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# Eigenmodes of Lens and Prism Spaces

## 1 Introduction

In recent years cosmologists have taken a renewed interest in multiply connected 3-manifolds as possible models for the universe , motivated by upcoming opportunities to determine the topology of the real universe using satellite measurements of the microwave background  and galaxy catalogs . Cosmologists initially focused on closed hyperbolic 3-manifolds, favored by the low observed matter density in the universe, as well as the more easily understood flat 3-manifolds. But since 1998 it has become clear that the modest amount of matter in the universe (30%) is complemented by a large amount of exotic energy (70%). This extra energy implies that the observable universe is approximately flat, or perhaps slightly spherical . Cosmologists have therefore shifted their interest from hyperbolic 3-manifolds to flat and spherical ones. Beyond the data’s very slight preference for a spherical universe, the cosmologists’ new interest in multiply connected spherical 3-manifolds (spherical spaceforms) is due to the fact that the volume of a spherical 3-manifold decreases as the topology gets more complicated, unlike hyperbolic 3-manifolds whose volumes increase as the topology gets more complicated. Thus even though both hyperbolic and spherical 3-manifolds are consistent with an approximately flat observable universe, the spherical topologies would be more easily detectable observationally .

To understand and simulate microwave background measurements in a multiply connected spherical universe, cosmologists must first understand the density fluctuations in the primordial plasma (see  for a review). Such density fluctuations are expressed as linear combinations of the eigenmodes (eigenfunctions) of the Laplacian, just as the vibration of a drumhead may be expressed as a linear combination of the drumhead’s eigenmodes. But unlike mathematicians’ studies of isospectrality , where the spectrum was the primary object of interest (“Can you hear the shape of a lens space?”) and the eigenmodes were secondary, the cosmologists’ research puts the eigenmodes at center stage. More specifically, for each wave number $`k`$ (corresponding to eigenvalue $`k(k+2)`$), the cosmologists want an explicit orthonormal basis for the corresponding space of eigenmodes. The present paper provides such an eigenbasis for all lens spaces (Theorem 2, Section 9) and prism spaces (Theorem 3, Section 10).

## 2 Toroidal coordinates

The determination of the eigenmodes of a lens space (resp. prism space) is elementary and constructive. Visualize such a manifold as the 3-sphere $`S^3`$ under the action of a cyclic (resp. binary dihedral) group $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ of covering transformations. The key to simplicity is to choose a coordinate system that respects the covering transformations $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. A toroidal coordinate system meets our needs perfectly (Figure 1).

Let $`x`$, $`y`$, $`z`$, and $`w`$ be the usual coordinates in $`𝐑^4`$, so the 3-sphere $`S^3`$ is defined by $`x^2+y^2+z^2+w^2=1`$. The coordinates $`\chi `$, $`\theta `$, and $`\phi `$ parameterize the 3-sphere as

$$\begin{array}{ccc}x& =& \mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{cos}\theta \hfill \\ y& =& \mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\theta \hfill \\ z& =& \mathrm{sin}\chi \mathrm{cos}\phi \hfill \\ w& =& \mathrm{sin}\chi \mathrm{sin}\phi \hfill \end{array}$$
(1)
for

$$\begin{array}{ccccc}0& & \chi & & \pi /2\hfill \\ 0& & \theta & & 2\pi \hfill \\ 0& & \phi & & 2\pi .\hfill \end{array}$$
(2)
For each fixed value of $`\chi (0,\pi /2)`$, the $`\theta `$ and $`\phi `$ coordinates sweep out a torus. Taken together, these tori almost fill $`S^3`$. The exceptions occur at the endpoints $`\chi =0`$ and $`\chi =\pi /2`$, where the stack of tori collapses to the circles $`x^2+y^2=1`$ and $`z^2+w^2=1`$, respectively.

## 3 The Laplacian in toroidal coordinates

The coordinates $`\chi `$, $`\theta `$, and $`\phi `$ are everywhere orthogonal to each other. Thus the metric on the 3-sphere may be written as

$$ds^2=h_\chi ^2d\chi ^2+h_\theta ^2d\theta ^2+h_\phi ^2d\phi ^2$$
(3)
where

$$\begin{array}{ccc}h_\chi & =& 1\hfill \\ h_\theta & =& \mathrm{cos}\chi \hfill \\ h_\phi & =& \mathrm{sin}\chi .\hfill \end{array}$$
(4)
The Laplacian is just the divergence of the gradient of a function $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$, and the divergence is, in turn, just the “net outflow per unit volume”. So by visualizing the small volume element $`d\chi d\theta d\phi `$ we may write down the Laplacian for any orthogonal coordinate system as

$$^2=\frac{1}{h_\chi h_\theta h_\phi }\left\{\frac{}{\chi }\frac{h_\theta h_\phi }{h_\chi }\frac{}{\chi }+\frac{}{\theta }\frac{h_\chi h_\phi }{h_\theta }\frac{}{\theta }+\frac{}{\phi }\frac{h_\chi h_\theta }{h_\phi }\frac{}{\phi }\right\}$$
(5)
with no calculation required. In the present case, substituting (4) into (5) gives the Laplacian in toroidal coordinates

$$^2=\frac{1}{\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi }\left\{\frac{}{\chi }\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi \frac{}{\chi }+\frac{}{\theta }\frac{\mathrm{sin}\chi }{\mathrm{cos}\chi }\frac{}{\theta }+\frac{}{\phi }\frac{\mathrm{cos}\chi }{\mathrm{sin}\chi }\frac{}{\phi }\right\}.$$
(6)
## 4 The Helmholtz equation in toroidal coordinates

The wave number $`k`$ parameterizes the eigenmodes of the Laplacian on the 3-sphere $`S^3`$. Each integer wave number $`k>0`$ corresponds to an eigenvalue $`k(k+2)`$ with multiplicity $`(k+1)^2`$ . The Helmholtz equation thus takes the form

$$^2\mathrm{\Psi }=k(k+2)\mathrm{\Psi }.$$
(7)
We will look for solutions that factor as

$$\mathrm{\Psi }(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )=X(\chi )\mathrm{\Theta }(\theta )\mathrm{\Phi }(\phi ).$$
(8)
We have no a priori guarantee that all solutions must take this form, but in Section 6 we’ll see that the number of independent solutions of this form does indeed equal the dimension $`(k+1)^2`$ of the full eigenspace.

Substituting the expression (6) for $`^2`$ and the factorization (8) of $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ into the Helmholtz equation (7) gives

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Theta }\mathrm{\Phi }}{\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi }\frac{}{\chi }\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi \frac{X}{\chi }+\frac{X\mathrm{\Phi }}{\mathrm{cos}^2\chi }\frac{^2\mathrm{\Theta }}{\theta ^2}+\frac{X\mathrm{\Theta }}{\mathrm{sin}^2\chi }\frac{^2\mathrm{\Phi }}{\phi ^2}=k(k+2)X\mathrm{\Theta }\mathrm{\Phi }.$$
(9)
Multiplying through by $`\mathrm{cos}^2\chi \mathrm{sin}^2\chi /(X\mathrm{\Theta }\mathrm{\Phi })`$ isolates the $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ and $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ factors

$`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi }{X}}{\displaystyle \frac{d}{d\chi }}\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi {\displaystyle \frac{dX}{d\chi }}+\mathrm{sin}^2\chi ({\displaystyle \frac{1}{\mathrm{\Theta }}}{\displaystyle \frac{d^2\mathrm{\Theta }}{d\theta ^2}})+\mathrm{cos}^2\chi ({\displaystyle \frac{1}{\mathrm{\Phi }}}{\displaystyle \frac{d^2\mathrm{\Phi }}{d\phi ^2}})`$
$`=k(k+2)\mathrm{cos}^2\chi \mathrm{sin}^2\chi .`$ (10)
The expressions in $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ and $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ must each be constant, and to allow a periodic solution the constants must be negative,

$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\mathrm{\Theta }}}{\displaystyle \frac{d^2\mathrm{\Theta }}{d\theta ^2}}`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{}^2`$ (11)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\mathrm{\Phi }}}{\displaystyle \frac{d^2\mathrm{\Phi }}{d\phi ^2}}`$ $`=`$ $`m^2.`$ (12)
The solutions are the usual circular harmonics

$$\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}}(\theta )=\mathrm{cos}|\mathrm{}|\theta \mathrm{or}\mathrm{sin}|\mathrm{}|\theta $$
(13)
and

$$\mathrm{\Phi }_m(\phi )=\mathrm{cos}|m|\phi \mathrm{or}\mathrm{sin}|m|\phi .$$
(14)
By convention, nonnegative $`\mathrm{}`$ indicates $`\mathrm{cos}|\mathrm{}|\theta `$ while negative $`\mathrm{}`$ indicates $`\mathrm{sin}|\mathrm{}|\theta `$, and similarly for $`m`$.

