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# Strings in a space with tensor central charge coordinates

## 1 Introduction

Development of noncommutative geometry ideas , , ,  have resulted in the discovery of Noncommutative Open String theory , , . An interesting feature of the NCOS theory is the appearence of a critical value of the electric field  for which the effective string tension becomes equal to zero. So, the question arises as to the connection of this theory to the standard theory of tensionless strings , and branes . This question is further motivated by the results of papers , , where a Born-Infeld Dp-brane action was constructed and studied in the limit of zero tension. It was shown in  that the generalized gauge invariant Born-Infeld 2-form $`=B+(\frac{\gamma }{2\pi \alpha ^{}})^1F`$ splits into two mutually orthogonal parts and one of them lies in the tangent plane spanned by the vielbein components $`e_i^0`$ and $`e_i^1`$ of tensionless Dp-brane. For the case $`B=0`$ the electric field $`E`$ of the Dp-brane becomes constant 111Here $`\gamma `$ is a parameter characterizing the background metric . $`E=\frac{\gamma }{\pi \alpha ^{}}`$ and directed along $`e_i^1`$. This observation is related to the character of the dynamics of tensionless Dp-brane  which is reduced to the dynamics of an effective string stretched along the $`e_i^1`$ direction. These two facts lead to the conclusion that the tension of an effective open string (and Dp-brane) embedded into the Dp-brane is entirely compensated by the critical electric field $`E=\frac{\gamma }{\pi \alpha ^{}}`$ pulling apart the charges attached to the string’s ends. Therefore, the question about the noncommutative nature of the space-time coordinates in string/M- theory has to be intrincically related to the question on the nature of the tension of extended objects.

Some mechanisms for the generation of tension have been discussed in , , , ,  and they imply that tension is created by the interactions of a tensionless string/brane with some additional fields or coordinates. Selfconsistency and completeness of this picture suggest that the additional field or coordinate should be an object intrinsic to string/M-theory.

From this point of view the coordinates corresponding to the tensorial central charges $`Z_{m_1,m_2,\mathrm{},m_p}`$ are interesting. The point is that the central charges are connected with p-branes as solitonic solutions of supergravity equations and modify the Poincare superalgebra to the form , , , , ,

$`\{Q_\alpha ,Q_\beta \}=(\gamma ^mC^1)_{\alpha \beta }P_m`$
$`+{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\left(\gamma ^{m_1,m_2,\mathrm{},m_p}C^1\right)_{\alpha \beta }Z_{m_1,m_2,\mathrm{},m_p}`$
A non-trivial role of the new coordinates corresponding to the p-form generators $`Z_{m_1,m_2,\mathrm{},m_p}`$ was emphasized in , , ,  and advanced further in , , , where new superalgebras were constructed. The string/M-theory approach  considers the extended superalgebras  of Dp-branes  to be connected with the non-perturbative string dynamics.

Moreover, the central charge carried by the BPS brane/string preserving $`1/2`$ of the N=1 supersymmety  appears in QCD and is associated with the domain wall created by the gluino condensate  (see also  and refs. there) and spontaneous breakdown of the discrete chiral symmetry . Recently it was shown that the intersection of domain walls leads to creation of configurations preserving $`1/4`$  and $`3/4`$  of the centrally extended supersymmetries. The possibility for preserving $`3/4`$ supersymmetries was earlier noted  to be one of the solutions for the superparticle  moving in a superspace extended by the coordinates of the tensorial central charge. In  the combinations of momentum and domain-wall charges corresponding to BPS states preserving $`1/2,1/4`$ and $`3/4`$ of $`D=4`$ $`N=1`$ supersymmetry were constructed and it was proved was that the Wess-Zumino model does not admit any classical configurations with $`3/4`$ supersymmetry.

A unified geometric approach to a description of superbranes was developed in  where new reasons for an enlargement of superspace were given.

Here we propose new models for strings moving in $`D=4`$ space-time extended by six real coordinates $`z_{mn}`$ corresponding to the tensor central charges $`Z_{mn}`$. The action in our model is a natural generalization of a new twistor like representation  for the Nambu-Goto and tensionless string actions. The suggested model admits $`N=1`$ $`D=4`$ supersymmetrization and therefore may be effectively treated as a bosonic sector of superstrings moving in the generalized $`D=(4+6)`$dimensional space-time.

To make the dynamical role of the $`z_{mn}`$ coordinates clear the simplest case of the tensionless string in a twistor-like formulation  is studied here. We find that even a minimal inclusion of the $`z_{mn}`$ coordinates, linear in their derivatives, lifts the light-like character of the tensionless string worldsheet and removes the degeneracy of the worldsheet metric. This is a hint of string tension being generated. We solve the string equations together with the system of integrability conditions and find a solution for $`x^m`$ and $`z^{mn}`$ which can be interpreated as a solution of the wave equation $`\text{}_{}X_{}^{\prime \prime }=0`$ describing a string in the extended D=10 space with the coordinates $`X^{}=(x^m,z^{mn})`$. In this solution the $`x^m`$ coordinates have no transverse oscillations. The solution for the $`z^{mn}`$ coordinates implies the appearance of spin structure distributed along the string and a spin wave , process related to this structure. A supersymmetric version of the proposed string model is formulated.

## 2 String action in $`D=4`$ space-time with
tensor central charge coordinates

To describe the string dynamics we start from a twistor-like representation of the tensile/tensionless string action

$$S=\kappa (p_{mn}dx^mdx^n+\mathrm{\Lambda }),$$
(1)
which includes a local bivector $`p_{mn}(\tau ,\sigma )`$ composed of the local Newman-Penrose dyads attached to the worldsheet and where the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$term fixes the orthonormality constraint for the spinorial dyads (or twistor like variables).

For the case of tensionless strings the Lagrange multiplier $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$=0 and $`p_{mn}(\tau ,\sigma )`$ is a null bivector defined by the condition

$$p_{mn}p^{mn}=0,\eta _{mn}=(+++),$$
(2)
which implies

$`p_{mn}(\tau ,\sigma )=i\overline{U}\gamma _{mn}U`$
$`=2i[u^\alpha (\sigma _{mn})_\alpha ^\beta u^\beta +\overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}(\stackrel{~}{\sigma }_{mn})_{\dot{\beta }}^{\dot{\alpha }}\overline{u}^{\dot{\beta }}],`$ (3)
where $`U_a`$ is a Majorana bispinor

$`U_a=\left(\begin{array}{c}u_\alpha \\ \overline{u}^{\dot{\alpha }}\end{array}\right),\gamma _{mn}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}[\gamma _m,\gamma _n],`$ (6)
$`\sigma _{mn}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}(\sigma _m\stackrel{~}{\sigma _n}\sigma _n\stackrel{~}{\sigma _m}).`$ (7)
For the tensile string the bivector $`p_{mn}(\tau ,\sigma )`$ may be represented as a sum of two null bivectors $`p_{mn}^{(+)}`$ and $`p_{mn}^{()}`$

$$p_{mn}=p_{mn}^{(+)}+p_{mn}^{()}=i[\overline{U}\gamma _{mn}U+\overline{V}\gamma _{mn}V],$$
(8)
where $`V_a=\left(\begin{array}{c}v_\alpha \\ \overline{v}^{\dot{\alpha }}\end{array}\right)`$ is the second component of the Newman-Penrose dyads $`(u_\alpha (\tau ,\sigma ),v_\alpha (\tau ,\sigma ))`$

$$u^\alpha v_\alpha =1,u^\alpha u_\alpha =v^\alpha v_\alpha =0$$
(9)
and the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }(\tau ,\sigma )`$term is

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }(\tau ,\sigma )=\lambda (u^\alpha v_\alpha 1)\overline{\lambda }(\overline{u}^{\dot{\alpha }}\overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}1).$$
(10)
The action (1) may be rewritten in an equivalent spinor form

$$S=i\kappa [p^{ab}dx_{ae}dx_{db}C^{ed}+\mathrm{\Lambda }],$$
(11)
where $`C^{ed}=(\gamma ^0)^{ed}`$ is the charge conjugation matrix in the Majorana representation and $`p^{ab}`$ is a symmetric local spin-tensor. In the general case $`p^{ab}`$ may be represented as a bilinear combination of the Majorana bispinors $`U_a`$ and $`V_a`$.

$$p^{ab}=\alpha U^aU^b+\beta V^aV^b+\varrho (U^aV^b+U^bV^a)$$
(12)
with arbitrary coefficients $`\alpha ,\beta `$ and $`\varrho `$.

The representation (11) includes an interesting object - the differential 2-form of the worldsheet area element $`\xi _{ab}`$ in the spinor representation

$$\xi _{ab}=\xi _{ba}=C^{ed}dx_{ae}dx_{db},$$
(13)
where

$$dx_{ab}=(\gamma _mC^1)_{ab}dx^m$$
(14)
and $`\xi _{ab}`$ is a symmetric spin-tensor 2-form.

To include the real antisymmetric central charge coordinates $`z_{mn}`$ we consider the following extension of $`x_{ab}`$

$`x_{ab}Y_{ab}=x^m(\gamma _mC^1)_{ab}`$
$`+iz_{mn}(\gamma ^{mn}C^1)_{ab},`$ (15)
used earlier in  for the case of superparticles. As a result of (2) the area element $`\xi _{ab}`$ and the action (11) are replaced by

$$\xi _{ab}\mathrm{\Xi }_{ab}=dY_{al}dY_b^l.$$
(16)
and

$`S=i\kappa {\displaystyle (p^{ab}d\mathrm{\Xi }_{ab}+\mathrm{\Lambda })}`$
$`=i\kappa {\displaystyle (p^{ab}dY_{ae}dY_{db}C^{ed}+\mathrm{\Lambda })}.`$ (17)
Our goal is to study the generalized action (2) and to this end we note that the generalized area element $`\mathrm{\Xi }_{ab}`$ (16) is

$`\mathrm{\Xi }_a^b=(dx_mdx_n8dz_{ml}dz_n^l)(\gamma ^{mn})_a^b`$
$`4idx^ldz_{lm}(\gamma ^m)_a^b.`$ (18)
Using properties of the $`\gamma `$matrix algebra, the action $`S`$ (2) takes the form

$`S=i\kappa {\displaystyle }\{[(dx_mdx_n8dz_{ml}dz_n^l)\gamma ^{mn}`$
$`4idx^ldz_{lm}\gamma ^m]_a^bp_b^a+\mathrm{\Lambda }\}.`$ (19)
In (2) $`x_m`$ and $`z_{mn}`$ appear on equal footing. As a first investigation of the model, however, we shall drop the quadratic $`z`$term and study the minimally extended action

$`S=i\kappa {\displaystyle }[(dx_mdx_n\gamma ^{mn}`$
$`4idx^ldz_{lm}\gamma ^m)_a^bp_b^a+\mathrm{\Lambda }],`$ (20)
We may think of this action as the action (2) in a certain limit or as a model in its own right. In particular we shall study the minimal extension of the tensionless string.

