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# Physics of the CLAS collaboration: selected results

## 1 INTRODUCTION

The superconducting electron accelerator at Jefferson Lab delivers a low-emittance, high resolution, 100% duty-cycle electron beam to three different experimental Halls A, B and C, simultaneously. The maximum energy is at least 5.7, and closer to 5.8 GeV (with 80% polarization available) and the maximum current is 180 $`\mu `$A.
Hall B is devoted to experiments that require the detection of several particles in the final state. The CLAS detector  is unique in design to accomodate these requirements and to perform a very broad spectrum of physics measurements.

The themes of the Hall B scientific program are the precision study of the structure of the nucleon and the nature of the strong interaction. Experiments aim to clarify the interplay between hadronic and partonic degrees of freedom and the effectiveness of the traditional nucleon-nucleon theories or QCD inspired models.
This scientific program can be summarized in the following main topics:

* Baryon Resonances
* Spin Structure Functions in the Resonance Region
* Nucleon Tomography
* Dynamics of the Strong Interactions

## 2 BARYON RESONANCES

The study of the baryon spectrum is a fundamental part of the scientific program in Hall B. The so-called $`N^{}`$ program is concerned with the electromagnetic production of exclusive hadronic final states, with the purpose of extracting information on excited baryon states that will reveal underlying symmetries and internal dynamics.

A lot of progress has been made in the framework of quark models to provide a consistent picture of all resonant states in terms of three constituent, massive quarks. Various recipes have been introduced to account for relativity and to reproduce form factors , while other models rely on a different treatment of the basic degrees of freedom and the potential .

It is the goal of the CLAS experimental project to provide accurate data to test these different quark-model approaches to nucleon structure.

In the following, I will show some selected issues in the $`N^{}`$ program both in single pion electroproduction, suitable for investigating the first and second resonance regions, and multiple pion electroproduction.

### 2.1 Quadrupole Deformations of the Nucleon and the Delta Resonance

An interesting aspect of nucleon structure at low energies is a possible quadrupole deformation of the nucleon and the $`\mathrm{\Delta }(1232)`$. Within SU(6) models, the $`\gamma ^{}N\mathrm{\Delta }(1232)N\pi `$ transition is mediated by a single quark spin flip, leading to $`M_{1+}`$ dominance and $`E_{1+}`$=$`S_{1+}`$= 0. Non-zero values for $`E_{1+}`$ would indicate the quadrupole deformation. Such deformation may dynamically arise through the interaction of the photon with the pion cloud  or through the one-gluon exchange mechanism . Finally, quark helicity conservation in perturbative QCD (pQCD) requires $`E_{1+}`$=$`M_{1+}`$ as $`Q^2\mathrm{}`$ . Determination of the ratios $`R_{EM}=E_{1+}/M_{1+}`$ and $`R_{SM}=S_{1+}/M_{1+}`$ has been the aim of a considerable number of experiments in the past, but they suffered from large systematic and statistical errors, as well as a limited kinematic coverage.

CLAS, with its nearly full coverage in azimuthal and polar angles, allows the extraction of the multipoles with greater accuracy than in the past. Results of the multipole analysis of the CLAS data  for the reaction $`epe^{}p\pi ^0`$ are shown in Fig.1, where data from previous experiments published after 1990 are included as well . As one can see $`R_{EM}`$ remains negative and small throughout the $`Q^2`$ range. There are no indications that leading pQCD contributions are important. The ratio $`R_{SM}`$ also remains negative, but its magnitude is strongly rising with $`Q^2`$. The comparison with microscopic models, relativized quark models , chiral quark soliton model , dynamical models  shows that the simultaneous description of both $`R_{EM}`$ an $`R_{SM}`$ is achieved by dynamical models that include the nucleon pion cloud.

Model dependencies in the analysis are largely due to the poor knowledge of the non-resonant terms, which become increasingly important at higher $`Q^2`$. Unfortunately, cross section measurements alone are unable to separate the $`\mathrm{\Delta }(1232)`$ from the non-resonant background. Polarization observables, on the other hand, can access directly the interference between these processes. The differential cross section for $`\gamma ^{}pp\pi ^0`$ with a longitudinally polarized electron beam and an unpolarized target, depends on the transverse $`ϵ`$ and longitudinal $`ϵ_L`$ polarization of the virtual photon and five structure functions: $`\sigma _T`$, $`\sigma _L`$, $`\sigma _{TT}`$, $`\sigma _{LT}`$ and $`\sigma _{LT^{}}`$.
The interference term $`\sigma _{LT^{}}`$ has been measured for the first time with CLAS  in the nucleon resonance region using a polarized electron beam and out-of-plane for the pion. The results are shown in Fig.2 compared with dynamical models which clearly show the sensitivity to non-resonant contributions. In fact, all models predict nearly the same unpolarized cross sections at the $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ mass (upper panel for W=1.22 GeV), differing in their handling of non-resonant contributions.

### 2.2 Missing Resonances

SU(6) symmetric quark models  predict more states than have been found in experiments. QCD mixing effects could decouple many of these states from the pion-nucleon channel , with a consequent lack of evidence in elastic $`\pi N`$ scattering, while strongly coupling them to two-pion channels such as $`\mathrm{\Delta }\pi `$ . However, other models such as the Quark Cluster Model  predict fewer states than the symmetric model, which is more in accordance with experimental observations.

The search for some of these states is therefore crucial for discriminating between alternative descriptions of baryon structure.

The new CLAS total cross section electroproduction data  for the reaction $`epe^{}p\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ are shown in Fig. 3 in comparison with photoproduction data from DESY . The most striking feature is the strong resonance peak near the invariant mass W=1.72 GeV which is seen here for the first time but is absent in photoproduction data. Analyzing the complete hadronic angular distributions and $`p\pi ^+`$ and $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$ mass distributions over the full W range, has shown that the peak near 1.72 GeV is best described by a $`N_{3/2^+}^{}(1720)`$ state. Although there exists a state with such quantum numbers in this mass range, its hadronic properties were previously found to be very different from the resonance seen in the CLAS data.

Therefore, this state could be one of the “missing” states. In fact, Capstick and Roberts  predict a second $`N_{3/2^+}^{}`$ state at a mass 1.87 GeV and Capstick and Page  predict a hybrid baryon state with these quantum numbers at about the same mass. Mass predictions of these models are uncertain by at least $`\pm 100`$ MeV, and therefore are not inconsistent with the observed state at 1.72 GeV. Independent of possible interpretations, the hadronic properties of the state seen in the CLAS data appear incompatible with the known states listed in the Review of Particle Properties  and deduced from $`N\pi \pi `$ final states in $`\pi N`$ scattering.

## 3 SPIN STRUCTURE FUNCTIONS

The nucleon spin structure functions, $`g_1(x)`$ and $`g_2(x)`$, in the deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) region have been widely investigated, both experimentally and theoretically, since the results of the EMC experiment  performed at CERN found that the quark spins contribute little to the nucleon spin.

Actually, much of the recent work has focused on measuring the fundamental Bjorken sum rule :

$$_0^1[g_1^p(x)g_1^n(x)]𝑑x=\frac{1}{6}g_A$$
(1)
where $`g_1^p(g_1^n)`$ is the spin structure function for the proton (neutron), $`g_A`$ is axial coupling constant, and the integration is taken over the full range of x Bjorken ($`x_B`$). Eq.1 only holds true at infinite. However, it has been evolved to the finite $`Q^2`$ using pQCD and this agrees with experiment to within $`5\%`$.

At low energies the validity of pQCD comes into question, and there is no way to predict or calculate accurately the spin structure functions without directly measuring them. Experiments at very low $`Q^2`$ can use the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) sum rule  (Eq.2) as a guide to study the evolution of the nucleon spin structure functions:

$$_{thr}^{\mathrm{}}[\sigma _{1/2}\sigma _{3/2}]\frac{d\nu }{\nu }=\frac{2\pi ^2\alpha }{M^2}\kappa ^2$$
(2)
The GDH sum rule relates the difference in polarized cross section $`\sigma _{1/2,3/2}`$, for the scattering of real photons, to the target’s anomalous magnetic moment $`\kappa `$, mass M, and the electromagnetic coupling constant $`\alpha `$.

This sum rule has been studied for photon energies up to 2.5 GeV  and in this limited energy range deviates from the theoretical asymptotic values by less than $`10\%`$.

Recently Ji and Osborn  extended the sum rule by linking the integral to the spin-dependent virtual Compton amplitude. Their work unified the two fundamental sum rules: the Bjorken sum rule in the DIS regime and the GDH sum rule at the real photon point.

A measurement of the $`Q^2`$-dependence allows test of the GDH sum rule evolution and chiral perturbation theory at low $`Q^2`$ and sheds light on the question at what distance scale pQCD corrections and the QCD twist expansion will break down, and where the physics of confinement will dominate. It will also allow one to evaluate where resonances give important contributions to the first moment of $`g_1`$ .

The spin structure functions experimental program at CLAS is focused just on the moderate $`Q^2`$ regime and in the domain of nucleon resonances. The first round of experiments has been completed on polarized hydrogen ($`NH_3`$) and deuterium ($`ND_3`$). In the following I will show the results obtained for the inclusive spin structure functions of deuteron.

### 3.1 Inclusive Spin Structure Functions of the Deuteron

Results from a new measurement of spin structure functions of the deuteron for moderate momentum transfer ($`Q^2=0.271.3\mathrm{GeV}^2`$) and final hadronic state mass in the nucleon resonance region ($`W=1.082.0\mathrm{GeV}`$) have been obtained at CLAS with a 2.5 GeV polarized electron beam .

The spin structure function $`g_1^d`$ was extracted from the photon asymmetry measurement for four different bins in $`Q^2`$ and then the integrals $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_1^d(Q^2)`$ = $`g_1^d(x,Q^2)𝑑x`$ were calculated.

