text:
# Direct temporal measurement of hot-electron relaxation in a phonon-cooled metal island

## Abstract

We report temporal measurements of the electronic temperature and the electron-phonon thermal relaxation rate in a micron-scale metal island, with a heat capacity of order 1 fJ/K ($`C`$107 $`k_B`$) . We employed a superconductor-insulator-normal metal tunnel junction, embedded in a radio-frequency resonator, as a fast ($``$ 20 MHz) thermometer. A resistive heater coupled to the island allowed us to drive the electronic temperature well above the phonon temperature. Using this device, we have directly measured the thermal relaxation of the hot electron population, with a measured rate consistent with the theory for dynamic electron-phonon cooling.

preprint: PRL/electron-phonon

Measurement of the heat capacity $`C`$ of a thermodynamic system, in contact with a thermal reservoir through a thermal conductance $`G`$, necessitates the measurement of temperature over time scales shorter than the characteristic thermal relaxation time $`\tau =C/G`$. For mesoscopic devices, this time scale becomes exceedingly short, as both the electron and phonon heat capacities scale with device volume $`V`$. Furthermore, it is difficult to thermally isolate a phonon system from its environment, as even a very weak mechanical suspension is limited at low temperatures by the scale-independent quantum of phonon thermal conductance Rego and Kirczenow (1998); Schwab et al. (2000); Yung et al. (2002); Cleland et al. (2001). Electrons in a metal however naturally decouple from their phonon environment at low temperatures, with an electron-phonon thermal conductance $`G_{ep}VT^4`$. As the electron heat capacity scales as $`C_eVT`$, the electron-phonon thermal relaxation time $`\tau _{ep}=C_e/G_{ep}`$ is independent of volume, and scales as $`T^3`$. At 1 K, $`\tau _{ep}`$ is of order 10 nanoseconds, a time scale that is accessible using a radio-frequency superconductor-insulator-normal metal (rf-SIN) tunnel junction thermometer Not (a).

In this letter, we present large-bandwidth measurements of the electronic temperature of a micron-scale metal island. Our measurement has ample bandwidth with which to directly measure $`\tau _{ep}`$ at temperatures up to 1 K. This system therefore allows us to probe the thermodynamic behavior of electrons in very small metal volumes, potentially with heat capacities as small as $`10k_B`$. Such small metal volumes are prime candidates for energy absorbers in far-infrared photon-counting bolometers Yung et al. (2002), and would allow unprecedented calorimetric sensitivity in the mesoscopic regime. Measurements over time scales shorter than $`\tau _{ep}`$ are also critical for developing a complete understanding of the thermodynamics of mesoscopic systems.

The thermal decoupling of electrons and phonons at low temperatures was first described theoretically by Little Little (1959), with a more general discussion provided by Gantmakher Gantmakher (1974). For a bulk metal with volume $`V`$, the power flow $`P_{ep}`$ from the electron gas at temperature $`T_e`$ to the phonon gas at $`T_p`$ is given by

$$P_{ep}=\mathrm{\Sigma }V(T_e^nT_p^n),$$
(1)
where $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is a material-dependent parameter. For a spherical Fermi surface and a Debye phonon gas, $`n=5`$.

A number of researchers have verified that Eq. (1) applies to the static heating of thin-film metals, albeit with $`n`$ slightly lower than 5 (fit values for $`n`$ fall in the range from 4.5 to 4.9, with values for $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ in the range $`12\times 10^9`$ W/m3-K5 Roukes et al. (1985); Wellstood et al. (1994)). These measurements were made using a dc superconducting quantum interference device (dc-SQUID) to measure the Johnson-Nyquist noise in the metal film, and thus extract the electronic temperature.

A second approach to measuring the electron temperature in thin metal films was presented by Nahum *et al.* Nahum and Martinis (1993): using a SIN tunnel junction as an electronic thermometer. These authors suggested that such a structure could form the heart of a bolometric detector. Measurements of the static energy distribution of electrons in a normal metal under voltage bias were made by Pothier *et al.* using a similar SIN-based thermometer Pothier et al. (1997). Yung *et al.* Yung et al. (2002) also demonstrated a SIN thermometer in contact with a normal metal island, the whole fabricated on a micron-scale suspended GaAs substrate.

Here we study the *dynamic* temperature response of a small metal island using a SIN tunnel junction thermometer. Well below the superconducting transition temperature $`T_C`$, the tunnel junction’s small-signal resistance at zero bias, $`R_0dV/dI(0)`$, is exponentially dependent on the ratio of temperature $`T`$ to the superconducting energy gap $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$, $`R_0e^{\mathrm{\Delta }/k_BT}`$. A sub-micron scale SIN tunnel junction therefore has a low-temperature resistance that can easily exceed $`10^6\mathrm{\Omega }`$, limiting conventional time-domain measurements to bandwidths of order 1 kHz. In order to monitor changes in this resistance at sub-microsecond time scales, we circumvent the unavoidable stray capacitance in the measurement circuit by embedding the junction in a $`LC`$ resonant circuit, as shown in Fig. 1 Not (b). We then measure the resistance of the SIN junction, and thus the normal metal electron temperature, by measuring the power reflected from the circuit at the $`LC`$ resonance frequency. A change of the junction resistance $`R_0`$, induced by heating the electrons, in turn changes the amplitude of the reflected radio frequency signal. In this technique, the stray cable capacitance $`C`$ is in resonance with the inductor $`L`$, the resonator also serving to impedance-match the resistance of the tunnel junction to the measurement system. This readout scheme is analogous to that employed in the radio-frequency single electron transistor (rf-SET) Schoelkopf et al. (1998).

Our device is fabricated on a 4$`\times `$4$`\times `$0.5 mm3 single-crystal GaAs chip using four lithography steps. A 85 nm thick Au center island and wire-bond pads were first deposited on the GaAs substrate; an intermediate Au pad was also deposited in this layer. We then deposited a 100 nm thick NiCr film, designed to have a 50 $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ resistance, matching the characteristic cable impedance $`Z_0`$. The ground leads and heater contact were evaporated in the third layer, using superconducting Al to ensure thermal isolation below 1 K not . The NiCr contacts the Al *via* the intermediate Au pad, to ensure low interfacial resistivity. The tunnel junction thermometer was deposited in the fourth lithography step. We used a standard suspended resist bridge, double-angle evaporation method to define the tunnel junction Fulton and Dolan (1987): A 90 nm thick Al electrode was evaporated, and the Al then oxidized in 200 mTorr of pure O2 for 90 s. The junction was completed by evaporating a 90 nm thick Cu counterelectrode, which also contacted the center Au island.

The device is shown in Fig. 1(a). Note that the Au center island is electrically grounded, so that heating signals applied to the NiCr resistor do not couple directly to the SIN junction, but instead affect it by changing the temperature of the Au island. The heating signals are in principle therefore limited by diffusion time from the NiCr through the Au island and then along the Cu electrode to the SIN tunnel junction; we estimate this time to be less than 10 ns.

We mounted the chip containing the device on a printed circuit board, which was enclosed in a brass box. Gold wire bonds (25 $`\mu `$m diameter) were made between the Au bond pads on the chip and Cu coplanar striplines on the circuit board. A chip inductor with $`L=`$ 390 nH was placed in series with the SIN junction. The resonance capacitance $`C`$ was from the geometric capacitance of the stripline and Au bond pads, with $`C=`$ 0.5 pF. The expected $`LC`$ resonance frequency is $`f_{res}=1/2\pi (LC)^{1/2}`$ 350 MHz, the tuned circuit quality factor is $`Q=\sqrt{L/CZ_0^2}20`$, and the measurement bandwidth is $`\mathrm{\Delta }f=f_{res}/Q`$ 20 MHz. The measurement circuit is shown in Fig. 1(b). The tunnel junction is configured for simultaneous dc and rf measurements *via* a bias tee, not shown in Fig. 1.

We have described the technical aspects of rf-SIN thermometry elsewhere Not (a). Here we will describe the salient aspects as they pertain to these measurements. We determined the resonance frequency of the $`LC`$ circuit to be 345 MHz. A carrier signal source was connected through a directional coupler to a coaxial line, which was in turn connected to the $`LC`$ resonant circuit. The carrier frequency was set close to the $`LC`$ resonant frequency Not . The signal reflected from the $`LC`$ resonator was high-pass filtered and amplified using a low-noise amplifier. This amplified signal was then mixed with a local oscillator (lo), provided by a second rf signal source phase-locked to the carrier source. The intermediate frequency (if) output from the mixer was low-pass filtered, amplified, and the resulting time-dependent signal captured by a sampling oscilloscope. The NiCr resistor was heated using either a dc or an rf pulsed source: A pulse sent to the resistor heats the NiCr, the Au island and the Cu electrode, changing the electron temperature, and therefore changing the amplitude of the carrier signal reflected from the tuned $`LC`$ circuit, as shown in Fig. 1(d).

In order to characterize the response of the system, we first heated the NiCr resistor using a $`f_0=`$ 25 kHz sinusoidal drive signal. Figure 2 shows the response for various drive powers. The if signal was low-pass filtered ($`f<`$ 2 MHz), and each curve is the result of averaging 256 drive periods. The left axis is the mixer if voltage, and the labels on the right axis indicate the electron temperature inferred from the change in reflected signal. The instantaneous power dissipated in the resistor is proportional to the square of the voltage applied the heater ($`P(t)=V^2(t)/R_{NiCr}`$); this causes the reflected signal to be modulated at twice the heater signal, $`2f_0=`$ 50 kHz. At low powers $`P`$, contributions at 25 kHz were also present, due to a small dc offset on the heater voltage $`V(t)`$, $`V(t)=V_{dc}+V_0\mathrm{sin}2\pi f_0t`$. At the highest powers, the reflected signal is clipped near the Al superconducting transition temperature: The junction resistance is temperature-independent above $`T_C`$.

The measured signal depends on the proper adjustment of the detection mixer’s local oscillator (lo) phase. In order to correctly adjust this phase, we first applied a heater signal sufficient to get a clipped response. The phase of the lo was then adjusted to achieve maximum differential response between the lowest ($``$ 300 mK) and highest ($``$ 1400 mK) electron temperatures. The SIN junction ranges from 105 k$`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ to 6 k$`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ over this temperature range, and passes through the value of $`R_0`$ where optimal matching with the cable impedance occurs not . In the parlance of radio-frequency electronics, the carrier signal is over-modulated, so the absolute value of the reflected power is a non-monotonic function of temperature. However, as we are sensitive to the phase of the carrier, the proper quadrature of the mixer if voltage does have a monotonic response. Finally, the reflected if signal as a function of cryostat temperature, for no heater voltage applied, was used to construct the temperature calibration, $`V_{if}(T)`$.

