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# On the derivation of the spacetime metric from linear electrodynamics

## 1 Introduction

Recently, a metric-free formulation of the classical electromagnetic theory and its axiomatics has been discussed by Hehl and Obukhov, see refs. . The basic quantities in this formalism are the electromagnetic excitation 2-form $`H`$, directly related to the sources of the field, and the field strength 2-form $`F`$, describing the effects of the electromagnetic field on electrically charged test currents. The Lorentz force density $`f_\alpha =(e_\alpha F)J`$ acts on test currents, were $`J`$ is the electric current 3-form. The $`2`$-forms $`H`$ and $`F`$ satisfy Maxwell’s equations, $`\mathrm{d}H=J`$, $`\mathrm{d}F=0`$. Field strength and excitations are not independent, but related by the so-called spacetime relation $`H=H(F)`$; see refs.  for details.

The spacetime relation, expressing the properties of the underlying spacetime, will in particular determine the dynamical properties of the electromagnetic field. In this way, it is the analogous of the constitutive law, determining the the dynamical properties of the electromagnetic field *in material media*. The correspondence between electrodynamics in a gravitational field and in material media have been studied before, see for instance refs. .

Here we consider the case of a linear spacetime relation, where $`H`$ is proportional111Recently, some nonlinear models have been discussed in a similar formalism by Lorenci et al. . to $`F`$. In terms of coordinate components, the field strength will be denoted as $`F=(1/2)F_{ij}\mathrm{d}x^i\mathrm{d}x^j`$ and the excitation 2-form as $`H=(1/2)H_{ij}\mathrm{d}x^i\mathrm{d}x^j`$. Then, the most general linear spacetime relation can be written in terms of the electromagnetic spacetime tensor density $`\chi ^{ijkl}`$ (of weight $`+1`$), as222We denote by $`ϵ_{ijkl}`$ the completely antisymmetric tensor density of weight $`1`$ with $`ϵ_{0123}:=1`$.

$$H_{ij}=\frac{f}{4}ϵ_{ijkl}\chi ^{klmn}F_{mn},i,j=0,1,2,3,$$
(1)
where $`f`$ is a dimensionfull scalar such that $`\chi ^{ijkl}`$ is dimensionless. The spacetime tensor density has the following symmetries:

$$\chi ^{ijkl}=\chi ^{jikl}=\chi ^{ijlk}=\chi ^{klij}.$$
(2)
Note that the above formalism is metric-independent. As a particular example, however, one can recall the case of the coupling of the electromagnetic field to gravity in Einstein’s theory, i.e. minimal coupling to the metric tensor $`g_{ij}`$. This corresponds to the following particular electromagnetic spacetime tensor density ,

$$\stackrel{\mathrm{g}}{\chi }{}_{}{}^{ijkl}:=\sqrt{g}(g^{ik}g^{jl}g^{jk}g^{il}),$$
(3)
which we do *not* assume to hold. Rather, we want to derive this equation from the linear ansatz (1).

## 2 Closure relation

With the spacetime tensor available, we may define a duality operator # acting on 2-forms by extending (1) to any 2-form $`\mathrm{\Theta }=\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{\Theta }_{ij}\mathrm{d}x^i\mathrm{d}x^j`$ such that

$${}_{}{}^{\mathrm{\#}}\mathrm{\Theta }:=\frac{1}{4}ϵ_{ijkl}\chi ^{klnm}\mathrm{\Theta }_{mn}\mathrm{d}x^i\mathrm{d}x^j.$$
(4)
In refs.  spacetime tensors satisfying a so-called closure relation have been studied, namely those with

$$^{\mathrm{\#}\mathrm{\#}}=1.$$
(5)
This additional condition can be motivated by considering the electric-magnetic reciprocity of the energy-momentum current333The energy-momentum 3-form of electrodynamics, $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_\alpha =(1/2)[F(e_\alpha H)H(e_\alpha F)]`$, is explicitly symmetric under a transformation $`F\varphi H`$, $`H(1/\varphi )F`$, for an arbitrary pseudo scalar $`\varphi `$; see also refs.  for a detailed discussion.. Indeed, the closure relation results from assuming (1) to be electric-magnetic reciprocal, provided we choose $`f`$ such that $`f^2\varphi ^2=1`$. Note also that in the particular case (3) this condition is only fulfilled for metrics with Lorentzian signature.

In order to find the solutions of (5), it is convenient to adopt a more compact bivector notation by defining the indices $`I,J,\mathrm{}=01,02,03,23,31,12`$. In this notation, $`\chi ^{ijkl}`$ corresponds to a symmetric $`6\times 6`$ matrix $`\chi ^{IJ}`$ and the totally antisymmetric $`ϵ`$-tensor density becomes

$$ϵ^{IJ}=ϵ_{IJ}=\left(\begin{array}{cc}\hfill 0_3& \hfill 1_3\\ \hfill 1_3& \hfill 0_3\end{array}\right).$$
(6)
We define a new matrix $`\kappa `$ by

$$\kappa _I{}_{}{}^{J}:=ϵ_{IK}\chi ^{KJ}.$$
(7)
As $`ϵ^{IK}\kappa _K{}_{}{}^{J}=\chi ^{IJ}`$, any solution of the closure relation is given by a real $`6\times 6`$ matrix $`\kappa `$ fulfilling

$$\kappa _I{}_{}{}^{K}\kappa _{K}^{}{}_{}{}^{J}=\delta _I^J,$$
(8)
provided $`ϵ^{IK}\kappa _K^J`$ is symmetric.

We decompose the matrices $`\chi ^{IJ}`$ and $`\kappa _I^J`$ into $`3\times 3`$ block-matrices,

$$\chi ^{IJ}=\left(\begin{array}{cc}\hfill A& \hfill C\\ \hfill C^T& \hfill B\end{array}\right),\kappa _I{}_{}{}^{J}=\left(\begin{array}{cc}\hfill C^T& \hfill B\\ \hfill A& \hfill C\end{array}\right),$$
(9)
with symmetric matrices $`A`$ and $`B`$, and T denotes matrix transposition.

Then the closure relation, (5) or (8), translates into

$`C^2+AB`$ $`=`$ $`1_3,`$ (10)
$`BC+C^TB`$ $`=`$ $`0_3,`$ (11)
$`CA+AC^T`$ $`=`$ $`0_3.`$ (12)
A consideration of the following disjoint subcases will provide the general solution of the closure relation: 1) $`B`$ regular, 2) $`B`$ singular, but $`A`$ regular, and 3) $`A`$ and $`B`$ singular.

## 3 Solutions of the closure relation

### 3.1 $`B`$ regular

We construct the general solution of (10)-(12) for the case in which $`detB0`$. Under these conditions (11) is solved by

$$C=B^1K,K^T=K,$$
(13)
with an arbitrary antisymmetric matrix $`K`$. Using this solution for $`C`$, we rewrite (10) as

$$(B^1K)^2+AB=1_3,$$
(14)
so that the solution for $`A`$ is given by

$$A=B^1\left[1+(KB^1)^2\right].$$
(15)
The symmetry of $`A`$, as assumed in (9), may easily be seen in eq. (18) below.

A short calculation shows that the solutions (13) and (15) satisfy also (12) identically:

$`CA+AC^T`$ $`=`$ $`(B^1K)\left[B^1(1+(KB^1)^2)\right]`$ (16)
$`+\left[B^1(1+(KB^1)^2)\right](KB^1)`$
$`=`$ $`B^1KB^1B^1KB^1(KB^1)^2`$
$`+B^1KB^1+B^1(KB^1)^2KB^1`$
$`=`$ $`0.`$
Therefore, the solution of the closure relation can be written as

$$\chi ^{IJ}=\left(\begin{array}{cc}B^1\left[1+(KB^1)^2\right]& B^1K\\ KB^1& B\end{array}\right),$$
(17)
provided $`detB0`$. This solution consists of 9 independent parameters: 3 from the antisymmetric matrix $`K`$ and 6 from the nonsingular symmetric matrix $`B`$.

The solution previously found in ref. , eq. (14), is equivalent to ours, as a simple calculation using computer algebra shows

$$A=B^1(1+(KB^1)^2)=pB^1+qN,$$
(18)
with $`K=(K_{ab})=(ϵ_{abc}k^c)`$, $`N=(N^{ab})=(k^ak^b)`$, $`q=1/detB`$, and $`p=1+\mathrm{tr}(NB)/detB`$.

### 3.2 $`B`$ singular, $`A`$ regular

In this case (17) is not valid, but one can find a solution following a similar procedure, now starting with an arbitrary non-singular matrix $`A`$. We solve (12) with respect to $`C`$ and then use that result to solve (10) with respect to $`B`$. In this way the solution can be found to be

$$\chi ^{IJ}=\left(\begin{array}{cc}A& LA^1\\ A^1L& A^1\left[1+(LA^1)^2\right]\end{array}\right).$$
(19)
Here $`L`$ is again an arbitrary antisymmetric matrix, with components $`L=(L^{ab})`$, $`L^{ab}=:ϵ^{abc}l_c`$.

This solution has $`8`$ independent parameters: $`3`$ from the antisymmetric matrix $`L`$ and 6 from the nonsingular symmetric matrix $`A`$, fulfilling the constraint444Note, this solution is also valid for the case $`detA0`$ *and* $`detB0`$. But in this case, (19) is just a reparametrization of (17). $`detB=0`$. The constraint reads explicitly

$$detB=det\left(A^1\left[1+(LA^1)^2\right]\right)=0,$$
(20)
or, equivalently, $`det(A)A^{ab}l_al_b=0`$, as one finds after some algebra.

