text:
# Invariant correlational entropy as a signature of quantum phase transitions in nuclei

## Abstract

We study phase transformations in finite nuclei as a function of interaction parameters. The signature of a transition is given by invariant correlational entropy that reflects the sensitivity of an individual many-body state to changes of external parameters; peaks in this quantity indicate the critical regions. This approach is able to reveal the pairing phase transition, identify the isovector and isoscalar pairing regions and determine the role of other interactions. We show the examples of the phase diagram in the parameter space.

phase transition; nuclear pairing; entropy

Recently, an appreciable effort has been applied to understand and classify quantum phase transitions sachdev99 ; borrmann01 ; mulken01 . Although the concept of a phase transition is strictly applicable in the thermodynamic limit only, there are numerous examples of structural changes in mesoscopic systems, ranging from molecular clusters and semiconductors to atomic nuclei or quark systems, under variation of control parameters. Proper understanding of such transitions is crucial for areas from cosmology and formation of the universe to quantum computing and decoherence. The typical feature of phase transitions in small systems is the absence of discontinuities in the observables, and, therefore, difficulty for identification and classifications of such transitions. The counterparts of phase changes in small systems involve restructuring, critical sensitivity to parameters, and chaotic large-scale fluctuations. In this work we study mesoscopic phase transitions in atomic nuclei using shell model interactions, which are known to reproduce the low-lying states in selected nuclei with a remarkable quality. The instrument we suggest for such studies can be similarly applied to other finite quantum systems.

We identify the presence of a phase transformation as an enhancement in the invariant correlational entropy (ICE) which was introduced in sokolov98 . ICE provides a measure of sensitivity of a given state in the many-body system to variations of external parameters. From earlier studies of bosonic models the increase of ICE is known to be associated with critical points cejnar01 . We do not consider here thermal phase transitions for a system in a heat bath although it is possible, see sokolov98  and cejnar01 , to introduce an effective temperature as a measure of fluctuations in the dynamical response to the change of parameters.

Following sokolov98 , we assume a Hamiltonian $`H(\lambda )`$ that depends on a parameter $`\lambda ,`$ so that, in an arbitrary basis $`|k,`$ any eigenstate $`|\alpha (\lambda )`$ of $`H(\lambda )`$ can be decomposed as $`|\alpha (\lambda )=_kC_k^\alpha (\lambda )|k.`$ The ICE is then defined as

$$S^\alpha (\lambda )=\text{Tr}\left\{\rho ^\alpha \mathrm{ln}(\rho ^\alpha )\right\},$$
(1)
where $`\rho ^\alpha `$ is the density matrix of the state $`|\alpha `$ in the basis $`k`$ averaged over a small region $`\lambda [\lambda ,\lambda +\delta ]`$,

$$\rho _{kk^{}}^\alpha (\lambda )=\overline{C_k^\alpha C_k^{}^\alpha }.$$
(2)
The discussion of various entropy-like quantities of individual wave functions can be found in Ref. sokolov98 . ICE is basis-independent von Neumann entropy that reflects the correlations between the wave function components along the evolution path determined by the parameter $`\lambda `$. It should not be confused with basis-dependent Shannon information entropy

$$I^\alpha =\underset{k}{}|C_k^\alpha |^2\mathrm{ln}|C_k^\alpha |^2$$
(3)
that was extensively used for studying the degree of complexity of the state $`|\alpha `$ with respect to the given basis $`|k`$ izrailev90 ; big  without taking into account correlations between the amplitudes $`C_k^\alpha `$.

For a pure state, i.e. without averaging, the density matrix has a single non-zero eigenvalue equal to one because of the normalization $`\mathrm{Tr}\rho =1`$. This results in $`S^\alpha =0.`$ After averaging, we deal with a mixed state, and the eigenvalues of $`\rho `$ deviate from the trivial limit. As shown in sokolov98 , higher orders of perturbation theory bring in new non-zero eigenvalues. Averaging over only two discrete points $`\lambda `$ and $`\lambda ^{}`$ leads to a factorized matrix $`\rho ^\alpha `$ with two non-zero eigenvalues

$$r_\pm ^\alpha =\left(1\pm |\alpha (\lambda )|\alpha (\lambda ^{})|\right)/2.$$
(4)
Now ICE can change from 0 (in the absence of any evolution of the state) to the maximum value $`\mathrm{ln}2`$ reached for the orthogonal states in the representative points $`\lambda `$ and $`\lambda ^{}`$. Thus, ICE in a basis-independent way shows how “quickly” the eigenstate $`\alpha `$ reorients due to sudden change of interaction from $`H(\lambda )`$ to $`H(\lambda ^{}).`$ This makes ICE an ideal tool for studying phase transitions.

We apply the ICE tool to spherical shell-model systems, where the general Hamiltonian includes independent particle orbitals and two-body residual interactions,

$$H=\underset{\mathrm{𝟏}}{}ϵ_1a_\mathrm{𝟏}^{}a_\mathrm{𝟏}+\underset{1234L\mathrm{\Lambda }}{}V_L^{(12;34)}\left(P_{L\mathrm{\Lambda }}^{(\mathrm{1\hspace{0.17em}2})}\right)^{}P_{L\mathrm{\Lambda }}^{(\mathrm{3\hspace{0.17em}4})}.$$
(5)
Here pair creation and annihilation operators couple corresponding single-particle operators to an appropriate angular momentum, i.e. $`P^{(12)}=(1+\delta _{12})^{1/2}[a_\mathrm{𝟏}\times a_\mathrm{𝟐}]_{L\mathrm{\Lambda }}.`$ The usual pairing interaction is given by the $`L=0`$ term. We suppress the isospin degree of freedom, but it is straightforward to include it in direct analogy to angular momentum.

We start with a simple model, where the pairing interaction is known to result in a phase transition in the BCS approach. $`N`$ identical nucleons occupy two single-particle orbitals $`ϵ_1=ϵ`$ and $`ϵ_2=ϵ`$ of equal spherical degeneracy $`\mathrm{\Omega }_1=\mathrm{\Omega }_2=\mathrm{\Omega }`$. They interact via off-diagonal pair transfers determined by a parameter $`\lambda `$ as $`V_0^{(11;22)}=V_0^{(22;11)}=2\lambda /\mathrm{\Omega }.`$ Let the system be half-occupied, $`N=\mathrm{\Omega }`$, which sets the chemical potential $`\mu =0.`$ It is known from the BCS theory that the pairing interaction causes the normal to superconducting phase transition, and, in the asymptotic limit of a large system, any weak but attractive pairing is sufficient for creating the Cooper instability. For a finite system the BCS solution is approximate. Because of the finite single-particle level spacing at the Fermi surface, the BCS phase transition takes place at the critical strength value,

$$\lambda _c^2=\frac{16ϵ^2}{\mathrm{\Omega }^2}.$$
(6)
The exact solution of the problem PRC65  determines the ground state and the excited states of two types, “pair-vibrational” states with seniority $`s=0`$ and redistribution of the pairs, and states with broken pairs and $`s0`$. For each state one can calculate ICE varying $`\lambda `$. The results for the ground and two lowest pair-vibration states calculated with the averaging interval $`\delta =0.01`$ are shown in Fig. 1. The clear ICE peak in the ground state indicates the presence of the phase transition. For $`ϵ=1`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }=N=16`$ the BCS theory predicts a phase transition at $`\lambda _c=0.25`$. Corrections to the BCS vacuum PRC65 ; rabhi02  make $`\lambda _c`$ slightly larger, and ICE reaches its maximum at $`\lambda _c=0.3.`$ In the excited states the phase transition is quenched. The first excited state is collective and exhibits a broadened peak of ICE. For the second excited state the peak disappears although there is still a maximum of $`S(\lambda )`$ at $`\lambda =0`$ indicating an enhanced sensitivity to switching on pairing.

It is also possible to recognize the signature of the phase transition in the exact energy spectrum. In Fig. 2 the excitation energy of the first pair vibration state is shown. The softening of this mode at the same point $`\lambda _c=0.3`$ is characteristic for the phase transition and supports the level crossing interpretation. With the dashed line we show the same state in the random phase approximation, RPA, built on the BCS condensate PRC65 . The instability of the BCS+RPA approach for a soft mode is an artifact of the invalid approximation, see also rabhi02 .

As a realistic example we consider the case of the $`N=28`$ subshell closure in 48Ca. It has been emphasized in Ref. volyaEP  that although the BCS approach predicts no paired ground state in this nucleus, the exact solution indicates presence of pairing correlations. The interplay of weak pairing and self-consistent monopole renormalization of single-particle energies leads to correlation energy of nearly 2 MeV. The specifics of pairing correlations and self-consistent mean field in $`N=28`$ nuclei have recently been a subject of experimental cottle02  and theoretical werner96 ; lalazissis99  interest. Here we go beyond the mean field and solve exactly the many-body Hamiltonian with the effective interaction richter91  in the plane of parameters $`\lambda _p`$ and $`\lambda _{np}`$ that scale all pairing ($`T=1`$, $`L=0`$) and remaining non-pairing matrix elements, respectively.

