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# Untitled Document

TRANSPORT IN A MESOSCOPIC RING WITH A QUANTUM

DOT: FROM THE COULOMB BLOCKADE REGIME

TO THE KONDO EFFECT

Valeria Ferrari, Guillermo Chiappe

Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales,

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pab.1, Ciudad Universitaria

(1428) Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Enrique V. Anda

Departamento de Fisica, Pontificia Universidade Catolica

do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Marquês de São Vicente 225

CEP 22453-900, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

1. INTRODUCTION

During the last years, the technology has achieved to miniaturize electronic devices to nanometer scales. In order to understand the physics of these devices, it was developed a new field of research: the mesoscopic physics . There is a double motivation to study these systems: On one hand, it is the suspicion that could be possible to construct new devices that give place to a new electronic based on the principles of mesoscopic physics . On the other hand, the electrons in such structures are very confined and the electron-electron interaction is very important . For this reason, these devices have been excellent tools to probe correlation effects in strongly interacting systems.

It has been observed experimentally that a conductor of mesoscopic dimensions acts as a small pool where electrons are confined and where they enter one by one . These conductors have received the name of Quantum Dots (QDs) . A QD is an artificial device which typically consists of a small region in a semiconductor material with a size of approximately 100 nm. Due to its small size, the allowed energies for the electrons are quantized, forming a discrete spectrum of quantum states. In a typical transport experiment with QDs, it is observed a peak in the current every time one electron is added to the QD .

The QD is one of the central objects of this work, the other one is the mesoscopic ring. These rings are constructed with metallic or semiconductor materials and they can be made of sizes of the order of 2500-5000 Å. If one of these rings is threaded by a constant magnetic flux, a current appears in the ring. This current has a periodic behavior as a function of the applied flux and exists in the ground state of the system . Due to this property, this current has received the name of persistent current.

The system studied in this work consists of a QD inserted in a mesoscopic ring threaded by a magnetic flux . Our aim is to present a complete description for this device and to predict the physics of a experiment with these features.

The present article is organized as follows. In section 2 we present the model and the methodology we have developed to solve it. By means of that methodology, we have found patterns of behaviour due both to electron-electron interaction and to the confinement of the QD as we explain in section 3. Finally, in section 4 we present our conclusions.

2. MODEL

To solve the ring with the QD, we separate it into two parts: one of them is a small cluster of atoms that contains the QD (see Figure 1) and the other one is a chain without interactions with a larger number of sites. Both systems are solved separately and then, they are connected to form the whole system of the QD inserted in the ring (see Figure 2). In first place, we obtain the Green’s Function (GF) for both systems separately. In second place, we find the GF of the ring with the QD ($`\widehat{G}`$), by solving the Dyson’s equation $`\widehat{G}=\widehat{g}+\widehat{g}\widehat{T}\widehat{G}`$, where $`\widehat{g}`$ is the GF of one of the systems and $`\widehat{T}`$ is the hopping operator that connects both systems . This operator depends on the flux, because the magnetic flux is incorporated as a phase factor in the boundary condition of the ring.

Figure 1. Scheme of the $`N_s`$-site cluster of the atoms that contains the QD.

Figure 2. Scheme of the mesoscopic ring threaded by a magnetic flux with an embedded QD. This system is constructed by coupling the $`N_s`$-site cluster to a non-interacting chain of $`N`$ sites.

We will consider that the QD has two levels: $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$, which are connected to the rest of the system by means of hopping parameter $`t^{}`$ (see Figure 1). To model the QD, this hopping probability for the electrons to hop to the QD, will be lower than the hopping probability to hop to other sites of the system ($`t`$). Although the Coulomb interaction is present in the whole system, we will assume it to be restricted to the QD where, due to quantum confinement, electrons interact more strongly.

In order to reproduce some experiments, we will apply a gate voltage $`V_o`$ to the QD. By means of this voltage, we will be able to move the levels of the QD and study the behavior of the system as a function of $`V_o`$.

With this considerations in mind, the Hamiltonian of the cluster (with $`N_s`$ sites) can be written as sum of three terms: $`\widehat{H}=\widehat{H}_o+\widehat{H}_U+\widehat{H}_T`$. $`\widehat{H}_o`$ represents essentially the kinetic energy:

$$\widehat{H}_o=t\underset{\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{\sigma ,i=1}{i{\scriptscriptstyle \frac{N_s}{2}},\alpha ,\beta }}{\overset{N_s}{}}\left[\widehat{c}_{i,\sigma }^{}\widehat{c}_{i+1,\sigma }+\widehat{c}_{i+1,\sigma }^{}\widehat{c}_{i,\sigma }\right]+V_o\underset{\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{\sigma }{j=\alpha ,\beta }}{}\widehat{n}_{j,\sigma }+\underset{\sigma ,j=\alpha ,\beta }{}ϵ_j\widehat{n}_{j,\sigma }$$

where $`\widehat{c}_{i,\sigma }^{}`$ ($`\widehat{c}_{i,\sigma }`$) are the usual creation (annihilation) fermionic operators ($`\sigma ,`$), $`t`$ is the hopping parameter between successive sites, $`ϵ_j`$ are the energies of the levels of the QD (in this work we will take $`ϵ_\alpha =0`$ and $`ϵ_\beta =2t`$), and $`\widehat{n}_{j,\sigma }`$ is the number operator.

The Coulomb interaction inside the QD is described by

$$\widehat{H}_U=U\underset{i=\alpha ,\beta }{}\widehat{n}_{i,}\widehat{n}_{i,}+U\underset{\sigma =,}{}\left[\widehat{n}_{\alpha ,\sigma }\widehat{n}_{\beta ,\sigma }+\widehat{n}_{\alpha ,\sigma }\widehat{n}_{\beta ,\sigma }\right]$$

where $`U`$ represents the coulomb energy whenever there are two electrons inside the QD.

Finally, the connection between the QD and other sites in the cluster is described by

$$\widehat{H}_T=t^{}\underset{\sigma =,}{}\left[\widehat{c}_{\alpha ,\sigma }^{}\widehat{c}_{\frac{N_s}{2}+1,\sigma }+\widehat{c}_{\alpha ,\sigma }^{}\widehat{c}_{\frac{N_s}{2},\sigma }+\widehat{c}_{\beta ,\sigma }^{}\widehat{c}_{\frac{N_s}{2}+1,\sigma }+\widehat{c}_{\beta ,\sigma }^{}\widehat{c}_{\frac{N_s}{2},\sigma }\right]+c.c.$$

where $`t^{}`$ is the probability for the electrons to hop to the QD.

To take the charge fluctuations inside the cluster into account, we write the GF of it, $`\widehat{g}`$, as a combination of the GF of $`n`$ and $`(n+1)`$ particles with corresponding weights $`(1f)`$ and $`f`$, that is $`\widehat{g}=\widehat{g}_n(1f)+\widehat{g}_{n+1}f`$. The charge inside the cluster is written as $`Q_c=(1f)n+f(n+1)`$, but it can also be expressed as $`Q_c=_{\mathrm{}}^{ϵ_F}_i^{N_s}\mathrm{Im}G_{ii}(w)\mathrm{d}w`$. These last equations are solved self-consistently in order to obtain $`f`$,$`n`$ and the GF of the system $`\widehat{G}`$. Once we get it, we can easily compute the density of states (DOS), the persistent current in the ring and the charge inside the QD .

3. PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR IN TRANSPORT

We have found several patterns of behavior which are evidences that different physical phenomena are involved in the system. We have found that we can go from one regime to another either by diminishing the interaction or by increasing the hybridization between the QD and the ring. In one extreme, we have found the Coulomb Blockade regime and in the other one, we have found a quasi non interacting regime. Between these two limits, interesting intermediate regimes appear where the physics is essentially dominated by the Kondo effect. In the following, we will explain in detail every pattern.

3.a Coulomb Blockade regime

In this regime, the persistent current and the charge inside the QD as a function of the gate voltage, looks like in Figure 3.a and Figure 4.a, respectively. We can observe a peak in the current every time an electron goes into the QD and that there is a range of values of the gate voltage where we have no transport.

Figure 3. Persistent current in the ring as a function of the gate voltage applied to the QD for the different patterns of behaviour. $`(a)`$ Coulomb blockade regime. $`(b)`$ Coulomb blockade-Kondo effect regime. $`(c)`$ Kondo effect regime. $`(d)`$ Quasi non-interacting regime. The gate voltage is normalized to $`V_o/U`$ to better compare among different graphs.

Figure 4. Charge inside the dot as a function of the gate voltage (normalized to $`V_o/U`$) for the different patterns of behaviour $`(a)`$ Coulomb blockade regime. $`(b)`$ Coulomb blockade-Kondo effect regime. $`(c)`$ Kondo effect regime. $`(d)`$ Quasi non-interacting regime.

In order to understand this result, it is useful to take into account the local DOS at the QD. If we consider a value of gate potential such that there is one particle inside the QD in the level $`ϵ_\alpha `$, we will have two peaks in the DOS: one at $`ϵ_\alpha `$ and the other one at $`ϵ_\alpha +U`$ (indicating that to add another particle it is necessary an amount of energy $`U`$). These peaks in the DOS have a finite width $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ and we have found that those peaks will broaden out if the hybridization between the QD and the ring (tuned by $`t^{}`$) is increased .

With this considerations in mind, we can understand the graphs of the persistent current and the charge. Suppose we begin the process with a value of gate voltage in such a way that the lowest level of the QD is aligned with the Fermi level of the system. In this situation the transport is allowed, so we have current and one electron entering into the QD, as actually occurs in Figure 3.a and Figure 4.a at zero gate voltage.

If we lower the gate voltage, we will move the levels downwards, so there will be no states of the QD in resonance with the Fermi level in the ring. If this occurs, the transport is blocked, and we will have no current. This phenomena is known as Coulomb blockade . This situation will persist during an interval of gate voltage of the order of $`U`$, and after that, the second level appears and the second particle goes into the QD.

With regard to the parameters of the model, we have found this regime when correlations are much more greater than the width of the levels ($`\mathrm{\Delta }`$) due to hybridization.

3.b Kondo effect - Coulomb blockade regime

By diminishing the value of the interaction $`U`$ \- maintaining it greater than $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$\- we find a pattern where Kondo effect and Coulomb blockade coexist .

In this regime, we can note in Figure 3.b an excess of current between the Coulomb Blockade peaks that indicate the entrance of particles inside the QD. This behaviour can be easily understood if we note that in the DOS, a peak at the Fermi level appears, whenever we have an odd number of electrons inside the QD . This peak is evidence of the Kondo effect which appears in metals with magnetic impurities and it occurs because the spin of the magnetic impurity is coupled anti-ferromagneticaly with the spin of the conduction electrons. It shows up as a resonance in the Fermi level, which is usually called Kondo resonance (KR) . On the other side, when there is an even number of electrons, the resonance at the Fermi level disappears.

