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# X-Ray Off States and Optical Variability in CAL 83

## 1 Introduction

Supersoft X-ray sources are sources whose radiation is almost completely emitted in the energy band below 0.5 keV and whose bolometric luminosity is 1036-38 erg s-1. Some SSSs are hot white dwarfs (WDs) in a post-nova phase, and some are WD or pre-WD central stars of planetary nebulae. An important subclass of SSSs are supersoft X-ray binaries (SSBs). The first two SSBs to be discovered, CAL 83 and CAL 87, were observed with Einstein (Long et al. 1981), and were found to have optical properties (luminosity and periodicity) very similar to the properties of low-mass X-ray binaries (Crampton et al. 1987; Pakull et al. 1987, 1988). ROSAT observations revealed many more of these sources, and established supersoft X-ray binaries as a class (see Greiner 1996 and references therein). Several different observational facts suggest that SSBs contain white dwarfs and that many of these are burning hydrogen in a shell, with a very thin and hot atmosphere on top. The widely accepted scenario for these so-called close-binary supersoft sources (Di Stefano & Nelson 1996), which have orbital periods of tens of hours, is based on a companion which may be slightly evolved and/or more massive than the white dwarf. These conditions allow mass transfer to occur at the high rates required to burn the accreted hydrogen in a quasi-steady manner near the white dwarf’s surface (van den Heuvel et al. 1992; Rappaport et al. 1994). SSBs are known to be variable on time scales from hours to years (see Greiner 1995 for a review; or Kahabka 1996; Krautter et al. 1996; Greiner et al. 1996; Reinsch et al. 2000).

CAL 83 is the prototypical supersoft X-ray binary (SSB), and among the brightest (in terms of count rate in X-ray detectors) at X-ray wavelengths. CAL 83 was long thought to be an X-ray persistent SSB, until Kahabka et al. (1996) discovered an X-ray off state in April 1996. Observations taken $`20`$ days prior to and $`100`$ days after the off-state, found CAL 83 to exhibit its normal X-ray brightness, thus constraining the duration of the off-state to less than 120 days (Kahabka 1998).

IUE and HST ultraviolet observations showed that the UV flux is variable by more than a factor of two (Crampton et al. 1987; Gänsicke et al. 1998). During the UV-bright state the optical emission was also brighter (Bianchi & Pakull 1988). Crampton et al. (1987) claimed that during the UV-bright state the IUE-spectrum was steeper, thus suggesting a hotter source, but a re-analysis did not reproduce this finding (Gänsicke 2002, priv. comm.). Besides the orbital, sinusoidal variation of 1.0436$`\pm `$0.0044 days (Smale et al. 1988), CAL 83 has also shown seemingly irregular, optical variability on a longer time scale (Pakull et al. 1985; Crampton et al. 1987; Bianchi & Pakull 1988).

CAL 83 happened to be in a field regularly monitored by the MACHO team for more than 7 years. Based on a $``$150 day portion of the MACHO observations centered around the X-ray off-state in 1996 (modified Julian Date MJD $``$ 50200), Alcock et al. (1997) noticed an optical minimum which preceded the X-ray off-state by $``$10–15 days. Alcock et al. (1997) concluded that this sequence of events is similar to the decline phase of a nova. Alternatively, Kahabka (1998) suggests that variations in the temperature of the white dwarf envelope due to expansion/contraction are the cause for the observed X-ray variability, similar to RX J0513.9–6951 (Pakull et al. 1993; Reinsch et al. 1996; Southwell et al. 1996) and AG Dra (Greiner et al. 1997).

In this paper we add two elements that lead to an alternative interpretation. First, we have used Chandra to observe a second X-ray off-state. In contrast to the 1996 X-ray off-state, this one took place during a well-sampled optical high state and appears to have not been preceded by a recent optical low state. Second, we now have access to more than $`7`$ years of data from the optical monitoring of the LMC by the MACHO team. We therefore combine the MACHO data with all available X-ray observations. We find that both X-ray off states occurred during optical high states, and that both were followed by an optical low state. We discuss the synthesis of all of the optical and X-ray data on CAL 83 and possible interpretations of the patterns therein.

## 2 Observations and Results

### 2.1 Optical Observations by the MACHO team

The MACHO Project (Alcock et al. 1995) was a microlensing survey that monitored the brightnesses of 60 million stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud, and Galactic bulge between 1992 and end of 1999. It used the 1.27 m Great Melbourne Telescope located at the Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia. Two filters were used: a visual filter (4500–6300 Å) and a red filter (6300–7600 Å), the magnitudes of which are transformed to the standard Kron-Cousins V and R system, respectively. At both the red and visual foci, a mosaic of four 2048 $`\times `$ 2048 Loral CCDs are mounted.

The optical data were kindly provided by the MACHO team (courtesy A. Becker). A total of 514 observations of CAL 83 have been performed, 168 in the red and 346 in the visual filter, respectively.

Because of the rather complicated calibration issues (Alcock et al. 1999) involved in the transformation of the MACHO instrumental magnitudes into the standard Kron-Cousins V and R system, only those measurements can be unambiguously calibrated for which (nearly-) simultaneous red- and visual-filter observations are available. For CAL 83 this is the case for 130 observations (called two-color data in the following), while the remainder are one-color measurements. The remaining calibration zero-point uncertainty for the MACHO photometry database is estimated to be $`\pm `$0.10 mag in $`V`$ or $`R`$, and $`\pm `$0.04 mag in $`R`$-$`V`$.

The light curve of CAL 83 based on the two-color measurements is shown in Fig. 1, including the $`R`$-$`V`$ color. It can be seen that only marginal color changes are associated with the large intensity changes (Fig. 1). One might be tempted to “see” the color being bluer during optical high-intensity states. However, nearly all of the data points with more than 0.05 mag color variation relative to the mean value also have rather large errors (bottom panel of Fig. 1, Fig. 2). From this we conclude that the $`R`$-$`V`$ color is basically constant, formally $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$($`VR`$) = 0.03$`\pm `$0.05 mag, throughout the $`>`$1 mag intensity changes.

In the case that the color of an object is constant, a “generic” calibration of the one-color data to a standard system can be made. As shown above, this is justified for CAL 83. We determine a mean offset between instrumental and calibrated magnitudes from the two-color data set of 24.35 mag in the ‘B’ band, and 23.92 mag in the ‘R’ band (Fig. 3). There could be a small ($`<`$0.02 mag) systematic non-linear term in the V band data, with the instrumental magnitude being lower (higher) at the bright (faint) end of the calibrated magnitudes (see lower panel of Fig. 3), but this is smaller than the quoted MACHO errors, so we ignore it in the following. We note, however, that if this were true, it would reduce the $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$($`VR`$) even further. These offsets have been applied (with the above justification) to the one-color data, and the light curve using the complete data set is shown in Fig. 4.

Before turning to the obvious variability seen in the data, it is worth mentioning that CAL 83 exhibits orbital variation of its intensity of about $`\pm `$0.11 mag (Smale et al. 1988). Since the MACHO observations were not done at identical phases, these orbital variations have to be kept in mind when interpreting the light curve.

### 2.2 X-ray observations

We present the results of our recent Chandra observation and also summarize results of previous X-ray observations.

#### 2.2.1 Einstein

CAL 83 was the softest and brightest source in the LMC survey which comprised 97 sources (Long et al. 1981). A comprehensive analysis of the six Einstein observations of CAL 83 is given by Brown et al. (1994). For the two long-exposure IPC observations the spectral fits result in $`kT880`$ eV depending on the adopted absorbing column. The original count rate values of Brown et al. (1994) imply a range of 0.006$`\pm `$0.002 to 0.123$`\pm `$0.016 cts/s. However, the observations were done with CAL 83 located near the edge of the field of view of the detector, with off-axis angles in the 25– 35 range, thus introducing possible systematic uncertainties; furthermore, Kahabka (1998) mentions a private communication by E. Gotthelf that the implied variability could be entirely due to instrumental effects, like vignetting correction or obstruction by detector ribs. With the permission of E. Gotthelf we publish his results (which take into account these corrections) in the appendix, which indeed show CAL 83 to be constant during all IPC observations.

#### 2.2.2 EXOSAT

CAL 83 was observed by EXOSAT on 1985 December 18 over a period of about 16 hrs (Crampton et al. 1987). Most of the CMA observations were made with the Lexan filter (0.05–2 keV), yielding a mean count rate of 0.0422$`\pm `$0.0014 cts/s, but some data were also obtained with the Al/P filter (0.0204$`\pm `$0.0032 cts/s). Since the Boron filter observation only provided an upper limit, not much spectral information can be deduced apart from the fact that the spectrum must be soft. Contemporaneous optical spectroscopy shows no peculiarities with respect to earlier spectroscopic data, suggesting no outburst or unusual state.

#### 2.2.3 ROSAT

CAL 83 was observed by ROSAT several times, first during the verification phase in June 1990 (Greiner et al. 1991), and then during the ROSAT all-sky survey (1990/1991). These observations show CAL 83 at $``$1 cts/s in the PSPC. Spectral fitting using a blackbody model gives best-fit values of 25–45 eV and a luminosity around 1038 erg s-1 (Greiner et al. 1991). The small variations seen in count rate and spectral shape are consistent with being due to varying response at different off-axis angles. All ROSAT pointed observations after the all-sky survey have been obtained with the HRI and were summarized and extensively discussed by Kahabka (1998). Since the MACHO data only cover the time since 1992, we just display the times of pointed ROSAT observations as given in Tab. 1 of Kahabka (1998). The observed count rates, except for the one observation during the April 1996 off-state, show a scatter of less than 20% around the mean of $``$0.2 HRI cts/s. The X-ray off-state observation gives an 2$`\sigma `$ upper limit of 4.8$`\times `$10-3 cts/s, which could be modeled by a temperature decrease from 39 eV to 27 eV (Kahabka 1998), though the exact range depends on the absolute temperatures since the count rate is a strong non-linear function with decreasing temperature.