The results for the ground state of 48Ca are given in Figs. 3 and 4. The peaks in ICE in the upper panel in Fig. 3 unambiguously identify the pairing phase transition. The drop in the occupancy of the lowest $`f_{7/2}`$ orbital shown in lower panel is also consistent with this behavior indicating the disappearance of subshell closure and a transition into a paired state. Five curves in both panels of Fig. 3 allow one to track the evolution of the phase transition as a function of strength $`\lambda _{np}`$ of non-pairing matrix elements. Panel (a) in Fig. 4 shows ICE with a contour plot in the $`\lambda _p`$ \- $`\lambda _{np}`$ plane. Higher values are indicated with shaded areas. ICE is enhanced along the diagonal outlining, as in a phase diagram, the boundary between the normal Fermi state (lower right) and superconducting paired state (upper left). The panel (c) confirms this identification of phases. Here the effective number of pairs $`𝒩_{T=1}`$, computed as an expectation value of the operator big

$$\widehat{𝒩}_T=\underset{12}{}\left(P_{L=1T,T}^{(11)}\right)^{}P_{L=1T,T}^{(22)}$$
(7)
in the ground state, is shown. This quantity reaches its maximum value $`𝒩_1=(1/4)(Ns)(\mathrm{\Omega }Ns+2)`$, where $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is the total capacity of the valence space, and seniority $`s`$ gives the number of unpaired particles, in the degenerate limit, i.e. when the pairing becomes so strong that differences in single-particle energies can be ignored. The maximum number of pairs is expected for a fully paired state with $`s=0`$, which for our model, with $`\mathrm{\Omega }=20`$ and $`N=8`$, leads to $`𝒩_1=28`$. The non-pairing interactions create a random background, mixing seniorities and adding some statistical number of pairs to any state. This background can be estimated by averaging operator $`\widehat{𝒩}_1`$ over all many-body states, $`\overline{𝒩_1}=[N(N1)]/[2(\mathrm{\Omega }1)]`$, which gives $`\overline{𝒩_1}1.5`$ in our model. Indeed, the major part of the valley in Fig. 4(c), shown as a white area, is levelled at around this value. In the phase transition region, along with the enhancement of ICE, the number of correlated pairs quickly rises, finally becoming close to 28. The full saturation at $`𝒩_1=28`$ is not expected to be reached, since it is only possible for the constant pairing interaction.

The enhancement of ICE not only allows one to localize the phase transition but also quantifies the sharpness of the transformation and the size of the critical region. In macroscopic BCS theory it is usually assumed that the non-pairing interactions renormalize quasiparticles but essentially do not participate in the phase transition. The shell model analysis big  demonstrated that this is not the case, at least in a finite system. As seen from Figs. 3 and 4, the scaling factor $`\lambda _{np}`$ plays a significant role in the overall picture. At $`\lambda _{np}=0`$, the pairing phase transition is quite sharp and takes place slightly below $`\lambda _p=1.0.`$ Indeed, the comparison of earlier studies volyaEP ; belyaev  shows that pairing would be stable and treatable with the BCS if no other interactions had been present in 48Ca. Presence of other parts of residual interaction softens and widens the transitional region, putting the physical state $`\lambda _{np}=\lambda _p=1`$ in the normal domain below the phase transition peak, although within the region of enhanced pair fluctuations. It was also shown earlier big  that other interactions destroy the purity of the seniority classes (in the first order the ground state acquires the contribution of $`s=4`$) moving the dynamics to many-body quantum chaos big ; PRC65 .

The non-pairing interactions shape the properties of the mean field and redefine effective single-particle energies; on the other hand, they induce chaotic residual dynamics. In Fig. 4(b), the occupancy of the $`f_{7/2}`$ orbital is mapped in the same parameter space. The lowest $`f_{7/2}`$ level in 48Ca is separated from other single-particle levels by almost 2 MeV. At weak residual interactions the ground state is the slightly perturbed Fermi sea, with nearly all $`N=8`$ valence neutrons occupying the $`f_{7/2}`$ level. This region is seen as the dark area in the lower left corner in Fig. 4(b). As $`\lambda _p`$ grows, the pairing phase transition breaks the magicity, and the depopulation of the $`f_{7/2}`$ orbital is consistent with the line of pairing phase transition, see also Fig. 3. Along the $`\lambda _{np}`$ axis, the original state with the fully occupied lowest orbital also disappears around $`\lambda _{np}=4`$, similarly to the change of magic numbers far from stability. The bare single-particle energies correspond well to the mean field defined with respect to the 40Ca core. The increase of residual interactions renormalizes the mean field and at some point makes the original single-particle basis inconsistent with the potential. Strong residual interactions make the dynamics chaotic that can be interpreted as a non-zero single-particle temperature big ; PRC65 . The occupation of the lowest orbital falls from $`N_{7/2}=8`$ to the “thermal” occupation $`N_{7/2}=8(N/\mathrm{\Omega })=3.2.`$ When non-pairing interactions grow to around $`\lambda _{np}=5`$ and beyond, the pairing to normal phase transition again sharpens. Here the rise in ICE is much higher than at $`\lambda _{np}=0`$. In order to create a coherent paired state, pairing forces need to overcome not only the spread of single-particle energies but also random motion generated by strong residual interactions.

From ICE in Fig. 4(a) we learn that the evolution of the wave function driven by increase of non-pairing interactions is not followed by an enhancement of entropy. Since with a closed proton core a non-perturbative change in the mean field, such as onset of deformation, is not expected, the evolution of spherical orbitals, as well as chaotization of dynamics or rise in effective temperature, are not associated with any phase transition. The role of $`\lambda _{np}`$ and the mean field in the pairing phase transition in nevertheless eminent. Supporting earlier studies in big ; harting00 ; egido00 , the sharpness of change and the transitional region between normal and paired states are influenced significantly by non-pairing interactions.

As our last example, we consider the $`sd`$ shell model for 24Mg. At $`N=Z`$, the competition of isovector, isoscalar, deformation and alpha-particle correlations makes the physical picture very complex. Empirical information macchiavelli00 , studies of simple models evans81 ; dussel86 ; engel97 ; baldini03 ; palchikov01  and analytic works ropke98 , supplemented by the direct shell model diagonalization vogel99 , support the plausible existence of different phases. However, it still remains unclear whether these phases are pure enough to be identified, or whether they are separated by distinct critical regions. Here the ICE provides a helpful tool.

For this example we extend the list of parameters to include $`\lambda _{T=1}`$, $`\lambda _{T=0}`$ and $`\lambda _{np}`$, which scale isovector ($`T=1`$, $`L=0`$), isoscalar ($`T=0`$, $`L=1`$), and all remaining two-body matrix elements in the Hamiltonian, respectively. The shell model is defined in this example with single-particle energies and interaction matrix elements from Ref. brown88 . In Fig. 5, where ICE is shown as a function of $`\lambda _{T=1}`$ with $`\lambda _{T=0}=\lambda _{np}=1`$ as a solid line and as a function of $`\lambda _{T=0}`$, while $`\lambda _{T=1}=\lambda _{np}=1`$, as a dashed line, indicates again a phase transition. The contour plot of ICE for this example is shown in Fig. 6. We limit ourselves here to three different strengths of non-pairing interactions $`\lambda _{np}=0.5,1,`$ and 2. This already gives a general idea of the ICE evolution. The valley in the vicinity of small $`\lambda _{T=0}`$ and $`\lambda _{T=1}`$ that corresponds to a normal state is clearly separated, and with increase of the strength of non-pairing interactions this region widens. However, at large $`\lambda _{np}`$ the sharpness of the phase transition is significantly reduced; note that the scale in the right panel in Fig. 6 is ten times smaller. This effect is analogous to the situation observed in 48Ca, where, except for some special area, non-pairing interactions smeared the phase transition region.

