO filmsskinta1 ; skinta2 .

In our previous workskinta2  on unbuffered PCCO films, films with low Ce concentrations showed quadratic ($`T^2`$) behavior in $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ at low $`T`$. Films with high Ce concentrations showed gap-like behavior:

$$\lambda ^2(T)\lambda ^2(0)[1C_{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{exp}(D/t)],$$
(1)
where $`C_{\mathrm{}}`$ and $`D`$ are adjustable parameters, and $`t=T/T_c`$. In the clean limit, $`D`$ is approximately the minimum gap on the Fermi surface, normalized to $`k_BT_c`$, and $`C_{\mathrm{}}`$ is roughly twice the average superconducting density of states (DOS) over energies within $`k_BT`$ of the gap edge. For isotropic BCS superconductors, the best-fit value of $`C_{\mathrm{}}/2`$ is about 2.2. The change in low-$`T`$ behavior of $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ near optimal doping suggested a transition in pairing symmetry.

We now turn to the low-$`T`$ behavior of $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ for buffered PCCO films, shown on a greatly expanded scale in Fig. 4. The most important thing to notice is that $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ is flat to better than 0.15% over a factor of 3 or more change in $`T`$. Residual variations in $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ at the 0.1% level are due, at least in part, to slow drift in the gain of the lock-in amplifiers used to measure current and voltage. These data are incompatible with simple $`d`$-wave models with nodes in the gap. Thus, except for the most underdoped and overdoped films ($`x=`$ 0.115 and 0.152), $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ shows gapped behavior. Recent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurementsarmitage1  indicate well-defined quasiparticle states on the Fermi surface where the $`d_{x^2y^2}`$ node would be, so the gapped behavior that we observed could not be ascribed to a Fermi surface effect.

To estimate the gap, we fit Eq. (1) to the first $`5`$% drop in $`\lambda ^2(T)`$, (thin solid lines in Fig. 4). It comes as no surprise that quadratic fits over the same temperature range are unacceptable (dashed lines). For films with $`x=`$ 0.115 and 0.152, data at $`T<0.5`$ K are needed to distinguish between $`T^2`$ and $`e^{D/t}`$. Values of the minimum gap, $`\mathrm{\Delta }_{\mathrm{min}}=Dk_BT_c`$ and average DOS, $`C_{\mathrm{}}/2`$, extracted from the above exponential fits are presented in Table 1. $`D`$ values are significantly lower than the BCS weak-coupling-limit value, $`1.76`$, for $`s`$-wave superconductors (2.14 for $`d`$-wave superconductors). $`D`$ is largest, $`D1`$, for $`x`$ near 0.13. A similar value, $`D0.85`$, was found for unbuffered PCCO films skinta1  with the same Ce concentration. Values of $`C_{\mathrm{}}/2`$ ($`1`$) are also much smaller than for weak-coupling isotropic $`s`$ wave. This implies existence of a peak in the DOS for a certain $`E`$ ($`>\mathrm{\Delta }_{\mathrm{min}}`$), because the states should be conserved.

The next question is: where is the peak in the DOS, i.e., how big is the maximum gap, $`\mathrm{\Delta }_{\mathrm{max}}`$, on the Fermi surface? To answer this question, we employ a model anisotropic gap function and the clean-limit result that $`1\lambda ^2(T)/\lambda ^2(0)`$ is an integral of quasiparticle DOS times the derivative of the Fermi function with respect to energytinkham1 . Fig. 5 shows a good fit to $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ for film with $`x=0.131`$ using the DOS in the inset. In this fit, the minimum gap was fixed at the value found by fitting the low-$`T`$ data, i.e., $`\mathrm{\Delta }_{\mathrm{min}}/k_BT_c=0.99`$. Then, as one can see in inset of Fig. 5, the average DOS within $`k_BT`$ of the minimum gap edge agrees well with $`C_{\mathrm{}}/2=0.5`$ from Table 1. For film with $`x=0.131`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }_{\mathrm{max}}`$ is about $`2.6k_BT_c(\pm 15\%)`$.

We emphasize that we cannot say anything about the shape of the peak in the DOS, only its location. An equally acceptable fit, with a similar peak energy, is obtained even when the sharp narrow peak in the inset of Fig. 5 is replaced by a rectangular peakskinta3 .

In summary, we measured the inverse squared magnetic penetration depth, $`\lambda ^2(T)`$, of several Pr2-xCexCuO4-δ films on buffered Pr2CuO4/SrTiO3 substrates down to $`T/T_c<0.03`$. Overall, the resistivities and penetration depths were similar to films grown directly on SrTiO3. However, for PCCO films on buffered substrates, $`\lambda ^2(T)`$ at low $`T`$ exhibits gapped behavior over a wide range of Ce doping, including underdoping. This implies a superconducting gap without nodes on the Fermi surface. Values of the minimum superconducting gap for the films are in range of $`0.3\mathrm{\Delta }_{\mathrm{min}}/k_BT_c1.0`$. We cannot distinguish among models with various gap symmetries, e.g., anisotropic $`s`$, $`s+id`$, or $`d+id`$.

The research at OSU was supported by NSF Grant No. DMR-0203739.