We measured the *quasi-static* relation between the electron-phonon power flow $`P_{ep}`$ and the electron and phonon temperatures, $`T_e`$ and $`T_p`$, as given by Eq. (1). We applied a series of 3 $`\mu `$s pulses while varying the peak heating power, and monitored the resulting time-dependent electron temperature. The substrate temperature was kept at 300 mK. The signal was filtered with a 2 MHz low-pass filter, and the result of 256 averages is shown in Fig. 2. This is equivalent to a dc heating measurement with a key difference, namely that as the heating pulses were delivered to the device at a 1 kHz repetition rate, the duty cycle was only 0.3%, so that the substrate phonons did not have sufficient time to heat. The equivalent measurement in a dc heating experiment requires 300 times as much power, with significant phonon heating a likely outcome. We find a fit relation matching that of Eq. (1), with $`n`$ = 4.7 and $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ = 2.1$`\times `$109 W/m3-K4.7, in good agreement with previously measured values Roukes et al. (1985); Wellstood et al. (1994); Yung et al. (2002).

We finally performed measurements of *dynamic* electron-phonon cooling, by monitoring the detailed time-dependent behavior of the electron temperature at the end of a heating pulse. Figure 3 shows the measured response to a heater pulse (2560 averages, using a 50 MHz low-pass filter). The heating voltage pulse was configured to have 1.6 ns leading and trailing edge widths. The initial temperature rise is at least as fast as the time resolution of the measurement, with an expected rate $`\dot{T}=P/C_e`$ 140 mK/nsec, as we are directly heating the electron population. The rapid onset also indicates that electron diffusion in the composite metal structure is not a rate-limiting factor. At the end of the pulse, the heating power drops to zero, leaving a non-equilibrium hot electron population that relaxes by phonon emission. Initially this relaxation is seen to be quite rapid, but it slows markedly as the electron temperature nears the phonon temperature.

The shape of the relaxation curve shown in Fig. 4 can be understood by examining the dynamics of the electron temperature. The electron heat capacity is $`C_e=\gamma VT_e`$, where $`\gamma `$ is the Sommerfeld constant. The power flow to the phonons is given by Eq. (1). The time rate of change of the electron temperature $`\dot{T}_e`$ is then

$$\dot{T}_e=\frac{\mathrm{\Sigma }}{\gamma }(T_e^{n1}\frac{T_p^n}{T_e}).$$
(2)
Using the normalized temperature $`\theta T_e/T_p`$, this is

$`\dot{\theta }={\displaystyle \frac{1}{n}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\tau _{ep}(T_p)}}(\theta ^{n1}1/\theta ),`$ (3)
in terms of the small signal thermal relaxation rate $`\tau _{ep}^1=n\mathrm{\Sigma }T_p^{n2}/\gamma `$ for electrons near the phonon temperature Not (a). We fit our measured response to Eq. (3) using this rate as the only adjustable parameter, finding the value $`\tau _{ep}=1.6\mu `$s Not (b). This is in agreement with the measured value of $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$, and a composite $`\gamma `$ which takes into account the relative metal volumes in the device. We can thus determine the the heat capacity of the metal island, $`C_e1`$ fJ/K $`10^7k_B`$ at 300 mK.

There are some extremely interesting opportunities for electronic calorimetry in this temperature and size regime. Intriguing theoretical results have been presented for the thermodynamic response of mesoscopic superconducting disks Deo et al. (2000), and giant moment electronic paramagnets such as PdMn Nieuwenhuys (1975) and PdFe Peters et al. (1984) offer a means of probing the thermodynamics of a mesoscopic phonon-electron-spin-coupled system.

We are far from the ultimate calorimetric limits for this technique. Devices with active metal volumes that are smaller by a factor of $`10^410^5`$ can be fabricated, yielding a total heat capacity of order $`10100k_B`$ at 30 mK. Changes in the heat capacity of less than 10% are easily detected, yielding a sensitivity of order 1 $`k_B`$, i.e. that associated with a single degree of freedom.

In summary, we have performed sub-$`\mu `$s timescale measurements of the electron temperature of a micron scale metal island, cooled dynamically by phonon emission. The ability to apply and measure the response to fast heat pulses has permitted us to directly measure the electron-phonon thermal relaxation, and thus extract the heat capacity of the metal island. This, to our knowledge, is the smallest measured heat capacity to date. The device that we have fabricated is a major step forward for mesoscopic thermodynamics, provides a platform for sub-aJ/K calorimetry, and can potentially play an important role in future single photon and phonon bolometers.

###### Acknowledgements.

We acknowledge financial support provided by the NASA Office of Space Science under grants NAG5-8669 and NAG5-11426, the Army Research Office under Award DAAD-19-99-1-0226, and the Center for Nanoscience Innovation for Defense. We thank Bob Hill for processing support.


format: text

text:
# 1 Variation with dimensionality 𝑑 of the fraction of cases where no consensus is reached. The upper data correspond to 𝑄=4 parties (which usually fail), the lower to 𝑄=3 parties which usually keep together. For larger lattices at 𝑄=3 the failure probability goes to zero.

How many different parties can join into one stable government ?

Dietrich Stauffer

Institute for Theoretical Physics, Cologne University,

D-50923 Köln, Euroland

Abstract: Monte Carlo simulations of the Sznajd model with bounded confidence for varying dimensions show that the probability to reach a consensus in $`d`$-dimensional lattices depends only weakly on $`d`$ but strongly on the number $`Q`$ of possible opinions: $`Q=3`$ usually leads to consensus, $`Q=4`$ does not.

In democracies where not just two parties dominate in elections, the government often is formed by a coalition of several parties, since no single party won more than 50 percent of the seats in parliament. According to (West) German experience of the last half-century, coalitions with up to three parties appear often, those with four and more happen only rarely. Obviously, the more parties a government has, the less stable it is in general. However, if parties need 5 percent of the vote to get into parliament (as is usually the case in Germany), the total number of parties is limited anyhow, and the above rule of up to three parties per coalition could simply come from the fact that typically only five are represented. Thus we want to find a simple computer model to check if a consensus is indeed difficult to reach if more than three parties try to form a government.

The Sznajd model  (see  for a recent review) has been shown to agree well with election statistics in Brazil and India  and thus is a natural choice for the present question. We assume that there are $`Q`$ different opinions $`q=1,2,\mathrm{}Q`$ (= parties) possible for each of $`L^d`$ sites (= politicians) on a hypercubic lattice in $`d`$ dimensions; if and only if two neighbouring sites have the same opinion $`q`$, they convince their $`4d2`$ neighbours to join party $`q`$. However, politicians are assumed to switch only to politically neighbouring parties, i.e. from opinion $`q\pm 1`$ to opinion $`q`$: bounded confidence . The initial opinions are randomly distributed. Random sequential updating and free boundary conditions are used throughout; neighbours are always nearest neighbours. Opinions 1 and $`Q`$ are not taken as neighbours. The program sznajd31.f is available from stauffer@thp.uni-koeln.de.

The number of political leaders is much more limited than the number of voters, and thus we work with rather small lattices, like $`L=19`$, 7, 5 and 5 in two to five dimensions. Simulations are stopped if after 10,000 sweeps through the lattice no consensus is reached, if a fixed point without consensus is reached, or if a consensus is reached with all $`L^d`$ sites having the same opinion $`q`$. Fig.1 shows that consensus is the rule for $`Q=3`$ but rare for $`Q=4`$, from 1000 separate simulations for each point. ($`d=2.5`$ corresponds to the two-dimensional triangular lattice with six neighbours for each site. With $`Q=2`$, always a consensus was found, which does not agree with the break-up of the West Germany federal government in 1982; India is a counterexample where many more parties are mostly kept together since years in one government.) This transition from consensus ($`Q=3`$) to no consensus ($`Q=4`$) is similar to that in .

\[Ref.  claimed that for the triangular lattice the border between consensus and no consensus is shifted to $`Q=5`$; however, there a consensus was also counted if the opinions separated into a fixed point with well separated opinions, like only $`q=1`$ and 3 for $`Q=3`$: “agree to disagree”. Our figure now shows that indeed a true consensus for $`Q=4`$ is easier for the triangular lattice than for the square or simple cubic lattices, but still failures occur much more often than consensus even on the triangular lattice.\]

Thus not just the limited total number of parties in parliament is responsible for keeping limited the number of parties in a government; it is also very difficult to reach a consensus among four parties.

This work started with a question of J. Liu from Harvard at  and profitted from comments by J. Kertész, D. Chowdhury and G. Weisbuch.


text:
# Enhanced single-photon emission from a quantum dot in a micropost microcavity

## Abstract

We demonstrate a single-photon source based on a quantum dot in a micropost microcavity that exhibits a large Purcell factor together with a small multi-photon probability. For a quantum dot on resonance with the cavity, the spontaneous emission rate is increased by a factor of five, while the probability to emit two or more photons in the same pulse is reduced to 2% compared to a Poisson-distributed source of the same intensity. In addition to the small multi-photon probability, such a strong Purcell effect is important in a single-photon source for improving the photon outcoupling efficiency and the single-photon generation rate, and for bringing the emitted photon pulses closer to the Fourier transform limit.

Generation of single photons at a well defined timing or clock is crucial for practical implementation of quantum key distribution (QKD) , as well as for quantum computation  and networking based on photonic qubits . Three different criteria are taken into account when evaluating the quality of a single-photon source: high efficiency, small multi-photon probability (measured by the second-order coherence function $`g^{(2)}(0)`$), and quantum indistinguishability. For example, high efficiency and small $`g^{(2)}(0)`$ are required, but quantum indistinguishability is not necessary for BB84 QKD . On the other hand, for almost all other applications in quantum information systems we need photons that are indistinguishable and thus produce multi-photon interference.