When we have an odd number of electrons, there is a net spin inside the QD, so it behaves as a magnetic impurity whose spin can be coupled anti-ferromagneticaly with the spins of the electrons in the ring. In this situation, the QD behaves as a magnetic impurity and we have Kondo effect. The Kondo resonance at the Fermi level gives a new channel for the transport and it is responsible of the excess of current between the CB peaks. On the other side, when we have an even number of electrons, we have no net spin inside the QD, so it is no possible to have Kondo effect. The fact that a QD could exhibit Kondo effect has been predicted theoretically  and it has been observed in recent experiments .

3.c Kondo effect regime

If we diminish $`U`$ or increase $`t^{}`$ again, we get the pure Kondo effect regime. A typical graph for the persistent current in this regime can be seen in Figure 3.c.

It is interesting to point out that if we increase $`t^{}`$ or diminish $`U`$ in such a way that the parameter $`J=\frac{4t^2}{U}`$ remains constant, we observe the same behaviour for the persistent current in the ring. This feature can be observed in Figure 5. The parameter $`J`$ is essentially the coupling between the spin of the QD and the electrons in the ring. In other words, we have found that the parameter $`J`$ governs the whole physics in this regime, and it occurs because in the present regime we have the pure Kondo effect.

Figure 5. Persistent current as a function of the gate voltage in the pure Kondo effect regime. The ring is constructed connecting a 6-sites cluster with a chain of 2000 sites. The dash line is the current for $`U=2t`$ and $`t^{}=0.16t`$ and the circles correspond to $`U=0.5t`$ and $`t^{}=0.08t`$. In both cases the value of the coupling parameter is the same, that is: $`J=0.0512t`$.

In a recent work , we have found that the regime where the Kondo effect coexists with the Coulomb blockade, the KR is very narrow and as a consequence, the persistent current presents an scaling with the length of the ring ($`L`$) as $`\frac{1}{\sqrt{L}}`$. In the present regime the KR widens, so the current presents the usual $`\frac{1}{L}`$ scaling of a perfect ring. However, as the Kondo temperature can be roughly estimated as the width of the KR , we can conclude that this temperature will be greater than that of the previous regimes.

In Figure 4.c we can observe that the charge begins to lose its discreteness, because charge enters into the QD in a almost continuous way but it is still entering one by one.

Regarding the parameters of the model, this regime appears when the coupling $`J`$ is lower than the width of the peaks in the local DOS . That is, $`J=\frac{4t_{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}}{U}<\mathrm{\Delta }`$.

3.d Quasi non-interacting regime

For lower values of $`U`$, we find the quasi non-interacting regime with a typical curve for the persistent current as in Figure 3.d.

If $`U<<\mathrm{\Delta }`$, the peaks in the DOS merge and we get one doubly degenerated peak. In this regime, the KR is absent because the charge inside the QD changes in a continuous way from 0 to 2 particles (as can be seen in Figure 4.d). So, we can say that the system behaves essentially as if it were non-interacting.

4. CONCLUSIONS

In the present work we have studied the transport properties of QD inserted in a mesoscopic ring which is threaded by a magnetic flux.

We have proposed a model that takes into account the conditions that are usual in experiments with QDs . In order to solve the model, we develop a methodology to find the Green’s functions of the system by means of proper approximations.

This system presents persistent currents as a function of a gate voltage applied to the QD. We have studied the influence of both the interaction between electrons and the hybridization between the ring and the QD. We have found several regimes that describe different physical phenomena involved in the system. These regimes range from the phenomenon of Coulomb Blockade (in the high correlation limit) to a quasi non-interacting regime. Between these two limits we have found an intermediate regime where the Kondo effect shows up. Similar results has been recently reported in other systems .

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

V. F. thanks Eduardo Mucciolo for important suggestions and acknowledges support from University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

REFERENCES

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# Distance to the RR Lyrae Star V716 MonocerotisThis research was conducted as part of the 1999 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Prácticas de Investigación en Astronomía (PIA) Programs at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO).

## 1 Introduction

The classification of variable stars can often depend sensitively on the available observational data. For example, the periodic rapid brightness increase displayed by RR Lyrae stars can easily be confused with typical variability of cataclysmic variables (such as the start of a dwarf nova outburst) if only limited observations are available. A number of alleged cataclysmic variables (CVs) have been reclassified as RR Lyrae stars following more extensive observation (e.g. CG Muscae, Layden & Wachter, 1997). As RR Lyrae variables are particularly useful objects for exploring Galactic structure and dynamics, owing to the availability of relationships between their observational properties and their distances, it is desirable to continue to reclaim misclassified RR Lyrae stars from the ranks of the CVs.

V716 Monocerotis (= NSV 03775) was first identified as a variable star by Hoffmeister (1949). It was categorized as a suspected CV or RR Lyrae variable by Kukarkin & Kholopov (1982). Koen & O’Donoghue (1995) ruled out the possible CV nature of V716 Mon by obtaining a spectrum (indicative of an A-type star) and several CCD and photoelectric data sets (showing an almost complete cycle of the characteristic light curve of an RR Lyrae star). Haefner, Fiedler, & Rau (1996) independently concluded that V716 Mon was an RR Lyrae star based on a steady decrease in its relative brightness of $`0.44`$ mag during a 4.75 hr CCD light curve. The CV catalog and atlas of Downes, Webbink, & Shara (1997) now lists V716 Mon as a “non-CV,” thus providing the final word in the tale of its long-running identity crisis.

We observed V716 Mon during the telescope orientation of the 1999 Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) summer student programs. We chose this object for two main reasons: (1) no calibrated photometry currently exists for it in the literature, and (2) it is located in a field that is not too crowded to perform reliable photometry at the plate scale of the CTIO Curtis Schmidt telescope ($`2\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}32`$ pixel-1 – see §2). We present here the first calibrated $`BVRI`$ photometry of V716 Mon. We use our multi-color light curves to calculate several fundamental parameters of this RR Lyrae star, including its distance and position within the Galaxy.

## 2 Observation

We observed V716 Mon for 3 nights on 1999 January 27–29 UT using a $`2048\times 2048`$ SITe CCD on the Curtis Schmidt telescope at CTIO111See http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/obs/schmidt/. We utilized $`BVRI`$ filters with exposure times of 40 s, 20 s, 10 s, and 10 s, respectively. The filters were cycled in the sequence $`BVRIIRVB`$ in order to minimize dead time due to filter wheel movement and obtain near-simultaneous multi-color light curves. We defined a region-of-interest $`1024\times 1024`$ pixels in size and used a single amplifier for the CCD read-out. Including filter changes, this resulted in a typical cycle time of $`30`$ s between exposures. Table 1 lists the number of images and time coverage obtained on each night.

The images were reduced in the normal fashion using standard IRAF222The Image Reduction and Analysis Facility software, which is distributed by the National Optical Astronomy Observatories. tasks. Instrumental magnitudes were measured using the IRAF task phot. We obtained observations of photometric standard stars (Landolt, 1992) on Jan 27 & 29. The standard star observations from Jan 27 (the better night) were checked against those from Jan 29, and the former were used to calibrate the Jan 27 data for V716 Mon and several field stars. These calibrated field stars were then used as secondary standards to calibrate the V716 Mon data on Jan 28 & 29. This gave photometric uncertainties on Jan 27 of $`\sigma _B=0.02`$ mag and $`\sigma _V=\sigma _R=\sigma _I=0.01`$ mag. The uncertainties on Jan 28 & 29 were $`\sigma _B=0.03`$ mag and $`\sigma _V=\sigma _R=\sigma _I=0.02`$ mag.

## 3 Analysis

Koen & O’Donoghue (1995) found a period of 0.565 d for V716 Mon from their CCD and photoelectric photometry data. We applied the phase dispersion minimization technique (Stellingwerf, 1978) to our data, and confirm this period. Figure 1 shows the photometry data folded on $`P=0.565`$ d. Clearly, V716 Mon is an ab-type RR Lyrae variable. Table 2 presents light curve parameters derived from the $`BVRI`$ light curves shown in Figure 1. These parameters include the intensity-mean magnitude ($`M`$), the magnitudes at maximum light ($`M_{max}`$) and at minimum light ($`M_{min}`$), and the phase difference between minimum and maximum light ($`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{rise}`$). The magnitudes are precise to within a few hundredths of a magnitude.

Using our data, we can derive a number of physical properties of V716 Mon, and thereby determine both its location within the Galaxy and to which stellar population it belongs. Fourier decomposition of a star’s light curve is a useful tool in this regard. It yields an amplitude and phase shift for each sinusoid (order) employed in the fit. For RR Lyrae stars, several empirical relations have been developed between these Fourier components and the stars’ physical properties (metallicity, luminosity, color, etc.; Jurcsik & Kovács, 1996; Kovács & Jurcsik, 1996, 1997).

We used code kindly provided by Jurcsik & Kovács to perform Fourier decompositions of the V716 Mon light curves in a manner consistent with that used to develop the empirical relations. Jurcsik & Kovács (1996) (hereafter referred to as JK96) used fits involving 15 Fourier orders. Using such high orders to fit our data yielded significant excursions (“wiggles”) within the phase gaps at $`\varphi =0.55`$ and 0.78 that do not appear in the light curves of other observed RR Lyrae stars. The excursions must be spurious artifacts. We therefore explored using between four and fifteen Fourier orders in our fits to the $`V`$-band light curve.

JK96 provided a compatibility test to determine whether an individual fit was reliable based on the value of a parameter, $`D_m`$. This is the maximum of the deviation parameters that are defined as the differences between observed and calculated Fourier parameters divided by the standard deviation of the Fourier parameter fits (see Section 4 of JK96). If $`D_m<3`$, the fit was deemed compatible with the data. Figure 2a shows our $`D_m`$ values as a function of the fit order, $`O_F`$, with the dotted line marking $`D_m=3`$. Only one fit ($`O_F=9`$) formally satisfies the compatibility test, but fits with $`6<O_F<11`$ come close to meeting the test. When plotted over the data, these fits (in particular, $`O_F=9`$) do a reasonable job of representing the observations. As we will show, the results based on these fits are similar, providing confidence that we have obtained Fourier deconvolutions that are meaningful in the context of determining the physical properties of V716 Mon.

JK96 derived an empirical relation between metallicity ($`[Fe/H]`$), period, and the phase shift $`\varphi `$31 (their Eqn. 3). Employing this relation, we obtained the $`[Fe/H]`$ values shown in Figure 2b from the Fourier fits with 4–15 orders. Notice that the results for $`6<O_F<11`$ are clustered together and have small internal errors. We therefore adopt as our best $`[Fe/H]`$ estimate the weighted mean of the individual $`[Fe/H]`$ values derived from fits with $`6<O_F<11`$, where the weights are $`(1/D_m)^2`$. Since the results for individual fit orders are not independent, we estimate the error in $`[Fe/H]`$ from the range of individual values ($`1.05`$ to $`1.55`$). We thus obtain $`[Fe/H]=1.33\pm 0.25`$ for V716 Mon.