## 3  Tensionless string in the space with
central charge coordinates $`z_{\alpha \beta }`$

The action for the tensionless string (1), (2) minimally extended by central charge coordinates is (2) with $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$ and $`p^{ab}`$ on the form

$$p^{ab}=U^aU^b.$$

It reads

$`S=i{\displaystyle }U^a(dx_mdx_n\gamma ^{mn}`$
$`4idx^ldz_{lm}\gamma ^m)_a^bU_b,`$ (21)
where $`\kappa `$ is included in a redefinition of $`x_m`$ and $`z_{lm}`$ to make all variables (3) dimensionless.

The dynamics generated by the action $`S`$ (3) will in general break the light-like character of the string worldsheet , . To study the dynamics $`S`$ (3) we use the Weyl representation for $`z_{mn}`$ , where $`S`$ (3) takes the form

$`S=2i{\displaystyle }\{dx_mdx_n(u\sigma ^{mn}u+\overline{u}\stackrel{~}{\sigma }^{mn}\overline{u})`$
$`dx^l[u_\alpha dz^{\alpha \beta }(\sigma _l\overline{u})_\beta \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}d\overline{z}^{\dot{\alpha }\dot{\beta }}(u\sigma ^l)_{\dot{\beta }}]\}.`$ (22)
To analyse the $`u`$equations of motion we define the 2-forms

$`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }dx_mdx_n(\sigma ^{mn})_\alpha ^\beta ={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}dx_{\alpha \dot{\lambda }}d\stackrel{~}{x}^{\dot{\lambda }\beta }`$
$`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{\dot{\alpha }}^{\dot{\beta }}(\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta })^{}=dx_mdx_n(\stackrel{~}{\sigma }^{mn})_{\dot{\alpha }}^{\dot{\beta }}`$
$`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}d\stackrel{~}{x}^{\dot{\beta }\lambda }dx_{\lambda \dot{\alpha }},`$ (23)
and the antihermitian 2-form $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\alpha \dot{\beta }}`$

$`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\alpha \dot{\beta }}8i(dz_{ml}dx^l)(\sigma ^m)_{\alpha \dot{\beta }}`$
$`=2[(dz_\alpha ^\lambda dx_{\lambda \dot{\beta }}+dx_{\alpha \dot{\lambda }}d\overline{z}_{\dot{\beta }}^{\dot{\lambda }}],`$
$`(\mathrm{\Omega }_{\alpha \dot{\beta }})^{}=\mathrm{\Omega }_{\beta \dot{\alpha }}.`$ (24)
Then the action (3) becomes

$$S=2i(u^\alpha \mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }u_\beta +\overline{u}_{\dot{\beta }}\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{\dot{\alpha }}^{\dot{\beta }}\overline{u}^{\dot{\alpha }}+\frac{1}{2}u^\alpha \mathrm{\Omega }_{\alpha \dot{\beta }}\overline{u}^{\dot{\beta }})$$
(25)
and the equations of motion for the dyad $`u_\alpha `$ are

$`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }u_\beta +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}\mathrm{\Omega }_{\alpha \dot{\beta }}\overline{u}^{\dot{\beta }}=0,`$
$`\overline{u}_{\dot{\beta }}\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{\dot{\alpha }}^{\dot{\beta }}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}u^\beta \mathrm{\Omega }_{\beta \dot{\alpha }}=0.`$ (26)
Under the assumption that $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }`$ is non-degenerate (3) is equivalent to

$$(\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }\frac{1}{16}V_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta })u_\beta =0,$$
(27)
where the 2-form $`V_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\lambda }\epsilon _{\lambda \beta }`$ is the symmetric traceless 2-form

$`V_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }(\mathrm{\Omega }\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Sigma }}^1\epsilon \mathrm{\Omega }^{}\epsilon )_\alpha ^\beta ,`$
$`V_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\lambda }\epsilon _{\lambda \beta }=V_{\beta }^{}{}_{}{}^{\lambda }\epsilon _{\lambda \alpha }.`$ (28)
Eqs. (3) are equivalent to the equation

$$\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }\frac{1}{16}V_\alpha ^\beta =Qu_\alpha u^\beta ,$$
(29)
where $`Q`$ is an arbitrary 2-form. All the matrices in Eq. (29) are symmetric and their determinants are given by the relation

$$det(𝒜_\alpha ^\beta )=\frac{1}{2}Tr(𝒜^2).$$
(30)
Using (30) Eqs. (29) yield

$$det\mathrm{\Sigma }=(\frac{1}{16})^2detV+\frac{1}{16}Qu_\alpha V_\beta ^\alpha u^\beta .$$
(31)
The definition (3) of $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }`$ gives

$$det\mathrm{\Sigma }=\frac{1}{2}(dx^mdx^n)(dx_mdx_n)$$
(32)
and we conclude that the induced worldsheet metric is not in general degenerate, i.e.

$$det\mathrm{\Sigma }0.$$
(33)
## 4  Solution of the equations of motion

To analyse the total set of string equations we start from the Weyl representation for $`S`$ (3)

$`S=i{\displaystyle }[(u^\alpha dx_{\alpha \dot{\lambda }}d\stackrel{~}{x}^{\dot{\lambda }\beta }u_\beta +\overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}d\stackrel{~}{x}^{\dot{\alpha }\lambda }dx_{\lambda \dot{\beta }}\overline{u}^{\dot{\beta }})`$
$`+2(u_\alpha dz^{\alpha \beta }dx_{\beta \dot{\lambda }}\overline{u}^{\dot{\lambda }}\overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}d\stackrel{~}{z}^{\dot{\alpha }\dot{\beta }}u^\lambda dx_{\lambda \dot{\beta }})],`$ (34)
The variation of $`S`$ in (4) with respect to $`z^{\dot{\alpha }\dot{\beta }}`$ and $`x_{\alpha \dot{\beta }}`$ gives

$`d\left(u_\alpha (dx\overline{u})_\beta +u_\beta (dx\overline{u})_\alpha \right)=0`$ (35)
and

$`d[u^\alpha (d\stackrel{~}{x}u)^{\dot{\beta }}+\overline{u}^{\dot{\beta }}(\overline{u}d\stackrel{~}{x})^\alpha `$
$`+\overline{u}^{\dot{\beta }}(udz)^\alpha u^\alpha (ud\overline{z})^{\dot{\beta }}]=0,`$ (36)
respectively. (For simplicity we consider closed strings.) To solve Eqs. (35), (4) and (3) we will use Cartan’s method (applied in  for the solution of string dynamics). To this end recall that the spinors $`u_\alpha `$, $`v_\alpha `$ and $`\overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}`$, $`\overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}`$ form a local spinor frame moving along string’s worldsheet which may be used to build a local vector frame with

$$u_\alpha \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }},u_\alpha \overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}+v_\alpha \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }},v_\alpha \overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }},i(u_\alpha \overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}v_\alpha \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }})$$
(37)
as basis elements. The independent differentials $`dx_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}`$ and $`dz_{\alpha \beta }`$ may be expanded in these basis elements as follows:

$`dx_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}`$ $`=`$ $`x^{(u)}u_\alpha \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}+x^{(v)}v_\alpha \overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}`$
$`+x^{(+)}(u_\alpha \overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}+v_\alpha \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }})`$
$`+ix^{()}(u_\alpha \overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}v_\alpha \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}),`$
$`dz_{\alpha \beta }`$ $`=`$ $`\varsigma ^{(u)}u_\alpha u_\beta +\varsigma ^{(v)}v_\alpha v_\beta `$
$`+\varsigma du_\alpha v_\beta +u_\beta v_\alpha ),`$
$`d\overline{z}_{\dot{\alpha }\dot{\beta }}`$ $`=`$ $`\overline{\varsigma }^{(u)}\overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}\overline{u}_{\dot{\beta }}+\overline{\varsigma }^{(v)}\overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}\overline{v}_{\dot{\beta }}`$ (38)
$`+\overline{\varsigma }(u_{\dot{\alpha }}\overline{v}_{\dot{\beta }}+u_{\dot{\beta }}\overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }})`$
(this defines $`x^{(u)},x^{v)},x^{(+)},x^{()},\varsigma ^{(u)},\varsigma ^{(v)}`$ and $`\varsigma `$). Substituting the expansions (4) into Eqs. (3) we get a system of equations

$`x^{(v)}x^{(+)}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`x^{(v)}(x^{()}\varsigma _I)`$
$`\varsigma _I^{(v)}(x^{(+)}+x^{()})`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`x^{(u)}x^{(v)}2\varsigma _Rx^{(+)}`$
$`+\varsigma _R^{(u)}x^{(v)}+\varsigma _R^{(v)}x^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`2x^{()}x^{(+)}\varsigma _I^{(u)}x^{(v)}`$
$`+\varsigma _I^{(v)}x^{(u)}+2\varsigma _Rx^{()}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$ (39)
where $`R`$ and $`I`$ denote the real and imaginary part, respectively. The first equation in (4) has the general solution

$$x^{(+)}=\lambda ^{(+)}x^{(v)}.$$
(40)
To solve the remaining equations of the system (4) we make a partial gauge fixing

$$\lambda ^{(+)}=0x^{(+)}(d)=0,x^{()}(d)=0.$$
(41)
The gauge (41) means that the light-like vectors $`u_\alpha \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}`$ and $`v_\alpha \overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}`$ of the vector tetrad are tangent vectors to the string’s worlsheet. As a result of this gauge choice, the $`SO(3,1)`$ local symmetry group of the vector frame (37) is reduced to its $`SO(1,1)`$x$`SO(2)`$ subgroup and the expansion (4) for $`dx_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}`$ simplifies to

$$dx_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}=x^{(u)}(d)u{}_{\alpha }{}^{}\overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}^{}+x^{(v)}(d)v{}_{\alpha }{}^{}\overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}^{}.$$
(42)
and Eqs.(4) become