Results are shown in Fig. 4 together with theoretical predictions and the only experimental data  available before CLAS. The solid line at higher $`Q^2`$ is a fit to the world’s data in the DIS region. The dotted line indicates the slope for the integral at $`Q^2=0`$ predicted using the GDH sum rule. The short-dashed line is the result from a calculation that takes into account the contribution from the nucleon resonances only (code AO) . The long-dashed line  is the AO result plus a term that depends smoothly on $`Q^2`$ and interpolates between the resonances and the GDH limit at $`Q^2=0`$. Fig.4 also shows the prediction from the model by Soffer and Teryaev (dot-dashed line). The solid triangle are the CLAS EG1 data alone while the open triangles include the estimated contribution to the integral from beyond our kinematics limits. The inner error bars are statistical and the outer error bars represent the systematic errors added in quadrature.

The first conclusion one can draw from Fig. 4 is that the integral over the measured region is in rather good agreement with the prediction of the AO parametrization for the resonance contribution only. Therefore, the non-resonant piece must contribute relatively little to the integral over the resonace region in the case of the deuteron (perhaps due to a partial cancellation between the asymmentry of the proton and the neutron).

In general, one can say that the integral over $`g_1^d`$ follows the expected trend, rising towards the DIS limit at the highest measured $`Q^2`$ while dropping rapidly below 0 towards the lowest $`Q^2`$ point. Clearly, neither the kinematic range reach nor the statistical precision of the present data set allows a definite statement about the validity of the GDH sum rule limit. However, new CLAS data with improved statistical precision and kinematic coverage will better constrain the theoretical predictions.

Results on the integral $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_1`$ for the proton, neutron and the proton-neutron difference will be soon available.

## 4 NUCLEON TOMOGRAPHY

Much of our current knowledge of the nucleon comes from inclusive electron scattering experiments that measure elastic form factors and longitudinal parton densities. However, elastic scattering and deeply inelastic scattering give two orthogonal one-dimensional projections of the proton. The former measures the probability of finding a proton with a transverse size matching the resolution of the probe, while the latter probes the quark’s longitudinal momentum distribution, but has no sensitivity to the transverse dimension. The information resulting from these two types of experiments is disconnected, and does not allow one to construct the image of a real 3-dimensional proton.

Semi-exclusive measurements, in which one hadron is observed in addition to the scattered electron, are needed to study the flavour structure of the nucleon and only fully exclusive processes in which all final products are reconstructed can unravel the complete internal dynamics.

The theoretical framework for the interpretation of these new class of experiments is given by the formalism of Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs)  which give information on quark-quark correlations, transverse quark momentum distributions and contributions of correlated quark-antiquark pairs (mesons) to the nucleon wave function.

The basis for this approch are the “handbag” diagrams shown in Fig. 5. In fact, it has been shown that in the Bjorken scaling regime, the scattering amplitude for exclusive processes can be factorized into a hard-scattering part (exactly calculable in perturbative QCD) and a nucleon structure part, the lower blob of the diagrams, parametrized via GPDs. In addition to the dependence on the parton momentum fraction x, GPDs depend on two more parameters, the skewedness $`\xi `$ (which in the Bjorken regime is related to the momentum imbalance between the struck quark and the quark that is put back into the final state baryon) and the momentum transfer t to the baryonic system.

The complete extraction of the spin-dependent and spin-independent GPDs requires an extensive program involving measurements of a variety of channels and observables over a broad kinematic range.

### 4.1 Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS)

The simplest process that can be described in terms of GPDs is deeply virtual Compton scattering. In fact while exclusive meson production requires high energies and high photon virtualities to reach the Bjorken regime, DVCS may access the GPDs already at $`Q^2`$ as low as $`1(\mathrm{GeV}/\mathrm{c})^2`$ .
One of the first experimental observation of DVCS has been obtained from the recent analysis of CLAS data with a 4.2 GeV polarized electron beam in a kinematical regime near $`Q^2=1.5\mathrm{GeV}^2`$ and $`x_b=0.22`$ .

This experiment measures DVCS via the interference with the Bethe-Heitler process (BH) (Fig. 6b). For beam energies accessible at Jefferson Lab, the BH contribution in the cross section is several times larger than DVCS contribution, but this can be turned into an advantage by using a longitudinally polarized electron beam. In fact one can measure the helicity-dependent interference term that is proportional to the imaginary part of the DVCS amplitude. In this case the pure real BH contribution is subtracted out in the cross section difference.

For this analysis, electron and proton were both detected in the CLAS detector, the reaction $`\stackrel{}{e}pepX`$ was studied and the number of single photon final states was extracted by fitting the missing mass $`(M_X^2)`$ distributions. The beam spin asymmetry (BSA) was then calculated as:

$$BSA=\frac{1}{P_e}\frac{(N_\gamma ^+N_\gamma ^{})}{(N_\gamma ^++N_\gamma ^{})}$$
(3)
where $`P_e`$ is the beam polarization and $`N_\gamma ^{+()}`$ is the extracted number of $`\stackrel{}{e}pep\gamma `$ events at positive (negative) beam helicity. The resulting $`\varphi `$ dependence is shown in Fig. 7.
A fit to the function

$$F(\varphi )=A\mathrm{sin}(\varphi )+B\mathrm{sin}(2\varphi )$$
(4)
yields $`A=0.217\pm 0.031`$ and $`B=0.027\pm 0.022`$ If the handbag diagram dominates, as expected in the Bjorken regime, B should vanish and only a contribution from the transverse photon should remain, as described by the parameter A .

The clear asymmetry, as expected from the interference of the DVCS and BH process, strongly supports expectations that DVCS will allow access to GPDs at relatively low energies and momentum transfers. Moreover the results agree in sign and are not far in magnitude from predictions based on available models of GPD parametrizations.

## 5 DYNAMICS OF THE STRONG INTERACTION

One of the primary goal of nuclear physics is the study of the interplay between hadronic and partonic degrees of freedom, and of the effectiveness of traditional nucleon-nucleon theories or QCD inspired models in describing the data. In this respect deuteron photodisintegration and photoproduction of light vector mesons at high momentum transfer t are two suitable reactions to study.

### 5.1 Deuteron photodisintegration in the Quark-Hadron Picture

Deuteron photodisintegration is well suited for studying nuclear reactions in the intermediate energy regime where neither the traditional meson exchange models nor pQCD describe the data well.

At high incident photon energy and intermediate angles, conventionally $`90^{}`$, the $`\gamma dpn`$ differential cross section is well-described by the constituents counting rules (CCR) :

$$\frac{d\sigma }{dt}=\frac{1}{s^{n2}}f(\theta _{CM})$$

where $`n`$ is the minimum number of microscopic fields involved in the reaction, $`s`$ is the square of the total energy, and $`\theta _{CM}`$ is the proton scattering angle. In this case, $`n=13`$, and then the CCR predicts $`d\sigma /dts^{11}`$.
Data on the deuteron photodisintegration differential cross section at large angles, $`\theta _{CM}=69^{}`$ and $`89^{}`$, for $`E_\gamma 1`$ and at $`\theta _{CM}=37^{}`$ and $`53^{}`$ for 3 GeV and 4 GeV, respectively, follow the scaling prescription. In contradiction, polarization observables measured at $`90^{}`$ and for photon energies up to 2 GeV are not consistently interpreted in a perturbative picture. Therefore, observed scaling in the cross section can not be taken as a stringent test that the perturbative regime as been reached. In fact, traditional models based on meson exchange current, are also able to reproduce this scaling law for $`\theta _p^{CM}=89^{}`$ .

In this context the use of non-perturbative QCD calculations to describe the deuteron photodisintegration process appears more suitable.

This is done by the so-called quark gluon string model (QGSM) . The reaction $`\gamma dpn`$ is described by the exchange of three valence quarks in the $`t`$-channel plus any number of gluons. This corresponds to the formation and break-up of a quark-gluon string in the intermediate state, leading to the factorization of the amplitudes. Such a string can also be identified with the nucleon Regge trajectory since the QGSM can be considered as a microscopic model for the Regge phenomenology, and can be used for the calculation of different quantities that have been considered before only at a phenomenological level .

Open questions include at what momentum transfer does one reach the perturbative regime, which is the most convenient description in the transition region, and where the conventional picture of the deuteron in terms of nucleons and mesons fail, and partons start to come into play.

The CLAS data on the complete angular distributions for the outgoing proton ($`\theta _{LAB}=10^{}140^{}`$) and for photon energies between 0.5 and 3.0 GeV contribute significantly to answering these questions. Differential cross sections $`d\sigma /d\mathrm{\Omega }`$ are reported in Fig.8 as a function of the proton angle in the CM frame, for fixed photon energy above 0.9 GeV and up to 2.45 GeV. The present preliminary results , obtained from the analysis of about $`30\%`$ of the accumulated statistics (and with an additional cut $`\theta _{CM}>20^{}`$) show a persistent forward-backward asymmetry. These data agree well with the previous available data from JLab  and SLAC  in the region of overlap.

Also showed in Fig.8 are the QGSM calculations (solid line). The agreement with the data is very good and the angular dependance of the cross section at fixed photon energy is well reproduced included the observed forward-backward asymmetry.

### 5.2 Photoproduction of the $`\varphi `$, $`\rho `$ and $`\omega `$ mesons at large momentum transfer

At low values of momentum transfer t, photoproduction of vector mesons occurs mainly through the photon coupling to intermediate vector meson states which diffractively scatter from the target. This corresponds to the Vector Meson Dominance Model (VDM), and the cross section depends only on the size of the meson and the target. At high t, hard processes are expected to take over and the production is thus more sensitive to quark and gluon exchange mechanisms.