### 3.3 $`A`$ and $`B`$ singular

Finally, we analyse the case in which both $`detB=0`$ *and* $`detA=0`$. For simplicity, we will work in the basis in which the symmetric matrix $`B`$ is diagonal. Since $`B`$ is singular, we can choose the basis such that $`B_0=\mathrm{diag}(0,b_{22},b_{33})`$. After inserting this ansatz into equations (10)-(12), one finds that at least one of the two eigenvalues of $`B`$ must vanish, otherwise there is no real solution. Furthermore, at least one of the eigenvalues of $`B`$ must be different from zero. Otherwise, if $`B=0`$, eq. (10) would imply $`C^2=1_3`$ which has no solution with a real $`3\times 3`$ matrix. Then, we choose the basis such that $`B_0=\mathrm{diag}(0,0,b_{33})`$, with $`b_{33}0`$. We denote the solution in this particular basis as $`A_0,B_0`$ and $`C_0`$. Using this form of the matrix $`B`$, one is able to find, after some algebra, that the equations (10)-(12) admit the following four parameter solution:

$$A_0=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}c_{23}^2c_{12}^2b_{33}^1& c_{13}c_{23}b_{33}^1& c_{12}c_{23}b_{33}^1\\ c_{13}c_{23}b_{33}^1& c_{13}^2c_{12}^2b_{33}^1& c_{13}c_{12}^1b_{33}^1\\ c_{12}c_{23}b_{33}^1& c_{13}c_{12}^1b_{33}^1& b_{33}^1\end{array}\right),$$
(21)
$$B_0=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}0& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& b_{33}\end{array}\right),$$
(22)
$$C_0=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}0& c_{12}& c_{13}\\ c_{12}^1& 0& c_{23}\\ 0& 0& 0\end{array}\right).$$
(23)
No real solution exists if $`c_{12}=0`$. The general solution can thus be found from this special one by a similarity transformation:

$$A=SA_0S^1B=SB_0S^1C=SC_0S^1.$$
(24)
Here $`S`$ is an arbitrary regular matrix which keeps $`A`$ and $`B`$ symmetric. This means that $`S`$ has to be orthogonal (see for instance ref. , p. 297). Therefore, the general solution has 7 independent components, due to the 3 additional parameters corresponding to the orthogonal transformation. These 7 independent components are thus in agreement with the 9 independent components of the regular solution, provided one takes into account the two conditions $`detA=detB=0`$.

The orthogonal group $`O(3)`$ is given by the direct product of parity transformations $`P`$ and the special orthogonal subgroup $`SO(3)`$. We just have to consider $`SO(3)`$ transformations as parity transformations leave the solution invariant. We consider the parametrization of $`SO(3)`$ based on the generators of rotations with respect to the Cartesian axes,

$$J_1=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}0& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& i\\ 0& i& 0\end{array}\right),J_2=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}0& 0& i\\ 0& 0& 0\\ i& 0& 0\end{array}\right)\text{ and }J_3=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}0& i& 0\\ i& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& 0\end{array}\right).$$
(25)
Any matrix $`SSO(3)`$ is given by

$$S(\theta ^a)=\mathrm{exp}(iJ_a\theta ^a).$$
(26)
Hence, the general solution for this case is given by

$`A`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{exp}(iJ_a\theta ^a)A_0\mathrm{exp}(iJ_a\theta ^a),`$ (27)
$`B`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{exp}(iJ_a\theta ^a)B_0\mathrm{exp}(iJ_a\theta ^a),`$ (28)
$`C`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{exp}(iJ_a\theta ^a)C_0\mathrm{exp}(iJ_a\theta ^a).`$ (29)
## 4 The extraction of the metric

### 4.1 The regular solution of the closure relation

For a regular matrix $`B`$, the metric has been extracted in two independent ways up to a conformal factor. The first method  makes use of two formulas by Urbantke, see refs. . On the other hand, Obukhov et al.  have studied the propagation of electromagnetic waves for the most general case of a linear constitutive relation, see (1). They found that the wave covector, $`q_i`$, describing the propagation of wave fronts, fulfills a fourth order equation

$$G^{ijkl}q_iq_jq_kq_l=0,$$
(30)
with

$$G^{ijkl}:=\frac{1}{4!}\chi ^{mnp(i}\chi ^{j|qr|k}\chi ^{l)stu}ϵ_{mnrs}ϵ_{pqtu}.$$
(31)
This fourth order Fresnel equation is found to reduce to an equation of second order in the case of the regular solution (17) of the closure relation (5), i.e.

$$G^{ijkl}q_iq_jq_kq_l=\sqrt{|g|}(g^{ij}q_iq_j)^2.$$
(32)
The factor $`\sqrt{|g|}`$, with $`g:=det(g_{ij})`$, is necessary since $`\chi ^{ijkl}`$ is a tensor density of weight $`+1`$ so that $`G^{ijkl}`$ is also a tensor density of weight $`+1`$.

As $`g^{ij}q_iq_j=0`$ defines the lightcone at each event, one can read off the metric coefficients from (32), up to a conformal factor. In this case, the resulting metric, obtained by the two different methods, reads

$$g^{ij}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{detB}}\left(\begin{array}{cc}1(detB)^1k_ck^c& k^b\\ & \\ k^a& (detB)(B^1)^{ab}\end{array}\right),$$
(33)
with $`k_a:=B_{ab}k^b`$. It can be shown that $`g^{ij}`$ has Lorentzian signature. For details see refs. .

### 4.2 Solution for regular $`A`$ and singular $`B`$

After evaluating (30) and (31) for the solution (19), we find that the Fresnel equation (30) also separates. From it, we read off the components of the metric up to a conformal factor. We find

$$g^{ij}=\left(\begin{array}{cc}detA& l^b\\ & \\ l^a& (detA)^1l^al^bA^{ab}\end{array}\right),$$
(34)
where we have defined $`l^c:=A^{ac}l_a`$. Again, this metric has Lorentzian signature, since $`g:=det(g_{ij})=detA^2<0`$.

### 4.3 The degenerated case

Finally, for our special solution (21)-(23), we find that (30) also separates. The corresponding metric, up to a conformal factor, is found to be

$$g_0^{ij}=\left(\begin{array}{cccc}0& c_{23}c_{12}^2& c_{13}& c_{12}\\ c_{23}c_{12}^2& b_{33}c_{12}^2& 0& 0\\ c_{13}& 0& b_{33}& 0\\ c_{12}& 0& 0& 0\end{array}\right).$$
(35)
The determinant in this case is $`g=b_{33}^2c_{12}^4<0`$, so that the metric has Lorentzian signature, as in the previous cases.

In order to study the case of solution (24), we look how the quantities, in particular $`G^{ijkl}`$ as defined in (30), change under the orthogonal transformation555Alternatively, one can consider transformations of the coframe basis, as pointed out by Obukhov . $`S`$.

From (9) and (24) one can write the corresponding transformed spacetime tensor density as

$$\chi ^{ijkl}=\mathrm{\Lambda }_p^i\mathrm{\Lambda }_q^j\mathrm{\Lambda }_r^k\mathrm{\Lambda }_s^l\chi _0^{pqrs},$$
(36)
where we have defined

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }_j^i:=\left(\begin{array}{cc}1& 0\\ & \\ 0& S\end{array}\right).$$
(37)
From (31) we find the corresponding expression for the transformed tensor density $`G^{ijkl}`$. Since $`det(\mathrm{\Lambda }_j^i)=1`$, it takes the simple form

$$G^{ijkl}=\mathrm{\Lambda }_p^i\mathrm{\Lambda }_q^j\mathrm{\Lambda }_r^k\mathrm{\Lambda }_s^lG_0^{pqrs}.$$
(38)
Using this transformation law, one can easily prove the following: For orthogonal transformations (24) and (37), the tensor density $`G^{ijkl}`$ reduces the forth order Fresnel equation to the light cone equation, see (32), provided the tensor density $`G_0^{ijkl}`$ does. Thus, we find that the resulting transformed metric can be written in terms of the initial one in the form:

$$g^{ij}=\mathrm{\Lambda }_k^i\mathrm{\Lambda }_l^jg_0^{kl}.$$
(39)
We do not give here the explicit expression for this metric. We observe however that it has 7 independent components, and a Lorentzian signature.

## 5 Conclusions

By completing a recent analysis, we found a $`1`$-to-$`1`$ correspondence between spacetime tensors fulfilling the closure relation and the conformally invariant part of metric tensors with Lorentzian signature. A new, more instructive proof for the regular solution (17) is given.

In all cases, we checked the following important property: We took the conventional Hodge dual of a $`2`$-form with respect to the metric we derived. This coincides with the action of the duality operator #, defined in terms of the spacetime relation, fulfilling the closure relation. In other words, we have derived (3) from our linear ansatz (1), the latter of which is constrained by the closure relation (5).

This result, previously found only for regular sub-matrices $`A`$ and $`B`$, is then valid for all solutions.

### Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Friedrich W. Hehl for useful comments and discussion of the results, and to Yuri N. Obukhov for some critical and helpful remarks. AG thanks C. Heinicke for some help concerning computer algebra. GFR would like to thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a graduate fellowship (Kennziffer A/98/00829).


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# Strong damping of phononic heat current by magnetic excitations in SrCu2(BO3)2

## Abstract

Measurements of the thermal conductivity as a function of temperature and magnetic field in the 2D dimer spin system SrCu2(BO3)2 are presented. In zero magnetic field the thermal conductivity along and perpendicular to the magnetic planes shows a pronounced double-peak structure as a function of temperature. The low-temperature maximum is drastically suppressed with increasing magnetic field. Our quantitative analysis reveals that the heat current is due to phonons and that the double-peak structure arises from pronounced resonant scattering of phonons by magnetic excitations.