#### 2.2.4 BeppoSAX

Among several other SSBs, CAL 83 was observed with BeppoSAX on March 7/8 1997 for a total of 36 ksec in the Low-Energy Concentrator Spectrometer (LECS). No absorption edges have been found in this observation which could hint to a hot white dwarf atmosphere (though the low signal-to-noise ratio allows no further conclusions). Blackbody and white dwarf atmosphere models fit equally well, and result in a temperature of 30–50 eV and a luminosity of 2–6$`\times `$1037 erg s-1 depending on which model is used and whether the absorbing column is fixed to the HST-derived value or left free (Parmar et al. 1998), consistent with the values derived from the ROSAT PSPC observations.

#### 2.2.5 ASCA

An ASCA observation of CAL 83 was made on 21/22 June 1997, for a total of 16 ksec. The X-ray intensity was as expected for CAL 83’s normal X-ray on state, and even a combined fit with ROSAT data from June 1990 was possible without any need for relative intensity adjustments (Dotani et al. 2000). As with the BeppoSAX data, the higher spectral resolution data did not require any absorption edges, and the derived effective temperature (29 $`\pm `$8 eV) was identical to the ROSAT value (Dotani et al. 2000).

#### 2.2.6 Chandra

CAL 83 was observed within the Guaranteed-Time Observations programme with ACIS-S (PI: S. Murray) on 30 November 1999 for 2.11 ksec. Because of the better soft X-ray response, the backside-illuminated ACIS-S was chosen in the imaging observation. Since we expected about 2 cts/s, the observation was performed in continuous clocking mode. CAL 83 remained undetected, the 3$`\sigma `$ upper limit is 0.004 cts/s. Under the assumption of kT$``$40 eV (and an absorbing column of $`N_\mathrm{H}=6.5\times 10^{20}`$ cm-2; Gänsicke et al. 1998) this corresponds to a luminosity limit of 8$`\times 10^{34}`$ erg s-1. If, on the contrary, we assume a constant bolometric luminosity of 4$`\times 10^{37}`$ erg s-1, the non-detection implies either a temperature limit of kT $`<`$ 15 eV at the canonical absorbing column, or a limit on the absorbing column of $`N_\mathrm{H}>6\times 10^{21}`$ cm-2 at the canonical 40 eV effective temperature.

CAL 83 was also observed with HRC-S+LETG (PI: Brinkman) for 52.3 ksec on 29 November 1999. The non-detection in HRC-S (Murray, priv. comm.) at zeroth order implies an upper limit which is of the same order of magnitude as the ACIS-S limit (the factor 25 in exposure time is balanced by a factor 16–20 less efficiency of the grating).

#### 2.2.7 XMM-Newton

On 23 April 2000, CAL 83 was observed with XMM-Newton for a total of 45 ksec, aiming at a high-resolution X-ray spectrum using the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) (Paerels et al. 2001). While the spectrum shows a surprising wealth of details, the source intensity is as expected from extrapolation of observed intensities with ROSAT and BeppoSAX (using PIMMS), thus indicating that by the date of this observation CAL 83 was back to its normal X-ray on-state.

## 3 Patterns in the Data

### 3.1 Pattern of Optical Variations

During more than 7 years of MACHO observations, CAL 83 has been observed to exhibit three apparently distinct optical states. There is (1) a low state, during which the magnitude varies between roughly 17.8 and 17.5 mag; (2) an intermediate state, during which the magnitude varies between roughly 17.5 and 17.1 mag; and (3) a high state, during which the magnitude varies between roughly 17.1 and 16.7 mag. The complete MACHO light curve is displayed in Fig. 4; here we mention some of its salient features.

(a) Although there are transitions between states, the states themselves are well defined. That is, the time spent continuously within any given state is generally significantly longer than the time spent making transitions into or out of that state.

(b) In some portions of the optical light curve, variations about the mean magnitude within a state (low, intermediate, or high) seem to be comparable to the $`\pm `$ 0$`.^\mathrm{m}`$11 mag orbital variations (Smale et al. 1988), e.g. during the time periods (in modified Julian Date) 49000–49600, 49700–49900, and 50400–50600. These variations are, of course, occurring everywhere in the light curve, but are difficult to recognize (without a period folding analysis) during times of intrinsic variability.

(c) When the system makes a transition to a higher state, it tends to “overshoot”; i.e., the luminosity soon after the transition is generally significantly ($`0.2`$ mag) larger than the average luminosity of the system during the rest of the time in that higher state. Each of the three cases of transitions to a higher state (low to high near MJD 49950; low to intermediate near MJD 50400; low to high near MJD 50850), exhibit this behavior.

(d) During transitions, the $`VR`$ color is nearly constant: $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$($`VR`$)$`<`$0.03. We reiterate this point, because it may provide an important clue to the physics of the transitions.

(e) The MACHO data set includes a long-lived intermediate state, which likely started some time before the MACHO observations commenced and which lasted during the first $`700`$ days of monitoring. The MACHO data set also includes a long-lived high state, that started at roughly MJD 50875 and which lasted for just over $`600`$ days.

(f) The MACHO data set does not include a comparably long low state; the longest lasting low states have durations of $`200`$ days.

(g) For a period of about $`1200`$ days, between the long-lived intermediate state and the long-lived high state mentioned above, the system experienced a sequence of shorter-lived ($`200250`$ day) states: low; high (punctuated by excursions to an intermediate state); low; intermediate; low.

(h) The intermediate state that occurred during the $`1200`$ day interval of more frequent transitions shows a steady declining trend. Indeed, a general declining trend from high through intermediate and to low luminosity was evident from $``$ MJD 50000 to MJD 50850. This overall trend is interrupted by the optical low states that occurred immediately before and after the 1996 X-ray off state.

### 3.2 X-ray Variations

Two X-ray states have been observed, an on-state, and an off-state. Though measurements with different satellites/instruments are difficult to compare, all evidence points towards a constant effective temperature and luminosity, with absolute values (depending on the applied models) of $`kT3050`$ eV, and $`L2\times 10^{37}1\times 10^{38}`$ erg s-1. The ROSAT-detected X-ray off state represents a factor of $`>40`$ variation in count rate, while the Chandra-detected X-ray off state represents a factor of $`>500`$ variation in count rate (based on a PIMMS predicted rate for CAL 83’s normal X-ray on-state using the ROSAT PSPC count rate; these predictions have been verified to be true for 6 other supersoft X-ray sources observed with Chandra ACIS-S; Greiner et al. 2002).

An X-ray observation that occurred $`21`$ days prior to the 1996 X-ray off-state showed the system was in its normal X-ray on-state and was apparently neither becoming less luminous nor cooler. An X-ray observation that occurred $`100`$ days after the 1996 X-ray off-state again found the system to be in its normal X-ray on-state. These observations place strong constraints on the decay and growth time of the X-ray flux and on changes in effective temperature, both prior to and after the off-state.

### 3.3 Correlation of optical and X-ray data

(a) It is an interesting and unfortunate fact that no X-ray observations were carried out during the long-lived intermediate and high optical states covered by the MACHO data (for the preceding decades since 1980 optical observations were too sparse to allow a classification into one of the three states). The sole exception is the Chandra observation on MJD = 51513 which occurred during the optical high state, but just before the system made a sharp transition to the optical low state.

(b) The ROSAT, ASCA, and BeppoSAX observations occurred during the period of most frequent optical-state transitions, between MJD 50025 and MJD 50625. X-ray on states observed during this time occurred during optical low and intermediate states.

(c) X-ray off states have occurred only during optical high states. Note that the X-ray coverage is so limited that we cannot infer that the X-ray emission is always detectable during low and intermediate states. Nor do we know that the X-ray radiation is always undetectable during optical high states.

(d) The very last MACHO observation shows a dramatic fading which seems related to our Chandra-discovered off-state. Fortunately, several optical observations occurred for about 30 days after the Chandra observation (MJD = 51513) of the X-ray off-state, with no indication of a decline. This seems to indicate a clear delay between the X-ray off and optical low states. When the optical decline occurs, however, it is relatively sudden. Indeed, the time between the last two MACHO observations is 5 days, showing that the optical fading by 0.7 mag happened in less than 5 days (between MJD 51542 and 51547), and 29–34 days after the Chandra observation. Since the beginning (and end) of the X-ray off-state is unknown, the actual delay time between X-ray and optical low-state is longer than 29–34 days.

(e) The behaviour during the time of the April 1996 X-ray off-state (MJD around 50200) can be interpreted in the same way. That is, the X-ray off state is followed by optical fading around MJD = 50250 and continuing up to MJD = 50330). If we adopt such an assignment, the delay of the optical fading would be about 50 days after the X-ray off-state, comparable to the interval observed in November 1999. It is attractive to apply the same scenario to explain the sequence observed for both X-ray off states. Note that the Alcock et al. (1997) scenario of optical dipping during X-ray off-states cannot apply to the Chandra-discovered off state.

### 3.4 Possible Patterns of correlated optical/X-ray variation

X-ray coverage of CAL 83 has been sporadic. Even though the optical observations by the MACHO team were regular, the average time between observations was $`8`$ days, during which both X-ray and optical fluxes were changing on comparable or possibly smaller time scales. It is therefore entirely possible that more frequent and regular observations would find behavior of a type we have not yet been able to observe.

Two patterns of correlation are consistent with the X-ray and optical data taken to date.

1. X-ray off-states occur during optical high states, and X-ray on-states during optical low and intermediate state.
2. Optical variations (e.g. decline) follow about 30–50 days after an X-ray state transition (e.g. turn-off).

