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# Search for companions around SiriusBased on data collected at the Pic du Midi-Toulouse Observatory (France)

## 1 Introduction

Sirius is the brightest star in the sky. Outshining the sun by a factor 25 in absolute luminosity, it displays at a distance of 2.64 pc an apparent visual brightness that exceeds by a factor 2 the one of the second brightest star, Canopus (Gatewood & Gatewood 1978). Due to its fast relative motion through the sky with a radial motion of 1.6 AU/yr and a proper motion projected on sky of 1$`\mathrm{°}`$ in about 2700 yr, it will not always be the dominant star in the sky though this status is already true for 90 000 yr and will remain valid for at least 210 000 more years (Tomkin 1998). Its velocity will bring Sirius at a minimal distance from the Sun of 2.3 pc in about 65 000 yr (Garcia-Sanchez et al. 1998). It is from the study of this apparent fast motion through the sky, first noted by Halley, that the existence of the famous white dwarf companion, Sirius -B, has been predicted by Bessel (1844), making of Sirius-B one of the first example of dark matter body whose existence has been inferred from its gravitational action only. Sirius-B was finally discovered in the early days when the first modern refractor was put into service in Massachusetts (USA) (for an historical review see Brecher 1979, Hetherington 1980, Wesemael and Fontaine 1982). After the discovery of Sirius-B, the binary system has been extensively observed first visually (Volet 1932, Zagar 1932), then by photographic techniques (Lindenblad 1970) to accurately determine the orbit. Since the discovery, the orbit has now been covered a little more than twice so that the orbital elements are now relatively well established (Gatewood & Gatewood 1978, Benest & Duvent 1995). The distance and proper motion of the system were also recently refined by the Hipparcos satellite observations (ESA 1997).

The existence of possible additional companion(s) to Sirius-A is still however an open question. The star itself is well known but the sky region immediately around it is poorly explored. Observations are strongly affected by the central star strong contamination by diffusion, and a direct evidence of a companion is still extremely difficult to establish even with modern techniques.

There have been several repetitive claims that a visual (mv=12 ?) companion have been detected during the years 1920-1930 (Fox 1925, Innes 1929, van den Bos 1929, see Baize 1931 for a review). Studies of Sirius orbital perturbations (Volet 1932, Zagar 1932), as well as more recent detailed analysis of the orbital residuals (Benest & Duvent 1995), have also led to a persistent claim of a possible 6 years periodicity. This points towards a very low mass companion orbiting most probably Sirius-A with a suggested separation of the order of 2-3 arcsec.

Independently, there is increasing indirect evidences, that a second companion with a long period could be at the origin of a colour change of the bright star Sirius in historical times. The tidal interaction of this low-mass companion during the close-by encounter at periastron could cause enough matter to be expelled and produce an appreciable transient reddening of Sirius (Bonnet-Bidaud & Gry 1991). This event, which could have happened a few centuries before modern era, is now suggested from independent greek and chinese historical records (Gry & Bonnet-Bidaud 1990, Bonnet-Bidaud & Gry 1991, 1992). Such companion could be expected to reach a separation of the order of 60 arcsec.

From previous optical observations that we performed at ESO (Chile) in 1985, an image has been obtained around Sirius, showing for the first time all stars from 30” to 2.5’ away from the binary, down to a magnitude mv$``$17. From this detailed image of the field, several possible candidates matching the apparent magnitude and positions expected from a long period companion have been singled out (Bonnet-Bidaud & Gry 1991).

We present here the follow-up of this program for the search of new companion(s) of Sirius-A. From the use of the two images obtained at a 13 years interval, a definitive identification test can be carried out, using the unusual large proper motion of Sirius-A.

## 2 Observations

Photometric observations of the Sirius field were carried out in good seeing conditions on January 18-24th, 1999 using a 288x384 pixels CCD camera at the Nasmyth secondary focus of the 1 meter telescope in the Observatoire of Pic du Midi-Toulouse (OPMT, France). To suppress most of the contamination from the bright central Sirius, a special coronographic device was designed. A small circular mask was fixed on a thin metallic wire and mounted on a two-dimension moving plate to allow for its precise positioning in the optical path. This mask was introduced at the intermediate focus of a f/D=6 focal reducer. The resulting field was 4.8x3.6 arcmin centered at Sirius with a pixel size of 0.75 arcsec and a reconstructed mask size of $``$ 22 arcsec in diameter. Different attempts were made to further reduce the strong cross-like spikes originating from the diffusion by the supports of the secondary mirror. For this, a plywood cache with four-circular apertures was set up at the entrance of the telescope. Through reducing the first order high spatial frequencies, this cache was found to introduced an additional diffusion in the central region of the field so images both with and without this cache were obtained.
Individual images were taken with 2-3 min. exposures using a Gz Gunn filter (Schott RG800) which, combined with the CCD response, yields a (830-950)nm response. Images were co-added to produced average images with equivalent exposures from 30 to 80 min. The occulting mask was shifted at different positions to allow the coverage of a wider field around Sirius.

## 3 Analysis and results

The photometric reduction was performed with standard techniques, using the stars Landolt 653 and 667 as comparisons. After offset and flat-field corrections, the images were further corrected from the residual Sirius diffusion by subtracting a background filtered by a radial gradient method. The resulting Gz Gunn image is shown in Figure 1. The image is a composite of three exposures of 81min, 60min and 30 min. obtained with Sirius at center and displaced east and west respectively.

A total of $``$30 stars is detected in the field down to a magnitude of mg$``$16 for a region at a distance greater than 30 arcsec from the center of the mask. By computing the center of the diffusion profile through the image, we checked that the center of the mask corresponds to the Sirius position with an accuracy better than 0.5 arcsec. The positions of the different stars in the field were then measured by means of gaussian fits to the stellar images, yielding an accuracy in the relative positions with respect to Sirius better than 0.05 arcsec, except possibly for the few stars falling near regions of increased diffusion. Measurements were done both on raw and background-subtracted images. The positions and labels of the different stars are shown in Figure 2 with their coordinates and magnitudes reported in Table 1. The accuracy on magnitudes is not better than 0.1 mag due to the high background subtracted. Absolute J2000 coordinates were computed by mean of the astrometric reduction program developed at the IMC/Bureau des Longitudes, using the J2000 position of Sirius-A at 1985.9589 ( $`\alpha `$= 6h 45m 9.36s, $`\delta `$= -16d 42m 43.55s) as a reference. The relative accuracy is better than 0.1 arcsec but the absolute accuracy is only ($``$0.5 arcsec), dominated by the uncertainty in the Sirius position in the field.

This 1999 Sirius field was compared to a similar image obtained by us in 1985 with a different telescope. Within this time interval, Sirius is expected to have moved through the sky by more than 17 arcsec, so that any star dynamically linked to it will also show a significant proper motion. To judge of possible motion of stars in the field, the star positions of the 1999 image were cross-correlated with the corresponding positions measured on the 1985 image (see table 1 of Bonnet-Bidaud & Gry 1991). Table 2 lists the corresponding residuals after transformation. The mean measured residuals are 0.18 and 0.14 arcsec respectively for the right ascension and declination. No significant changes are apparent. The maximum difference is seen for star 8 (0.55 arcsec), still comparable to the accuracy of the measurements. Some of this deviation may arise from a small proper motion of the star itself.

By comparison, the position of Sirius was also determined with respect to this cross-correlated stellar frame. The values are given in Table 3 with a shift of -(6.6$`\pm `$0.5) and -(12.0$`\pm `$0.7) arcsec, respectively in right ascension and declination. Based on the proper motion accurately determined from the recent Hipparcos data (ESA 1997), the expected shift for the center of gravity of Sirius A-B is listed in Table 3 together with the corresponding position of Sirius-A, computed using the orbital ephemeris of Gatewood & Gatewood (1978). The predicted change in Sirius-A position is -(6.32$`\pm `$0.02) in right ascension and -(12.51$`\pm `$0.02) arcsec in declination, in correct agreement with the measurements, if one allows for the uncertainty introduced by the mask.

## 4 Discussion

### 4.1 Historical claim of a companion

The influence of the unusual large proper motion of Sirius have often been neglected when discussing the properties of the system. The image obtained here allows the positions of the closest stars to the system to be confirmed. With the most recent proper motion measurements by Hipparcos, the precise position of Sirius-A within this stellar field can therefore be extrapolated backward in time. The exact trajectory of the star, including both the proper motion and the orbital influence of Sirius-B is shown in Figure 1 and 2. The star path is very close to the bright (mg$``$12) star 2 and to the fainter star 20 of our list. The separation between Sirius and the stars 2 and 20 are computed along time in Figure 3, together with the Sirius A-B separation for comparison.

The bright star 2 was less than 20 arcsec away from Sirius-A between 1923 and 1951 and within 10 arcsec in the 1932-1944 interval. The closest approach is reached in october 1937 with a separation of 6.9 arcsec, of the same order than the Sirius A-B separation. The fainter star 20 is even closer with a minimum at $``$2 arcsec around november 1934.
Interestingly enough, the presence of an additional star around Sirius has been repeatedly claimed by visual observers, more particularly in this period 1920-1930 when the system was extensively observed to refine the ephemeris near maximum elongation (see Fox 1925, van den Bos 1929, Innes 1929). Such claim was later found unsupported from photographic observations (Lindenblad 1973), casting doubts on the quality of these past optical observations. The companion was quoted to be a relatively bright (mv$``$12) star. It is clear that the reported companion was either star 2 or 20 but most likely the brightest background star 2 which was at a very close distance at the same epoch and bright enough to be duly observed as such by the careful optical observers.