$`x^{(v)}\varsigma _I=0,`$
$`x^{(u)}x^{(v)}+\varsigma _R^{(u)}x^{(v)}+\varsigma _R^{(v)}x^{(u)}=0,`$
$`x^{(u)}\varsigma _I^{(v)}x^{(v)}\varsigma _I^{(u)}=0.`$ (43)
In the gauge (41) the 2-forms $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{\dot{\alpha }}^{\dot{\beta }}`$ (3) and $`det(\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta })`$ take the form

$`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta }`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(u_\alpha v^\beta +v_\alpha u^\beta )x^{(u)}x^{(v)},`$
$`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{\dot{\alpha }}^{\dot{\beta }}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(\overline{u}^{\dot{\beta }}\overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}+\overline{v}^{\dot{\beta }}\overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }})x^{(u)}x^{(v)}=0,`$
$`det(\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta })`$ $`=`$ $`det(_\mu x^m_\nu x_m)(d\tau d\sigma )^2`$ (44)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}(x^{(u)}x^{(v)})^2`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}(\varsigma _R^{(u)}x^{(v)}+\varsigma _R^{(v)}x^{(u)})^2`$
As a result of further analysis of the equations (4) we are able to rewrite the expansions (4) as

$`dx_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}`$ $`=x^{(u)}(d)u_\alpha \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}+x^{(v)}(d)v_\alpha \overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }},`$
$`dz_{\alpha \beta }`$ $`=(ax^{(u)}+bx^{(v)})u_\alpha u_\beta `$
$`+`$ $`\left[cx^{(u)}+(1+\overline{a})x^{(v)}\right]v_\alpha v_\beta `$
$`+`$ $`(f_Rx^{(u)}+g_Rx^{(v)})(u_\alpha v_\beta +u_\beta v_\alpha ),`$ (45)
where

$`\varsigma ^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`ax^{(u)}+bx^{(v)},`$
$`a`$ $`=`$ $`a_R+ia_I,b=b_R+ib_I,`$
$`\varsigma ^{(v)}`$ $`=`$ $`cx^{(u)}+dx^{(v)},`$
$`c`$ $`=`$ $`c_R+ic_I,d=1+\overline{a},`$
$`\varsigma _R`$ $`=`$ $`f_Rx^{(u)}+g_Rx^{(v)},`$
$`f_I`$ $`=`$ $`0,\varsigma _I=g_Ix^{(v)}.`$ (46)
To solve the equations $`\delta S/\delta z_{\alpha \beta }=0`$ (35) we expand $`du_\alpha `$ and $`dv_\alpha `$ in the dyad basis

$`du_\alpha =\phi ^{(u)}(d)u_\alpha +\phi ^{(v)}(d)v_\alpha ,`$
$`dv_\alpha =\psi ^{(u)}(d)u_\alpha +\psi ^{(v)}(d)v_\alpha `$ (47)
and substitute (4) into Eqs.(4)

$$[du_\alpha (dx\overline{u})_\beta u_\alpha (dxd\overline{u})_\beta ]+(\alpha \beta )=0.$$
(48)
As a result we find the equations

$`(\phi ^{(u)}+\overline{\phi }^{(u)})x^{(v)}=0,`$
$`\phi ^{(v)}x^{(u)}=\phi ^{(v)})x^{(v)}=0,`$ (49)
which have the following general solution

$`Re\phi ^{(u)}`$ $``$ $`\phi _R^{(u)}=\alpha _R^{(u)}x^{(v)},`$
$`\phi ^{(v)}(d)`$ $`=`$ $`0`$ (50)
with $`\alpha _R^{(u)}(\tau ,\sigma )`$ an arbitrary real function.

We now turn to the equations $`\delta S/\delta x_{\alpha \dot{\beta }}=0`$ in (4). Using the solutions of Eqs. $`\delta S/\delta u_\alpha =0`$ in (4) and of $`\delta S/\delta z_{\alpha \beta }=0`$ in (4) it may be written

$`(\phi _I^{(u)}+\alpha _R^{(u)}c_Ix^{(u)})x^{(v)}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\alpha _R^{(u)}c_Rx^{(v)}x^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`0`$ (51)
Eqs. (4) have two sets of solutions. The first set is

$`\phi _I^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`\alpha _I^{(u)}x^{(v)},`$
$`\alpha _R^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`0`$ (52)
and the second set is

$`\phi _I^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`\alpha _R^{(u)}c_Ix^{(u)}+\alpha _I^{(u)}x^{(v)},`$
$`c_R`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$ (53)
where $`\alpha _I^{(u)}(\tau ,\sigma )`$ is an arbitrary function.

Having found the general solutions (4), (4) and (4) or (4) to the equations of motion we now also have to analyse the integrability conditions for the expansions (4) and (48). These integrability conditions will play the role of dynamical equations for the string.

## 5 Solution of the integrability conditions
for the $`dx_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}`$, $`du_\alpha `$ and $`dv_\alpha `$ expansions

The integrability conditions $`(IC)`$ $`ddx_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}=0`$ for the $`dx_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}`$ expansion (4) are

$`dx^{(u)}+2\alpha _R^{(u)}x^{(v)}x^{(u)}=0,`$
$`dx^{(v)}+2\psi _R^{(v)}x^{(v)}=0,`$
$`x^{(v)}\overline{\psi }^{(u)}=0,`$
$`x^{(v)}\psi ^{(u)}=0,`$ (54)
where we have used (4). It follows directly that

$$\psi ^{(u)}=\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(u)}x^{(v)},$$
(55)
where $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^u`$ is an arbitrary function The $`IC`$ for the $`(du,dv)`$ differential expansions (48) may be written as

$`d\phi _I^{(u)}=0,`$
$`d\phi _R^{(u)}d(\alpha _R^{(u)}x^{(v)})=0,`$
$`d\psi ^{(v)}=0,`$
$`d(\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(u)}x^{(v)}+(i\phi _I^{(u)}\psi ^{(v)})\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(u)}x^{(v)}=0,`$ (56)
where $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(u)}`$ is

$$\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(u)}=e^{(i\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(v)})}\mathrm{\Theta }^{(u)}(\tau ,\sigma )$$
(57)
The two sets of equations $`IC`$ (5) and (5) may be combined into the relations

$`\phi _I^{(u)}=d\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)},\phi ^{(v)}=0,`$
$`\phi _R^{(u)}=\alpha _R^{(u)}x^{(v)}=d\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_R^{(u)},`$
$`\psi ^{(u)}=e^{(i\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(v)})}\mathrm{\Theta }^{(u)}x^{(v)},`$
$`\psi ^{(v)}=d\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(v)}`$ (58)
and into the simple system

$`d(e^{2\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_R^{(u)}}x^{(u)})=0,`$
$`d(\epsilon ^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}x^{(v)})=0,`$
$`d(\mathrm{\Theta }^{(u)}x^{(v)})=0,`$ (59)
where $`\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}(\tau ,\sigma )`$ ,$`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(v)}(\tau ,\sigma )`$ are arbitrary functions.

In addition the integrability conditions

$$ddz_{\alpha \beta }=0,$$
(60)
needs to be analysed and the solutions (4) and (4) should be taken into account.

## 6 Solution of the integrability conditions
for the $`dz_{\alpha \beta }`$ expansion

If we use (4), (4), (4) and (5) the $`dz`$ $`IC`$’s may be written

$`d\left(e^{2\stackrel{~}{\alpha }^{(u)}}ax^{(u)}+e^{2\stackrel{~}{\alpha }^{(u)}}bx^{(v)}\right)+`$
$`2e^{(2\stackrel{~}{\alpha }^{(u)}+i\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}+\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(v)})}\mathrm{\Theta }^{(u)}f_Rx^{(v)}x^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`d\left(e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(v)}}cx^{(u)}+e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(v)}}(1+\overline{a})x^{(v)}\right)`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`d\left(e^{2(\stackrel{~}{\alpha }^{(u)}+\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(v)})}[f_Rx^{(u)}+gx^{(v)}]\right)+`$
$`e^{(2\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_R^{(u)}+i\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}+3\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}^{(v)})}\mathrm{\Theta }^{(u)}cx^{(v)}x^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`0`$ (61)
Thus, the final part of our analysis concerns the solution of the equatioqns (6) and (5) and together with the solutions (5) or (55). Here we shall solve Eqs. (6) and (5) choosing the solution (4) which prescribes that

$`\alpha _R^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_R^{(u)}=0,`$
$`\phi _I^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`\alpha _I^{(u)}x^{(v)}=d\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}.`$ (62)
In that case Eqs.(5) reduces to the equations

$`dx^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`d(e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}x^{(v)})`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`d(\mathrm{\Theta }^{(u)}x^{(v)})`$ $`=`$ $`0.`$ (63)
Returning to $`IC`$ (6) we note that the last equation may be satisfied if the arbitrary functions $`f_R`$, $`g`$, $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_I^{(v)}`$, $`c\mathrm{\Theta }^{(u)}`$ are fixed by the relations

$`e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}f_R=𝒜_f=const,`$
$`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_I^{(v)}+\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}=\mathrm{}_0=const,`$
$`g_R=𝒜_R=const,g_I=𝒜_I=const,`$
$`c\mathrm{\Theta }^{(u)}=0.`$ (64)
The last equation in (6) has two solutions

$$\mathrm{\Theta }^{(u)}=0\psi ^{(u)}=0$$
(65)
and

$$c=0.$$
(66)
The case (65) seems to be the simplest for further analysis. In that case the $`IC`$ (6) are reduced to the form

$`\mathrm{\Theta }^{(u)}=\psi ^{(u)}=0,`$
$`d\left(e^{2i\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}}[ax^{(u)}+bx^{(v)}]\right)=0,`$
$`d\left(e^{2(\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}i\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)})}[cx^{(u)}+(1+\overline{a})x^{(v)}]\right)=0.`$ (67)
Still there is a possibiulity to furter simplify the reduced $`IC`$ (6) fixing an arbitrariness in the definitions of the functions $`a`$, $`b`$ and $`c`$ by the relations

$`b=b_0e^{2(\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}i\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)})},b_0=const.,`$
$`a=a_0e^{2i\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}},a_0=\overline{a}_0=const,`$
$`c=c_0e^{2(\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}i\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)})},c_0=const.`$ (68)
Then, as a result of (6), we find the single $`IC`$

$$d\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}x^{(v)}=0,$$
(69)
which is identically satisfied using the second relation in equation (6).