Substituting (11) and (12) into the Helmholtz equation (10) reduces it to a second order ordinary differential equation for $`X`$

$$\frac{\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi }{X}\frac{d}{d\chi }\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi \frac{dX}{d\chi }\mathrm{}^2\mathrm{sin}^2\chi m^2\mathrm{cos}^2\chi =k(k+2)\mathrm{cos}^2\chi \mathrm{sin}^2\chi .$$
(15)
For integers $`k`$, $`\mathrm{}`$, and $`m`$ satisfying $`|\mathrm{}|+|m|k`$ and $`\mathrm{}+mk`$ (mod 2), equation (15) is a close relative of the Jacobi equation and admits the solution

$$X_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi )=\mathrm{cos}^{|\mathrm{}|}\chi \mathrm{sin}^{|m|}\chi P_d^{(|m|,|\mathrm{}|)}(\mathrm{cos}2\chi )$$
(16)
where $`P_d^{(|m|,|\mathrm{}|)}`$ is the Jacobi polynomial

$$P_d^{(|m|,|\mathrm{}|)}(u)=\frac{1}{2^d}\underset{i=0}{\overset{d}{}}\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|m|+d}{i}\right)\left(\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|\mathrm{}|+d}{di}\right)(u+1)^i(u1)^{di}$$
(17)
and

$$d=\frac{k(|\mathrm{}|+|m|)}{2}.$$
(18)
## 5 The eigenmodes of $`S^3`$ in trigonometric and polynomial forms

Substituting the expressions for $`X`$, $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$, and $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ from (16), (13), and (14) gives the eigenmode

$$\begin{array}{cc}\hfill \stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )& =\mathrm{cos}^{|\mathrm{}|}\chi \mathrm{sin}^{|m|}\chi P_d^{(|m|,|\mathrm{}|)}(\mathrm{cos}2\chi )\hfill \\ & \times (\mathrm{cos}|\mathrm{}|\theta \mathrm{or}\mathrm{sin}|\mathrm{}|\theta )\hfill \\ & \times (\mathrm{cos}|m|\phi \mathrm{or}\mathrm{sin}|m|\phi )\hfill \end{array}$$
(19)
where as usual the choice of $`\mathrm{cos}|\mathrm{}|\theta `$ or $`\mathrm{sin}|\mathrm{}|\theta `$ (resp. $`\mathrm{cos}|m|\phi `$ or $`\mathrm{sin}|m|\phi `$) depends on the sign of $`\mathrm{}`$ (resp. $`m`$).

The Jacobi polynomial may be expanded as a homogeneous polynomial of degree $`2d`$ in $`x`$, $`y`$, $`z`$, and $`w`$,

$`P_d^{(|m|,|\mathrm{}|)}(\mathrm{cos}2\chi )`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2^d}}{\displaystyle \underset{i=0}{\overset{d}{}}}\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|m|+d}{i}}\right)\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|\mathrm{}|+d}{di}}\right)(\mathrm{cos}2\chi +1)^i(\mathrm{cos}2\chi 1)^{di}`$ (20)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{i=0}{\overset{d}{}}}\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|m|+d}{i}}\right)\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|\mathrm{}|+d}{di}}\right)(\mathrm{cos}^2\chi )^i(\mathrm{sin}^2\chi )^{di}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{i=0}{\overset{d}{}}}\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|m|+d}{i}}\right)\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|\mathrm{}|+d}{di}}\right)(x^2+y^2)^i((z^2+w^2))^{di}.`$
The $`\mathrm{cos}^{|\mathrm{}|}\chi `$ factor combines felicitously with the $`\mathrm{cos}|\mathrm{}|\theta `$ or $`\mathrm{sin}|\mathrm{}|\theta `$ factor to create a homogeneous polynomial of degree $`|\mathrm{}|`$ in $`x`$ and $`y`$, for example,

$`\mathrm{cos}^{|\mathrm{}|}\chi \mathrm{cos}|\mathrm{}|\theta `$ (21)
$`=`$ $`\mathrm{cos}^{|\mathrm{}|}\chi {\displaystyle \underset{0i|\mathrm{}|/2}{}}(1)^i\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|\mathrm{}|}{2i}}\right)\mathrm{cos}^{|\mathrm{}|2i}\theta \mathrm{sin}^{2i}\theta `$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{0i|\mathrm{}|/2}{}}(1)^i\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|\mathrm{}|}{2i}}\right)(\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{cos}\theta )^{|\mathrm{}|2i}(\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\theta )^{2i}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{0i|\mathrm{}|/2}{}}(1)^i\left({\displaystyle \genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{|\mathrm{}|}{2i}}\right)x^{|\mathrm{}|2i}y^{2i}.`$
Similarly, $`\mathrm{sin}^{|m|}\chi `$ combines with $`\mathrm{cos}|m|\phi `$ or $`\mathrm{sin}|m|\phi `$ to create a degree $`|m|`$ polynomial in $`z`$ and $`w`$. Multiplied together, these factors express $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ as a homogeneous degree $`k`$ harmonic polynomial in $`(x,y,z,w)`$ coordinates. For example, when $`k=7`$, $`\mathrm{}=3`$, and $`m=2`$ we have

$`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{7,3,2}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )`$ $`=`$ $`[P_1^{(2,3)}(\mathrm{cos}2\chi )][\mathrm{cos}^3\chi \mathrm{cos}3\theta ][\mathrm{sin}^2\chi \mathrm{sin}2\phi ]`$ (22)
$`=`$ $`[3(x^2+y^2)4(z^2+w^2)][x^33xy^2][2zw].`$
The fact that each $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ may be expressed as a polynomial proves that the $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ are smooth even along the circles $`\chi =0`$ and $`\chi =\pi /2`$, where the toroidal coordinate system collapses.

## 6 The eigenmodes form a basis

For each $`k`$, the set of $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ forms a basis for the space of eigenfunctions on $`S^3`$ with wave number $`k`$. More precisely, define the basis

$$B_k=\{\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}||\mathrm{}|+|m|k\mathrm{and}\mathrm{}+mk(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2})\}.$$
(23)
To prove that $`B_k`$ is a basis, we must show that the $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ it contains are linearly independent and span the full eigenspace.