### 4.2 Characteristics of a Sirius low-mass companion

From the present observations, none of the brightest stars in the Sirius close field appears to have a proper motion comparable to Sirius A-B. From the constraints on the orbital period and periastron distance, the possible orbit of a long period companion is a highly eccentric (e $``$ 0.9) orbit with a period P $``$ 2000 yr and a semi-major axis a $``$ 230 AU (Bonnet-Bidaud & Gry 1991). For an orbit with e=0.9 and a=230 AU, the maximum orbital velocity will be V = 15 km.s-1 at periastron while it will drop to 0.8 km.s-1 at apastron, with a maximum separation of 160 arcsec. Outside the most inner part of the orbit, at a distance greater than 30 arcsec to the central binary, the upper limit on the companion orbital velocity will be $``$7.7 km.s-1 for a$``$ 230 AU, therefore significantly less than the Sirius tangential velocity (16.795 km.s-1). In the explored region, at a distance greater than $``$ 30 arcsec, one would then expect the proper motion of a companion to be closely comparable to the one of Sirius.

The investigation of the stellar field around Sirius is now complete down to a magnitude $``$17 in V and $``$16 in Gz, for distances between 30” and 160”. The absence of a significant proper motion among the bright stars in the Sirius field rules out the existence of a plausible companion at a today projected distance greater than $``$30 arcsec from Sirius-A.

Since our last 1985 observations, considerable progress has been made in the understanding of low (0.1-0.5M) and very low mass (0.07-0.1M) stars, down to the brown dwarf limit, both theoretically (see Baraffe et al. 1998 and references therein) and observationally (see Leggett et al. 1998). The characteristics of a low mass companion at the Sirius distance can therefore be evaluated more precisely.

Figure 3 shows a Mv-(V-I) color-magnitude diagram for a sample of observed small mass red dwarfs from the compilation by Leggett et al. (1998), in which the stars have been selected for their solar-metallic abundances \[m/H\]=0 and a mass $``$0.12M. The selection also includes the newly discovered brown dwarf, Kelu-1, for which a distance of 10pc have been estimated (Ruiz et al. 1997). Also shown is the most recent theoretical model for solar-metallicity low-mass stars, based on non-grey atmospheres (Baraffe et al. 1998) with masses indicated. As noted by the authors themselves, as a probable consequence of an underestimate of opacity, this best present model is however known to underestimate the V-I colour by about 0.5 mag for M $``$0.5M as visible in Fig.4. Excluding brown dwarfs, the expected apparent visual magnitude of a (0.08-0.12M) red dwarf at the Sirius distance (2.64pc) is in the range mv=12-17 with corresponding colour (V-I)=3.0-4.5.

The measured stars in the Sirius close field are also shown in Figure 3 with absolute magnitudes as if they were at the Sirius distance. Obviously, all candidates appear severely underluminous for their colours. The reddest candidates (star 3 and 4) have colour marginally consistent with low mass ($``$0.1-0.15M) stars but their magnitudes will put them at distance respectively (50-60)pc and (40-50)pc if they are true standard main-sequence stars.

We note that the magnitude limit of mv$``$17 allows to exclude all possible main sequence stars above the brown dwarf limit but the faintest brown dwarfs such as Kelu-1 at a magnitude mv=18-19 will be still undetectable .

## 5 Conclusion

The careful study of the Sirius stellar field at a several years interval allows to exclude the presence of a main sequence low mass ($``$0.08M) companion at a separation greater than $``$30 arcsec of the Sirius A-B binary. Only the most extreme case of a brown dwarf star comparable to Kelu-1 can be still undetectable. The most central region around the binary is however still unexplored. Even in the case of a long period companion, a significant probability exists that an eccentric orbit will bring the low-mass star at a projected distance closer than 30 arcsec, according to the orientation of the orbit in space. As a result of a numerical simulation with random values for the relevant orbital parameters, the probability is computed to be $``$10-2 in the less favourable case of an object now at the maximal apastron distance for a representative orbit with a=230AU and e=0.9. This inner region could also harbour a short orbit companion which may be responsible for the suspected cyclic residual orbital variations. The orbital velocity of a close companion could prevent to use the proper motion discrimination such as used in this paper but the characteristics of the low and very low mass stars (luminosity and colours) are now sufficiently known to allow a secure identification among background stars. The Sirius pair is unique in showing for Sirius-A the earliest stellar type among white dwarf companions together with a very unusual high mass among white dwarfs for Sirius-B. Those peculiarities are still largely unexplained and could possibly be in relation with the evolution of a more complex system including a yet undetected third star. It is clear that the study of the most inner part of the sky region around Sirius would require the use of the infrared bands to take advantage of the reduced contribution of Sirius A-B together with the increase flux expected from low mass stars in this range. These wavelengths also benefit of the new possibilities of adaptive optics now available.

Acknowledgments. We are very grateful to J.M. Abaddie and the whole OPMT technical team for their efficient help in the short term planning of these observations. We also wish to thank Jérôme Blumberg for the realisation of a video film describing the set-up and the realtime observations. The film ”Le compagnon de Sirius” is available at the CNRS Image Media, 27 rue Paul Bert, 94200 Ivry, France


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# Structure and Mass Distribution of the Milky Way Bulge and Disk

## 1. Introduction

The Milky Way is a normal galaxy seen under a magnifying glass: the ages, metallicities, and kinematics of its stars can be observed in much greater detail than in any other galaxy. Combined with a model for the large-scale structure and potential, dynamical models for specific stellar populations can be constructed which link our local neighbourhood with distant parts of the Galaxy. Thus we can study in a unique way the imprints of the evolution and formation processes that shaped the Milky Way, and presumably other galaxies as well.

As is well-known, our viewpoint from within the Galactic disk also has some drawbacks, in that many of the Milky Way’s large scale properties have been difficult to obtain. Only in the last decade has it become possible to map the old stellar population in the Galactic bulge and inner disk, using infrared observations to penetrate the dust layers in the disk. Models are needed to interpret these data and link them to gas kinematical and other observations. Two important results are that the inner Galaxy contains a rotating bar/bulge, and that the scale-length of the disk is significantly shorter than previously assumed.

Microlensing surveys have now found hundreds of events towards the Galactic bulge. From such data and from local stellar-kinematic measurements, direct constraints on the mass of the Milky Way’s bulge and disk can be obtained, which are difficult to come by in external galaxies, and which can be used to test cosmological models of dark matter halo and galaxy formation.

## 2. Structure of the Galactic bulge and disk

The best evidence for a rotating bar in the inner Galaxy comes from maps of the NIR light distribution, from star counts along various lines-of-sight, from the non-circular motions observed in the atomic and molecular gas, and from the large optical depth to microlensing towards the bulge. For a more extensive review than given here see Gerhard (1999, G99). All length scales given below are for a Sun-center distance $`R_0=8\mathrm{kpc}`$.

Several models for the distribution of old stars in the inner Galaxy have been based on the COBE/DIRBE NIR data. These data have complete sky coverage but relatively low spatial resolution, they must still be ‘cleaned’ for residual dust absorption, and they contain no distance information, so deprojection is not straightforward. The cleaned data show that the bulge is brighter and more extended in latitude $`b`$ at positive longitudes $`l`$ than at corresponding $`l`$, except for a region close to the center where the effect is reversed (Weiland et al. 1994, Bissantz et al. 1997). The asymmetry is strongest around $`|l|10^{}`$. These signatures are as expected for a barred bulge with its long axis in the first quadrant (Blitz & Spergel 1991). The region of reversed asymmetry at small $`|l|`$ argues for a bar rather than a lopsided light distribution; see also Sevenster (1999).

Dwek et al. (1995) and Freudenreich (1998) fitted parametric models to the cleaned DIRBE data, assuming specific functional forms for the barred bulge and excluding low-latitude regions from the fit. In this way the derived outer bulge properties are less likely to be influenced by the disk light, but the inner bulge and disk profiles are ill-determined. Non-parametric models were constructed by Binney, Gerhard & Spergel (1997, BGS), using a Lucy algorithm based on the assumption of strict triaxial symmetry, and by Bissantz & Gerhard (2000), using a penalized maximum likelihood algorithm. The new model by Bissantz & Gerhard includes a spiral arm model and maximizes eightfold symmetry only for the remaining luminosity distribution. In this model the bulge-to-disk ratio in NIR luminosity is about $`20\%`$, similar to the value given by Kent, Dame & Fazio (1991). Other bar and disk properties from the COBE models are summarized below. Physical models for the COBE bar can be found for a range of bar orientation angles, $`15^{}\mathrm{}<\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}\mathrm{}<35^{}`$, where $`\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}`$ measures the angle in the Galactic plane between the bar’s major axis at $`l>0`$ and the Sun-center line. $`\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}`$ must therefore be determined from other data; see also Zhao (2000).

The bar is also seen in starcount observations in inner Galaxy fields. Stanek et al. (1997) analyzed reddening-corrected apparent magnitude distributions of clump giant stars in 12 OGLE fields. The small intrinsic luminosity spread ($``$ 0.2-0.3 mag) makes these stars good distance indicators. The peak of the distribution is brighter at $`l>0`$ where the line-of-sight passes through the near side of the bar. These fields cover only a small fraction of the sky, but fitting a parametric model constrains the bar orientation angle as well as the axis ratios and density profile. Nikolaev & Weinberg (1997) reanalyzed the IRAS variable population in a similar spirit; here the distance information comes from the known range of AGB star luminosities. NIR starcounts have also shown longitudinal asymmetries due to the bar (Unavane & Gilmore 1998). López-Corredoira et al. (1997, 2000) and Hammersley et al. (1999) have modelled the Two Micron Survey Starcounts (mostly bright K and M giants) in several strips across the bulge. Structural information on the bulge and disk can be derived from these data together with a model for the bright-star luminosity function. Ongoing work on deeper surveys (ISOGAL, DENIS, 2MASS) will provide important new information on the old stellar population in the inner Galaxy; a preview of results is given in van Loon (2000).