CLAS experiments have measured the t dependence of the photoproduction of $`\rho `$, $`\omega `$ and $`\varphi `$ on the proton up to values of t around 5 $`\mathrm{GeV}^2`$ where scarce data were available for $`\rho `$ and $`\omega `$ and no data existed for $`\varphi `$ production for $`t1\mathrm{GeV}^2`$.

The results are shown in Fig. 9  where the $`d\sigma /dt`$ is plotted versus t. As expected, at small t the cross section is well described as a purely diffractive process in the framework of the traditional VDM, or in a modern way as the exchange of the pomeron trajectory in the t channel . At larger t, the small impact parameter makes it possible for a quark in the vector meson and a quark in the proton to come close enough to exchange two gluons which do not have enough time to reinteract to form a pomeron. Large momentum transfer also select configurations in which the transverse distances between the two quarks in the vector meson and the three quarks in the proton are small. In that case, each gluon can couple to different quarks of the vector meson, as well as to different quarks of the proton. Because of the dominant $`s\overline{s}`$ component of the $`\varphi `$, and to the extent that the strangeness component of the nucleon is small, in $`\varphi `$ photoproduction the exchange of quarks is strongly suppressed. This is clearly shown in Fig. 9 (upper panel) where above $`t1.8\mathrm{GeV}^2`$, the data rule out the diffractive Pomeron and the two-gluon realization alone (solid line) is able to reproduce the experimental data (except the last point at $`t=3.9\mathrm{GeV}^2`$ where one approches the kinematical limit and u channel nucleon exchange may contribute ).

The two-gluon exchange mechanism alone, that fully describes the $`\varphi `$ photoproduction data, instead, badly misses the cross section at large momentum transfer for the $`\rho `$ and $`\omega `$ photoproduction (Fig. 9 central and bottom panel). In this case, in the QCD inspired model of Ref., a good agreement with the data is achieved when quark interchange processes are also included in the calculations. This hard-scattering mechanism is incorporated in an effective way by using the so-called saturated, i.e. non-linear, Regge trajectorie . In conclusion, photoproduction cross section of the light vector mesons $`\varphi `$, $`\rho `$, $`\omega `$, has a flat behaviour at large t. This feature is the evidence of the presence of hard processes well described in a QCD inspired model.

## 6 CONCLUSIONS

The large and broad experimental effort of the CLAS collaboration at Jefferson Lab is providing a wealth of new data that will help in clarifying our understanding of nucleon structure and of nuclear dynamics in the intermediate energy region which is the domain of strong QCD. Only a few examples of these new results have been reported here, highlighting the main topics on which the experimental program is focused, i.e. electroproduction of nucleon resonances, spin structure functions and spin integrals $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_1`$, new structure functions (GPDs) and analysis of the some “hard” processes ( deuteron photodisintegration and vector meson photoproduction). The new data put stronger constraints on QCD-inspired calculations and show a new avenue for the study of nucleon structure which is inaccessible in inclusive scattering experiments. Many more results are expected to come from the considerable amount of new data accumulated with CLAS.


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# Small-polaron hopping conductivity in bilayer manganite La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7

## Abstract

We report anisotropic resistivity measurements on a La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 single crystal over a temperature $`T`$ range from 2 to 400 K and in magnetic fields $`H`$ up to 14 T. For $`T218`$ K, the temperature dependence of the zero-field in-plane $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$ resistivity obeys the adiabatic small polaron hopping mechanism, while the out-of-plane $`\rho _c(T)`$ resistivity can be ascribed by an Arrhenius law with the same activation energy. Considering the magnetic character of the polarons and the close correlation between the resistivity and magnetization, we developed a model which allows the determination of $`\rho _{ab,c}(H,T)`$. The excellent agreement of the calculations with the measurements indicates that small polarons play an essential role in the electrical transport properties in the paramagnetic phase of bilayer manganites.

Elucidating the nature of the paramagnetic-insulating state is crucial to understanding the correlation between the electrical transport and magnetic properties of $`3d`$ transition-metal manganese-oxides. Most previous studies of the manganite perovskites R1-xAxMnO3 films (R$`=`$rare-earth ion and A$`=`$divalent ion) reveal that the high temperature $`T`$ resistivity follows the adiabatic small polaron transport.worl ; tere  The effect of an applied magnetic field $`H`$ on the resistivity and thermal expansion above the Curie temperature $`T_c`$ indicates that the polarons have magnetic character.dete  The existence of polarons in the paramagnetic phase of bilayer manganites La2-2xSr1+2xMn2O7 ($`x=0.4`$) has been supported by measurements of Raman spectra,rome  x-ray and neutron scattering,vasi  optical conductivity spectra,ishi ; hjlee  and thermoelectric power.zhou  However, there are no magneto-transport measurements which support the presence of polarons in the paramagnetic state of these materials.

Recently, bilayer manganites La2-2xSr1+2xMn2O7 have attracted considerable attention since: (i) the physical properties along the $`ab`$ plane and $`c`$ axis are strongly anisotropic, which should yield important insight into the colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) effect, (ii) they can be viewed as an infinite array of ferromagnetic metal (FM)-insulator (I)-FM junctions,kimura2  (iii) both the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetoresistivities are sensitive to even small magnetic fields, morit  pointing to their possible device applications, (iv) they display a rich magnetic phase diagram which depends strongly on the doping level $`x`$,hirota  and (v) they are good candidates for systematic investigations of the electrical resistivity in the paramagnetic regime over a broad $`T`$ range due to their relative lower $`T_c`$ compared to the manganite perovskites.

The understanding of electrical transport in the paramagnetic state and in the presence of an applied magnetic field and of the enhanced CMR effect in bilayer manganites is still incomplete and challenging. It has been found that the resistivity is semiconducting-like in the high $`T`$ paramagnetic state. On cooling, it reaches a maximum followed by a metallic behavior. When an external magnetic field is applied, this metal-insulator transition shifts to higher temperatures, the ferromagnetic transition broadens significantly, and a large reduction of electrical resistivity appears. It is highly desirable to understand the mechanism responsible for this charge dissipation and to develop a quantitative description of these behaviors. This is also essential to the understanding of the microscopic origin for the CMR effect.

In this paper we address the above issues through magnetotransport measurements in a La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 single crystal. Our data show that the adiabatic small polaron hopping dominates the electrical transport of this bilayer manganite. Specifically, all the main characteristics of charge transport, $`i.e.`$, the $`T`$ and $`H`$ dependence of both the in-plane $`\rho _{ab}`$ and out-of-plane $`\rho _c`$ resistivities, the resistivity cusp, its shift to higher $`T`$ with increasing $`H`$, and the decrease of the resistivity with increasing $`H`$, are extremely well reproduced by our analysis based on the small polaron hopping, the existence of ferromagnetic clusters in the paramagnetic phase, and the close correlation between the resistivity and magnetization.

Single crystals of La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 were melt grown in a floating-zone optical image furnace in flowing oxygen. The crystal used here was cleaved from a boule that was grown at a rate of 4 mm/h and had the lowest impurity phase content.moreno  We used a multiterminal lead configuration jiang  for the simultaneous measurement of $`\rho _{ab}`$ and $`\rho _c`$ on the same single crystal, over temperatures from 2 to 400 K and magnetic fields up to 14 T applied along the $`ab`$ planes. The electrical current was always applied along one of the crystal faces, while the top and bottom face voltages were measured simultaneously.

Figure 1 shows $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$ and $`\rho _c(T)`$ measured in zero field and in several magnetic fields up to 14 T. The trends followed by these data are in good agreement with previous reports,morit  though our single crystal has lower resistivities. The metal-insulator transition temperature $`T_{MI}=130`$ K is found to be slightly higher than $`T_c=125`$ K.moreno  We also found $`T_{MI}^{ab}T_{MI}^c`$ in the magnetic fields studied. Both $`\rho _{ab}`$ and $`\rho _c`$ decrease with increasing $`H`$, the cusp becomes less pronounced, and $`T_{MI}`$ shifts to higher temperatures. Recently, we found that both $`\rho _{ab}`$ and $`\rho _c`$ follow a $`T^{9/2}`$ dependence in the metallic regime (50 K$`T`$ 110 K) and both the in-plane $`\sigma _{ab}`$ and out-of-plane $`\sigma _c`$ conductivities obey a $`T^{1/2}`$ dependence at even lower $`T`$ ($`T<50`$ K), which are consistent with the two-magnon scattering and weak localization effect, respectively.zhang

The resistivity as a result of hopping of adiabatic small polarons is given byemin

$$\rho =CT\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{E_A}{k_BT}\right).$$
(1)
Here $`k_B`$ is Boltzmann’s constant and $`E_A`$ is the activation energy. In the adiabatic limit, the electron motion is assumed to be much faster than the ionic motion of the lattice. In the approximation that all correlations except on-site Coulomb repulsion are ignored, one can express the prefactor $`C`$ as worl ; raff

$$C=\frac{k_B\mathrm{\Omega }}{x(1x)e^2a^2\nu }.$$
(2)
Above $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is the unit-cell volume, $`x`$ is the fraction concentration of occupied sites, $`a`$ is the site to site hopping distance, and $`\nu `$ is the frequency of the longitudinal optical phonons.

To examine the polaronic nature of the high-temperature resistivity of La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7, we plot in Fig. 2, $`\mathrm{ln}(\rho _{ab}/T)`$ vs $`1000/T`$ for $`T140`$ K and in zero field. The adiabatic polaron model of Eq. (1) gives a convincing fit to the in-plane resistivity data for $`T218`$ K, with a zero-field activation energy $`E_A^0=93.8`$ meV and a prefactor $`C=2.0\times 10^6`$ $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ cm/K. The fact that Eq. (1) is valid for $`T>\mathrm{\Theta }_D/2`$ indicates that the Debye temperature $`\mathrm{\Theta }_D430`$ K in the present bilayer compound. Indeed, recent specific heat measurements have shown $`\mathrm{\Theta }_D=425`$ K in this compound.osero  The experimentally determined $`E_A^0`$ of 93.8 meV from the above resistivity data is much larger the activation energy $`E_S`$ of 18 meV from thermoelectric power measurements.naka  This large difference comes from the thermally activated nature of the hopping transport at high temperatures and is a characteristic signature of polaronic transport.