Linear independence. The inner product of two elements $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}^{}m^{}}`$ of $`B_k`$ is

$`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m},\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}^{}m^{}}`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle _{S^3}}\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}^{}m^{}}𝑑V`$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle _{\chi =0}^{\pi /2}}{\displaystyle _{\theta =0}^{2\pi }}{\displaystyle _{\phi =0}^{2\pi }}(X_{k\mathrm{}m}\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Phi }_m)(X_{k\mathrm{}^{}m^{}}\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}^{}}\mathrm{\Phi }_m^{})\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi d\phi d\theta d\chi `$
$`=`$ $`\left({\displaystyle _{\chi =0}^{\pi /2}}X_{k\mathrm{}m}X_{k\mathrm{}^{}m^{}}\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi d\chi \right)\left({\displaystyle _{\theta =0}^{2\pi }}\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}^{}}𝑑\theta \right)\left({\displaystyle _{\phi =0}^{2\pi }}\mathrm{\Phi }_m\mathrm{\Phi }_m^{}𝑑\phi \right).`$
If $`\mathrm{}\mathrm{}^{}`$ (resp. $`mm^{}`$), then the orthogonality of the circular harmonics $`\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}},\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}^{}}=0`$ (resp. $`\mathrm{\Phi }_m,\mathrm{\Phi }_m^{}=0`$) immediately implies $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m},\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}^{}m^{}}=0`$, proving that $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}^{}m^{}}`$ are orthogonal. Because the $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ in $`B_k`$ are nonzero and pairwise orthogonal, they must be linearly independent.

Span. We have shown that the $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ in $`B_k`$ are linearly independent. To prove that they span the full eigenspace, it suffices to check that the number of elements of $`B_k`$ equals the dimension of the full eigenspace, which is known to be $`(k+1)^2`$. The set $`B_0=\{\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{0,0,0}\}`$ has $`(0+1)^2=1`$ element, and the set $`B_1=\{\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{1,+1,0},\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{1,1,0},\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{1,0,+1},\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{1,0,1}\}`$ has $`(1+1)^2=4`$ elements, as required. For the remaining $`B_k`$, with $`k2`$, we proceed by induction, assuming that the set $`B_{k2}`$ is already known to contain $`((k2)+1)^2=(k1)^2`$ elements. Each element $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k2,\mathrm{},m}B_{k2}`$ corresponds to an element $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k,\mathrm{},m}B_k`$. The set $`B_k`$ also contains the additional elements $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k,0,\pm k},\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k,\pm 1,\pm (k1)},\mathrm{},\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k,\pm (k1),\pm 1},\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k,\pm k,0}`$. Taking into account the plus-or-minus signs, this gives $`2+4+\mathrm{}+4+2=2+4(k1)+2=4k`$ additional elements. Adding these to the $`(k1)^2`$ elements corresponding to $`B_{k2}`$, we get a total of $`(k1)^2+4k=(k+1)^2`$ elements, as required.

This completes the proof that $`B_k`$ is a basis for the space of eigenfunctions on $`S^3`$ with wave number $`k`$.

## 7 Normalization

The $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ are already mutually orthogonal (Section 6), so if we normalize them to unit length they will form an orthonormal basis for the eigenspace. An orthonormal basis is convenient in cosmological applications, because it makes it easy to construct an unbiased random density fluctuation with wave number $`k`$.

To compute the norm of a given $`\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}`$, set $`\mathrm{}^{}=\mathrm{}`$ and $`m^{}=m`$ in equation (6), giving

$$\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m},\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}=\left(_{\chi =0}^{\pi /2}X_{k\mathrm{}m}^2\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi d\chi \right)\left(_{\theta =0}^{2\pi }\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}}^2𝑑\theta \right)\left(_{\phi =0}^{2\pi }\mathrm{\Phi }_m^2𝑑\phi \right).$$
(25)
The $`\mathrm{\Theta }`$ and $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ integrals are easy to evaluate. Substituting in the solutions (13) and (14) immediately gives

$$_{\theta =0}^{2\pi }\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}}^2𝑑\theta =\pi \mathrm{and}_{\phi =0}^{2\pi }\mathrm{\Phi }_m^2𝑑\phi =\pi $$
(26)
when $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$ are nonzero, along with the special cases

$$_{\theta =0}^{2\pi }\mathrm{\Theta }_0^2𝑑\theta =2\pi \mathrm{and}_{\phi =0}^{2\pi }\mathrm{\Phi }_0^2𝑑\phi =2\pi .$$
(27)
The $`X`$ integral seems daunting, but luckily the $`\mathrm{cos}^{|\mathrm{}|}\chi \mathrm{sin}^{|m|}\chi `$ factor in the expression (16) for $`X`$ provides exactly the standard weighting function relative to which the Jacobi polynomials are normalized!

$`{\displaystyle _{\chi =0}^{\pi /2}}X_{k\mathrm{}m}^2\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi d\chi `$ (28)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle _{\chi =0}^{\pi /2}}\left[\mathrm{cos}^{|\mathrm{}|}\chi \mathrm{sin}^{|m|}\chi P_d^{(|m|,|\mathrm{}|)}(\mathrm{cos}2\chi )\right]^2\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi d\chi `$
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle _{\chi =0}^{\pi /2}}(\mathrm{cos}^2\chi )^{|\mathrm{}|}(\mathrm{sin}^2\chi )^{|m|}\left[P_d^{(|m|,|\mathrm{}|)}(\mathrm{cos}2\chi )\right]^2\mathrm{cos}\chi \mathrm{sin}\chi d\chi `$
then, changing the variable to $`u=\mathrm{cos}2\chi `$,

$$=\frac{1}{2^{|\mathrm{}|+|m|+2}}_{u=1}^{+1}(1+u)^{|\mathrm{}|}(1u)^{|m|}\left[P_d^{(|m|,|\mathrm{}|)}(u)\right]^2𝑑u$$
(29)
and using the standard normalization for Jacobi polynomials , we get

$$=\frac{(|\mathrm{}|+d)!(|m|+d)!}{2(k+1)d!(|\mathrm{}|+|m|+d)!}.$$
(30)
Define the normalized eigenmodes $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ to be

$$\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}=\frac{\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}}{\sqrt{\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m},\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}}}=\frac{\stackrel{~}{\mathrm{\Psi }}_{k\mathrm{}m}}{\sqrt{2^{\widehat{\mathrm{}}+\widehat{m}}}\pi \sqrt{\frac{(|\mathrm{}|+d)!(|m|+d)!}{2(k+1)d!(|\mathrm{}|+|m|+d)!}}}$$
(31)
where $`\widehat{\mathrm{}}`$ is 1 when $`\mathrm{}`$ is 0, and $`\widehat{\mathrm{}}`$ is 0 when $`\mathrm{}`$ is nonzero, and similarly for $`\widehat{m}`$, to accommodate the special cases in equations (26) and (27).

The results of this section and the previous one together prove

Theorem 1. The $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}`$, taken over all integers $`k`$, $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$ satisfying $`|\mathrm{}|+|m|k`$ and $`\mathrm{}+mk`$ (mod 2), comprise an orthonormal basis for the eigenspace of the Laplacian on the 3-sphere.