Modelling the HI and CO ($`l,v`$) diagrams provides information on the gravitational potential of the bar and disk. Several recent gas flow models have followed complementary approaches: Englmaier & Gerhard (1999) modelled the gas flow in the potential of the rotating COBE bar of Binney, Gerhard & Spergel (1997), Fux (1999) determined a best-fitting N-body–SPH model from a sequence of ab initio simulations, and Weiner & Sellwood (1999) considered gas flows in a sequence of analytic model potentials. These simulations produce ($`l,v`$) diagrams with which many features seen in the observed ($`l,v`$) diagrams may be qualitatively understood, such as the 3 kpc arm, the non-circular velocities around the end of the bar, the cusped-orbit shock transition and inner $`x_2`$-disk, the molecular ring and the spiral arm tangent locations. However, no model as yet provides a satisfactory quantitative account of the Galactic gas disk. A fuller discussion can be found in G99.

The following subsections contain my best summary of the main bar and disk parameters from this and other work.

Corotation radius: This is the most important bar parameter. The gas-dynamical simulations of Englmaier & Gerhard (1999) and Fux (1999) agree in their interpretation of the 3 kpc arm as one of the lateral arms close to the bar, placing it inside corotation. Sevenster (1999) argues that the 3 kpc arm is part of an inner ring, which would also place it slightly inside the corotation radius $`R_{\mathrm{CR}}`$. The main Galactic spiral arms outside $`R_{\mathrm{CR}}`$, on the other hand, imply an upper limit for $`R_{\mathrm{CR}}`$, but this is more model-dependent. The gas-dynamical models thus give a range of $`3\mathrm{kpc}\mathrm{}<R_{\mathrm{CR}}\mathrm{}<4.5\mathrm{kpc}`$; a corresponding resonance diagram is shown in G99. Dehnen (2000) has interpreted features in the local stellar velocity distribution as due to the outer Lindblad resonance with the bar, resulting in $`R_{\mathrm{CR}}=0.55\pm 0.05R_0`$, near the upper end of the range from the gas-dynamical models. While the match to the Hipparchos data appears convincing, it is not clear whether and why this way of determining $`R_{\mathrm{CR}}`$ should work, because the bar is too weak to excite the spiral arms between $`R_{\mathrm{CR}}`$ and the solar radius, and these spiral arms should dominate the local quadrupole moment (Englmaier & Gerhard 1999).

Bar orientation From the integrated light alone, physically reasonable models can be found for $`15^{}\mathrm{}<\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}\mathrm{}<35^{}`$. Starcount models give values between $`\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}=12\pm 6^{}`$ (López-Corredoira et al. 2000) and $`2030^{}`$ (Nikoalev & Weinberg 1997, Stanek et al. 1997). The models of Bissantz & Gerhard (2000) for the DIRBE L-band data, when additionally constrained by the clump giant apparent magnitude distributions of Stanek et al. (1997), give an optimal $`\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}=15^{}`$ (Figure 1), but $`\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}1525^{}`$ is within the uncertainties. The gas-dynamical models and the orbit analysis of Binney et al. (1991) are also compatible with $`15^{}\mathrm{}<\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}\mathrm{}<35^{}`$, depending on whether the emphasis is on the peak in the terminal velocity curve, the arm morphology, or the magnitude of the non-circular motions near the 3 kpc arm. Finally, microlensing observations favour $`\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}15^{}`$ (Zhao & Mao 1996, §3). Thus a good working value is $`\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}=20^{}`$. Not consistent with this appear to be the bar model of Hammersley et al. (2000), which is based on the identification of a region of strong star formation at $`l=27^{}`$ with the nearer end of the bar, and the star count results reported in van Loon (2000), which place the near end of a 1.4 kpc size bar at negative longitudes.

Bar length: Models based on the DIRBE NIR maps find the end of the bar around $`R_{GC}=3.2\pm 0.3\mathrm{kpc}`$, when $`\phi _{\mathrm{bar}}20^{}`$ (Freudenreich 1998, BGS, Bissantz & Gerhard 2000). This is consistent with with the OH/IR stars (Sevenster 1999), IRAS variables (Nikolaev & Weinberg 1997), and the range of $`R_{\mathrm{CR}}`$ above for a fast bar, while other starcount models use exponential or Gaussian density distributions with shorter scale-lengths.

Bar axis ratios: The parametric DIRBE models give axial ratios of about 10:3-4:3. This is in agreement with the new non-parametric model of Bissantz & Gerhard (2000), whereas BGS had found 10:6:4 without taking into account the spiral arms. The starcount models give 10:4:3 (Stanek et al. 1997) and 10:5.4:3.3 (López-Corredoira et al. 2000). Thus there is good overall agreement at around 10:4:3.

Disk scale-length: In the integrated NIR the radial exponential disk scale $`R_D`$ is significantly shorter than in the optical; numerical values are around $`2.5\mathrm{kpc}`$ (Freudenreich 1998, BGS) or somewhat shorter ($`2.1\mathrm{kpc}`$, Bissantz & Gerhard 2000). Hammersley et al. (1999) report satisfactory agreement of their NIR counts with a model with $`R_d=3.5\mathrm{kpc}`$, but have not tested other values of $`R_D`$. López-Corredoira et al. (2000) find that $`R_d=3.0\mathrm{kpc}`$ is too short to describe the NIR TMSS counts well. Earlier starcount models (Robin et al. 1992, Ortiz & Lépine 1993) favour a short disk scale, $`R_d=2.5\mathrm{kpc}`$. It is not clear what causes the differences between the various starcount models, and between the TMSS starcounts and the integrated NIR light. There may be some interplay between the disk scale-length, the bulge profile, and the spiral arm luminosity distribution. Further work with spatially complete data will be needed to assess this.

Spiral structure: Spiral arms are difficult to delineate from our viewpoint within the disk. Modelling their ($`l,v`$)-traces directly is complicated by non-circular motions (Burton 1973). The most reliable information is available for the arm tangent directions of the spiral arms in the gas and young stars (see review in Englmaier & Gerhard 1999). The arm segments connecting the tangent points are more difficult to determine because of uncertain tracer distances (but see Dame et al. 1986). The most widely used spiral model is a four-armed pattern following Georgelin & Georgelin (1976). Such a pattern also appears most consistent with gas-dynamical models for the Milky Way (Englmaier & Gerhard 1999, Fux 1999). Much less is known about spiral arms in the old Galactic disk stars (we know from external galaxies that these need not follow the blue arms). NIR plane profiles do not clearly show all the spiral arm tangents seen in the young component (Drimmel & Spergel 2000), and the contribution of young supergiant stars to those that are seen has not been evaluated. Drimmel & Spergel (2000) conclude that both a two-armed and a sheared (relative to the gas and young stars) four-armed pattern are consistent with the DIRBE data. The best models of Fux (1999) contain four stellar spiral arms.

## 3. Microlensing towards the Galactic bulge

Several hundred microlensing events have now been observed towards the Galactic bulge. These observations give information about the integrated mass density towards the survey fields as well as about the lens mass distribution. The most robust observable is the total optical depth averaged over the observed fields, $`\tau `$. Early measurements gave surprisingly high values $`\tau _624`$ (Udalski et al. 1994, Alcock et al. 1997), where $`\tau _6\tau /10^6`$. For clump giant sources only, which do not suffer from blending problems, Alcock et al. (1997) inferred $`\tau _6=3.9_{1.2}^{+1.8}\times 10^6`$ from 13 events centered on $`(l,b)=(2.55^{},3.64^{})`$. Using a difference image analysis (DIA), Alcock et al. (2000a) recently measured $`\tau _6=2.43_{0.38}^{+0.39}`$ for all sources from 99 events centered on $`(l,b)=(2.68^{},3.35^{})`$, and from this measurement deduced for the same direction $`\tau =(3.23\pm 0.5)\times 10^6`$ for bulge sources only. Finally, in a preliminary analysis of 52 clump giant sources in 77 Macho fields, Popowski et al. (2000) found a lower $`\tau _6=2.0\pm 0.4`$ centered on $`(l,b)=(3.9^{},3.8^{})`$.

It has long been known that axisymmetric models predict $`\tau _611.2`$, insufficient to explain the quoted optical depths (Kiraga & Paczynski 1994, Evans 1994). Models with a nearly end–on bar as described in §2 enhance $`\tau `$ because of the longer average line-of-sight from lens to source. The maximum effect occurs for $`\varphi \mathrm{arctan}(b/a)`$ when $`\tau _{\mathrm{bar}}/\tau _{\mathrm{axi}}(\mathrm{sin}2\varphi )^12`$ for $`\varphi =15^{}`$ (Zhao & Mao 1996). In addition, $`\tau `$ increases with the mass and the length of the bar/bulge.

Even so, models based on barred mass distributions derived from Milky Way observations (§2) typically give $`\tau _612`$ (e.g., Zhao, Spergel & Rich 1995, Stanek et al. 1997, Bissantz et al. 1997), significantly less than most of the measured optical depths. The new bar model of Bissantz & Gerhard (2000) gives $`\tau _6=1.2`$ for all sources at the position of the DIA measurement and $`\tau _6=1.3`$ for clump giant sources at the centroid position given by Popowski et al. (2000). The mass normalization of the disk and bulge in this model is calibrated by assuming constant L-band mass-to-light ratio and by matching the predicted gas flow velocities in a hydrodynamic simulation to the Galactic terminal velocity curve. As Fig. 1 shows, the apparent magnitude distributions for clump giant stars predicted by this model agree closely with those measured by Stanek et al. (1997). Thus the model gives a good approximation to the distribution of microlensing sources. The quoted optical depths are therefore hard to change unless one assumes that the mass distribution of the lenses differs substantially from that of the sources.