Kovács & Jurcsik (1996) derived a similar empirical relationship between absolute magnitude, period, $`\varphi `$31, and the Fourier amplitude $`A_1`$. Kovács & Jurcsik (1997) (hereafter referred to as KJ97) improved this relation and extended it to include a reddening estimate. Figure 2c shows the absolute magnitude results from the fits with 4–15 orders. The results are highly consistent among the fits that used $`6<O_F<11`$, so we again adopt as our best estimate the weighted mean of the individual $`M_V`$ values derived from these fits (using the inverse-square of $`D_m`$ for the weights). The range of individual $`M_V`$ values (0.790 to 0.809 mag) is much smaller than the internal error in an individual estimate (0.063 mag), so we adopt the latter as our error estimate on $`M_V`$. Thus we find $`M_V=0.80\pm 0.06`$ mag for V716 Mon. The KJ97 absolute magnitude relation was calibrated using Baade-Wesselink luminosities. Other luminosity calibrations could result in a systematic decrease in $`M_V`$ by as much as 0.3 mag (Chaboyer, 1999).

Again using the relations in KJ97, we determined the reddening from fits with $`4<O_F<15`$ (see Figure 2d). For $`6<O_F<11`$ the results are nearly independent of the fit order, so we adopt as our best reddening estimate the weighted mean of these values. For the error we use the quadrature sum of the external error (estimated from the range of values, 0.040 to 0.050 mag) and the internal error (estimated from the errors in the Fourier coefficients, 0.005 mag). Thus $`E(BV)=0.05\pm 0.01`$ mag for V716 Mon.

We can compare this reddening estimate with several independent methods. Blanco (1992) developed a semi-empirical relation between $`E(BV)`$ and the period, metallicity, and minimum-light $`(BV)`$ colors for ab-type RR Lyrae stars. Mateo et al. (1995) explored a similar relation involving $`(VI)`$ colors. Over the phase interval 0.5 to 0.8, the average colors of V716 Mon are $`(BV)=0.46\pm 0.01`$ mag and $`(VI)=0.74\pm 0.01`$ mag. The Blanco (1992) and Mateo et al. (1995) methods yield $`E(BV)=0.07\pm 0.01`$ and $`0.12\pm 0.02`$ mag, respectively. The dust map of Schlegel et al. (1998) yields a larger value of $`E(BV)=0.17\pm 0.02`$ mag. Despite its proximity to the plane ($`b=+8.41`$ deg), the reddening toward V716 Mon is surprisingly low.

We compute the distance to the star using the absolute magnitude and reddening values determined above, along with the average apparent magnitude derived from the Fourier fits ($`V=14.20\pm 0.02`$ mag). Using the low reddening value of 0.05 yields a distance of $`4.46\pm 0.15`$ kpc, while using the reddening from the Schlegel et al. (1998) maps gives $`3.76\pm 0.15`$ kpc. Given this uncertainty, we adopt $`d=4.1\pm 0.3`$ kpc. Systematic changes in the assumed absolute magnitude zero-point scale this distance. The galactic coordinates of the star are $`(l,b)=(229.61,+8.41)`$ deg. At the adopted distance, V716 Mon lies 0.6 kpc above the Galactic plane and 11.1 kpc from the Galactic center (assuming $`R_0=8`$ kpc). Given its metallicity and location, it could be a member either of the Galaxy’s halo population, or of the metal-weak tail of the thick disk population (Layden, 1995). Radial velocity measurements and spectroscopic confirmation of the metallicity would likely remove this ambiguity.

## 4 Conclusions

We have obtained extensive $`BVRI`$ photometry of the variable star V716 Mon. Its period and multi-color light curves indicate that it is an RR Lyrae variable of Bailey type ab (i.e. a fundamental mode pulsator). Using the empirical relations between light curve Fourier components and physical properties (JK96, KJ97), we estimate the star’s metallicity to be \[Fe/H\] $`=1.33\pm 0.25`$ dex, its absolute magnitude to be $`M_V=0.80\pm 0.06`$ mag (internal error only), and its reddening to be in the range $`E(BV)=0.05`$$`0.17`$ mag. The resulting distance is $`4.1\pm 0.3`$ kpc, placing V716 Mon near the plane of the Galaxy well outside the solar circle.

We thank the anonymous referee, whose comments prompted an improvement in the analysis of these data. The CTIO REU Program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The CTIO PIA Program is funded by CTIO. CTIO is operated by AURA, Inc. under cooperative agreement with the NSF. This research made use of NASA’s Astrophysics Data System Abstract Service and the SIMBAD database operated by CDS, Strasbourg, France.


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# Determining 𝑔_𝐴 using non-perturbatively 𝑂(𝑎) improved Wilson fermions

## 1 INTRODUCTION

The axial charge of the nucleon, $`\mathrm{\Delta }q`$, is defined from the axial current by

$`N(\stackrel{}{p},\stackrel{}{s})|𝒜_R^\mu |N(\stackrel{}{p},\stackrel{}{s})=2s^\mu \mathrm{\Delta }q,`$
with $`𝒜_R^\mu =(\overline{q}\gamma ^\mu \gamma _5q)_R`$, giving for the non-singlet charge

$`g_Ag_A^{(3)}=\mathrm{\Delta }u\mathrm{\Delta }d.`$
This determines the strength of $`\beta `$-decay and also occurs in the Bjorken sum rule where the lowest moment of the difference between the proton and neutron polarised structure function $`g_1`$ is proportional to the non-singlet charge. To find $`g_A`$ the programme is:

1. Compute $`N|\overline{u}\gamma _\mu \gamma _5u\overline{d}\gamma _\mu \gamma _5d|N`$ on the lattice for many quark masses ($`3`$) and many lattice spacings ($`3`$).
2. Determine non-perturbatively the renormalisation constant $`Z_A`$.
3. Chirally extrapolate $`m_q`$ (or $`m_\pi ^2`$) $`0`$.
4. Continuum extrapolate $`a^20`$ (if using $`O(a)`$ improved fermions)
5. Do first for quenched (as much cheaper in CPU time) then repeat for unquenched fermions.
6. Compare with experiment, $`g_A1.26`$.

Our lattice simulation, point (1), is standard using ratios of nucleon three-point to two-point correlation functions and will not be discussed further here, except to note that because we are considering a non-singlet function, the difficult to compute quark line disconnected terms cancel. Here, in this talk, we shall mainly discuss point (2).

## 2 DETERMINING $`Z_A`$

On the lattice, for Wilson fermions, the chiral Ward Identity is only approximately true, due to discretisation effects. We have a finite renormalisation constant $`Z_A(g)`$ to determine by demanding that a Ward Identity is obeyed to $`O(a^n)`$ (with $`n=2`$ for $`O(a)`$ improved fermions). The ALPHA collaboration  has found $`Z_A`$ for quenched fermions using the Schrödinger functional and PCAC; here, alternatively, we shall use the chiral Ward identity for the propagator. We shall first check our $`Z_A`$ results for quenched fermions before then determining $`Z_A`$ for unquenched fermions. The chiral Ward identity for the propagator, $`S_R`$, reads

$`\gamma _5S_R^1+S_R^1\gamma _5=2m_R\mathrm{\Lambda }_R^P,`$
where $`m_R`$ is the quark mass, and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_R^P`$ the $`1PI`$ pseudoscalar vertex, obtained from the Green’s function $`G_P`$ by amputating the external propagators. On the lattice we take this equation to be correct to $`O(a^2)`$,

$`\text{Tr}S_{}^1=Z_A\stackrel{~}{m}\text{Tr}\gamma _5\mathrm{\Lambda }_{}^P,`$
where $`O(a)`$ improved operators are denoted with a star. The bare quark mass $`m_{}`$ has also been replaced by the quark mass obtained111A small additional factor $`1am(b_Pb_A)`$ has been absorbed into a redefined $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{}^P`$. from PCAC, $`\stackrel{~}{m}`$. These quark masses may be computed in the standard way using the appropriate axial vector matrix elements. The propagator and vertex can also be found on the lattice, in the Landau gauge, . A problem with using the propagator is that we now need $`O(a)`$ improvement off-shell. To try to ameliorate this problem we note that as dominant off-shell effects come at short distances, we shall subtract a contact term (ie delta function in position space), , from the propagator and Green’s function in addition to improving the appropriate operator. This procedure has been shown to work to first order in perturbation theory, , and we shall use the formulation given there. Note however that the pseudoscalar Green’s function (or $`1PI`$ vertex) is particularly simple: there is effectively only one additional $`O(a)`$ improvement term. However, initial attempts to satisfy the above equation fail because of the presence of large $`O(ap^2)`$ terms mainly due to the Wilson term in the propagator, and so here we choose to re-write the propagator $`S_{}`$ and vertex $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{}^P`$ in an $`O(a)`$ equivalent form, , as solutions of

$`S^1=\left(1amb_\psi {\displaystyle \frac{\widehat{p}^2}{\stackrel{˚}{p}^2}}\right)S_{}^1\frac{1}{2}a\lambda _\psi {\displaystyle \frac{\widehat{p}^2}{\stackrel{˚}{p}^2}}S_{}^2,`$
and

$`\left[1amd_P\right]\mathrm{\Lambda }_{}^P=\mathrm{\Lambda }^P+\frac{1}{2}a\lambda _\psi \{S_{}^1,\mathrm{\Lambda }_{}^P\},`$
($`\stackrel{˚}{p}_\mu =(1/a)\mathrm{sin}ap_\mu `$, $`\widehat{p}_\mu =(2/a)\mathrm{sin}ap_\mu /2`$) where $`b_\psi =1+O(g^2)`$ and $`\lambda _\psi =1+O(g^2)`$ are the improvement coefficient and coefficient of the contact term for the propagator and $`d_P=b_\psi \lambda _PZ_mZ_P+b_A=1+O(g^2)`$. This gives $`S_{}^1=i\overline{)\stackrel{˚}{p}}+m_{}+O(a^3m^2p^2)`$ for the free field. The Wilson term has been suppressed, $`O(ap^2)`$ terms being multiplied by an additional small $`a^2m^2`$ term. As in this case $`\text{Tr}\gamma _5\mathrm{\Lambda }_{}^P1/(1+\frac{1}{2}(am)^2)`$ it is little effected from its true value of $`1`$.