During the last few years the thermal conductivity ($`\kappa `$) of low dimensional spin systems has attracted considerable interest . One reason is that in these materials a large magnetic contribution $`\kappa ^{mag}`$ to the heat current may be present as observed e.g. for the spin ladder material Sr14-xCaxCu24O41 . Another reason is that the phononic heat current $`\kappa ^{ph}`$ probes the spectrum of magnetic excitations as well as the spin-phonon coupling . The latter is very important in some of the low dimensional spin systems, e.g. in the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO3 . Both issues, the magnetic contribution to the heat current as well as the interaction of the phonons with magnetic excitations, are to a large extent unexplored and not well understood.

A material of particular interest in this context is SrCu2(BO3)2 (SCBO) . The Cu2+ ions form a quasi-2D spin system which is by virtue of the crystal geometry an experimental realization of the Shastry-Sutherland model . In SCBO the intra-dimer and inter-dimer couplings are of magnitude $`J_172`$ K and $`J_243`$ K, i.e. $`J_2/J_10.6`$ . As expected for this ratio SCBO has a dimerized singlet ground-state separated from the excited triplet states by a finite gap $`\mathrm{\Delta }35`$ K as seen in the magnetic susceptibility  or in inelastic neutron scattering . From the latter it is also known that the triplet excitations are almost dispersionless, i.e the group velocity is very small, in agreement with theoretical calculations . Thus, a sizeable $`\kappa ^{mag}`$ is not expected for SCBO making this material a natural candidate to study the influence of magnetic excitations on $`\kappa ^{ph}`$.

In this letter we present measurements of the thermal conductivity of SCBO along ($`\kappa _a`$) and perpendicular ($`\kappa _c`$) to the 2D spin planes in a large temperature (2.5-275 K) and magnetic field range (0-17 T). In zero field, both $`\kappa _a`$ and $`\kappa _c`$ show pronounced double-peak structures as a function of $`T`$. For both directions the low-$`T`$ maximum is drastically suppressed by a magnetic field. We present a model based on a purely phononic thermal conductivity and explain the double-peak structure and its field dependence by strong damping of the phononic heat current due to resonant scattering of phonons by magnetic excitations. With the same parameters our model considerably improves the description of the magnetic field dependence of the specific heat of SCBO .

For our study two samples of rectangular-bar-shaped form of $`0.6\times 1.9\times 3`$ mm3 with the long direction along the $`a`$ and $`c`$ axis, respectively, were cut from larger single crystals of SCBO grown by the traveling solvent floating zone method . The thermal conductivity was measured with a conventional steady state method using differential Chromel-Au +0.07% Fe thermocouples calibrated in magnetic fields. Typical temperature gradients were of the order of 0.2 K. The absolute accuracy of our measurements is of order $`\pm 10\%`$ because of uncertainties in the sample geometry whereas the relative accuracy is about one order of magnitude better .

We show in Fig. 1 the thermal conductivity $`\kappa _a(T)`$ (= $`\kappa _b`$ in tetragonal SCBO) and $`\kappa _c(T)`$ in zero magnetic field. For both directions pronounced double-peak structures are observed with the low $`T`$ maxima occurring at $`4.5`$ K. For $`\kappa _a`$ the high $`T`$ maximum lies at $`60`$ K and for $`\kappa _c`$ at $`30`$K. Above 100 K we find $`\kappa _cT^1`$ as expected for phonon heat transport  whereas $`\kappa _a`$ follows a $`T^{0.6}`$ dependence. The magnetic field dependence of the thermal conductivity is shown in Fig. 2. The low $`T`$ maximum is suppressed strongly by a magnetic field for both $`\kappa _a`$ and $`\kappa _c`$. The magnetic field dependence at higher temperatures is only weak ($`2\%`$) and close to the relative measurement accuracy. The minimum of the double-peak structure and the low $`T`$ maximum systematically shift to lower temperatures with increasing magnetic field.

The behavior of $`\kappa `$ observed here is reminiscent of that found in other low dimensional spin systems . In particular, in CuGeO3 $`\kappa `$ also shows an almost field-independent maximum at $`20`$ K and a second one around $`5`$ K, which is strongly suppressed by a magnetic field. This has been interpreted in terms of a magnetic

and a phononic contribution to the heat current with maxima at different temperatures .

For several reasons, a similar interpretation is not possible in SCBO. Firstly, due to their flat dispersion the single triplet excitations are not expected to contribute significantly to the heat current. Secondly, $`\kappa ^{mag}`$ in a 2D magnetic system should be strongly anisotropic, as is observed e.g. in Sr14-xCaxCu24O41 , but not in our measurements. The lack of a strong anisotropy excludes also an explanation in terms of multi-triplet excitations observed in SCBO above $`5`$ meV . These excitations move much more easily than the single triplet excitations, but again only within the magnetic planes. Finally, the relation $`\kappa cv\mathrm{}`$ ($`c`$ is the specific heat, $`v`$ the group velocity and $`\mathrm{}`$ the mean free path) predicts similar $`T`$ dependencies of $`\kappa ^{mag}`$ and the magnetic specific heat $`c^{mag}`$. But measurements of $`c`$ in fields up to 12 T  show that $`c^{mag}`$ gives rise to a maximum of $`c/T`$ at temperatures close to the minima of $`\kappa _a`$ and $`\kappa _c`$ for the respective magnetic fields (see Fig. 2).

From these arguments we exclude a sizable magnetic contribution to the heat current , so that $`\kappa \kappa ^{ph}`$. As the cause of the double peak structure and its magnetic field dependence we propose scattering of phonons by magnetic excitations. The absence of a strong anisotropy of $`\kappa _a`$ and $`\kappa _c`$ is then easily understood, since both, the anisotropy of the spin-phonon coupling and/or of the phonon system itself are expected to be much weaker than that of the 2D magnetic system. In addition, this scenario yields a straightforward explanation why the minima of $`\kappa _a`$ and $`\kappa _c`$ occur at the maxima of $`c/T`$. The latter is the temperature derivative of the magnetic entropy and thus directly related to the number of magnetic excitations which serve as scatterers for the phonons.

For a quantitative description we fit our data by a Debye model for the phononic thermal conductivity

$$\kappa ^{ph}=\frac{k_B}{2\pi ^2v}\left(\frac{k_B}{\mathrm{}}\right)^3T^3_0^{\mathrm{\Theta }_D/T}\frac{x^4e^x\tau (\omega ,T)}{\left(e^x1\right)^2}𝑑x,$$
(1)
where $`v`$ is the sound velocity, $`\mathrm{\Theta }_D`$ the Debye temperature, $`\omega `$ the phonon frequency, $`x=\mathrm{}\omega /k_BT`$ and $`\tau (\omega ,T)`$ the mean lifetime of a phonon. The total scattering rate $`\tau ^1`$ is given by

$$\tau ^1=\tau _{bd}^1+\tau _{pt}^1+\tau _{um}^1+\tau _{res}^1.$$
(2)
Here $`\tau _{bd}^1`$, $`\tau _{pt}^1`$, and $`\tau _{um}^1`$ refer to the standard relaxation processes for conventional phonon heat transport, i.e. to boundary scattering, scattering by point defects, and umklapp scattering, respectively . $`\tau _{res}^1`$ describes the scattering of phonons on magnetic excitations, which will be considered in the following.

For the double-peak structure of the phononic thermal conductivity we need a scattering mechanism that is most active in a certain temperature range. We therefore consider resonant scattering . The physical picture is the following: A phonon of energy $`\omega `$ is absorbed, thereby exciting the magnetic system (under the constraint of spin conservation). Then another phonon of the same energy is emitted and the magnetic system is deexcited. If excitation (or deexcitation) starts from a localized state like the dispersionless triplet excitations of SCBO there is no directional correlation between the absorbed and the emitted phonon. The net effect is therefore the same as that of point-like defects except for the frequency dependence of the matrix element $`M_{k^{},k}(\omega )`$, and the scattering rate $`\tau _{res}^1`$ is of the form

$$\tau _{res}^1(\omega )=C\omega ^2M_{k^{},k}^2(\omega )F(T)=C\frac{\omega ^4\mathrm{\Delta }_s^2}{(\omega ^2\mathrm{\Delta }_s^2)^2}F(T).$$
(3)
Here, $`\mathrm{\Delta }_s`$ is the energy splitting of the two levels involved, $`C`$ is the overall coupling strength between phonons and the two-level system and $`F(T)`$ contains information on the state of the two-level system . Notably, resonant scattering starting from the magnetic ground state is not effective! The reason is that the ground state is a coherent, translational invariant state with zero momentum so that the emitted and absorbed phonons must have the same momentum and energy.

With this scenario in mind we consider resonant scattering within the magnetic excitation spectrum of SCBO (Fig. 2d). The lowest excited state is a single triplet with excitation energy $`\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$. It is thermally excited with probability $`c_1=1[1+m_1\mathrm{exp}(\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_0)]^1`$. Here $`\beta =(k_BT)^1`$ and $`m_1=1+2\mathrm{cosh}(\beta h)`$ contains the magnetic field dependence through $`h=g\mu _BH`$. In the resonance process a second triplet is excited on one of the two adjacent dimers, and it combines with the first, thermally excited triplet to a bound triplet state so that the total spin is conserved. The energy of the bound triplet is given by $`2\mathrm{\Delta }_0B`$, where $`B`$ is the binding energy . The resonance energy to be used in Eq. (3) is therefore $`\mathrm{\Delta }_s=(2\mathrm{\Delta }_0B)\mathrm{\Delta }_0=\mathrm{\Delta }_0B`$. A complete description of the thermal factors of the resonance process takes account of (i) the fact that a thermally excited triplet has to be present and (ii) of all resonance processes involving the 2 adjacent dimers. This yields

$$F(T)=2c_1\left(N_0+N_1+(N_0N_1)^2\right)$$
(4)
with the probabilities $`N_0=1c_1`$ of having a dimer in its singlet state and $`N_1=c_1/3`$ of having a dimer in the triplet state with a particular $`S^z`$ component. Note that in the resonance process the total $`S^z`$ component is conserved due to spin conservation. Therefore $`\mathrm{\Delta }_s`$ does not depend on the magnetic field. It is only $`c_1`$ that is field dependent.