Thus, the total set of the $`IC`$’s under consideration is reduced to the set

$`dx^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`d(e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}x^{(v)})`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`d\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}`$ $`=`$ $`\alpha _I^{(u)}x^{(v)},`$ (70)
which has the following solutions

$`x^{(u)}=d\eta ^{(u)},`$
$`x^{(v)}=e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}d\eta ^{(v)},`$
$`d\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}=\alpha _I^{(u)}e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}d\eta ^{(v)},`$ (71)
where $`\eta ^{(u)}(\tau ,\sigma )`$ and $`\eta ^{(v)}(\tau ,\sigma )`$ are atbitrary functions. The last $`IC`$ in (6) is easily satisfied choosing

$$\alpha _I^{(u)}=e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}\beta ^{}(\eta ^{(v)})$$
(72)
which gives the following representation for $`\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}`$

$$\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}=\beta (\eta ^{(v)}(\tau ,\sigma )),$$
(73)
where $`\beta (\eta ^{(v)})`$ is an arbitrary functions.

In the next section we shall discuss an example of string motion arising from the above equations.

## 7 An example of the string motion
in the extended space-time

To get an example of string motion let us fix the function $`\beta (\eta ^{(v)})`$ in the solution (73) by the condition $`\beta ^{}(\eta ^{(v)})=1`$ which gives

$$\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_I^{(u)}=\eta ^{(v)},\alpha _I^{(u)}=\alpha _0e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}$$
(74)
and then the total set of the integrability conditions is satisfied.

The final equations (4) corresponding to the solutions (74) and (6) and describing the string dynamics take the simple form

$`dx_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}=u_\alpha \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}d\eta ^{(u)}+v_\alpha \overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}d\eta ^{(v)},`$
$`dz_{\alpha \beta }=e^{2i\eta ^{(v)}}(a_0d\eta ^{(u)}+b_0d\eta ^{(v)})u_\alpha u_\beta `$
$`+e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}[c_0e^{2i\eta ^{(v)}}d\eta ^{(u)}`$
$`+(1+a_0e^{2i\eta ^{(v)}})d\eta ^{(v)}]v_\alpha v_\beta `$
$`+e^{2\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}}(𝒜_fd\eta ^{(u)}+𝒜d\eta ^{(v)})(u_\alpha v_\beta +u_\beta v_\alpha ),`$
$`du_\alpha =id\eta ^{(v)}u_\alpha ,`$
$`dv_\alpha =(id\eta ^{(v)}+d\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)})v_\alpha .`$ (75)
To analyse Eqs.(7) we note that the spinor subset has the general solution

$`u_\alpha =u_{0\alpha }e^{i\eta ^{(v)}(\tau ,\sigma )},`$
$`v_\alpha =v_{0\alpha }e^{i\eta ^{(v)}(\tau ,\sigma )+\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}(\tau ,\sigma )},`$ (76)
where $`u_{0\alpha }`$ and $`v_{0\alpha }`$ are arbitrary constant spinors.
Substituting the solutions (7) into the constraints (9) results in the same constraints for both dyads $`u_0^\alpha `$ and $`v_0^\alpha `$

$$u_0^\alpha v_{0\alpha }=1,u_0^\alpha u_{0\alpha }=v_0^\alpha v_{0\alpha }=0,$$
(77)
and implies

$$\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Theta }}_R^{(v)}=0.$$
(78)
So, we find that for the presented example the whole dynamics of the dyads $`u_\alpha `$ and $`v_\alpha `$ is reduced to phase transformations

$`u_\alpha =u_{0\alpha }e^{i\eta ^{(v)}(\tau ,\sigma )},`$
$`v_\alpha =v_{0\alpha }e^{i\eta ^{(v)}(\tau ,\sigma )}.`$ (79)
It follows from the solutions (7) that

$`u_\alpha \overline{u}_{\dot{\alpha }}`$ $`=`$ $`u_{0\alpha }\overline{u}_{0\dot{\alpha }}=const,`$
$`v_\alpha \overline{v}_{\dot{\alpha }}`$ $`=`$ $`v_{0\alpha }\overline{v}_{0\dot{\alpha }}=const.`$ (80)
The conditions (7) essentially simplify equation (7) for the string world vector $`x_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}`$ transforming it into the equation

$$dx_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}=d\eta ^{(u)}u_{0\alpha }\overline{u}_{0\dot{\alpha }}+d\eta ^{(v)}v_{0\alpha }\overline{v}_{0\dot{\alpha }}$$
(81)
which has the following general solution

$$x_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}=x_{0\alpha \dot{\alpha }}+\eta ^{(u)}u_{0\alpha }\overline{u}_{0\dot{\alpha }}+\eta ^{(v)}v_{0\alpha }\overline{v}_{0\dot{\alpha }},$$
(82)
where $`\eta ^{(u)}`$ and $`\eta ^{(v)}`$ are arbitrary functions on the worldsheet. According to Eqs.(6), which now take the form

$$x^{(u)}=d\eta ^{(u)},x^{(v)}=d\eta ^{(v)},$$
(83)
one finds from (4) and (83) that

$`det(\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\alpha }^{}{}_{}{}^{\beta })=det(_\mu x^m_\nu x_m)(d\tau d\sigma )^2`$
$`={\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}(x^{(u)}x^{(v)})^2={\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}(d\eta ^{(u)}d\eta ^{(v)})^2,`$ (84)
so that the expected condition (33) $`det\mathrm{\Sigma }0`$, is satisfied for the solution (82) and the induced worldsheet metric of the tensionless string becomes regular. As the vectors

$`{\displaystyle \frac{x_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}}{\eta ^{(u)}}}=u_{0\alpha }\overline{u}_{0\dot{\alpha }}(\sigma _m)_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}A^m,`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{x_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}}{\eta ^{(v)}}}=v_{0\alpha }\overline{v}_{0\dot{\alpha }}(\sigma _m)_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}B^m`$ (85)
tangent to the worldsheet are constant light-like vectors we conclude that the worldsheet (13) lies in the plane spanned by the light-like vectors $`A^m`$ and $`B^m`$

$`x^m=x_0^m+A^m\eta ^{(u)}(\tau +\sigma )+B^m\eta ^{(v)}(\tau \sigma ),`$
$`A^mA_m=B^mB_m=0,A^mB_m=1.`$ (86)
and we see that the central charge coordinates do not excitate the transverse oscillations of the $`x^m`$-coordinates. But what about the $`z^{mn}`$-coordinates?

By analogy with the previous case taking into account the solutions (7) simplifies Eqs.(7) for the central charge coordinates $`z_{\alpha \beta }`$ to the form

$`dz_{\alpha \beta }=(a_0d\eta ^{(u)}+b_0d\eta ^{(v)})u_{0\alpha }u_{0\beta }`$
$`+\left(c_0d\eta ^{(u)}+(e^{2i\eta ^{(v)}}+a_0)d\eta ^{(v)}\right)v_{0\alpha }v_{0\beta }`$
$`+(𝒜_fd\eta ^{(u)}+𝒜d\eta ^{(v)})(u_{0\alpha }v_{0\beta }+u_{0\beta }v_{0\alpha })`$ (87)
and the general solution of (7) is

$`z_{\alpha \beta }=z_{0\alpha \beta }+(a_0\eta ^{(u)}+b_0\eta ^{(v)})u_{0\alpha }u_{0\beta }`$
$`+(c_0\eta ^{(u)}+a_0\eta ^{(v)}2ie^{2i\eta ^{(v)}})v_{0\alpha }v_{0\beta }`$
$`+(𝒜_f\eta ^{(u)}+𝒜\eta ^{(v)})(u_{0\alpha }v_{0\beta }+u_{0\beta }v_{0\alpha }).`$ (88)
The solutions (82) and (7) can be interpreted as solutions of the two-dimensional wave equations

$`\text{}_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}x_{\alpha \dot{\alpha }}^{\prime \prime }=0,`$
$`\text{}_{\alpha \beta }z_{\alpha \beta }^{\prime \prime }=0,`$ (89)
which may be presented in the form

$$\text{}_{}X_{}^{\prime \prime }=0,$$
(90)
where $`X^{}=(x^m,z^{mn})`$ are generalized coordinates in the extended D=10 space-time. The wave equation (90) implies that the coordinates $`z^{mn}`$ have an interpretation similar to that for the $`x^m`$ namely as additional string coordinates in the generalized D=10 space. After the substitution of the solution (7) into the representation

$$z_{mn}=\frac{i}{4}[z_\alpha ^\beta (\sigma _{mn})_\beta ^\alpha +\overline{z}_{\dot{\alpha }}^{\dot{\beta }}(\stackrel{~}{\sigma }_{mn})_{\dot{\beta }}^{\dot{\alpha }}]$$
(91)
for $`z^{mn}`$ we find the appearance of the spinorial structures $`(u_0\sigma _{mn}u_0)`$, $`(v_0\sigma _{mn}v_0)`$ and $`(u_0\sigma _{mn}v_0)`$, which correspond to the spin degreees of freedom distributed along the string worldsheet. These spin factors are multiplied by the functions which are solutions of the wave equation (90). Therefore, we may understand the solution (7) as describing a spin wave process associated with the $`z^{mn}`$ degrees of freedom.

## 8 Conclusion

We have suggested a new model for strings embedded into $`D=4`$ space-time extended by 6 additional coordinates $`z^{mn}`$ corresponding to the tensor central charge $`Z^{mn}`$. In studying the simplest case of a tensionless string we found that presence of the $`z^{mn}`$ coordinates lifts the degeneration of the worldsheet metric typical for the tensionless string. We found a solution of the model which gives an example of string dynamics in the extended $`D=(4+6`$)-dimensional space. For this solution the $`x^m`$-coordinates do not develop transverse oscillations. To understand if this result is general or if the $`x^m`$ coordinates also can oscillate we need to analyse the general solution to the integrability conditions derived here or/and to extend the minimal model. On the other hand, the evolution of the $`z^{mn}`$ coordinates may be understood as a spin wave process assosiated with an excitation of spin degrees of freedom distributed along the string.

The next step is to study the general case of the tensile string described by the general action $`(\text{2})`$ with the spin-tensor $`p^{ab}`$ given by (12).