## 4 Understanding the Variations in the Context of Binary Models

### 4.1 X-Ray and Optical Variations in SSBs

To determine the reasons for the X-ray and optical variations, we must consider the origin of radiation in each energy band. In the standard SSB models (van den Heuvel et al. 1992; Rappaport, Di Stefano & Smith 1994; Di Stefano & Nelson 1996), the copious soft X-ray radiation is generated by the nuclear burning of matter near the surface of the white dwarf. In order for a WD to burn matter as it accretes, the accretion rate must be near $`10^7M_{}`$ yr-1.

A key characteristic of SSBs, such as CAL 83 and RX J0513.9–6951 is that, while the bulk of the X-radiation is emitted by the nuclear-burning white dwarf, it is the accretion disk that is the primary source of radiation at longer wavelengths (Popham & Di Stefano 1996). The flux and spectrum of radiation from the disk are largely determined by the reprocessing of energy from the white dwarf and not directly by the accretion process. The optical flux from the disk is significantly greater than that associated with white dwarf or its companion, the latter of which likely explains the fact that the spectra of the companions in close-binary supersoft sources have not been detected. Thus, although variations in the X-ray flux must be explained in terms of variations associated with the white dwarf, optical variations must be primarily associated with the disk.

### 4.2 Variations of the X-Ray Flux

EUV radiation and soft X-rays are generated near the white dwarf’s surface, where nuclear burning is or has been occurring. X-ray variability can be due to changes in the accretion rate, burning rate, or photospheric radius. At rates larger than the burning rate, matter which accretes but fails to burn may form a swollen envelope, or can be ejected in the form of winds.

#### 4.2.1 Does the WD Central Engine Turn On and Off?

It is reasonable to ask whether the apparent cessation of X-ray radiation at two times in the light curve of CAL 83 is likely to be a signal that nuclear burning had ceased, and that the central source was no longer emitting X-rays. This is unlikely, because it takes time for the white dwarf to cool. Those novae which have been observed as SSSs have taken months or even years to cool enough that they are no longer observed as X-ray sources, like GQ Mus (Ögelman et al. 1993); V1974 Cyg (Krautter et al. 1996), Nova LMC 1995 (Orio & Greiner 1999). We do not know the mass of the white dwarf likely to be the central source in CAL 83. However, the low X-ray luminosity (Gänsicke et al. 1998) as well as the white dwarf model fits to BeppoSAX data (Parmar et al. 1998) suggest that the mass is not high ($``$0.9–1.0 M). A variety of computations (e.g. Prialnik & Kovetz 1995; Kato 1997, 1999) suggest that cooling (i.e. turn-off) times can be as short as 6–20 days only if the mass of the white dwarf is near the Chandrasekhar limit; otherwise the cooling time (for the emission to be shifted out of the X-ray regime) is in excess of several months. It therefore seems highly unlikely that a cessation of nuclear burning occurred around MJD $``$ 50200 in 1996, leading to the X-ray off-state found by Kahabka et al. (1996). It is possible that nuclear burning ceased much earlier, but in this case, the X-ray detections prior to MJD $``$ 50200 should have shown some indication of evolution toward a cool state. Since there is no evidence of such evolution, we conclude that the off-state in 1996 was unlikely to be related to a complete cessation of nuclear burning and subsequent cooling of the white dwarf.

This does not mean there might not have been a modulation of the bolometric luminosity during an interval of time around the off state, perhaps due to a modulation of the accretion rate, or perhaps due to a change in the short-term average energy release associated with nuclear burning. But it does mean that a hot white dwarf, with luminosity roughly comparable to its value at earlier and later times, was still present in CAL 83, even during the X-ray off-state in 1996. Occam’s razor would therefore suggest that the WD was also hot during the Chandra-discovered off-state.

The question then becomes, if the hot white dwarf was there, why did we not detect X-rays during these $`2`$ observations? There are two possibilities.

1. The white dwarf’s energy emission may be shifted toward longer wavelengths. This could happen if, e.g., the radius of the photosphere increases.
2. X-rays emitted by the white dwarf could interact with matter in the vicinity of the system; the energy thus absorbed would eventually be re-emitted at other wavelengths.

#### 4.2.2 Photospheric Adjustments

Expansion of the photosphere can shift the peak of the spectrum toward longer wavelengths. Because the X-ray emission we detect from SSBs constitutes only the high-energy tail of the emitted spectrum, even modest shifts of the peak to lower energies can shift the tail so that X-ray instruments are no longer able to detect the source. Modulations of the photospheric radius can be caused by adjustments of the accretion rate, or by changes associated with nuclear burning, even at relatively steady accretion rate. Photospheric adjustments seem to be the most direct way to achieve the observed X-ray off-states, in cases in which the bolometric luminosities do not apparently suffer a large decline and an X-ray on-state re-occurs soon thereafter.

Indeed this scenario has shown to work for the novae GQ Mus (Ögelman et al. 1993) and V1974 Cyg (Krautter et al. 1996), and has been applied to similar sources like the SSB RX J0513.9–6951 (Reinsch et al. 1996; Southwell et al. 1996) or the symbiotic system AG Dra during outburst (Greiner et al. 1997). RX J0513.9–6951 is the most prominent example, varying quasi-periodically at both X-ray and optical wavelengths. Because the variations repeat at relatively short time intervals, the variations of RX J0513.9–6951 are much better studied than those of CAL 83. In particular, RX J0513.9–6951 goes through optical low-states lasting $``$30–40 days and repeating quasi-regularly at 150–180 days intervals. The decrease in the optical flux of $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$$`V1`$ mag is accompanied by a reddening of $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$($`BV`$)$``$0.1–0.2 mag and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$($`VR`$)$``$0.1 mag (Reinsch et al. 1996). Soft X-ray emission is only observed during the short optical low-states, while during the long optical high states no X-ray emission is detected. There have been two different suggestions to explain this behaviour:

1. If during optical high states the accreting white dwarf is slightly (by about a factor of 3) expanded and cool enough to not emit X-rays, then a temporarily slightly reduced mass-transfer rate would cause the photospheric radius to shrink. As a consequence, optical emission from the white dwarf would be reduced, and later on the white dwarf would get hot enough ($`kT>20`$ eV) to be detectable in X-rays (Pakull et al. 1993; Southwell et al. 1996).
2. Taking into account the fact that in RX J0513.9–6951 most of the light from the accretion disk is reprocessed emission, Reinsch et al. (1996) proposed that it is not the white dwarf itself which is producing the varying optical emission, but the changes of the white dwarf induce variations of the irradiation of the accretion disk which in turn are the cause for the observed optical variations.

Interestingly enough, the physical parameters of RX J0513.9–6951 (X-ray flux, temperature, orbital period) are similar to those of CAL 83. Consequently, both models have been invoked to explain CAL 83’s variations (Kahabka 1998). Alternatively, Alcock et al. (1997) suggested a cessation of nuclear burning on the white dwarf in CAL 83, leading to a behaviour similar to the decline phase of a nova. We have argued above that a cessation of nuclear burning in CAL 83 is very unlikely. We will argue below that the Kahabka model with its additional assumption of a particularly shaped mass transfer modulation for CAL 83 does not explain all the presently available data. Instead, a more complicated variant of model (2) seems to be required:

1. The variability pattern is much more complicated in CAL 83 than in RX J0513.9–6951, i.e. not just a relatively fast switching between two brightness levels.
2. CAL 83 shows no color changes (Figs. 1, 2). Both photospheric adjustments as well as a varying wind (absorption) would predict substantial color changes ($`>0.1`$ mag), and the binary inclination is comparable in both systems. Though CAL 83 and RX J0513.9–6951 have slightly different disk sizes as implied by their different orbital periods (1.04 days vs. 0.76 days) and luminosities, the relative changes (in $`\dot{M}`$, color etc.) should be similar.
3. Sophisticated modelling of the UV/X-ray observations of CAL 83 has resulted in a bolometric luminosity of (0.7–2)$`\times `$1037 erg s-1 (Gänsicke et al. 1998). The inferred mean luminosity averaged over the last $``$105 years as derived from the \[O III\] and H$`\alpha `$ lines of the ionization nebula is (1–7)$`\times `$1037 erg s-1 (Remillard et al. 1995), implying that X-ray off states should represent only a small fraction over the last $``$105 years. However, relating X-ray off states to optical high states (above pattern 1) would be statistically inconsistent with such a small fraction, since CAL 83 was in an optical high state for $``$30% over the last 10 years.
4. The overshooting after transitions from optical low or intermediate state to high state is difficult to explain by photospheric radius changes.

We also note that even the expanded white dwarf cannot outshine the accretion disk, unless it grows to 5$`\times `$1011 cm, larger than the binary separation of 3.7$`\times `$1011 cm.

#### 4.2.3 Absorption

Absorption due to material above the burning surface could also have the effect of shifting the effective radius. If, for example, (1) more matter is accreting per second than can, on average, be burned during one second, and (2) not all of this matter can be instantaneously ejected, it does not take long for the “extra” mass to interfere with the detection of X-rays. Suppose that the ejected winds are preferentially emitted in a cone (jet) oriented perpendicular to the accretion disk as deduced from the broad He and H$`\alpha `$ wings (Crampton et al. 1987; Cowley et al. 1998). During an interval in which a substantial fraction of material incident from the donor is neither burned nor ejected as winds, $`10^{19}`$ g s-1 may accumulate over an area smaller than $`(10^9)^2`$ cm2. X-ray radiation could be quenched on relatively short time scales, as unburned matter begins to seep upward through what had been the wind cone. The seeping matter can affect both our view of the disk and also the radiation incident on the disk from the central star. Note that, in the case of CAL 83, the blocking of the disk from our view is unlikely to be the only cause of optical variation. Although this model is consistent with the lack of color change, it would not lead to a spike in the optical emission when the disk again becomes visible. The existence of the overshooting apparent in the light curve tells us that some real adjustment of the disk is likely to be taking place as it moves from one equilibrium state to another.