## 8 The action of an isometry of $`S^3`$ on the space of eigenmodes

An arbitrary orientation-preserving isometry of the 3-sphere has matrix

$$\left(\begin{array}{cccc}\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta & \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta & 0& 0\\ \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta & \mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta & 0& 0\\ 0& 0& \mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Delta }\phi & \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \\ 0& 0& \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{\Delta }\phi & \mathrm{cos}\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \end{array}\right)$$
(32)
relative to an appropriate orthonormal $`(x,y,z,w)`$ coordinate system on $`𝐑^4`$. In toroidal coordinates $`(\chi ,\theta ,\varphi )`$, the same isometry may be described as

$$\begin{array}{ccc}\chi & & \chi \hfill \\ \theta & & \theta +\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \hfill \\ \phi & & \phi +\mathrm{\Delta }\phi .\hfill \end{array}$$
(33)
The action of this isometry on the space of eigenfunctions is much simpler in toroidal coordinates than in traditional polar coordinates. For example, if $`\mathrm{}>0`$ and $`m<0`$, then the isometry (33) maps

$`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )`$ $``$ $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m}(\chi ,\theta +\mathrm{\Delta }\theta ,\phi +\mathrm{\Delta }\phi )`$
$`=`$ $`X_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi )\mathrm{\Theta }_+\mathrm{}(\theta +\mathrm{\Delta }\theta )\mathrm{\Phi }_m(\phi +\mathrm{\Delta }\phi )`$
$`=`$ $`X_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi )\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{}(\theta +\mathrm{\Delta }\theta )\mathrm{sin}m(\phi +\mathrm{\Delta }\phi )`$
$`=`$ $`X_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi )(\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \mathrm{cos}\mathrm{}\theta \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{}\theta )`$
$`\times (\mathrm{sin}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \mathrm{cos}m\phi +\mathrm{cos}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \mathrm{sin}m\phi )`$
$`=`$ $`\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \mathrm{sin}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi X_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi )\mathrm{\Theta }_+\mathrm{}(\theta )\mathrm{\Phi }_{+m}(\phi )`$
$`+\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \mathrm{cos}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi X_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi )\mathrm{\Theta }_+\mathrm{}(\theta )\mathrm{\Phi }_m(\phi )`$
$`\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \mathrm{sin}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi X_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi )\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}}(\theta )\mathrm{\Phi }_{+m}(\phi )`$
$`\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \mathrm{cos}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi X_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi )\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}}(\theta )\mathrm{\Phi }_m(\phi )`$
$`=`$ $`\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \mathrm{sin}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )`$
$`+\mathrm{cos}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \mathrm{cos}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )`$
$`\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \mathrm{sin}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )`$
$`\mathrm{sin}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta \mathrm{cos}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )`$
$$\mathrm{}\mathrm{and}\mathrm{similarly}\mathrm{for}\mathrm{the}\mathrm{images}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m},\mathrm{and}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m}.$$
(34)
Thus the subspace spanned by the $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\pm \mathrm{},\pm m}`$ is invariant (setwise but not necessarily pointwise) under the action of the isometry (33). Typically this subspace is 4-dimensional, but when $`\mathrm{}`$ or $`m`$ is zero it is 2-dimensional, or only 1-dimensional when both $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$ are zero.

Thus the complete eigenspace factors into orthogonal 1-, 2-, and 4-dimensional invariant subspaces, each spanned by a set $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\pm \mathrm{},\pm m}`$. To understand the full action of the isometry, it suffices to understand its action on each invariant subspace.

$`\mathrm{}=m=0`$.

The 1-dimensional invariant subspace spanned by $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,0}`$ is pointwise fixed by every isometry of the form (33).

$`\mathrm{}=0`$ or $`m=0`$ (but not both).

For sake of discussion, assume $`\mathrm{}>0`$ and $`m=0`$. Relative to the basis

$`𝐝_1=\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},0}`$
$`𝐝_2=\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}`$ (35)
the isometry (33) acts as a rotation through an angle $`\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta `$, with matrix

$$\left(\begin{array}{cccc}\hfill \mathrm{cos}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta & \hfill \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta & & \\ \hfill \mathrm{sin}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta & \hfill \mathrm{cos}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta & & \end{array}\right).$$
(36)
A quick computation similar to (34) verifies that matrix (36) is correct. Thus if $`\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta 0(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\pi )`$ the whole subspace is fixed pointwise; otherwise only the origin is fixed. Similar conclusions hold when $`\mathrm{}=0`$ and $`m>0`$.

$`\mathrm{}>0`$ and $`m>0`$.

Computation (34) expresses the isometry’s action on each of the $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\pm \mathrm{},\pm m}`$ as a linear combination of the $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\pm \mathrm{},\pm m}`$ themselves. For best results use the rotated basis

$`𝐞_1=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m})=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}}X_{k\mathrm{}m}\mathrm{cos}(\mathrm{}\theta m\phi )`$
$`𝐞_2=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m})=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}}X_{k\mathrm{}m}\mathrm{sin}(\mathrm{}\theta m\phi )`$
$`𝐞_3=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m})=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}}X_{k\mathrm{}m}\mathrm{cos}(\mathrm{}\theta +m\phi )`$
$`𝐞_4=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m})=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}}X_{k\mathrm{}m}\mathrm{sin}(\mathrm{}\theta +m\phi )`$ (37)
relative to which the action has matrix

$$\left(\begin{array}{cccc}\mathrm{cos}\left(\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \right)& \mathrm{sin}\left(\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \right)& 0& 0\\ \mathrm{sin}\left(\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \right)& \mathrm{cos}\left(\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \right)& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& \mathrm{cos}\left(\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta +m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \right)& \mathrm{sin}\left(\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta +m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \right)\\ 0& 0& \mathrm{sin}\left(\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta +m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \right)& \mathrm{cos}\left(\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta +m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi \right)\end{array}\right).$$
(38)
Clearly the subspace spanned by $`\{𝐞_1,𝐞_2\}`$ (resp. $`\{𝐞_3,𝐞_4\}`$) is pointwise fixed if and only if $`\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi (\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\pi )`$ (resp. $`\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi (\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\pi )`$). If $`\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi 0\mathrm{or}\pi `$, then the whole 4-dimensional subspace is pointwise fixed.

In summary, an isometry (33) fixes the subspace spanned by

$$\begin{array}{cc}\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,0}\}& \mathrm{always}\hfill \\ \{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},0},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}\}& \mathrm{iff}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta 0(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\pi )\hfill \\ \{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,+m},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,m}\}& \mathrm{iff}m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi 0(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\pi )\hfill \\ \begin{array}{c}\{\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m}),\hfill \\ \sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m})\}\hfill \end{array}& \mathrm{iff}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi (\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\pi )\hfill \\ \begin{array}{c}\{\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m}),\hfill \\ \sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m})\}\hfill \end{array}& \mathrm{iff}\mathrm{}\mathrm{\Delta }\theta m\mathrm{\Delta }\phi (\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}\pi )\hfill \end{array}$$
(39)
and this is the complete description of the fixed point set. When working with fixed point sets, please keep in mind that the eigenmode $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ exists if and only if $`|\mathrm{}|+|m|k`$ and $`\mathrm{}+mk`$ (mod 2).

## 9 Eigenmodes of lens spaces

The lens space $`L(p,q)`$ is the quotient of the 3-sphere $`S^3`$ by the cyclic group whose generator $`g`$ is the isometry (33) with $`\mathrm{\Delta }\theta =2\pi /p`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }\phi =2\pi q/p`$. Each eigenmode of $`L(p,q)`$ lifts to a $`g`$-invariant eigenmode of $`S^3`$, and conversely each $`g`$-invariant eigenmode of $`S^3`$ projects down to an eigenmode of $`L(p,q)`$. Thus the eigenmodes of $`L(p,q)`$ correspond to the $`g`$-invariant eigenmodes of $`S^3`$.

Substituting $`\mathrm{\Delta }\theta =2\pi /p`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }\phi =2\pi q/p`$ into (39) yields a set of simple integer conditions showing which eigenmodes of $`S^3`$ are $`g`$-invariant:

Theorem 2. The eigenspace of the Laplacian on the lens space $`L(p,q)`$ has an orthonormal basis that, when lifted to $`Z_p`$-invariant eigenmodes of the 3-sphere, comprises those eigenmodes in the left column for which the corresponding condition in the right column is satisfied, subject to the restriction that an eigenmode $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ exists if and only if the integers $`k`$, $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$ satisfy $`|\mathrm{}|+|m|k`$ and $`\mathrm{}+mk`$ (mod 2).

| basis vectors |  | condition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,0}`$ |  | always |
| $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},0},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}`$ |  | $`\mathrm{}0`$ (mod $`p`$) |
| $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,+m},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,m}`$ |  | $`qm0`$ (mod $`p`$) |
| $`\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m}),\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m})`$ |  | $`\mathrm{}qm`$ (mod $`p`$) |
| $`\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m}),\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m})`$ |  | $`\mathrm{}qm`$ (mod $`p`$) |

(40)
For a given lens space $`L(p,q)`$ and wave number $`k`$, the number of basis vectors gives the multiplicity of the eigenvalue $`k(k+2)`$ (see Table 1).