Notice that the preliminary new MACHO clump giant optical depth is within $`1.7\sigma `$ of the prediction of this bar model. If this clump giant optical depth is confirmed, this would be an important step in reconciling galactic structure and microlensing observations and would enable us to start using more detailed microlensing observables as constraints on Galactic models. On the other hand, the recent DIA value is still some $`3.2\sigma `$ away from the model prediction. While the NIR model prediction could be slightly increased if the mass-to-light ratio were not spatially constant, this is only a $`20\%`$ effect since limited by the terminal velocity curve (Bissantz et al. 1997). Recently, Binney, Bissantz & Gerhard (2000) have used general arguments to show that an optical depth for bulge sources as large as derived by the MACHO collaboration from the DIA value is very difficult to reconcile with measurements of the rotation curve and local mass density, even for a barred model and independent of whether mass follows light. To illustrate this, the extra optical depth required corresponds to an additional mass surface density towards the bulge of some $`2000\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{pc}^2`$, comparable to that in the model of Bissantz & Gerhard (2000). Is it possible that the DIA measurement is still significantly affected by blending?

Independent of the resolution of this problem, these results have a further important implication. For, determining the mass normalization of the Bissantz & Gerhard (2000) model from the terminal velocities implicitly assumes a maximal disk. Because the predicted microlensing optical depths are if anything low, as much microlensing matter is needed within the solar circle as possible. On the other hand, little of the halo dark matter causes microlensing (Alcock et al. 2000b), so we can not afford significantly more dark mass inside the solar circle in the form of CDM particles, say, than corresponding to this maximum disk model. Thus the microlensing results argue strongly for a maximum disk.

## 4. The maximum disk and local surface density of the Milky Way

Englmaier & Gerhard (1999) computed a number of gas flow models in the gravitational potential of the NIR COBE model determined by BGS, assuming a constant joint NIR mass-to-light ratio $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_L`$ for the bulge and disk. The actual value of $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_L`$ can be specified a posteriori. For a maximum disk model it is determined by fitting the model terminal curves to the observed HI and CO terminal velocities. Some of the models included an additional dark component to prevent the outer rotation curve from falling, leading to higher circular velocities at $`R_0`$. It turns out that the fitted value $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_L`$ is insensitive to the circular velocity $`V_0`$ of the Sun implied by the model: within this class of models, the mass of the disk and bulge are fixed to within $`10\%`$. The luminous component in these models accounts for the terminal velocities out to $`|l|45^{}`$, or $`R5.5\mathrm{kpc}2R_D`$ if $`V_0=220\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, and out to $`R_0`$ if $`V_0=180\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$.

These maximum disk models predict a surface mass density $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{}=45\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{pc}^2`$ near the Sun at $`\mathrm{R}_0=8\mathrm{kpc}`$ for a local circular velocity of $`v_0=208220\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. For comparison, the local surface density of ‘identified matter’ is $`48\pm 9\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{pc}^2`$ (Kuijken & Tremaine 1991, Flynn & Fuchs 1994, Holmberg & Flynn 2000). Of this about $`23\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{pc}^2`$ is in gas and brown and white dwarfs, which contribute most to the uncertainty. That the observed and predicted surface density approximately agree lends support to the conclusion that the Galaxy indeed has a near–maximum disk; the combined observational and model uncertainty is about $`30\%`$ in mass. A NIR disk accounting for only $`60\%`$ of the rotation velocity at $`2R_D`$, as advocated for spiral galaxies by Rix & Courteau (1999), would have only $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{}16\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{pc}^2`$. Turned around, if the NIR disk and bulge are given the $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_L`$ value implied by the local surface density measurement, then they account for the observed terminal velocities in the inner Galaxy. Compared to earlier analyses, the main difference is the short disk scale–length ($`2.5\mathrm{kpc}`$ in the model of BGS; see also Sackett 1997) – the Sun is well beyond the maximum in the rotation curve from only NIR luminous matter.

When a cored spherical halo is added to the maximum NIR disk, such as to make the Galaxy’s rotation curve approximately flat at $`v_c=220\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, the halo core radius comes out $`R_c15\mathrm{kpc}`$. This shows that the Milky Way’s dark halo is not very strongly concentrated. Integrating the surface density of this halo between $`z=\pm 1.1\mathrm{kpc}`$ gives $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{h,1.1}=16\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{pc}^2`$. Adding this to the surface density of the old NIR disk and the thick disk ($`9\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{pc}^2`$, see discussion in G99), the total is $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\mathrm{NIR}}+\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\mathrm{th}}+\mathrm{\Sigma }_{h,1.1}=71\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{pc}^2`$, whereas the measured total $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{1.1}=71\pm 6\mathrm{M}_{}/\mathrm{pc}^2`$ (Kuijken & Gilmore 1991). This very good agreement is clearly better than one expects, given the uncertainties in both numbers. Note that for smaller values of the Galaxy’s asymptotic rotation velocity, the required amount of halo would be reduced; recall that for $`v_c=180\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ the terminal velocity curve can be fitted within the errors without any added halo (at the prize of a falling rotation curve). A more detailed analysis and comparison with cosmologically motivated Milky Way halos is clearly needed.

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text:
# Phase-space picture of resonance creation and avoided crossings

## I Introduction

The study of time-periodic quantum systems has attracted considerable interest in recent years. One of the primary motivating factors for this interest is the development of ultra-high intensity lasers, which can produce electric fields within atoms that rival those produced by the atomic nucleus. Experiments with these ultra-intense lasers have led to the discovery of many interesting new phenomena, such as high harmonic generation . Simple one-dimensional models of the interaction between intense lasers and atoms have been shown to reproduce, at least qualitatively, many of these interesting phenomena . These models are especially interesting because their classical versions display chaotic motion . In addition to providing insight into recent experiments, the study of these models can also provide insight into quantum-classical correspondence.

One of the more interesting phenomena observed in these systems is the stabilization of atoms in intense laser fields. Stabilization is characterized by a *decrease* in the probability for an electron to ionize as the laser intensity is *increased*. This effect was first discovered in theoretical studies of the interaction between high-frequency lasers and atoms , but recent experiments have verified that stabilization occurs in real atoms . Studies of the underlying classical dynamics of these systems using one- and two-dimensional models have shown that the classical motion can often account for the increased stability of the atom at higher laser intensities .

The study of time-periodic quantum models is usually carried out within the context of Floquet theory . Floquet eigenstates are eigenstates of the one-period time evolution operator and are the natural states for describing time-periodic systems. In some cases the Floquet states of the system can be localized on stable structures in the classical phase space , and this can lead to stabilization because these Floquet states have very long lifetimes. In this case, stabilization would also be predicted by the classical dynamics. However, there are often significant differences between the classical and quantum dynamics of chaotic systems. One of the most striking examples of this is scarring, where quantum eigenstates have higher probability to be found near the locations of unstable periodic orbits in the classical phase space . The scarring of Floquet states on unstable periodic orbits might make it possible for a quantum system to exhibit stabilization even when the corresponding classical dynamics is unstable. Some earlier studies indicate that stabilization can be associated with states that are scarred on unstable or weakly stable periodic orbits .

In this paper we examine a time-periodic system with one space dimension which shows signs of stabilization. In this system the number of localized Floquet states, or resonance states, increases as the intensity of the driving field is increased. In Sec. II we present the model and discuss the classical dynamics as well as prior studies of the quantum dynamics. In Sec. III we describe two different versions of complex coordinate scaling and compare their predictions in this system. In Sec. IV we investigate the relationship between the resonance states and the classical dynamics of the system. We find that the resonance states that are created as the driving field is increased are associated with unstable periodic orbits in the classical dynamics. We give an explanation, based on this association with periodic orbits, for why the number of resonance states increases as the laser field is increased.

In Sec. V we carry out a detailed study of an avoided crossing between two resonance states. Avoided crossings in time-periodic quantum systems lead to significant changes in the structure of the Floquet states . Overlapping avoided crossings can even lead to delocalization of Floquet states . Since stabilization depends upon the Floquet states remaining localized near (stable or unstable) classical structures, avoided crossings may play an important role in destroying stabilization. Finally, in Sec. VI we summarize our findings.

## II Driven Inverted Gaussian Model

The model we will study is an inverted Gaussian potential interacting with a monochromatic driving field in the radiation gauge. The Hamiltonian of the system in atomic units (which are used throughout the paper) is

$$H=\frac{1}{2}\left(p\frac{ϵ}{\omega }\mathrm{sin}(\omega t)\right)^2V_0\mathrm{exp}((x/a)^2)$$
(1)
where $`V_0=0.63`$ a.u. and $`a=2.65`$ a.u. It is useful to write this as $`H=H_0+V`$, where

$$H_0=\frac{p^2}{2}V_0\mathrm{exp}((x/a)^2)$$
(2)
and

$$V=\frac{ϵ}{\omega }p\mathrm{sin}(\omega t)+\frac{ϵ^2}{2\omega ^2}\mathrm{sin}^2(\omega t).$$
(3)
Figure 1 illustrates the classical dynamics of this system for driving frequency $`\omega =.0925`$ a.u. The strobe plots in Fig. 1 are calculated by evolving a set of trajectories, all with initial momentum $`p=0`$, over many cycles of the field and plotting the location of each trajectory when $`t=2\pi n/\omega `$ (after each full cycle of the field). When no driving field is present the motion is regular and bounded for negative energies. Motion at positive energies is unbounded. Figs. 1a, 1b, and 1c show the classical strobe plots for $`ϵ=.038`$, $`.065`$, and $`.09`$ a.u., respectively. As $`ϵ`$ is increased the region near $`(x=0,p=0)`$ remains stable, but the size of the stable region gets smaller as $`ϵ`$ is increased. The filled squares in Fig. 1 indicate the locations of the periodic points in the strobe plot and the arrows show $`x=\alpha `$ and $`x=2\alpha `$, where $`\alpha =ϵ/\omega ^2`$ is the excursion parameter of a free electron in the field. At these parameter values the periodic orbit at $`(0,0)`$ is stable while the other two periodic orbits are unstable. As $`ϵ`$ is increased the unstable periodic orbits move toward larger values of $`x`$. For very high frequency driving fields two of the periodic orbits can be stable while the third is unstable. This is illustrated in Fig. 1d, which shows the classical strobe plot for $`\omega =2`$ a.u. and $`ϵ=42`$ a.u. The value of $`\alpha `$ in Fig. 1d is the same as in Fig. 1c, but at the higher frequency the periodic orbit located near $`x=2\alpha `$ is a stable elliptic orbit surrounded by regular motion. The periodic orbit at $`x=\alpha `$ is hyperbolic.