The only valley clearly separated by the mountains of ICE corresponds to the normal state. To identify phases of $`T=1`$ and $`T=0`$ pairing, similarly to our previous example, we calculate the number of coherent pairs for $`\lambda _{np}=1`$ case shown in Fig. 7. We consider isovector, $`T=1,L=0`$, and isoscalar, $`T=0,L=1`$, pairs (7). For both limiting cases of pure isovector and isoscalar pairing, $`𝒩_T`$ can be calculated using group algebra, see for example engel98 . In the states of degenerate isovector pairing model

$$𝒩_1=\frac{1}{2}\left[\frac{1}{4}(Ns)(\mathrm{\Omega }Ns+6)+𝐭^2𝐓^2\right],$$
(8)
where $`𝐭`$ is isospin of unpaired particles, while $`𝐓`$ is total isospin of the system. Thus, in the state with maximum isovector pairing, $`s=0`$, $`𝐭=𝐓=0`$, one would expect $`𝒩_1=N(\mathrm{\Omega }N+6)/8`$, which in our case of $`N=8`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }=24`$ leads to $`𝒩_1=22.`$ Interchanging angular momentum and isospin and taking normalization of operators into account we obtain $`𝒩_0=N(\mathrm{\Omega }N+6)/(2\mathrm{\Omega })`$, which results in maximum $`𝒩_03.7,`$ whereas statistically $`\overline{𝒩_1}1.8`$ and $`\overline{𝒩_0}0.3.`$ This analysis along with Fig. 7 allow us to confirm the presence of isovector and isoscalar paired states in the upper left and lower right areas of the phase diagram. The isovector pairing phase appears as a shaded area in the lower panel of Fig. 7, and the shaded area of the upper panel indicates the isoscalar pairing state. Furthermore, the enhancement of ICE, the region outlined by a dashed line on both panels of Fig. 7, is consistent with the presence of the phase transition from normal to either of superconducting phases; this is the area of the most rapid rise in the number of coherent pairs $`𝒩_0`$ or $`𝒩_1.`$

Further examination of Fig. 6 indicates a notable absence of any additional phase transition, as for example between isovector-isoscalar and possibly alpha-clustering phases. Clearly there are no phase separating lines far from the origin, i.e. at large $`\lambda _{T=0}`$ and $`\lambda _{T=1}.`$ Thus, a continuous path between isovector and isoscalar phases does not involve a transitional behavior, unlike a transition from the normal state to any paired state.

The point corresponding to the realistic nucleus, $`\lambda _{T=1}=\lambda _{T=0}=\lambda _{np}=1`$, is located in the transitional region from the normal to isovector pairing phase on the side of the paired state. On the other hand, the isoscalar pairing matrix elements are to be increased by a factor of three to bring the system onto a border between the normal phase and quasideuteron $`T=0`$ pairing coherence, this seen best from Fig. 5. Our result, that in the $`N=Z`$ nucleus the $`T=1`$ pair coherence is enhanced in contrast to $`T=0`$, is supported by other findings macchiavelli00 ; vogel99 .

Let us summarize the results for our shell model examples. In 48Ca we are able to unambiguously identify the pairing phase transition. This nucleus would be in the paired state if no interactions of non-pairing type had been present. The incoherent residual interactions in reality put the ground state below the phase transition line although in the region of large fluctuations preceding the onset of well developed pairing. This explains earlier results volyaEP : the failure of the BCS theory and large pairing correlation energy found in the exact solution. We have also found that the change in non-pairing interactions does not lead to a phase transition, however it influences substantially the normal-to-pairing critical region. Weak residual incoherent interactions smear the phase transition as they facilitate the pair excitation. Strong non-pairing interactions create complexity in dynamics, and a strong phase transition occurs when such system is “cooled” and the superconducting order is established.

Considering the 24Mg nucleus we observed a clear phase transition between the normal and superconducting state. We identified the regions where two different types of pairing, isovector and isoscalar, exist. The 24Mg nucleus is found, in agreement with earlier results, to be in the isovector phase and within the critical region of the normal to superconducting transition. The isoscalar pairing should have been three times stronger compared to the realistic shell model forces in order to lead to the corresponding condensate. Within limited shell model space we found no evidence of a phase transition between different types of pairing or alpha-clustering.

To conclude, in this work we suggested a new theoretical technique for tracking and quantitatively studying the phase transitions in nuclei and, more generally, in mesoscopic systems. Invariant correlational entropy serves not only as an indicator of the degree of complexity along the spectrum big  but as a powerful tool for identifying the regions of rapid changes of structure in response to variations in a control parameter, here it was a strength of the interaction. A mesoscopic system is sufficiently large to display statistical regularities but still sufficiently small to allow one to probe, theoretically and experimentally, individual wave functions. Such a system significantly alters the features of phase transitions, and opens a door for “secondary” interactions to leave a noticeable footprint. The ICE clearly shows the sensitive spots of the parameter space.

###### Acknowledgements.

The authors appreciate useful comments of R. Chasman and K. Langanke and acknowledge support from the U.S. NSF, grants PHY-0070911 and PHY-0244453, and from the U. S. Department of Energy, Nuclear Physics Division, under contract No. W-31-109-ENG-38.


format: text

text:
# Superconductivity-Related Insulating Behavior

## Abstract

We present the results of an experimental study of superconducting, disordered, thin-films of amorphous Indium Oxide. These films can be driven from the superconducting phase to a reentrant insulating state by the application of a perpendicular magnetic field ($`B`$). We find that the high-$`B`$ insulator exhibits activated transport with a characteristic temperature, $`T_I`$. $`T_I`$ has a maximum value ($`T_I^p`$) that is close to the superconducting transition temperature ($`T_c`$) at $`B`$ = 0, suggesting a possible relation between the conduction mechanisms in the superconducting and insulating phases. $`T_I^p`$ and $`T_c`$ display opposite dependences on the disorder strength.

In the realm of electrical conductors, insulators and superconductors belong to the opposite extremes. While both are a result of the quantum mechanical nature of the conduction process, the details of this process are markedly different. In a superconductor, a zero-resistance, quantum many-body, state emerges at low temperatures ($`T`$’s) inhibiting all scattering of electrons that can produce resistance. On the other hand, in an insulator, the motion of electrons is greatly hindered rendering them unable to carry current in the $`T`$=0 limit. At low-$`T`$, and at zero magnetic field ($`B`$), superconducting thin-films have an immeasurably low resistivity ($`\rho `$). An application of $`B`$ perpendicular to the film’s surface weakens superconductivity until, at a well-defined critical $`B`$ ($`B_c`$), superconductivity disappears and an insulating behavior sets-in. This $`B`$-induced superconductor-insulator transition (SIT), believed to be a continuous quantum phase transition Sondhi et al. (1997); Shangina and Dolgopolov (2003), has been the subject of a large number of studies, both theoretical Fisher (1990); Cha et al. (1991); Finkel’stein (1994) and experimental Hebard and Paalanen (1990); Yazdani and Kapitulnik (1995); Markovic et al. (1998); Gantmakher et al. (2000a); Bielejec and Wu (2002).

In this Letter we focus on the reentrant insulator terminating the superconducting phase. Two major findings will be emphasized. First, activated transport is observed over a wide range of $`B`$, above $`B_c`$, firmly establishing the presence of a well-defined insulating phase. Second, the maximum value of the characteristic temperature for activated conduction at the insulating peak, $`T_I^p`$, is close to the superconducting transition temperature, $`T_c`$, of the film at $`B`$ = 0, reflecting on a possible relation, and perhaps on the common origin, of the superconducting and insulating phases Kowal and Ovadyahu (1994); Gantmakher et al. (1996).

Our data were obtained from studies of disordered thin films of amorphous Indium Oxide (a:InO). We prepared the films by e-gun evaporating high purity (99.999%) In2O3 onto clean glass or sapphire substrates, in a high vacuum system. The thicknesses of the films used in the present study were between 200–300 $`\mathrm{\AA }`$ as measured $`\mathrm{𝑖𝑛}\mathrm{𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑢}`$ by a quartz crystal thickness monitor. Transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that all the samples were amorphous and crystalline inclusions were never observed. Most samples were lithographically defined to Hall-bar patterns. The voltage probes separation ($`L`$) was twice the width ($`W`$) of the Hall-bar. One sample (Na1c) was patterned in a shape of a meandering line such that $`W`$ = 2200$`\times `$L (with L = 25 $`\mu `$m), which enabled us to measure high $`\rho `$-values in the insulating state, though low $`\rho `$-values could not be measured with this two-probe geometry. On our Hall-bar samples, four-probe $`\rho `$ measurements were carried out by DC and/or low frequency (2–13 Hz) AC lock-in techniques, with excitation currents of 10 pA–10 nA. The samples were cooled either in a dilution refrigerator with base $`T`$ of 70 mK or in a He-3 refrigerator with base $`T`$ of 250 mK. One of the samples (Ma1) was subjected to heat treatment in vacuum at $``$ 60oC for a few hours. This annealing process causes a slow decrease of $`\rho `$, resulting in a reduction of the room temperature $`\rho `$ of the sample Ma1 from 2.35 to 1.79 k$`\mathrm{\Omega }`$. As long as the annealing is carried out in vacuum, Hall measurements show that the carrier concentration remains unchanged Ovadyahu (1986). Therefore, the decrease of $`\rho `$ in a:InO films has been attributed to increased mobility due to a reduction of the static disorder Shahar and Ovadyahu (1992).