In zero field Eqs. (3,4) yield an excellent fit (not shown) for $`\mathrm{\Delta }_035`$ K and $`\mathrm{\Delta }_s20`$ K indicating strong binding effects ($`B15`$ K). This is in good agreement with inelastic neutron scattering and ESR experiments showing the lowest bound triplets at $`55`$ K and an elementary gap of $`\mathrm{\Delta }_035`$ K (see Fig. 2d) . However, the decrease of the thermal conductivity in magnetic fields computed by Eqs. (3,4) is much stronger than that found in our experiments.

We can account for this discrepancy by considering a second, magnetic field independent contribution to the resonance scattering. It arises from the presence of bound singlet excitations with energy $`2\mathrm{\Delta }_02B`$  (see Fig. 2d). Since $`2B\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$ in SCBO, the energy of these bound singlets is close to that of single triplet excitations yielding comparable thermal populations of these states. Therefore bound singlets have to be treated as scattering centers for resonance scattering too. In this case a dimer adjacent to a bound singlet is excited and the corresponding 3 triplets combine to $`S_{tot}=0`$. Since $`S_{tot}=0`$, this contribution to the resonance scattering does not depend on a magnetic field and lowers the sensitivity of the total resonance scattering rate to a magnetic field. The contribution of the bound singlets to the scattering rate is treated in analogy to that of the single triplets. The probability that a pair of adjacent dimers is in a state made of two triplets is given by $`c_2=1(1+2m_1\mathrm{exp}(\beta \mathrm{\Delta }_0))/Z`$, where $`Z`$ is the complete partition sum of the system of two triplets. In this way we achieve a theoretical description comprising single triplets with density per dimer $`n_1`$ and 2-triplet states with density per dimer $`n_2`$. Exclusion effects - a dimer cannot be in a single triplet state and involved in one of the bound states simultaneously - are accounted for by $`n_1=c_1(14n_12n_2)`$ and $`n_2=2c_2(12n_13n_2)`$.

A complication arises from a repulsive interaction $`v`$ between neighboring triplets. The energy $`\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$ of a single triplet is smaller than $`J_1`$ due to virtual processes between neighboring dimers resulting from the dimer-dimer coupling. If a triplet is excited on a neighboring dimer these processes are (in part) blocked and $`\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$ increases. Accounting for this on a mean-field level yields $`v=R(n_1+3n_2/2)`$ with $`R=(J_1\mathrm{\Delta }_0)/2`$ . In the calculation of $`\kappa `$ one has to replace $`\mathrm{\Delta }_0\mathrm{\Delta }_0+pv`$ in all equations (i.e. in $`c_1`$, $`c_2`$ and the energies given in ), where $`p=2`$ refers to single triplets and $`p=3/2`$ to bound states from two triplets.

To illustrate the validity of our model we compute the specific heat for various magnetic fields. For the realistic parameters $`\mathrm{\Delta }_0=36`$ K, $`R=18`$ K (from $`J_1=72`$ K ) and $`B=17`$ K we obtain the results depicted in Fig. 2c. At low $`T`$ the agreement is very good; position and height of the peak are considerably improved relative to the isolated dimer model . At higher $`T`$ we presume that the local model developed above is too simplistic since the dispersion  of the bound states is neglected.

The resonant scattering, decisive for the thermal conductivity, is calculated in the same model with the same parameters. We obtain $`\tau _{res}^1=C\omega ^4(A_1+A_2)`$ with

$`A_1`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{2n_1(N_0+N_1+(N_0N_1)^2)(\mathrm{\Delta }_0B)^2}{((\mathrm{\Delta }_0B)^2\omega ^2)^2}}`$ (6)
$`A_2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{3n_2(N_0+N_1+2(N_0N_1)^2)\mathrm{\Delta }_0^2}{(\mathrm{\Delta }_0^2\omega ^2)^2}}`$ (7)
where $`N_1=(n_1+3n_2/2)/3`$ and $`N_0=13N_1`$. Using this $`\tau _{res}^1`$ together with the usual scattering rates (Eq. (2)) we fit the experimental $`\kappa _a`$ and $`\kappa _c`$ by Eq. (1). The sound velocity ($`v=7600`$ m/s) along the a-direction and $`\mathrm{\Theta }_D=453`$ K are calculated from the measured elastic constant $`c_{11}`$ . Due to the lack of experimental data for $`c_{33}`$ we take the same velocity for the fit of $`\kappa _c`$. The relaxation rate $`\tau _{bd}^1`$ is then obtained by $`\tau _{bd}^1=v/L`$ with the characteristic sample lengths $`L=0.75`$ mm ($`\kappa _a`$) and 0.5 mm ($`\kappa _c`$) of the two samples. The point defect scattering rate is given by $`\tau _{pt}^1=P\omega ^4`$ and the phonon umklapp scattering rate is approximated by $`\tau _{um}^1=UT\omega ^3\mathrm{exp}(\mathrm{\Theta }_D/uT)`$ . Since the gap $`\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$, the binding energy $`B`$, and the interaction $`R`$ are determined from the specific heat there remain only four adjustable parameters ($`P`$, $`U`$, $`u`$, and $`C`$).

As shown in Fig. 2 our model yields an almost perfect fit of the measured $`\kappa _c`$ (for $`H=0`$) over the entire $`T`$ range. Above 10 K the fit of $`\kappa _a`$ is also almost perfect, whereas below 10 K a slight $`T`$ shift ($`1`$ K) between fit and experimental data occurs. We use $`P=7.710^{43}`$ s3 ($`7.910^{43}`$ s3), $`U=2.610^{31}`$ s2/K ($`5.710^{31}`$ s2/K), $`u=5`$ (10), and $`C=3.3510^6`$ s3 $`(1.1510^6`$ s3) for the calculation of $`\kappa _a`$ ($`\kappa _c`$). These values are reasonable for an insulator and are comparable in magnitude to those found e.g. in the spin ladders . Different values for $`\kappa _a`$ and $`\kappa _c`$ are expected in an anisotropic crystal.

Accounting for the Zeeman splitting in $`c_1`$ and $`c_2`$, we calculate $`\kappa _a`$ and $`\kappa _c`$ in magnetic fields without further parameter adjustment. Using $`g2.07`$ , our model reproduces the overall influence of the magnetic field very well. The high $`T`$ maxima remain unchanged whereas the low $`T`$ maxima are continuously suppressed. Again the agreement between calculated and experimental values is better for $`\kappa _c`$ than for $`\kappa _a`$. Whereas the field influence on $`\kappa _a`$ is slightly overestimated by our model the experimental values of $`\kappa _c`$ are even quantitatively reproduced up to the highest field.

In the calculations, one can switch off the resonant scattering on magnetic excitations by setting $`C=0`$. $`\kappa ^{ph}(C=0)`$ obtained in this way is much larger than the measured thermal conductivity, as shown in the inset of Fig. 1. As expected for resonant scattering the damping of the phonon heat transport is most pronounced for $`T\mathrm{\Delta }_s`$. Note, however, that even at room temperature the suppression is sizeable. This strong damping gives further evidence for a large spin phonon coupling in SCBO as has been inferred before from sound wave anomalies .

In summary, the thermal conductivity of the low dimensional quantum spin system SrCu2(BO3)2 has a characteristic double-peak structure with two maxima at low temperatures and a pronounced magnetic field dependence. A significant magnetic contribution to the heat current can be excluded, since the double peak structure is not anisotropic and because the magnetic excitations are (almost) localized. Our quantitative analysis in terms of resonant scattering of phonons on magnetic excitations explains the double peak structures and their magnetic field dependence very well and gives evidence for strong spin-phonon coupling. Therefore, we call for further investigations whether the same mechanism is at work in other low-dimensional spin systems.

We acknowledge useful discussions with E. Müller-Hartmann, M. Grüninger and A. P. Kampf. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft in SFB 341 and SP 1073.


text:
# Pressure-induced anomalous magnetism and unconventional superconductivity in CeRhIn5:115In-NQR study under pressure

(March 12, 2001)

## Abstract

We report 115In nuclear-quadrupole-resonance (NQR) measurements of the pressure($`P`$)-induced superconductor CeRhIn5 in the antiferromagnetic (AF) and superconducting (SC) states. In the AF region, the internal field $`H_{int}`$ at the In site is substantially reduced from $`H_{int}=1.75`$ kOe at $`P=0`$ to 0.39 kOe at $`P=1.23`$ GPa, while the Néel temperature slightly changes with increasing $`P`$. This suggests that either the size in the ordered moment $`M_Q(P)`$ or the angle $`\theta (P)`$ between the direction of $`M_Q(P)`$ and the tetragonal $`c`$ axis is extrapolated to zero at $`P^{}=1.6\pm 0.1`$ GPa at which a bulk SC transition is no longer emergent. In the SC state at $`P=2.1`$ GPa, the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $`{}_{}{}^{115}(1/T_1)`$ has revealed a $`T^3`$ dependence without the coherence peak just below $`T_c`$, giving evidence for the unconventional superconductivity. The dimensionality of the magnetic flutuations in the normal state are also discussed.

preprint: MgB2 1/T1

There is increasing evidence that a superconducting (SC) order in cerium (Ce)-based heavy-fermion (HF) compounds takes place nearby the border where an antiferromagnetic (AF) order is suppressed by applying pressure ($`P`$) to the HF-AF compounds CeCu2Ge2,CeCu2Ge2  CePd2Si2CePd2Si2  and CeIn3.CeIn3  When a magnetic medium is near an AF phase, AF waves of electron-spin density tend to propagate over a long distance with a low characteristic energy. Thereby it was argued that the binding of the Cooper pairs could be described in terms of the emission and absorption of fluctuating AF waves.CeIn3  The interplay between the AF and SC states in the Ce-based HF systems may share some common aspects with other strongly-correlated-electron systems, and the understanding of mechanisms for superconductivity different from the conventional electron-phonon mediated one is still an important and unresolved issue.