The quantum dynamics of this system has been the subject of several investigations during the past decade. The resonance states of this system were first calculated by Bardsley and Comella in 1989 . More recent studies have focused on high-harmonic generation (HHG) in this system . It is the findings of Ben-Tal, Moiseyev, and Kosloff , hereafter BMK, that have the most relevance to our work. They found that the number of resonance states in this system increased as the field strength was increased over a certain range. BMK attempt to explain the creation of new resonance states as the field strength is increased by analyzing the dynamics of the time-averaged system in a reference frame that oscillates with a free electron in the driving field, known as the Kramers-Henneberger or K-H frame . They found qualitative agreement in that the number of bound states in the time-averaged potential increases as the field strength is increased. However, the quantitative agreement was not very good. This is not surprising since the time-averaged K-H description is only accurate for very high frequency driving fields. Since the frequency of the driving field used by BMK and in this work ($`\omega =.0925`$ a.u.) is lower than the frequency of motion for two of the bound states in the undriven system ($`.4451`$ a.u. and $`.1400`$ a.u.), the time-averaged K-H description is not quantitatively accurate. It is somewhat surprising that the time-averaged K-H description is qualitatively accurate because the classical motion of the system in the time-averaged K-H frame is stable while the classical motion of the true system is largely unstable. For $`\alpha >1`$ the time-averaged potential in the K-H frame is a double well with minima separated by approximately $`2\alpha `$. Motion in this double well would be quite different from that seen in the strobe plots in Fig. 1a-c (although it would closely resemble the motion shown in Fig. 1d, which is at a frequency that is high enough for the time-averaged K-H description to be valid). Our goal in this paper is to find an alternative explanation for the creation of resonance states as $`ϵ`$ is increased in this system, an explanation that does not rely on the time-averaged K-H description.

## III Complex Coordinate Scaling

In recent years the technique of complex coordinate scaling (CCS) has been used extensively in the study of open quantum systems. In this section we will review two versions of complex coordinate scaling (standard and exterior scaling) and show how these techniques can be used to compute the resonance states of an open, time-periodic system. Results from the standard and exterior scaling versions are compared, for both time-independent and time-dependent calculations.

### A Standard complex coordinate scaling (CCS)

We first examine how the eigenvalues and eigenstates of a time-independent open system can be calculated using standard complex coordinate scaling (CCS), a technique that is examined in detail in . In this paper we will use a basis of particle-in-a-box states for our calculations. These states are defined by

$$x|n=\sqrt{\frac{2}{L}}\mathrm{sin}\left(\frac{n\pi x}{L}\frac{n\pi }{2}\right),$$
(4)
where $`L/2xL/2`$. Calculations using CCS are performed just as they are in traditional quantum mechanics, except that the coordinate is scaled in the Hamiltonian so that $`xxe^{i\theta }`$ ($`0\theta <\pi /4`$). Scaling the coordinate in this fashion allows us to represent resonance states, which are not in the Hilbert space, using square integrable eigenfunctions. As a result of this scaling the new time-independent Hamiltonian is

$$\stackrel{~}{H_0}=H_0(xe^{i\theta })=\frac{p^2e^{2i\theta }}{2}V_0\mathrm{exp}\left((xe^{i\theta }/a)\right).$$
(5)
The kinetic energy operator is easily evaluated using the basis states in Eq. 4. As long as our box is sufficiently large ($`L>>2x_0/\sqrt{cos(2\theta )}`$) we find that

$$m|V_0\mathrm{exp}\left((xe^{i\theta }/a)^2\right)|n=V(m+n)V(|mn|)$$
(6)
where

$$V(j)=\frac{V_0a\sqrt{\pi }e^{i\theta }}{L}\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{j^2\pi ^2a^2e^{2i\theta }}{4L^2}\right)\mathrm{cos}\left(\frac{j\pi }{2}\right).$$
(7)
Once these matrix elements are calculated the $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ matrix can be constructed. Diagonalizing $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ yields the energy eigenvalues of the time-independent system as well as the eigenvectors

$$|\psi _i=\underset{n=1}{\overset{N}{}}c_{ni}|n.$$
(8)
Fig. 2a shows the energy eigenvalues of $`H_0`$ calculated without complex scaling ($`\theta =0`$). The potential supports three bound states at $`E=0.4451`$, $`0.1400`$, and $`0.00014`$ a.u. Without complex scaling all eigenvalues lie on the real axis. When the coordinate is scaled, though, the Hamiltonian becomes non-Hermitian and it is possible for eigenstates of the scaled system to have complex eigenvalues. This can be seen in Fig. 2b, which shows the eigenvalues calculated using CCS with $`\theta =0.3`$. The bound state eigenvalues remain on the real axis but the positive-energy continuum states are rotated into the lower half plane by an angle of $`2\theta `$. It is this rotation of the continuum that will allow us to identify resonances. No resonances exist for the system with Hamiltonian $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$, only bound states and a continuum of energy eigenvalues.

### B Exterior complex coordinate scaling

The basic idea of exterior complex coordinate scaling (ECCS) is to scale the $`x`$ coordinate by a factor $`e^{i\theta }`$ as in CCS, but only in the region $`|x|x_s`$ where the potential is zero. Discontinuities at $`\pm x_s`$ are avoided by using a smooth scaling relation $`xF(x)`$, where

$$F(x)=x+(e^{i\theta }1)\left[x+\frac{1}{2\lambda }\mathrm{ln}\left(\frac{\mathrm{cosh}(\lambda (xx_s))}{\mathrm{cosh}(\lambda (x+x_s))}\right)\right]$$
(9)
with $`\lambda =5`$ a.u. and $`x_s=25`$ a.u. This exterior scaling method is given a thorough presentation in . Because the potential is zero in the region where the coordinate is scaled, the potential matrix elements can be calculated without any complex scaling (i.e. using Eq. 6 and 7, but with $`\theta =0`$). The scaled time-independent Hamiltonian then becomes $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}=H_0+V_{CAP}`$, where

$$V_{CAP}(x)=V_0(x)+V_1(x)\frac{}{x}+V_2(x)\frac{^2}{x^2}$$
(10)
acts as a complex absorbing potential. The coordinate-dependent factors in Eq. 10 are defined by

$$V_0(x)=\frac{1}{4}f^3(x)\frac{^2f}{x^2}\frac{5}{8}f^4(x)\left(\frac{f}{x}\right)^2,$$
(11)
$$V_1(x)=f^3(x)\frac{f}{x},$$
(12)
and

$$V_2(x)=\frac{1}{2}(1f^2(x)),$$
(13)
where $`f(x)=F/x`$. Plots of $`F(x)`$, $`V_0(x)`$, $`V_1(x)`$, and $`V_2(x)`$ are shown in .

We will again use a basis of particle-in-a-box states to calculate $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$. Matrix elements for the potential energy term are calculated without any complex scaling, while the kinetic energy and $`V_{CAP}`$ matrix elements are calculated numerically. Diagonalizing $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ gives the complex energy eigenvalues for the exterior scaled system, which are shown in Fig. 2c. Note that the bound state eigenvalues are still on the real axis and most of the continuum states have been rotated into the lower half plane by $`2\theta `$. However, several of the positive energy states have been rotated into the lower half plane by considerably less than $`2\theta `$. We refer to these as “partially scaled” continuum states. Fig. 3 shows the wavefunction of one fully scaled continuum state and one partially scaled continuum state. The partially scaled state is strongly peaked near $`x=x_s`$ and it is non-zero only within the region $`x_sxx_s`$, while the fully scaled state is zero within this region. As $`x_s`$ is decreased toward $`0`$, the number of partially scaled states decreases. At $`x_s=0`$ the ECCS eigenvalues exactly match the CCS eigenvalues as expected.

Since we will want to examine the structure of the resonance wavefunctions in the periodically driven system it is important first to examine the structure of the eigenstates of $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$. We will examine the structure of the eigenstates of $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ by calculating Husimi distributions  for each of the three bound states. An Husimi distribution is a quasi-probability distribution of a quantum state in the phase space. The Husimi distribution (HD) of a quantum wavefunction $`\mathrm{\Psi }(x)`$ is defined as

$$G(x_0,p_0)=\left|\left(\frac{1}{\pi \sigma ^2}\right)^{1/4}_{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}e^{(xx_0)^2/2\sigma ^2ip_0x}\mathrm{\Psi }(x)𝑑x\right|^2.$$
(14)
Husimi distributions for the three bound states of $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ are shown in Fig. 4. The left-hand column shows the HDs of the eigenstates, $`\psi _i(x)`$, of $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ obtained using CCS. The center column shows the HDs for the eigenstates $`\psi _i(xe^{i\theta })`$, which is $`\psi _i(x)`$ rotated back to the real coordinate frame . The right-hand column shows the HDs of the eigenstates that were calculated using ECCS. Note that the center and right-hand columns agree quite well, while the left-hand column shows significant differences. The Husimi distributions in the right-hand column match those that are found without complex scaling the Hamiltonian and hence they are the correct distributions. The distributions in the center column are correct except for the patches of black in the top-left and bottom-right corners. These patches show where the Husimi distribution blows up because the wavefunction is not square integrable.