We shall first determine $`Z_A`$ for quenched fermions. We have generated data sets at $`\beta =6.0`$, $`6.2`$, $`6.4`$, each data set with $`3`$ (or more) quark masses. To determine $`Z_A`$, we attempt to minimise $`R(p)\text{Tr}S_{}^1/\stackrel{~}{m}\text{Tr}\gamma _5\mathrm{\Lambda }_{}^P=\text{const}`$ for many momenta (a three parameter fit). A typical result is given in Fig. 1.

The gradient gives an estimate for $`Z_A`$. Deviations are seen for the higher momenta. This is more clearly seen in Fig. 2

which tells us how far we can go, a good fit being obtained for $`(a\widehat{p})^2\text{ }<2.5`$, say. Once the quark propagator has been obtained, we may then use it to find $`Z_\psi ^{MOM}`$ and $`m_q^{MOM}`$, . We shall not be concerned with this here, , but just concentrate on $`Z_A`$. In Fig. 3

we compare our result here with the previously known result, . Reasonably good agreement is found. (In any case, as different methods have different $`O(a^2)`$ corrections complete agreement does not have to be found.)

Buoyed up by this we now turn to unquenched $`n_f=2`$ fermions where we have analysed three UKQCD data sets, , $`(\beta ,\kappa _{sea})=`$ (5.29,0.1340), (5.26,0.1345) and (5.20,0.1350). These are matched at an approximately constant $`r_0`$ value, corresponding to $`a0.105\text{fm}`$ (using $`r_0=0.5\text{fm}`$). A typical result is shown in Fig. 4.

The preliminary values obtained are given in Table 1.

Unfortunately for constructing $`\stackrel{~}{m}`$, the axial current improvement coefficient $`c_A`$ is unknown; we shall use here two values, the first $`c_A0.02`$ corresponding to a tadpole improved result, while the second $`c_A0.08`$ is the non-perturbative quenched value at $`\beta =6.0`$. While this does not change the fit, ie the product $`Z_A\stackrel{~}{m}`$, the $`10\%`$ change in $`\stackrel{~}{m}`$ directly produces a $`10\%`$ change in $`Z_A`$.

As a further check we have first computed $`f_\pi `$. After performing the chiral extrapolation, for the three data points given in Table 1, we find the results given in Fig. 5.

Although a satisfactory result is obtained, one should not read too much into this at present, as apart from the uncertainty in $`Z_A`$ only three quark masses are used in the chiral extrapolation.

## 3 RESULTS FOR $`g_A`$

We are now ready to present our results for $`g_A`$. Again after the (linear) chiral extrapolation222A typical chiral extrapolation for $`\beta =6.0`$ quenched fermions is shown in Fig. 1 of . (Note that we take the unknown improvement coefficient $`b_A=0`$ here. We have checked that in the chiral limit, as expected, this plays no role in the numerical value.) we plot our results as a function of $`a^2`$. The current results are shown in Fig. 6.

All results, at present, lie too low in comparison with the experimental number. Even allowing for the uncertainty in the determination of $`Z_A`$ and hence $`g_A`$ for unquenched fermions, it would still seem that the result is around the quenched result. (Note that  also find a low value of $`g_A`$.) Further details will be published elsewhere, .

## 4 CONCLUSIONS

A completely non-perturbative evaluation of a nucleon matrix element needs

* large physical boxes
* good determination of $`Z`$
* chiral extrapolation (delicate)
* continuum extrapolation (delicate)

How far have we got? We have concentrated on $`g_A`$ here and tried to develop a way of determining $`Z_A`$ using the propagator and pseudoscalar vertex. It is apparent though that we are only at the beginning, not only for the unquenched results, but even for the quenched results many more quark mass and $`a`$ values must be used to allow for reasonably reliable chiral and continuum extrapolations. We finally note that the successful determination of $`g_A`$ is a real test of QCD as it is a relatively simple (nucleon) matrix element, well measured in experiment.

## ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The numerical computations were performed on the Quadrics machines at NIC (Zeuthen) as well as the Cray T3Es at ZIB (Berlin), EPCC (Edinburgh) and NIC (Jülich). We wish to thank all these institutions for their support. UKQCD acknowledges PPARC grants GR/L22744 and PPA/G/S/1998/000777.


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# Quiescent times in 𝛾-ray bursts: I. An observed correlation between the durations of subsequent emission episodes

## 1 Introduction

The study of $`\gamma `$-ray bursts (GRBs) has undergone a revolution since the the first fading sources at X-ray \[Costa et al. 1997\], optical \[van Paradijs et al. 1997\] and radio \[Frail et al. 1997\] wavelengths were discovered, making them the most powerful photon-emitters known in the Universe. Although much attention has been devoted to the late afterglow emission since then, the prompt $`\gamma `$-ray emission still has to be understood. Many issues remain unsolved, regarding the nature of the central engine, the different scenarios giving rise to this prompt emission, and the radiation mechanisms.

The data collected by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment, BATSE, have provided us with an unprecedented wealth of information. Nonetheless, gamma-ray bursts are so complicated and diverse in the time domain that, at first sight, their behaviour obeys no simple rule.

One of the main issues that has remained largely unexplained is what determines the characteristic durations of the bursts, that typically range between $`10^2`$ and $`10^3`$ seconds111The definition of the burst duration is not unique. The BATSE team characterizes it using $`T_{90}`$ ($`T_{50}`$): the time needed to accumulate from 5% to 95% (from 25% to 75%) of the counts in the 50-300 keV band \[Meegan et al. 1996\]. For the purpose of our analysis, we used $`T_{90}`$ as a measure of burst duration.. Observationally \[Kouveliotou et al. 1993\] the short ($`2s`$) and long ($`2s`$) bursts appear to represent two distinct subclasses. An early proposal made by Katz & Canel (1996) to explain the bimodal distribution of durations was that accretion-induced collapse of a white dwarf into a NS plus debris might be a candidate for the long bursts, while NS-NS mergers could provide the short ones. However, it is at present unclear which, if any, of these progenitors is responsible for the bulk of GRBs.

Besides this apparent bimodality, $`\gamma `$-ray burst temporal profiles are enormously varied. Many bursts have a highly variable temporal profile with a variability time scale that is significantly shorter than the overall duration, while in a minority of them there is only one peak, with no substructure. Furthermore, long $`\gamma `$-ray bursts’ time histories often show multiple episodes of emission, separated by background intervals, or quiescent times, of variable durations. In other words, it seems that the emission can turn off to a very low level and then turn on again. This observed property can provide an interesting clue to the nature of $`\gamma `$-ray bursts. At present, it is unclear if these separated emission episodes are consequences of the same physical process (e.g. internal or external shocks), and if the time separation is due to some intrinsic property of the central source or of its environment.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the properties of quiescent times in long $`\gamma `$-ray bursts observations. In an accompanying paper (Ramirez-Ruiz, Merloni & Rees 2000, hereafter Paper II) we study, within the framework of the internal-external shock model, the various possible mechanisms that can give rise to quiescent times in the observed $`\gamma `$-ray light-curves.

## 2 Observations

### 2.1 Procedure

A visual inspection of the BATSE catalogue of multi-peaked time histories reveals that in some of them the count rate drops to the background level in between two adjacent episodes of higher emission intensity. Our aim is to characterize and measure these episodes of quiescence.

In an earlier report, Koshut et al. (1995) found that about 3% of the bursts show signs of precursor activity, with a peak intensity lower than the main burst, separated from the remaining emission by a background interval that is at least as long as the rest of the burst. BATSE burst 2156, shown in the upper panel of Figure 1, falls into this category. However, the above definition singles out a data set with rather extreme properties. Several time profiles show periods of quiescence without having precursor activity. See, as an example, BATSE burst 3067, which is shown in the lower panel of Figure 1. For this reason, in order to study the periods of quiet emission, we adopted more general selection criteria. Here, we allowed multiple pairs of successive events separated by a quiescent time within a single burst and we did not impose requirements on the relative intensities or on the time interval separating any two emission episodes. The periods of emission occurring before and after the quiescent time are therefore referred to as prequiet and afterquiet time, respectively.

For the purpose of our analysis, we have used all 94 bursts from the 4B BATSE catalog longer than 5s ($`T_{90}>5s`$) and brighter than 5 photons-1 cm-2 (BATSE peak photon flux in the 256 ms time-scale). We have used the BATSE 64 ms four-channel data (i.e., from 25 to $``$ 800 keV). A background model was created for each energy channel by fitting user-defined background intervals with a second-degree polynomial and interpolating this fit across the source interval. We subtracted the background model from the observed count rates in each energy channel. This then gave us the total source count rates as a function of time. In order to be selected, a burst must have at least one quiescent period in its time history. The selection was accomplished by calculating the total number of counts, over the entire energy range, recorded in a temporal window sliding along the time axis. The width of the window was set to 5% of the duration of the burst. Thus, the width of the window varied from burst to burst, allowing us to avoid bias against quiescent times with duration less than some arbitrary window width. We define a drop to the background level whenever the number of net counts in a window is smaller than the 2$`\sigma `$ level in the corresponding background counts window. We have used this absolute test, rather than a relative limit (e.g., a fixed fraction of the highest number of counts in any given window), to try to avoid the possibility of the existence of source emission below our detection level, during any time interval in any burst.

We found that $``$ 15% of the analysed long and bright bursts contain at least one quiescent interval in their time history (of duration $`0.05T_{90}`$) and $``$ 25% of these have more than one. Figure 2 illustrates the distribution of durations for, respectively, all bursts in the sample (dotted line), the subset of those that contain at least one quiescent period (dashed line), and the bursts with two or more quiet emission intervals (solid line).

Figure 2 shows that the distribution of durations for the subset of bursts that contained quiet emission periods is consistent with the sample distribution. We find no significant evidence that the presence of quiescent times is preferentially found in longer or shorter bursts within our sample. Some limitations are necessarily inherent in our approach and data selection: the conclusions we reach are based on measurements of a subset of the bursts detected with BATSE; we analyse relatively bright bursts with durations greater than $``$ 5 s, recorded with 64 ms temporal resolution and four channel spectral resolution. Analysis of quiescent times in shorter bursts will be more difficult due to the fact that few short bursts are brighter than 5 photons-1 cm-2. The selection of a high brightness sample is appropriate in order to avoid the systematic effects that might change the observed time histories with different statistics. The time histories of dim events would be more randomized by fluctuations than the time histories of bright bursts. Using other GRB samples with a high signal to noise level ($`3`$ photons-1 cm-2) gives similar results.