## 10 Eigenmodes of prism spaces

The $`n^{\mathrm{th}}`$ prism space is the quotient $`S^3/D_n^{}`$, where the binary dihedral group $`D_n^{}`$ is the extension of the binary cyclic group $`Z_n^{}=Z_{2n}`$ by an order four Clifford translation along a perpendicular axis (Figure 2). The generator of the $`Z_{2n}`$ action may be written in toroidal coordinates as

$$(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )(\chi ,\theta +\frac{2\pi }{2n},\phi +\frac{2\pi }{2n})$$
(41)
while the generator of the order four Clifford translation may be written as

$$(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )(\frac{\pi }{2}\chi ,\phi ,\pi \theta ).$$
(42)
The eigenmodes of the prism space naturally correspond to the $`D_n^{}`$-invariant eigenmodes of $`S^3`$. That is, they correspond to the eigenmodes of $`S^3`$ that are invariant under both the $`Z_{2n}`$ generator (41) and the $`Z_4`$ generator (42). Sections 8 and 9 have already determined the action of the $`Z_{2n}`$ generator on the space of eigenmodes, with the fixed subspace specified by Theorem 2 with $`p=2n`$ and $`q=1`$. A similar computation shows how the $`Z_4`$ generator interchanges the roles of $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$:

$`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )`$ $``$ $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}(\pi /2\chi ,\phi ,\pi \theta )`$ (43)
$`=`$ $`X_{k\mathrm{}m}(\pi /2\chi )\mathrm{\Theta }_{\mathrm{}}(\phi )\mathrm{\Phi }_m(\pi \theta )`$
$`=`$ $`X_{k\mathrm{}m}(\pi /2\chi )\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{}}(\phi )\mathrm{\Theta }_m(\pi \theta )`$
$`=`$ $`[\pm X_{km\mathrm{}}(\chi )][\pm \mathrm{\Theta }_m(\theta )][\pm \mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{}}(\phi )]`$
$`=`$ $`\pm \mathrm{\Psi }_{km\mathrm{}}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi ).`$
The first plus-or-minus sign in the penultimate line of (43) will be plus (resp. minus) when $`d=\frac{k(|\mathrm{}|+|m|)}{2}`$ is even (resp. odd). \[Proof: Substituting $`\chi \frac{\pi }{2}\chi `$ into (16) and interchanges the roles of sine and cosine introduces a factor of $`(1)^d`$.\] The third plus-or-minus sign in (43) will be plus when $`\mathrm{}`$ is nonnegative, minus otherwise. The second plus-or-minus sign will be plus when $`m`$ is either nonnegative and even or negative and odd, minus otherwise. Thus we may rewrite (43) as

$`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )`$ $``$ $`[\pm X_{km\mathrm{}}(\chi )][\pm \mathrm{\Theta }_m(\theta )][\pm \mathrm{\Phi }_{\mathrm{}}(\phi )]`$ (44)
$`=`$ $`\sigma _{k\mathrm{}m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{km\mathrm{}}(\chi ,\theta ,\phi )`$
with

$$\sigma _{k\mathrm{}m}=(\pm )(\pm )(\pm )(\pm )$$

where

| the first | $`\pm `$ | is + if and only if $`d`$ is even |
| --- | --- | --- |
| the second | $`\pm `$ | is + if and only if $`\mathrm{}0`$ |
| the third | $`\pm `$ | is + if and only if $`m0`$ |
| the fourth | $`\pm `$ | is + if and only if $`m`$ is even. |

When $`\mathrm{}m`$ the action (44) preserves the 2-dimensional plane spanned by $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ and $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{km\mathrm{}}`$. If the parities of $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$ agree (both even or both odd) then the action is either a positive reflection interchanging $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{km\mathrm{}}`$ (Figure 3a) or a negative reflection interchanging $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{km\mathrm{}}`$ (Figure 3b), according to the sign of $`\sigma _{k\mathrm{}m}`$. If the parities of $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$ disagree (one even and the other odd) then the action is a quarter turn taking either $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{km\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{km\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ or the opposite (Figure 3cd). The positive and negative reflections each fix a 1-dimensional line, but the quarter turns fix only the origin.

When $`\mathrm{}=m`$ the situation is even simpler. The action (44) either fixes the 1-dimensional line spanned by $`\mathrm{\Psi }_k\mathrm{}\mathrm{}`$ or inverts it, according to whether $`\sigma _k\mathrm{}\mathrm{}`$ is positive or negative.

The preceding two paragraphs have found the eigenmodes fixed by (44), i.e. the eigenmodes invariant under the action of the $`Z_4`$ generator (42). To find the eigenmodes of a prism manifold, we must check which of the modes invariant under the $`Z_4`$ generator (42) are invariant under the $`Z_{2n}`$ generator (41) as well. This is straightforward, because Theorem 2, with $`p=2n`$ and $`q=1`$, already tell us which modes the $`Z_{2n}`$ generator preserves. We know a priori that the eight basis vectors $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\pm \mathrm{},\pm m},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\pm m,\pm \mathrm{}}\}`$ span a space that is setwise invariant under both the $`Z_{2n}`$ and the $`Z_4`$ generators. Typically this space is 8-dimensional, but its dimension may be less. Consider the following special cases. Assume $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$ are distinct and positive unless otherwise indicated.

(1-dimensional)

The mode $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k00}`$ exists if and only if $`k`$ is even. When it exists, it is always fixed by the $`Z_{2n}`$ generator, as indicated in the first line of the conditions (40) in Theorem 2. It is fixed by the $`Z_4`$ generator if and only if $`\sigma _{k00}`$ is positive, which happens if and only if $`d=k/2`$ is even.

(4-dimensional)

According to the second and third lines of conditions (40), the $`Z_{2n}`$ generator fixes this whole space pointwise when $`\mathrm{}0`$ (mod $`2n`$), and otherwise fixes nothing.

The $`Z_4`$ generator leaves the two 2-dimensional subspaces spanned by $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,\mathrm{}}\}`$ and by $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,\mathrm{}}\}`$ setwise invariant. If $`\mathrm{}`$ is odd, then the $`Z_4`$ generator acts on each 2-dimensional subspace as a quarter turn, fixing nothing but the origin. If $`\mathrm{}`$ is even (as it must be when $`\mathrm{}0`$ (mod $`2n`$)), then the $`Z_4`$ generator acts on each subspace as a positive or negative reflection, fixing $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,\mathrm{}}`$ and $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,\mathrm{}}`$ if $`\sigma _{k\mathrm{}0}`$ is positive (when $`d`$ is even), or $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,\mathrm{}}`$ and $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,\mathrm{}}`$ if $`\sigma _{k\mathrm{}0}`$ is negative (when $`d`$ is odd).

(4-dimensional)

This 4-dimensional subspace factors into two orthogonal 2-dimensional subspaces, spanned by $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\}`$ and $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\}`$ respectively, each of which is setwise invariant under both the the $`Z_{2n}`$ and the $`Z_4`$ generators.

The subspace $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\}`$ is always fixed by the $`Z_{2n}`$ generator, according to the fourth line of conditions (40). It is fixed by the $`Z_4`$ generator as well if and only if $`\sigma _k\mathrm{}\mathrm{}`$ is positive, which happens if and only if $`k0`$ (mod 4). ($`k`$ must be even for the mode $`\mathrm{\Psi }_k\mathrm{}\mathrm{}`$ to exist, so the only question is whether it is equivalent to 0 or 2 modulo 4.)