Based on the experimentally determined prefactor $`C`$ along with the doping level $`x=0.4`$ and the lattice parameters $`a=3.87\times 10^8`$ cm and $`c=2.0\times 10^7`$ cm taken from neutron diffraction measurements,jfmitc  we estimated a characteristic frequency $`\nu =2.24\times 10^{14}`$ Hz for La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 by using Eq. (2). This value is in good agreement with the frequencies of phonon peaks in optical conductivity spectra, ishi ; hjlee  which provides strong evidence in favor of small polaronic transport in the $`ab`$ plane of bilayer manganites.

Figure 2 shows also the plot of the resistive anisotropy $`\rho _c/\rho _{ab}`$ vs $`1000/T`$ for La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 for $`T140`$ K and zero field. Note that, for $`150T400`$ K in zero field, there is the following relationship between resistivities: $`\gamma \rho _c/\rho _{ab}=A+B/T`$, with $`A=14.8`$ and $`B=2.63\times 10^4`$ K. Since $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$ is well described by Eq. (1) for $`T218`$ K, it follows that $`\rho _c(T)`$ is described by an Arrhenius-type behavior with the same activation energy $`E_A`$ as $`\rho _{ab}(T)`$, if the preexponential factor $`\gamma `$ is taken into account. Hence,

$$\rho _c=C\gamma T\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{E_A}{k_BT}\right).$$
(3)
In the case of magnetic polarons, there is a magnetic exchange contribution to the activation energy. In the presence of a magnetic field, the activation energy in Eqs. (1) and (3) has to be replaced by

$$E_A=E_A^0(1<\mathrm{cos}\theta _{ij}>),$$
(4)
where $`\theta _{ij}`$ is the angle between the spins of two Mn ion cores between which the $`e_g`$ electron hops. If the azimuthal angle $`\varphi _i`$ is randomly distributed and if $`\theta _i`$, the angle the spins make with the applied field, is uncorrelated, then, by averaging over $`\varphi _i`$, it can be shown that $`<\mathrm{cos}\theta _{ij}>=<\mathrm{cos}\theta _i>^2`$. viret  The local magnetization $`M`$ can also be expressed as a function of $`\theta _i`$, $`i.e.`$, $`M=M_s<\mathrm{cos}\theta _i>`$, where $`M_s`$ is the saturation magnetization. Then, Eq. (4) becomes

$$E_A=E_A^0\left[1(\frac{M}{M_s})^2\right].$$
(5)
This equation shows that the magnetic field affects the activation energy through the magnetization. At present, there is not an agreement on the theories proposed responsible for the magnetic properties of manganites. It has been shown viret ; bril ; dion  that the Brillouin function $`B_s(\lambda )`$ approximately provides a quantitative description of the reduced magnetization $`M/M_s`$ observed experimentally. It is therefore reasonable to take $`M/M_sB_s(\lambda )`$ with

$$B_s(\lambda )=\frac{2S+1}{2S}\mathrm{coth}\left(\frac{2S+1}{2S}\lambda \right)\frac{1}{2S}\mathrm{coth}\left(\frac{1}{2S}\lambda \right).$$
(6)
Here $`S`$ is the average spin and the exchange coefficient and varies with doping as $`S=3/2+(1x)/2`$. An empirical model dion  is used to sort out the magnetic field and temperature dependence of magnetization via the self-consistent equation

$$\lambda =\frac{\mu H}{k_BT}+3\frac{S}{S+1}\frac{T_c}{T}\frac{M}{M_s},$$
(7)
where the effective magnetic moment $`\mu /\mu _B=gS`$ with $`\mu _B`$ being the Bohr magneton and $`g`$ being the gyromagnetic ratio.

We note that, when using the mean-field expression for $`M/M_s`$ to analyze their measured magnetization data of pseudocubic manganese-oxide perovskites, Sun $`et`$ $`al.`$ jzsun  found that $`\mu /\mu _B=gS`$ should be replaced by $`\mu /\mu _B=DgS`$, where $`D`$ is the mean number of spins per cluster. The ferromagnetic character in the paramagnetic phase of La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 has already been revealed by magnetization measurements moreno ; pott  and other experiments.perr  Moreover, it was suggested dete  that the size of the ferromagnetic clusters correlates with the magnetic correlation length $`\xi `$, which increases slightly with decreasing temperature from the high-temperature paramagnetic side and suddenly diverges at $`T_c`$.dete ; sro3  Thus the temperature dependence of $`D`$ should reflect this behavior. We determined $`D(T)`$ values from the isothermal resistivity curves. The temperature dependence of $`D(T)`$ can be expressed as $`D=2.7+2^{3/2}csch^{3/2}((TT_c)/320)`$, which is shown in the inset of Fig. 3(a).

We calculated the $`T`$ and $`H`$ dependences of $`E_A`$ and $`\rho _{ab,c}`$ from Eqs. (5)-(7) and from Eq. (1). $`\rho _c(H,T)`$ was then determined from the experimentally measured anisotropy $`\gamma (H,T)`$. These results for magnetic fields of 1, 3, 6, 10, and 14 T are shown in Figs. 3(a)–3(c) along with the experimental data of resistivities for comparison. In these calculations, we took $`g=2`$, $`S=1.8`$ (valid for $`x=0.4`$), $`T_c=125`$ K, $`E_A^0=93.8`$ meV, and $`C=2.0\times 10^6`$ $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ cm/K. There is a good agreement between the calculated and experimental results in the paramagnetic state.

As Fig. 3(a) shows, $`E_A`$ decreases slowly with decreasing $`T`$ and suddenly drops near $`T_{MI}`$. This characteristic behavior is responsible for the resistivity cusp shown in Figs. 3(b) and 3(c). With increasing magnetic field, $`E_A`$ is suppressed and its onset shifts systematically to high temperatures. This is the origin of the decrease of the resistivity as well as the shift of the resistivity cusp to higher $`T`$ with increasing $`H`$.

In summary, the small polaron model and the existence of the ferromagnetic clusters in the paramagnetic phase reproduce extremely well the $`T`$ and $`H`$ dependence of $`\rho _{ab,c}`$ for bilayer manganite La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7. Moreover, the present model also accounts for the resistivity cusp, its shift to higher $`T`$ with increasing $`H`$, and the decrease of the resistivity with increasing $`H`$. Hence, this work provides direct evidence of the presence of adiabatic small polarons in bilayer manganites and their essential role in both the electrical transport and the CMR effect.

This research was supported at KSU by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR-0102415. The work at LANL was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy.


text:
# Measurement of positive and negative scattering lengths in a Fermi gas of atoms

## Abstract

An exotic superfluid phase has been predicted for an ultracold gas of fermionic atoms. This phase requires strong attractive interactions in the gas, or correspondingly atoms with a large, negative s-wave scattering length. Here we report on progress toward realizing this predicted superfluid phase. We present measurements of both large positive and large negative scattering lengths in a quantum degenerate Fermi gas of atoms. Starting with a two-component gas that has been evaporatively cooled to quantum degeneracy, we create controllable, strong interactions between the atoms using a magnetic-field Feshbach resonance. We then employ a novel rf spectroscopy technique to directly measure the mean-field interaction energy, which is proportional to the s-wave scattering length. Near the peak of the resonance we observe a saturation of the interaction energy; it is in this strongly interacting regime that superfluidity is predicted to occur. We have also observed anisotropic expansion of the gas, which has recently been suggested as a signature of superfluidity. However, we find that this can be attributed to a purely collisional effect.

The possibility of superfluidity in an atomic Fermi gas has been studied theoretically. Analogous to superconductivity in metals and superfluidity in liquid 3He, this fermionic superfluid phase requires effectively attractive interactions in the gas. In addition, these interactions need to be relatively strong if the phase transition is to occur at a temperature $`T_c`$ that can be realized with current experimental techniques. Magnetic-field tunable Feshbach scattering resonances provide a unique tool that could create these conditions in an ultracold atomic Fermi gas. These resonances arise when the collision energy of two free atoms coincides with that of a quasi-bound molecular state. By varying the strength of the external magnetic field the experimenter can tune relative energies through the Zeeman effect and thus control the strength of the interactions as well as whether they are effectively repulsive or attractive.

A novel superfluid phase, termed “resonance superfluidity,” is predicted for a Fermi gas near a Feshbach resonance peak . Unique properties of this phase include a $`T_c`$ that is a relatively large fraction of the Fermi temperature $`T_F`$. With predicted $`T_c/T_F`$ as high as 0.5, resonance superfluidity may have more in common with exotic high-$`T_c`$ superconductors than with ordinary superfluidity. In fact, resonance superfluidity would exist in a crossover regime between the physics of Bose-Einstein condensation, which occurs for composite bosons made up of tightly bound fermions, and BCS-type superconductivity, which occurs for pairs of fermions that are loosely correlated in momentum space (Cooper pairs). The experimental investigation of resonance superfluidity, and its dependence on magnetic-field detuning from the Feshbach resonance, could provide new insight into these two types of quantum fluids.