### 2.2 Results: correlations between emission properties

We have searched for correlations between the temporal properties of the different emission periods. Any correlation will provide strong constraints on various burst models. In particular, we have investigated the dependence of the duration of the quiescence period on the afterquiet and the prequiet burst durations. It is worth stressing that, by comparing time intervals within each burst, we eliminate the distance dependence (or time dilation effects) that would arise if we compared, for example, total number of counts of an emission episode with the duration of the quiescence period. We find no evidence for a correlation between quiescent times and prequiet burst times, as seen in Figure 3a. However, a strong one-to-one correspondence seems to exist between quiescent times and afterquiet burst durations, at about 4$`\sigma `$ confidence level ($`r_s`$ $``$ 0.89). Stated otherwise, we found that, in our time histories sample, the longer the quiescent time the longer the duration of the following emission period, as shown in Figure 3b.

Lochner (1992) studied the relation between successive emission episodes in multiple episode bursts observed with the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) gamma-ray burst detector. Unlike the work presented here, his data set was only a collection of multiple event bursts and did not result from a systematic search throughout the entire PVO database. Lochner (1992) reported a strong correlation ($`r_s0.73`$) between the duration of an event and the duration of the subsequent event.

In the study of precursor activity \[Koshut et al. 1995\], a similar trend was found. However, in their analysis such correlation is simply a consequence of the definition of precursor activity, since the authors required that the two sub-bursts were separated by a background interval long at least as the remaining emission episode.

Furthermore, Lochner (1992) reported also a moderate correlation between the hardness of an event and the hardness of the following event. We found no evidence for such a property in our sample.

The existence of a correlation between the duration of the quiescent time and the total energy of the afterquiet burst would of course reveal very interesting properties of GRB sources. However, to characterize the total energy of a burst, we would need information about the distance of the event222At the moment, there is only one BATSE event (7560) with periods of quiet emission in its light-curve and for which a redshift measurement has been done (GRB 990510).. Without this information, looking for any correlation between the total number of counts (and hence energy) of the afterquiet emission and the duration of the quiet period in different events will be misleading.

Nonetheless, one could expect a correlation between the duration of an emission episode and the total energy radiated. If this is the case, the correlation between times we found should simply reflect a correlation between the burst strength and the time elapsed since the previous emission episode. It will then be indicative of an accumulation of fuel, similar to what observed in the galactic superluminal jet source GRS 1915+105 \[Belloni et al. 1997\]. On the other hand, a correlation between the burst strength and the time until the next burst, indicative of a relaxation oscillator behaviour, is ruled out by the observations.

## 3 Discussion

Here we present a few simple considerations that can be drawn from the hypothesis that the gaps in the $`\gamma `$-ray light curves of GRBs are a consequence of a central engine which actually goes dormant for a period of time comparable to the duration of the gaps. To falsify this hypothesis clearly requires a thorough scrutiny of all the alternative possibilities. These possibilities will be addressed in detail in Paper II. In particular, in the framework of the internal shock model, we show that there are realistic assumptions that produce a long quiescent interval in the light-curve of a gamma ray burst, without having to postulate that the central source itself turns off for a comparably long time.

All the bursts analysed here are long and structured. Clearly in these cases the central engine has to be active for a period extremely long compared to the typical dynamical time-scale ($``$ milliseconds) for stellar-mass compact objects. Thus, the central engine has to evolve into a configuration which is stable enough to survive the violent gravitational instabilities associated with the merging/collapse of compact objects, while still keeping enough binding energy to power the burst. A thick torus (or an advective, optically thick accretion disk) accreting at a rate of $`0.01`$ to $`10`$ $`M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ (Popham, Woosley & Fryer 1999, hereafter PWF), is a key ingredient for achieving this. The system also needs to be highly unstable to produce the extremely varied light curves we observe \[Stern 1999\], and this requirement is even stronger for the bursts exhibiting quiescent times.

Of the two more popular mechanisms that have been proposed to explain the GRBs energy release (neutrino annihilation and conversion of Poynting flux into a magnetized wind), the first seems unable to produce the longer, more energetic and variable bursts (PWF; Rees 1999). As PWF have shown, the efficiency of such a process is highly variable and extremely sensitive to the accretion rate: higher accretion rates lead to higher efficiencies. They conclude that neutrino annihilation in hyper-accreting black hole systems can explain bursts of energy up to $`10^{52}`$ergs.

The other popular scenario, the conversion of Poynting flux into a magnetized wind, requires, in order to liberate the observed amount of energy, a magnetic field $`10^{15}`$ G (Rees 1999, and references therein). Such a high field is not unphysical. First, because it is about two orders of magnitude smaller than the virial limit; second, because it has possibly been observed in some peculiar neutron stars (the so called magnetars; see e.g. Duncan & Thompson 1992; Kouveliotou et al. 1998, and references therein).

A neutron torus, with its huge amount of differential rotation, is a natural site for the onset of a dynamo process that winds up the field to the required intensity \[Kluźniak & Ruderman 1998\], provided that a fluid element is able to complete a sufficient number of orbits around the hole. This number, in turn, depends on the viscosity inside the disk, $`N\alpha ^1`$, where $`\alpha `$ is the standard Shakura-Sunyaev viscosity.

The actual properties of the expected variability depend on the details of the configuration of the disc corona generated by the magnetic field, which is removed from the disc interior via turbulent flux buoyancy \[Araya-Góchez 1999\]. This is a very complicated (and almost unaddressed; but see Tout & Pringle 1996) issue, on which some insight can come from the observations.

The tentative correlation found between the duration of an emission episode in a multi-peaked burst and the duration of the preceding quiescent time hints at the following general scenario.

The system builds up its energy (via an MHD instability driven dynamo, for example) and reaches a near critical, or meta-stable state. Any local instability can, by definition, cause a rapid dissipation of all the stored energy through an avalanche of dissipation events. The system will tend to return to a more stable configuration, characterized by a certain threshold energy $`E_0`$, or a sub-critical coronal magnetic field configuration. The source then becomes quiescent. If the lifetime of the accreting torus is long enough and depending on the rate at which the energy is actually extracted from the disc (or from the black hole) and deposited into the external magnetic field, the system can undergo another episode of strong emission. As we can assume $`E_0`$ to be fixed by the geometry and by the physical parameters of the black hole–accretion disc system, the longer the quiescent time, the higher will be the stored energy above the threshold available for the next episode. Such a situation will give rise to the observed correlation.

This is a mechanism different from any relaxation oscillator, in which the threshold energy is an upper limit for the system. As soon as the system reaches such a limit it is forced to release energy: in this case, the larger the amount of energy released, the longer will be the time needed to reach the threshold again, and we would obtain a correlation between the burst time and the prequiet time, contrary to what observed.

It is also important to note that the threshold energy $`E_0`$ above which the system is in a meta-stable state is not directly related to the intensity of the seed magnetic field inside the neutron torus. It is instead most likely related to the intensity and the topological configuration of the amplified field which emerges from the torus.

Finally, we would like to point out the suggestive analogy with the microquasar GRS 1915+105, a galactic black hole candidate which exhibits a strikingly similar (even quantitatively) correlation between the duration of a quiescent time and that of the following burst (Belloni et al. 1997). This source is believed to accrete at a rate very close to (or maybe higher than) the Eddington limit, which is also the case for the configuration suggested for gamma-ray bursters discussed above.

## 4 Conclusions

The very existence of quiescent times in GRB light curves poses severe restrictions on the emission models (see Fenimore & Ramirez-Ruiz 1999; Paper II) and, possibly, gives direct insight into the dynamical properties of the hidden central engine.

Apart from the energy requirements that any viable model has to fulfill, we envisage that the observed temporal structure will bring fundamental information to the understanding of GRBs progenitors.

We have systematically analysed a sample of bright, long gamma-ray bursts searching for the ones exhibiting relatively long quiescent times (more than 5% of the total burst duration). These amount to $`15\%`$ of the sample. We have found an interesting correlation between the duration of the quiescent interval and the duration of the following emission episode, while no correlation has been found between the quiescent time and the duration of the previous emission episode.

We suggest here that, in the hypothesis that the gaps in the observed light-curves directly reflect a period of inactivity of the central source, the mechanism responsible for extracting and dissipating the energy in the high Lorentz factor ejecta has to develop a meta-stable configuration. That is, a configuration in which a local instability can abruptly drain the system of all the stored energy, probably via a cascade of correlated smaller scale events.

## Acknowledgments

We thank M. Rees, P. Natarajan, P. Madau, A. Fabian and G. Morris for useful comments and suggestions. ERR acknowledges support from CONACYT, SEP and the ORS foundation. AM thanks PPARC and the TMR network ‘Accretion onto black holes, compact stars and protostars’, funded by the European Commission under contract number ERBFMRX-CT98-0195, for support.


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# String Field Theory and Perturbative Dynamics of Noncommutative Field Theory

## I Introduction

As dynamics of an open string attached to a D-brane with a $`B`$-field is known to be noncommutative , the noncommutative field theory (NCFT), becomes a focal point in string theory recently. The open string theory reduces to the NCFT in a certain limit where the massive modes decouple from the string dynamics. This decoupling limit has been useful to discuss various aspects of the NCFT in the framework of string theory, such as the Seiberg-Witten map , which relates the noncommutative Yang-Mills theory to the commutative one. The latest development along this avenue is the perturbative dynamics of the NCFT . The one loop amplitudes of the NCFT reveal some intriguing properties of the NCFT, namely UV/IR mixing; its infrared behaviour strongly depends upon its ultraviolet behaviour. It is not easy to understand the UV/IR mixing in the conventional renormalization scheme, which implicitly assumes the ultraviolet-infrared decoupling. The UV/IR mixing is considered as an indication that the NCFT captures some novel features of the string theory.

As pointed out in ref., the one loop effective action of the NCFT shows that its Wilsonian action has a undesirable feature: The Wilsonian action with a finite cutoff $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ differs significantly from that with $`\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{}`$. In order to improve it, one may modify the Wilsonian action by introducing a new degree of freedom $`\chi `$. By analogy with string theory diagrams one may interpret $`\chi `$ as a closed string degrees of freedom. This proposal has been examined as the corresponding nonplanar one loop amplitude of string theory is calculated. In ref. it has been argued that $`\chi `$ may be identified with the IR closed string degree of freedom if one maps the open string UV regime to the closed string IR regime by making use of the open/closed string channel duality. However, it does not fully explain the reason for $`\chi `$ to exist, since energy regimes of two channels do not overlap each other. The evidence that the closed string may play an important role in the perturbative dynamics of the NCFT also can be found in the NCFT at finite temperature . On the contrary it has been asserted in refs.  that no closed string modes are relevant to the UV/IR mixing of NCFT. Therefore, it remains an open problem to identify precisely the closed string degrees of freedom in the interacting string theory and to examine their role in the NCFT.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the issue associated with the UV/IR mixing of NCFT in the framework of the interacting string field theory. To this end we briefly discuss construction of string field theory in the presence of the D-brane with a $`B`$-field. Then we show that the closed string exists as a bound state of two open strings and its interaction with the open string is highly nontrivial. As in the commutative case it is inevitable to include the closed string field in the interacting string theory: The moduli region of the nonplanar one loop string diagram does not cover that of the corresponding field theory diagram . In order to cover the moduli region completely we need to introduce an open-closed string diagram. Thus, contribution of the closed string to the one loop nonplanar amplitude makes discrepancy between the NCFT and the string theory, which may be effectively described by $`\chi `$. Since the present work does not resort to the open/closed string channel duality, the difficulty found in the previous work is avoided. It is clear that the string field theory serves as a complete framework in which the NCFT is embedded consistently. The relationship between the string theory and the NCFT also has been discussed in refs..