The supersymmetrized version of the model is found by going from the differentials $`dx^m`$ and $`dz^{mn}`$ to the supersymmetric invariant differential Cartan forms $`\mathrm{\Pi }^m`$ and $`\mathrm{\Pi }^{mn}`$ in the general representation (2) or (2) and adding a Chern-Simons three-form . Therefore, an example of a superstring action in $`D=4`$ space-time extended by the coordinates $`z^{mn}`$ is

$`\stackrel{~}{S}=i\kappa {\displaystyle }\{[(\mathrm{\Pi }_m\mathrm{\Pi }_n`$
$`8\mathrm{\Pi }_{ml}\mathrm{\Pi }_n^l)\gamma ^{mn}4ic\mathrm{\Pi }^l\mathrm{\Pi }_{lm}\gamma ^m]_a^bp^a_b`$
$`+\mathrm{\Lambda }+(ChernSimons)\},`$ (92)
where the constant $`c`$ may be zero. The extended superalgebra with tensorial central charges $`Z^{mn}`$ arising from the superstring action (91) (and/or its brane-generalizations) may contain new information on the preserved supersymmetry. An investigation of this is in progress.

## 9 Acknowledgements

A.Z. thanks ITP at the Stockholm University for the kind hospitality. The work is partially supported by the grants of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Axel Wenner-Gren Foundation. The work of A.Z. is also partially supported by the Award CRDF-RP1-2108. U.L. is supported in part by NFR grant 5102-20005711 and by EU contract HPRN-C7-2000-0122.


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# Enhanced Estimation of a Noisy Quantum Channel Using Entanglement

## I Introduction

In the last few years, the field of quantum information processing has made enormous progress. It has been shown that the laws of quantum mechanics open completely new ways of communication and computation . This progress has mainly been driven by understanding more and more about the physics of entanglement. The corresponding nonclassical correlations are central to completely new applications like quantum cryptography using entangled systems , teleportation  and dense coding . These are all examples of superior information transmission with quantum mechanical means.

Consequently, much work has been done toward the understanding of quantum communication channels. In principle a quantum channel is simply a transmission line between a sender, say Alice, and a receiver, say Bob, that allows them to transfer quantum systems. The noiseless channel leaves the quantum states of the transmitted systems intact. In other words, such a channel is completely isolated from any environment. This is certainly a strong idealization. More realistic is the noisy quantum channel that takes into account the interaction of the sent system with an environment: the corresponding quantum state decoheres. In effect this process can be described by a superoperator $`C`$ which in general maps Alice’s pure state $`|\psi \psi |`$ on a density operator $`\widehat{\rho }=C(|\psi \psi |)`$ on Bob’s side .

The prominent topics of research in the field of quantum channel theory are to understand the notion of capacity of a quantum channel and to understand the role played by entanglement. The proof  of the quantum analog of Shannon’s noiseless coding theorem  was a milestone in this field indicating that a quantum theory of information transmission is possible in parallel to its classical counterpart. Consequently, much work then concentrated on the concept of capacity for a general noisy quantum channel . Hence these investigations aim at quantifying the maximum rate at which information can be sent through a noisy quantum channel: in analogy to the noisy-channel coding theorem of Shannon . Moreover, it was shown  that entanglement can be used as a resource to quantify the noise of a quantum channel.

However, since a quantum channel can carry classical as well as quantum information, several different capacities can be defined . In particular, it is well-known that prior entanglement can enhance the capacity of quantum channels to transmit classical information . It is therefore justified to consider entanglement as a fruitful resource which has no classical analogue .

In the present paper we shall discuss a different application of entanglement in the field of quantum channels. Let us suppose that Alice and Bob are connected by a specific noisy channel. Both parties know about the fundamental errors imposed by the noise but they have no information about the corresponding error strengths. Hence, before Alice and Bob use the channel for communication they would like to estimate the corresponding error rates. Then they can, for example, decide on a suitable error correction scheme  or choose a suitable encoding for their information . In the remainder of the paper we will show that prior entanglement substantially increases the average reliability of their estimation.

## II The Pauli Channel

The channel that we will investigate in this paper is the so called Pauli channel $`C`$ which causes single qubit errors. These single qubit errors can be fully classified by the Pauli spin operators $`\widehat{\sigma }_1=|01|+|10|`$, $`\widehat{\sigma }_2=i(|10||01|)`$ and $`\widehat{\sigma }_3=|00||11|`$ in the computational basis defined by $`|0`$ and $`|1`$. The application of the unitary operators $`\widehat{\sigma }_i`$ leads to a fundamental rotation of a qubit state $`|q=c_0|0+c_1|1`$ with coefficients $`c_i`$. The bit flip error is given by $`\widehat{\sigma }_1`$, that is, $`\widehat{\sigma }_1|q=c_0|1+c_1|0`$. It exchanges the two basis states. The phase-flip error $`\widehat{\sigma }_3|q=c_0|0c_1|1`$ changes the sign of $`c_1`$ in any coherent superposition of the basis states. Finally $`\widehat{\sigma }_2`$ generates a combination of bit and phase flip.

In a Pauli channel each of the three errors can occur with a certain probability $`p_i`$ so that the superoperator reads

$$C(\widehat{\rho })=\underset{i=1}{\overset{4}{}}p_i\widehat{\sigma }_i\widehat{\rho }\widehat{\sigma }_i^{}$$
(1)
with $`\widehat{\sigma }_4=\widehat{1}`$ and with probability $`p_4=1p_1p_2p_3`$ that the density operator remains unchanged. Hence the Pauli channel is completely characterized by a parameter vector $`\stackrel{}{p}=(p_1,p_2,p_3)^T`$. Thus the action of the channel on the general density operator

$$\widehat{\rho }(\stackrel{}{s})=\frac{1}{2}\left(\widehat{1}+\underset{i=1}{\overset{3}{}}s_i\widehat{\sigma }_i\right)$$
(2)
defined by the Bloch vector $`\stackrel{}{s}=(s_1,s_2,s_3)^T`$ with $`s_i`$ and $`|\stackrel{}{s}|1`$ can be described by the basic transformations

$`C(\widehat{\sigma }_1)`$ $`=`$ $`\left[12(p_2+p_3)\right]\widehat{\sigma }_1`$ (3)
$`C(\widehat{\sigma }_2)`$ $`=`$ $`\left[12(p_1+p_3)\right]\widehat{\sigma }_2`$ (4)
$`C(\widehat{\sigma }_3)`$ $`=`$ $`\left[12(p_1+p_2)\right]\widehat{\sigma }_3`$ (5)
and $`C(\widehat{1})=\widehat{1}`$. Our aim is to estimate the parameters $`p_i`$ from a finite amount of measurement results. Hence the general scenario is the following: Alice prepares qubits in well-known reference states and sends them to Bob through the channel to be estimated. Bob knows those reference states and performs suited measurements on the qubits he has received. The statistics of his measurement results will then allow him to estimate the parameters $`p_i`$.

## III Channel Estimation

First, we consider the case – also depicted in Fig. 1a – that Alice sends single qubits through the channel. In order to determine $`\stackrel{}{p}`$ Alice has to prepare three well-defined reference states. For each of the states Bob then measures one operator so that at the end Bob has measured three independent operators.

The natural choice is that Alice prepares three pure states (a) $`\widehat{\rho }_1=\widehat{\rho }(\stackrel{}{s}=(1,0,0)^T)`$, (b) $`\widehat{\rho }_2=\widehat{\rho }(\stackrel{}{s}=(0,1,0)^T)`$, (c) $`\widehat{\rho }_3=\widehat{\rho }(\stackrel{}{s}=(0,0,1)^T)`$ and Bob measures the operators (a) $`\widehat{\sigma }_1`$, (b) $`\widehat{\sigma }_2`$ and (c) $`\widehat{\sigma }_3`$ . The corresponding expectation values $`\widehat{\sigma }_i=12P_i`$ depend on the probability $`P_i`$ to measure the eigenvalue $`1`$ (spin down) in each case. With the help of Eqs. (2) and (3) we immediately find that the parameter vector

$$\stackrel{}{p}=\frac{1}{2}\left(\begin{array}{c}P_3P_1+P_2\\ P_1P_2+P_3\\ P_2P_3+P_1\end{array}\right)$$
(6)
can be calculated from the measured probabilities $`P_i`$.

If only finite resources are available Bob just finds frequencies instead of probabilities. Using $`M`$ qubits for each of the three input states and the corresponding measurements yields the estimated parameters

$$\stackrel{}{p}^{est}=\frac{1}{2M}\left(\begin{array}{c}i_3i_1+i_2\\ i_1i_2+i_3\\ i_2i_3+i_1\end{array}\right)$$
(7)
if $`i_j`$ results “$`1`$” are recorded for the measurement of $`\widehat{\sigma }_j`$. The reason why we choose the same number of $`M`$ qubits for each of these measurements is that we assume complete ignorance about the probabilities $`p_i`$.

As the measure of estimation quality we use a standard statistical measure, namely the quadratic deviation $`_{j=1}^3(p_jp_j^{est})^2`$ which describes the error of the estimation. With this choice of cost function we find the average error

$`\overline{f}(M,\stackrel{}{p})`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{i_1=0}{\overset{M}{}}}{\displaystyle \underset{i_2=0}{\overset{M}{}}}{\displaystyle \underset{i_3=0}{\overset{M}{}}}\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{M}{i_1}}\right)\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{M}{i_2}}\right)\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{M}{i_3}}\right)(p_2+p_3)^{i_1}`$ (8)
$`\times `$ $`(1p_2p_3)^{Mi_1}(p_1+p_3)^{i_2}(1p_1p_3)^{Mi_2}`$ (9)
$`\times `$ $`(p_1+p_2)^{i_3}(1p_1p_2)^{Mi_3}{\displaystyle \underset{j=1}{\overset{3}{}}}(p_jp_j^{est})^2`$ (10)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2M}}[p_1(1p_1)+p_2(1p_2)+p_3(1p_3)`$ (11)
$``$ $`p_1p_2p_2p_3p_1p_3]`$ (12)
averaged over all possible experimental outcomes.