Quite recently, it was discovered that a new HF-AF CeRhIn5 (the Néel temperature, $`T_N`$=3.8 K) becomes a bulk HF superconductor at pressures exceeding $`P_c`$1.63 GPa.Heeger  It was suggested that a first order-like transition from an AF state to a SC state occurs with a SC transition temperature $`T_c2.2`$ K that is nearly 10 times larger than the maximum values for CePd2Si2 and CeIn3. Apparently, the evolution from the AF to SC states differs from all previous examples. $`T_N`$ was reported to increase weakly with the pressure for $`P`$ 1.45 GPa, above which there is no resistive signature for $`T_N`$. In order to shed light on a $`P`$-induced exotic evolution from the AF to SC states in CeRhIn5, one needs to uncover magnetic and SC characteristics through extensive experiments under $`P`$.

Here we report extensive 115In-NQR measurements of CeRhIn5 in the AF and SC states. The temperature ($`T`$) and $`P`$ dependences of the 115In-NQR spectrum and the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate $`{}_{}{}^{115}(1/T_1)`$ were measured in a $`P`$ range of $`02.1`$ GPa and a $`T`$ range of 0.15$``$50 K. The salient results are (1) $`T_N`$ slightly increases up to $`P=1.00`$GPa, but decreases at $`P`$=1.23 GPa, (2) By contrast, the internal field $`H_{int}`$ at the In site due to the magnetic ordering is substantially reduced with $`P`$. This $`P`$-induced reduction in $`H_{int}`$ might be attributed to either an ordered moment $`M_Q(P)0`$ or the angle $`\theta 0`$ at $`P^{}=1.6\pm 0.1`$GPa, where $`\theta `$ is the angle between the direction of $`M_Q(P)`$ and the tetragonal $`c`$ axis, (3) The $`{}_{}{}^{115}(1/T_1)`$ in the SC state at $`P=2.1`$ GPa obeys a $`T^3`$ dependence without the coherence peak just below $`T_c`$ consistent with a line-node gap model as reported in all previous HF-SC compounds, HFSC  (4) In the normal state at $`P`$=2.1GPa, the $`T`$ dependence of $`{}_{}{}^{115}(1/T_1)`$ is consistent with the three dimensional (3D) SCR theory for a nearly AF Fermi-liquid state.

Single crystal of CeRhIn5 was grown by the self-flux method.Heeger  Powder X-ray diffraction indicated that the compound consists of a single phase that is formed in the primitive tetragonal HoCoGa5 structure. The single crystal was moderately crushed into grains in order to make rf pulses penetrate into samples easily. Hydrostatic pressure was applied by utilizing a NiCrAl/BeCu piston-cylinder cell, filled with a Si-based organic liquid as a pressure-transmitting medium. High-frequency ac-susceptibility (ac-$`\chi `$) was measured at $`P`$=1.5, 1.65, 1.8 and 2.15 GPa by using the in-situ NQR coil. The ac-$`\chi `$ data show a sharp SC transition at $`T_c`$=2.1 and 2.2 K at $`P`$=1.8 and 2.15 GPa, respectively (see Fig.4(b)). The 115In-NQR spectrum was obtained by plotting spin-echo signal as a function of frequency in $`T=1.410`$ K and $`P=02.1`$ GPa. $`T_1`$ was measured by the conventional saturation-recovery method in $`T=0.1550`$ K at $`P`$=0, 1.23 and 2.1 GPa.

CeRhIn5 consists of alternating layers of CeIn3 and RhIn2 and hence has two inequivalent In sites per a unit cell. The In(1) site, analogous to the single In site in a cubic CeIn3, is located on the top and bottom faces of the tetragonal unit cell. By considering the symmetry of the In(1) site, this site was characterized by $`\nu _Q=6.78\pm 0.01`$ MHz and an asymmetry parameter $`\eta `$=0 in the previous NQR study.Curro  Here $`\nu _Q`$ and $`\eta `$ are defined by the NQR Hamiltonian: $`H_Q=(h\nu _Q/6)[3I_z^2I^2+\eta (I_x^2I_y^2)]`$. The In(1)-NQR spectrum in the paramagnetic state at 4.2 K and $`P=0`$ is shown in the bottom of Fig.1 where four transitions are found at the different frequencies $`\nu =n\nu _Q`$ with $`n`$=1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively.

In order to deduce the $`T`$ dependence of the internal field $`H_{int}(T)`$ at the In(1) site in the AF state, we focus on the splitting of the 2$`\nu _Q`$ (3/2$``$1/2) transition and the shift of resonance frequency of the 3$`\nu _Q`$ (5/2$``$3/2) transition in the In(1) spectrum below $`T_N`$. This is because $`H_{int}`$ lies perpendicular to the tetragonal $`c`$ axis as reported in the previous study.Curro  Including the Zeeman term $`H_Z=\gamma \mathrm{}I_xH_{int}`$ where $`\gamma `$ is the gyromagnetic ratio, we diagonalize the full Hamiltonian $`H_{nuc}=H_Q+H_Z`$ and determine the $`H_{int}(T)`$ for different values of $`P`$. The 2$`\nu _Q`$ transition at $`P=0`$ shown in the upper panel of Fig.1 is asymmetrically split into two resonances by $`H_{int}`$, consistently with the previous result.Curro  By contrast, the resonance frequency $`\nu _p`$ of the 3$`\nu _Q`$ transition is decreased by $`H_{int}`$ as seen in Fig.1. The $`T`$ dependence of $`\nu _p`$ at $`P`$=0, 0.46, 1.00 and 1.23 GPa is shown in Fig.2(a). $`T_N`$ is marked by arrows in Fig.2(a) and is precisely determined as the temperature below which $`\nu _p`$ decreases. It is notable that $`T_N`$ slightly increases from 3.8 K at $`P`$=0 to $``$ 4 K at $`P=1.00`$ GPa, but decreases to $``$ 3.6 K at $`P`$=1.23 GPa. The occurrence of the magnetic ordering at $`P=1.23`$ GPa is clearly corroborated by a distinct peak in $`1/T_1T`$ at $`T_N=3.6`$ K that probes critical magnetic fluctuations toward the magnetic ordering as shown in the inset of Fig.2(a).

$`H_{int}=1.75`$ kOe at $`P=0`$ and $`T=1.4`$ K is estimated from the size of $`\nu _p`$ reduction of the 3$`\nu _Q`$ transition as well as the splitting of the 2$`\nu _Q`$ transition. This is consistent with the previous result.Curro  Note that $`\nu _p`$ is only sensitive to the magnitude of $`H_{int}`$. $`H_{int}(P)`$ is plotted against a reduced temperature $`t=T/T_N`$ in Fig.2(b). Unexpectedly, the saturated value of $`H_{int}`$ 0.39 kOe at $`P=1.23`$ GPa is about five times smaller than $`H_{int}`$ 1.75 kOe at $`P=0`$, although $`T_N`$ changes moderately. This slight pressure dependence of $`T_N`$ contrasts with the strong reduction of $`H_{int}`$. A recent neutron experiment reported that Ce-ordered moments ($`M_Q=0.264(4)\mu _B`$ at 1.4 K and $`P=0`$) that lie in the basal plane are antiferromagnetically aligned, but they spiral transversely along the $`c`$ axis with an incommensurate wave vector qM=(1/2, 1/2, 0.297).Bao  $`H_{int}(P)`$ is then extrapolated to zero at $`P^{}=1.6\pm 0.1`$ GPa (see Fig.4(a)). If $`M_Q(P)`$ is directed in the basal plane, the $`M_Q`$ would be scaled to $`H_{int}`$ and substantially reduced to $`0.05\mu _B`$ at $`P=1.23`$GPa. On the other hand, if $`M_Q(P)`$ is rotated with $`P`$ from the $`ab`$ plane to the $`c`$ axis, the angle $`\theta `$ between the direction of $`M_Q`$ and the $`c`$ axis would be progressively smaller, extrapolated to zero at $`P^{}=1.6\pm 0.1`$ GPa (see Fig.4(a)). This is because $`H_{int}`$ at the In(1) site is canceled out at $`\theta `$=0. $`H_{int}`$ orignates from the direct dipolar field from the Ce ordered moments that reaches 30% of the total and from the indirect ”pseudo” dipolar (anisotropic) field via the supertransferred hyperfine interaction. The latter internal field acts on the In site through the hybridization between In 5$`p`$\- and Ce 4$`f`$-orbits. Note that the isotropic hyperfine field originating from Ce ordered moments is canceled out at the In(1) site. In order to see which $`P`$-induced change is more likely in the AF state, we need to consider the $`T`$ dependence of $`H_{int}(t)/H_{int}(0)`$ displayed in the inset of Fig.2(b), where $`H_{int}(0)`$ is the low-$`T`$ saturated value. A rapid growing of $`H_{int}(T)`$ is evident even at $`P`$=1.23 GPa. It would be therefore unlikely that some itinerant magnetic ordering takes place with a reduced moment and rather likely that the ordered moments rotate toward the $`c`$ axis. As a result, it might be expected that the spiral order evolves into some commensurate AF fluctuation regime at $`P^{}=1.6\pm 0.1`$ GPa. Note that $`P^{}`$ is close in value to a critical pressure $`P_c1.63`$ GPa which was suggested from the resistivity measurement.Heeger  To resolve this issue, further neutron experiment under pressure is highly desired.