The subspace $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\}`$ is fixed by the $`Z_{2n}`$ generator if and only if $`2\mathrm{}0`$ (mod $`2n`$), according to the last line of (40). If $`\sigma _k\mathrm{}\mathrm{}`$ is positive the $`Z_4`$ generator fixes $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}`$ but not $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}`$, while if $`\sigma _k\mathrm{}\mathrm{}`$ is negative the opposite is true.

(8-dimensional)

This 8-dimensional subspace factors into four orthogonal 2-dimensional subspaces, spanned respectively by the bases

| $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,+\mathrm{}}\}`$ |  |
| --- | --- |
| $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,\mathrm{}}\}`$ |  |
| $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,+\mathrm{}}\}`$ |  |
| $`\{\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m},\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,\mathrm{}}\}`$ | . |

If the parities of $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$ do not match (one even and the other odd) then the $`Z_4`$ generator acts as a quarter turn on each of the four subspaces and fixes only the origin. If the parities of $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$ do match (both even or both odd), then the $`Z_4`$ generator acts as a reflection on each of those same four subspaces, fixing the following vectors, with the choice of signs (consistent as shown) depending on whether $`\sigma _{k\mathrm{}m}`$ is positive or negative:

| $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}\pm \mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,+\mathrm{}}`$ |  |
| --- | --- |
| $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m}\pm \mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,\mathrm{}}`$ |  |
| $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,+\mathrm{}}`$ |  |
| $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,\mathrm{}}`$ | . |

These four vectors comprise a basis for the $`Z_4`$ generator’s 4-dimensional fixed point space. Taking sums and differences of those vectors gives a new, more convenient basis for the same space:

| $`(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m})\pm (\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,+\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,\mathrm{}})`$ |  |
| --- | --- |
| $`(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m})\pm (\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,+\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,\mathrm{}})`$ |  |
| $`(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m})(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,+\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,\mathrm{}})`$ |  |
| $`(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m})(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,+\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,\mathrm{}})`$ | . |

(45)
The fourth (resp. fifth) line of the conditions (40) shows that the $`Z_{2n}`$ generator fixes the first and fourth (resp. second and third) vectors in (45) if and only if $`\mathrm{}m`$ (mod $`2n`$) (resp. $`\mathrm{}m`$ (mod $`2n`$)).

The above cases completely determine the $`D_n^{}`$-invariant eigenmodes of $`S^3`$, thus proving

Theorem 3. The eigenspace of the Laplacian on the prism space $`S^3/D_n^{}`$, where $`D_n^{}`$ is the binary dihedral group of order $`4n`$, has an orthonormal basis that, when lifted to $`D_n^{}`$-invariant eigenmodes of the 3-sphere, comprises those eigenmodes in the left column for which the corresponding condition in the right column is satisfied, subject to the restriction that an eigenmode $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k\mathrm{}m}`$ exists if and only if the integers $`k`$, $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`m`$ satisfy $`|\mathrm{}|+|m|k`$ and $`\mathrm{}+mk`$ (mod 2).

| basis vectors |  | condition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $`\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,0}`$ |  | $`k0(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4})`$ |
| $`\begin{array}{c}\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,\mathrm{}})\hfill \\ \sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,\mathrm{}})\hfill \end{array}`$ |  | $`\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{}0(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}n)\\ \mathrm{and}d\mathrm{even}\end{array}`$ |
| $`\begin{array}{c}\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,\mathrm{}})\hfill \\ \sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},0}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,0,\mathrm{}})\hfill \end{array}`$ |  | $`\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{}0(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}n)\\ \mathrm{and}d\mathrm{odd}\end{array}`$ |
| $`\begin{array}{c}\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}})\hfill \\ \sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}})\hfill \end{array}`$ |  | $`\begin{array}{c}k0(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4})\end{array}`$ |
| $`\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}})`$ |  | $`\begin{array}{c}2\mathrm{}0(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}n)\\ \mathrm{and}k0(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4})\end{array}`$ |
| $`\sqrt{\frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},\mathrm{}})`$ |  | $`\begin{array}{c}2\mathrm{}0(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}n)\\ \mathrm{and}k2(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}4})\end{array}`$ |
| $`\begin{array}{c}\frac{1}{2}((\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m})+(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,+\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,\mathrm{}}))\hfill \\ \frac{1}{2}((\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m})(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,+\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,\mathrm{}}))\hfill \end{array}`$ |  | $`\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{}m(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}n)\\ \mathrm{and}\sigma _{k\mathrm{}m}>0\end{array}`$ |
| $`\begin{array}{c}\frac{1}{2}((\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m})(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,+\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,\mathrm{}}))\hfill \\ \frac{1}{2}((\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m})+(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,+\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,\mathrm{}}))\hfill \end{array}`$ |  | $`\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{}m(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}n)\\ \mathrm{and}\sigma _{k\mathrm{}m}<0\end{array}`$ |
| $`\begin{array}{c}\frac{1}{2}((\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m})+(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,+\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,\mathrm{}}))\hfill \\ \frac{1}{2}((\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m})(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,+\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,\mathrm{}}))\hfill \end{array}`$ |  | $`\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{}m(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}n)\\ \mathrm{and}\sigma _{k\mathrm{}m}>0\end{array}`$ |
| $`\begin{array}{c}\frac{1}{2}((\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},+m}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},m})(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,+\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,\mathrm{}}))\hfill \\ \frac{1}{2}((\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+\mathrm{},m}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,\mathrm{},+m})+(\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,m,+\mathrm{}}+\mathrm{\Psi }_{k,+m,\mathrm{}}))\hfill \end{array}`$ |  | $`\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{}m(\mathrm{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2}n)\\ \mathrm{and}\sigma _{k\mathrm{}m}<0\end{array}`$ |

(46)
Note that when $`k`$ is odd, none of the above conditions are satisfied, and the eigenbasis is empty. This is not surprising, because when $`k`$ is odd the eigenmodes correspond to odd-degree homogeneous polynomials (Section 5), which are anti-symmetric under the action of the antipodal map, and all groups $`D_n^{}`$ contain the antipodal map.

When $`k`$ is even, the total number of eigenmodes for given $`D_n^{}`$ and $`k`$ agrees with the multiplicities given by Ikeda’s formulas $`(2\overline{k}+1)([\overline{k}/n]+1)`$ (for $`\overline{k}`$ even) and $`(2\overline{k}+1)[\overline{k}/n]`$ (for $`\overline{k}`$ odd) from Theorem 4.3 of , where $`\overline{k}=k/2`$ is half the wave number and $`[\overline{k}/n]`$ denotes the integer part of $`\overline{k}/n`$.

## 11 Acknowledgments

We thank Dorian Goldfeld for his generous help evaluating our sums. JRW thanks the MacArthur Foundation for its support.


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# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

The $`\mathrm{b}\overline{\mathrm{b}}`$ ground state, the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ meson, has not yet been observed. Because of their initial state, two-photon collisions are well suited for the study of pseudoscalar mesons, for which $`J^{PC}=0^+`$. The high $`\gamma \gamma `$ cross section and the high LEP luminosity and energy, as well as the low background from other processes, make LEP 2 a good environment to search for this meson.