Up to now we have only considered the case that Alice sends $`N=3M`$ single unentangled qubits through the Pauli channel. However, one could also think of using entangled qubit pairs (ebits) to estimate the channel parameters. For this purpose we consider the following second scenario which is also shown in Fig. 1b: Alice and Bob share an ebit prepared in a $`|\psi ^{}=1/\sqrt{2}(|0|1|1|0)`$ Bell state. Alice sends her qubit through the Pauli channel whereas Bob simply keeps his qubit. The channel causes the transformation

$`C(|\psi ^{}\psi ^{}|)`$ $`=`$ $`p_1|\varphi ^{}\varphi ^{}|+p_2|\varphi ^+\varphi ^+|+p_3|\psi ^+\psi ^+|`$ (13)
$`+`$ $`(1p_1p_2p_3)|\psi ^{}\psi ^{}|.`$ (14)
The Pauli channel transforms the initial $`|\psi ^{}`$ state into a mixture of all four Bell states $`|\varphi ^\pm =1/\sqrt{2}(|0|0\pm |1|1)`$, $`|\psi ^\pm =1/\sqrt{2}(|0|1\pm |1|0)`$ where each Bell state is generated by exactly one of the possible single qubit errors $`\widehat{\sigma }_j`$. Bob now performs a Bell measurement in which he finds each Bell state with probability

$`P_{|\varphi ^{}}=`$ $`p_1`$ $`P_{|\varphi ^+}=p_2P_{|\psi ^+}=p_3`$ (15)
$`P_{|\psi ^{}}`$ $`=1p_1p_2p_3.`$ (16)
Note that Alice and Bob can only use the same qubit resources as before. That is, if they have used $`N`$ single qubits before they can now generate $`N^{}=N/2`$ ebits in the reference state $`|\psi ^{}`$. Consequently Bob gets only half as many measurement results as before: he finds four values $`i_1`$, $`i_2`$, $`i_3`$ and $`i_4`$ with $`_{j=1}^4i_j=N^{}`$ for the number of occurrences of the Bell states $`|\varphi ^{}`$, $`|\varphi ^+`$, $`|\psi ^+`$ and $`|\psi ^{}`$. From these four values he can calculate the estimated probabilities

$`p_1^{est}={\displaystyle \frac{i_1}{N^{}}}`$ $`p_2^{est}={\displaystyle \frac{i_2}{N^{}}}p_3^{est}={\displaystyle \frac{i_3}{N^{}}}`$ (17)
that fully characterize the Pauli channel. The average error for the estimation scheme with entangled qubits then reads

$`\overline{g}(N^{},\stackrel{}{p})`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{i_1+i_2+i_3+i_4=N^{}}{}}{\displaystyle \frac{N^{}!}{i_1!i_2!i_3!i_4!}}`$ (18)
$`\times `$ $`p_1^{i_1}p_2^{i_2}p_3^{i_3}(1p_1p_2p_3)^{i_4}{\displaystyle \underset{j=1}{\overset{3}{}}}(p_jp_j^{est})^2`$ (19)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{i_1=0}{\overset{N^{}}{}}}{\displaystyle \underset{i_2=0}{\overset{N^{}i_1}{}}}{\displaystyle \underset{i_3=0}{\overset{N^{}i_1i_2}{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{N^{}!}{i_1!i_2!i_3!(N^{}i_1i_2i_3)!}}`$ (20)
$`\times `$ $`p_1^{i_1}p_2^{i_2}p_3^{i_3}(1p_1p_2p_3)^{N^{}i_1i_2i_3}`$ (21)
$`\times `$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{j=1}{\overset{3}{}}}(p_j{\displaystyle \frac{i_j}{N^{}}})^2`$ (22)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{N^{}}}\left[p_1(1p_1)+p_2(1p_2)+p_3(1p_3)\right].`$ (23)
We can now compare the average errors, Eqs. (6) and (10), for both estimation schemes. As emphasized above for a fair comparison we have to consider the same number $`N=2N^{}=3M`$ of available qubits for both schemes. We find that the difference

$`\mathrm{\Delta }(N,\stackrel{}{p})`$ $`=`$ $`\overline{f}(M=N/3,\stackrel{}{p})\overline{g}(N^{}=N/2,\stackrel{}{p})`$ (24)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2N}}[5(1p_1p_2p_3)(p_1+p_2+p_3)`$ (25)
$`+`$ $`p_1p_2+p_1p_3+p_2p_3]0`$ (26)
is non-negative for all possible parameter values $`\stackrel{}{p}`$. This clearly shows that we indeed get an enhancement of the estimation quality due to the use of entangled qubit pairs. This enhancement is illustrated in Fig. 2 for the case $`p_2=0`$ which already shows the typical features of $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$. We see that $`\mathrm{\Delta }(N,\stackrel{}{p})`$ is always positive except for the extremal points $`\stackrel{}{p}=(0,0,0)^T`$, $`\stackrel{}{p}=(1,0,0)^T`$ and $`\stackrel{}{p}=(0,0,1)^T`$ where $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ vanishes.

Instead of comparing the errors for the same number of available qubits one could also compare the estimation quality for the same number $`K`$ of channel applications. For the latter case we have $`K=N^{}=3M`$ so that the enhancement

$`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Delta }}(K,\stackrel{}{p})`$ $`=`$ $`\overline{f}(M=K/3,\stackrel{}{p})\overline{g}(N^{}=K,\stackrel{}{p})`$ (27)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2K}}[7(1p_1p_2p_3)(p_1+p_2+p_3)`$ (28)
$`+`$ $`5p_1p_2+5p_1p_3+5p_2p_3]0`$ (29)
due to entanglement is even larger.

## IV Conclusion

In conclusion we have shown a new application in which entanglement serves as a superior resource for quantum information processing: In the case of the Pauli channel there is a significant improvement in the estimation of the error strengths due to the use of entangled qubits instead of separable ones. Hence entanglement allows a better characterization of the quantum channel for finite initial resources which can be counted in terms of available qubits or in terms of channel applications. In contrast to dense coding , where we achieve an optimal encoding of information by entanglement, we obtain an enhanced extraction of information about a quantum channel here. As a consequence this additional information about the channel can be used in practical quantum communication problems to optimize error correction schemes  or signal ensembles .

###### Acknowledgements.

We acknowledge discussions with G. Alber, A. Delgado, and M. Mussinger and support by the DFG programme “Quanten-Informationsverarbeitung”, by the European Science Foundation QIT programme and by the programmes “QUBITS” and “QUEST” of the European Commission.


text:
# Interlayer transport in highly anisotropic misfit-layer superconductor (LaSe)1.14(NbSe2)

\[

## Abstract

We show that the interlayer transport in a two-dimensional superconductor can reveal a peak in the temperature as well as the magnetic field dependence of the resistivity near the superconducting transition. The magnetotransport experiment was performed on the highly anisotropic misfit-layer superconductor (LaSe)1.14(NbSe2) with critical tempertaure $`T_c`$ of 1.2 K. The effect is interpreted within the tunneling mechanism of the charge transport across the Josephson-coupled layers via two parallel channels - the quasiparticles and the Cooper pairs. Similar behavior can be found in the high-$`T_c`$ cuprates but there it is inevitably interfering with the anomalous normal state. The upper critical magnetic field can be obtained from the interlayer tunneling conductance.

\] Anomalous transport properties of the high-$`T_c`$ cuprates remain unexplained. In contrast to the metallic temperature dependence of the intralayer resistivity $`\rho _{ab}`$, the interlayer resistivity $`\rho _c`$ can reveal a semiconducting behavior in some cases . The anisotropy ratio can reach a value $`\rho _c/\rho _{ab}=10^5`$ in the most two-dimensional system of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8. The transport in magnetic field is a puzzle as well. The superconducting transition of $`\rho _{ab}`$ broadens considerably in a magnetic field due to the complicated behavior of the superconducting vortex matter  where even melting of a vortex lattice can be observed . The interlayer resistivity $`\rho _c`$ as a function of magnetic field $`B`$ displays very non-conventional behavior: starting from the superconducting state at $`T<T_c`$ with increasing magnetic field after an onset of the resistivity, a peak appears followed by a smooth decrease to a constant $`\rho _c`$ at higher magnetic fields . When the magnetotransport measurement is performed above $`T_c`$ negative magnetoresistance can be observed .

Several models have been proposed to explain the interlayer magnetotransport. Most of them treat the peak in $`\rho _c(B)`$ and the following decrease of the resistivity at higher fields as a consequence of the anomalous normal-state properties, mainly due to an existence of the pseudogap in the quasiparticle spectrum and/or superconducting fluctuations . But, Gray and Kim  proposed a model where the peak is due to an interplay of two different conductance channels present in the superconducting state of the sample. The model assumes a highly anisotropic superconductor as a stack of weakly coupled internal Josephson junctions and the interlayer transport is accomplished by tunneling of quasiparticles and Cooper pairs. Below the upper critical magnetic field due to the opening of the superconducting gap in the quasiparticle spectrum, $`\rho _c`$ increases but at a sufficiently small field the Cooper pair tunneling channel is opened and $`\rho _c`$ decreases to zero. Recently, Morozov et al.  obtained evidence supporting this model in their magnetotransport data on Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8. However, in cuprates this purely superconducting effect is inevitably complicated by the anomalous normal state properties.

In the present work we address the problem of the interlayer transport in the misfit-layer superconductor (LaSe)1.14(NbSe2), a quasi two-dimensional system without any non-conventional behavior in the normal state. We show that the interlayer transport in the superconducting state of this layered system involves the tunneling of quasiparticles and Cooper pairs.

(LaSe)1.14(NbSe2) is a low temperature superconductor with $`T_c`$ around 1.2 K belonging to the family of the lamellar chalcogenides , where two slabs MX and TX2 are stacked in a certain sequence. Due to the different symmetry of the MX and TX2 layers a misfit results along one intralayer crystallographic axis even if along the perpendicular intralayer axis a perfect fit of both structures is achieved . In the case of (LaSe)1.14(NbSe2) every intercalated LaSe layer with the thickness of about 0.6 nm is sandwiched by one 2H-NbSe2 layer with about the same thickness . The sandwich unit is stabilized by the electron transfer from the LaSe to the NbSe2 slab resulting in the natural layered system of the insulating LaSe and (super)conducting NbSe2 sheets, where the conduction is accomplished by the Nb 4d$`_{z^2}`$ orbitals .

The title compound was obtained by the direct reaction of the three constituents La/Nb/Se in the stoichiometric ratios . Single crystals used are of typical dimensions $`1\times 0.8\times 0.1`$ mm3 with $`T_c`$ = 1.23 K. For the interlayer as well as intralayer resistivity measurements in the Montgomery configuration  four electrical contacts were prepared at the corners of the top side of the sample and another four contacts in symmetrical mirror positions at the corners of the bottom side. A standard

lock-in technique at 17 Hz was used to measure the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the resistance. All measurements were performed with a magnetic field applied perpendicularly to the planes - along the $`c`$-axis of the samples. The field was generated by a superconducting solenoid placed in the Košice top-loading refrigerator working between 100 mK and 2 K.