One of the popular approaches to generation of single photons is based on a pulsed excitation of a quantum dot (QD) combined with spectral filtering . Although a single quantum dot by itself can be used to generate single photons , the efficiency of such a system is poor, as the majority of emitted photons are lost in the substrate. In addition, the radiative lifetime can be as long as 1 ns, which is greater than the dephasing time estimated to be $``$0.9 ns at 4K . Emitted photons are unlikely to be indistinguishable, with coherence lengths shorter than the radiative limit (Fourier transform limit). Finally, the single-photon generation rate is low, as determined by the long excitonic lifetime. Microcavities can help in correcting all of these deficiencies . The radiative lifetime of an emitter on resonance with the cavity can be decreased significantly below the dephasing time, bringing the emitted photon pulses closer to the Fourier transform limit. Moreover, the spontaneous emission rate can be enhanced, and a large fraction of spontaneously emitted photons can be coupled into a single cavity mode, thereby increasing the outcoupling efficiency. By employing a QD in a micropost microcavity, our group has recently demonstrated efficiencies close to 40% . We have also proved that consecutive photons emitted from such a source are largely indistinguishable, with a mean wave-packet overlap as large as 0.81 . In this article, we demonstrate an improved single-photon source based on a quantum dot in a micropost microcavity that exhibits a large Purcell factor ($`F_p`$=5) together with a small multi-photon probability ($`g^2(0)`$=2%).

Our single-photon source consists of a self-assembled InAs QD embedded in the middle of a GaAs spacer in a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) micropost microcavity. The GaAs spacer is approximately one optical wavelength thick (274 nm), and sandwiched between twelve DBR mirror pairs on top, and thirty DBR mirror pairs on bottom. Each DBR pair consists of a 68.6 nm thick GaAs and a 81.4 nm thick AlAs layer (both layers are approximately quarter-wavelength thick). The advantages of microposts relative to other microcavities are that the light escapes normal to the sample, in a single-lobed Gaussian-like pattern, and that it is relatively straightforward to isolate a single QD in them. The micropost structures (shown in Fig. 1) were constructed by a combination of molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) and chemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE). MBE was used to grow a wafer consisting of DBR mirrors and a GaAs spacer with embedded self-assembled QDs. Microposts with diameters ranging from 0.3 $`\mu `$m to 5 $`\mu `$m and heights of 5 $`\mu `$m were fabricated in a random distribution by CAIBE, with Ar+ ions and Cl2 gas, and using sapphire (Al2O3) dust particles as etch masks. Sapphire was chosen as a mask because of its chemical stability and hardness, which enabled larger etch depths than other mask-materials. Unfortunately, these same properties impede its removal from the tops of the structures, without endangering the microposts . The presence of sapphire on top of the structures decreases their quality factors and consequently reduces outcoupling efficiencies. This can be confirmed theoretically by the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) calculation of the Q-factor of the fundamental HE11 mode (whose field pattern is also shown in Fig. 1) in a micropost with and without sapphire on top. The details of the FDTD method can be found in our earlier publication ; the FDTD unit cell size used in this case is 5 nm. We assume that the DBR layers of the simulated post have the same parameters as in the experimentally studied structures, that the the post has perfectly straight walls, diameter of 0.5 $`\mu `$m, and that refractive indices of GaAs, AlAs, and Al2O3 are 3.5, 2.9, and 1.75, respectively. Without sapphire, the Q-factor of the HE11 mode is 2600 and its wavelength is 882 nm; with 0.5 $`\mu `$m thick sapphire disk on top of the post (with diameter equal to that of the post), the Q-factor drops to 1400, while the mode wavelength remains unchanged. Due to the irregular shapes of the fabricated posts, the HE11 mode is typically polarization-nondegenerate, and many microposts have only one or two QDs on resonance with this fundamental mode.

In our experimental setup, the sample with microposts is placed in a liquid He cryostat. The microposts are excited from a steep angle by Ti:sapphire laser pulses, 3 ps in duration, with a 76 MHz repetition rate, and resonant with higher-level confined states of a QD. With resonant excitation, the favored absorption of a single electron-hole pair is expected, and no carriers are created in the vicinity of the QD, suppressing emission wavelength drift due to charge fluctuations. The emission from the QD is collected normal to the sample surface, and then directed towards a streak camera preceded by a spectrometer, for time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. The spectral resolution of the system is 0.1 nm, together with a time resolution of 25 ps. For photon correlation measurements, the collected emission is first spectrally filtered with bandwidth of 0.1 nm and then directed towards a Hanbury Brown and Twiss-type (HBT) setup. In the HBT setup, photon counters are placed at both outputs of a non-polarizing beamsplitter for detection. The electronic signals from the counters are sent to a time-to-amplitude converter followed by a multi-channel analyzer computer card, which generates a histogram of the relative delay time $`\tau =t_2t_1`$ between a photon detection at one counter ($`t_2`$) and the other ($`t_1`$). For the detailed description of the setup, please refer to .

We performed lifetime and $`g^{(2)}`$ measurements on a QD chosen for its bright emission under resonant excitation. Tuning of the sample temperature was used to tune the emission wavelength relative to the cavity resonance . In this particular case, the dot emission wavelength was tuned away from the cavity resonance by increasing the sample temperature from 6 K to 40 K . Fig. 2 (bottom) shows the time-resolved photoluminescence of an emission line on- and off-resonance with the cavity mode. The decay lifetime differs by a factor of five for these two cases. The decay rate for this emission line as a function of the absolute value of its detuning from the cavity resonance ($`|\lambda _{QD}\lambda _c|`$) is plotted with circles in the top-right plot of Fig. 2. The solid line corresponds to the Lorentzian fit to the experimental data , and a good match is observed between our experiment and the theoretically predicted behavior. The fitting parameters are the linewidth, maximum and minimum of the Lorentzian, while it is assumed that its central wavelength is equal to $`\lambda _c`$, the cavity resonance wavelength. $`\lambda _c`$ and the quality factor ($`Q=`$1270) are determined from the photoluminescence intensity taken at high pump powers (see the top-left plot of Fig. 2). The cavity resonance wavelength red-shifts by roughly 0.3 nm with increasing temperature in the studied range, and this shift is included in plotting the data. Up to fivefold spontaneous emission rate enhancement (Purcell factor $`F_p`$) is observed for the dot coupled to a cavity, as opposed to the dot off-resonance (top-right plot of Figure 2).

The theoretical limit of the Q-factor of the studied microposts is 4000, which is the value calculated for a planar cavity (before etching) without any absorption losses and inaccuracies in the growth of DBR layers. The maximum Q-factor of a micropost with a finite diameter has to be below this limit, due to the additional loss mechanisms in the transverse directions  and the presence of sapphire dust particles, as discussed above. According to the detailed theoretical treatment of the QD micropost device , the cavity Q-factor and Purcell factor can be much larger ($`Q`$10000 and $`F_p`$100) for optimized cavity designs with 15 and 30 DBR pairs on top and bottom, respectively, perfectly straight cavity walls, and a QD located at the cavity center.

A photon-correlation measurement for this same dot on resonance with the cavity is shown in Fig. 3. The histogram is generated using the described HBT setup. The distance between peaks is 13 ns, corresponding to the repetition period of pulses from the Ti:sapphire laser. The decrease in the height of the side peaks as $`|\tau |`$ increases indicates the dot blinking behavior generally observed under resonant excitation, and can be approximated with a double-sided exponential . The vanishing central peak (at $`\tau `$=0) indicates a strong antibunching and a large suppression of multi-photon pulses. The probability of generating two and more photons for the same laser pulse compared to a Poisson-distributed source of the same intensity ($`g^2(0)`$) is estimated from the ratio of the areas of the central peak and the peaks at $`|\tau |\mathrm{}`$. Each area is calculated by integrating all the counts within the integration window centered at the peak and without subtracting any background counts. The area of the peak at $`|\tau |\mathrm{}`$ is estimated from the decaying exponential fit to the heights of the side peaks. $`g^2(0)`$ is estimated to be equal to 2% for an integration window of 4 ns. The integration window is chosen so that the contribution of the peak tails outside it to the peak area can be neglected (it is below 1%). The width of the histogram peaks is determined by the photon counter timing resolution (0.3 ns) and the excitonic lifetime . Owing to the strong Purcell effect (excitonic lifetime below 0.2 ns), this small multiphoton probability should be preserved even for the repetition period much smaller than 13 ns (e.g., 2 ns). If the integration window is reduced to 1 ns, $`g^2(0)`$ drops to 1%. Depending on the application of the photon-source, a different definition of the two-photon probability may be necessary. For example, in the interference experiment with two consecutive photons emitted from a dot, the relevant parameter is the probability to emit two photons in the same pulse, as opposed to the probability to emit one photon in each of the two consecutive pulses . This parameter, which we denote as $`g`$, is calculated from the ratio of the area of the central peak to the area of the nearest side peak, and is equal to 0.9% for the integration window of 4 ns. The difference between $`g`$ and $`g^2(0)`$ is a result of the blinking behavior of the dot.

In summary, we have studied the effect of a microcavity on single photons emitted from a QD, and have demonstrated an improved single-photon source that exhibits a large Purcell factor ($`F_p`$=5) together with a small multi-photon probability ($`g^2(0)`$=2%). In addition to a small multi-photon probability, such a strong Purcell effect is important in a single-photon source for improving the photon outcoupling efficiency and the single-photon generation rate, and for bringing the emitted photon pulses closer to the Fourier transform limit.

Acknowledgement
This work is partially supported by MURI UCLA/0160-G-BC575. The authors would like to thank A. Scherer and T. Yoshie from Caltech for providing access to CAIBE and for helping with fabrication.
Jelena Vučković is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. E-mail: jela@stanford.edu. Charles Santori is also at the IIS, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Glenn S. Solomon is also at the SSPL, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. Yoshihisa Yamamoto is also at NTT Basic Research Labs, Atsugishi, Japan.


text:
# Untitled Document

Comment on:

“The Supersymmetric Ward-Takahashi Identity in 1-Loop

Lattice Perturbation Theory. I. General Procedure”

by A. Feo; hep-lat/0305020

T. Gallaa, G. Münsterb and A. Vladikasc

(a) Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Theoretical Physics,
1 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3NP, UK

(b) Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Münster,
Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 9, D-48149 Münster, Germany

(c) INFN, Sezione di Roma 2, c/o Dipartimento di Fisica,
Universitá di Roma “Tor Vergata”,
Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Rome, Italy

Abstract

We comment on several issues concerning both the physics and authorship of article
hep-lat/0305020.