We begin the presentation of the data with a description of the nature of our films at $`B`$ = 0. In Fig. 1 we plot two $`\rho `$ versus $`T`$ curves taken from a single a:InO film. The top curve, taken from the as-deposited film, is typical of an insulator: as $`T`$ is lowered from 6 K, $`\rho `$ increases monotonically and seems to diverge as $`T`$ 0. To reveal more information on the insulating behavior we replot, in the inset of Fig. 1, the same $`\rho `$ data but this time versus $`1/T`$. The dashed line is a fit of the data to an Arrhenius behavior,

$$\rho =\rho _0exp(T_I/T)$$
(1)
indicating the existence of a mobility gap at the Fermi energy, with $`k_BT_I`$ the magnitude of the gap ($`k_B`$ is the Boltzmann’s constant and $`T_I`$ is the activation temperature). For this curve, $`T_I`$ = 4.3 K. The bottom curve in Fig. 1 was obtained after annealing the film as described above. The annealing process is similar to that has been used in Gantmakher et al. (2000b) to tune the film’s properties. The effective disorder in the film has been significantly reduced by the annealing making it fully superconducting with a broad (0.9 K) transition into a superconducting state at $`T_c`$ = 1.5 K. We note that the film’s resistivity continues to drop until the signal disappears in the noise with no sign of a kink, or re-entrant behavior, which are usually associated with gross inhomogeneities and imperfections in the films Jaeger et al. (1992).

We now turn to the main topic of this work, which is the $`B`$-dependence of our samples. In Fig. 2a we show $`\rho `$ vs. $`B`$ isotherms, taken at several $`T`$’s between 0.25–1.13 K, for a typical superconducting film. In this figure, we focus on the lower $`B`$-range of our data, which includes the critical point of the $`B`$-driven SIT. The transition point is identified with the crossing point of the different isotherms at $`B_c`$ = 0.69 T. For $`B<B_c`$, the superconducting phase prevails with $`\rho `$ increasing with $`T`$, while for $`B>B_c`$ an insulating behavior takes over and $`\rho `$ is now a strongly decreasing function of $`T`$. For this sample, the value of $`\rho `$ at the transition is 5.85 k$`\mathrm{\Omega }`$. Our data in this $`B`$-range are in accordance with previous observations of the $`B`$-driven SIT Hebard and Paalanen (1990); Paalanen et al. (1992); Yazdani and Kapitulnik (1995); Markovic et al. (1998a); Gantmakher et al. (2000a); Bielejec and Wu (2002).

The picture changes dramatically when we consider a broader range of $`B`$. In Fig. 2b we present magnetoresistance curves of sample Na1c, taken over our entire available $`B`$-range, at several $`T`$’s between 0.07–1 K. As expected, when $`B`$ is increased beyond $`B_c`$ (= 0.45 T for this film), the insulating behavior initially becomes more pronounced. The surprising feature in our data is that, even though $`\rho `$ increases by more than five orders of magnitude from its value at $`B_c`$ (the ordinate in Fig. 2b is plotted using a logarithmic scale) Wu , beyond approximately 9 T this trend reverses, the insulator becomes increasingly weaker and, eventually, $`\rho `$ approaches a value of 70 k$`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ (at 0.07 K). This represents a drop of more than 4 orders of magnitude from the peak-value of 2 G$`\mathrm{\Omega }`$. The demise of the insulating behavior seems to take place in two steps. An initial, rapid, drop beyond 10 T followed by a transition, at 14 T, to a slower decrease that continues all the way to, and beyond, our highest $`B`$ of 18 T. It is unclear at which $`B`$-value this trend will revert to the positive magnetoresistance expected at very high $`B`$.

Inspecting the details of the $`T`$ dependence of $`\rho `$ in this $`B`$-induced insulator reveals a similar picture. Generally, the $`B`$-induced insulator follows an Arrhenius $`T`$-dependence similar to the high-disorder insulator of Fig. 1. In the inset of Fig. 3, we plot the $`\rho `$ data in Fig. 2b vs. $`1/T`$ at three different $`B`$ values in the vicinity of the peak. The solid lines are fits to an Arrhenius form as in equation (1). These fits yields $`T_I(B)`$, the activation temperature, which now depends on $`B`$. In Fig. 3 we plot $`T_I`$ versus $`B`$ for the sample of Fig. 2b. At $`B_c`$, the onset of the insulating behavior, $`T_I`$ is zero. It then increases with $`B`$ reaching a maximum at 9 T and, similar to $`\rho `$ itself, decreases at higher $`B`$. A rough extrapolation of our data indicates that $`T_I`$ will vanish at 20 T, although at $`B14`$ T our estimates of $`T_I`$ suffer from increasingly large errors, making this extrapolation inaccurate.

The non-monotonic behavior of the $`B`$-induced insulator has been observed before in a:InO films Paalanen et al. (1992); Gantmakher et al. (1998b) and in other materials Butko and Adams (2001); Wang et al. (1993). In these experiments, the value of $`\rho `$ at the peak was significantly lower than in our data, probably because of the lower value of disorder in these films relative to ours. The appearance in our work, of a much higher-$`\rho `$ peak and more than four orders of magnitude in $`\rho `$ fitting to an Arrhenius form, enabled us to firmly establish the presence of the insulating state and, more importantly, to obtain a conclusive measurement of the activation behavior in the vicinity of the peak. This leads to the central new result of our work: the value of $`T_I`$ at the insulating peak, $`T_I^p`$ = 1.65 K, is conspicuously close to the $`B`$ = 0 value of $`T_c`$ for this film, 1.27 K. To test the generality of this observation we plot, in Fig. 4, $`T_c`$’s at $`B`$ = 0 for several of our superconducting samples against their $`T_I^p`$’s. Overall, $`T_I^p`$ is close to $`T_c`$. In our samples, $`T_I^p`$ had values between 0.7 K and 1.9 K and $`T_c`$ had values between 0.9 K and 1.9 K. We recall here that, $`T_I`$’s measured in samples that are insulating at $`B`$ = 0 (similar to Ma1a in Fig. 1) had values as high as 8 K. In the cases where we are able to follow one physical sample through several anneal stages, we see that while $`T_c`$ increases upon lowering of the disorder, $`T_I^p`$ decreases, indicating that a more complete theory is required to account for the details of the $`T_c`$$`T_I^p`$ dependence.

We next suggest that it may be possible to account for the presence of an insulating peak with $`T_I^p`$ close to $`T_c`$ by adopting the point of view in which the properties of our films are not uniform over the entire sample Kowal and Ovadyahu (1994); Meyer and Simons (2001); Vavilov et al. (2001). We recall the recent theoretical work of Ghosal et al. Gho , who studied numerically the behavior of 2D superconductors in the presence of a random potential as a function of disorder strength. They considered films that are structurally homogeneous, but did not make any assumptions about the spatial uniformity of the superconducting gap ($`\mathrm{\Delta }_S`$). They showed that, in the high-disorder limit, $`\mathrm{\Delta }_S`$ can become spatially nonuniform despite the homogeneous nature of the films. These spatial variations of $`\mathrm{\Delta }_S`$ lead to the formation of regions of large $`\mathrm{\Delta }_S`$, interceded with regions of vanishingly small $`\mathrm{\Delta }_S`$, creating an intermixture of superconducting and insulating phases Shimshoni et al. (1998). The resulting situation is similar to that existing in granular films that are composed of macroscopic grains of superconductors embedded in an insulator Gra . In such granular films, the application of an external $`B`$ drives the SIT by breaking long-range phase coherence while individual grains remain superconducting as verified by tunneling measurements White et al. (1986). In the insulating regime obtained under these conditions, the conduction process is limited by tunneling of normal electrons between the grains. Since these electrons are created by thermally breaking Cooper-pairs in the superconducting grains, this process results in an activated transport with a characteristic temperature of order $`T_c`$ Gantmakher et al. (1996). Our observation that $`T_I^p`$ is close to $`T_c`$ of the film at $`B=0`$ may point to such a scenario. A further increase of $`B`$ beyond the insulating peak leads to the destruction of superconductivity in the grains, eliminating the superconductivity-induced barrier for transport, and resulting in the rapid drop of the resistivity, observed in Fig. 2b beyond 10 T.

We summarize our findings in the form of an experimental phase diagram Fisher (1990), shown in Fig. 5, plotted in the $`B`$–disorder plane. It is constructed based on our data from 11 different a:InO films at 33 different anneal stages. The normal-state conductivity of the films at $`T`$ = 4.2 K ($`\sigma _{4.2K}`$) is used as a measure of disorder. Conductivity at higher $`T`$’s could have equally been used with no essential change to the phase diagram. Two kinds of data points are plotted. The crosses mark the $`B_c`$ of each film and thus define the boundary between the superconducting and insulating phases. The dashed line is a best fit to the $`B_c`$ data. Extrapolation of this fit to $`B`$ = 0 gives a $`\sigma _{4.2K}`$ value of 3.8$`\pm `$0.1 $`e^2/h`$ ($`e`$ is the electronic charge and $`h`$ is Planck’s constant). Triangles are used to identify the $`B`$-position of the insulating peak for samples that, at $`B`$ = 0, were insulating (empty triangles) or superconducting (filled triangles). The triangles distinguishes the region where the superconducting grains dominate the transport at low $`B`$ from the region where superconductivity in the grains is progressively destroyed with increasing $`B`$. It is not clear that the triangles mark any phase boundary. Our experimental phase diagram is similar to the schematic phase diagram for a 2D superconductor suggested in Paalanen et al. (1992).