The temperature dependence of both $`\rho _c`$ and $`\rho _{ab}`$ revealed a metallic behavior between 1.5 and 300 K with a saturation below 30 K. The residual resistivity ratio was about 4 and the anisotropy ratio $`\rho _c/\rho _{ab}`$ calculated from the Montgomery configuration about 50 at 4 K.

In Fig. 1 the transition to the superconducting state is shown at zero magnetic field for the intralayer resistivity $`\rho _{ab}`$ as well as for the $`c`$-axis resistivity $`\rho _c`$. The intralayer resistivity $`\rho _{ab}`$ shows a conventional transition with a midpoint at $`T_c`$ = 1.23 K and a width $`\mathrm{\Delta }T_c=0.1`$ K. This narrow single-phase transition represents the quality certificate of the sample. On the other hand a very peculiar transition can be seen in the interlayer resistivity $`\rho _c`$: below 1.4 K the resistivity increases by about three times. Then, below 1.2 K, $`\rho _c`$ drops down reaching the zero value at about 1.1 K. Even with the lowest current density (1 mA/cm2) along the $`c`$-axis the zero resistivity of $`\rho _c`$ is reached at slightly lower temperatures than for $`\rho _{ab}`$.

Figure 2 displays the full set of our intralayer as well as interlayer magnetotransport data measured at different temperatures from 100 mK up to 1.3 K. The intralayer magnetoresistivities (Fig. 2 a) show conventional transitions to the superconducting state which are shifted to higher fields and broadened as the temperature is decreased. Above 1.4 K the normal state is already achieved in zero magnetic field and no magnetoresistance is observed any longer. The interlayer magnetotransport data are plotted in Fig. 2 b. At all temperatures below 1.4 K the transition to the normal state (with no magnetoresistance) is preceded by the peak. Between 1.4 and to 1.2 K the resistivity is non zero at zero magnetic field but the peak appears in the field dependence with an increasing amplitude. Below 1.2 K the magnetoresistivity starts from zero, the following peak is broadened, its amplitude decreases and its position shifts to higher fields. The peak position in $`\rho _c(B)`$ is always found in the range of magnetic fields where the superconducting transition of the intralayer resistivity $`\rho _{ab}(B)`$ takes place at the respective temperature. Figure 2 c displays the interlayer magnetotransport data recalculated in the conductance. One can see that in all curves below 1 K before reaching the normal state value a linear dependence on the applied magnetic field is achieved.

The effect of the measuring current density was also examined and the result can be seen in Fig. 3, where the interlayer resistivity $`\rho _c`$ measured at 100 mK is shown for four different current densities. The high-field side of the peak in the resistivity is hardly affected unless a high

current density (30 mA/cm2) is reached where heating affects the superconductivity. But the low-field side of the peak reveals a strong sensitivity to the current density - with increasing current density the peak amplitude increases and its position is shifted to lower magnetic fields. Below 3 mA/cm2 the current density does not influence the resulting magnetic field dependence of $`\rho _c`$. The same effect of the measuring current density has been observed in the interlayer magnetotransport at all temperatures below $`T_c`$ as well as in the temperature dependence of $`\rho _c`$ at zero magnetic field.

The asymmetric effect of the measuring current density on the peak in the interlayer resistivity indicates to different carrier-transport mechanisms below and above the peak. Moreover the metallic character of both intralayer and interlayer resistivities above the superconducting transition temperature indicates that the peak effect observed in the temperature as well as in magnetic field dependencies of the interlayer resistivity $`\rho _c`$ is related only to the superconducting transition. Therefore, we will consider the two channel tunneling model with the quasiparticles and Cooper pairs passing across the layers.

By means of high magnetic field transport measurements for both perpendicular and parallel field orientation  we have shown that (LaSe)1.14(NbSe2) behaves as a quasi two-dimensional system below 1.1 K. This means that the superconducting coherence length $`\xi `$ is very anisotropic with a value in the $`c`$-axis direction smaller than the total thickness of the insulating layer and the superconducting layer . We note that the two-dimensional behavior of a layered system is more pronounced when the insulating layer thickness is bigger than the superconducting layer thickness . As far as the conductance is due to the Nb orbitals  the latter thickness can be very small here being restricted just to the atomic thickness of the Nb layer and the two-dimensional regime of superconductivity would be enhanced.

Below the upper critical field $`B_{c2}(T)`$ a superconducting gap is opened in the superconducting sheets, which leads to an increase of the resistivity $`\rho _c`$ at smaller fields as here the quasiparticle tunneling channel is carrying the current. At still smaller fields a minimal Josephson current can flow opening a second conductance channel which leads to a rapid decrease of the resistivity. The quasiparticle tunneling through internal Josephson junctions is obviously independent on the measuring current. But the Josephson tunneling of the Cooper pairs reveals a strong current dependence as is also observed in our experiment (Fig. 3). Similarly we can explain the temperature dependence of the interlayer resistivity $`\rho _c`$. Within this scenario also a slight shift in $`T_c`$’s as measured by the intralayer and interlayer zero resistivities can be understood: $`T_c`$ measured in the plane represents the thermodynamical value of the material while $`T_c`$ measured across the planes is determined by the fact that a measurable Josephson current can flow across the whole sample.

Certain ”critical” magnetic fields can be obtained from the magnetic field dependences of the resistivities $`\rho _c(B)`$ and $`\rho _{ab}(B)`$. For instance, the critical field obtained from the points when the intralayer resistivity achieves 95 per cent of the normal state value is displayed in the Fig. 4 by closed circles. One can see a saturation of the critical fields at the lowest temperatures what is typical for the upper critical magnetic field $`B_{c2}(T)`$ of the type-II superconductors  but at higher temperatures there is an anomalous positive curvature instead of the linear temperature dependence. The latter fact can be indicative of the presence of vortex melting. Taking account of the critical fluctuations near 100 per cent of the transition to the normal state, we obtain a classical $`B_{c2}(T)`$ with a linear decrease up to $`T_c`$ and the zero temperature extrapolated $`B_{c2}(0)`$ equal to 1.2 Tesla .

A very anomalous temperature dependence of the critical field is obtained when the peak in the interlayer resistivity-versus-field is taken as the upper critical field position (triangles in Fig. 4) as is sometimes done in the cuprates . The only criterion giving the expected classical $`B_{c2}(T)`$ dependence is to use the magnetic field where the normal state is reached (squares in Fig. 4). These points can be practically obtained from the linear extrapolation of the interlayer conductance. It is another argument supporting the model where a peak in the interlayer resistivity is due to the interplay between the quasiparticle and Josephson tunneling across the layers. In our previous papers  we have shown that the quasiparticle tunneling in magnetic fields can give a reliable information on the upper critical fields. The zero-bias tunneling conductance proportional to the averaged quasiparticle density of states (DOS) develops a linear magnetic field dependence near the upper critical field since the DOS is proportional to the number of vortex cores. In the case of the quasi two-dimensional superconductor (LaSe)1.14(NbSe2) the interlayer transport at higher fields where the Josephson component is suppressed is realized via quasiparticle tunneling and the respective interlayer conductance is then the zero-bias tunneling conductance of the stack of the junctions.

Finally, in the interlayer (magneto)transport measured on the quasi two-dimensional low-$`T_c`$ superconductor (LaSe)1.14(NbSe2) we observed a peak effect in the superconducting transition as in the cuprates. This phenomenon is observed regularly in all of many samples we measured. The same effect has also been observed on another misfit-layer crystal of (LaSe)1.14(NbSe$`{}_{2}{}^{})_2`$ with $`T_c5.7`$ K which will be presented elsewhere. We have found strong indications that the peak effect is related to the superconducting transition via the interplay of the quasiparticle and Cooper-pair tunneling mechanisms of the carrier transport across the layers. The observation of this effect in a layered superconductor with conventional normal-state transport is of importance for the interpretation of the anisotropic transport properties in the cuprate superconductors.

###### Acknowledgements.

This work has been supported by the Slovak VEGA grant No.1148 and the liquid nitrogen for experiment has been sponsored by the U.S. Steel Košice, DZ Energetika.


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# Quantum fluctuation induced spatial stochastic resonance at zero temperature

## Abstract

We consider a model in which the quantum fluctuation can be controlled and show that the system responds to a spatially periodic external field at zero temperature. This signifies the occurrence of spatial stochastic resonance where the fluctuations are purely quantum in nature. Various features of the phenomenon are discussed.

PACS nos: 75.10.Jm; 42.50.Lc

The phenomenon of stochastic resonance (SR) is precisely the enhancement of reponse to an external field with the help of noise. SR is manifested in bistable systems, where the fluctuations can drive the system from one energy minimum to the other. As a function of the noise, the response typically shows a maximum value at resonance. The basic features required to observe stochastic resonance are simple: an energy barrier, a weak external periodic signal and a noise source. SR, which is observed in many natural phenomena, has therefore important applications in a variety of research areas including non-linear optics, solid state devices, and even neurophysiology .

Although most of the studies consider classical systems, stochastic resonance in quantum systems have attracted a lot of attention recently . In the quantum systems, the quantum mechanical tunnelling provides an additional channel to overcome a potential barrier. At exactly zero temprature, some numerical results for the tunnelling phenomena are available for the periodically driven quantum double well system . The noise is purely quantum in nature at $`T=0`$. A systematic study of the variation of a response function with the noise is not available here due to the inherent complexities of the dynamical system ; e.g., tunnelling is enhanced for high and low frequency limits but it may altogether be destroyed (coherent destruction of tunnelling) in the intermediate range. At very low temperatures, where quantum fluctuations still dominate, investigation on quantum stochastic resonance (QSR) is effectively reduced to the study of the dissipative dynamics of a periodically driven spin-boson system . The noise here is characterised by the temperature of the thermal bath and by the coupling of the bistable system to the environment.

Recent results in some classical systems have shown that the the positive role of noise to enable response to a signal can by no means be restricted to temporal fields only and is more universal in nature . Even when the field is spatially periodic, it can induce spatial modulations in a bistable system with the help of noise.

We report here that one can achieve QSR at $`T=0`$ in a novel quantum system, in which the response can be studied as a function of the quantum noise. Motivated by the occurrence of spatial SR in classical systems, we take the external field to be periodic in space in the quantum case. Our system is a periodically driven Ising model in a transverse field at zero temperature. The strength of the transverse field is a measure of the quantum fluctuations and can be tuned.