Theoretical estimates (from pertubative QCD and lattice nonrelativistic QCD) of the mass difference, $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$, between the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ and the $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$ ($`m_\mathrm{{\rm Y}}=9.46`$ GeV/$`c^2`$) are summarized in Table 1 and those of the partial decay width of the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ into two photons, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\gamma \gamma }(\eta _\mathrm{b})`$, in Table 2. For the former, values ranging from $`\mathrm{\Delta }m=34\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$ to $`141\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$ are obtained. For the latter, a value of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\gamma \gamma }(\eta _\mathrm{b})=557\pm 85`$ eV, chosen in this letter, is obtained from the average of the first order estimates (488 eV) shifted by 69 eV at the second order in $`\alpha _s`$. It yields an exclusive $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ production cross section of $`0.304\pm 0.046`$ pb in $`\mathrm{e}^+\mathrm{e}^{}`$ collisions at $`\sqrt{s}=197`$ GeV. The branching ratios of the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ into four and six charged particles are estimated as in Ref.  to be 2.7% and 3.3% respectively. (The same estimate gives 9.9% for the $`\eta _\mathrm{c}`$ decay branching fraction into four charged particles, in agreement with the measured value of $`9.3\pm 1.8`$.) Six and seven exclusive $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ are therefore expected to be produced in the 699 $`\mathrm{pb}^1`$ of data collected by ALEPH above the WW threshold, in the four- and six-charged-particle final states, respectively.

A measurement of the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ mass and of its decay modes would therefore provide a test of pQCD and NRQCD . Searches have already been conducted by the CUSB and CLEO Collaborations in the cascade decay of the $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$(3S): the CUSB Collaboration finds for the product of the branching ratios $`\mathrm{BR}(\mathrm{{\rm Y}}(3\mathrm{S})\pi \pi \mathrm{h}_\mathrm{b})\times \mathrm{BR}(\mathrm{h}_\mathrm{b}\gamma \eta _\mathrm{b})<0.45\%`$ at 90% C.L. for an $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}`$-$`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ splitting between $`50\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$ and $`110\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$ . The CLEO Collaboration has published a 90% C.L. upper limit on the product of the branching ratios $`\mathrm{BR}(\mathrm{{\rm Y}}(3\mathrm{S})\pi ^+\pi ^{}\mathrm{h}_\mathrm{b})\times \mathrm{BR}(\mathrm{h}_\mathrm{b}\gamma \eta _\mathrm{b})`$ of about 0.1% for the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ mass range from $`9.32\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ to $`9.46\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ with a photon energy ranging from $`434\mathrm{MeV}`$ to $`466\mathrm{MeV}`$ and the $`\mathrm{h}_\mathrm{b}`$ mass restricted to $`9.900\pm 0.003\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ .

In this letter, a search is presented for the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ meson via its decay into four and six charged particles. The search is performed in quasi-real two-photon interactions where the meson is produced exclusively. This letter is organized as follows. A description of the ALEPH detector is given in Section 2. The data analysis with event selection, efficiency calculation, background estimate and systematic uncertainty determination is described in Section 3. The results of the search are presented in Section 4. Finally, in Section 5 a summary is given.

## 2 ALEPH Detector

A detailed description of the ALEPH detector and its performance can be found in Ref. . The central part of the ALEPH detector is dedicated to the reconstruction of the trajectories of charged particles. The trajectory of a charged particle emerging from the interaction point is measured by a two-layer silicon strip vertex detector (VDET), a cylindrical drift chamber (ITC) and a large time projection chamber (TPC). The three tracking detectors are immersed in a $`1.5\mathrm{T}`$ axial magnetic field provided by a superconducting solenoidal coil. Together they measure charged particle transverse momenta with a resolution of $`\delta p_\mathrm{t}/p_\mathrm{t}=6\times 10^4p_\mathrm{t}0.005`$ ($`p_\mathrm{t}`$ in GeV/$`c`$). The TPC also provides a measurement of the specific ionization $`\mathrm{d}E/\mathrm{d}x_{\mathrm{meas}}`$. An estimator may be formed to test a particle hypothesis, $`\chi _\mathrm{h}=(\mathrm{d}E/\mathrm{d}x_{\mathrm{meas}}\mathrm{d}E/\mathrm{d}x_{\mathrm{exp},\mathrm{h}})/\sigma _{\mathrm{exp},\mathrm{h}}`$, where $`\mathrm{d}E/\mathrm{d}x_{\mathrm{exp},\mathrm{h}}`$ and $`\sigma _{\mathrm{exp},\mathrm{h}}`$ denote the expected specific ionization and the estimated uncertainty for the particle hypothesis h, respectively.

Photons are identified in the electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL), situated between the TPC and the coil. The ECAL is a lead/proportional-tube sampling calorimeter segmented in $`0.9^{}\times 0.9^{}`$ projective towers read out in three sections in depth. It has a total thickness of 22 radiation lengths and yields a relative energy resolution of $`0.18/\sqrt{E}+0.009`$, with $`E`$ in GeV, for isolated photons. Electrons are identified by their transverse and longitudinal shower profiles in ECAL and their specific ionization in the TPC.

The iron return yoke is instrumented with 23 layers of streamer tubes and forms the hadron calorimeter (HCAL). The latter provides a relative energy resolution of charged and neutral hadrons of $`0.85/\sqrt{E}`$, with $`E`$ in GeV. Muons are distinguished from hadrons by their characteristic pattern in HCAL and by the muon chambers, composed of two double-layers of streamer tubes outside HCAL.

The information from the tracking detectors and the calorimeters are combined in an energy-flow algorithm . For each event, the algorithm provides a set of charged and neutral reconstructed particles, called energy-flow objects in the following.

## 3 Analysis

### 3.1 Event Selection

The search is performed in the four- and six-charged-particle modes, where four (or six) charged energy-flow objects with a net charge zero are required. In order to keep the efficiency high, loose selection cuts are chosen. No attempt is made to reconstruct KS mesons at this stage. The $`\mathrm{d}E/\mathrm{d}x`$ measurement, when available, must be consistent with the pion or kaon hypothesis ($`\chi _{\pi ,\mathrm{K}}^2<9`$); the more likely hypothesis is used for mass assignment. When no $`\mathrm{d}E/\mathrm{d}x`$ information is available the pion mass is assigned to the particle. No neutral energy-flow object with $`E>1\mathrm{GeV}`$ must be present within $`20^{}`$ of the beam axis. No muon and no electron (as defined by the ECAL) must be observed. Events are also excluded if a photon conversion is detected, where the electron and positron are identified by requiring $`\chi _\mathrm{e}^2<9`$, and the pair invariant mass is smaller than $`25\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$.

The total transverse momentum of charged particles in the event ($`\stackrel{}{p}_{t,i}`$) must be smaller than $`250\mathrm{MeV}/c`$. The energy-flow objects in the event are boosted into their centre-of-mass frame and the thrust is computed in this frame. The thrust axis must form an angle $`\theta _{\mathrm{thrust}}`$ larger than $`45^{}`$ with respect to the beam axis to reject events from the $`\gamma \gamma `$ continuum background. The $`\gamma \gamma \tau ^+\tau ^{}`$ background is reduced to a negligible fraction by the rejection of events in which both hemispheres, as defined by the thrust axis, have a net charge of $`\pm `$1 and an invariant mass less than $`1.8\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$.

### 3.2 Signal Efficiency

Selection and reconstruction efficiencies are studied with events generated with PHOT02  in which the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ mass is set to $`9.4\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ and the total width to $`7\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$. The width is calculated under the assumption that the two-gluon decay is dominant . Four samples of 2500 events each are generated for the final state with four charged particles (2($`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$), $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$K+K-, 2(K+K-), KSK$`{}_{}{}^{+}\pi _{}^{}`$). Four other samples of 2500 events each are generated for the final state with six charged particles (3($`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$), 2($`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$)K+K-, $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$2(K+K-), 3(K+K-)). For the decays, it is assumed that the momenta are distributed according to phase space. The event samples are passed through the detector simulation and reconstruction programs. The mass resolution of the selected events is about $`0.14\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ and is dominated by wrong mass assignment from $`\pi `$-K misidentification. A signal region between $`9.0\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ and $`9.8\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ is chosen. The event selection efficiencies averaged over the four decay channels are found to be 16.7% and 9.3% for the four- and six-charged-track channels, respectively.