To conclude, we have studied superconducting thin films of a:InO that were driven through a SIT by the application of perpendicular $`B`$. Activated transport is observed over a wide range of $`B`$, above $`B_c`$, firmly establishing the presence of a well-defined insulating phase. The maximum value of the characteristic temperature for activated conduction at the insulating peak is close to the superconducting transition temperature at $`B`$ = 0. These observations are discussed from a point of view in which the properties of our films are not uniform over the entire sample. We suggest that our results point to a possible relation between the conduction mechanisms in the superconducting and insulating phases in these disordered films.

We wish to thank Z. Ovadyahu for help with sample preparation and useful insights, and to Y. Oreg, Y. Meir, Y. Imry and A. Kapitulnik for useful discussions. This work is supported by the ISF, the Koshland Fund and the Minerva Foundation. Some of the measurements were performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL), which is supported by NSF Cooperative Agreement No. DMR-0084173 and by the State of Florida.


text:
# SDSS J0903+5028: A New Gravitational Lens

## 1 Introduction

Gravitational lenses have become important astrophysical and cosmological tools in several ways. The frequency of lensing is in principle sensitive to the dark energy density (Fukugita et al. 1990, Turner 1990, Fukugita & Turner 1991, Kochanek 1995, but see Keeton 2002) and the matter density of the Universe (Mortlock & Webster 2000a ). Lens statistics also probe the properties of the lensing galaxy systems, such as their mass distribution, potential well depth and extinction (Chen et al. 1995; Chae et al. 1998; Keeton et al. 1998; Malhotra et al. 1997; Keeton 2001a ; Keeton & Madau 2001). In addition, measurement of the time delay between images in individual lensed quasars can be used to measure the Hubble parameter (Refsdal 1964).

Since the discovery of the first double quasar Q0957+561 (Walsh et al. 1979; Schild & Thompson 1997), about 80 lensed quasars have been discovered111see http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/castles/. In this paper, we report the discovery of another lensed quasar, SDSS J090334.92+502819.2 (hereafter SDSS J0903+5028), discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data (SDSS; (York et al. 2000)). There have been several gravitational lenses discovered previously in the SDSS data (Inada et al. 2003a ; Inada et al. 2003b ; Burles et al. 2003; Pindor et al. 2003b ; Morgan et al. 2003), but this one is unusual in the way it was found. The standard algorithm for selecting lens candidates in the SDSS involves looking for deviations from PSF profiles for spectroscopically confirmed quasars (Inada et al. 2003a ; Pindor et al. 2003a ). By contrast, SDSS J0903+5028 was selected for follow-up based on the presence of $`z3.6`$ quasar features superimposed on the SDSS fiber spectrum of a $`z=0.388`$ luminous red galaxy (LRG). Moreover, the SDSS image showed another source about $`2\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}5`$ from the spectroscopically targeted galaxy as well as the presence of surrounding galaxies with colors similar to the LRG. While this system may be unusual, it is not unprecedented: the well-known lens 2237+0305 (Huchra et al. 1985) was discovered serendipitously in a galaxy redshift survey, and such cases are expected (Kochanek 1992; Mortlock & Webster 2000b ).

Follow-up spectroscopy at the ARC 3.5-meter telescope showed that both main image components contain flux from a $`z3.6`$ quasar with strong BAL-like associated absorption (Foltz et al. 1986), strongly suggesting that this is a lensed system. Subsequent $`r`$ and $`i`$ band imaging at the ARC 3.5-meter telescope in better seeing revealed the lens geometry more clearly, as shown in Figure 1, and enabled us to model the lens system. Finally, higher signal-to-noise ratio, higher-resolution spectra were taken at the Keck II telescope. Taken together, these data make a firm case that SDSS J0903+5028 comprises two images of a high-redshift quasar lensed by a massive, red, foreground galaxy in a group.

This paper is organized as follows. In Section 2 we describe the SDSS data on this object, discuss how it was selected for follow-up, and describe the spectroscopic and imaging data from the ARC 3.5m telescope and spectroscopic data from the Keck telescope. In Section 3, we fit a simple two-quasar + galaxy model to the ARC 3.5m images and extract positions and magnitudes for the three components. With this information, we fit a lens model, estimate the velocity dispersion of the lens galaxy, and study the quadrupole moment of the lensing potential. We also decompose the SDSS and Keck spectra into quasar and galaxy components and find flux ratios consistent with the imaging data. We conclude in Section 4.

## 2 Observations

The data on SDSS J0903+5028 consist of the following. The object was observed in routine SDSS imaging in January 2001. Based on its colors and brightness, it was targeted for SDSS spectroscopy as a luminous red galaxy (LRG) and spectroscopic observations were taken in March 2001. Due to the presence of both quasar and galaxy features in the SDSS spectrum, the object was included in a list of promising lens candidates for follow-up observations. Spectroscopy of the two main components on the ARC 3.5m telescope in October 2002 revealed that they both contain very similar quasar features in addition to galaxy spectral features. This observation was followed by higher quality spectroscopy with the Keck II telescope and deeper, better seeing-quality imaging data with the ARC 3.5m telescope. In the following, we describe each of these data sets in detail.

### 2.1 SDSS Data

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is a wide-field photometric and spectroscopic survey being carried out by the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico (York et al. 2000). The SDSS multi-CCD camera (Gunn et al. 1998) will produce images for $`5\times 10^8`$ objects in five optical bands $`u,g,r,i,z`$ to a detection limit of approximately $`r=22.2`$. The photometric pipeline software is described in Lupton et al. (2001). The photometric calibration is described in Fukugita et al. (1996) and Smith et al. (2002) and the astrometric calibration in Pier et al. (2003). Galaxies, quasars, stars, and other sources identified in SDSS imaging are targeted for SDSS spectroscopy based on several selection criteria (Stoughton et al. 2002); for a description of the selection algorithm for luminous red galaxies (LRGs), see Eisenstein et al. (2001).

SDSS J0903+5028 was imaged on 2001 January 26 with SDSS identifiers: run 2074, camera column 2, field 113. This field is included in the recently released SDSS Data Release 1 222also see http://www.sdss.org/dr1/ Abazajian et al. (2003). SDSS J0903+5028 is the close pair of objects near the center of the $`r`$ band image shown in Figure 1. The Western member of the pair is a blend of galaxy and quasar light and corresponds to the combined object(s) labeled G, B in Figure 1. In the photometric reduction used for spectroscopic targeting (rerun 0), this object was assigned SDSS identification number id 229 in this field. In the current ‘best’ reduction (rerun 21), using an improved version of the photometric pipeline, the object has id 186. The Eastern member of the pair—component A in Figure 1—was also identified by the photometric pipeline (id 228 in rerun 0 and id 185 in rerun 21, with the same run, camcol, and field numbers as above). It was identified as a faint galaxy, not a point source, most likely because of its close proximity to the B/G component.

In Table 1 we provide SDSS photometric (Hogg et al. 2001; Smith et al. 2002) and astrometric (Pier et al. 2003) parameters for both components from the ‘best’ rerun 21. Since the seeing measured in bands $`u,g,r,i,z`$ was $`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}83`$, $`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}73`$, $`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}50`$, $`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}40`$, $`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}50`$, respectively, comparable to the separation of the two images, the A and G/B components were not fully deblended from each other by the SDSS photometric pipeline. As a result, one should be cautious about interpreting the SDSS photometric parameters for this object. More accurate astrometric and photometric information for the different components, based on subsequent ARC 3.5m imaging in better conditions, is given in Table 2.

The G/B component was targeted for SDSS spectroscopy as a ‘cut II’ luminous red galaxy (LRG) (Eisenstein et al. 2001; see Blanton, et al. 2003 for a description of the spectroscopic tiling algorithm) and was likely boosted above the flux limit of the LRG sample by the addition of the blended quasar light. Its spectrum was taken on 2001 March 24 with SDSS identifiers: Plate 552, Fiber 221, MJD 51992. This plate was observed for $`8\times 15`$-minute exposures, yielding combined spectra of somewhat higher S/N than is typical for the survey. The $`3\mathrm{}`$ spectroscopic fiber was centered on $`09^\mathrm{h}03^\mathrm{m}34^\mathrm{s}.92+50^{}28\mathrm{}19\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}2`$ (J2000); in Figure 1, this corresponds approximately to centering on the G component. The SDSS spectrum, shown in Figure 2, clearly shows absorption features of an early-type galaxy at redshift $`z=0.388`$ (e.g., the Ca H and K lines at 5463 and 5510 Å), along with strong quasar emission lines with a peak C IV redshift of $`z=3.584`$.