## II Noncommutative String Field Theory

If the D-brane carries a constant $`B`$-field, the open string variable $`\widehat{X}`$

$`\widehat{X}^i(\sigma )`$ $`=`$ $`\widehat{x}^i+\theta ^{ij}\widehat{p}_j\left(\sigma {\displaystyle \frac{\pi }{2}}\right)+\sqrt{2}{\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{}}\left(\widehat{Y}_n^i\mathrm{cos}n\sigma +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{n}}\theta ^{ij}\widehat{K}_{jn}\mathrm{sin}n\sigma \right)`$ (1)
is no longer commutative. Here $`(\widehat{x},\widehat{p})`$ and $`(\widehat{Y}_n,\widehat{K}_n)`$ are canonical conjugate pairs. It has an important consequence that one can neither construct a basis for string state with eigenstates of $`\widehat{X}`$, $`\{|X\}`$ nor express the field theoretical action in terms of the string functional $`\mathrm{\Phi }[X]=\mathrm{\Phi }|X`$. This difficulty may be overcome if we employ the basis, consisting of the eigenstates of the momentum operators, $`\{|P;\widehat{P}|P=P|P\}`$. In contrast to $`\widehat{X}`$, the momentum operators

$`\widehat{P}_i(\sigma )`$ $`=`$ $`\widehat{p}_i+\sqrt{2}{\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{}}\widehat{K}_{in}\mathrm{cos}n\sigma `$ (2)
satisfy the usual commutative relation. It suggests us to construct the interacting string field theory on momentum space, where the momentum eigenstate is represented as

$`|P`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{exp}\left[i{\displaystyle _\pi ^\pi }𝑑\sigma P(\sigma )\widehat{X}(\sigma )\right]|0,`$ (3)
$`P(\sigma )`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi }}\left(p+\sqrt{2}{\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{}}K_n\mathrm{cos}n\sigma \right).`$ (4)
With this representation we find that the inner product is given as usual

$`P^{}|P^{\prime \prime }={\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}\delta \left(P_n^{}P_n^{\prime \prime }\right).`$ (5)
The kinetic term of the string field action can be obtained by evaluating the Polyakov string path integral over a strip

$`G(P^{};P^{\prime \prime })`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}𝑑sP^{}|\mathrm{exp}\left(is\widehat{L}_0\right)|P^{\prime \prime }`$ (6)
$`=`$ $`i{\displaystyle D[\mathrm{\Phi }]\mathrm{\Phi }[P^{}]\mathrm{\Phi }[P^{\prime \prime }]\mathrm{exp}\left[iD[P]\mathrm{\Phi }𝒦\mathrm{\Phi }\right]}.`$ (7)
The canonical analysis given in refs. helps us to get

$`𝒦=(2\pi \alpha ^{}){\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}p_i(G^1)^{ij}p_j+(2\pi \alpha ^{}){\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left\{K_{in}(G^1)^{ij}K_{jn}{\displaystyle \frac{n^2}{(2\pi \alpha ^{})^2}}Y_n^iG_{ij}Y_n^j\right\}.`$ (8)
Interaction term of the string field action is determined by an overlapping condition between three strings in momentum space. We should note here that the usual overlapping condition in terms of $`\widehat{X}`$ cannot be adopted, since it may not be consistent due to their noncommutativity. Let us consider the process of splitting one open string into two; the string 3 splits into string 1 and string 2. The quantum state of string $`I=1,2,3`$ is represented as

$`|\mathrm{\Phi }_I`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle D[P_I]\mathrm{exp}\left(i_{\pi \alpha _I}^{\pi \alpha _I}𝑑\sigma _IP_I(\sigma _I)\widehat{X}_I(\sigma _I)\right)|0\mathrm{\Phi }[P_I]},`$ (9)
$`P_I(\sigma _I)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2\pi \alpha _I}}\left(p_I+\sqrt{2}{\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{}}K_{In}\mathrm{cos}{\displaystyle \frac{n\sigma _I}{\alpha _I}}\right),`$ (10)
where $`\alpha _1+\alpha _2=\alpha _3`$. The interaction term is obtained by taking the inner products between the strings. However, we should treat this splitting process with care. Before taking the inner products we need to rewrite the quantum state of the open string 3 as

$`|\mathrm{\Phi }_3`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle D[P_3]\mathrm{exp}\left(i_{|\sigma _3|\pi \alpha _1}𝑑\sigma _3P_3(\sigma _3)\widehat{X}\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(i_{|\sigma _3|\pi \alpha _2}𝑑\sigma _3P_3(\sigma _3)\widehat{X}\right)}`$ (12)
$`\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}{\displaystyle _{|\sigma _3|\pi \alpha _1}}𝑑\sigma _3{\displaystyle _{|\sigma _3|\pi \alpha _2}}𝑑\sigma _3^{}[P_3(\sigma _3)\widehat{X},P_3(\sigma _3^{})\widehat{X}]\right)|0.`$
The third factor in the integrand Eq.(12) turns out to be the Moyal phase factor, $`\mathrm{exp}\left(i\frac{\pi }{2}p_{1i}\theta ^{ij}p_{2j}\right)`$. (The parameter $`\theta `$ in the present work differs from that in ref. by a factor of $`\pi `$.) Taking the inner product we get the usual overlapping condition in the momentum space,

$`\{\begin{array}{cc}|\sigma _1|\pi \alpha _1:\hfill & P_3(\sigma _3)=P_1(\sigma _1)\hfill \\ |\sigma _2|\pi \alpha _2:\hfill & P_3(\sigma _3)=P_2(\sigma _2).\hfill \end{array}`$ (15)
Hence, the interaction term is determined as

$`V`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle D[P_1]D[P_2]D[P_3]\mathrm{\Phi }[P_1]\mathrm{\Phi }[P_2]\mathrm{\Phi }[P_3]\mathrm{exp}\left(i\frac{\pi }{2}p_{1i}\theta ^{ij}p_{2j}\right)}`$ (17)
$`{\displaystyle \underset{\sigma _1}{}}\delta [P_1(\sigma _1)P_3(\sigma _3)]{\displaystyle \underset{\sigma _2}{}}\delta [P_2(\sigma _2)P_3(\sigma _3)].`$
We may apply the same procedure also to the Witten’s covariant open string . In the low energy regime the string field theory effectively reduces to the NCFT.

## III Open and Closed String Theory

In the last section we discussed the open string field theory in the presence of the D-brane with a $`B`$-field. If we study the interacting open string theory, we are lead to include the closed string sector. The reason is that the open string theory itself is not unitary; the closed string would appear at higher orders in perturbation and the BRST invariance requires inclusion of the closed string. This argument also applies to the noncommutative case. As often discussed, the closed string degrees of freedom may be suppressed in the decoupling limit. At tree level this is certainly the case. However, at higher loop level a careful examination is required, since the closed string state may be relevant in the ultraviolet regime of the loop amplitudes.

The open string kinetic term Eq.(8) suggests that there exists a closed string with both left and right movers, which respects the metric $`G_{ij}`$. Such a closed string may be constructed as a bound state of the two noncommutative open strings

$`|P_{closed}=\mathrm{exp}\left(i{\displaystyle _\pi ^\pi }𝑑\sigma _1P_1(\sigma _1)\widehat{X}_1(\sigma _1)\right)|0\mathrm{exp}\left(i{\displaystyle _\pi ^\pi }𝑑\sigma _2P_2(\sigma _2)\widehat{X}_2(\sigma _2)\right)|0`$ (18)
with $`P_1(0)=P_2(\pi ),P_2(0)=P_1(\pi )`$. Alternatively given a closed string with momentum $`P(\sigma )=\frac{1}{2\pi }_nP_ne^{in\sigma }`$, we may write momenta of the two open strings which constitute the closed string as

$`P_1(\sigma )`$ $`=`$ $`\{\begin{array}{cc}P(\sigma ):\hfill & \pi <\sigma 0\hfill \\ P(\sigma ):\hfill & 0<\sigma \pi \hfill \end{array}`$ (22)
$`P_2(\sigma )`$ $`=`$ $`\{\begin{array}{cc}P(\sigma ):\hfill & \pi <\sigma 0\hfill \\ P(\sigma ):\hfill & 0<\sigma \pi \hfill \end{array}`$ (25)
The first equation yields

$`p_1`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{p}{2}}+{\displaystyle \frac{i}{2\pi }}{\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}{}_{}{}^{}P_{n}^{}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1(1)^n}{n}}\right),`$ (27)
$`K_{1n}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\left(P_n+P_n\right)i{\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{2}}{\pi }}{\displaystyle \underset{m}{}}{}_{}{}^{}P_{m}^{}\left(1(1)^{nm}\right)\left({\displaystyle \frac{m}{n^2m^2}}\right)`$ (28)
where in Eq.(27) the term with $`n=0`$ is excluded and in Eq.(28) the terms with $`m=\pm n`$. And the second equation yields

$`p_2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{p}{2}}{\displaystyle \frac{i}{2\pi }}{\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}{}_{}{}^{}P_{n}^{}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1(1)^n}{n}}\right),`$ (30)
$`K_{2n}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\left(P_n+P_n\right)+i{\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{2}}{\pi }}{\displaystyle \underset{m}{}}{}_{}{}^{}P_{m}^{}\left(1(1)^{nm}\right)\left({\displaystyle \frac{m}{n^2m^2}}\right)`$ (31)
As this closed string is formed by two noncommutative open strings we expect that its interaction with the open string may be nontrivial. Since the closed string is described by two open strings, the interaction between the open string and the closed string may be obtained from the three open string interaction. It yields that the open-closed string interaction term acquires an additional phase factor, similar to the Moyal phase

$`\mathrm{exp}\left(i{\displaystyle \frac{\pi }{2}}p_{1i}\theta ^{ij}p_{2j}\right)=\mathrm{exp}\left[p_i\theta ^{ij}{\displaystyle \underset{n}{}}{}_{}{}^{}P_{jn}^{}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4n}}\left(1(1)^n\right)\right].`$ (32)
Here we note that higher modes of the closed string participate in the phase factor in contrast to the open string interaction. This phase factor would play an important role in the open/closed string interaction in the ultraviolet regime.