Interactions in ultracold gases arise predominantly from binary s-wave collisions whose strength can be characterized by a single parameter, the s-wave scattering length $`a`$. Across a Feshbach resonance $`a`$ can in principle be varied from $`\mathrm{}`$ to $`+\mathrm{}`$, where $`a<0`$ ($`a>0`$) corresponds to effectively attractive (repulsive) interactions. In atomic Fermi gases Feshbach resonances have been seen in their enhancement of elastic and inelastic collision rates. However collision cross sections depend on $`a^2`$ and are not sensitive to whether the interactions are attractive or repulsive. The mean-field energy, on the other hand, is a quantum mechanical, many-body effect that is proportional to $`na`$, where $`n`$ is the number density. For Bose-Einstein condensates with repulsive interactions the mean-field energy and therefore $`a`$ can be determined from the size of the trapped condensate, while attractive interactions cause large condensates to become mechanically unstable. For an atomic Fermi gas the mean-field interaction energy has a much smaller impact on the thermodynamics. Fermionic atoms obey the Pauli exclusion principle and occupy higher energy states of the external trapping potential. Correspondingly a trapped Fermi gas has a lower density and larger kinetic energy. The mean-field energy thus does not have an observable effect on the cloud size or momentum distribution. In this work we introduce a novel rf spectroscopic technique that measures the mean-field energy directly. With this technique we have measured both positive and negative scattering lengths in a Fermi gas of atoms that is tuned near the peak of a Feshbach resonance.

Experimental techniques The experiments reported here (see Fig. 1) employ previously developed techniques for cooling and spin state manipulation of 40K. Because of the quantum statistics of fermions a mixture of two components, for example atoms in different internal spin states, is required to have s-wave interactions in the ultracold gas. With a total atomic spin $`f`$=9/2 in its lowest hyperfine ground state,40K has ten available Zeeman spin-states $`|f,m_f`$. Atoms in a 90/10 mixture of the $`m_f`$=9/2 and $`m_f`$=7/2 states are held in a magnetic trap and cooled by forced evaporation . The gas is then loaded into a far-off resonance optical dipole trap where rf transitions are used to obtain the desired spin composition . First, the gas is completely transferred to the $`m_f`$=-9/2 and $`m_f`$=-7/2 states using adiabatic rapid passage. We apply a 15 ms rf frequency sweep across all ten spin states at a field of $`20`$ G. We then move to a higher field, $`240`$ G, where the Zeeman transitions are no longer degenerate and apply an rf $`\pi /2`$ pulse on the $`m_f`$=-9/2 to $`m_f`$=-7/2 transition. After the coherence is lost (which takes less than 100 ms) we are left with a mixture of two components, whose relative population can be controlled with the rf pulse duration.

With this spin mixture we further evaporatively cool the gas by lowering the optical trap depth. The optical power is ramped from 900 mW to 8 mW in 2.9 seconds. During this evaporation, the radial frequency of the optical trap $`\nu _r`$ varies from 2800 to 270 Hz and the trap aspect ratio $`\lambda =\nu _z/\nu _r`$ remains constant at $`0.016`$ . Starting with 2x107 atoms at $`T/T_F4`$ our evaporation reaches $`T/T_F=0.1`$ with 105 atoms remaining. To measure the quantum degeneracy of the evaporatively cooled gas we take resonant absorption images of the cloud after expansion from the optical trap. These images reflect the momentum distribution of the ultracold gas and are surface fit to a Thomas-Fermi profile. In the fits the fugacity $`z`$ is left as a free parameter that measures the amount of distortion from a Gaussian shape. The value of $`z`$ obtained from the fit can then be compared to $`T/T_F`$ obtained from the measured temperature $`T`$ and calculated Fermi temperature $`T_F=h\nu _r(6\lambda N_9)^{1/3}`$, where $`N_9`$ is the total number of $`m_f`$=-9/2 atoms and $`h`$ is Planck’s constant. The results of this analysis, shown in Fig. 2, verify that the gas is cooled well into the quantum degenerate regime with $`T/T_F`$ reaching as low as 0.1.

Controlling interactions To control the interactions in the two-component Fermi gas we access a magnetic-field Feshbach resonance in the collisions between atoms in the $`|9/2,9/2`$ and $`|9/2,5/2`$ spin states. At magnetic fields $`B`$ near the resonance peak, the mean-field energy in the Fermi gas was measured using rf spectroscopy (see Fig. 3a). First, optically trapped atoms were evaporatively cooled in a 72/28 mixture of the $`m_f`$=-9/2 and $`m_f`$=-7/2 spin states. After the evaporation the optical trap was recompressed to either $`\nu _r`$ = 1390 Hz or $`\nu _r`$=2770 Hz. In addition the magnetic field was ramped to the desired value near the resonance. We then quickly turned on the resonant interaction by transferring atoms from the $`m_f`$=-7/2 state to the $`m_f`$=-5/2 state with a 73 $`\mu `$s rf $`\pi `$-pulse. The fraction of $`m_f`$=-7/2 atoms remaining after the pulse was measured as a function of the rf frequency.

The relative number of $`m_f`$=-7/2 atoms was obtained from a resonant absorption image of the gas taken after 1 ms of expansion from the optical trap. Atoms in the $`m_f`$=-7/2 state were probed selectively by leaving the magnetic field high and taking advantage of nonlinear Zeeman shifts. Sample rf absorption spectra, taken in the $`\nu _r`$ = 1390 Hz trap, are shown in Fig. 3b. At magnetic fields well away from the Feshbach resonance we are able to transfer all of the $`m_f`$=-7/2 atoms to the $`m_f`$=-5/2 state and the rf lineshape has a width limited by the pulse duration. The rf frequency for maximum transfer depends predictably on the current in the magnetic field coils and provides a calibration of $`B`$. We estimate that the values of $`B`$ reported here have a systematic uncertainty of $`\pm 0.05`$ gauss. At the Feshbach resonance we observe two changes to the rf spectra. First, the frequency for maximum transfer is shifted relative to the expected value from the magnetic field calibration. Second, the maximum transfer is reduced and the measured lineshape is wider.

Both of these effects arise from the mean-field energy due to strong interactions between $`|9/2,9/2`$ and $`|9/2,5/2`$ atoms at the Feshbach resonance. The mean-field energy produces a density-dependent frequency shift given by

$`\mathrm{\Delta }\nu ={\displaystyle \frac{2\mathrm{}}{m}}n_9(a_{59}a_{79}),`$ (1)
where $`m`$ is the atom mass, $`\mathrm{}=h/2\pi `$, $`n_9`$ is the number density of atoms in the $`m_f=9/2`$ state, and $`a_{59}`$ ($`a_{79}`$) is the scattering length for collisions between atoms in the $`m_f`$=-9/2 and $`m_f`$=-5/2 ($`m_f`$=-7/2) states. Here we have ignored a non-resonant interaction term proportional to the population difference between the $`m_f`$=-7/2 and $`m_f`$=-5/2 states; this term equals 0 for a perfect $`\pi `$-pulse. For our spatially inhomogeneous trapped gas, the density dependence broadens the lineshape and lowers the maximum transfer. This effect on both sides of the Feshbach resonance peak. In contrast, the frequency shift for maximum transfer reflects the scattering length and changes sign across the resonance.

We have measured the mean-field shift $`\mathrm{\Delta }\nu `$ as a function of $`B`$ near the Feshbach resonance peak. The rf frequency for maximum transfer was obtained from Lorentzian fits to spectra like those shown in Fig. 3b. The expected resonance frequency was then subtracted to yield $`\mathrm{\Delta }\nu `$. The scattering length $`a_{59}`$ was obtained using Eqn.1 with $`n_9=0.5n_p`$ and $`a_{79}=174a_o`$ where $`a_o`$ is the Bohr radius. The peak density of the trapped $`m_f`$=-9/2 gas $`n_p`$ was obtained from Gaussian fits to absorption images. The numerical factor 0.5 multiplying $`n_p`$ was determined by modelling the transfer with a pulse-width limited Lorentzian integrated over a Gaussian density profile in the two radial directions.

The measured scattering length as a function of $`B`$ is shown in Fig. 4. This plot, which combines data taken for two different trap strengths and gas densities, shows that we are able to realize both large positive and large negative values of $`a_{59}`$ near the Feshbach resonance peak. The solid line in Fig. 4 shows a fit to the expected form for a Feshbach resonance $`a=a_{bg}(1\frac{w}{BB_{pk}})`$ . Data within $`\pm 0.5`$ gauss of the peak were excluded from the fit. With $`a_{bg}=174a_o`$ we find that the Feshbach resonance peak occurs at 224.21$`\pm `$0.05 G and has a width $`w`$ of $`9.7\pm 0.6`$ G.

When $`B`$ is tuned very close to the Feshbach resonance peak we expect the measured $`a_{59}`$ to have a maximum value of approximately $`1/k_F`$ due to the unitarity limit. Here $`\mathrm{}k_F`$ is the Fermi momentum for the $`m_f`$=-9/2 gas. This saturation can be seen in the data shown in Fig. 4. Two points that were taken within $`\pm 0.5`$ gauss of the Feshbach resonance peak, one on either side of the resonance, clearly lie below the fit curve. Observation of this saturation demonstrates that we can access the strongly interacting regime with $`a_{59}k_F`$ is greater than $`1`$. It is in this regime that resonance superfluidity is predicted to occur. Using the fit discussed above, we find that the unitarity-limited point on the attractive interaction side of the resonance (higher $`B`$) corresponds to a gas that actually has $`a_{59}k_F11`$.

Anisotropic expansion Having obtained a precise map of $`a_{59}`$ versus $`B`$ we investigated the expansion of the Fermi gas near the Feshbach resonance. Anisotropic expansion has been put forth as a possible signature of superfluidity and has recently been observed in a 6Li Fermi gas. However, a normal gas in the hydrodynamic regime, where the collision rate is large compared to the trap oscillator frequencies, is expected to exhibit the same anisotropy in expansion. In this case, collisions during the expansion transfer kinetic energy from the elongated axial cloud dimension into the radial direction. A large magnitude scattering length, such as is required for resonance superfluidity, enhances the collision rate in the gas and could cause the normal gas to approach the hydrodynamic regime.