In a recent paper A. Feo studies the supersymmetric Ward identities for N=1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory on a lattice, in the framework of lattice perturbation theory. Her article, being the first in a series of two, deals with the general procedure and the methodological foundations of the calculation. We have some critical comments on the contents of this paper.

1. The lattice SUSY Ward identity is considered in terms of the bare lattice operators, see eqs. (3.2), (3.8). From these equations eq. (3.11) does not follow, contrary to what is claimed. A multiplicative renormalization of contact terms, Fadeev-Popov term and gauge fixing term with renormalisation constants $`Z_{CT}`$, $`Z_{GF}`$ and $`Z_{FP}`$ could result from some of the operators $`B_j`$ appearing in (3.8). In (3.11) the renormalization constants as well as the sum over all operators $`B_j`$ appear. Therefore these contributions are double-counted.

2. After eq. (3.13), it is claimed that $`Z_S`$, $`Z_T`$ and $`Z_\chi `$ are power subtraction coefficients of the operator $`X_S/a`$ and therefore, based on ref. , their independence from a renormalisation scale is derived as a corollary. It is certainly wrong to claim that $`Z_\chi `$ is a power subtraction coefficient (this is true of $`\stackrel{~}{m}`$ in eq. (3.6)). The operator $`\chi (x)`$ is multiplicatively renormalisable. Thus, $`Z_\chi `$ has a logarithmic divergence $`\mathrm{ln}(a\mu )`$. Only in this way can the RG invariance of the product $`(m_0\stackrel{~}{m})\chi `$ (implicit in the Ward identities of the paper) be true. Since on the other hand, $`Z_S`$ and $`Z_T`$ are shown to be finite after eq. (3.13), we do not understand the following statement in the conclusions: “We observe that, at least at 1-loop order in perturbation theory, $`Z_T`$ is finite. This result may have some theoretical implications which we are currently investigating.” In our view, the problem is not the finiteness of $`Z_S`$ and $`Z_T`$, but whether these coefficients are all that is required to renormalise the SUSY current. In this respect the situation with supersymmetric Ward identities is not analogous to the one dealt in ref. , concerning chiral Ward identities and the normalisation $`Z_A`$ of the axial current.

3. The Faddeev-Popov term is already $`O(g_0^2)`$ at tree-level, as remarked after (4.30). Therefore it contributes to the Ward identity to order $`g_0^2`$ and should appear in (4.30), where it is missing. In other words, the claim $`Z_{FP}^{(0)}=0`$, made right after eq. (4.28) is unjustified.

4. Before (4.34) the definition $`\mathrm{\Delta }𝒪_\mu S_\mu (x)+\frac{\delta 𝒪}{\delta \overline{\xi }(x)}|_{\xi =0}+𝒪\frac{\delta S_{GF}}{\delta \overline{\xi }(x)}|_{\xi =0}+𝒪B_i`$ is not consistent with (4.31), (4.32), as it contains the terms $`𝒪B_i`$, whose second order contributions do not appear in (4.31), (4.32). The contributions from $`𝒪B_i`$ should not be included in (4.34).

5. The strategy for calculating the renormalisation constants without evaluating the one-loop contribution of the complicated term $`X_S`$ requires knowledge of the list of mixing operators $`B_j`$ appearing in (3.8). This implies an analysis of possible BRS-exact operators of dimension smaller than $`\frac{11}{2}`$. This analysis has not been carried out and it is not clear whether $`B_0`$, $`B_1`$, $`B_2`$ and $`B_3`$ form a complete set. For example, $`B_4=\frac{2}{g}(_\rho A_\mu )\gamma _\mu _\rho \lambda `$, being independent of the other operators $`B_j`$, should have been considered at the general level of eq. (3.10), although its contribution vanishes at the specific kinematical regime of eq. (4.33).

6. The work presented in A. Feo’s paper is part of a joint project within the framework of the DESY-Münster-Roma collaboration. All involved researchers and students had agreed on joint publications of their results. The main contribution of A. Feo is the detailed implementation, programming and numerical evaluation of the various perturbative contributions. This considerable work, which we appreciate, is announced for publication in the sequel paper. The general procedure outlined in Feo’s present paper, however, grew out of discussions and internal written memoranda by the three of us. In Refs.  these sources are acknowledged as private communications and internal notes. None of us, however, has authorized their external use. Moreover, any definitive publication was postponed until the open questions (exposed in points 2. and 5. above) were resolved. Thus, so far we have limited ourselves to the joint presentation of partial results in past lattice workshops (see hep-lat/0110113, hep-lat/0011030).

We regret that last year A. Feo decided to cease collaborating with us. We express our total disapproval of this unauthorized publication of the collaboration’s internal documents on unfinished work. We declare that we will refrain from any other public discussion or further comment on this matter, be it on the present preprint archive or elsewhere.


text:
# Implementing an Agent Trade Server

## 1 Introduction

There are always investors seeking to place orders more complicated than can be accepted by the software of a financial exchange (F/X) system, regardless of its current level of sophistication. To some of these investors, the agent metaphor is a means to implementing combinatorial, temporal, contingent, or otherwise complex orders. In general, a trading agent is a piece of encapsulated software that codes the preferences of its owner. In theoretical research, trading agents have been used in idealized games , artificial markets , and competitions such as the Trading Agent Competition  (see http://www.sics.se/tac/). To economists, trading agents are speculating noise traders (traders with non-rational expectations and potentially zero intelligence) , often subjected to the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the Rational Expectations Hypothesis , since the empirical evidence against the accompanying assumptions are directed almost exclusively towards human traders . In the system of trading agents we consider, the agents interact with the same order book as the human traders (cf. ), resulting in a system only slightly more complex than an F/X is today, but a system that is extremely difficult to analyze (cf., e.g., ). From an academic perspective, the introduction of agents in the actual exchange of real stocks is a formidable challenge in that it prompts research in real-time control, agent programming, decision analysis, user interaction, privacy, and security. Its theoretical models must go beyond agent-based computational finance  and agent-based computational economics , and already simulation studies are highly complex    . From a commercial perspective, the concept is promising in that it enables implementation of new services in the service portfolio of the F/X. A vast range of commercial efforts have helped renew and refine the concept of an electronic F/X, including ambitious liquidity-moving approaches, such as OptiMark   . This fact notwithstanding, there has been no technical platform for real stock trading agent development and no special-purpose server generally available. We rectify this matter by making available our documented Java code  for such a platform. We have also implemented an experimental server for supporting agent trading of stocks, an Agent Trade Server (ATS). The conceptual development  was initiated in 2001 (cf. Fig. 1) in cooperation with OM, the world’s largest supplier of software to stock exchanges , and OM has filed a U.S. patent on the ATS concept . The ATS was built not with commercial operation in mind, but as proof-of-concept. That said, OM’s trading package SAXESS and its third party APIs provided for much inspiration. We have not designed the ATS for any particular market design. Instead, all agents must abide by the rules of the F/X. The submarket emerging from ATS operations will depend on the agents’ business logic, including their decision-analytic  and normative modeling  of the market, which we have previously investigated. We have no illusion of ATS traffic accounting for more than one per cent of any stock exchange before 2010, and whether or not investors will find the ATS attractive will to a large extent depend on pricing and other commercial or political concerns.

The following section briefly describes the role that software, and agent software in particular, plays at an electronic F/X. In Section 3, the architecture of our ATS is explained. In Section 4, the issue of logging and other forms of keeping history is highlighted. The various business roles, i.e. those interested in the logs, are also discussed. We end with our conclusions and directions for future research.

## 2 Development of Financial Exchange Software

Trading of stocks is normally done through a broker, as shown in Fig. 2. The trader can be a professional investor, a daytrader, or any other person using stocks as a means to invest. The broker could be a bank, an Internet broker, or some other financial institution. The figure is simplified: orders can also be placed by walking into a bank and filling out a form, IP phones are no requirement, the computer used is often a PDA, etc. Each broker communicates with the core of the F/X via a gateway, over leased lines (at Stockholmsbörsen, the Swedish stock exchange, backed up by an ISDN connection, as well as OMnet, a fibre-optic MetroLAN option). In Fig. 2, the dissemination of information from the F/X to the outside world is not shown. Suffice to say here that stock exchange dissemination is an elaborate system of latencies and routing, in order to secure fairness, and that such information is an important part of the feedback from core to broker, and from broker to trader.

Suppliers of software to an electronic exchange system are basically of two kinds: those that provide software serving the core (the order book), and those that provide software for those interacting with the core (the traders). In most countries, the software supplier in the first category is also competing in the second category. In Sweden, for example, OM provides all of the software for the core, and they also provide the SAXESS and CLICK (for the derivatives market, which we will neglect entirely at this stage) software trading packages, as well as the SECUR software clearing and back office package. The bulk of the software aimed at traders and brokers is however developed by third party software houses. We would like to complicate Fig. 2 slightly (see Fig. 3) by considering individuals as service provisioners , thus introducing a third kind of code developer. We anticipate that end-user code development in the form of trading agents will be an increasingly important part of the future F/X service portfolio.

The third party code pertains to the trading applications used. In order to use the SAXESS system today, the broker needs a member SAXESS trade application. Each such application must be certified, to guarantee smooth operation alongside all other running applications. The OM application offered is SAXESS Trade, an NT-based client-server solution with the trading data being maintained on an SQL server. There are currently about two dozen certified alternatives. Each application connects to a SAXESS trade server, which is in turn connected to the core. The transaction protocol used is XTP (open eXchange Transaction Protocol) 2.40, an OSI Layer 7 protocol. The Session Layer protocol used is XMP (eXchange Message Protocol). The transactions involving the core are governed by a C program, essentially matching the stack of sell orders with the stack of buy orders. It is important to note that the matching is deterministic. The ATS concept is not a suggested alternative to the SAXESS (or any other) trade server currently in use, but a complement. In Fig. 4, the ordinary electronic trading is represented by SAXESS. Upward arrows denote the placing of orders while downward arrows denote feedback. Each trade application uses zero or more distributed instances of the SAXESS Trade Server, a freeware available to all registered traders. In practice, the ATS will also contain an instance of the SAXESS Trade Server, since the latter contains the latest API for communicating with the core. All communication with the core goes via the Front End (FE). The wall indicates the physical and logical boundary between the market owner and the outside world, while the barbed wire surrounding the core illustrates a further level of protection. The shadow backup system is not shown.