We next deal with the SC region. The $`T_1`$ in the SC and normal state at $`P=2.1`$ GPa was measured at the 1$`\nu _Q`$ and 2$`\nu _Q`$ transitions in order to avoid heating effect due to rf-excitation pulses. $`T_1`$ was determined by a single component. Figure 3 shows the $`T`$ dependence of $`{}_{}{}^{115}(1/T_1)`$ at $`P=0`$ and 2.1 GPa. $`{}_{}{}^{115}(1/T_1)`$ exhibits no coherence peak just below $`T_c`$=2.2 K, followed by a $`T^3`$ dependence down to $``$ 0.3 K. This is a convincing experimental evidence for the unconventional nature of the $`P`$-induced superconductivity in CeRhIn5. Likewise all previous examples, a line-node gap model is applicable to the SC state in CeRhIn5. Assuming an anisotropic energy gap model with $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\mathrm{\Delta }_0\mathrm{cos}\theta `$, a solid line in Fig.3 is a fit for the $`{}_{}{}^{115}(1/T_1)`$ data with $`2\mathrm{\Delta }_0=5k_\mathrm{B}T_c`$.

We argue magnetic characters in the normal state at $`P=`$2.1 GPa. According to the SCR theory for nearly-AF metals by Moriya et al,moriya  $`1/T_1T\chi _Q(T)^n`$. Here a power-law dependence of the staggered susceptibility $`\chi _Q(T)`$ is obtained as $`n`$=1 and 1/2 for two (2D) and three (3D) dimensional electronic systems, respectively. By noting that $`\chi _Q(T)`$ follows a Curie-Weiss law of $`1/(T+\theta )`$, a behavior of $`(T_1T)^2(T+\theta )`$ is expected for the 3D nearly AF regime. As a matter of fact, as indicated in the inset of Fig.3, a fit of $`(T_1T)^2(T+\theta )`$ with $`\theta =1.5`$ K is consistent with the present result in a relatively wide $`T`$ range of $`T_c=2.2`$ K – 30 K. This shows that 3D AF fluctuations are dominant in the normal state at $`P`$=2.1GPa.moriya ; ishigaki ; nakamura .

Hegger et al. speculated that the maximum at $`T_{\chi m}=`$7.5 K and $`P=0`$ in the susceptibility is associated with the development of 2D AF correlations in the CeIn3 layers,Heeger  since a 2D-like magnetic character is expected from its quasi-2D crystal structure in the lower $`P`$ region. With increasing $`P`$, $`T_{\chi m}`$ decreases approximately linearly and it would be extrapolated to $`T=0`$ at $`P_m=1.3\pm 0.4`$ GPa. This is indicative of the 2D character in magnetic properties, which may be progressively suppressed as $`P`$ increases. It is noteworthy that $`P_m`$ is comparable to $`P_c1.63`$ GPa and $`P^{}=1.6\pm 0.1`$ GPa. Therefore, at $`P`$ = 2.1GPa exceeding either $`P_m`$ or $`P^{}`$, it is considered that AF fluctuations possess a 3D character rather than a 2D one. However, further works are needed to elucidate the role of critical AF fluctuations in the onset of the unconventional $`P`$-induced superconductivity in CeRhIn5.

Figure 4(a) presents a phase diagram of the AF and SC phases along with the previous results.Heeger  According to the Ref., at $`P_c`$1.63 GPa, the SC transition in the resistivity measurement begins around 2 K and reaches a zero-resistance state with a broad transition width.Heeger  In agreement, as shown in Fig.4(b), we found that the onset temperature in ac-$`\chi `$ is in accord with this zero-resistance $`T_c`$. However the size of the SC diamagnetism at 1.4 K in ac-$`\chi `$ is substantially reduced. At $`P=1.5`$ GPa, no change in ac-$`\chi `$ is observable at all, supporting a critical pressure $`P_c`$1.63 GPa as suggested in the previous work.Heeger  Therefore it was ensured from the present ac-$`\chi `$ measurement that the bulk SC transition takes place down to $`P=1.8`$ GPa, but probably not at pressures lower than $`P=1.65`$ GPa. The present NQR study confirms that $`T_N`$ slightly increases up to $`T_N`$ 4 K at $`P`$=1.00 GPa, but decreases to 3.6 K at $`P`$=1.23 GPa. The internal field $`H_{int}`$ is extrapolated to zero at $`P^{}=1.6\pm 0.1`$ GPa which is close to $`P_c`$1.63 GPa. Either the reduction in the ordered moment $`M_Q`$ or its rotation from the $`ab`$ plane to the $`c`$ axis may occur as $`P`$ increases. From the rapid growing of $`H_{int}(P)`$ upon cooling below $`T_N`$, we believe that the rotation of $`M_Q(P)`$ occurs with $`P`$, but its marked reduction does not. In this context, we suggest that the spiral order is presumably suppressed across a critical pressure $`P^{}=1.6\pm 0.1`$ GPa. Eventually, the SC transition emerges in CeRhIn5 at pressures exceeding $`P^{}`$. It is highly desired to elucidate whether AF or SC fluctuations prevent the onset of any type of long-range orders in the vicinity of $`P^{}=1.6\pm 0.1`$ GPa.

In conclusion, we have reported that unconventional magnetic and superconducting states are induced by applying $`P`$ to the HF-AF CeRhIn5. In the magnetic region, $`T_N`$ exhibits a moderate variation. By contrast, $`H_{int}`$ whose presence is due to the magnetic ordering is unexpectedly reduced at $`P=1.23`$ GPa, extrapolated to zero at $`P^{}=1.6\pm 0.1`$GPa. The spiral order might be suppressed presumably due to the rotation of the ordered moments toward the $`c`$ axis. This $`P^{}`$ is comparable to $`P_c`$1.63 GPa at which the bulk SC transition is not emergent as suggested from the previous resistivity Heeger  and corroborated by the present ac-$`\chi `$ measurements. In the SC state at $`P=2.1`$GPa, we found $`1/T_1T^3`$ that shows the existence of line-nodes in the gap function. In the normal state, the remarkable behavior of $`(1/T_1T)1/\sqrt{T+1.5}`$ which is consistent with the 3D nearly AF fluctuation regime suggests that the magnetic nature possesses a 3D-like character at pressures where the bulk SC sets in. This work was supported by the COE Research (10CE2004) in Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Sport, Science and Culture of Japan. One of the authors (T.M.) has been supported by JSPS Research Fellowships for Young Scientists.


text:
# Carlson-Goldman modes in the color superconducting phase of dense QCD

## Abstract

We predict the existence of the gapless Carlson-Goldman modes in the color-flavor locked color superconducting phase of dense QCD. These modes resemble Nambu-Goldstone modes of the superconducting phase below the critical temperature where the Anderson-Higgs mechanism takes place. These modes exist in the broken phase in the vicinity of the critical line. Their presence does not eliminate the Meissner effect. The effect of Landau damping on the width of the Carlson-Goldman modes is discussed.

preprint: NUC-MINN-01/7-T

The Anderson-Higgs mechanism is one of the most fundamental notions of modern theoretical physics, having many important applications in particle and condensed matter physics. The Standard Model of particle physics, which has already withstood numerous experimental tests, crucially incorporates the Higgs mechanism as one of the most essential ingredients. Similarly, the theory of the low and high temperature superconductivity would not be complete without the Anderson mechanism.

About a three decades ago, an unusual and a rather surprising “propagating order parameter collective modes” were discovered by Carlson and Goldman  (see also, Ref. ). One of the most intriguing interpretation connects such modes with a revival of the Nambu-Goldstone (NG) bosons in the superconducting phase where the Anderson-Higgs mechanism should commonly take place. It was argued that an interplay of two effects, screening and Landau damping, is crucial for the existence of the CG modes . These modes can only appear in the vicinity of the critical temperature (in the broken phase), where a large number of thermally excited quasiparticles leads to partial screening of the Coulomb interaction, and the Anderson-Higgs mechanism becomes inefficient. At the same time, the quasiparticles induce Landau damping which usually makes the CG modes overdamped in clean systems. To suppress such an effect and make the CG modes observable, one should consider dirty systems in which quasiparticle scatterings on impurities tend to reduce Landau damping.

In the two fluid description, the CG modes are related to oscillations of the superfluid and the normal component in opposite directions . The local charge density remains zero in such oscillations, providing favorable conditions for gapless modes, in contrary to the widespread belief that the plasmons are the only collective modes in charged systems.

In this Letter we predict the existence of the Carlson-Goldman (CG) modes in dense quark matter. It has been known for a long time that quark matter at a sufficiently high baryon density should reveal color superconductivity . Recent developments  added a hope that a color superconducting phase may exist in compact stars, and its signatures could possibly be detected .