### 4.3 Variations of the Optical Flux

Variations of the optical flux are most likely to be associated with changes in the accretion disk. The accretion disks surrounding the white dwarf in SSBs are bright, generally more than an order of magnitude brighter than the accretion luminosity (viscous heating). This is because, in contrast to the situation for canonical cataclysmic variables or neutron star binaries, nuclear burning of accreted material releases ($`20`$ times) more energy, than the potential energy lost and dissipated through accretion. Reprocessing of this radiation by the disk is of particular importance in CBSSs (e.g. Popham & Di Stefano 1996; Matsumoto & Fukue 1998; Fukue & Hachiya 1999; Suleimanov et al. 1999). If $`20\%`$ of the energy emitted by the white dwarf is reprocessed by the disk, the disk luminosity will be $`10^{35}10^{37}`$ erg s-1. Farther from the white dwarf, the disk is cooler due to the less pronounced heating, becoming the dominant source of UV and optical light. The height of the outer disk flares (Popham & DiStefano 1996; Meyer-Hofmeister et al. 1997). The geometry of the disk emerges from first-principles calculations (Popham & Di Stefano 1996) and, for the eclipsing CBSS CAL 87, can also be derived phenomenologically (Schandl et al. 1997).

If roughly $`20\%`$ of the energy released due to nuclear burning is reprocessed by the disk, and if roughly one half of the accretion energy is dissipated in and radiated from the disk, then accretion energy accounts for only $`10\%`$ of the energy emitted by the disk. Changes in the accretion rate produce changes in the disk luminosity on the order of a few (perhaps as much as $`10`$) percent. These changes are likely to occur prior to any changes in X-ray flux due to a changing rate of fuel delivery by the disk.

A cessation of nuclear burning could eventually (after cooling) cause the disk to become 2 orders of magnitude less luminous, even if accretion continued at a comparable rate.

Unless they constitute just a small fraction of an upward or downward trend, luminosity changes by a factor of $`2`$ are most likely due to changes directly related to the reprocessing of radiation from the white dwarf. Reprocessing changes are of two types. First, reprocessing that occurs as radiation directly from the central star hits and interacts with the disk, is naturally influenced by changes in the spectrum or flux of radiation from the central star. Second, heating from the central star through the disk will also be affected. The flow of heat is influenced by the size and temperature of the photosphere as well as by the instantaneous luminosity of the white dwarf. This heating is communicated from the white dwarf through matter in the disk. The disk response can therefore lag the X-ray response.

### 4.4 Correlations Between X-Ray and Optical Flux

The primary cause for the variations is either a modulation of the rate at which the companion donates matter, or a modulation of the rate of nuclear burning (though the observed time scale of state changes in CAL 83 is very short for a supposed white dwarf mass of $``$1 M). In each case, the bolometric luminosity will change, even as the changes affect different parts of the spectrum differently. Prompt anticorrelations between X-ray and optical flux suggest photospheric changes that shift the flux distribution from the X-ray range towards longer wavelengths and immediately influence the disk by affecting the spectrum of light incident on it from the white dwarf. Delayed correlations or anticorrelations suggest that matter flowing to the white dwarf may be responding to different local conditions as disturbances due to changing accretion rates and differences in heating from the white dwarf propagate through the disk.

## 5 Summary and Prospects

CAL 83 is one of the flagship sources of the class of supersoft X-ray binaries. It may therefore seem strange that CAL 83 was discovered to have an X-ray off state $`16`$ years after it was first observed by Einstein. In common with many other X-ray sources, CAL 83 has been observed only sporadically. It may therefore not be so surprising that we have little information about its X-ray variations. Furthermore, although RXTE has conducted regular all-sky monitoring, its detectors are not sensitive to the soft radiation emitted by CAL 83.

Two alternative interpretations of the pattern of X-ray and optical variations are consistent with the data on CAL 83: (1) X-ray off-states occur during optical high states, and X-ray on-states during optical low and intermediate state, or (2) optical variations follow about 30–50 days after an X-ray state transition.

We have shown above that neither the simple picture of photospheric radius changes nor pure absorption effects can be the primary cause for these observed patterns in CAL 83. Instead, changes in the photospheric radius lead to changes in the irradiation and heating of the disk, perhaps at a time when the accretion rate is also (or has been) changing. It is this suite of changes, accompanying any photospheric change, that modulate the optical luminosity. Optical variations can therefore have a more complex relationship to photospheric expansion or contraction.

One of the things we have learned, however, is that optical monitoring programs, like those carried out to search for evidence of microlensing, can complement the information gleaned from X-ray observations. For RX J0513.9–6951, for example, a combination of early optical observations specifically designed to learn more about the X-ray source (Reinsch et al. 1996) and subsequent monitoring by the MACHO team (Alcock et al. 1997), allow us to now use the optical data to predict the X-ray state. This also seems to be true of the VY Scl stars, in which a proposed anticorrelation between optical and X-ray fluxes allowed us to discover that at least one member of this class is a supersoft X-ray binary (Greiner et al. 1999). For CAL 83, we clearly need a better record of its X-ray light curve, coupled with optical monitoring, to better understand the relationship between its optical and X-ray flux.

Based on the pattern observed to date and the previous discussion it is clear that simultaneous and frequent multiwavelength observations of CAL 83 are needed to test physical models for the source and its variability. Such observations can provide important clues to the physics of this interesting system and the SSB class to which it belongs.

###### Acknowledgements.

We are highly indebted to A. Becker for making the calibrated MACHO data available to us. We also want to thank Andrea Dupree for enlightening discussions. Thanks also to the CfA data processing group for extensive data validation checks of the Chandra observation of CAL 83 in Nov. 1999. We appreciate the generosity of Eric Gotthelf for making available his re-analysis of the CAL Einstein data for publication herein (see Appendix). We are grateful to the referee, P. Kahabka, for the careful reading and detailed comments which improved the presentation of the data. This work was supported in part by NSF under INT-9815655 and by NASA under NAG5-10705.
Appendix.

Below are the results of a re-analysis of the Einstein IPC data by Eric Gotthelf (Columbia University, USA) from 1996, which have been mentioned as “priv. comm.” in Kahakba (1998) but were never published. These results correct the wrong count rates of Brown et al. (1994). As can be seen from the table below, there does not seem to be any significant source variability ($`<`$10%). Notice that the observation closest to the optical axis has the lowest count rate. In contrast, one would expect a systematic increase in the count rate if the difference was due to instrumental effects.


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# Improved Measurement of |𝑉_{𝑐𝑏}| Using 𝐵̄→𝐷^∗ℓ𝜈 Decays

## Abstract

We determine the weak coupling $`|V_{cb}|`$ between the $`b`$ and $`c`$ quarks using a sample of 3 million $`B\overline{B}`$ events in the CLEO detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring. We determine the yield of reconstructed $`\overline{B}D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ decays as a function of $`w`$, the boost of the $`D^{}`$ in the $`B`$ rest frame, and from this we obtain the differential decay rate $`d\mathrm{\Gamma }/dw`$. By extrapolating $`d\mathrm{\Gamma }/dw`$ to $`w=1`$, the kinematic end-point at which the $`D^{}`$ is at rest relative to the $`B`$, we extract the product $`|V_{cb}|`$$`(1)`$, where $`(1)`$ is the form factor at $`w=1`$. We find $`|V_{cb}|(1)=0.0431\pm 0.0013(\mathrm{stat}.)\pm 0.0018(\mathrm{syst}.)`$.

preprint:   CLNS 01/1773 CLEO 01-26

R. A. Briere,1 G. P. Chen,1 T. Ferguson,1 G. Tatishvili,1 H. Vogel,1 N. E. Adam,2 J. P. Alexander,2 C. Bebek,2 B. E. Berger,2 K. Berkelman,2 F. Blanc,2 V. Boisvert,2 D. G. Cassel,2 P. S. Drell,2 J. E. Duboscq,2 K. M. Ecklund,2 R. Ehrlich,2 L. Gibbons,2 B. Gittelman,2 S. W. Gray,2 D. L. Hartill,2 B. K. Heltsley,2 L. Hsu,2 C. D. Jones,2 J. Kandaswamy,2 D. L. Kreinick,2 A. Magerkurth,2 H. Mahlke-Krüger,2 T. O. Meyer,2 N. B. Mistry,2 E. Nordberg,2 M. Palmer,2 J. R. Patterson,2 D. Peterson,2 J. Pivarski,2 D. Riley,2 A. J. Sadoff,2 H. Schwarthoff,2 M. R .Shepherd,2 J. G. Thayer,2 D. Urner,2 B. Valant-Spaight,2 G. Viehhauser,2 A. Warburton,2 M. Weinberger,2 S. B. Athar,3 P. Avery,3 H. Stoeck,3 J. Yelton,3 G. Brandenburg,4 A. Ershov,4 D. Y.-J. Kim,4 R. Wilson,4 K. Benslama,5 B. I. Eisenstein,5 J. Ernst,5 G. D. Gollin,5 R. M. Hans,5 I. Karliner,5 N. Lowrey,5 M. A. Marsh,5 C. Plager,5 C. Sedlack,5 M. Selen,5 J. J. Thaler,5 J. Williams,5 K. W. Edwards,6 R. Ammar,7 D. Besson,7 X. Zhao,7 S. Anderson,8 V. V. Frolov,8 Y. Kubota,8 S. J. Lee,8 S. Z. Li,8 R. Poling,8 A. Smith,8 C. J. Stepaniak,8 J. Urheim,8 S. Ahmed,9 M. S. Alam,9 L. Jian,9 M. Saleem,9 F. Wappler,9 E. Eckhart,10 K. K. Gan,10 C. Gwon,10 T. Hart,10 K. Honscheid,10 D. Hufnagel,10 H. Kagan,10 R. Kass,10 T. K. Pedlar,10 J. B. Thayer,10 E. von Toerne,10 T. Wilksen,10 M. M. Zoeller,10 S. J. Richichi,11 H. Severini,11 P. Skubic,11 S.A. Dytman,12 S. Nam,12 V. Savinov,12 S. Chen,13 J. W. Hinson,13 J. Lee,13 D. H. Miller,13 V. Pavlunin,13 E. I. Shibata,13 I. P. J. Shipsey,13 D. Cronin-Hennessy,14 A.L. Lyon,14 C. S. Park,14 W. Park,14 E. H. Thorndike,14 T. E. Coan,15 Y. S. Gao,15 F. Liu,15 Y. Maravin,15 I. Narsky,15 R. Stroynowski,15 J. Ye,15 M. Artuso,16 C. Boulahouache,16 K. Bukin,16 E. Dambasuren,16 R. Mountain,16 T. Skwarnicki,16 S. Stone,16 J.C. Wang,16 A. H. Mahmood,17 S. E. Csorna,18 I. Danko,18 Z. Xu,18 G. Bonvicini,19 D. Cinabro,19 M. Dubrovin,19 S. McGee,19 A. Bornheim,20 E. Lipeles,20 S. P. Pappas,20 A. Shapiro,20 W. M. Sun,20 A. J. Weinstein,20 G. Masek,21 H. P. Paar,21 and R. Mahapatra22

1Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213

2Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853

3University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611

4Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

5University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801

6Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6

and the Institute of Particle Physics, Canada M5S 1A7

7University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045

8University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

9State University of New York at Albany, Albany, New York 12222

10Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210

11University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019

12University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260

13Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907

14University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627

15Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275

16Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244

17University of Texas - Pan American, Edinburg, Texas 78539

18Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37235

19Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 48202

20California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125

21University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093

22University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106

In the Standard Model, the weak decay of quarks is described by a unitary $`3\times 3`$ matrix . This CKM matrix describes the flavor mixing among the quarks and the amount of $`CP`$ violation through its single non-trivial phase. Precise determinations of the CKM matrix elements are essential to test the Standard Model. This Letter presents an improved measurement of $`|V_{cb}|`$, the coupling of the $`b`$ quark to the $`c`$ quark. The CKM matrix element $`|V_{cb}|`$ sets the length of the base of the unitarity triangle (UT), which displays one CKM unitarity condition, and normalizes the constraint on the UT from indirect $`CP`$ violation in $`K^0`$ decay.

One strategy for determining $`|V_{cb}|`$ uses the decays $`\overline{B}^0D^+\mathrm{}^{}\overline{\nu }`$ and $`B^{}D^0\mathrm{}^{}\overline{\nu }`$. The rate for these decays, however, depends not only on $`|V_{cb}|`$ and well-known weak decay physics, but also on strong interaction effects, parameterized by form factors. In general, these effects are difficult to quantify, but Heavy Quark Effective Theory (HQET) offers a method for calculating them at the kinematic point at which the final state $`D^{}`$ is at rest with respect to the initial $`B`$ meson. In this analysis , we take advantage of this information: we divide the reconstructed candidates into bins of $`w`$, where $`w`$ is the scalar product of the $`B`$ and $`D^{}`$ four-velocities. Using these yields, we measure the differential rate $`d\mathrm{\Gamma }/dw`$ for $`w>1`$, and extrapolate to obtain the rate at $`w=1`$, which, combined with theoretical results, gives $`|V_{cb}|`$.

We analyze 3.33 million $`B\overline{B}`$ events (3.1  $`\mathrm{fb}^1`$) produced on the $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}(4S)`$ resonance at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring (CESR) and detected in the CLEO II detector . In addition, we use 1.6  $`\mathrm{fb}^1`$ of data collected slightly below the $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}(4S)`$ resonance for the purpose of determining continuum $`e^+e^{}q\overline{q}(q=u,d,s,c)`$ backgrounds.

To identify $`D^{}`$ candidates, we reconstruct the decay chains $`D^+D^0\pi ^+`$ and $`D^0D^0\pi ^0`$ followed by $`D^0K^{}\pi ^+`$. We first combine kaon and pion candidates in hadronic events to form $`D^0`$ candidates. Signal candidates lie in the mass window $`|m(K\pi )1865|20`$$`\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$. We then add a slow $`\pi `$ to the $`D^0`$ candidate to form a $`D^{}`$. For $`D^+`$ ($`D^0`$) candidates we require $`\mathrm{\Delta }mm(K\pi \pi )m(K\pi )`$ to be within 2 $`\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$ (3 $`\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$) of the known $`D^+`$$`D^0`$ ($`D^0`$$`D^0`$) mass difference. For $`D^+`$ candidates, the $`K`$ and $`\pi `$ are fit to a common vertex, and then the slow $`\pi `$ and $`D`$ are fit to a second vertex using a beam spot constraint. These constraints improve the $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ resolution by about 20%.

To $`D^{}`$ candidates we add a lepton candidate. We select electrons using the ratio of the energy deposited in the CsI calorimeter to the reconstructed track momentum, the shape of the shower in the calorimeter, and the specific ionization in the drift chamber. Our candidates lie in the momentum range $`0.8<p_e2.4`$ $`\mathrm{GeV}/c`$. Muon candidates penetrate $`5`$ interaction lengths. Only muons above about 1.4 $`\mathrm{GeV}/c`$ satisfy this requirement; we therefore demand that they lie in the momentum range $`1.4<p_\mu 2.4`$ $`\mathrm{GeV}/c`$. The charge of the lepton must match the charge of the kaon, and, for $`D^+`$ candidates, be opposite that of the slow pion.

For each candidate we compute

$$\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}=\frac{2E(B)E(D^{}\mathrm{})m_B^2m(D^{}\mathrm{})^2}{2|𝐩(B)||𝐩(D^{}\mathrm{})|}.$$
(1)
This quantity helps distinguish signal from $`D^{}X\mathrm{}\nu `$ background and bounds the flight direction of the $`B`$ relative to the $`D^{}`$, which is needed to calculate $`w`$. We calculate $`w`$ for the extremes of the $`B`$ flight direction, and average these two values. The typical resolution in $`w`$ is 0.03. We divide our sample into 10 bins from 1.0 to 1.5, the final bin including candidates up to the kinematic limit of 1.504. For $`w>1.25`$, we suppress background with no loss of signal efficiency by restricting the angle between the $`D^{}`$ and the lepton.

At this stage, our sample of candidates contains not only $`D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ decays, but also $`\overline{B}D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ and non-resonant $`\overline{B}D^{}\pi \mathrm{}\nu `$ decays (collectively referred to here as $`\overline{B}D^{}X\mathrm{}\nu `$ decays) and various backgrounds. In order to disentangle the $`D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ from the $`D^{}X\mathrm{}\nu `$ decays, we use a binned maximum likelihood fit  to the $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}`$ distribution. In this fit, the normalizations of the various background distributions are fixed, and those for $`D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ and $`D^{}X\mathrm{}\nu `$ float.

The distributions of the $`D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ and $`D^{}X\mathrm{}\nu `$ decays are taken from Monte Carlo simulation . Radiative $`\overline{B}D^{}\mathrm{}\nu \gamma `$ decays, modeled by PHOTOS , are treated as signal. Non-resonant $`\overline{B}D^{}\pi \mathrm{}\nu `$ decays are modeled using the results of , and $`\overline{B}D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ decays are modeled using the ISGW2  form factors.

We account for five classes of background: continuum, combinatoric, uncorrelated, correlated, and fake lepton. (1) Continuum background from $`e^+e^{}q\overline{q}`$, which amounts to about 3.5% of the candidates in the region $`1\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}1`$ (the “signal region”), is measured using off-resonance data taken below the $`B\overline{B}`$ threshold. We normalize the $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}`$ distribution to the ratio of on- to off-resonance luminosities, correcting for the small energy dependence of the continuum cross section. (2) Combinatoric background events, those in which one or more of the particles in the $`D^{}`$ candidate does not come from a true $`D^{}`$ decay, contribute 8% (38%) of the candidates in the $`D^+`$ ($`D^0`$) signal region. We take the $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}`$ distribution of combinatoric background events from a $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ sideband, (155, 165) $`\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$ for $`D^+`$ and (147, 165) $`\mathrm{MeV}/c^2`$ for $`D^0`$, and normalize using a fit to the $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ distribution in each $`w`$ bin. (3) Uncorrelated background, which accounts for approximately 5% of the candidates in the signal region, arises when the $`D^{}`$ and lepton come from the decays of different $`B`$ mesons. Most of this background consists of a $`D^{}`$ meson combined with a secondary lepton (i.e., from $`bcs\mathrm{}\nu `$) because primary leptons from the other $`B`$ have the wrong charge correlation in the absence of $`B^0`$$`\overline{B}^0`$ mixing or $`D^{}`$ production from the hadronization of the $`\overline{c}`$ in $`bc\overline{c}s`$. We obtain the uncorrelated $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}`$ distribution from Monte Carlo simulation, normalizing to the inclusive $`D^{}`$ production rate observed in our data in low and high $`D^{}`$ momentum bins, the measured primary and secondary lepton decay rates , the estimated decay rate for modes in the $`BD^{}D^{()}K^{()}`$ family , and the measured $`B^0\overline{B}^0`$ mixing rate . (4) Correlated background events are those in which the $`D^{}`$ and lepton are daughters of the same $`B`$, but the decay was not $`\overline{B}D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ or $`\overline{B}D^{}X\mathrm{}\nu `$. The most common sources are $`\overline{B}D^{}\tau \nu `$ followed by leptonic $`\tau `$ decay and $`BD^{}D_s`$ followed by semileptonic decay of the $`D_s`$. This background accounts for fewer than 0.5% of the candidates in the signal region and is estimated using Monte Carlo simulation. (5) Finally, hadrons misidentified as leptons contribute fewer than 0.5% of candidates in the signal region.