Note that brokers may still be used, for example for legal reasons, when delegating trading to an agent. While delegating the right to place orders in itself does not introduce non-determinism in the marketplace, there is nothing that per se stops an agent developer to introduce non-determinism in the business logic of the agent. Security control of agent code is done at the time of agent certification and testing, and also online in the ATS.

In SAXESS, each trade application must also connect to a dedicated Distributed Dissemination Server (DDS). With an ATS running together with a SAXESS trade server, the owner of the F/X has the option to either route all traffic feedback through the existing DDS channels, or to complement the DDS with ATS traffic feedback. In particular, the agents running on the ATS could subscribe to ATS traffic feedback of various sorts, and at variable cost. Even non-professional traders are no strangers to varying levels of sophistication of the individually specified trading constraints built on feedback. The stop loss service offered by Internet brokers (such as Avanza; see http://www.avanza.com) is a case in point.

The ATS concept provides the third party software houses with a business opportunity, viz. to provide code for the agents trading on the ATS. This involves coding investor preferences and encapsulating these into agents, whereafter the agents are placed on the ATS, without disclosure. Preference elicitation is as always difficult, but suffice to say here that investors will come in many varieties, from those that have developed advanced agents on their own, to those that have no clue on agent programming. A template agent can be coded based on the investor filling out a fairly simple questionnaire. The size and structure of such template agents is simple, and the first agent shell for our ATS has already been written . After the agent is placed on the ATS, there remains the challenge of providing software services for notification and (depending on security issues) possibly for termination of agents. Investors no doubt require interfaces for a variety of modalities, and will in the future include roaming .

## 3 An Agent Trade Server Architecture

We developed the ATS in-house at SICS, in order to allow for free experimentation with agent code and simultaneously adjusting and adding code to the server. A jar-file containing an agent can be run locally or remotely. Each trading agent executes in its own thread. The three server packages implemented (cf. Fig. 5) are described in turn below. The choice of Java was motivated, among several factors, by smooth compatibility with small devices, such as Java-enabled cell phones. While there is no theoretical reason to limit any sandbox environment for agent development to only one language, Java currently seems the most practical first choice. For instance, Java’s policy files are useful for defining the boundary between ATS and agent, and java.security allows for basic signing of agent code.

### 3.1 se.sics.ats.core

This package represents the interface towards the agents, and is distributed to agent developers. Initially, the list of agent developers will most likely overlap considerably with the list of certified SAXESS members, and the principles for testing similar. The next step is then to automate the certification process so that individual agent developers can submit agents to the ATS. Since there are legal and practical reasons for the market owner not to certify every single developer, there is room here for traditional as well as agent brokerage. The class AgentComponent specifies all ATS interfacing demands on the agent. For instance, the agent must have functionality for starting and stopping. The class AgentContext is the agent’s handle on the server. AgentContext is inspired by and adheres to the SAXESS Trade API for third party code development, based on Microsoft’s Component Object Model (COM).

### 3.2 se.sics.ats.reference

This package contains the implementation of the ATS itself. It contains log handlers and socket tranceivers.

### 3.3 se.sics.ats.data

This package represents the interface towards the stock exchange. This is where the ATS will connect to the core of the F/X. For now, it contains a parser which, like the connection, can easily be replaced by another. It now parses data disseminated through the WWW (more specifically, it parses http://www.stockholmsborsen.se). The ATS thus uses real stock exchange data, albeit with a delay of up to 15 minutes. We have limited its capability at the outset to the most traded stocks on the Stockholmsbörsen A-list. The package also simulates an order book.

## 4 Agent Shell Execution

We can now specify the “Agent” rectangle from Fig. 5 above by explaining the agent shell. We first turn to some more abstract aspects of ATS management, however.

### 4.1 Roles

In our proof-of-concept implementation work, we have felt a need for a division of labor between agent developers and ourselves: the ATS developers. In order to leave the core software unchanged—a requirement from OM, and most likely from any market owner—we also need to define the role of ATS administrator. The regulation of trade in SAXESS is today done through surveillance of the Trading Engine (SaxView), as well as through the official trading control and supervisory functions units. These units operate on the core and will be used also for agent trading. In addition, the ATS administrator must store and sign certificates for authenticated agent code developers.

In addition, there are new business roles in the future scenario of commercially available ATS services, perhaps including dedicated agent brokers. We have enabled this new business role by implementing an object relating agent brokers and their agents. This object maintains references, deducts brokerage fees, and supplies data for notification services. For security reasons, the agent broker object is placed in the same execution environment as the ATS. The only agent manipulation granted the object is the killing of an agent thread, should this become necessary.

### 4.2 Logs

The ATS administrator must monitor the actions of all agents on the ATS, and activity logs are therefore needed. These logs are likely to be processed only automatically, but in case of system failure or suspected illicit agent action, manual inspection may be required. For this reason, the responsibility for logging should not be distributed, but be the responsibility of the ATS administrator. Each agent should be allowed read and write access to its own action logs, since logs provide interesting information on top of the generally available trade statistics. Logged information could be used for machine learning, which could occur offline or online, depending on the agent business logic. An excerpt from a log of a simple agent, to be discussed further in the next subsection, is shown in Fig. 6. The full source code of the agent, as well as the full log, has been published . Since all stakeholders are potentially interested in parsing the log, it is in XML format. For instance, the ATS administrator might like to find the agent responsible for some illegal action on the ATS. Analogously, an agent broker might seek to attribute errors to the ATS implementation, using logs as evidence. The error log of Java exceptions and String objects is kept separate from all other logged data.

### 4.3 se.sics.ats.agent

The structurally designed agent shell packages are intended as support for ATS agent development, and their JavaDoc is publicly available . We give an abstract overview here of the low coupling design, so that the role of the shell in our implementation of the ATS is made clear. Agents extend the abstract TradeAgent class (see Fig. 7), which handles all ATS interaction, including the final methods initialize and start, invoked by the ATS . The agent (SubAgent) gets information about stocks through various get methods, or by subscribing to stock changes (cf. Fig. 6). The latter alternative is the one used by most non-artificial stock traders today, and so subscription procedures and costs have already been carefully designed at most exchanges.

Agents place orders using the Order object, and its interface OrderListener . An order is created by calling the method createOrder. The OrderListener then implements the methods orderCancelled and orderClosed, which result in account updates and logging, as demonstrated in Fig. 6. The account and portfolio maintenance should in any commercial implementation of the ATS be handled by standard F/X middleware. Similarly, the AgentBroker has only minimal functionality in this version of the ATS.

## 5 Conclusions and Further Research

We have described a proof-of-concept implementation of a running agent trade server, which we believe serves as a blueprint for future implementations intended for live use on a real financial exchange. We have also constructed and described an agent shell, currently in use for server implementation of agents of increasing complexity. These agent developers are also providing the first anecdotal evidence of the quality of our implementation. We intend to engage more developers before a formal evaluation is made. Our future work (cf. Fig. 1) includes demonstrating that the size of an agent with a sophisticated business logic is manageable. We have also implemented various demonstrators for notifying services, to be used for presenting agent logs to the agent brokers and agent owners . While professional trading is a highly collaborative activity , the agents in our set-up model each other only in a weak sense, based solely on their bidding. There are several multi-agent system aspects that deserve attention, such as multiple agent submission for teamwork, or even for manipulative purposes. Finally, the effects on the entire financial system as a result of wide adoption of agent trade is under investigation. This work is being done together with the Stockholm School of Economics and OM.

## Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Jesper Johansson and Michael Poijes, who wrote the first agent shell and some of the server code, and kindly provided log data. David Lybäck and Ulf Essler contributed with important comments and fruitful discussions. The Vinnova project TAP on accessible autonomous software provided the authors with the time required for this study.


text:
# Nucleation of superconductivity in Al mesoscopic disk with magnetic dot

## Abstract

We have studied the nucleation of superconductivity in a mesoscopic Al disk with a Co/Pd magnetic dot placed on the top by measuring the normal/superconducting phase boundary $`T_c(B)`$. The measurements have revealed a pronounced asymmetry in the phase boundary with respect to the direction of the applied magnetic field, indicating an enhancement of the critical field when an applied magnetic field is oriented parallel to the magnetization of the magnetic dot. The theoretical $`T_c(B)`$ curve is in a good agreement with the experimental data.

Superconductivity at the sub-micrometer scale has been extensively studied over the past decade (e. g. reference victor  and references therein). Recently, hybrid mesoscopic ferromagnetic/superconducting systems have attracted a considerable attention, since it is believed that the interaction between ferromagnetism and superconductivity at the mesoscopic scale may lead to a number of new physical effects misko ; miskol ; mjvb ; martin ; erdin . In addition, these structures are considered a prominent candidate for technological applications as they offer a unique possibility of tuning the field range in which superconductivity nucleates.

A mesoscopic disk in a nonuniform magnetic field, resembling a magnetic dot with the perpendicular magnetization or a current loop, has recently been studied theoretically by using the Ginzburg-Landau equations misko . We report results on an individual hybrid mesoscopic ferromagnetic/superconducting structure, consisting of an Al disk with a Co/Pd magnetic dot on the top. The magnetic dot has a perpendicular magnetization. The measurements have revealed a pronounced asymmetry in the superconducting $`T_c(B)`$ phase boundary with respect to the direction of a perpendicular applied magnetic field.

The sample was prepared on a SiO2 substrate, by electron beam lithography on a PMMA950K and co-polymer electron beam resists in three steps. In each step, a desired structure was patterned, the material(materials) evaporated and the final structure obtained with a lift-off in warm acetone. The thickness of the Al disk is $`450`$Å , whereas the magnetic dot consists of a $`25`$Å Pd buffer layer and ten Co/Pd bilayers with the thicknesses $`4`$Å and $`10`$Å, respectively. The magnetic dot is separated from the disk by a layer of Al oxide, which forms nearly instantly on the surface when the structure is exposed to the air.

Fig. 1 shows a scanning electron micrograph of the structure. A bright area in the image is the magnetic dot. The radii of the disk and magnetic dot are $`1\mu \mathrm{m}`$ and $`0.5\mu \mathrm{m}`$, respectively. The disk has wedge-shaped contacts with the opening angle of $`15^{}`$ since these have proved to be the optimum for transport measurements of mesoscopic superconducting structures proka . The magnetic dot is displaced, approximately by $`130\mathrm{nm}`$, from the center of the disk, despite a painstaking alignment procedure. We believe that, in addition to the limitations of the electron beam writer at our disposal, a minor displacement of the alignment markers may have contributed to the shift of the magnetic dot.