The surrounding field in Figure 1 shows several fainter galaxies with colors similar to those of the G/B component of SDSS J0903+5028, suggesting the presence of a small galaxy group associated with the LRG. We have applied a group finding algorithm which looks for a red-sequence in color-magnitude space for over-dense regions, the maxBCG algorithm Annis et al. (2003); Bahcall et al. (2003). The algorithm does not find a cluster or group centered at the lens galaxy since it is not a local maximum of the galaxy density on cluster length scales. However it does find two small nearby clusters, both about $`5\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}7`$ away and both with photometric redshifts of z=$`0.44\pm 0.03`$. The lens galaxy sits right between these two clusters and they are aligned north and south of the lens. The properties of these photometric clusters are summarized in Table 3. The actual physics of these two clusters will require a detailed spectroscopic study: they may be part of one bigger cluster or set of merging clusters that span the entire region including the compact group of galaxies surrounding the lens galaxy shown in Figure 1, but the precision of photometric redshifts does not allow definitive answers to these kind of questions.

### 2.2 Selection for Follow-up

SDSS J0903+5028 was recognized as a possible gravitational lens during routine testing of the spectroscopic outputs of the SDSS. There are two independent SDSS software pipelines developed for classifying spectra and assigning redshifts: spectro1d (briefly described by Stoughton et al. 2002; for more detail, see SubbaRao et al. 2003), which uses both cross-correlation via Fourier transforms with a family of templates and emission line identification, and specBS (Schlegel 2003), which uses $`\chi ^2`$ template fits in wavelength space. Significant discrepancies in redshifts and/or classifications between the two were examined by eye333This totaled only 1.7% of all spectra in SDSS Data Release 1, of which roughly half were of too low S/N to yield a meaningful redshift, usually correctly classified as “unknown” by both pipelines.. One common type of discrepancy arises when light from superposed objects falls within the $`3\mathrm{}`$ spectroscopic fiber, and the two pipelines make different choices about which object’s redshift to report. In DR1, there were half a dozen galaxy-quasar superpositions at very different redshifts identified in this way, including SDSS J0903+5028. None of the others appear to be lenses. In the case of SDSS J0903+5028, spectro1d returned a classification of Galaxy with a redshift of $`z=0.388`$ at 94% confidence, while specBS returned a classification of Quasar with a redshift (albeit incorrect) of $`z=1.788`$.

In addition to comparison of the two pipelines, the spectro1d pipeline also flags spectra which cross-correlate with two templates at substantially different redshifts at high confidence level. Such was the case with SDSS J0903+5028: spectro1d reported a significant (80% confidence) $`z=3.6`$ cross-correlation peak for this spectrum with a quasar template. The relative confidence levels of the galaxy and quasar peaks are in line with expectation, given that the galaxy flux through the $`3\mathrm{}`$ fiber is about twice that of the quasar (see below).

One of the unusual features of this lens is the fact that the target was identified as a luminous red galaxy, not as a quasar: the lensing galaxy is brighter than the lensed quasar images (see Table 2). This system would therefore not be included in many optical searches for lensed quasars, because the brighter component has galaxy rather than quasar colors and because it was identified as an extended rather than a point source. On the other hand, in surveys that extend to faint magnitudes, it is not completely surprising to find such objects. For example, for UV-excess selected quasars at $`z<2.5`$, Kochanek (1991) estimated that in a few percent of three-image lenses, the lens galaxy flux will exceed that of the combined quasar light for surveys to $`m=21`$; presumably this percentage is higher for multi-band surveys that include quasars to higher redshifts. Alternatively, the typical $`r`$-band flux for a spectroscopically targeted $`z=3.6`$ quasar in the SDSS is $`r19.4`$ (PSF mag), while the typical $`r`$-band flux from a targeted $`z=0.38`$ LRG is $`r18.8`$ (model mag). While this comparison is obviously biased by our target selection criteria, it is nevertheless suggestive.

### 2.3 ARC Spectrum

We conducted follow-up spectroscopy of SDSS J0903+5028 and other interesting lens candidates on 2002 October 9 with the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) 3.5m telescope at Apache Point, New Mexico using the Double Imaging Spectrograph444DIS II see http://www.apo.nmsu.edu/Instruments/DIS/. This instrument has a dichroic at 5550Å; the red and blue spectra combined have a usable wavelength coverage of about 3700Å to 10000Å. We took a 22 minute spectrum with the slit aligned along the direction connecting the two primary image (A and B/G) components. Although the two spectra were partially blended and of relatively low signal-to-noise ratio, it was clear after reduction that both spectra contained flux from high redshift quasars at the same redshift of $`z3.6`$. Both spectra also showed absorption features from the galaxy. Because the DIS data established a strong case for lensing but were not definitive, we subsequently re-observed this lens candidate at the W. M. Keck Observatory.

### 2.4 Keck Spectrum

We obtained a high-dispersion spectrum of both image components of SDSS J0903+5028 using the echelle spectrograph and imager (ESI; Epps & Miller 1998) on the Keck II telescope on the night of 2002 December 5; see Figure 3. Three slit orientations were used; here we report only the pair of spectra taken with the slit perpendicular to the axis separating the image pair, since these observations yielded the cleanest reductions. The night was clear, with $`0\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}8`$ seeing. A 900s high-resolution spectrum was taken for each member of the pair through a $`1\mathrm{}`$ slit in the echellette mode of ESI. In this mode, the spectral range of 3900Å to 11000Å is covered in 10 spectral orders with a nearly constant dispersion of $`11.4\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{pixel}^1`$. Wavelength calibrations were performed with observations of a CuAr lamp. The spectrophotometric standard BD+28 4211 was observed for flux calibration. The data were reduced using a tailored set of IRAF555IRAF is distributed by the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, which are operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. and IDL routines developed specifically for ESI data. The smoothed spectra are shown in Figure 3. The signal-to-noise ratio is $`5\mathrm{pixel}^1`$ in the raw spectra at 1450Å in the rest-frame and $`29\mathrm{pixel}^1`$ in the smoothed spectra. As with the SDSS spectrum, the peak C IV redshift is $`z=3.584`$. However, given that there is associated absorption long-ward of the emission peak, this redshift is likely to be an underestimate. Using templates from Richards et al. (2002), which allow for the possibility that C IV emission is blueshifted with respect to systemic and also allowing for reddening of the spectrum, we find a best-fit redshift of $`z=3.605`$ for the less contaminated ’A’ component, which would place the associated C IV absorption at roughly the systemic redshift (instead of being infalling). Figure 3 shows that the two components have remarkably similar spectra and consistent redshifts. Scaling the fainter Eastern (‘A’) component by a factor 1.3 leads to a good match with the brighter Western (‘G/B’) spectrum. Furthermore the spectrum is by no means a typical quasar spectrum since it has irregular BAL-like troughs. The fact that both components have these same rare BAL troughs makes the lensing case very solid; the fact that there is clearly a galaxy between them makes the case practically certain.

### 2.5 ARC Imaging

From the SDSS imaging data, it was apparent that SDSS J0903+5028 does not simply comprise two point sources: the G/B source is extended and was tentatively interpreted as a possible superposition of the lens galaxy with a quasar point source. To further test the lensing hypothesis and to determine source positions and magnitudes for lens modeling, we obtained follow-up imaging data on 2002 November 13 with the ARC 3.5m telescope using SPIcam. SPIcam is a backside-illuminated SITe $`2048\times 2048`$ CCD camera with $`24\mu m`$ pixels and a plate scale of $`0\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}14\mathrm{pixel}^1`$, giving a field of view of $`4\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}78`$. Because of the small pixels, this camera can take advantage of very good seeing. As it turned out, the seeing was $`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}1`$, a significant improvement over the SDSS $`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}5`$. Also, the longer exposure, co-added SPIcam images are about 1.8 magnitudes deeper in $`r`$ than the corresponding SDSS image. We obtained four dithers in each of the SDSS $`r`$ and $`i`$ bands for a total exposure time of 20 minutes in each band. These images were de-biased, overscan-corrected, and flat-fielded in the usual manner with IRAF. Figure 1 shows a $`35\mathrm{}`$ by $`35\mathrm{}`$ region around SDSS J0903+5028 from the co-added $`r`$ band SPIcam image. The small group of galaxies is evident. Based on modeling (see below), the objects labeled A and B were identified as the quasar images, while the object labeled G is the galaxy image, blended with quasar image B. We used SExtractor Bertin & Arnouts (1996) to find objects in the co-added $`r`$ and $`i`$ images and matched these to the SDSS imaging catalog to obtain photometric zero-points and an accurate astrometric solution.