Having obtained the distributions in $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}`$ of the signal and background components, we fit for the yields of $`D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ and $`D^{}X\mathrm{}\nu `$ decays in each $`w`$ bin. Representative fits are shown in Fig. 1. The quality of the fits is good, as is agreement between the data and fit distributions outside the fitting region. The fit results also accurately predict the $`D^{}`$ energy distribution and the lepton momentum spectrum of the data.

Given the measured $`D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ yields in ten bins of $`w`$, we fit for the partial rate

$$\frac{d\mathrm{\Gamma }}{dw}=\frac{G_F^2}{48\pi ^3}𝒦(w)\left[|V_{cb}|(w)\right]^2,$$
(2)
where $`𝒦(w)`$ is a known function of kinematic variables and $`(w)`$ is the form-factor. For our fit we use a form-factor parameterization  informed by HQET and dispersion relation constraints . We take the form-factor ratios $`R_1(1)`$ and $`R_2(1)`$ from a previous measurement  that agrees with theoretical expectations . The slope $`\rho ^2`$ of the form factor at $`w=1`$ is the only shape parameter; it varies in our fit.

We fit our $`D^{}\mathrm{}\nu `$ yields as a function of $`w`$ for $`|V_{cb}|`$$`(1)`$ and $`\rho ^2`$. We minimize the sum of $`\chi ^2`$ for $`D^+\mathrm{}^{}\overline{\nu }`$ and $`D^0\mathrm{}^{}\overline{\nu }`$, each of which compares the measured and expected yields in the ten reconstructed $`w`$ bins. For each mode,

$$\chi ^2\underset{i=1}{\overset{10}{}}\frac{[N_i^{obs}_{j=1}^{10}ϵ_{ij}N_j]^2}{\sigma _{N_i^{obs}}^2},$$
(3)
where $`N_i^{obs}`$ is the yield in the $`i^{\mathrm{th}}`$ $`w`$ bin, $`N_j`$ is the number of decays in the $`j^{\mathrm{th}}`$ $`w`$ bin, and the matrix $`ϵ_{ij}`$ accounts for the reconstruction efficiency and the smearing in $`w`$. In the above,

$$N_j4fN_{\mathrm{{\rm Y}}(4S)}_D^{}_{D^0}\tau _B_{w_j}𝑑w\frac{d\mathrm{\Gamma }}{dw},$$
(4)
where $`\tau _B`$ is the $`B^{}`$ or $`\overline{B}^0`$ lifetime , $`_D^{}`$ is the $`D^{}D^0\pi `$ branching fraction , $`_{D^0}`$ is the $`D^0K^{}\pi ^+`$ branching fraction , $`N_{\mathrm{{\rm Y}}(4S)}`$ is the number of $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}(4S)`$ events in the sample, and $`f`$ represents $`f_{00}`$ or $`f_+`$, the $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}(4S)B^0\overline{B}^0`$ or $`B^+B^{}`$ branching fraction, as appropriate. We use the result of  for $`(f_+/f_{00})(\tau _+/\tau _0)`$ as a constraint in the fit, assuming $`f_{00}+f_+=1`$. We assume that $`B^{}D^0\mathrm{}^{}\overline{\nu }`$ and $`\overline{B^0}D^+\mathrm{}^{}\overline{\nu }`$ have identical partial widths and form factors.

The result of the fit is shown in Fig. 2. We find $`|V_{cb}|(1)=0.0431\pm 0.0013\pm 0.0018`$, $`\rho ^2=1.61\pm 0.09\pm 0.21`$, and $`f_+=0.521\pm 0.012`$, where the errors are statistical and systematic. The fit $`\chi ^2`$ is 16.8/18 d.o.f., and the correlation coefficient between $`|V_{cb}|`$$`(1)`$ and $`\rho ^2`$ is 0.86, which becomes 0.22 after including systematic correlations. Integrated over $`w`$, these parameters give $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=0.0394\pm 0.0012\pm 0.0026\text{ }\mathrm{ps}^1`$, implying the branching fractions $`(\overline{B}^0D^+\mathrm{}^{}\overline{\nu })=(6.09\pm 0.19\pm 0.40)`$% and $`(B^{}D^0\mathrm{}^{}\overline{\nu })=(6.50\pm 0.20\pm 0.43)`$%. Separate $`D^+\mathrm{}^{}\overline{\nu }`$ and $`D^0\mathrm{}^{}\overline{\nu }`$ fits give consistent results. When fit using the same form factor, the present data are consistent with the previous CLEO result , which analyzed a subset of the data reported in this Letter. The results in this Letter supersede our earlier measurement.

The systematic uncertainties are summarized in Table I. The dominant systematic uncertainties arise from our background estimations and from our knowledge of the slow-pion reconstruction efficiency.

We test that the combinatoric candidates in the $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ sideband have the same $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}`$ distribution as the background events in the peak region by applying our procedure to Monte Carlo simulated events. The systematic uncertainty is the difference between the results obtained using the true Monte-Carlo background and those obtained using the sideband subtraction. We also vary the function used to normalize the $`\mathrm{\Delta }m`$ sideband. The main source of uncertainty from the uncorrelated background is the branching fraction of the $`BD^{}D^{()}K^{()}`$ decays, which we vary by $`\pm 50\%`$. Smaller effects arise from the primary and secondary lepton rates and from the uncertainty in $`B^0\overline{B}^0`$ mixing. We assess the uncertainty arising from the correlated background by varying by 50% the branching fractions of the contributing modes.

A major source of uncertainty for the analysis is the reconstruction efficiency of the slow pion from the $`D^{}`$ decay. Due to the small energy release in $`D^{}`$ decay, the slow-pion momentum is correlated with $`w`$. Thus, for $`D^+`$, the efficiency is small near $`w=1`$ for low-momentum pions and increases rapidly over the next few $`w`$ bins, while the efficiency for $`\pi ^0\gamma \gamma `$ is more uniform in $`w`$. We have explored the detection efficiencies as a function of event environment (nearby tracks or showers), drift chamber performance (single measurement resolution and efficiency), vertexing requirements, calorimeter simulation (noise, nonlinearities, and shower simulation threshold), and description of the detector material in our simulation. We vary the amount of noise in the calorimeter simulation and introduce possible residual nonlinearities in the energy scale. These variations are constrained by $`m(\gamma \gamma )`$ and lateral shower shape distributions from an independent sample of $`\pi ^0`$ candidates from our data. The uncertainty in $`|V_{cb}|`$$`(1)`$ is dominated by uncertainties in the number of interaction lengths in the inner detector (1.3%) and the vertexing efficiency (1.5%).

We determine the tracking efficiency uncertainties for the lepton and the $`K`$ and $`\pi `$ forming the $`D^0`$ in the same study used for the slow pion from the $`D^+`$ decay. These uncertainties are confirmed in a study of 1-prong versus 3-prong $`\tau `$ decays. The efficiency for identifying electrons (muons) has been evaluated using radiative Bhabha ($`\mu `$-pair) events embedded in hadronic events, and has an uncertainty of 2.6% (1.6%). Separate electron and muon analyses of our data give consistent results.

Finally, our analysis requires knowledge of the $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}`$ distribution of the $`D^{}X\mathrm{}\nu `$ contribution. This distribution in turn depends on both the poorly known branching fractions of contributing modes and their form factors. We note that the $`\overline{B}D^{}\pi \mathrm{}\nu `$ and $`\overline{B}D_1\mathrm{}\nu `$ modes have the largest and smallest mean $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}`$. We therefore repeat the analysis, first using pure $`\overline{B}D^{}\pi \mathrm{}\nu `$ to describe our $`D^{}X\mathrm{}\nu `$ decays and then using pure $`\overline{B}D_1\mathrm{}\nu `$ to describe these decays, and we take the larger of the two excursions as our systematic error.

The form factor ratios $`R_1`$ and $`R_2`$ affect the lepton spectrum and therefore the fraction of candidates satisfying our lepton momentum requirements. To assess this effect, we vary $`R_1`$ and $`R_2`$ within their measurement errors, taking into account their correlation.

Using a recent lattice calculation  that yields $`(1)=0.919_{0.035}^{+0.030}`$, our result for $`|V_{cb}|`$$`(1)`$ implies

$$|V_{cb}|=0.0469\pm 0.0014(\mathrm{stat}.)\pm 0.0020(\mathrm{syst}.)\pm 0.0018(\mathrm{theor}.).$$
(5)
Our result is the most precise to date and is somewhat higher than but marginally consistent with previous measurements . However, we note that our ability to reconstruct $`\mathrm{cos}\theta _{BD^{}\mathrm{}}`$ makes our analysis approximately four times less sensitive to the poorly known $`D^{}X\mathrm{}\nu `$ background and allows us to constrain it with the data. This value of $`|V_{cb}|`$ is also somewhat higher than that obtained from inclusive semileptonic $`B`$ decays . If confirmed, this discrepancy could signal a violation of quark-hadron duality. A larger value of $`|V_{cb}|`$ affects constraints on the CKM unitarity triangle, reducing expectations for indirect $`CP`$ violation in the $`B`$ system.

We gratefully acknowledge the effort of the CESR staff in providing us with excellent luminosity and running conditions. We thank A. Kronfeld, W. Marciano, and M. Neubert for helpful discussions. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Research Corporation, and the Texas Advanced Research Program.


text:
# Cerenkov Line Emission as a Possible Mechanism of X-ray Lines in Gamma-ray Bursts

## 1. Introduction

Recent GRB observational reports have shown that the broad emission line features during the X-ray afterglows of four GRBs (GRB 970508, Piro et al. 1999; GRB 970828, Yoshida et al. 1999; GRB 991216, Piro et al. 2000; GRB 000214, Antonelli et al. 2000). X-ray lines of similar energies, are usually interpreted as iron emission lines from fluorescence and recombination. According to the variability and very large flux and equivalent width, we can estimate that there are large iron masses of 0.01-1.0$`M_{}`$ in the emission region with a size of $`10^{15}`$cm. This much Fe would have to come from the surrounding medium rather than GRB progenitors to avoid the famous problem of Baryon contamination problem.