## IV UV/IR Behaviours of String Field Theory

In the low energy regime the noncommutative string field theory (NCSFT) action reduces to the that of NCFT at tree level. But at higher orders in perturbation theory one must examine carefully the moduli regions which both theories cover. Here we are mostly concerned with the one loop 2-point amplitudes. A recent study  on the one loop amplitude in open/closed string field theory shows that the moduli region covered by the nonplanar diagram is not complete. It becomes complete only when we take into account the open-closed-open string amplitude in which an open string becomes a closed string, then turning into the open string back. On the other hand the moduli region covered by the corresponding nonplanar diagram of NCFT is complete while the NCFT agrees well with the NCSFT in the (infrared) upper half part of the moduli region. In the (ultraviolet) low half part of the moduli region the open-closed-open string amplitude is relevant. Hence, some discrepancy between the NCFT and the NCSFT is expected.

In the commutative case the 2-point one loop tachyon amplitude is in the presence of $`(n1)`$-brane given up to a numerical coefficient as

$`A_{P/NP}`$ $`=`$ $`g^2{\displaystyle 𝑑\tau 𝑑x\left[\omega ^{\frac{1}{24}}f(\omega )\right]^{(d2)}(2\pi \alpha ^{})^{\frac{n}{2}}\left(\psi ^{P/NP}(\rho ,\omega )\right)^2}`$ (34)
$`\psi ^{P/NP}(\rho ,\omega )`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1\rho }{\sqrt{\rho }}}\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{ln}^2\rho }{2\mathrm{ln}\omega }}\right){\displaystyle \underset{n=1}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{(1\omega ^n\rho )(1\omega ^n/\rho )}{(1\omega ^n)^2}}`$ (35)
where $`\omega =e^{2\pi \tau }`$, $`\rho =e^{4\pi \tau x}`$ and $`A_P`$ and $`A_{NP}`$ denote the amplitudes of planar and the nonplanar diagrams respectively. Note that integration over the zero modes of momenta in the transverse directions are not performed. The open-closed-open string amplitude, $`A_{UU}`$ takes the same expression as $`A_{NP}`$. But $`A_{NP}`$ and $`A_{UU}`$ cover different regions of the moduli space.

In the noncommutative case the open string one loop amplitudes $`A_P`$ and $`A_{NP}`$ can be easily calculated if one observes that only the zero modes of momenta are involved in the Moyal phase and the zero momentum sectors are factorized from the rest. It implies that the additional factor due to the Moyal phase is same as that of NCFT. Thus, $`A_P`$ does not receive any correction while $`A_{NP}`$ is modified as

$`A_{NP}=g^2{\displaystyle 𝑑\tau 𝑑x\left[\omega ^{\frac{1}{24}}f(\omega )\right]^{(d2)}(2\pi \alpha ^{})^{\frac{n}{2}}\left(\psi ^{NP}(\rho ,\omega )\right)^2\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{pp}{2\pi \alpha ^{}\tau }\right)}`$ (36)
where $`pp=\frac{\pi ^2}{4}p_i(\theta G\theta )^{ij}p_j`$. Evaluation of $`A_{UU}`$ in the noncommutative case would be more involved, since all higher modes participate in the phase interaction. However, in the decoupling limit the moduli of $`A_{UU}`$ covers mostly the ultraviolet region. Thus, it suffices to calculate the additional factor due to the phase interaction Eq.(32) in the ultraviolet region. In the UV region where $`\tau 0`$ we may ignore the harmonic potential terms in the first quantized Hamiltonian of the string, so that the propagator for the intermediate closed string may be taken as

$`𝒦_{closed}^1=\left[(2\pi \alpha ^{}){\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}{\displaystyle \underset{n0}{}}P_{in}(G^1)^{ij}P_{j(n)}\right]^1.`$ (37)
It greatly simplifies calculation of the additional factor due to the noncommutative interaction Eq.(32) for $`A_{UU}`$

$`{\displaystyle \frac{D^{}[P]\mathrm{exp}\left(𝒦_{closed}+p_i\theta ^{ij}_n{}_{}{}^{}P_{jn}^{}\frac{1}{2n}\left(1(1)^n\right)\right)}{D^{}[P]\mathrm{exp}\left(𝒦_{closed}\right)}}=\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{pp}{2\pi \alpha ^{}\tau }}\right)`$ (38)
where the zero mode is excluded in the integration measure $`D^{}[P]`$ and we make use of $`_{n=1}1/(2n1)^2=\pi ^2/8`$. Therefore, the nontrivial closed/open string phase interaction at tree level produces the same additional factor obtained in the one loop nonplanar open string amplitude. Taking advantage of the result obtained in the commutative case we conclude that the open-closed-open string amplitude $`A_{UU}`$ has the same expression as the nonplanar open string one loop amplitude Eq.(36) in the decoupling limit. Of course, the moduli regions covered by $`A_{NP}`$ and $`A_{UU}`$ differ from each other. Now let us turn our attention to the relationship between the UV/IR behaviours of the NCFT and the NCSFT. In the decoupling limit, the moduli region is mostly covered by that of the nonplanar diagram. However, we may not completely ignore the open-closed-open string diagram. Let us divide the moduli region into two; region 1 where, $`2\pi \alpha ^{}\tau 1/\mathrm{\Lambda }^2`$ and region 2 where, $`02\pi \alpha ^{}\tau <1/\mathrm{\Lambda }^2`$. In the decoupling limit, $`A_{NP}`$ dominates in the region 1, while $`A_{UU}`$ in the region 2. So the contribution from the region 1 may be described by $`A_{NP}`$ as the one-loop 2-point function of the NCFT with a cutoff $`1/\mathrm{\Lambda }^2`$ in the decoupling limit. The contribution from the region 2 may well be approximated by $`A_{UU}`$, the integral over the moduli region 2, where $`s=1/\tau `$, $`s/(2\pi \alpha ^{})>\mathrm{\Lambda }^2`$, which may be written in the decoupling limit as

$`A_{UU}{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{ds}{s}}s^{\frac{n24}{2}}\left(\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{pps}{2\pi \alpha ^{}}}\right)\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\left(pp+1/\mathrm{\Lambda }^2\right)s}{2\pi \alpha ^{}}}\right)\right)`$ (39)
It can be reproduced as the one-loop amplitude by the following field theoretical effective action  which has been introduced to improve the Wilsonian action for the NCFT

$`{\displaystyle L_{eff}}={\displaystyle d^{26}x\chi \varphi }+{\displaystyle d^{26}x\left(\chi \chi +\mathrm{\Lambda }^2(\chi )^2\right)},`$ (40)
where $`\varphi `$ is the noncommutative scalar field, describing the open string degrees of freedom. It has been suggested that the extra degrees of freedom, $`\chi `$ field denotes the closed string degree of freedom at the low energy regime and the metric respected by the closed string is $`\theta G\theta `$. However, the present analysis reveals that the $`\chi `$ field itself is not simply related to the closed string field and the closed string does not respect the metric $`\theta G\theta `$, but respects the metric $`G`$ like the open string.

## V Conclusions

In the present paper we construct an interacting NCSFT and compare its perturbative dynamics with that of the NCFT. It is inevitable to introduce the closed string field in the interacting open string theory as in the case of the commutative case and its contributions to the string amplitudes do not vanish even in the decoupling limit. The one-loop 2-point tachyon amplitudes have been calculated in the literature in the first quantized string theory. The works of refs. suggest that the closed string may play an important role in the perturbative dynamics of the NCFT. On the other hand the works of refs. asserts that the closed string modes are irrelevant to the UV/IR mixing of the NCFT and the $`\chi `$ field cannot be realized in the string theory. However, we note that the one-loop 2-point tachyon amplitudes have been discussed only in the first quantized string theory in the literature, although the second quantized string theory is more suitable to examine the role of the closed string. In the interacting open string theory a closed string can be formed as a bound state of two open strings. We find that the closed string, being formed as a bound state of two noncommutative open strings, interacts with the open strings nontrivially and their contribution to the 2-point tachyon amplitudes is described by the $`\chi `$ field in the decoupling limit. This closed string cannot be described by the first quantized string theory which adopts the Green function for the open string only. The amplitude of the nonplanar diagram reproduces the corresponding amplitude of the NCFT in the decoupling limit as discussed in the literature. But it does not imply that the closed string cannot contribute to the 2-point tachyon amplitude. According to a detailed study of the 2-point tachyon amplitudes the amplitude of the nonplanar diagram $`A_{NP}`$ and the open-closed-open string amplitude $`A_{UU}`$ cover different regions of the moduli space. Thus, $`A_{UU}`$ should be taken into account in addition to $`A_{NP}`$ when we evaluate the 2-point tachyon amplitude. In the decoupling limit, $`A_{NP}`$ is approximated by the one-loop amplitude of the NCFT with a cutoff and $`A_{UU}`$ can be described as the contribution of the $`\chi `$ field.

The closed string is found to contribute to the perturbative dynamics of the NCFT in a more intriguing way than we expect. It respects the metric $`G`$ like the open string, but its interaction with the open string is nontrivial. The string field theory serves as a proper framework where the perturbative dynamics of the NCFT can be discussed consistently. It is expected that the NCSFT also greatly improve our understanding of the renormalizability of the NCFT and have important applications in other interesting subjects of the NCFT.

## Acknowledgement

This work was supported by KOSEF (995-0200-005-2). Part of the work was done during the author’s visit to APCTP (Korea), NBI (Denmark) and KIAS (Korea). I would like to thank J. Ambjorn G. Semenoff, and Y. Makeenko for inviting me to NBI.


text:
# Light Bullet Modes in Self-Induced-Transparency Media with Refractive Index Modulation

## Abstract

We predict the existence of a new type of spatiotemporal solitons (”light bullets”) in two-dimensional self-induced-transparency media with refractive index modulation in the direction transverse to that of pulse propagation. These self-localized guided modes are found in an approximate analytical form, their existence and stability being confirmed by numerical simulations, and may have advantageous properties for signal transmission.

”Light bullets” are multi-dimensional solitons that are localized in both space and time. In the last decade they have been theoretically investigated in various nonlinear optical media silb90 ; haya93 ; malo97 ; miha98 ; He98 ; kher98 ; fran98 ; gott98 ; blaa00 ; blaa001 , and the first experimental observation of a quasi two-dimensional (2D) bullet was recently reported liu99 . A promising candidate for the observation of fully 2D and 3D light bullets is a self-induced-transparency (SIT) medium. SIT involves undistorted and unattenuated propagation of an electromagnetic pulse in a medium consisting of near-resonant two-level atoms, irrespective of the carrier-frequency detuning from the resonance mcca67 ; maim90 . As early as 1984, simulations had shown self-focusing of spatiotemporal pulses in a SIT medium into a quasi-stable vibrating object drum84 , thus hinting at the possible existence of “bullets”. In recent works blaa00 ; blaa001 , we have predicted that both uniform 2D and 3D SIT media blaa00  and SIT media embedded in a Bragg grating blaa001  can support stable light bullets (LBs). Here we complement these investigations with the case of SIT media with refractive index (RI) modulation in the direction transverse to that of pulse propagation. We show that such a structure acts as a unique nonlinear waveguide, which transversely guides (confines) a new type of LBs, whereas other pulses are dispersed and diffracted ragh00 . Following the discovery of SIT soliton propagation in erbium-doped resonant fiber waveguides naka92 , a demonstration of the existence of light bullet guided modes may lead to new possibilities for optical signal processing.