The chosen composition of Co and Pd provides perpendicular magnetization of the magnetic dot, as confirmed by the magneto-optical Kerr measurements of the co-evaporated reference film at room temperature, which revealed a full remanence and the coercive field of $`350\mathrm{mT}`$. For a thorough analysis of the properties of patterned Co/Pd structures we refer to martin . Fig. 2 shows the calculated stray field of the magnetic dot, averaged over the thickness of the superconducting disk $`<b(r)>`$ for the radius and height of the dot $`r_d=500\mathrm{nm}`$ and $`h_d=16.5\mathrm{nm}`$, respectively. The brighter area in the schematic is the magnetic dot, darker area is the superconducting disk whereas the arrows indicate the field distribution.

Prior to the measurements, the magnetic dot was magnetized perpendicularly in a magnetic field of $`450\mathrm{mT}`$. Superconducting phase boundary $`T_c(B)`$ was obtained from four-point transport measurements, using an ac current with the rms of $`100\mathrm{nA}`$ and frequency $`27.7\mathrm{Hz}`$, in a cryogenic setup with the temperature stability of $`0.2\mathrm{mK}`$. The phase boundary was measured resistively by sweeping magnetic field at a very slow rate at a constant temperature and making use of a lock-in amplifier in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio.

Fig. 3 presents the resistance of the structure versus temperature measured in a constant external field. The curve with crosses is the resistive transition in zero applied field, filled curves correspond to the case when the magnetization of the dot and external fields are parallel whereas open curves give the resistive transition for the antiparallel orientation. The values of the applied fields were $`\pm \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1}\mathrm{mT}`$,$`\pm \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\mathrm{mT}`$ and $`\pm \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}3}\mathrm{mT}`$, respectively. Plus signs indicate parallel and minus signs antiparallel orientation. This convention will be used throughout the paper.

The horizontal line indicates the resistive criterion $`R_n/2`$ ( $`R_n=4\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is the resistance in the normal state ) that was used for the determination of the phase boundary. There is a clear asymmetry between the resistive transitions for the same value but different orientation of an applied magnetic field with higher critical temperatures for positive applied fields. Moreover, when the applied magnetic field is $`1\mathrm{mT}`$, the critical temperature is slightly higher than the critical temperature in zero field, which is a clear evidence that for the particular parameters of the disk and magnetic dot, this external magnetic field provides an enhancement of superconductivity in the disk. The enhancement demonstrates that ferromagnetic/superconducting mesoscopic structures make it possible to tune the field range in which superconductivity nucleates.

Since the magnetic dot generates a finite flux through the disk in zero field, its critical temperature is effectively decreased when compared to the mesoscopic contacts and superconductivity nucleates nonuniformly. As a result, the resistive transition in zero applied field is broad and has a temperature dependent slope. When increasing temperature first the disk becomes normal, and the slope of the transition, now mainly determined by the mesoscopic contacts, changes. When a uniform positive magnetic field is applied the effective magnetic induction in the disk locally increases in the region below the dot, whereas in the rest of the disk decreases. For a negative uniform field the situation is just the opposite. Given the intensity of the stray and applied fields, it is clear that the negative applied fields further suppress superconductivity and decrease the critical temperature of the disk thus causing broader transitions. Accordingly, the slope of the transitions changes at a lower temperature as the negative applied field increases. The transitions for the positive applied fields are steep, and more importantly, steeper then the transition in zero field, due to the reduction of the local magnetic induction in the disk around the magnetic dot and, consequently, an increase in its critical temperature. The tails in the transitions are a result of the flux flow.

The transitions for zero and the negative applied fields exhibit a considerable overshoot in the resistance with respect to the resistance in the normal state, nearly $`100\%`$ for applied fields of $`1\mathrm{mT}`$ and $`2\mathrm{mT}`$. This effect comes about due to the charge imbalance effects at a superconductor/normal metal junction, caused by a geometrically imposed difference in the critical temperatures of the structure itself and the contacts, or a local suppression of superconductivity in the narrowest part of the contacts by a transport current. For the details we refer to proka . When there is a considerable difference in the critical temperature of the disk and mesoscopic contacts, that is, for zero and negative applied fields, overshoots appear in the resistive transition.

The order parameter is strongly suppressed at the superconductor-normal metal boundary due to the proximity effect de Gennes . In spite of the oxide layer on the disk, Co/Pd dot suppresses superconductivity inside the disk below the magnetic dot. Therefore, the disk with the magnetic dot may be approximated by a superconducting loop of a finite width. Note that we have also studied experimentally the nucleation of superconductivity in an Al disk with the radius of $`800`$ nm and the same magnetic dot, but were unable to drive the system to the superconducting state. We believe that this is a result of the suppression of the Cooper pair density by the contact with the metal. We have used a simple model assuming that the order parameter is constant within the effective loop, and that the inner radius of the loop equals the radius of the dot. In the vicinity of the phase boundary, the local field in the loop is equal to the sum of an applied field and the stray field, whereas the modulus of the order parameter is cylindrically symmetric, with the winding number (vorticity) $`L=0`$ representing the Meissner state, $`L=1`$ single-vortex state and $`L>1`$ giant-vortex state victor .

Fig. 4 shows the superconducting phase boundary, displayed as the normalized critical temperature $`1T_c(B)/T_{cm}`$ versus the applied field. $`T_{cm}=1.376\mathrm{K}`$ is the maximum critical temperature. Open symbols and solid lines correspond to the experimental and theoretical results, respectively. The theoretical data were obtained for the coherence length $`\xi (T=0)=76`$nm and the outer loop radius which is $`25\%`$ bigger than the real radius of the disk. This discrepancy can be accounted for by the influence of the mesoscopic contacts, as well as by the displacement of the magnetic dot from the center of the disk. Even though a simplistic theoretical model has been used, the agreement between the experimental data and theoretical curve is good. The quasi-periodicity of the phase boundary is a result of transitions from the normal state to the phases with different vorticities $`L`$. Numbers in the Fig. 4 show the values of $`L`$. Note that the magnetization of the dot is high enough to create one vortex in the sample even in the absence of an external field. The superconducting phase boundary strongly depends upon the direction of an applied magnetic field, with higher critical fields for the parallel orientation (positive applied fields) in the whole range of investigation.

In conclusion, we have fabricated a mesoscopic superconducting disk made up of Al with a Co/Pd magnetic dot on the top. The superconducting properties of the system have been investigated by measuring the superconducting/normal state phase boundary $`T_c(B)`$. It has been demonstrated that the critical field is higher when an applied magnetic field and the magnetization of the magnetic dot are parallel. The experimental data are in a good agreement with the theoretical $`T_c(B)`$ curve.

This work has been supported by the Belgian UIAP, the Flemish GOA and FWO programmes, as well as by the ESF programme ”VORTEX”. W. V. P. acknowledges the support by the Research Council of the K.U. Leuven.


text:
# The Pioneer anomalous acceleration: can we measure the cosmological constant at the scale of the solar system ?

## Abstract

An anomalous constant acceleration of $`(8.7\pm 1.3)\times 10^8\mathrm{cm}.\mathrm{s}^2`$ directed toward the Sun has been discovered by Anderson et al. in the motion of the Pioneer 10/11 and Galileo spacecrafts. In parallel, the WMAP results have definitively established the existence of a cosmological constant $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=1/L_U^2`$, and therefore of an invariant cosmic length-scale $`L_U=(2.72\pm 0.10)`$ Gpc. We show that the existence of this invariant scale definitively implements Mach’s principle in Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Then we demonstrate, in the framework of an exact cosmological solution of Einstein’s field equations which is valid both locally and globally, that the definition of inertial systems ultimately depends on this length-scale. As a consequence, usual local coordinates are not inertial, so that the motion of a free body of speed $`v`$ is expected to contain an additional constant acceleration $`a_P=v^2/(\sqrt{3}L_U)`$, which is, using the WMAP five years results, $`(6.02\pm 0.34)\times 10^8\mathrm{cm}.\mathrm{s}^2`$ when $`vc`$. Such an effect is too small to contribute significantly to the Pioneer acceleration (since $`v_{\mathrm{Pioneer}}12`$ km/s $`c`$), but could be possibly observed in a dedicated space mission.

The recent definitive proof of the existence, in Einstein’s general relativity equations, of a cosmological constant term $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }=0.73\pm 0.05`$  (or of an equivalent contribution coming e.g. from vacuum energy) can be considered as a corner stone in the history of cosmology. We shall in this paper investigate one of its possible consequences: namely, its very existence allows the full theory of general relativity to come under Mach’s principle, as was initially required by Einstein in his construction.

The effects of the cosmological constant were up to now considered to hold only at the very large scales. Provided it plays, as we show here, a key role in the determination of inertial systems, it should also manifest itself at local scales. This leads to question whether the Pioneer-Galileo anomalous constant acceleration  could result from such an inertial force determined by the cosmological constant.

Let us first give a short reminder about Mach’s principle. Basing himself on the rotating bucket experiment, in which the existence of a rotational motion can be inferred from the local apparition of inertial forces, Newton concluded to the existence of an absolute space. Two centuries later, Mach proposed another solution, according to which the bucket is in relative motion with respect to the distant bodies of the Universe. Mach’s principle was subsequently incorporated as a basic stone in Einstein’s construction of general relativity.

Two levels of Mach’s principle were considered by Einstein. The first concerns the nature of inertial systems. The theory of general relativity solves this problem: namely, inertial systems are those whichmove at constant velocity and without rotation relative to the frames in which the universe appears spherically symmetric . The second level is the question of the nature and of the amplitude of inertial forces. In a Machian general relativistic framework, they are understood as effects of gravitational induction .