### C Floquet calculations

As we have seen, complex coordinate scaling can be used to calculate the first $`N`$ energy eigenstates of $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$. These eigenstates can then be used as a basis to compute the one-period time evolution (Floquet) matrix, $`\widehat{U}(T)`$, for the driven system. This matrix is calculated by numerically integrating the time-dependent Schrödinger equation $`N`$ times from $`t=0`$ to $`t=T=2\pi /\omega `$ with initial conditions $`|\mathrm{\Psi }(t=0)=|\psi _i`$, where $`|\psi _i`$ is the $`i`$th energy eigenstate of $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$. Diagonalization of this matrix gives the Floquet eigenvalues and eigenstates (in the basis of eigenstates of $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$).

The time-dependent Schrödinger equation for the driven inverted Gaussian system is

$$i\mathrm{}\frac{}{t}|\mathrm{\Psi }=\stackrel{~}{H_0}|\mathrm{\Psi }\frac{ϵ}{\omega }\stackrel{~}{p}\mathrm{sin}(\omega t)|\mathrm{\Psi }+\frac{ϵ^2}{2\omega ^2}\mathrm{sin}^2(\omega t)|\mathrm{\Psi }$$
(15)
where $`\stackrel{~}{p}`$ is the complex scaled momentum operator. Since all computations are performed in a basis of eigenstates of $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ we must first calculate the matrix elements of $`\stackrel{~}{p}`$. In calculating these matrix elements it is critical to recognize that $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ is not a Hermitian matrix and thus its eigenvectors do not have the usual properties that eigenvectors of Hermitian matrices have. One cannot obtain the left eigenvectors of a non-Hermitian matrix simply by taking the complex conjugate of the right eigenvectors. In our case, $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ is complex symmetric and the coefficients of the left eigenvectors are equal to (not complex conjugates of) the coefficients of the right eigenvectors, so

$$\psi _i|=\underset{n=1}{\overset{N}{}}c_{ni}n|.$$
(16)
The normalization of the eigenvectors is also different. For our complex symmetric matrix the eigenvectors should be normalized so that the sum of the squares of the $`c_{ni}`$’s is $`1`$, rather than the sum of the absolute squares. With this in mind we can calculate the matrix elements for $`\stackrel{~}{p}`$ using

$$\psi _i|\stackrel{~}{p}|\psi _j=\underset{m=1}{\overset{N}{}}\underset{n=1}{\overset{N}{}}c_{mi}c_{nj}m|\stackrel{~}{p}|n.$$
(17)
The $`m|\stackrel{~}{p}|n`$ are easy to calculate when CCS is used and $`\stackrel{~}{p}`$ is simply $`pe^{i\theta }`$. However, when ECCS is used those matrix elements are calculated numerically using

$$m|\stackrel{~}{p}|n=\frac{i\mathrm{}\pi n}{L^2}\left[P(m+n)+P(mn)\right]$$
(18)
where

$$P(k)=_{L/2}^{L/2}\mathrm{sin}\left(\frac{k\pi x}{L}\frac{k\pi }{2}\right)f^1(x)𝑑x$$
(19)
and $`f(x)`$ is defined in Sec. III B.

By numerically integrating the Schrödinger equation over one cycle of the driving field we can construct the Floquet matrix as described above. This matrix is then numerically diagonalized to give the Floquet eigenvalues and eigenstates. Since the Floquet eigenstates are calculated in a basis of eigenstates of $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ we can write them as

$$|q_\beta =\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}d_{i\beta }|\psi _i.$$
(20)
Because they are eigenstates of the one-period time evolution operator (Floquet matrix) we can write

$$\widehat{U}(T)|q_\beta =e^{iq_\beta T}|q_\beta $$
(21)
where $`q_\beta `$ is the quasienergy of the state $`|q_\beta `$. Because the Hamiltonian $`\stackrel{~}{H_0}`$ is not Hermitian, the time evolution operator is not unitary. This means that the Floquet eigenvalues do not necessarily have unit modulus, and thus the quasienergies $`q_\beta `$ are in general complex. We can write the quasienergies as $`q_\beta =\mathrm{\Omega }_\beta +i\mathrm{\Gamma }_\beta /2`$, where $`\tau _\beta =1/\mathrm{\Gamma }_\beta `$ is the lifetime of the state $`|q_\beta `$. Resonance states are easily identified by plotting the Floquet eigenvalues, which we will denote as $`\lambda _\beta =\mathrm{exp}(iq_\beta T)`$. Fig. 5 shows the Floquet eigenvalues calculated using both CCS and ECCS for the driven Gaussian system with $`\omega =0.0925`$ a.u. and $`ϵ=0.038`$ a.u. The eigenvalues that were found with the CCS method form a well-defined spiral from the origin out to the edge of the unit circle. These states are indicated by filled circles in Fig. 5a. Resonance states are indicated by filled squares and lie off of the continuum spiral. The continuum spiral is not as well-defined when the ECCS method is used, as shown in Fig. 5b. However, only a few eigenvalues near the origin appear to fall out of the spiral. This could cause some difficulty in identifying broad (short-lived) resonances, but narrow (long-lived) resonances can still be easily identified. Fig. 5 shows that CCS and ECCS appear to give the same resonance eigenvalues.

The resonance eigenvalues should be independent of the scaling angle $`\theta `$, while the continuum eigenvalues rotate around the origin as $`\theta `$ is changed. However, when calculations are performed using a finite basis the resonance eigenvalues will be weakly dependent upon $`\theta `$ . To accurately determine the quasienergies (and hence the lifetimes) of these states it is important to optimize $`\theta `$ by finding the stationary point of each resonance eigenvalue as $`\theta `$ is changed. However, since our goal is not an accurate quantitative determination of eigenvalues or lifetimes but a qualitative understanding of the relationship between the quantum dynamics and the classical motion, it is not critical that $`\theta `$ be optimized for our calculations. Optimizing $`\theta `$ presents a problem in this type of study because the optimal value of $`\theta `$ is generally different for different resonance states. We wish to study all of the resonance states of the system at the same time and it is impossible to optimize $`\theta `$ for all resonance states within a single calculation of the Floquet matrix. We find that changing $`\theta `$ between $`0.3`$ and $`0.7`$ results in no visible change in the plots of the resonance eigenvalues. There is also no visible change in the Husimi distribution of the states. Not optimizing $`\theta `$ may lead to slight inaccuracies in the calculated lifetimes for the resonance states, but we find that the error in the lifetimes is no greater than $`\pm 0.1T`$ which is acceptable for our purpose here.

In Figure 6 we show the Husimi distributions of the three resonance states indicated in Fig. 5. As in Fig. 4 the left-hand column shows CCS states, the middle column shows the rotated CCS states, and the right-hand column shows ECCS states. Again we find agreement between the middle and right-hand columns, while the left-hand column is inaccurate (as expected). Lifetimes of the three states are indicated in units of the driving period $`T=2\pi /\omega `$. Filled circles indicate the locations of the classical periodic orbits. The resonance state with the longest lifetime is almost indistinguishable from the ground state of the undriven system shown in Fig. 4a. The state shown in Fig. 6b has a much shorter lifetime and is beginning to elongate toward the positions of the unstable periodic orbits, with a peak of probability near the periodic orbit at ($`x=6.98`$ a.u., $`p=0`$). The state shown in Fig. 6c has a very short lifetime and its Husimi distribution is similar to that of a continuum state.

## IV Resonance creation and scarring

Because the rotated CCS states blow up for large $`|x|`$ we choose to perform the remainder of our calculations using ECCS only. As long as our unscaled region ($`x_s<x<x_s`$) is large enough to contain the phase space region in which we are interested, we will not have to worry about any inaccuracy associated with the scaling procedures. We choose $`x_s=25`$ a.u. which is large enough to include the locations of the periodic orbits at all of the field strengths we study.

Figure 7 shows the Floquet eigenvalues for $`ϵ=0.065`$ and $`0.09`$ a.u. Again, resonance states are indicated by filled squares while continuum states are indicated by filled circles. Comparing these plots with Fig. 5 we see that the number of resonance states increases as $`ϵ`$ is increased, from only three at $`ϵ=0.038`$ a.u. to five at $`ϵ=0.09`$ a.u. This is in agreement with BMK . In the classical system, however, the stable structure near $`(x=0,p=0)`$ gets smaller as $`ϵ`$ is increased. If the resonance states were associated with this stable classical structure then some of the resonances should disappear as $`ϵ`$ is increased. Instead, the opposite behavior is found. To find the explanation for the increase in the number of resonance states we examine the Husimi distributions of the resonance states indicated in Fig. 7.

Figure 8 shows HDs for the four resonance states at $`ϵ=0.065`$ a.u. Lifetimes for the states are indicated in units of the driving period and the positions of the periodic orbits are indicated by filled circles. The state with the longest lifetime looks very much like the ground state of the undriven system. The states shown in Figs. 8b and 8c show some similarities to the excited states of the undriven system, but they have both been elongated in the direction of the unstable periodic orbits. The state shown in Fig. 8b has a probability peak near the unstable periodic orbit at ($`x=16.67`$ a.u., $`p=0`$), while the state shown in Fig. 8c has a peak between the two unstable orbits. These two states appear to have become at least partially associated with the unstable periodic orbits. The state shown in Figure 8d is the newly created resonance and it has the shortest lifetime of the four. It has a modest peak near the periodic orbit at ($`x=9.09`$ a.u., $`p=0`$).

Figure 9 shows HDs for four of the five resonance states at $`ϵ=0.09`$ a.u. The state that closely resembles the undriven ground state (Fig. 9b) no longer has the longest lifetime. Instead, the longest-lived state resembles the first excited bound state of $`H_0`$, but with additional peaks near the periodic orbits at $`x=11.52`$ a.u. and $`x=22.04`$ a.u. The state shown in Fig. 9d is similar to the state shown in Fig. 8d, but with a more prominent peak near the periodic orbit at $`x=11.52`$ a.u. Note that the lifetime of this state is also greater than that of the state shown in Fig. 8d.