However, iron-rich medium may not be consistent with the normal interstellar medium (ISM) observed, even in the favorable case of dense regions of stellar formation. Mészáros & Rees (1998) have shown that the circumburst environment created by the stellar wind before the hypernova (Paczyński 1998) could yield a line of substantial intensity. And a similarly favorable situation is expected in the supranova (Vietri & Stella 1998), where a GRB is preceded by a supernova explosion for several months to years with ejection of an iron-rich massive shell. In these scenarios, high density in excess of $`10^{10}\mathrm{cm}^3`$ may be expected, and Fe absorption features of strength comparable to those in emission should also be detected. Alternative mechanisms for the production of X-ray lines have also been proposed. Rees & Mészáros (2000) have argued that the strong line emission can be attributed to the interaction of a continuing post-burst relativistic outflow from the central decaying magnetar with the progenitor stellar envelope at distance less than a light hour, and only a small mass of Fe is required. Another idea is provided in the frame that the lines are not interpreted as iron lines but the strongly Doppler-blueshift Ly$`\alpha `$ line emissions by jets of highly relativistic cannonballs (Dar & De Rújula 2001).

In the present letter, we proposed a new mechanism for iron line in X-ray afterglows: Cerenkov line emission. As we know, Cerenkov radiation will be produced when the particle velocity exceeds the light speed in the medium. Furthermore, You & Chen (1980) argued that for relativistic electrons moving through a dense gas, the Cerenkov effect will produce peculiar atomic/molecular emission lines: Cerenkov lines. They have presented a series of formulae to describe the properties of peculiar Cerenkov lines (You et al. 1984, 1986), and extended formulae can be applied to X-ray lines such as Fe K edge lines (You et al. 2000, hereafter Y00). Elegant experimental confirmation of Cerenkov lines in $`O_2,Br_2`$ gas and $`Na`$ vapor using a $`{}_{}{}^{90}Sr\beta `$-ray source has been obtained in the laboratory (Xu et al. 1981, 1988, 1989). Cerenkov line emission has following remarkable features: broad, asymmetrical, Cerenkov redshift and polarized if relativistic electrons have an anisotropic velocity distribution.

We emphasize the special importance of the Cerenkov redshift which markedly strengthens the emergent intensity of the Cerenkov emission line. For an optically thick dense gas, the emergent line is determined both by the emission and absorption. The absorption mechanisms for the normal line and for the Cerenkov line are extremely different. The intensity of normal line, $`I^n`$ is greatly weakened by the strong resonant absorption $`k_{lu}(\nu _{lu})`$ (the subscripts $`u`$ and $`l`$ denote the upper and lower-levels) due to the fact that the normal line is located exactly at the position of the intrinsic frequency $`\nu _{lu}`$ where $`k_{lu}`$ is very large. In the extreme case of a very dense gas, the emergent flux has the continuum with a black body spectrum, and the normal line disappeared, $`I^n0`$. However, the Cerenkov line, located at $`\nu <\nu _{lu}`$ due to the redshift, can avoid the resonant absorption because of $`k_{lu}(\nu <\nu _{lu})0`$. The main absorption mechanism which affects the intensity of Cerenkov line is the photoionization absorption $`k_{bf}`$ which is very small compared with $`k_{lu}`$. Thus the Cerenkov line photons can easily escape from deep inside a dense gas cloud, causing a strong emergent line flux, only if the density of relativistic electrons $`N_e`$ is high enough. In other words, the dense gas appears to be more transparent for the Cerenkov line than normal line, which makes it possible for the Cerenkov line mechanism to dominate over the normal line mechanisms when the gas is very dense and there exist abundant relativistic electrons in the emission region.

In the astrophysical processes of GRBs, a large amount of relativistic electrons and dense gas regions could exist. For the long burst afterglows localized so far, the host galaxies show signs of star formation activity, where the high-density environment is expected. Recent broadband observations of the afterglows of GRB 000926 (Piro et al. 2001; Harrison et al. 2001) and statistical analysis (Reichart & Price 2002a, 2002b) imply the evidence for a fireball in a dense medium. When the ultra-relativistic blast waves interact with the dense regions, very strong Cerenkov line emission in X-ray band would be observed, and Cerenkov mechanism may dominate in the case of the optically thick gases. The advantage of Cerenkov mechanism lies in that Cerenkov line in the optically thick case is naturally broad and the emergent intensity nearly independent of the abundance of iron, as pointed out in the following section.

## 2. Cerenkov Line Emission: Basic Formulae

The essential point of the calculation of Cerenkov radiation is the evaluation of the refraction index $`n`$ and extinction coefficient $`\kappa `$. At a given frequency $`\nu `$, the larger the index $`n_\nu `$, the larger the condition $`v>c/n_\nu `$ to be satisfied and stronger the Cerenkov radiation at $`\nu `$ will be, where $`v`$ is the particle velocity and $`c`$ is the light speed. We adopt the simplified approximate formulae when we are only concerned with the neighborhood of a given atomic line, $`\nu \nu _{lu}`$(Y00):

$`n_\nu ^21`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^3}{16\pi ^3}}\nu _{lu}^4A_{ul}g_uN({\displaystyle \frac{S_l}{g_l}}{\displaystyle \frac{S_u}{g_u}}),`$ (1)
$`\kappa _\nu `$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^3}{128\pi ^4}}\nu _{lu}^5\mathrm{\Gamma }_{lu}A_{ul}g_uN({\displaystyle \frac{S_l}{g_l}}{\displaystyle \frac{S_u}{g_u}}),`$ (2)
where the damping constant $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{lu}`$ is related to Einstein’s coefficient $`A_{ul}`$, $`g`$ is the statistical weights, $`N`$ the number density of the concerned atoms, for example, for the calculation of iron $`K\alpha `$, $`N=N_{Fe}`$ represents the density of iron. $`S_u`$ and $`S_l`$ represent the actual occupation number of electrons at levels $`u`$ and $`l`$ respectively. $`y`$ represents the fractional energy displacement defined as $`y\mathrm{\Delta }\epsilon /\epsilon _{lu}`$, where $`\epsilon _{lu}h\nu _{lu}=\epsilon _u\epsilon _l`$, and $`y1`$ because we are interested in the neighborhood of $`\nu _{lu}`$.

It is known from the usual theory of Cerenkov radiation that the spectral power $`P_\nu `$ emitted in unit frequency interval by an electron moving with velocity $`\beta =v/c`$ is

$$P_\nu =4\pi (\frac{e^2}{c})(1\beta ^2n^2)\beta \nu .$$
(3)
Let $`N(\gamma )d\gamma `$ be the number of relativistic electrons per unit volume with energies $`\gamma =(1\beta ^2)^{1/2}`$ in the interval $`d\gamma `$, assuming the lower and upper energy cut-offs $`\gamma _1`$ and $`\gamma _2`$. Hence the emissivity in unit volume, unit solid angle and unit frequency interval is

$$J_\nu =\frac{1}{4\pi }_{\gamma _1}^{\gamma _2}P_\nu N(\gamma )𝑑\gamma \frac{\pi e^2}{c}N_e\nu (n^21\gamma _c^2)d\nu ,$$
(4)
where $`\gamma _c`$ is the characteristic energy of electrons, $`_{\gamma _1}^{\gamma _2}N(\gamma )𝑑\gamma /\gamma ^2\gamma _c^2N_e`$. Replacing $`\nu `$ to $`y`$, $`J_\nu ^cd\nu =J_y^cdy`$, we have

$$J_y^cdy=\frac{\pi e^2}{c}N_e\nu ^2(n^21\gamma _c^2)dy.$$
(5)
Setting $`n^21\gamma _c^2=0`$, we get the Cerenkov line width:

$`y_{lim}`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\nu _{lim}}{\nu _{lu}}}=C_0\gamma _c^2,`$
$`C_0`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c^3}{16\pi ^3}}\nu _{lu}^4A_{ul}g_uN({\displaystyle \frac{S_l}{g_l}}{\displaystyle \frac{S_u}{g_u}}).`$ (6)
With Eqs. (1), (5) and (6), the spectral emissivity becomes:

$`J_y^cdy`$ $`=`$ $`C_1N_e(y^1y_{lim}^1)dy,`$
$`C_1`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{e^2c^2}{16\pi ^2}}\nu _{lu}^2A_{ul}g_uN({\displaystyle \frac{S_l}{g_l}}{\displaystyle \frac{S_u}{g_u}}).`$ (7)
In an optically thick dense gas, the Cerenkov line mechanism may be efficient, the final intensity $`I^c`$ is determined by the competition between the emission $`J^c`$ and absorption $`k`$. The main absorption mechanisms which affect the emergent intensity of Cerenkov line are the line absorption $`k_{lu}`$ and photoionization absorption $`k_{bf}`$ (free-free absorption can be neglected in X-ray band), then the total absorption coefficient is $`k=k_{lu}+k_{bf}`$. $`k_{lu}`$ can be easily obtained, $`k_{lu}=4\pi \nu _{lu}\kappa _\nu /c`$, using Eq. (2), we get:

$`k_{lu}`$ $`=`$ $`C_2y^2,`$
$`C_2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{c}{32\pi ^3}}\nu _{lu}^4\mathrm{\Gamma }_{lu}A_{ul}g_uN({\displaystyle \frac{S_l}{g_l}}{\displaystyle \frac{S_u}{g_u}}).`$ (8)
The photoionization absorption coefficient is $`k_{bf}=\underset{s}{}N_s\sigma _{bf}(s)`$, where $`\sigma _{bf}(s)`$ is the photoelectric cross section of level $`s`$. If we investigate it in Fe K edge lines, the dominate absorber should be the iron atoms or ions rather than other elements. Thus, for Fe $`K\alpha `$ line:

$$k_{bf}N_{Fe}S_2\sigma _{bf}(2)=8.4\times 10^{46}N_{Fe}S_2\epsilon _{lu}^3,$$
(9)
where $`\epsilon _{lu}=\epsilon _{21}=6.4`$ keV. Only $`s=2`$ energy level is considered due to the fact that around 6.4 keV, $`\sigma _{bf}(2)\sigma _{bf}(s>2)`$.