In 1917, Einstein  arrived to the conclusion that this second level of Mach’s principle would be achieved only provided there exists, at the scale of the universe, a relation between its characteristic length scale $`R_U`$ and its characteristic mass-energy $`M_U`$ that reads:

$$\frac{G}{c^2}\frac{M_U}{R_U}=1.$$
(1)
A very simple argument has been given by Sciama  that allows one to recover fastly this result. In a Machian universe, any body submitted only to gravitation should be considered as free. Therefore its total energy, including its own energy and that of its gravitational coupling with the remaining universe, should be zero. This reads $`mc^2+_i(Gmm_i/r_i)=0`$ in a reference frame where it is at rest, so that one obtains:

$$\frac{G}{c^2}\underset{i}{}\frac{m_i}{r_i}=\frac{G}{c^2}\frac{M_U}{R_U}=1.$$
(2)
Since all solutions based on the cosmological principle are characterized, at the present epoch (well described by dust models), by a conservative relation $`M_U=(4/3)\pi \rho _ba^3=`$ cst, ($`\rho _b`$ is the background density and $`a=a(t)`$ is the scale factor) Einstein reached the conclusion that the Universe had to be static in order implement Mach’s principle . This led him to introduce the cosmological constant in the field equations: indeed, in its absence all cosmological solutions are non-static, while its existence allows a unique static solution, the spherical Einstein model.

However, during the twenties the expansion of the Universe was discovered and the Einstein model was found by Eddington to be only metastable. Moreover, in the absence of a cosmological constant, all spherical models reach a maximal radius, which Einstein suggested to identify with the Machian length $`R_U`$. Therefore Einstein finally concluded that Mach’s principle simply led to the constraint that the actual Universe should be closed.

Such a conclusion has been considered unsatisfying, owing to Einstein’s initial hope that the whole theory of general relativity be Machian in its essence. Several authors attempted, either to complete general relativity in order to render it Machian, or to unveil its possible hidden Machian structure .

There is however a simple solution to this question , to which the recent measurement of the cosmological constant has given weight. Indeed, the cosmological constant is a curvature scalar, and it is therefore the inverse of the square of a length:

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }=\frac{1}{L_U^2}.$$
(3)
In standard general relativity, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is a strict constant, so that the cosmic length $`L_U`$ is an invariant length that is defined at the scale of the Universe. The values of the Hubble constant, $`H_0=71\pm 4`$ km/s.Mpc and of the scaled cosmological constant, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }=0.73\pm 0.05`$ , yield $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=(1.29\pm 0.23)\times 10^{56}\mathrm{cm}^2`$, i.e. $`L_U=(2.85\pm 0.25)`$ Gpc. With the more recent WMAP 5 years data , one obtains the improved value:

$$L_U=(2.72\pm 0.10)\mathrm{Gpc}.$$
(4)
Therefore, the mere existence of the cosmological constant allows, whatever the model, to render general relativity Machian, since a universal relation, that reads

$$\frac{M_U}{L_U}=\frac{(4/3)\pi \rho _ba^3}{L_U}=\mathrm{cst},$$
(5)
does hold for all dust models.

Let us now address the question of a possible experimental verification of this proposal at the scale of our Solar system. If this point of view is correct, the definition of inertial systems should ultimately be made in relation with the length-scale $`L_U`$, and therefore one should observe inertial forces whose amplitude should be related to the value of the cosmological constant.

Einstein’s equations with a cosmological constant read

$$R_{\mu \nu }\frac{1}{2}Rg_{\mu \nu }\mathrm{\Lambda }g_{\mu \nu }=\chi T_{\mu \nu },$$
(6)
where $`R_{\mu \nu }`$ is the Ricci tensor, $`R`$ the curvature scalar, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ the cosmological constant, $`g_{\mu \nu }`$ the metrics potentials, $`T_{\mu \nu }`$ the energy-momentum tensor, and $`\chi =8\pi G/c^4`$. Let us first consider their solution in vacuum around a massive body. It takes the form of Schwarzschild’s metric with cosmological constant, namely (we omit the $`r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }^2`$ term in order to simplify the writing):

$`ds^2=\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{2m}{r}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}r^2\right)c^2dT^2\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{2m}{r}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}r^2\right)^1dr^2,`$ (7)
where $`m=GM/c^2`$. An equivalent form of the Schwarzschild metric is obtained by replacing $`dT^2`$ by $`\psi ^2(\tau )d\tau ^2`$. This generalization will be useful in the following. Note that $`r\sqrt{3}L_U`$ is an horizon, since there is an apparent singularity in the metric coefficients when they are written in Schwarzschild coordinates, while it can be suppressed by another choice of coordinates (see e.g. ). Now, the Schwarzschild metric is only a local solution that does not take into account the large scale Universe, while its intervention is necessary if one wants to implement Mach’s principle.

The Universe can be described at large scales by a FRW solution of Einstein’s cosmological equations,

$$ds^2=c^2dt^2a^2(t)(dx^2+S^2(x)d\mathrm{\Omega }^2),$$
(8)
where $`S(x)=\mathrm{sin}x,x,\mathrm{sinh}x`$ when the space is respectively spherical, flat and hyperbolic ($`k=1,\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}0},1`$). The scale factor is solution of an equation of dynamics:

$$\frac{d^2a}{dt^2}=\left(\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }c^2}{3}\frac{4\pi G\rho _b}{3}\right)a.$$
(9)
Let us introduce the Hubble ‘constant’ $`H=\dot{a}/a`$ and define the scaled quantities $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }=\mathrm{\Lambda }c^2/3H^2`$, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_M=8\pi G\rho _b/3H^2`$. We now set:

$$2\mu =\frac{8\pi G\rho _ba^3}{3}=\frac{c^3\mathrm{\Omega }_M}{H}\left(\frac{k}{\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }+\mathrm{\Omega }_M1}\right)^{3/2}$$
(10)
which is a constant. Equation (9) now reads

$$\frac{d^2a}{dt^2}=\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }c^2}{3}a\frac{\mu }{a^2}.$$
(11)
It is integrated in terms of an energy equation:

$$\dot{a}^2=\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }c^2}{3}a^2+\frac{2\mu }{a}kc^2.$$
(12)
We recognize in the two first terms the cosmological equivalent of the expression that appears in the Schwarzschild metric, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }r^2/3+2GM/(c^2r)`$ , with $`r`$ replace by $`a`$ and $`M`$ by the mass included in a sphere of radius $`a`$, $`M=4\pi \rho _ba^3/3`$ (in the flat case $`k=0`$). In an equivalent way, it means that the Hubble constant $`H=\dot{a}/a`$ is given by

$$H^2=\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }c^2}{3}+\frac{8\pi G\rho _b}{3}\frac{kc^2}{a^2}.$$
(13)
None of the two above models can be considered as satisfactory for implementing the Mach principle. Indeed, the Schwarzschild model is locally correct but it fails to incorporate the large scale matter and field distribution which defines the inertial reference frames. The analysis of the Pioneer-Galileo effect has been performed in its framework (without cosmological constant), and it has failed to explain the additional acceleration .

The cosmological model is correct at global scales (provided the cosmological principle be true on very large scales), but it is not at all adapted to scales smaller than our Galaxy radius, and a fortiori at the scale of our solar system.

Nevertheless, an analysis of the Pioneer-Galileo effect has been performed in its framework by Rosales and Sanchez-Gomez (RS) . Their argument amounts to the following: The inertial reference frames are defined as free falling with respect to the Universe as a whole, so they should be defined with respect to the FRW metric (Eq. 8). A free-falling object in such a metric is at rest in a comoving coordinate system, and it is subjected to Hubble’s law $`v=H_0d=H_0c\times t`$. The inertial frame therefore accelerates from the center of coordinates, implying an inertial force directed toward it, corresponding to a constant acceleration $`H_0c`$.

However, the appearance of an inertial force is instantaneous and it must be determined from the knowledge of the true metric at the point of its occurence. Therefore the RS result is based on the assumption that the FRW metric (and the expansion of the universe) remains valid at the scale of the solar system: namely, they interpret the Pioneer effect as a detection of the cosmological expansion in the solar system. This is a very doubtful hypothesis. Indeed, the energy-momentum tensor that leads to the FRW metric is that of a perfect fluid, whose ‘particles’ are identified with the galaxies: this is a thermodynamical description that becomes wrong at the scales of the fluid ‘particle’ sizes (galaxy radii), and even more inside them. Then there is no reason for the cosmic expansion to apply inside galaxies, and a fortiori at planetary scales that are yet $`10^7`$ times smaller. This is confirmed by Williams et al., who find no evidence for local scale expansion of the solar system .

In order to address this problem in a satisfying way, we therefore need an exact solution of Einstein’s equation that should be valid both locally and globally. This is the Einstein-Strauss problem, which is solved by a continuous matching between the Schwarzschild line element (Eq. 7) and the cosmological one at the limit of a ‘vacuole’. Such a matching (including a cosmological constant term) has been performed by Balbinot et al . It implies a ‘null apparent mass condition’ , according to which the mass retired from the cosmological fluid equals exactly the central Schwarzschild mass. This condition expresses the fact that the background is actually an average description of a large scale distribution of such individual masses. Vacuole models have already been used, for example, in order to find exact solutions of the optical scalar equations, allowing an exact treatment of the gravitational lensing and gravitational redshift and time-delay problems . This method has in particular put to the light the existence of a new general relativistic factor 2  in the Rees-Sciama effect, which has been confirmed by subsequent studies using the potential approximation .

The matching conditions become particularly simple when the inner and outer metric elements are written in terms of the same coordinate system. We shall therefore perform a change of coordinate system from comoving coordinates to curvature coordinates . The matching is done on the vacuole limit $`r=r_v(\tau )`$. The comparison of the angular parts of the metrics implies that $`r=aS`$.

The matching conditions (continuity of the metric potentials and of their derivative) yield the null apparent mass condition, that writes:

$$M=\frac{4}{3}\pi \rho _br_v^3=\frac{4}{3}\pi \rho _ba_v^3S_v^3.$$
(14)
The cosmic time can be expressed in terms of the new coordinates, namely $`t=t(r,\tau )`$. The cosmological line element in curvature coordinates is diagonal when

$$\frac{t}{r}=\frac{Hr}{1(H^2+\frac{k}{a^2})r^2},$$
(15)
where $`a=a[t(r,\tau )]`$ and $`\dot{a}/a=H[t(r,\tau )]`$. The $`g_{rr}`$ coefficient of the metric then takes the simple form:

$$g_{rr}^{\mathrm{cos}}=\left\{1\left(H^2+\frac{k}{a^2}\right)r^2\right\}^1.$$
(16)
Now using Eq. (13), it takes a Schwarzschild-like form:

$$g_{rr}^{\mathrm{cos}}=\left(1\frac{2\mu S^3}{r}\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}r^2\right)^1.$$
(17)
The matching with the corresponding coefficient of the Schwarzschild metric is therefore simply performed, since on the matching hypersurface one has $`2\mu S_v^3=2m`$.