Our starting point is a 2D SIT medium with a spatially-varying refractive index $`n(z,x)`$, which is described by the lossless Maxwell-Bloch equations newe92 ,

$`i_{xx}+n^2_\tau +_z+i(1n^2)𝒫`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$ (1a)
$`𝒫_\tau W`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$ (1b)
$`W_\tau +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(^{}𝒫+𝒫^{})`$ $`=`$ $`0.`$ (1c)
Here $``$ and $`𝒫`$ are the slowly varying amplitudes of the electric field and polarization, $`W`$ is the inversion, $`z`$ and $`x`$ are the longitudinal and transverse coordinates (in units of the resonant-absorption length), and $`\tau `$ is time (in units of the input pulse duration). The Fresnel number $`F`$, which governs the transverse diffraction in 2D and 3D propagation, has been incorporated in $`x`$ and the detuning $`\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{\Omega }`$ of the carrier frequency $`\omega _0`$ from the central atomic-resonance frequency was absorbed in $``$ and $`𝒫`$. They can be reintroduced into Eqs. (1) by the transformation $`(\tau ,z,x)(\tau ,z,x)\text{exp}(i\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{\Omega }\tau )`$, $`𝒫(\tau ,z,x)𝒫(\tau ,z,x)\text{exp}(i\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{\Omega }\tau )`$, and $`xF^{1/2}x`$. We have neglected polarization dephasing and inversion decay by assuming pulse durations that are short on the time scale of these relaxation processes. Equations (1) are then compatible with the local constraint $`|𝒫|^2+W^2=1`$, which corresponds to Bloch-vector conservation newe92 . In the absence of the $`x`$-dependence and for $`n(z,x)=1`$, Eq. (1a) reduces to the sine-Gordon (SG) equation which has the soliton solution $`(\tau ,z)=2\alpha \text{sech}(\alpha \tau z/\alpha +\mathrm{\Theta }_0)`$, where $`\alpha `$ and $`\mathrm{\Theta }_0`$ are real parameters.

Our aim is now to investigate whether there exist stable light bullet solutions of (1) for a specified RI profile $`n(x)`$. The physical idea behind this search is well-known: a specific transverse modulation of the refractive index can compensate for the transverse diffraction of a specific pulse (described by the first term in (1a)), and thereby form a unique nonlinear waveguide confining that pulse whereas others may be diffracted. This phenomenon of guidance by transverse confinement has been demonstrated many times in waveguide theory and fiber optics levi80 , but as far as we know guidance of LBs has not yet been investigated. Since light bullets are not only spatially but also temporarily localized, the possibility of ”light bullet guided modes” is both interesting from a fundamental point of view and may also open new possibilities in signal transmission.

We search for a stable solution of Eqs. (1) which (i) is simultaneously localized in time and in the transverse direction, (ii) reduces to the SG soliton in 1D, and (iii) whose transverse diffraction is compensated by a suitably chosen RI modulation. The first criterion is satisfied for an electric field amplitude of the variable-separated form $`(\tau ,z,x)=_1(\tau ,z)_2(x)`$. Using this form, we find an approximate analytical ansatz solution of (1) which meets all three requirements:

$``$ $`=`$ $`\pm \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\alpha \text{sech}\mathrm{\Theta }(\tau ,z)\text{sech}(\beta x)\mathrm{exp}(i\varphi ),`$ (2a)
$`𝒫`$ $`=`$ $`\pm \mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\text{sech}\mathrm{\Theta }(\tau ,z)\mathrm{tanh}\mathrm{\Theta }(\tau ,z)\text{sech}(\beta x)\mathrm{exp}(i\varphi ),`$ (2b)
$`W`$ $`=`$ $`[14\text{sech}^2\mathrm{\Theta }(\tau ,z)\mathrm{tanh}^2\mathrm{\Theta }(\tau ,z)\text{sech}^2(\beta x)]^{1/2},`$ (2c)
with
$`\mathrm{\Theta }(\tau ,z)\alpha (\tau z)z/\alpha +\mathrm{\Theta }_0,`$ (2d)
in the presence of the RI profile, see Fig. 1,
$`n^2(x)=\{\begin{array}{cc}1\beta ^2\left[12\text{sech}^2(\beta x)\right],\hfill & \text{for}|x|x_{\mathrm{max}}\hfill \\ 1,\hfill & \text{for}|x|x_{\mathrm{max}}\hfill \end{array}`$ (2g)
Here $`x_{\mathrm{max}}\text{arcsech}(1/\sqrt{2})/\beta `$, and $`\alpha `$, $`\beta `$, $`\varphi `$ and $`\mathrm{\Theta }_0`$ are real constants. The ansatz (2) satisfies Eq. (1a) exactly, while Eqs. (1b) and (1c) are satisfied in the limit $`\beta |x|1`$. Numerical results displayed below verify that Eqs. (2) indeed approximate a solution to Eqs. (1) to a high accuracy. The field (2a) represents a LB traveling in the $`z`$-direction with a velocity $`v=\alpha ^2/(\alpha ^2+1)`$ and reduces to the SG soliton in the limit $`\beta 0`$, when the transverse guidance disappears. Hence this approximate ”light bullet” solution is in fact a nonlinear multi-dimensional guided mode. Just as the 1D SG soliton it propagates undistorted and unattenuated and satisfies the SIT area-theorem mcca67  $`_{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}𝑑\tau |(\tau ,z,x=0)|=\pm 2\pi `$. The LB mode (2) is unrelated to the LB found in Ref. blaa00  in a uniform SIT medium; in fact, it can be proven that light bullets of variable separated form as in (2) do not exist in a uniform SIT medium blaa00 , nor in a SIT medium embedded in a Bragg grating in which the refractive index varies in the longitudinal direction blaa001 . Eq. (2) represents a new type of nonlinear guided mode.

In order to test the accuracy and stability of the ansatz (2), we have performed numerical simulations. Figure 2 shows the electric field at $`z=1000`$, generated by direct simulation drum83  of the 2D SIT equations (1) using Eqs. (2) as an initial configuration at $`z=0`$. To a very good accuracy (with a deviation $`<1\%`$), the result of the evolution over this propagation distance, which is much larger than the corresponding diffraction length, still coincides with the initial field configuration.

The corresponding polarization distribution (not shown) has the shape of a double-peaked bullet in $`\tau `$ and decays in a similar way as the electric field, which is a characteristic property of SIT newe92 . Also the inversion is localized in both $`\tau `$ and $`x`$, taking at infinity the value $`1`$, corresponding to the atoms in the ground state. We have checked that no instability of the LB solution sets in as long as the simulations were run, up to $`z10^4`$. In addition, we have gathered numerical evidence that the modulation (2g) uniquely confines the LB mode (2), whereas other pulses experience transverse diffraction. Starting e.g. with the light bullet ansatz from Ref. blaa00  for a uniform SIT medium, we found that they diffract after propagating a distance $`x10`$ unif . An accurate determination of the degree of uniqueness with which a particular profile corresponds to a particular LB guided mode requires further investigations though. Similarly, it is interesting to investigate how different RI modulations may guide other types of LB modes other2D ; 3D .

Experimentally, nanolithography techniques allow for fabrication of dielectric structures with layer thicknesses $``$ a few atomic layers khit99 , and the study of light-matter interactions in such structures has developed into a vast research area dowl00 . In particular, erbium-doped resonant fiber waveguides, which were developed about a decade ago and in which SIT has been observed naka92 , form interesting candidates for opening new fields in optical communications. Generation of light bullet modes in transversely modulated SIT structures presents a new experimental challenge in this field. We briefly discuss here experimental conditions under which the guided LB modes predicted above may be observed. A suitable SIT medium consists of rare-earth ions embedded in a dielectric structure, with a typical density $`10^{16}`$ cm-3 khit99  and radiative relaxation time (at cryogenic temperatures) $`100`$ ns grei99 . The incident optical pulse, of duration $`\tau _p<0.1`$ ns, should have uniform transverse intensity and, for the transverse diffraction to be strong enough, one needs $`\alpha _{\mathrm{eff}}d^2/\lambda _0<1`$ slus74 , where $`\alpha _{\mathrm{eff}}`$, $`\lambda _0`$ and $`d`$ are the inverse resonant-absorption length, carrier wavelength, and pulse diameter resp. For $`\alpha _{\mathrm{eff}}10^4`$ m-1 and $`\lambda _010^4`$ m, one thus requires $`d<10^4`$ m, which implies that the transverse medium size $`L_x\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1}10\mu `$m. The parameter $`\beta `$ in Eq. (2) is determined by the transverse component of the wavevector $`\kappa _x`$ and we find $`\kappa _xL_x0.010.1`$, which is in accordance with the physically relevant regime of $`n(x)1`$. The parameter $`\alpha `$, which determines the amplitude of the bullet and its localization in $`\tau `$ and $`z`$, is given by $`\alpha =\sqrt{v\alpha _{\mathrm{eff}}\tau _p(1v\alpha _{\mathrm{eff}}\tau _p)}`$, and can thus be controlled by the incident pulse duration and velocity. For rare-earth media, one typically has $`\alpha 0.110`$. Embedding this medium into a set of 10-100 transverse layers, each having a thickness on the order of the wavelength, and RI varying by $``$ 1% from layer to layer levi80 , completes the setup for the observation of the 2D guided-LB modes. These are then expected to be localized on a time scale $`100`$ ps and transverse length scale $`1\mu `$m.

To conclude, we have proposed and studied the novel regime of light bullets in SIT media embedded in transversely modulated structures. Such a structure is predicted to allow one to produce nonlinear guided light bullet modes of a specific and fully controllable shape, while causing other pulses to disperse via transverse diffraction. Because of their simultaneous spatial and temporal localization, these LB modes may open new possibilities of signal transmission in nonlinear waveguides and we hope they will trigger new experiments.

B.A.M. gratefully acknowledges a valuable discussion with P.D. Drummond. This work was supported by the Israel Council for Higher Education, Israel Science Foundation, Minerva and the Binational (US-Israel) Science Foundation through grant No. 1999459.