Finally, we can estimate the Cerenkov line radiation intensity in the optically thick case:

$$I_y^c\frac{J_y^c}{k}=\frac{J_y^c}{k_{lu}+k_{bf}}=\frac{N_eC_1(y^1y_{lim}^1)}{C_2y^2+k_{bf}}.$$
(10)
From the equation above, we see that both the emissivity and absorption are proportional to the density of iron atoms $`N_{Fe}`$, then the emergent intensity is only weakly dependent on $`N_{Fe}`$ due to the existence of factor $`y_{lim}^1`$ in expression. The property of independence on iron density could be used to resolve the puzzle of excessive amount of iron in the ISM. Integrating Eq. (10), the total intensity of Cerenkov line is obtained as

$$I^c=_0^{y_{lim}}I_y^c𝑑y=Y[ln(1+X^2)+2(1\frac{arctanX}{X})],$$
(11)
where $`Y\frac{N_e}{2}\frac{C_1}{k_{bf}}`$, and $`X\sqrt{\frac{k_{bf}}{C_2}}y_{lim}`$.

## 3. X-ray Lines in GRBs

We believe the existence of Cerenkov line mechanism operating in GRBs because there definitely exist dense gas regions and abundant relativistic electrons, both of which are just the right conditions to produce the Cerenkov line emission. In this section, we will discuss the iron lines by Cerenkov line mechanism in the X-ray afterglows of GRBs. We relist the parameters $`C_0,C_1,C_2`$ and $`k_{bf}`$ in X-ray band (in the normal conditions of a gaseous medium, we have the approximation $`(\frac{S_l}{g_l}\frac{S_u}{g_u})\frac{S_l}{g_l})`$:

$`C_0`$ $`=`$ $`1.05\times 10^{76}\epsilon _{lu}^4A_{ul}g_uN_{Fe}{\displaystyle \frac{S_l}{g_l}},`$
$`C_1`$ $`=`$ $`5.77\times 10^{53}\epsilon _{lu}^2A_{ul}g_uN_{Fe}{\displaystyle \frac{S_l}{g_l}},`$
$`C_2`$ $`=`$ $`1.75\times 10^{87}\epsilon _{lu}^4\mathrm{\Gamma }_{lu}A_{ul}g_uN_{Fe}{\displaystyle \frac{S_l}{g_l}},`$
$`k_{bf}`$ $`=`$ $`8.4\times 10^{46}\epsilon _{lu}^3N_{Fe}S_2.`$ (12)
In the case of the Fe $`K\alpha `$ line, only levels $`l=1`$ and $`u=2`$ are considered. Because of the high electron temperature $`T10^7`$K in the condition of GRB afterglows, $`S_1=g_1=2,g_2=8`$, and $`S_25`$. In the optically thick gas, we have found $`X1`$, then we can describe the formulae of Cerenkov line intensity as $`I^c2Y(lnX1)`$. And we only take the main contribution $`2Y`$ in our following estimation, so

$$I^c\frac{C_1}{k_{bf}}N_e1.12\times 10^7\epsilon _{12}A_{21}N_e.$$
(13)
For the optically thick case, the outward flux per unit area and time $`\pi F\pi I^c`$. Assuming a lot of spherical clouds with dense gas that is distributed homogeneously in the circumburst environment, the cloud radius and number are $`R,N_c`$ respectively, an isotropic fireball interacts with these clouds. Therefore, the total line luminosity from the clouds is $`L^c=4\pi ^2R^2N_cI^c`$. Defining a covering factor $`CN_c\pi R^2/4\pi D^2`$, where $`D`$ is the distance between the clouds and burst center. Then

$$L^c=16\pi ^2CD^2I^c8.2\times 10^{32}C_{0.1}D_{16}^2N_e\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1,$$
(14)
where we have taken $`\epsilon _{12}=6.4\mathrm{keV},A_{21}=4.6\times 10^{14}\mathrm{s}^1`$ and the characteristic scales $`C0.1,D10^{16}`$cm.111Since Cerenkov emission is from the gaseous medium, not from the relativistic electrons, so the blue-shifted effect is not prominent. From Eq. (14), we can clearly see that the total line luminosity by the Cerenkov mechanism is strongly dependent on the electron density rather than the iron abundance. Thus, we propose that some classes of GRB models predict the presence of a very high relativistic electron density, therefore the ultra-strong iron lines in the X-ray afterglows can be explained probably without additional request for initial and external conditions of iron-rich torus.

We also could estimate the relativistic electron density required for X-ray lines from four GRB afterglows. In the computations, we assume that the X-ray lines in GRB 970828 and 000214 are also Fe $`K\alpha `$ lines, and the line with a central energy of 3.49 keV in GRB 991216 is considered (the other in 4.4 keV is explained as the recombination continuum of H-like iron in 9.28 keV). Take the standard cosmological model with $`H_0=70\mathrm{k}\mathrm{m}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{Mpc}^1,\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1,\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$, and let $`C_{0.1}=D_{16}=1`$, our final results and GRB line parameters are displayed in Table 1. We noticed the electron densities $`N_e10^{10}10^{11}\mathrm{cm}^3`$ are similiar to those estimated for the delayed energy injection (Rees & Mészáros 2000) and supranova model (Vietri et al. 2001). We first simply estimate the relativistic electron density from the fireball, $`N_eE/4\pi D^2\mathrm{\Delta }_D\gamma m_pc^2`$, and taking the isotropic energy $`E10^{53}`$ erg, $`\gamma 100`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }_D\gamma cT`$ (T is the duration $`10`$s), we obtained the density $`N_e10^8\mathrm{cm}^3`$, which will be lower than our requirement in the model. So we think the relativistic electrons should come from other processes. We here propose that the electrons would be produced by a pulsar wind from the central millisecond magnetar (Thompson 1994) or $`e^+e^{}`$ outflow from the Kerr black hole with magnetized torus (MacFadyen & Woosley 1999) as the delayed injection after GRB events. Our interpretation is similar to that of Rees & Mészáros (2000), but we consider the $`e^+e^{}`$ outflow instead of electromagnetic flux. The luminosity is required as high as $`L4\pi D^2N_ec\gamma _em_ec^210^{48}\mathrm{erg}\mathrm{s}^1`$, where we take $`N_e10^{10}\mathrm{cm}^3,\gamma _e10`$ at the distance of $`10^{16}`$cm. The luminosity could be satisfied by the central compact objects with the acceptable parameters such as very strong magnetic field.

Because the scattering cross section of relativistic electrons will be near to the zero due to the Klein-Nishina formula in the very high frequency(due to the Doppler effect), we need not worry about the electron scattering process will greatly effect the line profile and intensity. The line width is also comparable to the observed one in GRBs, which has been displayed in Fig. 5 of the previous work(Y00).

## 4. Discussion

The recently detected X-ray lines in the afterglows of GRBs give us important information on the nature of GRB progenitors by imposing significant constraints on models and the severe problem may be how to arrange a huge amount of iron-rich material close to GRB sites, while avoiding a very large opacity in the same time. In this Letter, we have presented an alternative model of the X-ray spectral features by Cerenkov line mechanism, which would not have the above problems.

The broad feature of Cerenkov line emissions is consistent with the observations. Due to the Cerenkov redshift, the Cerenkov mechanism can avoid strong absorption, and may dominate line mechanism in the optically thick medium. What’s more, in the previous section, we have estimated the Cerenkov line luminosity in GRBs. We find that it is nearly independent of iron abundance, a large amount of Fe is not required as the model of Rees & Mészáros (2000), so additional physical mechanisms involving the iron-rich medium before triggering GRBs are not needed under our interpretation. And the line intensity can be comparable to the observed value with the relativistic electron density around $`10^{10}10^{11}\mathrm{cm}^3`$, which could be satisfied in the environment of GRBs as the delayed injection from central objects. Because only a simple analysis is presented in this letter, detailed numerical calculations in all cases of media will be developed in our following work.

Furthermore, we present a few arguments for fluorescence and recombination mechanisms. The fluorescence model predicts positive correlation of both line curves and flux between the $`K\alpha `$ line and X-ray continuum, which need further observations to confirm. Besides, the prediction of marked absorption dip at edge $`>7`$ keV which always accompanies the fluorescent $`K\alpha `$ line (Young et al. 1998) has not been observed. The recombination mechanism also involves serious problems. Recombination lines require a very high temperature, which should be considered by further theoretical models. Because of a very large optical depth, the ionization edge at 9.28 keV would appear as an absorption rather than an emission feature (Rees & Mészáros 2000). Up to now, a discovery of a transient absorption edge in the X-ray spectrum of GRB 990705 (Amati et al. 2000) has been reported, however, it is still surprising that no absorption features are observed in X-ray afterglows in such a dense medium. The problems need more detailed investigations.

We have shown that fluorescence and recombination are not the only possible mechanisms for producing the observed lines in X-ray afterglows of GRBs. Then a question is put forward: how to discriminate the Cerenkov line mechanism with them? Cerenkov lines have some interesting features: broad, asymmetry, Cerenkov redshift and polarization with the anisotropic velocity distribution of electrons. Therefore, we expect that future observations of high spectral resolution missions such as Chandra, XMM-Newton and future mission Swift could address these important issues, providing us more information of GRB progenitors and circumburst environment.

We are grateful to Tan Lu, Zigao Dai, Xiangyu Wang and Zhuo Li for the fruitful discussions.