### 3.3 Systematic Uncertainties

The lack of knowledge of the decay modes and kinematics of the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ meson is the source of the dominant systematic uncertainties in the analysis. The uncertainty on the selection efficiency due to the unknown decay mode of the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ meson is estimated from the spread of the efficiencies of the four simulated decay modes. The relative uncertainty is 7.5% and 20.4% for the four- and six-charged-particle final states. In order to check the effect of the selection efficiency due to the assumption of phase space decays, the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ is forced to decay into a pair of $`\varphi `$ mesons, each giving two charged kaons. In this case a relative increase of 10% in the detection efficiency is found.

Further studies are performed without the final cut on neutral energy or with modified cuts on $`\stackrel{}{p}_{t,i}`$, $`\theta _{\mathrm{thrust}}`$, and hemisphere mass. An uncertainty of $`5.5\%`$ is estimated. The limited statistics of simulated events contribute an uncertainty of $`2.4\%`$ and $`3.2\%`$ for the two decay modes, respectively.

A total relative uncertainty of 9.7% (21.4%) on the selection efficiency is calculated for the four- (six-) charged-track channel.

### 3.4 Background Estimate

The background estimate suffers from the low statistics of the simulated events selected and from the poor description of the shape of the invariant mass spectra. The background, dominated by $`\gamma \gamma `$ continuum production, is therefore estimated from data by means of a fit to the ratio of the mass spectra after all cuts are applied and before the final cuts on $`\stackrel{}{p}_{t,i}`$, $`\theta _{\mathrm{thrust}}`$, and hemisphere mass are applied. The ratio is fitted with an exponential function up to $`m=6\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ ($`m=7\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$) for the four- (six-) charged-particle topology. The average of the values of this function at $`m=6\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ ($`m=7\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$) and at $`m=9.4\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ is then multiplied by the number of events in the signal region before the final cuts to obtain the background estimate. Half of the difference between these two values is taken as the systematic uncertainty on the estimate. The background in the signal region is determined to be $`0.30\pm 0.25`$ ($`0.70\pm 0.34`$) events for the four- (six-) charged-particle topology.

## 4 Results

Invariant mass spectra of the selected events are shown in Fig. 1. A total of 33727 (3432) events is selected in the four- (six-) charged-particle final states. In the signal region, only one event is found in the six-prong topology.

### 4.1 Cross Section Upper Limit

From the knowledge of the background $`b`$ and the efficiency $`\epsilon `$, the observed number of events $`n`$ is converted  into an upper limit on the signal events $`\mu `$ into a confidence level $`\alpha `$ given by

$$1\alpha =\frac{g(b)f(\epsilon )_{i=0}^nP(i\mu \epsilon +b)\mathrm{d}\epsilon \mathrm{d}b}{g(b)_{i=0}^nP(ib)\mathrm{d}b},$$

where $`P(jx)`$ is the Poisson probability that $`j`$ events be observed, when $`x`$ are expected. The probability density functions for the background $`g(b)`$ and the efficiency $`f(\epsilon )`$ are assumed to be Gaussian, but restricted to the range where $`b`$ and $`\epsilon `$ are positive. Upper limits of 3.06 (4.69) events at 95% confidence level are calculated for the four- (six-) prong topology. This translates into the upper limits

| $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\gamma \gamma }(\eta _\mathrm{b})\times `$BR($`\eta _\mathrm{b}4`$ charged particles) | $`<`$ | $`48\mathrm{eV}`$ |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\gamma \gamma }(\eta _\mathrm{b})\times `$BR($`\eta _\mathrm{b}6`$ charged particles) | $`<`$ | $`132\mathrm{eV}`$ | . |

With a two-photon width of $`557\pm 85`$ eV, upper limits on the branching ratios BR($`\eta _\mathrm{b}4`$ charged particles) $`<`$ 9.0% and BR($`\eta _\mathrm{b}6`$ charged particles) $`<`$ 25% are derived.

### 4.2 Mass of the Candidate

The raw reconstructed mass of the candidate, as obtained from the measured momenta of the six charged particles and with masses assigned according to the d$`E`$/d$`x`$ measurement, is 9.45 GeV/$`c^2`$. The mass estimate can be refined with additional information visible from the event display shown in Fig. 2. Two of the six tracks form a secondary vertex compatible with the decay of a $`\mathrm{K}_\mathrm{S}`$ into $`\pi ^+\pi ^{}`$. This hypothesis is supported by the presence of a third track compatible with a $`\mathrm{K}^{}`$ ($`\chi _\pi ^2=6.0`$ and $`\chi _\mathrm{K}^2=3.8\times 10^5`$). The secondary vertex is therefore fitted to this hypothesis, and the five particles (three charged pions, one charged kaon and one $`\mathrm{K}_\mathrm{S}`$) are forced to originate from a common primary vertex. A mass of $`9.30\pm 0.02\pm 0.02\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$ is derived from these constraints.

A control sample of $`\eta _\mathrm{c}`$ mesons is selected in the KSK$`{}_{}{}^{+}\pi _{}^{}`$ decay mode, without the final cuts but that on the total transverse momentum, which is relaxed to $`\stackrel{}{p}_{t,i}<500\mathrm{MeV}/c`$. The analysis is repeated with this control sample for the study of the systematic uncertainty on the mass determination. The mass of the $`\eta _\mathrm{c}`$ meson is fitted and is found consistent with the world average value  within its statistical accuracy of $`4.7\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$. A systematic uncertainty of the same size is assigned. The total uncertainty is then rescaled with the mass ratio $`m`$(candidate)/$`m(\eta _\mathrm{c})`$ and a systematic uncertainty of $`21\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$ is obtained for the mass estimate of the $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ candidate. The $`\eta _\mathrm{c}`$ signal is shown in Fig. 3 together with the D0 signal as observed in its K$`{}_{}{}^{}\pi _{}^{+}`$ decay mode. The fitted D0 mass agrees with the world average value  within its statistical accuracy of $`0.9\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$. The number of observed $`\eta _\mathrm{c}`$ mesons is consistent with previous measurements .

## 5 Summary

With an integrated luminosity of $`699\mathrm{pb}^1`$ collected at $`\mathrm{e}^+\mathrm{e}^{}`$ centre-of-mass energies between $`181\mathrm{GeV}`$ and $`209\mathrm{GeV}`$, the pseudoscalar meson $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ is searched for in its decays to four and six charged particles. One candidate is retained in the decay mode into six charged particles, while no candidate is found in the four-charged-particle decay mode. The candidate $`\eta _\mathrm{b}`$ has a reconstructed invariant mass of $`9.30\pm 0.02\pm 0.02\mathrm{GeV}/c^2`$. The observation of one event is consistent with the number of events expected from background.

Upper limits on $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\gamma \gamma }(\eta _\mathrm{b})\times `$BR of $`48\mathrm{eV}`$ and $`132\mathrm{eV}`$, corresponding to limits on the branching ratios BR($`\eta _\mathrm{b}4`$ charged particles)$`<9.0\%`$ and BR($`\eta _\mathrm{b}6`$ charged particles)$`<25\%`$, are obtained at a confidence level of 95%.

### Acknowledgements

We wish to thank our colleagues in the CERN accelerator divisions for the successful operation of LEP. We are indebted to the engineers and technicians in all our institutions for their contribution to the excellent performance of ALEPH. Those of us from non-member countries thank CERN for its hospitality. We would like to thank Ted Barnes and Gunnar Bali for discussions.