At low values of $`ϵ`$ all of the resonances have their probability concentrated near $`(x=0,p=0)`$. At these low values of $`ϵ`$ the two unstable periodic orbits are located close to the stable orbit near $`(x=0,p=0)`$. If any resonance state was associated with the unstable periodic orbits at such low field strengths it would be difficult to tell from its Husimi distribution. As $`ϵ`$ is increased the unstable periodic orbits move toward larger values of $`x`$ and some of the resonance states begin to spread in that direction as well. At moderate values of $`ϵ`$ some states show peaks near the periodic orbit that is farthest from $`(x=0,p=0)`$, close to $`x=2\alpha `$. Only at high values of $`ϵ`$ do we begin to see a state that is peaked on the unstable orbit that is closest to $`(x=0,p=0)`$, near $`x=\alpha `$. We believe that it is the association between the resonances and the unstable periodic orbits that explains the creation of resonance states as $`ϵ`$ is increased. At low $`ϵ`$ all three periodic orbits are too close together to support many quantum states because they all occupy essentially the same region of phase space. As $`ϵ`$ is increased the unstable periodic orbits move away from the stable one and from each other. This allows quantum states to be associated with these unstable orbits without occupying the same region of phase space as the states associated with the stable orbit, so new resonance states are created. It is the scarring of resonance states on unstable periodic orbits of the classical system that accounts for the increase in the number of resonance eigenstates, even as the stable region in the classical phase space is diminished.

The behavior we see here would be unlikely to stabilize the ground state of the undriven system against ionization in a high intensity field. This is because the lifetime of the resonance state that seems most closely related to the ground state (shown in Figs. 6a, 8a, and 9b) decreases as $`ϵ`$ is increased. However, the observed behavior could lead to stabilization for an excited state of the undriven system. The excited states have most of their probability away from $`(x=0,p=0)`$ and would thus overlap with resonance states that are not peaked at that point. Since these resonances grow in number and increase their lifetimes as $`ϵ`$ is increased, an excited state of the undriven system may become stabilized against ionization as $`ϵ`$ is increased.

## V Avoided crossings between resonances

Avoided crossings between resonance eigenvalues have been identified in this system . Avoided crossings between Floquet eigenvalues play an important role in multi-photon ionization  and the delocalization of Floquet eigenstates . In this section we investigate the quantum dynamics at one avoided crossing to determine if it leads to delocalization of the resonance eigenstates. Delocalization is closely related to ionization in these systems because long-lived resonance states can only exist if they are localized within the interaction region. If avoided crossings lead to delocalization they would also lead to a decrease in the lifetime, and eventually the destruction, of the resonance states.

Figure 10 shows the Floquet eigenvalues of three resonance states at several field strengths between $`ϵ=0.076`$ and $`0.085`$ a.u. Two of these states (labeled $`A`$ and $`B`$ in Fig. 10 and indicated by filled circles and squares, respectively) are involved in a prominent avoided crossing at a field strength of about $`ϵ=0.0805`$ a.u. The third resonance eigenvalue (labeled $`C`$ and indicated by filled triangles) passes close by the other two at this field strength, but it is not clear from Fig. 10 if that state is involved in the avoided crossing.

To determine the effect of this avoided crossing on the resonance states we examine the Husimi distributions of the states $`A`$, $`B`$, and $`C`$ shown in Figure 11. As $`ϵ`$ is increased from $`0.078`$ a.u. to $`0.0805`$ a.u. the states $`A`$ and $`B`$ undergo strong mixing with each other. When the field strength is increased to $`0.083`$ a.u. we find that states $`A`$ and $`B`$ have completely exchanged their structure. State $`C`$ does not appear to have any significant structural changes in this range of field strengths. However, it should be noted that state $`C`$ has a significant increase in its lifetime as $`ϵ`$ is increased from $`0.078`$ a.u. to $`0.083`$ a.u. States $`A`$ and $`B`$ exchange lifetimes as well as structure, but the lifetimes of both states at $`ϵ=0.083`$ a.u. are somewhat smaller than the corresponding lifetimes at $`ϵ=0.078`$ a.u. It may be that state $`C`$ somehow gains stability at the expense of states $`A`$ and $`B`$, even though it does not appear to pick up any of the structure of those states. Note that there are slight differences between the Husimi distributions of states $`A`$ and $`B`$ at $`ϵ=0.073`$ a.u. and the corresponding distributions at $`ϵ=0.083`$ a.u., but these may be due to a small amount of mixing with state $`C`$ or with continuum states.

Figure 11 does not reveal any significant increase in the delocalization of any of the resonance states. It does indicate that an avoided crossing of this type might lead to changes in the lifetimes of the resonance states, but although two states have their lifetimes decreased the third has its lifetime increased. There is no clear indication that this type of avoided crossing contributes to the destruction of the resonance states that might prevent stabilization at very high intensities of the driving field. We expect that the destruction of resonance states occurs primarily as the result of coupling between a resonance state and the continuum rather than between resonance states .

Avoided crossings between resonance states may play an important role in other phenomena in this system. For example, it has been shown in bound systems that avoided crossings between Floquet eigenstates can result in increased high harmonic generation (HHG). Avoided crossings contribute to increased HHG in two ways. During the turn-on of a laser field avoided crossings can put the quantum system into a superposition of Floquet states that may emit radiation at higher frequencies than would be emitted by a single Floquet state . Avoided crossings also contribute to HHG by spreading the Floquet states over a wider range of energy, thus allowing a single Floquet state to emit higher frequency radiation. For the type of avoided crossing observed here the states are only delocalized near the exact field strength at which the avoided crossing occurs, because at this field strength the Floquet states have mixed their structure . At that particular field strength, though, this effect could lead to increased HHG. In fact, increased HHG has been observed in previous studies of the avoided crossings in this system .

## VI Conclusion

We utilize the complex coordinate Floquet method (CCFM) to calculate resonances for an inverted Gaussian potential driven by a monochromatic field. As has been previously observed, we find that the number of resonance states increases as the field strength is increased. This behavior in the quantum system seems to be opposite to what is observed in the classical system, where the dynamics becomes increasingly unstable as the field strength is increased. An examination of the Husimi distributions of the resonance states in this system shows that the newly created resonances states are associated with unstable periodic orbits in the classical motion. This scarring of the eigenstates on unstable periodic orbits has been seen in other systems and it represents one of the most significant deviations of quantum dynamics from the corresponding classical dynamics. In this system, resonance eigenstates are scarred on unstable periodic orbits and the movement of the periodic orbits in the phase space allows for the creation of new resonance states as the field strength is increased. The creation of these new resonance states might help to stabilize the system against ionization in intense fields.

An avoided crossing between resonance states is closely examined and it is found that, although two states do exchange their structure during the avoided crossing, there is no significant delocalization of the resonance states as a result of this avoided crossing. Coupling to the continuum is more likely to destroy resonance states than is coupling between two resonance states. Avoided crossings of the type studied here, although they may not lead to faster ionization, could lead to many interesting effects such as increased high harmonic generation.

## ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors wish to thank the Welch Foundation Grant No. F-1051 and DOE Contract No. DE-FG03-94ER14465 for partial support of this work. We also thank the University of Texas at Austin High Performance Computing Center for their help and the use of their computer facilities.


text:
# Can Electric Field Induced Energy Gaps In Metallic Carbon Nanotubes?

## Abstract

The low-energy electronic structure of metallic single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) in an external electric field perpendicular to the tube axis is investigated. Based on tight-binding approximation, a field-induced energy gap is found in all (n, n) SWNTs, and the gap shows strong dependence on the electric field and the size of the tubes. We numerically find a universal scaling that the gap is a function of the electric field and the radius of SWNTs, and the results are testified by the second-order perturbation theory in weak field limit. Our calculation shows the field required to induce a $`0.1`$ $`\mathrm{eV}`$ gap in metallic SWNTs can be easily reached under the current experimental conditions. It indicates a kind of possibility to apply nanotubes to electric signal-controlled nanoscale switching devices.

The prospect of nanoscale electronic devices has engaged great interest, because it could lead to conceptually new miniaturization strategies in the electronics and computer industry. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be used as nanoscale devices  due to their extraordinarily small diameter and versatile electronic properties . It is suggested that individual SWNT may act as devices such as field-effect transistors (FET) , single-electron-tunneling transistors , rectifiers , or p-n junctions . The most exciting expectancy lies in the devices fabricated on a single tube .

In recent years, the interplay between mechanical deformation and electrical properties of SWNTs have been extensively studied . Among them, some structural deformations such as twisting, bending, stretching, and topological defects are not compatible with desirable stable contacts for reversibly controllable devices . Very recently, Tombler et al.  used an atomic force microscope tip to manipulate a metallic SWNT, leading to a reversible two-order magnitude change of conductance, and Lammert et al.  applied a uniaxial stress to squash SWNTs and detect a similar reversible metal-insulator (M-I) transition. Since the tube ends do not need to move and they are easily controlled, the studies pointed to the possibility that a metallic SWNT may be used as an ultrasmall electromechanical switch.

It is also well known that a magnetic field can change the conductance of carbon nanotubes . The magnetic field either parallel or perpendicular to the axis can change the low-energy electronic properties of the tubes. However, a possible electric field-controlled M-I transition are more exciting because of its easy implementation in the actual applications. Now, a question remains: Can electric field change the electronic properties of a tube?