We have utilized our ability to tune $`a_{59}`$ with the magnetic-field Feshbach resonance to investigate these effects. After evaporatively cooling atoms in a 45/55 mixture of the $`m_f`$=-9/2 and $`m_f`$=-7/2 spin states, the optical trap power was increased to yield a trap characterized by $`\nu _r`$ = 1230 Hz. In addition, the magnetic field was ramped to the desired value near the resonance. We then transferred atoms from the $`m_f`$=-7/2 state to the $`m_f`$=-5/2 state with a 29 $`\mu `$s rf $`\pi `$-pulse. Expansion was initiated by turning off the optical trapping beam with an acousto-optic modulator 0.3 ms after the rf pulse. The magnetic field remained high for 5 ms of expansion and a resonant absorption image was taken after a total expansion time of 20 ms.

We find that the ratio of the axial and transverse widths of the expanded cloud, $`\sigma `$z/$`\sigma `$y, decreases at the peak of the Feshbach resonance (Fig. 5). This effect depends on having strong interactions during the expansion; we do not see any change in $`\sigma `$z/$`\sigma `$y if the magnetic field, and consequently the resonant interactions, is switched off at the same time as the optical trap. The anisotropic expansion is basically symmetric about the peak of the resonance and thus is not sensitive to the sign of the interactions (repulsive or attractive). Therefore the anisotropic expansion observed here is not a signature of superfluidity but rather a collisional effect.

To see if hydrodynamic expansion of the normal gas is expected we can calculate the elastic collision rate $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ in the gas. For this calculation $`T`$ and $`N`$ are obtained from Thomas-Fermi fits to absorption images of clouds away from the Feshbach resonance where we find that $`T/T_F=0.34`$. Using an elastic collision cross section given by $`\sigma =4\pi a_{59}^2`$ and $`|a_{59}|=2000`$ (as was measured near the resonance peak), we find $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$=46 kHz. With $`\mathrm{\Gamma }/\nu _r=37`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }/\nu _z=2400`$ it is not surprising that we observe anisotropic expansion. For a gas that was fully hydrodynamic, with $`\mathrm{\Gamma }\nu _r,\nu _z`$, we would expect our measured aspect ratio to reach 0.4.

Future prospects In conclusion, we have measured the mean-field energy in a Fermi gas of atoms for both strong attractive and strong repulsive interactions. The rf spectroscopy technique demonstrated here allows one to measure both the sign and strength of the interactions and thus take full advantage of the control over interactions afforded by a magnetic-field Feshbach resonance. In addition to the ability to create strong attractive interactions in the gas, we have demonstrated two other ingredients that are key to the goal of realizing Cooper pairing in a gas of atoms. We are able to cool the optically trapped gas to $`T/T_F0.1`$, and precisely control the spin composition. In addition the rf spectroscopy demonstrated here could provide a method for detecting “resonance superfluidity” by measuring the binding energy of Cooper pairs. Finally, we have observed anisotropic expansion of the strongly interacting Fermi gas, and find that this is a collisional effect that occurs for both attractive and repulsive interactions.

Acknowledgements We thank S. Inouye and M. Holland for discussions. This work was supported by NSF, ONR, and NIST, and C. A. R. acknowledges support from the Hertz Foundation.


text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

The beginning of scientific cosmology can be placed with the advent of the cosmological equations of Einstein, as derived from his theory of general relativity. A Universe with masses, and therefore gravitation, would be expected to contract, and that was the case initially predicted. To avoid this, and have a static solution for the Universe as a whole, Einstein included in his equations a cosmological constant, the lambda term, that resulted in a push to balance gravitation. Then he obtained a static model, with curved space giving a closed as well as finite Universe. Later Hubble found the redshift from distant galaxies to increase with distance. One of the possible explanations was to consider that the Universe was expanding as seen from any observer. Of course, going backwards in time, with this interpretation the Universe would be seen as contracting, therefore would be initially “born” from a relatively small size and much hotter and denser than now. An expanding Universe, found as a solution to the Einstein’s equations, was proposed by Friedman and therefore the scientific community had a theoretical frame to explain one interpretation of Hubble’s discovery. The concept of an expanding Universe from an initial Big Bang spread rapidly and has been considered the best model, and therefore the best frame, to interpret all current observations. Nevertheless this model has many problems and contains many paradoxes that have been in part solved with additional theoretical inclusions (e.g. inflation).

In the present work we introduce the concept of a Mass Boom, already present in the literature two years ago at the IV International Congress in Hyderabad, India, but now we present here important modifications and refinements. Keeping first principles firm we prove that all masses grow (increase) linearly with cosmological time. Conservation of momentum implies then that the speed of light decreases linearly with time. It is seen that Mach’s principle, and its equivalent the principle of equivalence, give a unique solution for the Universe that excludes expansion. We then reinterpret the redshift found by Hubble, and prove that at the laboratory system it is proportional to Planck’s “constant”, a result that comes from the comparison of frequencies. The new interpretation that we present here depends exclusively on Planck’s “constant”, that we find decreasing with cosmological time. The constancy of Planck’s units of time and mass completely defines the time variation of the Planck’s constant. The new model we propose for the Universe is a static, closed and finite one, as Einstein initially proposed. On the other hand we find a quantum world contracting with cosmological time, in accordance with the decrease of Planck’s constant, as interpreted from the redshift. It is clear that if we take the quantum world as the reference, then the Universe would be apparently expanding. It turns out that this apparent expansion is an accelerated one, something already observed from the supernova type Ia measurements. The apparent expansion we find is $`a(t)t^2`$, for the cosmological scale factor $`a(t)`$.

We then solve the cosmological equations, and find the corresponding numerical values for the dimensionless matter parameter $`\mathrm{\Omega }_m=1/3`$ and the lambda parameter $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\lambda =1/3`$, which are very close to the values observed in many experiments. It turns out that the apparent curvature term becomes rapidly negligible with age, so that practically we live in a flat Universe, as seen from our Lab, also a well known current observation. The entropy of the Universe is found to be similar to the cosmological time, as well as to the total matter of the Universe. Then, we can talk of a Mass Boom as well as an Entropy Boom, equivalent to cosmological time.

The natural units that emerge from this model, the “true constants of nature” are Planck’s mass and time, and of course the present size of the Universe $`ct10^{28}`$ cm, which is the Planck’s length at the first “tic” of the Universe (at the Planck’s time).

Finally, the Pioneer 10/11 anomalous acceleration  observed is explained by our theory presented here.

## 2 The Mass Boom, Predicted by First Principles

There have been doubts whether general relativity included Mach’s principle or not. Certainly it includes the equivalence principle, and now we will present an interpretation of both principles that proves them to be equivalent. One interpretation of Mach’s principle considers the mass (energy) of a particle $`m`$ as due to its gravitational potential energy with respect to the mass $`M_u`$ of the rest of the Universe

$$\frac{GM_um}{ct}mc^2$$
(1)
General relativity is based upon the equivalence principle. One way to express it in mathematical terms is to preserve, under any sort of time-variations, the ratio of the square of any speed due to gravitation, $`v^2=GM/r`$, to the square of the speed of light $`c^2`$, i.e.

$$\frac{v^2}{c^2}=\frac{GM}{c^2r}=\text{const.}$$
(2)
The constancy of this ratio ensures the preservation of the principle of relativity under cosmological time variations. If we substitute for the size $`r`$ the size of the seeable Universe, $`ct`$, and for $`M`$ the mass of the Universe $`M_u`$, one gets

$$\frac{GM_u}{c^3t}=\text{const.}$$
(3)
We see that the expressions (1) and (3) are equivalent. In the next section on the action principle we prove that $`G`$ and $`c^3`$ have to be proportional to preserve the standard form of the field equations of general relativity. The result is that the mass of the Universe has to be proportional to the cosmological time (the Mass Boom):

$$M_u=\text{const}t$$
(4)
We present now what we call the total interaction principle. It is a mathematical expression that follows the requirement that all the gravitational interactions in the Universe must have a mean free path, under a Newtonian point of view, of the order of the size of the Universe. Then,

$$ct\frac{1}{n\sigma _g}$$
(5)
where $`n`$ is the number density of particles in the Universe and $`\sigma _g`$ their gravitational cross section as defined elsewhere and given by

$$\sigma _g=4\pi \frac{Gm}{c^2}ct$$
(6)
Substituting the above into (5) one has

$$ct\frac{(ct)^3}{{\displaystyle \frac{G}{c2}}M_uct}$$
(7)
i.e.

$$ct\frac{GM_u}{c^2}$$
(8)
which is the same as (3), the equivalence principle, and the same as (1), the Mach’s principle.

Finally, by using the mass of the quantum of gravity $`m_g`$ defined elsewhere as

$$m_g=\frac{\mathrm{}}{c^2t}$$
(9)
and calculating the mass rate of change dm/dt as given by the ratio $`m_g/\tau `$, where $`\tau `$ is the time for light to travel a Compton size $`\mathrm{}/mc`$ one has:

$$\frac{dm}{dt}\frac{\mathrm{}}{c^2t}\frac{mc^2}{\mathrm{}}=\frac{m}{t}$$
(10)
so that we get by integration

$$m=\text{const}t$$
(11)
and therefore we obtain again the Mass Boom effect. Since $`M_u`$ and $`m`$ are proportional to time, the number of particles of cosmological significance in the Universe is constant. The time dependence corresponds to the mass. The above presentation has been submitted to *Physics Essays* .