Although it occurs in both cases, the mechanisms of SR in fields periodic in time and spatially modulated fields are intrinsically different. In stochastic resonance in presence of time dependent fields, there are resonant transitions between the two potential wells of the bistable system. It is acheived when the time period of the temporal field is comparable to twice the systems’s own time scale of transitions between the neighbouring potential wells, the rate of which is given by the Kramer’s rate. In presence of a spatially periodic field, on the other hand, resonance implies transitions to a state with spatial correlations commensurate to those of the external field. The symmetric double well potential gets distorted differently in the two cases, although fluctuation induced transitions are responsible for resonance in both. In the spatially periodic field, the system reaches an equilibrium and studying the static properties are sufficient. Instead of time scales as in time dependent fields, one has to compare the length scales in the spatially modulated field. The field tends to form domains of size of the order of half of its wavelength. At resonance, the correlation length of the equilibrium state has to be comparable to half the spatial periodicity or wavelength of the field.

The lattice periodicity plays an important role in a spatially periodic field. The wavelength of the field may be either commensurate or incommensurate to the lattice periodicity. In the present study, we consider the commensurate case only. The case of incommensurate field has not been studied for the classical case even.

The transverse Ising system in a spatially periodic field can be described by the Hamiltonian

$$H=J\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}S_i^zS_{i+1}^z\underset{i=1}{\overset{N}{}}h_iS_i^z\mathrm{\Gamma }\underset{i}{}S_i^x.$$
(1)
Here $`h_i`$ is the spatially modulated field and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ the transverse field. The form of $`h_i`$ is like this: $`h_i=h_0`$ at $`i=(n\lambda +1)`$ to $`(2n+1)\lambda /2`$ ($`n=0,1,\mathrm{}.,N/\lambda 1`$) and $`h_0`$ elsewhere. The wavelength of the field is denoted by $`\lambda `$. In principle the modulated field can be chosen to be of any form, for simplicity we choose a square wave form. The Hamiltonian (1) is comparable to that of the transverse Ising model in a field periodic in time  which is studied in the context of quantum dynamical phenomena. We consider a spatial equivalent and will be commenting on the comparable features later in this paper.

In the absence of the longitudinal field, the system has a quantum critical point at $`\mathrm{\Gamma }/J=1`$ . With the field, which is competing in nature, the phase transitions in the $`\mathrm{\Gamma }h_0`$ plane have been recently studied . The system shows a continuous order-disorder phase transition from $`\mathrm{\Gamma }/J=1`$ at $`h_0=0`$ to $`\mathrm{\Gamma }/J=0`$ at $`h_0=4J/\lambda `$. Beyond this value of $`h_0`$, the system is field dominated and no phase transition can occur here. Thus our study will be limited to the region $`h_0<4\lambda /J`$, beyond which the system responds to the field spontaneously. $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=0,h_0=4J/\lambda `$ is a multiphase point. The model has the additional feature that the competing field and the tunnelling field scale similarly close to criticality.

We obtain the average correlations between the local fields and spin components in the longitudinal ($`z`$) direction:

$$g(h_0,\mathrm{\Gamma })=\frac{1}{N}[\frac{1}{h_0}\underset{i}{}S_i^zh_i],$$
(2)
$`\mathrm{}`$ is the expectation value and consider it as the response function . $`g(h_0,\mathrm{\Gamma })1`$ by definition. Resonance will imply a maximum value of $`g(h_0,\mathrm{\Gamma })`$.

Stochastic resonance is a process induced by fluctuation. In a system which undergoes a continuous phase transition, the fluctuations are maximum at the critical point. However, SR is expected away from criticality where fluctuation is lesser. This is because at the critical point, the correlation length diverges and all other length scales are irrelevant. But for spatial SR to occur, the spin correlation length should equal the imposed spatial modulation. The latter being finite, SR will occur in a regime away from the critical point This is confirmed in our results.

We conduct a numerical study by diagonalising the Hamiltonian matrix for finite chains using Lanczos method. The system sizes are restricted to multiples of the wavelength $`\lambda `$ of the field. We obtain results for system sizes $`N18`$ with periodic boundary conditions. In Fig. 1, we show how the spins orient spatially (the $`z`$ components of the spins are shown, to which the external periodic field is coupled) as the noise is increased for a constant value of $`h_0`$. It is interesting to note that even when the fluctuations are small so that a ferromagnetic order exists, the local magnetisation shows a modulation with wavelength $`\lambda `$ about a non-zero value. Beyond the ferromagnetic phase, it oscillates about zero. The modulations will increase with the noise, as expected and then decrease beyond a certain point.

In fig. 2, we show how the response function $`g(h_0,\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ behaves with the increasing quantum fluctuation ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }/J`$): it shows a maximum at a certain value of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=\mathrm{\Gamma }_R`$. The position of the maximum and the value of $`g`$ depend on the wavelength as well as on the field strength.

The behaviour of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R/J`$ with the field $`h_0/J`$ is shown in Fig. 3 for different values of the wavelength. $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R`$ is not defined for $`h_0=0`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R=0`$ for $`h_0/J4/\lambda `$ where the system naturally orients along the field. It may be noted that as the wavelength is increased, the resonance occurs at lower values of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. This is quite easy to understand: for increasing wavelength $`\lambda `$, one needs to create smaller number of domain walls and hence lesser amount of fluctuation is needed. The phase boundaries ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }_c(h_0)`$) show opposite behaviour as with increasing $`\lambda `$, one needs larger amount of fluctuations to destroy the order . For a comparison of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_c`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R`$, we have also shown the phase boundary line for $`\lambda =2`$ in Fig. 3.

Another quantity which we study is the value of the parameter $`g(h_0,\mathrm{\Gamma })`$ at $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R`$. This shows a very interesting behaviour. It varies linearly with $`h_0`$ upto a limiting value and then shows a nonlinear behaviour, increasing faster than a power law (Fig. 4). This can be interpreted as the existence of a limiting value of $`h_0`$ beyond which the field can no longer be assumed to be weak. This limit also decreases with $`\lambda `$. Beyond this limit, the unperturbed energy landscape picture seems to get drastically modified. It is also interesting to note that even for strong fields, while the maximum response is less than 0.6 for $`\lambda =2`$ and 4, it rapidly approches unity for higher values of $`\lambda `$.

In order to study how the value of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R/J`$ varies with the wavelength, we plot $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R/J`$ against $`\lambda `$ for the same value of $`h_0\lambda /J`$. The reason for keeping $`h_0\lambda /J`$ constant is that $`h_0\lambda `$ determines the limiting value of $`h_0`$ and could be used as a standard to compare results corresponding to different values of $`\lambda `$. The results are shown in Fig. 5. For values of $`h_0\lambda /J`$ much lesser than 4, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R/J`$ shows a monotonic behaviour. For larger values close to the multiphase point, there is an anomaly and the monotonic behaviour is lost in the sense $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R/J`$ first increases with $`\lambda `$ and regains its decreasing nature beyond $`\lambda =4`$. Our explanation for the above is that for very low value of $`\lambda `$, the field amplitude is very strong at high values of $`h_0\lambda `$ and thus one needs a smaller amount of fluctuation to achieve resonance. This is again a feature of the strong field regime. Perhaps $`h_0\lambda /J`$ is not the proper parameter to keep constant and compare results here. Apparently, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R/J`$ decays expoenentially with $`\lambda `$ for large $`\lambda `$ values in the weak field regime.

At the multiphase point, the domain sizes are multiples of $`\lambda /2`$. Close to the multiphase point, one could expect correlations other than that of the field to manifest. We investigate this for high values of $`h_0`$ close to $`4J/\lambda `$ but fail to detect any other modulations barring that of $`\lambda `$. Thus, any nontrivial behaviour of the magnetisation (e.g., step like structures etc.), is definitely a feature unique to time dependent fields , as was emphasised in  and absent for spatially periodic fields.

The results shown in figures 1-5 are for $`N=12`$ for $`\lambda =12`$, $`N=16`$ for $`\lambda `$ values 2, 4, 8 and 16 and $`N=18`$ for $`\lambda =6,18`$. The finite size effects are negligible and not shown.

The general features of the spatial stochastic resonance occurring in the quantum Ising model at zero temperature are quilitatively similar to those of the classical Ising model . The comparison of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_R`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_c`$ is a unique feature of the quantum system, as no finite temperature phase transition exists in the classical one-dimensional model. However, stochastic resonance does not require that the system should undergo a phase transition. Also, it is not imperative that SR in one dimensional quantum sustem and two dimensional classical system be identical as SR is not a critical phenomena.

In summary, we have studied the phenomenon of spatial stochastic resonance in a quantum model at $`T=0`$ and found that SR can be realised in this model where the fluctuations are entirely quantum in nature. The response of the system depends on the field amplitude and the wavelength. Resonance is achieved at values of the transverse field higher than its critical value where the order-disorder transition occurs. The maximum response behaves differently in the so-called weak field and strong field regimes. We could not detect any oscillations of the local magnetisation with periodicity different from that of the external field even close to the highly degenerate multiphase point.

The reason we could observe quantum stochastic resonance at zero temperature are twofold: firstly, the quantum model we consider may be special. Secondly, the spatial and temporal fields signify entirely different processes of stochastic resonance. Whether it is possible to obtain QSR in a field periodic in time for the transverse Ising model will be an interesting study and confirm whether the first conjecture is correct. The ground states of the transverse Ising model and the quantum double well system are equivalent and the counter-intuitive feature like coherent destruction of tunnelling is present in both  when a field periodic in time is present. Also, a simple picture like Fig. 2 is unlikely to exist in presence of a time dependent periodic field, as there are indications of additional nontrivial oscillations of the magnetisation in quantum spin models . Hence it seems that choosing the field periodic in space, rather than considering a specific quantum system, is responsible for observing quantum stochastic resonance analogous to the classical case.

Although we are interested in the static results only for SR, there will be an inherent quantum dynamics in the model. The dynamics of domain growth could be an interesting study which in this case may be called a local nucleation phenomena; the domains will be finite in size due to the presence of the spatially periodic external field.

The author is grateful to S. M. Bhattacharjee for a critical reading of the manuscript and to B. K. Chakrabarti for discussions and comments on the manuscript, and also for bringing references  and  to notice.