## 3 Analysis

### 3.1 Modeling the Image

In order to fit a lens model to the data we proceed to determine the positions and relative fluxes of the quasar and galaxy images. While ideally one would like higher resolution images for this purpose, we can in fact determine the configuration of this system quite confidently with just arc-second imaging. The co-added ARC 3.5m images in both SDSS $`r`$ and $`i`$ filters are used to fit for an image model.

The top left panels in Figures 4 and 5 show the $`r`$ and $`i`$ band co-added SPIcam images of the $`8\mathrm{}`$ by $`5\mathrm{}`$ area around the lens. The object on the left (East, component A) is unresolved and is one of the quasar images. The object on the right (West) is resolved and it is evident from visual inspection that this is in fact bimodal, with a point source, the quasar, to the lower right (southwest) of the blended object centroid.

This hypothesis can be tested by fitting the image to a simple parametric model and looking at the residuals. The simplest model consists of a two-image lens with the galaxy in between the two quasar images. There are some conditions that must be met for this image to be consistent with gravitational lensing. The quasars should have identical shapes, consistent with the local point-spread function (PSF), while the galaxy may be more extended. The three objects should have positions in the two bands that are statistically consistent, and the quasars should have nearly identical flux ratios. There are other conditions that relate the flux ratios and the three image positions that arise from the gravitational lens model; we address those additional constraints in the Section 3.3.

We fit the surface brightness of all three objects as two-dimensional $`t`$-distributions, also known as Moffat profiles. A normalized, 2D $`t`$-distribution is given by

$$\varphi (𝐱)=\frac{1}{2\pi }|\mathrm{\Sigma }|^{1/2}(1+\delta /\nu )^{(\nu +2)/2},$$

where $`\delta =(𝐱\mu )^T\mathrm{\Sigma }^1(𝐱\mu )`$, the vector $`\mu `$ is the image centroid, and $`\mathrm{\Sigma }`$ is the $`2\times 2`$ symmetric matrix of moments which determines the shape of the elliptical isophotes. The free parameter $`\nu `$ determines the logarithmic slope of the asymptotic profile. In the limit $`\nu \mathrm{}`$, the surface brightness becomes a Gaussian, $`\varphi (𝐱)(2\pi )^1|\mathrm{\Sigma }|^{1/2}\mathrm{exp}(\delta /2)`$; even for finite $`\nu `$, $`\varphi `$ is approximately Gaussian near the centroid.

Our PSFs are well fit by $`\nu =2`$, so we fix $`\nu `$ to this value for the two point sources. The galaxy is also reasonably well fit by a $`\nu =2`$ profile (but with different moments), but it is better fit by a $`\nu =1`$ profile, so we use the latter. We further require that the quasars have the same moments. This leaves 15 free parameters: 3 pairs of centroid coordinates, 3 fluxes, 3 PSF moments, and 3 galaxy moments. The fits are done independently in each band. The best fit values are presented in Table 2.

The best fit dereddened magnitudes for the lens galaxy are $`r=19.59\pm 0.06`$ and $`i=18.86\pm 0.07`$, where we have included all errors from shot noise, calibration, and model degeneracy. We can use the measured redshift of 0.388 to calculate absolute magnitudes in both bands and then use the $`L\sigma `$ relation (Faber & Jackson 1976) to estimate the galaxy velocity dispersion in each band. We use $`K`$-corrections from Bruzual & Charlot (1993) and correct for luminosity evolution using Bernardi et al. (2003) to arrive at $`M_r=22.26`$ and $`M_i=22.74`$. The galaxy is therefore very luminous ;about $`3L_{}`$ in both bands. Using the $`L\sigma `$ relations and the $`L\sigma `$ scatter from Bernardi et al. (2003), we estimate the velocity dispersion as $`\sigma _r=206\pm 53`$ km/s and $`\sigma _i=213\pm 54`$ km/s. Typical lens galaxy velocity dispersions are 200-300 km/s, so these values are not unusual; they are also consistent with the velocity dispersion inferred from the lens model below.

The top two panels of Figures 4 and 5 show the SPIcam data along with the best fit model. The middle panels show the best fit model separated into the quasars and galaxy. The lower panels show the residual image (image$``$model) and a contour plot with the relative positions and fluxes of the three components. One can see that the $`r`$ and $`i`$ data give visually consistent results. The best fit models have reduced $`\chi ^2`$ of 0.99 in $`r`$ and 1.00 in $`i`$, indicating that the model is a good fit to both bands. The inferred quasar flux ratios (B/A) in $`r`$ and $`i`$ are $`0.483\pm 0.012`$ and $`0.461\pm 0.021`$, consistent at the 1.3 $`\sigma `$ level. The quasar separations are 2$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$83 $`\pm `$ 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$02 in $`r`$ and 2$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$80 $`\pm `$ 0$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$03 in $`i`$, consistent at about the 1 $`\sigma `$ level.

The image model also yields a measurement of the ellipticity of the galaxy light. The uncorrected model galaxy ellipticity is $`ϵ(1r^2)/(1+r^2)=0.12`$ in the $`r`$ image and 0.19 in $`i`$, with position angles of 12.0 and 18.2 deg (East of the North-South axis) in the two bands; here, $`r=b/a`$ is the ratio of semi-minor to semi-major axis of the surface brightness distribution. However, these numbers do not take into account the extent and anisotropy of the image PSF. We correct the galaxy shape measurement by subtracting the second moments of the local PSF from the second moments of the G model image. Using these deconvolved moments, the estimated corrected galaxy ellipticity is $`ϵ=0.27`$ in $`r`$ and $`0.32`$ in $`i`$; the corresponding position angles are 24.8 and 30.8 deg. The estimated error on the inferred ellipticity is about 0.1.

While the image modeling above does not rule out more complicated lens configurations, it does show that this image is consistent with the simplest configuration of a two-image lens. We also note that we have applied this image fitting procedure to the lower signal-to-noise ratio SDSS images and to subsequent CFHT images (taken in better seeing but with more complex PSF structure) with very similar results.

### 3.2 Modeling the Spectrum

As with the imaging, we have also attempted to model the various spectra of SDSS J0903+5028 as a sum of quasar and galaxy components, using Principle Component Analysis (PCA). A large number of redshifted SDSS quasar spectra are used to construct eigenspectra $`e_i(\lambda )`$, which form an orthonormal basis in terms of which any other quasar spectrum can be expanded, $`f_{\mathrm{QSO}}(\lambda )=\mathrm{\Sigma }_i^Nc_ie_i(\lambda )`$. Similarly, a set of galaxy eigenspectra are constructed from many SDSS galaxy spectra. Spectra can be usefully classified by their coefficients $`c_i`$, provided they can be accurately reconstructed when the series is truncated at relatively small $`N`$. Three eigenspectra span the range of most galaxy types; for quasars, more components are needed. Here, we used 10 quasar and 10 galaxy eigenspectra, constructed from samples of several thousand SDSS quasar spectra and about 100,000 SDSS galaxy spectra (Yip et al. 2003). (The same galaxy eigenspectra are used in the SDSS spectro1d spectroscopic pipeline to classify galaxies.)

To decompose a spectrum containing both quasar and galaxy components, for which the two redshifts are known, we simply assume it can be modeled as a weighted sum of the galaxy and quasar eigenspectra, where the coefficients are determined by minimizing the $`\chi ^2`$ of the reconstructed spectrum fit to the true spectrum. An example of this 20-parameter fit (hereafter called Model I) is shown in the top panel of Figure 6, which shows the best fit to the SDSS spectrum of the G/B component; for this fit, the quasar flux is about 25% of the galaxy flux summed over this wavelength range. Unfortunately, given the nature of this procedure, it is difficult to assign an error to this value.

In addition to the model above, we experimented with two other models with fewer parameters. In Model II, instead of using 10 galaxy eigenspectra, we fixed the galaxy spectrum to have the shape of the average Luminous Red Galaxy spectrum constructed by co-adding a large number of LRG spectra (Eisenstein et al. 2003). This makes use of the information that LRG spectra are quite homogeneous and that the G component has colors typical of an LRG. An example is shown in the lower panel of Figure 6, which shows a decomposition of the Keck Western (G/B) spectrum using this model. As with the SDSS spectrum, the reconstructed quasar spectrum is a reasonable first approximation to the observed spectrum; not surprisingly, this procedure does not capture the BAL-like features, since the parent sample of SDSS quasar spectra used to produce the quasar eigenspectra did not include quasars with BAL features. The ratio of quasar to galaxy flux for this model is 42%; for comparison, Model I for this spectrum yields a quasar/galaxy flux ratio of 48% and yields a galaxy spectrum with the general spectral shape of an LRG. The differences between this spectral decomposition and that for the SDSS spectrum are not particularly troubling: the Keck spectrum has higher signal-to-noise ratio, and it is based on a narrow slit with rather different aperture from the SDSS fiber spectrum. On the other hand, the quasar/galaxy flux ratio for the Keck West spectrum model is in good agreement with that inferred from the $`r`$ and $`i`$ band imaging given in Table 2.