## 3 The action principle

Einstein’s field equations can be derived from an action integral following the Least Action Principle. In standard general relativity one has for the action integral:

$$\begin{array}{ccc}A\hfill & =& I_G+I_M\hfill \\ A\hfill & =& c^3/(16\pi G)R(g)^{1/2}d^4x+I_M\hfill \end{array}$$
(12)
where $`I_M`$ is the matter action and $`I_G`$ the gravitational term. Then one obtains the field equations

$$G^{\mu \nu }=8\pi (G/c^4)T^{\mu \nu }$$
(13)
We assume a space-time metric and use the Robertson-Walker model that satisfies the Weyl postulate and the cosmological principle, i.e.

$$ds^2=c(t)^2dt^2R^2(t)\left\{dr^2/(1kr^2)+r^2\left(d\theta ^2+\mathrm{sin}^2\theta d\varphi ^2\right)\right\}$$
(14)
Einstein’s equations (13) follow from the Action (12) provided that the variation of the coefficient in the integral in equation (12) be zero. Then

$$c^3/(16\pi G)=\text{constant}$$
(15)
We see that the assumption of a time varying $`G`$ must include a time varying $`c`$ to preserve the form of the field equations.

The equation (15) strongly suggests a specific link between mass and time. This is

$$c^3/G4.04\times 10^{38}\text{grams/sec}=\text{constant}$$
(16)
which is of the order of the ratio of the mass of the observable Universe to its age.

On the other hand, the action for a free material point is

$$A=mc𝑑s$$
(17)
To preserve standard mechanics we make the momentum $`mc`$ constant, independent from the cosmological time, then

$$mc=\text{constant}$$
(18)
With the constancies expressed in (15) and (18), general relativity is preserved and of course the Newtonian mechanics too. Within these limits time variations of some of the fundamental constants, $`G`$, $`c`$ and masses, are allowed at the same time preserving the laws of physics as we know them today. From (18) and the Mass Boom effect, the speed of light *decreases* linearly with time $`c1/t`$ . It is evident that, with such a law for the speed of light, the size of the Universe (of the order of $`ct`$) is constant and therefore there is no “absolute” expansion.

## 4 Reinterpretation of the Red Shift: Time Variation of Planck’s “Constant”

The ratio of frequencies observed at the laboratory system, photons from distant galaxies as $`\nu =c/\lambda `$ and local atomic clocks as $`v_0mc^2/\mathrm{}`$, with $`mc`$ constant and $`\lambda `$ also constant (no expansion), gives a red shift proportional to $`\mathrm{}`$. With no expansion the red shift implies a *decreasing* Planck’s “constant”. Now, Planck’s units are defined as a combination of $`G`$, $`c`$ and $`\mathrm{}`$:

$$\begin{array}{cc}\text{Planck’s mass}\hfill & (\mathrm{}c/G)^{1/2}=2\times 10^5\text{ grams}\hfill \\ \text{Planck’s time}\hfill & (G\mathrm{}/c^5)^{1/2}=5.4\times 10^{44}\text{ sec}\hfill \\ \text{Planck’s length}\hfill & (G\mathrm{}/c^3)^{1/2}=1.6\times 10^{33}\text{ cm}\hfill \end{array}$$
(19)
It is evident that if we choose a system of units such that $`G=c^3`$, as required by the Mass Boom effect on the whole Universe, and such that $`\mathrm{}=c^2`$, we get Planck’s units of mass and time as the “natural” units of mass and time. This is very appealing because the ratio of the mass and age of the Universe to the corresponding Planck’s units is the same factor of about $`10^{61}`$. On the other hand the constant size of the Universe, the model we present here, has a value of the order of $`ct=10^{28}`$ cm, which is Planck’s length at the first “tic” of time (at Planck’s time).

*We see now that the Boom of an initial fluctuation of time and mass of the Planck’s units, by the same factor $`10^{61}`$, brings the fluctuation up to the state of the Universe as we observe it today in time and mass. On the other hand the initial fluctuation had a size of the order of Planck’s length at that time, which is the constant size of the Universe.*

Then, this factor of $`10^{61}`$ is representative of the evolution of the initial fluctuation, as characterized by the Planck’s units, followed then by the Mass Boom to bring the Universe to the present conditions. The magic number of the Universe is then $`10^{61}`$, as representative of its evolution from the initial fluctuation up to now. The cosmology to be studied now in this model is one that keeps $`G=c^3`$, $`\mathrm{}=c^2`$ and $`ct=1`$.

## 5 Cosmological Equations

The Einstein cosmological equations derived from his general theory of relativity are

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill \left(\frac{\dot{a}}{a}\right)^2+\frac{2\ddot{a}}{a}+8\pi G\frac{p}{c2}+\frac{kc^2}{a^2}& =& \mathrm{\Lambda }c^2\hfill \\ \hfill \left(\frac{\dot{a}}{a}\right)^2\frac{8\pi }{3}G\rho +\frac{kc^2}{a^2}& =& \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }c^2}{3}\hfill \end{array}$$
(20)
The solution for $`\mathrm{}=c^2`$, as presented in the previous section, implies a redshift given by an apparent value of $`a(t)t^2`$. In the units we have selected, consistent with this interpretation of the redshift as a decrease in $`\mathrm{}`$, the curvature term in (20) decreases as $`t^4`$ so that it is negligible, and we are observing essentially a flat Universe. With the present reasonable approximation of zero pressure (neglecting random speeds of galaxies), and substituting $`a(t)t^2`$ in (20) we finally get the cosmological equations:

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\hfill \left(\frac{2}{t}\right)^2+\frac{4}{t^2}& =& \mathrm{\Lambda }c^2\hfill \\ \hfill \left(\frac{2}{t}\right)^2\frac{8\pi }{3}G\rho & =& \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }c^2}{3}\hfill \end{array}$$
(21)
We convert now these equations to the standard definitions:

$$\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{\Omega }_m\hfill & =\frac{8\pi }{3}\frac{G\rho a^2}{\dot{a}^2}=\frac{8\pi }{3}G\rho \frac{t^2}{4}\hfill \\ \mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }\hfill & =\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }c^2}{3}\frac{a^2}{\dot{a}^2}=\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }c^2}{3}\frac{t^2}{4}\hfill \end{array}$$
(22)
and therefore we get

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\mathrm{\Omega }_m\hfill & =& 1/3\hfill \\ \mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }\hfill & =& 2/3\hfill \end{array}$$
(23)
These numbers are very close to the current values observed at present. The accelerated expansion of the Universe  is then an apparent effect due to the quadratic relation $`a(t)t^2`$ as seen from the laboratory system.

## 6 Entropy of the Universe: Linear with Time

We have proved elswhere that the entropy of the Universe varies linearly with cosmological time, based upon a new approach. However, using the well known Bekenstein  and Hawking  relations for entropy, as well as the classical definition, the result is the same: there is no escape, the entropy varies linearly with time and for the Universe the high entropy of today is due to the fact that the Universe is very old. *There is no entropy problem in our model.*

Boltzmann constant $`k`$ varies in our theory as $`c`$. To see this we have the photon relation typical for blackbody radiation

$$kT\mathrm{}c/\lambda $$
(24)
Taking the laboratory system $`\mathrm{}`$ is constant and from the empirical law $`T\lambda =`$ constant we get $`k`$ varying as $`c`$, inversely proportional to cosmological time. The apparent time variation of $`T`$ is $`T1/\lambda 1/a(t)`$. Hence the Bekenstein definition of entropy:

$`S/k\text{Energy}\times \text{size}/\mathrm{}cMc^2\times (ct)/\mathrm{}ct^2`$ (25)
$`\text{gives}St`$ (26)
For the Hawking black hole entropy: $`S/k1/\mathrm{}c(GM^2)1/\mathrm{}=t^2`$ i.e., the same result. For the standard $`S=Energy/TMc^2\times a(t)t`$ we also get the same result.

## 7 The Magic Numbers

The only magic number we found here is $`10^{61}`$ that brings the first Planck fluctuation to the present state of the Universe. The Dirac magic number $`10^{40}`$, as the ratio of the size of the Universe to the size of fundamental constants, and the ratio of electric to gravitational forces, is a function of time in our approach here. Therefore the similarity of these two values is a coincidence in our interpretation. Weinberg’s relation , that can be derived by equating the gravitational cross section (6) of a particle of mass $`m`$ to the square of its Compton wavelength, is

$$\mathrm{}^2/\left(Gct\right)m^3$$
(27)
The time dependence implied here for a typical mass m of a particle is $`m^31/t`$ which has no meaning in our approach. But at the Lab system we have $`\mathrm{}=\text{constant}`$ and then we get from (28) that $`m`$ is proportional to time $`t`$, again the Mass Boom is also present here.

## 8 Predictions

Using the expression of the fine structure constant found with no $`c`$ in it elsewhere  we get

$$\alpha e^2/\mathrm{}=\left(e/c\right)^2$$
(28)
There have been no cosmologically significant time variations in $`\alpha `$, by that meaning variations of the order of the variation of the cosmological age considered. Then one must have $`e/c=\text{constant}`$, and therefore the electronic charge $`e`$ varies as $`c`$, inversely proportional to $`t`$. However, in electromagnetic units $`(e/c)`$ is a true constant, so that the Zeemann displacement is a constant in this theory, contrary to the statement made elsewhere . The apparent Hubble “constant” in this theory is $`H=2/t`$, due to the cosmological scale factor varying as $`t^2`$. Hence the Hubble age in this theory is twice as much as the standard one. It is suggested that the age of the Universe may be as much as twice what we have been thinking up to now. Finally the Pioneer  10/11 anomalous acceleration observed can be explained here by the ratio of the laboratory system reference frequency ($`\mathrm{}=\text{constant}`$) $`\nu _1`$

$$\nu _1mc^2/\mathrm{}c=1/t$$
(29)
and the frequency $`\nu _p`$ of the photon observed ($`\mathrm{}=c^2`$)

$$\nu _pmc^2/\mathrm{}mt$$
(30)
Hence we have $`\nu _p/\nu _1t^2`$. This is a BLUE SHIFT, as observed, and of the order of $`Hc7\times 10^8`$ cm/sec2 to be compared with the observed value of about $`8\times 10^8`$ cm/sec2.