We shall consider the color-flavor locked (CFL) phase of dense QCD with three massless flavors of quarks (up, down and strange). In this phase, the original $`SU(3)_C\times SU(3)_R\times SU(3)_L`$ symmetry of the QCD action breaks down to $`SU(3)_{C+L+R}`$ . Out of total sixteen (would be) NG bosons, eight ($`\varphi ^A`$, $`A=1,\mathrm{},8`$) are removed from the physical spectrum by the Higgs mechanism, providing masses to eight gluons. The other eight NG bosons ($`\pi ^A`$) show up as an octet of pseudoscalars. In addition, the global baryon number symmetry as well as the approximate $`U(1)_A`$ symmetry also get broken. This gives an extra NG boson and a pseudo-NG boson.

The order parameter consists of a color antitriplet, flavor antitriplet $`(\overline{3},\overline{3})`$ and a color sextet, flavor sextet $`(6,6)`$ contributions . The dominant contribution to the order parameter is $`(\overline{3},\overline{3})`$, but a non-zero, although small, admixture of $`(6,6)`$ also appears . The value of the order parameter at zero temperature was estimated using phenomenological , as well as microscopic models . While the exact value remains uncertain, it can be as large as $`100`$ MeV. Without loosing generality, here we consider a pure $`(\overline{3},\overline{3})`$ order parameter, so that the quark gaps in the octet and singlet channel are related as follows $`\mathrm{\Delta }_12\mathrm{\Delta }_8=2|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|`$ at any finite temperature. As we shall see below, the presence of two distinct (octet and singlet) quark gaps in the CFL phase leads to a partial suppression of Landau damping, and, as a result, the CG modes could show up even in a clean color superconductor.

Our current analysis mostly deals with the collective modes, related to the gluon field. It is natural, then, to start our consideration with the effective action, obtained by integrating out the quark degrees of freedom. Irrespective of a specific model, the corresponding Lagrangian density should read

$``$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}A_q^{A,\mu }i\left[𝒟^{(0)}(q)\right]_{\mu \nu }^1A_q^{A,\nu }`$ (1)
$``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left[A_q^{A,\mu }iq^\mu \varphi _q^A\right]\mathrm{\Pi }_{\mu \nu }(q)\left[A_q^{A,\nu }+iq^\nu \varphi _q^A\right]+\mathrm{},`$ (2)
where ellipsis denote the interactions terms. The presence of the phase field octet $`\varphi _q^A`$ is very important for preserving the gauge invariance of the model. Under a gauge transformation, the phase $`\varphi _q^A`$ in Eq. (2) is shifted so that it would exactly compensate the transformation of the gluon field. (Here we consider only infinitesimally small gauge transformations. In general, the gauge transformation of $`\varphi _q^A`$ field is not a simple shift. However, it is always true that its transformation exactly compensates the transformation of the gluon field.)

In the simplest approximation, the polarization tensor $`\mathrm{\Pi }_{\mu \nu }`$ in Eq. (2) is given by a one-loop quark diagram. Its formal expression was presented in Ref.  (also, the zero temperature limit was considered in Ref. , and some other limits will be presented in Ref. ). Let us discuss the general properties of this tensor.

We start by pointing out that the one-loop polarization tensor $`\mathrm{\Pi }_{\mu \nu }`$ in Eq. (2) obtained by integrating out the quark degrees of freedom is not transverse in general. This is directly related to the Higgs effect in dense QCD. The latter implies the presence of the composites with the quantum numbers of the (would be) NG bosons in all nonunitary gauges . In the problem at hand, in particular, this means that the complete expression for the polarization tensor should necessarily contain an additional contribution coming from integrating out the (would be) NG bosons \[denoted by $`\varphi _q^A`$ fields in Eq. (2)\]. Having said this, we should note right away that the one-loop expression for $`\mathrm{\Pi }_{\mu \nu }`$ is transverse in the normal phase of the quark matter (above $`T_c`$) where there are no (would be) NG bosons.

The longitudinal part of the one-loop polarization tensor $`\mathrm{\Pi }_{\mu \nu }`$ has a physical meaning in the Higgs phase of dense QCD. It was shown in Ref.  that such a longitudinal part contains the information about the propagators of the pseudoscalar NG bosons, and, thus, determines the corresponding dispersion relations. Strictly speaking, of course, the properties of the NG bosons are related to the “axial” polarization tensor. In the model at hand, the two quantities are identical to the leading order, and we could safely interchange them.

The action in Eq. (2) is a starting point in our analysis. In order to construct the current-current correlation function, we should add the classical external gauge fields to the action in Eq. (2) and integrate out all quantum fields. After doing so, we obtain the generating functional. The correlation function, then, is given by the second order derivative with respect to the external gauge field. In momentum space, the result reads

$`j_\mu ^Aj_\nu ^B_q`$ $`=`$ $`\delta ^{AB}[{\displaystyle \frac{q^2\mathrm{\Pi }_1}{q^2+\mathrm{\Pi }_1}}O_{\mu \nu }^{(1)}(q)`$ (3)
$`+`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{q^2\left[\mathrm{\Pi }_2\mathrm{\Pi }_3+(\mathrm{\Pi }_4)^2\right]}{(q^2+\mathrm{\Pi }_2)\mathrm{\Pi }_3+(\mathrm{\Pi }_4)^2}}O_{\mu \nu }^{(2)}(q)].`$ (4)
Here $`\mathrm{\Pi }_i`$ ($`i=1,\mathrm{}4`$) are the component functions of the one-loop polarization tensor, introduced as follows:

$$\mathrm{\Pi }_{\mu \nu }(q)=\mathrm{\Pi }_1O_{\mu \nu }^{(1)}+\mathrm{\Pi }_2O_{\mu \nu }^{(2)}+\mathrm{\Pi }_3O_{\mu \nu }^{(3)}+\mathrm{\Pi }_4O_{\mu \lambda }^{(4)},$$
(5)
and

$`O_{\mu \nu }^{(1)}(q)`$ $`=`$ $`g_{\mu \nu }u_\mu u_\nu +{\displaystyle \frac{\stackrel{}{q}_\mu \stackrel{}{q}_\nu }{|\stackrel{}{q}|^2}},`$ (6)
$`O_{\mu \nu }^{(2)}(q)`$ $`=`$ $`u_\mu u_\nu {\displaystyle \frac{\stackrel{}{q}_\mu \stackrel{}{q}_\nu }{|\stackrel{}{q}|^2}}{\displaystyle \frac{q_\mu q_\nu }{q^2}},`$ (7)
$`O_{\mu \nu }^{(3)}(q)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{q_\mu q_\nu }{q^2}},`$ (8)
$`O_{\mu \nu }^{(4)}(q)`$ $`=`$ $`O_{\mu \lambda }^{(2)}u^\lambda {\displaystyle \frac{q_\nu }{|\stackrel{}{q}|}}+{\displaystyle \frac{q_\mu }{|\stackrel{}{q}|}}u^\lambda O_{\lambda \nu }^{(2)},`$ (9)
are the three projectors of different types of gluon modes (“magnetic”, “electric”, and unphysical “longitudinal”) , and one intervening operator, respectively. By definition, $`u_\mu =(1,0,0,0)`$ and $`\stackrel{}{q}_\mu =q_\mu (uq)u_\mu `$.

The current-current correlation function in Eq. (4) is explicitly transverse. Similarly, the expression for the polarization tensor that includes the contribution of the would be NG bosons is also transverse. And, the corresponding gluon propagator reads

$`i𝒟_{\mu \nu }^{(g)}(q)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{q^2+\mathrm{\Pi }_1}}O_{\mu \nu }^{(1)}+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Pi }_3}{(q^2+\mathrm{\Pi }_2)\mathrm{\Pi }_3+(\mathrm{\Pi }_4)^2}}O_{\mu \nu }^{(2)}`$ (10)
$`+`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\lambda q^2}}O_{\mu \nu }^{(3)}.`$ (11)
The poles of the correlation function (4) and the gluon propagator (11) define the spectrum (as well as screening effects) of the magnetic and electric type collective excitations,

$`q^2+\mathrm{\Pi }_1(q)`$ $`=`$ $`0,\text{“magnetic”},`$ (12)
$`\left[q^2+\mathrm{\Pi }_2(q)\right]\mathrm{\Pi }_3(q)+[\mathrm{\Pi }_4(q)]^2`$ $`=`$ $`0,\text{“electric”}.`$ (13)
To proceed with the analysis, we need to know the explicit expression for the polarization tensor. The general finite temperature result of Ref.  is rather complicated. We notice, however, that some limiting cases are easily tractable . Here we pay a special attention to the nearcritical region ($`TT_c`$ and $`|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|/T1`$), where the CG modes are expected to appear.

Before presenting our main results, we would like to mention that the properties of CG modes are extremely sensitive to the Landau damping effects. A clear signal of the CG modes usually appears only in dirty samples where Landau damping is rather inefficient . In the clean (no impurities) limit, on the other hand, Landau damping is so strong that CG modes may become unobservable .

Here we assume that quark matter in the CFL phase is a clean system. This may or may not be true, because there could exist some natural impurities in the vicinity of the critical point. However, if we show (as we actually do) that CG modes exist in the clean limit where Landau damping is strongest, then adding impurities into consideration can only improve the quality of the CG modes.