The time coefficient of the cosmological metric reads:

$$g_{\tau \tau }^{\mathrm{cos}}=\left\{1\left(H^2+\frac{k}{a^2}\right)r^2\right\}\left(\frac{(t/\tau )^2}{1\frac{k}{a^2}r^2}\right).$$
(18)
Up to now the results given were exact. In what follows, we shall now use power expansions up to order 2 in $`r`$ and $`\tau `$, which is sufficient for our purpose. Indeed, we consider small time intervals and small distances with respect to the cosmological times and distances. The cosmological scale factor writes to second order:

$$a(t)=a_0\left(1+H_0t\frac{1}{2}q_0H_0^2t^2+\mathrm{}\right),$$
(19)
where $`q_0=\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{\Omega }_M\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. We find for the time transformation the following expansion (here to third order in ($`r,\tau `$), since we need to know its derivative to second order):

$$t(r,\tau )=\tau +\frac{1}{2}H_0r^2+\frac{1}{2}\left(H_0^2\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}\right)r^2\tau +\mathrm{}.$$
(20)
Therefore we find $`(t/\tau )^2=1+H_0^2(q_0+1)r^2`$ to the order 2, so that

$$\frac{(t/\tau )^2}{1\frac{k}{a^2}r^2}=1+4\pi G\rho _br^2+\mathrm{}.$$
(21)
Finally, it is found that the outer element reads in curvature coordinates (to the second order as concerns $`g_{\tau \tau }`$):

$`ds_{\mathrm{cos}}^2=\left\{1\left({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}{\displaystyle \frac{4}{3}}\pi G\rho _b\right)r^2\right\}c^2d\tau ^2\left\{1\left({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}+{\displaystyle \frac{8}{3}}\pi G\rho _b\right)r^2\right\}^1dr^2.`$ (22)
This metric is valid for $`rr_v`$. Remark that, even in this outer cosmological domain, the $`g_{00}`$ coefficient is not given, in curvature coordinate, by $`1H_0^2r^2`$ \[see Eq. (13)\]. The matching of the inner and outer line elements is completed by writing the equality of the $`g_{\tau \tau }`$ coefficients on the hypersurface $`r=r_v(\tau )`$. One obtains:

$$\psi ^2(\tau )=1+4\pi G\rho _b(\tau )r_v^2(\tau )+\mathrm{}=1+\frac{3m}{r_v(\tau )}+\mathrm{}.$$
(23)
The function $`r_v(\tau )`$ is solution of the equation $`r_v=S_va(r_v,\tau )`$ with $`S_v=`$ cst, where $`a(r,\tau )`$ is given by

$$a(r,\tau )=1+H_0\tau \frac{1}{2}q_0H_0^2\tau ^2\frac{1}{2}H_0^2r^2+\mathrm{}.$$
(24)
Then $`r_v(\tau )=r_v^0(1+H_0\tau )`$ to the first order. Therefore we obtain the following inner metric form, valid for $`rr_v`$:

$`ds_{\mathrm{Sch}}^2=\left(1+{\displaystyle \frac{3m}{r_v(\tau )}}\right)\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{2m}{r}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}r^2\right)c^2d\tau ^2\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{2m}{r}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}r^2\right)^1dr^2.`$ (25)
Two new terms are present in this metric in addition to those which have already been taken into account in the Anderson et al. analysis of the Pioneer effect . The first is the $`\tau `$ dependence of the $`g_{\tau \tau }`$ metric potential. It yields a constant acceleration $`(3m/r_v)H_0c`$ which is negligible, since $`m/r_v10^{15}`$ for $`m=GM_{}/c^2`$.

The main new term is the cosmological constant term, which is common to the inner and outer metrics. The mean matter density of the universe (that contributes to the Hubble constant, see Eq. (13)) appears only in the outer metric. In the inner part of the metric, it is tranformed into the Newtonian potential term of the Sun, whose contribution (with that of planets and satellites), has already been taken into account by Anderson et al.

However, this form of the metric (Eq. 25) cannot yet be directly used for analysing the effect. Indeed, the coordinate $`r`$ no longer keeps its previous meaning for defining the distance because of the $`g_{rr}`$ metric coefficient. In agreement with the Pioneer-Galileo measurements, the distance is correctly defined by the travel time of photons. This time should be such that $`ds=cdt`$ for the spacecraft.

Therefore we shall now jump to an inner coordinate system that is comoving with the spacecraft ($`x_{sc}=`$ cst, after account of its proper motion). This can be done by applying to the line element (Eq. 25) the inverse de Sitter transformation,

$$r=xe^{Kt};\tau =t\frac{1}{2K}\mathrm{ln}\left(1\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}x^2e^{2Kt}\right),$$
(26)
in which we have set $`K=\sqrt{\mathrm{\Lambda }/3}=1/R_H`$ (the inverse of the horizon radius). This yields (to leading order) the following form of the inner metric:

$`ds_{\mathrm{Schw}}^2=\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{2m}{r(x,t)}}+{\displaystyle \frac{3m}{r_v(x,t)}}\right)c^2dt^2{\displaystyle \frac{1}{1\frac{2m}{r(x,t)}}}e^{2Kt}dx^2,`$ (27)
where $`r(x,t)`$ is the function of $`x`$ and $`t`$ given in Eq. (26). The next-to-leading order terms give negligible contributions. It is remarkable that this form of the metric, although it is local, includes a cosmological-like expansion term, $`e^{2Kt}`$ depending on the cosmological constant $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=3K^2`$. But it does not include the Hubble constant, which contributes to the expansion only at cosmological scales.

This form of the metric therefore allows us to separate the usual solar system contributions and the cosmological contribution, which is clearly reduced to that of the cosmological constant. Namely, the Anderson et al  comparison between the observed motion and the theoretical prediction has accounted for the $`(12m/r)`$ terms in the metric potentials, while there are here two additional contributions: the $`3m/r_v`$ term, which yields a negligible additional acceleration, and the cosmological constant term $`e^{2Kt}`$.

Therefore, assuming that the various effects can be added in a linear way (to the first approximation), after account of all other effects, the deviation between the observed position of the spacecraft and its position calculated in  is in free fall motion in the space-time geometry described by the perturbation metric

$$ds^2=c^2dt^2a_K^2dx^2,$$
(28)
with $`a_K=e^{Kt}`$.

We can now relate the effective distance $`l=ct_0`$ measured on the light cone to the local radial coordinate. We have on the light cone $`ds^2=0`$, so that the distance $`l`$ is such that $`dl=cdt=a_Kdx`$, while $`x=r/a_K`$, so that $`a_Kdx=dr(\dot{a_K}/a_K)rdt`$. Then $`dl=dr/(1+Kr)`$, which is integrated as

$$l=\frac{1}{K}\left(e^{Kl}1\right),$$
(29)
i.e., to second order,

$$l=r\frac{1}{2}Kr^2.$$
(30)
In the first version of this paper, we based ourselves on the fact that we are now brought back to the RS  calculation, but with $`K`$ taking the value $`\sqrt{\mathrm{\Lambda }/3}`$ instead of $`H_0/c`$. However, arrived at that point, RS  have identified $`r`$ with $`ct`$, which would yield $`\delta l=(1/2)Kc^2t^2`$, and therefore an acceleration $`Kc^2`$. This is an incorrect identification, since the time variable one shoud take here is the signal propagation time on the light cone $`t_0`$ and not the Pioneer time $`t`$. We actually get $`rct_0=vt`$, so that the correct result is

$$\delta l=\frac{1}{2}Kv^2t^2,$$
(31)
yielding an acceleration

$$a_P=Kv^2.$$
(32)
This value is reduced by a factor $`v^2/c^2`$ with respect to the previous expectation $`Kc^2`$. In particular, the RS result (which would be valid only provided the expansion applies at the solar system scale) should be $`a_P=H_0v^2/c`$ instead of $`H_0c`$. The expected effect of the cosmological constant is therefore:

$$a_P=\sqrt{\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}v^2=\frac{v^2}{\sqrt{3}L_U}=\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }^{1/2}H_0\frac{v^2}{c}.$$
(33)
In the case of the Pioneer spacecraft, $`v12`$ km/s, so that the reduction factor is $`1.6\times 10^9`$. The expected effect is finally very small, of the order of $`10^{16}`$ cm.s<sup>-2</sup>.

We conclude that the “Machian” local effect of the cosmological constant (nor of the Hubble constant), due to the fact that usual local coordinates do not represent the true inertial frame, cannot explain an acceleration of the order of $`10^7`$ cm.s<sup>-2</sup> as in the Pioneer effect. Note also that recently improved modelling of the reflective thermal acceleration of the Pioneer spacecraft has yielded a contribution of 25% to 75% to the total acceleration . It is therefore not unlikely that the full effect be finally of thermal origin.

As concerns the effect theoretically established here, it is linked to the fact that our solar system does not achieve an inertial frame. The true inertial frame is actually relative to and determined by the global Universe, which manifests itself locally in terms of the horizon scale $`\sqrt{3}L_U`$. Is it possible to measure locally the cosmological constant at the scale of the solar system by using this effect ?

An acceleration of the order of the observed Pioneer one,

$$a_P=c^2\sqrt{\mathrm{\Lambda }/3},$$
(34)
could be observed for a clock having a speed $`vc`$ close to the speed of light. This effect amounts to

$$a_P=(6.02\pm 0.34)\times 10^8\mathrm{cm}.\mathrm{s}^2$$
(35)
according to the WMAP 5 yrs results ($`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }=0.742\pm 0.030`$, $`h=0.719\pm 0.026`$) . A more precise expectation can be given in terms of a theoretically predicted value of the cosmological constant , $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{\mathrm{th}}=(1.3628\pm 0.0003)\times 10^{56}`$ cm<sup>-2</sup>. One gets in this case an acceleration

$$a_P=(6.0577\pm 0.0006)\times 10^8\mathrm{cm}.\mathrm{s}^2.$$
(36)
With a spacecraft moving at a speed of 1000 km/s, the effect would be $`10^5`$ times the Pioneer effect (whose displacement has been $`2.4\times 10^7`$ m over seven years), i.e. a displacement of 240 m with respect to its trajectory without the additional acceleration. It is not impossible that such values could be reached in the framework of a dedicated space mission.