## 9 Conclusions

The Mass Boom proposed, linear increase of all masses with time, implies here a linear decrease of the speed of light. The resultant cosmological model, static, almost flat, closed and finite, has cosmological parameters in accordance with current observations. Main problems of the standard model are solved: entropy, lambda constant, horizon etc. In fact many of these problems are one and the same thing. Solving one you solve them all. This is the case here.

Finally, the time reversibility of all the equations of physics poses a deep theoretical problem: nature has irreversible process, and this irreversibility is not now explicit in the standard basic equations of physics (Newton’s mechanics, quantum mechanics, general relativity, etc). With our approach the Mass Boom ensures that irreversibility is present everywhere: in fact we have proved that it corresponds to an Entropy Boom linear with time.


text:
# Early-type Stars: Most Favorable Targets for Astrometrically Detectable Planets in the Habitable Zone

## 1 Introduction

To date, extrasolar planets have been discovered by three methods: pulsar timing (Wolszczan, 1994), radial velocities (RV, Mayor & Queloz 1995), and transits (Udalski, 2002; Konacki et al., 2003). While RV has been by far the most successful of these (Butler et al., 2002), it appears to be ultimately limited to $`1\mathrm{m}\mathrm{s}^1`$ precision by instabilities in the atmospheres of stars. For planets in $`a1\mathrm{AU}`$ orbits around solar-type stars, this corresponds to a planetary mass $`m_p10M_{}`$. Hence, to find terrestrial planets will probably require other techniques.

Of particular interest are terrestrial planets in the so-called “habitable zone”. While the exact specifications of this concept are the subject of continuing study and debate, for purposes of this paper, we will assume the habitable zone to be centered at

$$a_{\mathrm{habit}}=1\mathrm{AU}\sqrt{\frac{L}{L_{}}},$$
(1)
where $`L`$ is the bolometric luminosity of the star.

A quick survey of various techniques reveals four with reasonable potential for detecting terrestrial planets: pulsar timing, microlensing (Mao & Paczyński, 1991), transits, and astrometry (Shao, 1996). However, only two of these, transits and astrometry, show reasonable prospects of detecting habitable planets. Pulsar timing has already found three terrestrial planets in one system, but the intense radiation field from the pulsar makes these almost certainly uninhabitable. Microlensing is probably the most efficient method for detecting Earth mass (and even sub-Earth mass) planets (Bennett & Rhie, 2002). However, it is sensitive primarily to planet-star separations of an Einstein ring (Gould & Loeb, 1992), which is roughly at $`a4\mathrm{AU}(M/M_{})^{1/2}`$, where $`M`$ is the mass of the star. This is well outside the habitable zone.

Detection of terrestrial planets, including in the habitable zone, is the primary goal of three proposed space missions: Kepler111http://www.kepler.arc.nasa.gov/ and Eddington222http://sci.esa.int/home/eddington/index.cfm plan to search for these by planetary transits, while the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM)333http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/SIM/sim\_index.html plans to search for them from the astrometric wobble they induce on their parent star.

Gould, Pepper & DePoy (2002) showed that the transit technique is actually most sensitive to habitable planets orbiting low-mass stars because their low luminosity moves the habitable zone inward (see eq. ) where transits are most efficiently detected. This factor, together with the greater abundance and smaller radii of low-mass stars, more than compensate for the worse signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) due to their lower brightness. Here we ask whether the particularities of the astrometry also influence which stellar population this technique is most sensitive to when searching for habitable planets.

## 2 Analytic Investigation

Consider a homogeneous population of stars of mass $`M`$, bolometric luminosity $`L`$, and space density $`n`$. Assume that astrometric wobbles of amplitude $`\alpha _{\mathrm{min}}`$ can be reliably detected. A planet of mass $`m_p`$ in the habitable zone (as defined by eq. ), can then be detected out to a distance $`d=(m_p/M)(L/L_{})^{1/2}(\mathrm{AU}/\alpha _{\mathrm{min}})`$. Hence, the total number of systems that can be probed is,

$$N=\frac{4\pi }{3}n\left(\frac{m_p}{M}\right)^3\left(\frac{L}{L_{}}\right)^{3/2}\left(\frac{\alpha _{\mathrm{min}}}{\mathrm{AU}}\right)^3$$

$$=7.6\frac{n}{n_0}\left(\frac{m_p}{3M_{}}\right)^3\left(\frac{M}{M_{}}\right)^3\left(\frac{L}{L_{}}\right)^{3/2}\left(\frac{\alpha _{\mathrm{min}}}{1\mu \mathrm{as}}\right)^3,$$
(2)
where we have normalized the density to $`n_0=2.5\times 10^3\mathrm{pc}^3`$, the space density per $`M_V`$-magnitude of solar-type stars. The key point to note is that, in the neighborhood of $`M1M_{}`$, the bolometric luminosity scales as $`LM^\beta `$, where $`\beta 4.5`$. Hence the mass and luminosity terms can be combined to yield

$$NnM^{1.5\beta 3}nM^{3.75}.$$
(3)
Although the number density of stars falls rapidly as a function of mass, both because fewer are formed and those that do form live shorter lives, this is somewhat compensated by the fact that these younger stars have a lower scaleheight $`h(M)`$ and so are more concentrated near the plane. The shorter lifetime scales as $`tM/L`$, but this is relevant only for stars $`MM_{}`$, whose lifetimes are shorter than the age of the Galactic disk. The falling mass function scales as $`dn/d\mathrm{ln}MM^x`$, where $`x=1.35`$ is the Salpeter value. These factors can be combined to obtain,

$$\frac{dN}{d\mathrm{ln}M}\frac{M^{\beta /2x2}}{h(M)}\frac{M^{1.1}}{h(M)}MM_{}$$
(4)
and,

$$\frac{dN}{d\mathrm{ln}M}M^{1.5\beta x3}M^{2.4}MM_{}$$
(5)
Since the scaleheight factor in equation (4) tends to counter the mass factor, one expects that astrometric sensitivity will peak at $`MM_{}`$ and then be roughly flat toward higher masses.

## 3 Numerical Evaluation

To obtain more definite estimates, we determine the minimum mass that can be detected for each star in the Hipparcos catalog (ESA, 1997), assuming that each has a planet with semi-major axis as given by equation (1). We determine $`M_V`$ using the Johnson $`V`$ mag and parallax as given by the Hipparcos catalog, and we find the bolometric corrections by making use of the catalog’s $`VI`$ colors. We estimate the mass using $`M_V`$ and the mass-luminosity relation of Cox (1976). We adopt $`\alpha _{\mathrm{min}}=1\mu \mathrm{as}`$, which is the current best estimate for $`5\sigma `$ detections for a 5-year SIM mission (M. Shao 2002, private communication). It corresponds to 50 measurements, each with $`1\mu \mathrm{as}`$ precision for face-on orbits or 100 measurements for edge-on orbits. We also allow that this performance will be a weak function of apparent magnitude, $`\alpha _{\mathrm{min}}=(1+10^{0.4(11V)})^{1/2}\mu \mathrm{as}`$, which has the correct form in both the systematics-limited and photon-limited regimes. However, including the flux-dependent term has hardly any effect on the results. In addition, we arbitrarily assign all red giants (defined as $`M_V<4`$ and $`VI>0.7`$) a mass $`M=1.00M_{}`$. Red-giant masses are difficult to estimate, but this estimate is not likely to be far off in most cases. In addition, fixing the red-giant masses at a unique value makes them easy to identify in Figure 1, which displays our results.

Planets with periods $`P<5`$yr are shown by crosses, those with $`P>10`$yr are shown by solid squares, and those in between by open circles. However, the red giants $`(M1M_{})`$ with $`P>10`$yr (of which there are 401) are not shown to avoid clutter. These period distinctions are important because at the $`5\sigma `$ S/N limit used here, planets cannot be reliably detected in less than one orbit.

Restricting consideration to planets with periods $`P<5`$yr, there are 36 stars that can be probed with $`M<M_{}`$ and 47 with $`M>M_{}`$. In addition, there are 9 red giants. Some consideration is being given to extending the SIM mission from 5 to 10 years444 The main reasons for an extended mission would be to push the sensitivity to lower masses by increasing the S/N as well as to find longer-period planets. For clarity, however, in Figure 1 we use the same $`1\mu \mathrm{as}`$ precision based on a 5-year mission for all stars regardless of period. . For this case, the respective numbers are 36, 62, and 25. In either case, the early-type stars dominate over the late-type.

## 4 Discussion

The sensitivity of astrometric surveys to habitable planets around early-type stars makes them complementary to transit surveys. If these are properly executed (Gould, Pepper & DePoy, 2002), they will be sensitive primarily to habitable planets around late-type stars. See Figure 2.

While early-type stars may have planets in the habitable zone, that does not necessarily mean that these can be inhabited by natural processes. On Earth, almost a Gyr was required before life took hold, and several more were required before it succeeded in radically transforming the atmosphere. Very early stars do not live long enough to permit this leisurely development. However, there are a large number of targets with masses $`M1.5M_{}`$, and these can live for $`2.5`$Gyr. Moreover, it may be that life elsewhere in the universe develops faster than on Earth. Targeting these early-type stars for habitable-planet searches is the best way to find out.

The time that red giants spend at approximately their current luminosity (and so that a planet at a given semi-major axis would remain in the habitable zone) is even shorter than the lifetime of many early-type stars. This would appear to give even less time for life to develop. However, if these stars had harbored planets in the habitable zone during their main-sequence phase, and if these planets gave rise to intelligent, technologically advanced life, these beings could have moved their home to progressively greater semi-major axes by orchestrating suitable interactions with an asteroid or comet, in order to maintain their planet’s habitability as their star aged (Korycansky, Laughlin, & Adams, 2001).

Work by AG was supported by JPL contract 1226901.