In previous studies on electronic transports , since the bias voltage is a slow-change variable in the range of the primitive unit cell, the possible change of the energy-band structure induced by the bias voltage is neglected. The controlled potential, such as the gate voltage in the case of FET , does not induce a voltage drop in the direction perpendicular to the tube axis, and it only shifts Fermi level or changes the carrier concentration. In the literature, according to our knowledge, it has not been studied on that the properties of the longitudinal electronic transports are changed by a transverse electric field. In fact, because of the small diameter of SWNTs ( about $`1`$ $`\mathrm{nm}`$ ), it is easy to exert a strong electric field ( $`|\stackrel{}{E}|\mathrm{V}/\mathrm{nm}10^{89}`$ $`\mathrm{V}/\mathrm{m}`$ ) perpendicular to the axis. In $`(n,n)`$ metallic SWNT, the electrons near Fermi energy are nonlocal in the circumference of the tube since their circumference Fermi wavevector is zero , the classic wave-package approximation in slow-change voltage may be not suitable in the presence of the strong transverse electric field. The $`\mathrm{V}/\mathrm{nm}`$ order electric field is enough to obviously break the rotational symmetry about the tube axis, and create new interband and inter-wavevector coupling, which may change the low energy electronic properties of SWNTs, and hence affect the electronic transport. In the other hand, the field is still $`23`$ orders less than the atomic interior electric field, can be treated as perturbation.

In this Letter, based on a tight-binding (TB) model, we calculate the low-energy electronic structure of SWNTs in an external electric field perpendicular to the tube axis (see Fig.1). The result shows obviously valuable effects: (1) The electric field can always induce an energy gap in $`(n,n)`$ metallic SWNTs; (2) There is a maximal gap strongly dependent on the radius of the tubes; (3) A universal scaling is found for the gap as a function of the field and the size of the tubes; (4) Using the dielectric function of tubes obtained by Benedict et al. , we find the magnitude of the required electric field falls into the range of current experimental conditions, therefore the possibility of applying SWNTs to the electric-field-controlled nanoscale switching devices.

The nearest-neighbor TB approximation has been used successfully for calculating the electronic structure of graphite sheet and nanotubes , and the polarization of SWNTs . For the low-energy electronic properties of tubes in the presence of electric field, we will only use the $`\pi `$-electron single-orbital TB approximation .

In the presence of a transverse electric field $`𝐄`$, there is an additional coupling between the nearest-neighbor atoms, reflected in the TB Hamiltonian

$$=_0+_1,$$
(1)
where $`_0`$ is the unperturbed Hamiltonian, and $`_1=eV(𝐫)`$. Here $`e`$ is the charge of an electron, and $`V(𝐫)`$ is the electrostatic potential of the total electric field which equals to the sum of an external field $`𝐄_0`$ and the polarized field induced by $`𝐄_0`$. For a uniform field , the potential in the cylindrical surface of SWNT is

$$V(𝐫)=V_0\mathrm{cos}\varphi ,$$
(2)
where $`V_0=RE`$ is the transverse voltage drop of the tube, and $`\varphi `$ is the azimuth of the cylinder. Here $`R`$ is the radius of SWNT, and $`E`$ is the total electric field strength.

The main role of the electrostatic potential is to change the electronic energy of the $`i`$th carbon atom by $`eV(𝐑_i)`$, where $`𝐑_i`$ is the position vector of the $`i`$th atom. The hopping correction due to the electric field between site $`i`$ and site $`j`$ is very small, about the order of $`s`$. Here $`s`$ is the overlap integral of two nearest neighbor atom $`i`$ and atom $`j`$, $`s=\varphi _i^{}(𝐫)\varphi _j(𝐫)d^3𝐫0.129`$ , where $`\varphi _i(𝐫)`$ is the $`\pi `$-electron wavefunction of the $`i`$th atom. The perturbed Hamiltonian matrix elements are:

$`<\varphi _i|_1|\varphi _i>=eV(𝐑_i),`$ (3)
$`<\varphi _i|_1|\varphi _j>esV(𝐑_{ij}^c),`$ (4)
where $`𝐑_{ij}^c=(𝐑_i+𝐑_j)/2`$ is the position of the mass center of the two nearest neighbor $`i`$ atom and $`j`$ atom. Eq.(3) is precise because of the symmetry of wavefunction, but in Eq.(4), we have neglected the electrostatic potential change in the overlapping range of electronic clouds. After gaining these Hamiltonian matrix elements, we can easily calculate the electronic structure of nanotube in the presence of electric field.

Fig.2 shows our result on the electronic energy bands of (10, 10) tube in the presence of electric fields with different magnitudes. When $`V_0=0.5`$ $`\mathrm{V}`$, a gap of $`E_g0.3`$ $`\mathrm{eV}`$ is found at $`K_0`$, the Fermi wavevector in zero field. As $`V_0`$ increases, the gap increases, and when $`V_0=1.5`$ $`\mathrm{V}`$, we find that the bands structure is obviously deformed. It is surprising to find that the gap decreases as $`V_0`$ increases further. When $`V_0=3.0`$ $`\mathrm{V}`$, the zero gap is found, but the Fermi point dramatically moves to a different position from $`K_0`$. The results reveal that a controlled electric field of $`1`$ $`\mathrm{V}/\mathrm{nm}`$ order can obviously affect the transport properties of $`(10,10)`$ tube.

To probe the above effect in general, we performed the computation for a series of $`(n,n)`$ tubes. Fig.3 shows the gap as a function of the electric field in $`(n,n)`$ tubes, where $`n`$ is from $`5`$ to $`15`$. From the figure, we find the determined effect: The electric field can always induce a gap, i.e. a metal-insulator transition, in $`(n,n)`$ tubes, and the size of the gap strongly depends on the magnitude of the transverse field and the tube parameter $`n`$. For any $`(n,n)`$ tubes, the gap first increases with increasing field, and reaches a maximal value $`E_{gm}`$ at the $`V_0=V_{0m}`$, then drops again. Both the maximal gap $`E_{gm}`$ and the corresponding $`V_{0m}`$ are approximately proportional to $`1/n`$, and hence inverse proportional to the radius of tubes, i.e.,

$`E_{gm}6.89\mathrm{eV}/n,`$ (5)
$`V_{0m}12.09\mathrm{V}/n.`$ (6)
The finding, which is shown in (5) and (6) that the maximal gap $`E_{gm}`$ fastly decrease as the size of conductor increases, indicates the electronic structure change is very small in the large materials even though at very strong electric field. It might be the reason why people have not yet recognized the effect in previous studies on large conductors. In the strong field range, Fig.3 shows a more complicated field dependence of the gap which can even be negative. The field dependence of the gap is quite similar for tubes with various radii, which invokes us to scale both $`E_g`$ and $`V_0`$ up $`n`$ times their original values. The obtained results are shown in Fig.4. From it we do find the scaled gap to be a universal function of the scaled electric field for all $`(n,n)`$ tubes. In the weak field range, for all calculated eleven $`(n,n)`$ tubes there exists a simple relation: $`nE_g=\lambda (neV_0)^2`$, where $`\lambda `$ is a constant, about $`0.07`$ $`(\mathrm{eV})^1`$. In the middle field range, except for a few small-radius tubes such as $`(5,5)`$ and $`(6,6)`$ tubes, the universal scaling law still holds.

To understand the above scaling relation, we use perturbation theory to calculate the field-induced gap in weak field limit. The first-order perturbation approximation only causes shift in the Fermi level, showing no contribution to the gap. Calculating up to the second-order perturbation at $`K_0`$ point, we obtained the following analytic result

$$E_g\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2\pi \gamma }ne^2V_{0}^{}{}_{}{}^{2},$$
(7)
where $`\gamma `$ (=$`3.033`$ eV) is the hopping parameter in the absence of the electric field . The contribution of the overlap integral $`s`$, which is very small, is neglected. Obviously, the second-order perturbation calculation gives almost the same scaling relation as the numerical results in the weak field, though the obtained $`\lambda 0.09`$ (eV)-1 is slightly larger than the numerical result $`0.07`$ (eV)-1. In the strong field range, since the Fermi wavevector is away from $`K_0`$, the perturbation theory becomes not suitable. In fact, the weak field range may be more compatible with the practical application. In order to open a $`0.1`$ $`\mathrm{eV}`$ gap in the energy bands of $`(n,n)`$ tubes, $`n`$ must be smaller than 68 according to eq.(5), and the required electric field is,

$$E=\frac{2\pi }{3r_0e}\sqrt{\frac{E_g}{\lambda }}n^{\frac{3}{2}},$$
(8)
where $`r_0`$ (=$`1.42`$ $`\mathrm{\AA }`$) is the bond length of carbon atoms in SWNT. Therefore, for example for a $`(10,10)`$ tube, the required field is about $`5\times 10^8`$ $`\mathrm{V}/\mathrm{m}`$, and for a $`(60,60)`$ tube, it is about $`3\times 10^7`$ $`\mathrm{V}/\mathrm{m}`$. Since the total field $`𝐄`$ equals to the sum of the external field $`𝐄_0`$ and the of the polarized field, we have $`𝐄=𝐄_0/ϵ`$, where $`ϵ`$ is the dielectric function. Under the homogeneous polarization approximation, Benedict et al.  calculated the $`ϵ`$ of some tubes within random phase approximation. Based on their results, we have ,

$$ϵ=1+5.2\frac{R^2}{(R+\delta R)^2},$$
(9)
where $`R`$ is the radius of tubes. Benedict gave $`\delta R`$ about 1.2 $`\AA `$. So the required external field is about 6 times of the calculated total field $`𝐄`$. Since such a magnitude of the electric field can be easily reached by the current experimental conditions, we wish the above prediction can be checked in near future.

In summary, we have proposed an electric-field-induced M-I transition in $`(n,n)`$ SWNTs for the first time. The universal relationship between the gap and the electric field has been obtained in SWNTs by using the TB model. The results support the argument that SWNTs can be applied as nanoscale electric signal-controlled switching devices.

The authors would like to thank Prof. H.-W. Peng, Prof. Z.-B. Su and Dr. H.-J. Zhou for many discussions on the results. The numerical calculations were performed partly at ITP-Net and partly at the State Key Lab. of Scientific and Engineering Computing.