In Model III, on the assumption that the Keck East spectrum has little contamination by the lensing galaxy, we fit the Keck West spectrum to a sum of Keck East and the LRG template or to Keck East plus 10 galaxy eigenspectra. This model generally gave poor or unphysical fits, consistent with the fact that Figure 3 appears to indicate that the Western component is somewhat bluer than the Eastern component. The latter result is somewhat surprising: given the lens geometry shown in Figure 4 and the results in Table 2, one would naively expect the Eastern component to be less contaminated by the red lensing galaxy than the Western component, assuming the East and West spectral components correspond approximately to the A and B/G image components of Figure 1. This apparent discrepancy may be due in part to the spectral extraction algorithm, errors in relative spectrophotometric calibration, placement of the slit, intrinsic reddening of the quasar spectra, differential reddening in the galaxy, or quasar spectral variability on a timescale shorter than the time delay between the images.

Finally, we also attempted to measure the galaxy velocity dispersion from the quasar-subtracted galaxy spectrum, but it was too contaminated by residual quasar absorption features to obtain a reliable result.

### 3.3 Modeling the Lens

To extract physical properties of the lens galaxy and its environment and to further test the lens hypothesis, we proceed to make lens models using the astrometry and photometry from the model analysis of the images. The uncertainties on the relative positions are $`0\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}02`$ in $`r`$ and $`0\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}03`$ in $`i`$. For the fluxes, we broaden the error bars to 10% to account for variability, microlensing, etc. (see Dalal & Kochanek 2002). We use standard isothermal lens models, because they are consistent with the observed properties of other individual lenses, lens statistics, and the dynamics and X-ray properties of elliptical galaxies (Fabbiano 1989; Kochanek 1993, 1996; Maoz et al. 1993; Rix et al. 1997; Treu et al. 2002; Rusin et al. 2003). For the modeling we use $`\mathrm{\Omega }_m`$ = 0.3 and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ = 0.7, although these only affect the reported velocity dispersions and time delays, and then only at the few percent level. We use standard non-linear least-squares lens modeling techniques, implemented in the lensmodel software by Keeton (2001b). The data provide eight constraints: two each for two quasar image positions, two for the galaxy position, and two fluxes. A minimal model has eight parameters: the galaxy position (2) and mass (1), the ellipticity of the mass distribution or alternatively shear and its orientation angle (2), and the quasar source position (2) and flux (1). Even minimal models therefore have $`N_{\mathrm{dof}}=0`$, and so we are always able to find models that fit the data perfectly. Hence to estimate the uncertainties on the model parameters, we repeatedly add random noise to the 8 data points and refit to obtain a distribution of fitted parameter values.

The fact that the quasar images and the galaxy are not collinear indicates a non-negligible quadrupole moment in the lensing potential, which may represent ellipticity in the lens galaxy and/or tidal shear from mass in the environment of the galaxy (Keeton et al. 1997). The presence of mass ellipticity might be expected because the deconvolved galaxy light is elliptical; moreover, the mass could be more flattened than the light. The presence of shear seems likely because of the surrounding galaxy clusters. To consider both possibilities, we first examine two simple models: (1) a singular isothermal ellipsoid (SIE) model, where the quadrupole is due entirely to ellipticity, and (2) a singular isothermal sphere (SIS) plus shear model, where the quadrupole is due entirely to tidal shear.

Both SIE and SIS+shear models can fit the lens exactly, with the parameters given in Table 4. Both sets of models seem reasonable: SIE models require a mass ellipticity $`ϵ=0.5`$–0.6, slightly larger than the ellipticity of the light ($`0.3`$), while SIE+shear models require a shear strength $`\gamma =0.15`$–0.18, typical of lenses in group or cluster environments (Keeton et al. 1997; Kundić et al. 1997; Kneib, Cohen, & Hjorth 2000). There are small differences between the $`r`$-band and $`i`$-band models due to differences in the deconvolved positions of quasar B and the galaxy in the $`r`$ and $`i`$-band data, but the differences are only at the 1$`\sigma `$ level.

The models yield an Einstein radius of $`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}4`$, corresponding to a velocity dispersion of $`250\pm 4`$ km s-1 for the lens galaxy. This number is consistent with the velocity dispersion estimates made with the $`L\sigma `$ relations in Section 3.1; the estimate from the lens model may be higher due to the surrounding group slightly enhancing the image angular separation. The implied total magnification of the system is a moderate factor of 3–4. The models also predict that the time delay between the images should be in the range 57–72 $`h^1`$ days. Because the predicted delay depends on the relative amounts of ellipticity and shear (Witt et al. 2000), the usefulness of this lens for Hubble parameter analyses will depend on how well the ellipticity and shear can be determined independently.

It is interesting to note that in both SIE and SIS+shear models the quadrupole moment of the lensing potential is oriented almost exactly north–south, while the corrected galaxy light is inclined at $`30^{}`$. A misalignment of more than $`10^{}`$ usually indicates that the lensing potential has both ellipticity and shear with different orientations (Keeton et al. 1998; Kochanek 2002). It is pointless to fit models with unconstrained ellipticity and shear to SDSS J0903+5028, because such models are under-constrained. However, analyses of other lenses suggest that it is reasonable to constrain the shape of the model mass distribution using the observed shape of the light distribution. The orientation angles of the mass and light are strongly correlated and typically aligned to within $`10^{}`$, even if there is no clear relationship between the ellipticities of the mass and light (Keeton et al. 1998; Kochanek 2002). Figure 7 shows results for SIE+shear models where we either fix the shape of the model mass distribution to that of the light (panel a) or just require that the mass distribution match the light within assumed uncertainties of $`10^{}`$ in orientation and 0.1 in ellipticity (panel b). In both cases, the constraint on the mass orientation provides an important lower limit on the shear strength. In other words, under the reasonable assumption that the mass distribution is aligned with the light distribution, the misalignment between the galaxy and the quadrupole moment of the lensing potential directly implies the presence of shear from the lens environment (the group or nearby clusters). Adopting a constraint on the mass ellipticity would then yield an upper limit on the shear, but this result is less reliable because there is no strong evidence that the mass ellipticity should match that of the light (Keeton et al. 1998). We also note that if the two nearby clusters found by the maxBCG algorithm are indeed separate spherical clusters, they would produce a shear with the requisite north–south orientation; however, given their relatively large angular separation from the lens galaxy, one would expect them to produce a combined shear of only a few percent.

Thus, the lens models suggest but do not conclusively reveal that the group or clusters around the lens galaxy play an important role in the lensing potential. The best way to test this hypothesis would be to obtain spectroscopy for galaxies in the field of the lens, to confirm the cluster(s) and identify members, and to measure the centroid and velocity dispersion of the cluster(s). Those quantities could be used to estimate the shear from the environment, and compared with the predicted shear strength $`\gamma 0.1`$–0.2 and orientation $`\theta _\gamma =136^{}`$$`174^{}`$ to test and further constrain the lens models.

## 4 Conclusions

We have identified a lensed quasar candidate, SDSS J0903+5028, based on the superposition of a $`z=3.605`$ quasar and a $`z=0.388`$ luminous red galaxy in an SDSS spectrum. Follow-up observations with the ARC 3.5-m and the Keck II telescope have confirmed that this is a two-image gravitational lens system, with image angular separation of 2$`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}`$8. The lens model is consistent with a massive galaxy with a velocity dispersion of 250 km sec-1. The lens geometry indicates a quadrupolar lensing potential which can be generated by an elliptical galaxy mass distribution and/or tidal shear from what appears to be a group of galaxies surrounding the lens. The misalignment between the quadrupole and the galaxy light suggests that there is indeed significant shear from the environment.

## 5 Acknowledgments

We thank Paul Schechter and Scott Burles for useful discussions. Funding for the creation and distribution of the SDSS Archive has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Japanese Monbukagakusho, and the Max Planck Society. The SDSS Web site is http://www.sdss.org/. The SDSS is managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC) for the Participating Institutions. The Participating Institutions are The University of Chicago, Fermilab, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Japan Participation Group, The Johns Hopkins University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), the Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics (MPA), New Mexico State University, Princeton University, the United States Naval Observatory, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Washington. JF and DJ acknowledge support from the NSF Center for Cosmological Physics and NSF grant PHY-0079251, from the DOE, and from NASA grant NAG5-10842. GTR acknowledges support from HST-GO-09472.01-A. Part of the work reported here was done at LLNL under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract W-7405-Eng-48. This work is based in part on observations obtained with the Apache Point Observatory 3.5-meter telescope, which is owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium. Some of the data presented herein were obtained at the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W.M. Keck Foundation. We thank the staffs of the Keck and Apache Point Observatories, and C. Ryan at CFHT, for their assistance.