In the nearcritical region, the calculation of the one-loop polarization tensor \[see Refs.  for the general representation\] could be done approximately as an expansion in powers of $`|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|/T`$. The result reads

$`\mathrm{\Pi }_1`$ $``$ $`\omega _p^2[{\displaystyle \frac{7\zeta (3)|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|^2}{12\pi ^2T^2}}+{\displaystyle \frac{7}{3}}v^2{\displaystyle \frac{7i\pi }{12}}v`$ (14)
$`+`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\pi v|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|}{96T}}(5\pi +33i+10i\mathrm{ln}{\displaystyle \frac{v}{2}})],`$ (15)
$`\mathrm{\Pi }_2`$ $``$ $`\omega _p^2[3+{\displaystyle \frac{21\zeta (3)|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|^2}{4\pi ^2T^2}}+4v^2{\displaystyle \frac{7i\pi }{6}}v`$ (16)
$`+`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\pi v|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|}{48T}}(9\pi +28i+18i\mathrm{ln}{\displaystyle \frac{v}{2}})],`$ (17)
$`\mathrm{\Pi }_3`$ $``$ $`\omega _p^2\left[{\displaystyle \frac{7\zeta (3)|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|^2}{12\pi ^2T^2}}+{\displaystyle \frac{2}{3}}v^2+{\displaystyle \frac{5i\pi |\mathrm{\Delta }_T|}{48T}}v\right],`$ (18)
$`\mathrm{\Pi }_4`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{2}{3}}\omega _p^2v,`$ (19)
where $`\omega _p=g_s\mu /\sqrt{2}\pi `$ is the plasma frequency, $`T`$ is the temperature, $`|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|`$ is the value of the gap at this given temperature, and $`vq_0/|\stackrel{}{q}|`$. In our derivation, we treated both $`|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|/T`$ and $`v`$ as small parameters of the same order. All cubic and higher order terms has been dropped. We also restricted ourselves to the low-energy region $`|q_0||\mathrm{\Delta }_T|`$. Now, by making use of the above explicit expressions for the polarization tensor components, from Eq. (13) we derive the approximate dispersion relation of the electric type modes:

$$v_{cg}^2+i\frac{45\pi |\mathrm{\Delta }_T|}{224T}v_{cg}\frac{9\zeta (3)|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|^2}{8\pi ^2T^2}=0,$$
(20)
The solution to the dispersion equation (20) reads

$$q_0=\frac{|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|}{T}(\pm x^{}iy^{})|\stackrel{}{q}|,$$
(21)
where $`x^{}0.193`$ and $`y^{}0.316`$. This solution corresponds to the gapless CG mode. The width of this mode is quite large, but this is not surprising since the clean limit of quark matter is considered. We have also derived an analytical expression which does not assume the smallness of $`v_{cg}`$, and which includes all the corrections up to order $`(\mathrm{\Delta }_T/T)^2`$. Because of the complicated structure, see Ref.  for details, we do not present the corresponding equation here. Instead, we describe the numerical solution in words. We found that the ratio of the width, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=2Im(v_{cg})|\stackrel{}{q}|`$, to the energy of the CG mode, $`\epsilon _q=Re(v_{cg})|\stackrel{}{q}|`$, increases when the temperature of the system goes away from the critical point. At temperature $`T^{}0.986T_c`$, this ratio formally goes to infinity. This value of $`T^{}`$ could serve as an estimate of the temperature at which the CG mode disappears. Of course, such an estimate is rather crude because our approximations break before the temperature $`T^{}`$ is reached.

Because of the large imaginary part in Eq. (21), one might conclude that the CG modes cannot not be observable in the clean CFL phase of quark matter. By calculating the spectral density of the electric type gluons in the close vicinity of the critical temperature, we see that such a conclusion is not quite correct. As is shown in Fig. 1, there is a well defined peak in the spectral density which scales with the momentum in accordance with a linear law. To plot the figure, we used the standard Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) dependence of the value of the gap on temperature, obtained from the following implicit expression:

$$\mathrm{ln}\frac{\pi T_c}{e^\gamma |\mathrm{\Delta }_T|}=_0^{\mathrm{}}\frac{dϵ\left(1\mathrm{tanh}\frac{1}{2T}\sqrt{ϵ^2+|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|^2}\right)}{\sqrt{ϵ^2+|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|^2}},$$
(22)
where $`\gamma 0.567`$ is the Euler constant. As was shown in Ref. , such a dependence remains adequate in the case of a color superconductor.

It has to be emphasized that the results in Eq. (21) and Fig.1 are obtained for a clean system where Landau damping effects have their full strength. Therefore, it should have been expected that the CG modes are overdamped. However, our analysis shows that the presence of two different types of quarks with nonequal gaps in the CFL phase plays an important role in partial suppression of Landau damping. We checked that if all quarks had the same value of the gap in their spectrum (as in ordinary metals), the ratio of the imaginary and real parts in the solution \[$`v14i\zeta (3)|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|/3\pi ^3T`$ which is pure imaginary in the approximation considered\] would be much larger than 1, meaning that the CG modes would be unobservable in clean systems.

Now, let us discuss the Meissner effect near $`T_c`$. This can be done by examining the response of the quark system to an external static magnetic field. So, we consider the magnetic $`\mathrm{\Pi }_1`$ component of the polarization tensor in the limit $`|q_0||\stackrel{}{q}|0`$. By substituting $`v=0`$ on the right hand side of Eq. (15), we obtain

$$\mathrm{\Pi }_1\frac{7\zeta (3)|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|^2}{12\pi ^2T^2}\omega _p^2.$$
(23)
Since the right hand side is nonzero, it means that a static magnetic field is expelled from the bulk of a superconductor. Thus, the conventional Meissner effect is unaffected by the presence of the CG modes. We would like to note that the scale, given by $`\omega _p|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|/T`$ in Eq. (23), is not directly related to the penetration depth of the magnetic field. In order to determine the actual depth, we would need to know the dependence of the $`\mathrm{\Pi }_1`$ component for a relatively wide range of spatial momenta, $`0<|\stackrel{}{q}|\omega _p|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|/T`$. Without doing the calculation here, we mention that the penetration depth should be of order $`\lambda _P(|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|\omega _p^2)^{1/3}`$ (the Pippard penetration depth) .

In passing, we remind that, because of spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry, there are real NG bosons in the CFL phase of a color superconductor. Unlike the scalar CG modes, the NG bosons are pseudoscalars. According to Ref. , their dispersion relation is determined by the equation: $`q^\mu \mathrm{\Pi }_{\mu \nu }q^\nu q^2\mathrm{\Pi }_3=0`$. In the nearcritical region, as follows from Eq. (18), this is equivalent to

$$v_{ng}^2+i\frac{5\pi |\mathrm{\Delta }_T|}{32T}v_{ng}\frac{7\zeta (3)|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|^2}{8\pi ^2T^2}=0,$$
(24)
which is qualitatively the same as Eq. (20), and it has a solution with similar properties. In fact, the dispersion relation for the NG bosons is given by an expression of the same type as that in Eq. (21), but with $`x^{}0.215`$ and $`y^{}0.245`$. By comparing the spectrum of the CG modes with the spectrum of the NG bosons, we see that they are quite similar. This observation may provide some indirect justification to interpret the CG modes as “revived” NG bosons. Such an interpretation, however, should be used with a caution.

For completeness, let us mention that there are two massive gluon modes in the CFL phase . One of them is a plasmon with the mass $`\omega _p`$, and the other is a relatively light mode with the mass in the range $`|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|<q_0<2|\mathrm{\Delta }_T|`$. The plasmon has very narrow width, while the other mode is stable. The dependence of the light massive mode on temperature is graphically presented in Fig. 2.

In conclusion, by making use of an explicitly gauge covariant approach, we predict the existence of the gapless CG modes in the CFL phase of cold dense quark matter in the near-critical region (just below $`T_c`$) where a considerable density of thermally excited quasiparticles is present. It is important to mention that the presence of the CG modes coexists with the usual Meissner effect, i.e., an external static magnetic field is expelled from the bulk of a superconductor. The existence of the Meissner effect is a clear signature that the system remains in the symmetry broken (superconducting) phase.

In the case of the CFL phase, as we showed, the CG modes appear even in the clean limit. Despite the sizable width, their traces can be observed in the spectral density of the electric gluons. Taking the effect of impurities into account should, in general, make the CG modes more pronounced . In realistic systems such as compact stars, natural impurities of different nature could further improve the quality of the gapless CG modes.

The existence of a gapless scalar CG modes (in addition to the pseudoscalar NG bosons) is a very important property of the color superconducting phase. They may affect thermodynamical as well as transport properties of the system in the nearcritical region. In its turn, this might have a profound effect on the evolution of forming compact stars. The CG modes might also have a consequence on a possible existence of the hypothetical quark-hadron continuity, suggested in Ref. . Indeed, one should notice that, in the hadron phase, there does not seem to exist any low energy excitations with the quantum numbers matching those of the CG modes.

In the future, it would be interesting to generalize our analysis to the so-called $`S2C`$ phase of dense QCD. In absence of true NG bosons in the $`S2C`$ phase, the gapless CG modes might play a more important role. Our general observations suggest that Landau damping should have stronger influence in the case of two flavors. At the same time, the presence of massless quarks could lead to widening the range of temperatures where the CG modes exist. To make a more specific prediction, one should study the problem in detail.

Acknowledgments. Authors thank V.A. Miransky and K. Yamawaki for interesting discussions. V.P.G. is grateful to S. Sharapov for fruitful discussions on CG modes in standard superconductors. I.A.S. is grateful to A. Goldman for useful comments. This work is partially supported by Grant-in-Aid of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) #11695030. The work of V.P.G. was also supported by the SCOPES projects 7 IP 062607 and 7UKPJ062150.00/1 of the Swiss NSF. He wishes to acknowledge JSPS for financial support. The work of I.A.S. was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Grant No. DE-FG02-87ER40328.


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# Renormalization Group study of the Sliding Luttinger liquids

## Acknowledgments

I would like to thank M.A. Martín-Delgado and J. Rodriguez for conversations. This work has been supported by the Spanish grant BFM2000-1320-C02-01.